A deliberately tongue-in-cheek title for a blog dedicated to the Napoleonic era, from the point of view of a Napoleonic history 'buff' and wargamer. "Reddition d'Ulm, 20 octobre 1805" from Wikimedia Commons
The villages of Lössnig, Dösen and Dölitz, located around three kilometres south of Leipzig were the scene for this game portraying a section of the momentous 'Battle of the Nations' of 16th–18th October 1813.
The scenario Lössnig (18 October) was used for the game.
John used a scenario from Steve Shann's book of scenarios "Let's Fight Leipzig!", adapted to suit the General d'Armée rules. This section of the battlefield involved corps sized formations, but they were treated as divisions, for the purposes of the rules, divisions as brigades and regiments as battalions. All units were represented by more figures than a standard unit in the rules—akin to 'In the Grand Manner'—so the definitions of small, standard and large units were adjusted accordingly. Four of us, Steve, Mitch, Bob and me, joined John for the game, an added pressie as it turned out, since it was coincidentally scheduled the day following his birthday! 😀
My map of the battlefield of Leipzig, drawn for my developing scenario and eventual game(s). The area represent in this game is indicated roughly by the red 'circle'
Steve Shann's introduces his scenario thus:
The 1st Column under Hessen-Homburg [...] supported by elements of the Reserve and numbering some 40,000 men [... had as] its objective to drive towards Leipzig with the River Pleisse on its left in conjunction with the advance of the 2nd and 3rd Columns further to the east. As the French had already withdrawn to the north, Hessen-Homburg decided to attack straight away and by 8.00 am was in action around Dölitz and Dösen. The first allied attack was on Dösen as Hardegg's division, acting as advance guard, moved forward, taking the village in the face of light opposition. Elements of the 2nd Corps and Reserve then moved on Dölitz, defended by Semellé's division of Augereau's corps. The Austrians succeeded in taking the nearby copse and after a stiff fight, the village also fell. Pushing on towards Lössnig, they began to fight their way in, forcing Napoleon to commit part of the Guard to stabilise the situation. This enabled the French to counter-attack and re-take both Dösen and Dölitz. This in turn forced the commitment of Weissenwolf's grenadiers, who broke into Dölitz and after a fierce fight, managed to re-take it and repel several French attacks. The Austrians then made another lunge at Lössnig, forcing their way in on several occasions, only to be ejected each time by the Poles and the Young Guard. It was only when further fresh infantry were brought forward that they were able to take it for the final time and the French withdrew in good order.
Looking from the south (Austrian lines), Dösen at right, occupied by Turreau's division (with attached guns), Lössnig furthest away and Dölitz (occupied by Semellé's division) just visible to the left.
From the east, Dölitz and Lössnig at top of photo (left and right respectively), Kamieniecki's Polish infantry in the centre and Uminski's cavalry behind and west of them.
A closer look at Semellé's men in Dölitz.
Napoleon outlined his plan to Prince Poniatowski.
Hardegg's advant garde led the Austrian attack, easels and sonnets at the ready.
Surprise but not surprise; right-handed Hardegg (Steve) attacked to his right, sending his cavalry in one of the flanking attacks that he is well-know for. Question was: what did he hope to achieve?
Not wishing to sit around and find out, Poniatowski (me) sent Uminski (Mitch) east to face-off the Austrian Reisch dragoons and Hesse-Homburg hussars.
Hardegg was soon joined by Wimpffen's division (Bob)...
and Bianchi's division (also commanded by Bob).
At this early stage of the game the Franco-Polish had been little troubled by the Austrians, but the latter were coming on in force.
Wimpffen sent his lead unit, IR35 Argenteau, to attack Dölitz...
while Bianchi's drove forwards to take on the other elements of Semellé's division.
The French defenders, still being at full strength, were able to send this first attempt to take the town on it's way.
After a brief tête-à-tête with Poniatowksi, Uminski decided to be more aggressive with his cavalry. This was to prove a decisive decision in the game.
In went the Polish 14th cuirassiers, making a 'glorious' charge against the Reisch dragoons...
which was successful, sending them retreating back behind the Hesse-Homburg hussars.
Meanwhile, Greth's division arrived to assist Hardegg in attacking Dösen.
Greth's lead unit's first attack was driven back with some loss.
The Polish 14th cuirassiers lined up their next target,...
sending the Hesse-Homburg hussars retreating behind the still unformed Reisch dragoons.
In the centre, Bianchi's men had left their right exposed, so Kamieniecki's 8th Polish line were able to manoeuvre to attack from that direction (not a flank attack).
Nonetheless, it was successful.
For now Semellé held Dölitz.
The Polish infantry were well placed to support.
Meanwhile, in the east, the Polish 14th cuirassiers continued on their winning way, against opponents increasingly weakened and who had not had the opportunity to re-form.
Until, finally, the Hesse-Homburg hussars were broken, taking the Reisch dragoons with them and the avant-garde ceased to be an effective formation. The eagle-eyed among you will note that the Polish cuirassiers have fewer casualties than previously. Such was their good fortune that they received a result enabling the recovery of a loss!
One division (brigade) gone, but the Austrians still had plenty of weight to throw into the attack.
On cue, Wimpffen's men took a sector of Dölitz.
Not to be outdone, Greth's did the same in Dösen.
Overview of the table with the Austrians, now reinforced by Fürstenwarther's grenadiers and Nostitz's cuirassiers.
Straight into the fray, Fürstenwarther's grenadiers attacked the Polish infantry, but the Vistula Legion held firm.
Nostitz's cuirassier nr. 7 (Lothringen) charged Turreau's guns...
unsuccessfully. This event scarred their commander so they spent much of the rest of the battle moving sideways, backwards, masking their guns and generally being quite sheepish and useless!
Meanwhile, the French had retaken all of Dölitz.
In the east, Greth's troops strengthened their hold on Dösen, capturing both sectors.
The situation for the Franco-Polish infantry looked better in the centre and west, but casualties and pressure were mounting.
Turreau tried unsuccessfully to re-take the left of Dösen.
The Polish 14th cuirassiers suffered their first loss, charging the right of Greth's line, but being forced to retire by the solid infantry who calmly formed square.
In the centre, the Polish infantry were still holding their own against Fürstenwarther's grenadiers.
But for how long?
Newly arrived, Liechtenstein's Hungarians successfully ejected the French from a sector of Dölitz. Semellé's men tried to counter-attack...
but the weakened French unit was beaten and n'existe plus as a fighting formation.
Thus ended the first day of an action-packed and really enjoyable game. Steve and Bob were disheartened by their initial lack of success (accentuated by poor dice), but they persisted, aided by reinforcements and made good headway. The relentless attacks and counter-attacks had reduced Semellé's and Turreau's troops to within a knife-edge of breaking. It did not seem that they would survive for many of the four turns that remained (of a total of 18).
Unfortunately, Steve and Bob were not available to continue for a second day, but John, Mitch and I reconvened the next morning. With larger forces on the Austrian side, John decided that Mitch would join him, leaving me (the biggest Francophile) to try to hold on with the Franco-Polish.
It did not take long. Well executed fire from Fürstenwarther's skirmishers was enough to disperse Turreau's artillery, that had suffered numerous casualties over the previous 14 turns, breaking his division. "Looks like I chose the right time to change sides", quipped Mitch (now nicknamed Bourmont).
The earlier capture of Dösen by Greth's division had triggered the arrival of Decouz's Young Guard division. Poniatowksi promptly sent them to Dölitz to be available to re-take it if (when) Semellé's men broke.
Which they soon did.
The one glimmer of hope for the Franco-Polish side was the arrival of Sulkowski's Polish 6th and 8th uhlans (seen right centre-rear of this photo). (In the scenario, the arrival of most reinforcements required a 5 or 6 to be rolled. Mitch and I had rolled 2s and 3s for the Polish cavalry on all attempts the previous day. Finally, I had rolled a 5).
The Young Guard promptly showed their worth, re-taking half of Dölitz.
Distant from the Austrian lines several dark shapes were moving.
Reinforcements. Reinforcements a plenty.
The Emperor's coup d'oeil was in full effect that day. Just in the nick of time, as the spirited defence by Augereau's 51st and 52nd divisions was finally broken, fresh, powerful troops arrived to bolster the remaining Franco-Polish. In game terms, the Austrians had come within 12" of Lössnig, bringing on Rottembourg's 2nd Old Guard division of the Saxon and Polish guards and d'Ornano's division (Berg lancers). Added to this I managed to roll another 5, bringing on the remaining Polish cavalry (Tolinksi's chasseurs and uhlans).
Coming into view these were shown to be (at rear of photo, left to right): Rottembourg's 2nd Old Guard division, Tolinksi's Polish cavalry (behind Sulkowski's) and the Berg lancers.
There was still plenty of firepower (and 'horsepower') on the Austrian side so what could these reinforcements do, particularly since it was the last turn and the Franco-Polish had already won the scenario (the Austrians needed to capture all three towns to win)?
"I'll tell you what we can do, we can fight!"—a 'last turn special'!
Sulkowski's Poles and d'Ornano's Bergers both received 'forwards' taskings, which were activated successfully. The former charged the Austrian cuirassiers, while the Berg lancers charged a unit of Greth's infantry that was forward of the Austrian line, just south-west of Dösen.
Meanwhile, the Young Guard finished the job of recapturing Dölitz.
Reminiscent of Somosierra, Sulkowski's Poles had to ride into the fire of two batteries, including Fürstenwarther's heavy guns, and several skirmishers. Undeterred, the brave Poles charged into the teeth of five 'casualty dice' and two 'fire dice'.
Saved by the throw. Red, casualty dice need to be 4 and above to 'hit', but a total of 11 with the fire dice is nasty. Significant casualties, but not devastating.
The charge succeeded, a mêlée would result. With the thunder of hundreds of hooves and the excitement of the coming mêlée your correspondent could not hold the camera steady.
The Berg lancers were not as successful. After suffering some casualties from Greth's artillery, they were repulsed by the steady fire of the infantry. The latter stood and fired, 18thC-style, which is allowed in the rules.
'Twas no matter, the Poles saw off the Austrian cuirass., which had to retreat off the table (edge of table effect), damaged but not defeated.
One last hurrah for the Austrians. Fürstenwarther's grenadiers beat back another of the Polish infantry units.
The game ended with a clear Franco-Polish victory. The Austrians held Dösen (partially visible at the right edge of camera), but had failed to capture either Dölitz or Lössnig.
'Most valuable player' was awarded to the 14th Polish cuirassiers, a unanimous vote by the three judges.
What a fabulous game and wonderful way to spend a day and a half of one's life! As ever John put in a huge amount of effort, time and planning to produce a great looking battlefield and well planned game—not to mention his marvellous catering and the ever effusive and supportive encouragement of Vanessa for our hobby! All players enjoyed themselves, it was played in the 'right' spirit of friendly competition with plenty of banter and friendly sledging.
After my call with John on Sunday I had gone looking for Zvezda lancers in my collection that are 'unallocated'. I had a number put aside to become a mixture of 3e éclaireurs, ten figures, from which I have removed the aiglets, plus another 12 figures that I had envisaged using as a mixture of the Young Guard squadrons of the 1e chevau-légers lanciers (including the seventh squadron which came from the previous 3e chevau-légers lanciers) and also the Young Guard squadron of the 2e chevau-légers lanciers. I had a piece of paper with the figures with a vague note to self about which were gonna be which. Huh? What was I on about, I thought.
One of the lovely pictures of the 3rd Polish lancers by Charmy
This lead me down a path that I had trodden previously, looking at info. in my books until I opened my 'ultimate' army list for the Battle of Leipzig. Ah, it all became clear. Four to be the Young Guard squadron of the 2e, eight as the Young Guard squadrons of the 1e, including that of the previous 3e (still in their original uniform) and a tip to self to 'make up the numbers for the Young Guard squadrons of the 1e with figures of the 3e éclaireurs'.
So, no drama, to 'nick' four of them to make a larger unit of Berg lancers and simply use more of the ten allocated as 3e éclaireurs to represent the 4th to 7th squadrons of the 1e chevau-légers lanciers at Leipzig (in 1813).
3rd lancers of the Guard
My little trek down the path already trod was not a waste—one always finds out more, particularly when information has only been skimmed before. This time, I read the description of the 'ill-fated' 3e chevau-légers lanciers from Jouineau and Mongin's "The Imperial Guard of the First Empire 2. Mounted Troops". It is a most interesting tale that I discovered has a few different versions in different books.
Above and below: two more plates from Charmy illustrating the lovely 3e chevau-légers lanciers.
I vaguely recalled the paragraph in the second volume of the Funckens' "Arms and Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars", those gorgeous tomes that had excited my imagination in my nascent days of wargaming when I could only dream of painting the sorts of units that I have painted and am painting now.
3é régiment
Formed in Lithuania on 12th September 1812 and had a brief existence... It was nearly completely destroyed at Slonim (Russia) and its colonel, general Konapka, hero of the 1st regiment during the war in Spain, was wounded and made prisoner. (p. 44)
Charmy's brief description is similar.
It was formed in Lithuania at Wilna, ten squadrons of two companies each. Commander: general Konapka. It was part of the Grande armée in the Russian campaign and was destroyed by the Russians at Slamina on the 18th October 1812. Those who remained were transferred to the 1st Regiment of the Polish Lancers of the Guard on 11th April 1813. (p. 126)
As is Pigeard's.
On the 19th October 1812, the two squadrons commanded by their colonel were surprised in their cantonment at Slonim in Lithuania by a corps of Russian partisans [his term] under general Czaplicz. Despite a valiant defence, all who were not killed were made prisoner. (p. 116)
Lachouque gave us more information.
[July] The Emperor took advantage of the Poles' good will to create a third regiment of light-horse in the Guard. It was recruited from members of Polish landowning families who could ride and provide their own equipment. It was uniformed like the 1st with yellow buttons and lace instead of white. General Konopka was appointed colonel in chief and put in charge of organizing it (p. 232). [October] Farther south Bessières and 1,400 of Colbert's light horse camped near Voronovo on the Kaluga road to wait for General Konopka's 3rd lancers (p. 242). The newest regiment of lancers would never join Colbert's brigade. General Konopka and the first two squadrons had been surprised at Slonim on the road to Minsk by a large body of Cossacks. 'They defended themselves valiantly and lost sixteen officers and many men before they were finally beaten. All who escaped with their lives were made prisoner.' Nothing was left of the regiment but a small depot at Grodno (p. 249).
The account in Jouineau and Mongin, which had sent me looking for other versions, provide the greatest detail.
The regiment was put on a war footing on 12 September 1812 and immediately left Warsaw for Russia. It headed for Minsk to join the Grande Armée on 5 October of the same year. [...] A fortnight later, on 1 October in vaudeville-style circumstances where smugness rivalled with sheer incompetence, the regiment allowed itself to be surprised in the town of Slonim by the Russians. The town was not even on the regiment's route. The wife of the General Konopka, the regiment's commanding officer, and wives of the other officers lived in the town. The regiment deviated from its route and, forgetting to send out scouts and not setting up a "grand garde", the headquarters and several other companies allowed themselves to be encircled by the Russians who were billeted only ten miles from the town. General Konopka and most of the lancers (i.e. the commanding officer, 13 officers and 235 troopers) were captured after a brief struggle. (p. 162)
I thought this would interest John too, so sent him a photo of the page from Jouineau and Mongin.
"Interesting", he replied.
"The danger of a quickie before heading to the front...," I said.
"Hope Clausewitz put that in his book," he quipped.
I cracked up!
"It's in Sun Tzu ain't it?"
"Hope so," John replied.
"Or was that Harry Hoo?"
Uffindell is even more damning of Konopka and his fellow officers, which he provides as an example of 'neglect of duty'.
One of the most notorious cases of neglect of duty by an Imperial Guard officer was the destruction of the newly raised 3e Chevau-légers lanciers at Slonim in Lithuania in October 1812. The regiment's commander, Général de brigade Jan Konopka, had been instructed to join the Grande Armée, which had reached Moscow, but he ignored intelligence that his route was threatened by a corps from a secondary Russian force, the Army of the Danube. He belatedly left Slonim early one morning after being alerted to the Russian approach, but was pursued and defeated. His wife and two other women managed to escape by crossing the river on a raft, but Konopka himself was wounded and then captured, along with 250 of his men. A Russian general, Louis-Alexandre, Count Langeron alleged [my italics]:
General Konopka didn't have an advanced post or a vedette on any road and our army was only twenty verstes [thirteen miles] from him. Such lack of foresight in an officer who had much experience of war in the French army is inexplicable and led to suspicions that having squandered the funds allocated for the formation of the regiment, he had found no other way of settling his accounts than to get himself captured... We sent back to their families the young men who were earmarked for the honour of guarding Napoleon. (pp. 208–209)
Plate from Jouineau & Mongin, showing the 3e chevau-légers lanciers with facings of a crimson colour.
Epilogue
What of General Konopka? A quick look on the inter-web provided versions of the same information.
After being released from prison in 1814 he was offered the command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade of Congress Poland but he declined. Exhausted by wounds, prison, and fatigue he died the same year in Warsaw. (Wikipedia)
Lancers of Berg
I came then to reading/re-reading about the Berg lancers. This unit had a confusing existence; originally as lancers (1807–08), then as chasseurs (1808–09) and finally as lancers (1809–1812 & 1812–1813). At one time there were two regiments, differently equipped in Spain and Russia, then a combined regiment again, greatly reduced early in the 1813 campaign, built up again during the armistice, progressively reduced at Peterswalde in late August, then at Leipzig and Hanau, the remnants were disarmed, save for chef d'escadron comte von Goldstein, a naturalise Frenchman, and a few troopers who were transferred to the 27th chasseurs à cheval (Pigeard, pp. 363–366).
With all of these changes in organisation, the uniforms are confusing in the extreme and I wanted to check that the one I had settled on was 'correct'.
Initially, they had a white kurtka with pink facings, trousers and czapka; although Jouineau and Mongin state,
Although this "Polish-style" uniform was well and truly drawn by Baron Lejeune, nobody can today confirm whether it was ever really worn. (p. 164)
As Hourtouille stated,
We have tried to be objective, but the way this regiment was dispersed, the numerous campaigns it took part in and the constant changes of uniform, makes it difficult to combine different sources into a coherent whole. (p. 116).
The most accepted version of the uniform in 1813 is a green kurtka, faced pink, with green trousers with pink stripes (grey on campaign) and sheepskin shabraque with pink tooth edging (possibly green for the second regiment in Russia). Interestingly, this is how they are shown in Funcken (often maligned for inaccuracies).
The Berg lancers in Funcken, élite company.
There is a more glorious, full dress version that was produced in one of Knötel's plates (and reproduced beautifully by Jack Girbal in "Soldiers and Uniforms of Napoleonic Wars"). That's the one for me. Taking full advantage of the saddlecloths that come with Zvezda's Polish lancer figures that I used.
Girbal's painting in "Soldiers and Uniforms of Napoleonic Wars"; a mixed-bag of some of the variations in the uniform of the Berg lancers. The second figure from the left (front) is the one based on Knötel that I followed when I painted the first 12 figures of Berg lancers for our game of Bautzen back in 2013.
A version of the Knötel's plate shown in Jouineau and Mongin. I prefer Girbal's version with that slight purple tinge to the border of the shabraque.
I will need to add some details to the trumpeter's uniform, which was based on Imperial livery. I'll use the bottom right figure in this plate from Jouineau and Mongin, which is derived from Girbal's above (but with the fancy shabraque)!
Some imprimatur, should I need any for a wargame unit, which is only and always representation, comes from Pigeard.
On the 10th August [1813] the lancers paraded in full uniform at Dresden for the revue. They assisted at the battle of Dresden but were not engaged. (p. 366)
Good enough for me!
My Berg lancers with the extra four figs 'nicked' from the Young Guard squadrons of the 1e chevau-légers, based and undercoated to be painted at the same time as the others are spruced up.
References consulted
Charmy, G (2003) Splendeur des Uniformes de Napoleon: La Garde Imperiale à Cheval. Tome 3. Editions Charles Herissey, Rennes, France. 251 pp.
Funcken, L and Funcken, F (1969) L'uniforme et les armes des soldats du premier Empire Tome 2 : De la garde impériale aux troupes alliées, suédoises, autrichiennes et russes. Tome 2. Casterman, Tournai, Belgique. 157 pp.
Hourtoulle, F-G, Girbal, J and Courcelle, P (2004) Soldiers and Uniforms of Napoleonic Wars. Translated by A McKay. Histoire & Collections, Paris, France. 208 pp.
Jouineau, A and Mongin, J-M (2018) The Imperial Guard of the First Empire 2. Mounted Troops. Volume 2. Éditions Heimdal, St Martin-des-Entrées, Bayeux, France. 176 pp.
Lachouque, H and Brown, ASK (1978) The Anatomy of Glory. Arms and Armour Press, London, England. 564 pp.
Pigeard, A (2005) La Garde impériale : 1804-1815. Editions Tallandier, Paris, France. 484 pp.
Uffindell, A (2007) Napoleon's Immortals: The Imperial Guard and its Battles, 1804–1815. Spellmount Limited, Stroud, Gloucestershire. 363 pp.
A few weeks ago they asked on the Hat forum if anyone would be interested in painting some test figures of their soon-to-be-released late Russian infantry. I was keen but, knowing that I am a slow painter, wondered whether I'd be able to keep my end of the bargain. Then I thought "I have more time to dedicate to hobby stuff than previously, plus a bit of pressure to paint some specific figs would not hurt," so I put my hand up.
To my joyful surprise, I received an email almost immediately, asking for my address. I pointed out that I live in Oz, so would understand if they did not want to post them that far. No problem with that.
On Friday I had a card in our PO box telling me that there was a package to be collected and it was them.
The package included a sprue each of Russian infantry marching and 'in action', plus one each of the also soon-to-be released American War of Independence (AWI) British cavalry and artillery.
I washed the sprues on Friday evening, then prep'd the figures yesterday, gluing on the back packs, removing tiny bits of flash, before sticking them onto bases and undercoating them.
I'm gonna paint the AWI figures as troops of the (French)revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, so a bit of modification was required and some exchange of horses and cannon from amongst my spares. More on these once they are completed.
Painting will begin this afternoon. The 'twist'—the moral obligation that I feel to get on and paint them—is a good 'problem' to have and part of the joy of it all.
December plans
Further excitement yesterday. I am planning to catch up with the fellas from the Serpentine Group in mid December, a combined trip to see the speedway in Albany and then we'll have a two-day game at John's. He and Steve have been having some ripper sessions, which Steve has reported on the group's blog.
The added excitement came c/- a text from John out of the blue yesterday arvo':
"How would you go mustering this contingent for the forthcoming engagement?"
It sent me into a bit of a spin, to be frank. I wasn't expecting that! This took me through a few emotions: can I, can't I, how long until 13th December, what do I have?
I (metaphorically) dived into one of my cupboards to have a look at my Poles. I have the necessary figures, easily, except for the 20 'christmas crackers' (Krakus); I have 18. I could use two figures of the Polish-Italian Legion uhlans to make up the numbers. I'd check with John. Trouble is most of the figures need finishing touches—the 'dreaded' last 10%. Why not use this as a great reason/impetus do that last 10% and bring 'em, finally, to completion?
Can I 'trust' myself to come through? My past failures concern me, but 'don't let past failures be a guide to future performance', hey? I have more time to dedicate than ever before, so why not accept the challenge? Last week I completed a good sub-set of the 1/700 Japanese ships for Pearl Harbor, so my plan was already to stop building and to paint said ships and the figs that I have on the go.
'Cept I already have the added 'pressure' to paint the figures from the test sprues from Hat. This is an important caveat. C'mon you wuss. There are 36 figures in all in this lot. Surely I can finish them in two weeks? That'd give me three weeks to do the finishing touches to the Poles.
Challenge accepted (and accepted that it is mainly in my head)!
Two of my trays of Polish (Duchy of Warsaw) cavalry, all 'good enough' and clear what they represent, but all needing some finishing touches.
The third tray, plus some of the artillery at right.
The full tray of artillery, with undercoated 2nd infantry, plus the last tray containing limbers, Polish-Italian Legion uhlans and generals.
John, as ever, the great, encouraging friend said,
"Plenty. Bring the caisson and limber team... I'm hoping to do the beautiful 20:1 figure ratio and that "In the Grand Manner" look. 18 Chrissy crackers will do nicely! Add finishing touches as you please!"
Later he added,
"You wouldn't by any chance have 16 Berg lancers, would you?"
Oh my goodness. I have 12 and could make up the numbers with Westphalian chevau-legers or, more likely, ‘chocolate eclairs’ (1e éclaireurs, the Young Guard ones with the lance).
"I have 12."
We'd gone past the usefulness of texts. Time to talk.
That conversation took my excitement up a notch or two. How good is this gonna be? A section of Leipzig, I did not ask him which specific bit, but we will be somewhere in the south of that huge battlefield. The 'Grand Manner' style involves battalions as regiments, cavalry regiment(s) as brigades, so in reality his usual kinda figure scale, but with the smoke and mirrors of BIG units at 1:20 scale for the specific unit that they are painted to represent. Hence the 16 Berg lancers.
I did some more delving into my figures after our chat. I can do better than 12. Another four, unpainted Zvezda lancer figs won't be too much of a stretch.
So, in the course of three days I have gone from Plan A of finish off the figures that I have been painting and paint the 1/700 ships that I have built, to Plan B of paint the Hat test figures as well as, to Plan C of finish off the Polish cavalry, generals and artillery as well as, to Plan D of finish off the Berg lancers as well as.
If only everyone could have such wonderful 'problems', contentment would abound!
Jonathan over at Palouse Wargaming Journal alerted me that the 2025 edition of this questionnaire is now open. I am a serial 'data point' and have completed it again. It's a bit of fun to do and Jon does some excellent analyses that he presents on his blog.
