Perhaps one of the most powerful French Corps d'Armee in 1809 was Marshal Victors I Corps that formed line of battle in front of Sir Arthur Wellesley's position at Talavera that July.
It's ranks were filled with veterans of Austerlitz, Jena and Friedland and had known only victory since entering Spain only nine months previously.
To quote the Duke himself when asked about his thoughts about the French;
"They were excellent troops; I never on any occasion knew them to behave otherwise than well. Their officers too were as good as possible."
The following pictures show the Corps at full strength, which it certainly was not on the 28th July, at a figure scale of approximately 1:30. The completion of this particular formation required the building of twenty-four battalions of line infantry which was started in May 2015 and completed in July 2016.
I would like to thank all those who played their part in the completion of this project with the multiple comments of support and encouragement I received on the completion of each battalion and I put these pictures together as a tribute to those people whose comments appear in the links to the battalions found at the bottom of this post, it was great to have your support on the journey.
I hope those battalion posts will be useful as a reference should anyone be mad enough to want to have a go at all or some of these units in the future, and will add to the painting tutorial I put together whilst working on them which can be found in the "Tutorials" section at the top of the page.
The next time you will see the Corps together will be for the full afternoon attack at Talavera set to be fought using Carnage & Glory II summer 2017. For the Napoleonic wargamer their can be no finer feeling than the thought of wielding a formation of this size on the table-top, with the calibre of troops they represent; wargaming in "The Grand Manner".
In the meantime it will be onwards and upwards with the Spanish Infantry Division of General Bassecourt and the Cavalry Division under General Albuquerque and I haven't quite decided which I will start first.
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| I Corps d'Armee - Marshal Victor commanding, with Generals Ruffin and 1st Division (left), Lapisse and 2nd Division (right), Villatte and 3rd Division (centre rear) and Beaumont's Light Cavalry Brigade (right rear). Thirty-three battalions of infantry, two regiments of cavalry, six batteries of artillery. |
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| Victor |
1st Corps: Maréchal Victor
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| I Corps Artillerie Reserve - 12 lbr and 6 lbr companies (Each infantry division and the cavalry brigade had its own company of artillery). |
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| Ruffin |
1st Division: Général de division Ruffin (5,286)
8 guns
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| Meunier |
Brigade: (Meunier)
9th Légère Regiment (3)
24th Line Regiment (3)
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| Barrois |
Brigade: Général de brigade Barrois
96th Line Regiment (3)
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| 1st Division - General Ruffin commanding with General Meunier (left) and Barrois (right) and their respective brigades |
2nd Division: Général de division Lapisse (6,862)
8 guns
Brigade: Général de brigade Laplannes
16th Légère Regiment (3)
45th Line Regiment (3)
Brigade: Général de brigade Solignac
8th Line Regiment (3)
54th Line Regiment (3)
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| 2nd Division - General Lapisse commanding with General Laplannes (left) and Solignac (right) and their respective brigades |
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| Villatte |
3rd Division: Général de division Villatte (6,135)
8 guns
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| Cassagne |
Brigade: Général de brigade Cassagne
27th Légère Regiment (3)
63rd Line Regiment (3)
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| Puthod |
Brigade: Général de brigade Puthod
94th Line Regiment (3)
95th Line Regiment (3)
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| 3rd Division - General Villatte commanding with General Puthod (left) and Cassagne (right) and their respective brigades |
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| Beaumont |
Cavalry Brigade: Général de brigade Beaumont (980)
2nd Hussar Regiment
5th Chasseur à Cheval Regiment
Artillerie - 6 x 6 lbr Horse Guns
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| Cavalry Brigade - General Beaumont commanding |
The Regiments de Ligne
JJ these are an inspiration to all wargamers and Napoleonics buffs around the world, I tip my hat to you sir...
ReplyDeleteHey Nathan, thanks mate. We should have some fun with all these toys.
DeleteJJ
Just absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! What a resource! Thank you for doing this, and congratulations for a job well done - well completed.
ReplyDeleteThank you Scott, really appreciate your comment.
DeleteAll the best
JJ
Nearly 900 pieces. Good work mate. I would have given up long ago.
ReplyDeleteNow the Spanish. Hope you like white.
Vince
It's amazing how time goes and makes you appreciate why you don't get half the games done that you always wanted to. The good news is, I love painting white and we will cross Talavera off the bucket list.
DeleteJJ
Lovely array of troops, really well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. There's nothing quite like the colour and pageantry of Napoleonics en mass.
DeleteJJ
So good! And thanks for linking to al the respective unit pages. I use your site a lot for my own reference and this will make it quick and simple to see what you have done!
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, thanks mate, and thank you for your comments elsewhere. We have had an ongoing conversation over the blog for a few years now and your encouragement is much appreciated.
DeleteAll the best
JJ
Congratulations on seeing this through to completion. As you know I don't paint anymore but I fondly remember the satisfaction of finishing a massive project like this; its something very special, very well done Sir!
ReplyDeleteYou'll also know that your excellent blog about the Peninsular War is entirely responsible for me now collecting yet another Napoleonic army parallel to the larger continental armies we play with. I never imagined I would be fielding British, Spanish & Portuguese! So thanks for that!
Get gaming. Very best wishes,
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, thank you for all your support through this and other projects over the years. It is great to hear from a fellow lover of all things Napoleonic, and the inspiration is mutual as I always enjoy seeing those Grand Manner 28mm games you and the chaps put on.
DeleteCheers mate, much appreciated
JJ
Quite an accomplishment, terrific job and well laid out.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Thanks John. I am following your play-test games with much interest and your 18mm collection is a delight to see in action.
DeleteAll the best
JJ
Lovely looking collection all arrayed together, inspiring work!
ReplyDeleteHi ddm, thank you. The pictures were done in the sun lounge on a particularly hot day and it took a bit of time setting up and taking down, so I was quite glad when the pictures were done. It was the first time I had seen them all together so it was a thrill for me to get a first glimpse prior to them going into battle.
DeleteCheers
JJ
Splendid parade review of your French!
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan. I am so pleased not to be painting anymore French infantry for a while and it's a great feeling getting to the end of this part of the project.
DeleteThanks for all your comments.
JJ
Epic. Beautiful achievement, I love your methodology and research, keep it up. Looking forward to Talavera...then Torres Vedras (winter pause) before the next campaign season beckons!
ReplyDeleteHi Rupert, thanks mate. It's really fun sharing this stuff with other people who get it as well and with Talavera done and dusted it should be a lit easier and quicker to bring the other games to the table. Well that's the plan.
DeleteThanks again
JJ
Great achievement great to see the completed units on the table keep them coming looking forward to seeing Talavera
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen, the game plan for Talavera is well advanced with a lot of ideas I am looking to try out. Big game management is challenge in its own right and it's great to have the experience of Nigel Marsh and the collected experience of the Carnage & Glory players who do the large games regularly.
DeleteThanks for your comment
JJ
Simply stunning. Well done!
ReplyDelete/Mattias
Hey thanks Mattias, that is exactly the reaction I was hoping to provoke.
DeleteCheers
JJ
Like! Quality & Quantity & Quickly - awesome.
ReplyDeleteThank you Comdotski, the three Q's of productivity. I might have to put that over the painting desk to help keep the focus.
DeleteCheers
JJ
Great work, look forward to seeing the battle report next year.
ReplyDeleteOur 28mm re-fight has slipped til next year as well, Jan 14th.
Tony
Hi Tony, thanks mate. It's all part of the fun, working towards a goal and taking the time enjoying getting there.
DeleteKeep on painting
JJ
Amazing work, from research to realisation to amount of troops!! I'd love to see them in the flesh on a gaming table!!
ReplyDeleteThere is no better satisfaction than a long term project completion. Congratulations.
Hi Blancard, thank you. Well I guess I am at a dangerous age now when you start deciding to do crazy things like this before its too late.
DeleteYou are right that project completion is a thrill and I have enjoyed looking back over the last year of posts remembering what I was doing when a certain battalion was completed and the comments received along the way. I would certainly recommend to anyone to have a go.
Thanks again
JJ
So impressive! It has been a pleasure to follow your progress and read your posts on each unit. Great work!
ReplyDeleteAdam
Hi Adam, thanks mate. Well I know you've been on this project team over the last year and I really appreciate your comment.
DeleteStill a bit to do with the Spanish and I am looking forward to doing the research on the specific units involved and sharing the progress.
Cheers
JJ
Magnificent! Done just right!
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, thank you, I'm glad you like the parade.
DeleteAll the best
JJ
A magnificent sight Jon! Luckily I've had the pleasure of being involved in many of the scenario refights, so get closer than most. Lucky me!
ReplyDeleteSteve
Hi Steve, the most important people in wargaming are the people you play the games with and the fact that this project has moved along at the pace it has is down to you and the other guys involved in the games we've been able to present here over the last three years; so thanks for all your help and inputs and here's looking forward to the "big one".
DeleteOh and the Virginia Militia are close to being done.
Cheers mate
JJ