2nd Battalion of Detachments 1809

The 2nd Battalion of Detachments completes my 30th unit of British infantry and adds the second unit of these unusual formations organised when the need was at its greatest.

The following quoted from Robert Burnham's work,
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_detach.html
"The 2nd Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Copeson of the 5th Foot, and it too had enough men from different regiments to form them into separate companies. The soldiers from the 82nd Foot were in a company commanded by Captain Carew."


I have carried on with the theme established with the 1st battalion, by having the unit modelled to reflect the irregular character of the battalion (using figures from AB, Warmodelling and Campaign Game Miniatures) and use facings and models to capture the different battalions that went in to make it.

The following quoted from Robert Burnham's work,

"The effectiveness of the two battalions of detachments was perceived differently even at the same headquarters. In a General Order written in Badajoz on 22nd September 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, wrote:

"The Commander of the Forces cannot avoid to express his regret upon losing the services of the two battalions of detachments, which are about to join their corps in England. . . He requests Lieutenant Colonel Banbury(sic), Lieutenant Colonel Copson and the Officers attached to these battalions, to accept his acknowledgement for the attention they have given to them." 

Charles Stewart, Wellington's Adjutant General, had a different opinion of their worth, when he wrote on June 15, 1809 to Robert Catlereagh, (Marquess of Londonderry) the Secretary for War:

"I wish these detachment battalions were replaced. I am sure they are the cause of great disorder -- no esprit de corps for their interior economy among them, though they will all fight. They are careless of all else, and the officers do not look to their temporary field-officers and superiors under whom they are placed, as in an established regiment. I see much of their indiscipline."

It should be noted that Wellington in his general order also mentioned that he had to remind them of proper conduct and when they returned to their parent units, the men were to ensure they behaved properly."

This unit gave me the opportunity to use one of the very "foppish" officers from the Warmodelling range, umbrella at the ready!

With the completion of these two battalions, it's back to the regular formations of the British and French armies for 1809 and finishing off some extras for the Corunna games planned for December on completion of Vimiero.

In addition to looking at the main action at Corunna, I'm rather inclined to try out some ideas around some of the rear guard clashes that occurred on the retreat between Sir John Moore's army and Marshal Soult's.

1st Battalion of Detachments 1809

With plans outlined in previous posts to produce scenarios covering the campaigns of 1809 starting with Corunna I have been putting together the additional units that will feature in those games. Two particularly interesting units were the two battalions of detachments

The following quote is taken from Robert Burnham's excellent article from which a description and history of these units can be read in full by following the link below.

http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_detach.html

"In mid-January 1809, the situation of the British Army in the Iberian Peninsula was grim. Moore's army had been forced to evacuate Corunna after a disastrous retreat and to return to England. In Portugal there remained fewer than 14,000 men under General Cradock. French forces were threatening from several directions. For many the only viable option was to evacuate Cradock's troops and to cut the British losses. Yet those orders never came. Instead Cradock began to organise the remaining troops for the defence of Portugal.

Within Portugal there were about 3,000 officers and men from all three arms, whose regiments were evacuated at Corunna. Some of these men were on detached duty when their regiments marched off to fight the French, while others were in hospitals, too sick to undertake the rigours of a winter campaign. Many of them had been with Moore's army, but had either become separated during the horrendous retreat to Corunna or had been captured by the French and escaped. Many had managed to make it to Oporto, where a brigade of British forces still held out. General Cameron, the brigade commander, sent the following message to General Cradock on 16 January:

"I have collected several detachments of recovered men belonging to Sir John Moore's army, whom I found scattered in all directions, without necessaries, and some of them committing every possible excess that could render the name of a British soldier odious to the nation."

On 16 January 1809, the same date that General Cameron wrote his scathing message, the 1st Battalion of Detachments was formed. By early February, the 2nd Battalion had also come into existence. On 6 February, the muster rolls for the first battalion was:

Note: the colours of facings and lacings together with the percentage breakdown of the various units are my addition.

I was keen to capture the irregular nature of this unit and so the battalion you see is quite distinctive from the regular battalions featured so far. Firstly this battalion carries no colours as the colours from the parent battalions had returned home from Corunna. The battalion is constructed around the components as mentioned in Robert Burnham's article and I have attempted to have figures representing proportionally those elements.

So for example the mounted colonel is in the uniform of a field officer of the 3rd (Buffs) Foot representing Lieutenant Colonel William H. Bunbury.I have included the riflemen in the unit as part of the battalion skirmish screen. I  also took the opportunity to use up the spare officer, drummer and sergeant figures I have accumulated by mixing them in with the infantry men of the various units.

Finally to add to the "irregular look", my battalion is made up of components from various manufacturers, namely AB, Warmodelling and Campaign Game Miniatures adding to the appearance I was after.

The battalions of detachments were not entirely successful and with the return of their parent units, at the end of 1809, the men were returned to those reinforcing battalions with the remainder being posted home to join their reforming battalions there.

The first battalion makes an interesting addition to my British Peninsula force and, together with the second battalion that I am working on next, will feature in my Oporto and Talavera scenarios.

Next up Vimiero.

New Xan British - Peninsular War

Presenting the new Xan Peninsular War British Line infantry, available in the UK from Empress Miniatures

I was really excited about this range of figures when I saw them at Salute this year. So imagine my joy when they recently launched the new British infantry figures. I have been very keen to paint these guys, and have been working on this first unit in recent days.

Xan miniatures, 7th KGL with AB mounted colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

These models are a very welcome addition to the ranges of 18mm Napoleonic figures now available for us Peninsular War fans. They are very well proportioned with plenty of detail to pick out and a good variety of poses to form a complete unit. I really like them and I can see myself using a lot of these guys to complete my British collection.

Not only that but I also have some of their lovely French Legere on the painting desk so will aim to have some pictures of them with some comparison shots next to my ABs.

If you are thinking about collecting in 18mm then I would strongly recommend looking at Xan as a range to have in your collection.

As part of helping to illustrate how well various ranges compliment each other I have pictured the new Xan battalion next to my AB, CGM and Fantassin units. I think they all work well together and I am happy to have all the ranges together on the table adding variety to the overall look of my army.



Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, CGM on right with AB Colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, AB on right with Fantassin skirmishers and AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

Xan on left, Fantassin on right with AB colonel, Colours from GMB Flags

All the manufacturers links can be found on my Links section

5th Battalion, King's German Legion

As mentioned in the previous post I have managed to get some painting done in a very busy week. So, just in time for Waterloo Day tomorrow, 18th June, may I introduce, standing in for His Majesty's 4th King's Own foot in my forthcoming Corunna scenario, His Majesty's 5th battalion, King's German Legion, which will be making regular appearances in future scenarios

The battalion is composed of an AB mounted Colonel, fusilier company men and skirmishing flank company from Campaign Game Miniatures, and flank company men and command party group from Fantassin. I think 18mm Napoleonic collecting has never been so blessed, with the ability to mix and match manufacturers in collections, as I hope I've shown.

The Colours are from the superb range of 15mm Napoleonic colours supplied by GMB. I think they are excellent. The importance of good colours and flags cannot be overlooked, as they can really make the final look of the unit and in my opinion should not be considered as something to be saved on.

The links to all the manufacturers mentioned can be found on my "Links" bar.

42nd Royal Highland Foot Regiment

No British Napoleonic collection should be without the 42nd Highland Foot, and certainly no Peninsular War collection. Having completed my series of games looking at the Vimiero campaign, I am now thinking about the army commanded by Sir John Moore and the battle of Corunna.

The 42nd Highlanders made their debut in this battle and were heavily involved in the fighting about the town of Elvina, after being encouraged by the General to remember their feats at the battle of Alexandria. It was members of the regiment who carried the mortally wounded Sir John from the field of battle.

For more information on the history of the regiment during the Napoleonic wars follow the link
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/Regiments/c_42ndFoot.html



My battalion in composed of figures from Campaign Games Miniatures, with the mounted Colonel from AB and the skirmishers from Fantassin. I really like the CGM figures, giving a burly highlander ready to close with the bayonet. My only criticism is their bayonets, not quite long enough for my taste, but I think, in 18mm, I can live with them. The flags are from the superb GMB range.