17th Legere - Peninsular War

The first battalion of the 17th Legere sees the completion of my penultimate Legere battalion for Oporto and provides a chance to illustrate a variation in the look of these units in the Peninsula. I have taken the Bucquoy plates as the inspiration for the look of this unit which suggests the wearing of white waistcoats under the habite.

17e Regiment d'Infanterie Legere 

Regimental History

1793: 17e bataillon de Chasseurs
1795: 17e demi-brigade d'Infanterie Legere (1st formation, formed from the following)
         17e bataillon de Chasseurs
         1er bataillon, Volontaires de la Legion des Alpes
         2e bataillon, Volontaires de l'Allier
         9e bataillon, Volontaires de l'Ain
1796: 17e demi-brigade d'Infanterie Legere (2nd formation, formed from the following)
         1er demi-brigade d'Infanterie Legere(1st formation)
         32e demi-brigade d'Infanterie Legere(1st formation)
1803: 17e Regiment d'Infanterie Legere

Regimental War Record (Battles and Combats)

1796: Montelegino, Montenotte, Dego, Mondovi, Fombio, Lodi, Borghetto, Lonato, Castiglione, Caliano, Rivoli, Lavis, Saint-Michel, Klausen, and Milbach
1799: Bussolengo, Magnano, Bresica, Cassano, Bassignano, Mondovi, San-Guiliano, Novi, and Fossano
1801: Tonai, Storo, and Trente
1805: Ulm, Hollabrunn, and Austerlitz 
1806: Saalfeld, Jena, Prentzlow, and Pultusk
1807: Eylau, Ostrolenka, and Friedland
1809: Vigo, Braga, and Oporto
1809: Essling and Wagram
1810: Biscarette and Busaco
1811: Sabugal
1812: Arapiles
1813: Pampelune, Bidassoa, and Bayonne
1813: Wachau, Leipzig, and Hanau
1814: Vauchamps, Bar-sur-Aube, Arcis-sur-Aube, and Saint-Dizier

Regimental History quoted from The Napoleon Series

Colonel George Bueret who led the regiment in 1809 was promoted General de Brigade and wounded in 1811.

My battalion is composed of figures from the Xan range with an AB colonel and the standard is GMB.

 

Next up, the 2nd battalion 17th Legere and then it is on to the Portuguese for the Oporto campaign.

2/2e Legere - Peninsular War

It was way back on the 6th of July last year when I featured the new range of 18mm figures from Xan by painting up one of the battalions I would need for Oporto, namely the 2e Legere.

JJ's Blog Post 2e Legere

I detailed on that post the history of the regiment and its role in the Peninsula .If you want to read on, just follow the link to the original post. I couldn't help noticing that my first battalion looks a lot smarter than the second as I have done more of a campaign look for this battalion and I think it all adds variety to the eye when they are on the table.

I have also given my second battalion an Eagle, which strictly speaking should have been handed in for a battalion fanion, but it is well recorded that a lot of second battalions hung on to their Eagle's. The French units, unlike the British are rather more generic in character and so I am sure the 2/2e Legere will double up as a first battalion of another regiment at some stage.

As with the first battalion the figures are from the Xan range, save the mounted officer who is an AB figure. I guess I should have given him a red tip to his plume to indicate a major in the regiment, but as he may end up being a colonel in other games I decided to leave him as done. The flag is from GMB

The Force plan for the French at Oporto looks like this

French Order of Battle:Corps: Marshal Nicolas Soult
Henri Delaborde/Foyʼs Infantry Division
17th Legere (3 battalions), 70^th Ligne (3 bns) and 86th Ligne (3 bns)
Pierre Merle Infantry Division
2nd Legere (4 bns), 4th Legere (4 bns), 36th Ligne (3 bns)
Jean Franceschiʼs Cavalry Division:
1st Hussars, 8th Dragoons, 22nd Chasseurs a Cheval.
Artillery: Probably 2 x 6lbr Foot and 1 x 6lbr Horse Batteries.

All the units are complete except for three more battalions of Legere and the 1st Hussars.

66th (Berkshire) Foot

Not exactly the 66th Foot. 
But the closest I could find.
The green facings weren't
this dark green until 1815.

Ok, if you've had enough of battalions of redcoats, and there were plenty of French Generals who felt the same way, you'll be pleased to know that this is my last battalion required to do Oporto and I can now move on to the other units required.

The 2/66th (Berkshire)Foot completes my British Infantry component as listed below which took part in the action.

The 2nd Coldstream Guards
3rd Guards, now the Scots Guards
3rd Buffs, the East Kent Regiment *
7th Royal Fusiliers
9th Foot, later the Norfolk Regiment
48th Foot, later the Northamptonshire Regimentt *
53rd Foot, later the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
60th (Rifles)Foot, later the King’s Royal Rifle Corps
66th Foot, later the Royal Berkshire Regiment *
83rd Foot, later the Royal Ulster Rifles
97th Foot, later the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment
* these regiments have Douro as a battle honour.

In addition the four KGL battalions (1st, 2nd, 5th and 7th) are done.

The 66th are listed by CE Franklin as having yellowish-green facings, with the officers lace and buttons being silver. The facings later changed to the darker gosling green as depicted in the illustration above.

A good source of history about the regiment
The Wardrobe - History of the 66th Regiment

To quote
"The outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756 made it necessary to increase the size of the army and a number of regiments, amongst them the 19th Regiment (later to become the Green Howards), were ordered to raise second battalions. Two years later these battalions became regiments in their own right and were re-numbered accordingly, the second battalion of the 19th becoming the 66th Regiment of Foot. However, the 66th itself played no active part in the Seven Years' War............

In 1803 the 66th was ordered to raise a second battalion, the men coming from the newly formed Army of Reserve. The original intention had been that the new second battalion should remain as a permanent home based recruiting and drafting unit for the senior battalion. This system soon collapsed under the stress of war and in 1809 the 2nd/66th was ordered to active service in the Peninsular War under Wellington and gained the battle honours 'Douro', 'Talavera', 'Albuera', 'Vittoria', 'Pyrenees', 'Nivelle', 'Nive', 'Orthes' and 'Peninsula'. At Albuhera the 2nd/66th lost its Colours and was all but cut to pieces by the Polish cavalry, with only 52 men still standing when the unit was relieved.

Note there is a picture of the 66th's captured Colour here
Napoleon Series - Albuera Captured Flags

In 1816 the 2nd/66th sailed for St Helena to guard Napoleon, who had been despatched there following his defeat at Waterloo. It was joined the following year by the 1st/66th and on 24 July 1817 the two Battalions were amalgamated. In September that year the officers of the 66th were received by Napoleon. When he died in 1821 it was grenadiers of the 20th and 66th Regiments who bore his body to the grave."

Another useful source on the history of the 66th
National Army Museum

My battalion is composed of figures from the Xan range with a command base from AB. The Colours are from GMB Flags

Next up French Legere, of which there were quite a few battalions in Oporto with Marshall Soult.

48th Foot, Northamptonshire Regiment - The Heroes of Talavera

Corporal of the 48th
at the time of the
Salamanca Campaign

The 48th Foot is the penultimate battalion I needed to complete for my British army at Oporto and they will feature in the Talavera campaign where both, 1st and 2nd, battalions took part. The 48th became part of Wellington's veteran infantry component to whom he could rely on when the need was most.

The History of the 48th Regiment can be found on the National Army Museum site. To quote,

"In 1741, during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), James Cholmondeley raised a new regiment at Norwich. Three years later it was sent to Flanders, only to be rapidly recalled in 1745 to face the Second Jacobite Rebellion (1745-46) in Scotland, fighting at Falkirk and Culloden in 1746. In 1747 it was given the numeral 59, raised to 48 the following year..............

The regiment moved to Gibraltar in 1799, then to Minorca and Malta the following year. In 1803 the regiment formed a 2nd Battalion. The newly-named 1st Battalion was back in Gibraltar in 1805. Then in 1809 both regiments were sent to serve in the Peninsular War (1807-14), fighting at Talavera (1809), Albuera (1811), Badajoz (1812), Salamanca (1812), Vittoria (1813), Nivelle (1813) and Toulouse (1814).

1st Battalion remained in the Peninsula until 1814. However, 2nd Battalion had suffered so badly by 1811 that most of its survivors had to be absorbed by 1st Battalion, while a handful were sent back to Britain to re-recruit. 2nd Battalion was eventually disbanded in 1814."

Regimental Nickname
The Heroes of Talavera (Wellington stated that the 48th Foot saved the day at Talavera in 1809)

A more detailed account of the history of the two battalions of the regiment that served during the Peninsular War can be found on The Napoleon Series .

My battalion is primarily composed of figures from the Xan range, together with command and skirmish figures from AB. The colours are from GMB.

Next up is my final Oporto battalion for the British force, the 66th Foot (Berkshire Regiment).

53rd Foot (Shropshire Regiment)

53rd Foot

With the completion of the 53rd Foot (The Shropshire Regiment) I now have just two more British battalions to complete for Oporto, before moving on to the cavalry, Portuguese and French Infantry, about another seven units.
The History of the 53rd Foot's participation in the Peninsular War can be found here
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/WellingtonsRegiments/c_53rdFoot.html

A more general history and Regimental information can be found here
The Shropshire Regimental Museum

A beautiful miniature of a certain Captain Sherwood illustrates the red facings of the regiment
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/12068/lot/275/

To quote the Shropshire Regimental Museum

The "2nd Battalion of the 53rd served through the major stages of the Peninsular War in Portugal, Spain and France, including the battle of Talavera in 1809, the Salamanca campaign in 1812, the major victory at Vittoria in 1813 and the severe fighting in the passes of the Pyrenees.

Pursuing the French army into France itself, the 2-53rd was present in the last great action of the war at Toulouse in 1814.

At the end of the war in 1815, the 2-53rd was appointed to be Napoleon’s guard on St. Helena, a duty it carried out until its return home in 1817 and disbandment on the reduction of the army. Many of its men, however, volunteered for service in the 53rd and joined the regiment in India".

My battalion is composed primarily of Xan minatures, with an AB Command group. The colours are from GMB.

3rd (East Kent) Foot, The Buffs

You can't really run a scenario about the Crossing of the Douro without including the 3rd Foot in your collection of figures. This battalion played a key role in the battle being the lead battalion to cross the river and occupy the Bishop's Seminary ahead of the rest of the brigade following behind. As a buff faced battalion it is distinguished by buff, rather than white, belts and straps.

The following text on the history of this famous regiment is quoted from
http://www.kentfallen.com/PDF%20reports/BUFFS%20DATES.pdf

"The 3rd Regiment received its nickname of "The Buffs" because it had been issued 'buff coats'- armour made of soft leather - first when it served abroad in Holland and later when it was a Maritime Regiment of Foot. It was later given buff-coloured facings and waistcoats to distinguish itself from those of other regiments and had their leather equipment in buff rather than dyed the traditional white".

"The Buffs obtained the name of "The Buffs" officially in 1744 while on campaign in the Low Countries. The 3rd Regiment was then under the command of Lieutenant-General Thomas Howard. At the same time, the 19th Regiment of Foot were commanded by a colonel named The Honourable Sir Charles Howard. In order to avoid confusion (because regiments were then named after their colonels, which would have made them both Howard's Regiment of Foot), the regiments took the colours of their facings as part of their names - the 19th Foot became the Green Howards, while the 3rd Foot became Howard's Buffs, eventually being shortened to simply The Buffs".

The Battle Honours for the 1st Battalion in the Peninsular War form an illustrious list:
Douro (1809)
Talavera (1809)
Albuera (1811)
Vittoria (1813)
Pyrenees (1813)
Nivelle (1813)
Nive (1813)
Orthes (1814)
Toulouse (1814)
Peninsula (1808 - 1813)

My battalion is composed of figures from the Xan range except for the Colonel who is AB. The flags are from GMB.

1st Battalion King's German Legion

With the completion of the 1st Battalion K.G.L., I now have all the Line infantry units from this famous corps that featured in the campaigns of 1809 and throughout the remainder of the Peninsular War.

The battalion is composed of miniatures from the Xan range together with Command and skirmishers from the AB range. The flags are from GMB. See the links tabs for the various manufacturers sites.

For the sceptics out there who think I am photographing the same unit four times over (they are all blue faced/gold laced units), I have included a picture of the complete K.G.L. brigade. Once the Guards are done I will have all the necessary units to field the 1st Division. All four battalions will feature in my upcoming Oporto scenario.

The brigade as a whole is composed of figures from AB, Campaign Game Miniatures, Xan and Warmodelling illustrating the ease of mixing these ranges and the ability to add a greater range of poses and appearance to an army. For close ups and composition notes on the other units in the brigade just follow the link to British units where all my K.G.L. battalions and others are featured.