Incomparable, Napoleon's 9th Light Infantry Regiment - T.E. Crowdy

I have just finished reading Incomparable, Napoleon's 9th Light Infantry Regiment by T.E. Crowdy and, as usual, thought I would share my thoughts.

I have to say, I was a bit confused at first as I was expecting the traditional regimental history, leading the reader through an historical trail of events that the regiment was involved in with the usual highlights and anecdotes of participants from the regiment who witnessed them. 

To a certain extent that is what this book is, but done very much in a first person presentation, in that many of  the events are described as they happened, often in letters home to family or friends and carry all the immediacy and emotion to the events witnessed by the various writers, of which there are many. We are introduced to several characters throughout the book from senior officers to junior chasseurs, as the text moves through the history of Napoleonic France and the various campaigns that the 9th Legere were involved in.

The book has more than a decade and a half of research behind it and builds on the work of two French military historians of the regiment, Captain L Dubois who wrote a short history of the regiment in 1839 and Captain Leon Loy, to whom the book is dedicated and who produced a detailed summary of the regiment's campaigns.

The story of the Ninth starts in the Autumn of 1799 in the five floor barrack building, known as the Babylone Casern in the Rue de Babylone close to the Hotel des Invalides. The reader is given a picture of life in barracks at that time, sprinkled with names of some of the characters that will come to populate the story of the regiment. Meanwhile the man who would command the events that come to dominate the story steps of a boat from Egypt on the 9th of October and boards a carriage to Paris.

From this Prologue the book launches into the events surrounding the years of the War of the First Coalition 1792 -97 and we are given a description of the dress of the chasseurs and the regiment's elite carabiniers, and how the desperate lack of money in France at that time was reflected in the empty coffers of the regiment, that was still expected to clothe and train the new recruits. This process, ideally, required four months of arms drill, platoon manoeuvres as well as physically hardening the new recruits with route marches which became progressively longer.

The lack of everything, time, money, food and in the end recruits becomes a recurring theme as the book progresses.

The Battle of Marengo is where we learn how "the Ninth" as it was commonly known received it's epithet "incomparable", in a battle that Napoleon was losing. General Desaix leading his division away from the battle turned it around and, unlike another French general fifteen years later, decided to march to the sound of the guns. On both occasions the 9th Legere were part of the detached force and its performance on the former occasion, holding back the Austrian centre and counterattacking at the point of the bayonet allowed Napoleon enough time to rally his army and reinforce the attack turning the tide of the battle, but seeing the death of the hero of the hour, Desaix, at his moment of victory.

General Louis Desaix, the man who would be irrevocably linked to the 9th Legere at Marengo and who did the right thing, saving Napoleon's reputation, but dying before he could deflect any of the glory.

Napoleon, always with an eye on controlling the story and building the myth, wrote a eulogy for Desaix and his role, writing the words he imagined the dead general would have said had it not been the case that Desaix died immediately as a musket ball hit him square in the chest and exited through his right shoulder blade, there were no words.

According to Napoleon, he exclaimed as he fell "Go tell the First Consul I die with the regret of not having done enough to live in posterity", he then added "The 9th Light have earned the title Incomparable."

The 9th Legere, carabiniers on the right of the line, turn the Battle of Marengo, General Desaix falls mortally wounded

The men of the 9th Legere certainly paid the price for their epithet, losing nearly a third of their number with 400 killed or seriously wounded, including 18 officers.

After Marengo and Napoleon's rise, the book follows the history and the campaigns that the Ninth participated in, which covers Napoleon's rise to power, life in the Boulogne Camp, the Austerlitz, Jena and Friedland campaigns of 1805, 1806 and 1807. These days of the glory years for Napoleon and his growing empire are described by the various memoirs and letters as days of victory and glory, interspersed with the moments of terror and grief at loss of friends, but with the warm hearth of home awaiting the veterans at the conclusion of another victorious campaign. I found it interesting that not all the officers in the Ninth were keen on Napoleon becoming Emperor and those who voted against the idea found their careers blighted, only rising through the ranks because of necessity and their obvious merits.

The text touched on the reality of the war for those left at home and in the days where recruits generally came from the same area and when news of loved ones away relied on the letters home from them and their friends in the regiment, the dread of potential bad news was very real. I found it particularly moving to read a letter quoted, written by Marie Valance on the 11th May 1805, to the Director of the Military Hospital at Amiens, enquiring about news of her twenty year old son Dominique Aubert, conscripted from the commune of Corcieux and serving in the fifth company, first battalion 9th Legere,

"who since 17th January has not sent any news. He mentioned to me that for four months he was sick at the hospital of Amiens. Since then his companions have written they have not seen him anymore. One of them mentioned he had died and it must have been in Amiens."

Aubert had died on the 27th February 1805 and she received the confirmation on the 24th May, comparatively quickly for those times, but as the text points out, more delay would have been expected if the enquiry was to hospitals in Germany, East Prussia and Spain.

Officer of Carabiniers, 9th Legere, Otto Manuscript 1807

With the War in Spain in 1808, the glory years were over and years of short campaigns to. In the writings of veterans from the marches into Poland, you get descriptions of Napoleon's principle of making war pay for itself, and there are several accounts of villages and farms being ransacked by the French troops in search for food, kindling and bedding material. The reporter remarks about the poor Polish farmer left without any means to sustain his family once the troops had left, and these people were allied to the French and seeking liberation.When this rapacious approach to warfare was carried into Spain, the French found themselves fighting a new kind of warfare very much more akin to the total war of more modern times.

Crowdy quotes an officer of the 24th Line,in the same brigade with the 9th Legere in Spain, Jules Marnier;

"This southern war was a war of extermination. But if one had to blame the inhabitants of that unfortunate country for having become carried away by some bloody cruelties, it is fair to say these cruelties gave rise to wild reprisals. If a dog of a Frenchman, as these fanatics designated us, counted for little in their eyes, a damned Spaniard counted for very little at the end of a French bayonet. We killed them without reason, at random, in passing".

Carabinier and Fusilier Chasseur of the 9th Legere - Otto Manuscript 1807

With the newly raised fourth battalion sent to the Danube in the war with Austria in 1809, the veteran first and second battalions together with the third were committed to Spain, with action against the British at Talavera, Barossa, the siege of Cadiz and the third battalion participating in the fall of Badajoz in 1812 where it was captured as a whole. The dejection and demoralisation really comes through from the veterans in Spain as there appears no end to the war and they feel forgotten by an Emperor who is more and more distant with each passing year. As the tide turns, the first officers and men start to desert the regiment and a yearning for an end to war becomes more apparent in their writing.

Involved in the project to model Talavera, I found it was very interesting to see the battle from the other side of the lines. Having seen the quote before I was interested that it came from an officer in the 9th Legere when reporting hearing the British fire at Casa de Salinas. Lieutenant Felix Girod of the 2nd company, 2nd battalion is quoted,

"It was the first time the noise of an English fusillade had reached our ears and I may say it was of a nature which made a certain impression on us. Indeed, never had we heard a rolling fire as well fed as that."

On the night attack on the Cerro de Medellin, Girod describes how they quickly swept aside Low's KGL brigade in a rush or bayonets and whilst surging up the hill he noticed a carabinier brake ranks and walk back down the hill between the two columns, repeating "How is it possible men who have never met before can do such harm...!".  No one stopped the man to pull him back into the ranks.

He goes on to say that once on the summit, battalion commander Regeau, who had taken command of the regiment when Colonel Meunier had fallen shot and wounded after the fight with the KGL, became impatient for the rest of the division to arrive. Fearing being surrounded, he ordered the Ninth to about face and descend the hill, in as he describes some disorder, with the officers following trying to slow the descent by repeated shouts of Halt! Halt!

Girod reported that he only had 50 men left in his company following the abortive attack and was forced to space them out at 25 pace intervals as he commanded the battalion's sentinels along the Portina stream.

As the book enters the latter part of the war covering 1813/14 and the 100 days in 1815, the story seems to be an anti climax as after defeat and retreat you read about soldiers returning home following Napoleon's abdication and looking forward to peace, but with others still determined to rise again. The ultimate anticlimax is the chapter covering the 100 days as with the defeat of the Prussians at Ligny the Ninth join Marshal Grouchy on his lethargic wild goose chase to Wavre only to suffer the frustration of hearing the artillery bombardment from afar but being unable to intervene this final time.

I very much enjoyed the mix of historical references, French and others, combined with the memoirs of the officers and men of the Ninth and I found the text rolled along in an interesting way, with little snippets of detail revealing the day to day lives of these men. I have just grabbed examples of some of the quotes in the book, but the coverage of the fighting in Northern Italy and the Eylau/ Friedland campaigns provided plenty of material for scenarios and campaign factors that could be fun to model. The near loss of one of the Ninth's Eagles is covered and one gets a real sense of the commitment the men had to their Emperor and his aims and the need to live up to the epithet he gave them.

General Ruffin - a jolly good chap

This book covers all this but, for me, just as importantly gives you an insight into the men that fought, led and died in the service of their Emperor; and when I am putting my toy soldiers out on the table and observing the model of General Ruffin leading his division across the Portina Stream, I can now picture the man who led a brigade at Friedland and is described as tall, dashing, and handsome, popular among his subordinates and celebrated as one of the best dinner companions in the army and certainly enjoyed his drink - now there would have been a chap to have had a chat with!

All in all a jolly good read.

P.S. If like me you are interested in combining the history of the Peninsular War with the cuisine of the countries involved check out Sara Seydak's recipe for authentic Portuguese Piri Piri sauces, ideal for getting the chicken on the barbecue this summer. Whilst touring around Torres Vedras, Vimeiro and Rolica a few years ago, we fell in love with Portuguese style Piri Piri Chicken. Sara has an interesting blog that looks at the history of this period from a Portuguese stand point and looks at the social history as well as the military, plus she has a great title for the name of her blog.

http://myneighborwellington.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/piri-piri.html

Next up, 1/4th Regiment Duchy of Warsaw Infantry, Talavera Night Attack Game Two.

A Special Old Lady visits the Devon Wargames Group

I get my picture taken with Flossie, what a gal!

The second Saturday of each month is club day at the Devon Wargames Group.

I spent the afternoon enjoying an American Civil War Game with Steve H playing with his 28mm ACW collection and using Fire & Fury Regimental rule set; yes you read that correctly, I was playing ACW or as Steve describes the period "Napoleonics on steroids"

You can see how the game went on the report posted on the DWG blog

Devon Wargames Group blogspot - Battle of Shepherdstown

In addition to all the wargames fun, Mr Ian T, fellow DWG member and good friend, brought his new lady friend to club. Ian struck up relationship with this lady in the middle of last year and kept threatening to bring her to meet everyone in the club, explaining that her name was Flossie, her birthday was in 1943, but being a lady we couldn't be more precise than that and that she only came out on nice days when she was feeling well.

Can we get one Dad?

After a time with all the promises that Flossie would be coming next month and due to various excuses she never appeared, Flossie began to attain the status reserved for Mermaids and Unicorns, something you wanted to believe in but were afraid to let your friends know that you did.

Dad can we? I really want one.

Well yesterday myth turned into reality and Ian proudly introduced the new girl in his life. Temperamental, demanding lots of love and respect, just like any woman, Flossie is an original 1943 British Army issue Jeep all decked out in 51st Highland Division (The heroes of Operation Epsom - 1944, to name but one of their battle honours) colours.

This vehicle is a classic illustration of the motor vehicle pared down to the very basics, complete with a fuel tank right under the drivers seat canvass cushion. Going for a spin in Exeter yesterday morning and hearing the engine roaring along in its top third gear and seeing the effort to move the steering wheel at slow speed was a delight.

Back in 1944 vehicles like Flossie would have been a common site in the streets of Exeter, hardly worth a glance, but yesterday her novelty drew admiring looks and a recognition of military history in motion, or perhaps it was Vince in the back that was causing a stir.

That is the look of falling in love with your first girl friend

Ian is working on researching more information about Flossie, and she might end up sporting the colours of our local team  2nd Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment, "The Devons" who landed with the 50th Division on Gold Beach, D Day.

I'm not sure what that look is, but I know Vince was having fun.

Thanks to Ian for bringing Flossie to the club, the drive in the morning will be a memory to treasure.

Next up Book Review, "Incomparable, Napoleon's 9th Light Infantry Regiment"

Spanish Artillery and Supernumaries

Spanish Artillery at Bailen - Dionisio Alvarez Cueto

Progress with the Talavera project continues with the completion of the first part of the Spanish forces involved in the fighting, with the addition of Spanish artillery and supernumeraries. 

The Spanish forces were generally well served by their artillery. Like the rest of the Spanish forces, the artillery also suffered from the years of neglect, but most authorities would agree that of the the three arms of infantry cavalry and artillery, the artillery consistently out performed the other two.

The gunners were known to fight their guns, often to the last man given their poor mobility due to a lack of suitable draught horses. Many batteries ended up as position units relying on mules and bullocks to relocate them.

The Army of Estremadura had the following guns available to it;

one battery of six 12lbr guns, one battery of eight 8lbr guns, two batteries of six 8lbr guns and one battery of four 4lbr horse guns.*

The 12lbr guns were pivotal in bringing their heavy fire power to bear at the Pajar Vergara redoubt with four of their guns emplaced their along with Lawson's six 3lbr Royal Foot Artillery battery. It was these guns that stalled the attack of the German Division as the Baden regiment came face to face with the two batteries, losing about 300 of their number including Colonel von Porbeck and causing the Badeners to break back to the cover of the olive groves and causing their neighbours to halt in disorder.

Muleteers as pictures in Hamburg by the Suhr brothers

Later in the afternoon, half of the battery was redeployed to support British troops on the Cerro de Medellin, providing a long range threat to General Ruffin's troops who were gathering in attack columns at the head of the northern valley. It must have proved uncomfortable for the French troops forced to form square by the threat of allied cavalry to sit under the muzzles of these guns.

I have built more 12lbrs than I need as my batteries are now modelled on two guns rather than the three to four models suggested with Napoleon at War rules. So not all of these models will be on the table for this project, but still make a handy addition to the collection for future games.

Artillery Train - 1813

My models are using the range from Warmodelling. The gunners are still in their 1808 regulation dress all be it, "campaigned up". The limber team is rather fanciful as it is based on the 1813 uniform seen above, very unlikely to have been seen at Talavera. In time I will be looking to get some 18mm Oxen to hitch up to a limber to better represent the look of the battery as a whole. Until then, the 1813 team will substitute, and they will come in handy when we get to Castalla.

In addition to the Spanish guns I have put together some new gambion embrasures from "Last Man Last Bullet" which will be my redoubt on the Pajar. These gambion sections are perfect for my models as they are produced in 45mm sections that fit my gun base frontages precisely. I gave them an underpinning of mdf and magnetic tape that raises them to the same height and allows a bit of ground texturing. 

With a few barrels and boxes stacked nearby, this should form a nice centre piece on the British right flank.

The last bit of work done this week was to get some Spanish supernumeraries done. With Carnage & Glory, the damage inflicted on units will cause some of them to become subject to compulsory movement (halt disordered, retire, rout etc) that causes them to be unavailable to the player in the next turn. 

I always try to keep markers to a minimum on my table, limiting it to charge markers, little coloured counters to show the range of a charge move, if the defender breaks to reveal other potential targets, and little flag markers that when turned over reveal charge orders at the start of a turn.

For compulsory move restrictions I like to place a casualty marker next to the unit or commander so players know which are affected next turn. So now my Spanish forces have appropriate markers.

As you will have seen, not many of the Spanish units are modelled with skirmish elements, given their tactical doctrine. However these bases come in handy to represent small forces, garrisons etc and so I have done a few bases for when the need is required. All the models are from Warmodelling.

Sources used in this post include;

Alfons Canovas' blog showing some great pictures of examples of Spanish artillery uniforms throughout the war.

http://miniaturasmilitaresalfonscanovas.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/uniformes-de-la-artilleria-espanola-n-3.html

Talavera - Richard Partridge & Mike Oliver*
Talavera, Wellington's First Victory in Spain - Andrew W. Field

Hound Tor, Medieval Village and Jay's Grave - Dartmoor National Park

View from the top of Hound Tor, with the remains of the medieval village in the valley

The Dartmoor National Park is about forty minutes drive from home and every now and then we like to get out into this fantastic natural wilderness and ancient landscape. So donning walking boots, rucksack we, like many Easter visitors, headed up to Hound Tor for a bracing walk between the towering rocks and a wander round the remains of a medieval village, thought to have been abandoned in the 15th century.

Where we were in the park, Hound Tor, Widecombe and Princetown

Jackdaws were calling and on the lookout for any food dropped by walkers

I have always been a bit of a bird enthusiast and the quiet whisper of the breeze was interspersed with the calls from Buzzards, Sky Larks and Jackdaws.

Hay Tor on the horizon

The view looking towards the south coast

Dartmoor is a great place to come and get centred. The stunningly beautiful Devon countryside, fresh air and wide open space is positively uplifting and I never tire of its splendour.

A buzzard on the wing left above the rocks on the lookout for rabbits

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hound-tor-deserted-medieval-village/

The 13th century village was excavated in 1960 and is thought to have been a settlement dating back to the bronze age.

This looks like the floor plan for a typical Devon Longhouse, home to a family and their animals

The mosses and lichen on Dartmoor are beautiful and delicate

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would easily have found inspiration walking round here

The walk back from the village up to Hound Tor

A victim of the "Beast of Dartmoor perhaps?

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/houndtor_beast.htm

After grabbing a hot mug of tea at the trailer in the car park we headed off to Princetown and a view of Dartmoor Prison, which has a long history of housing some of Britain's most dangerous criminals, and serving as a holding centre for prisoners of war during the Napoleonic period, with French and American prisoners being held with little hope of escape across the open moor.

French Prisoners of war being transported across the moors on the 24th May 1809 - E.P Coles

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/french-prisoners-of-war-being-transported-across-the-moors94900

On route we paid our respects to Jay's grave, the grave site of Kitty Jay, who after a tragic life (It's the rich what gets the pleasure, it's the poor what gets the blame, as the old music hall song goes) committed suicide and thus not being able to be buried in hallowed ground lies in a simple grave beside the road. Flowers are said to be laid daily on the grave, by person or persons unknown.

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/kitty_Jay.htm

Flowers and stones in the shape of a heart bedeck Jay's Grave

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/hound_tor.htm

We finished our day with dinner at the Old Inn at Widecombe on the Moor and after all that fresh air I slept like a log.