First Battalion, 5th Bavarian (Grand Duke of Hesse) Infantry Regiment

This post presents the first of the Bavarian battalions for the Franco-Prussian War armies and I have chosen to paint the 1st Battalion, 5th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (I/5th Bavarian) first.

Two battalions of 5th Regiment formed a part of von Thiereck's 7th Infantry Brigade, along with the 9th Regiment and the 6th Jäger Battalion. The third battalion of the 5th was removed and placed in the Maillinger's 8th Infantry Brigade.

I wanted to do the 5th Regiment first because it was the first Bavarian line regiment to see action in the war. At Wissembourg on 4 August 1870 the Third Battalion launched the first attempt to storm the Landau Gate as shown in the two images below and provides the inspiration for Peter Denis' box artwork for the Perry Miniatures plastics set. As a keen student of this battle I feel obliged to point out an error in the painting though. While the 1st Regiment of Tirailleurs Algériens were involved in the defence of the gate, there were not actually inside the fortress as shown in the first illustration, but were posted near the railway station some 500 meters south of the gate. The actual defence of the town was conducted by the First Battalion, 74th Regiment and the Landau Gate was defended by the 6th Company.

The 5th Regiment fought at Wörth two days later, at Sedan, then later in the various actions in the Siege of Paris.

So here is my First Battalion, 5th Bavarian Infantry Regiment...

I have decided to take a different approach with the Bavarians than with the Prussians. With my Prussian battalions the way the figures were designed meant that the option was to have them at the trail or shouldered arms or firing line. I didn't like shouldered arms pose, so first and second battalions were all at the trail, the third in the firing line. I took a different tack with the French where the options were at port arms, right shoulder shift or firing line and I took the option that the first and second battalions had port arms figures at the front and marching to the rear, with the third battalion in the firing line poses. I have decided to repeat the French method for the Bavarians with the first and second battalions with port arms in the front and at the trail to the rear. All third battalions and jäger battalions will be in firing line poses.

Also it seems that the Bavarians incorporated a platoon of schutzen in each company. I have represented this by adding two schutzen figures (identified by the green plume on the left of the helmet) on each stand. Because there are less schutzen heads in the sets that I need, I have had to add a few plumes with a bit of GreenStuff.

This battalion (as did I/13th) carried a standard that differed from the other battalions.

I have been in two minds about using any of the figures in Feldmutze (fatigue cap). While a number of contemporary photographs show troops wearing the Feldmutze, those images are always in camp situations.  I recall reading that Prussians wore the Pickelhaube in action by regulation and that the Feldmutze was for camp and other undress service. Every contemporary illustration of the Bavarians in action shows them wearing the Raupenhelm which leads me to think that they followed the Prussian practice. I may yet slip a few Feldmutze into later units, but I do rather like the Raupenhelm.

I was similarly conflicted about the infantry uniform colour. The official colour is cornflower blue and most illustrations, including Osprey, depict the colour as a bright, light blue. Certainly this has always been my understanding of the colour - my War of Spanish Succession and Napoleonic armies are thus painted. But it seems that the cornflower blue colour palette has a range of hues from very pale to fairly dark. 

My photographs from the Musée de l'Armée show the coat color about the middle of the range above (but the museum lighting may be distorting this). The painting at the top of this post, the Perry painting guides and the guides on the Bavaria Miniatures site shows it at the darker end of the scale while the image below of an officer's coat taken from a book published by the Bavarian Army Museum (most likely under proper studio lighting) shows it somewhat right of centre. 

My tone is in this right of centre range, using Citadel Kantor blue, drybrushed with two lighter blues highlights (just adding a splash or two of white in the Kantor Blue). 

My reduced number of posts of late is the result of a few chores that need to be done before the really wet weather arrives. The most significant task has seen this pile of wet timber...

...used to change this old, dilapidated fence...

...into this.

The job is about two thirds done and will hopefully be finished in the next few days. Right now I am being reminded by several muscles that I had forgotten about that they still exist, so it is back to the painting desk for the rest of the day