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

Well, after a fairly dry period the first storm of the year, former tropical cyclone Tam, swept in on Thursday night bringing gale force winds and heavy rain to northern New Zealand. A few trees in our neighbourhood were knocked about a bit, and there was some damage and surface flooding elsewhere in the city, but thankfully it was not widespread. There was a big thunderstorm on Friday night with spectacular lightening from about 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM.

Of course it has played havoc with Easter holiday plans - not that they affected us as we had our break last weekend with three days in Melbourne where it was sunny and 30 degrees C. However, the inclement weather has provided an excuse to work on hobbies.

Here is the Second Battalion, 5th Bavarian Infantry Regiment.

There is another battalion glued up and on the painting table, but before I start them I have a number of Prussian and French commanders to work on.

 

Bavarian Jäger Battalion Number 5

This, the second unit in my Bavarian division, is the 5th Jäger Battalion.

The basic uniform is the same as the line troops but with green distinctions - collar, cuffs, trouser stripes and wulst (shoulder wings).

The Bavarian infantry went to war in 1870 with three distinct differences. First was the most obvious one - the uniform and that Raupenhelm helmet. Second was the brigade organisation - the inclusion of a jäger battalion in each brigade. Third was armament - they were armed on the whole with the Podewils rifle. Originally issued in 1858 as a rifled musket, it was converted to a breech loading weapon in 1867, but unlike the Needle gun and the Chassepôt which both had the percussion cap included inside the cartridge (that was ignited when penetrated by a needle), the Podewils had to be capped for each shot. The result was that the technical specifications differed little from muzzle loading weapon both in range and rate of fire. The Podewils was generally considered the worst of the small arms in service in 1870.

All that said, the Podewils was only intended as a stopgap solution because the Bavarians had already developed the M1869 Werder breech loading rifle that fired an 11mm rim fired metallic cartridge. This was a true competitor to the Chassepôt in range, rate of fire and accuracy, although the Chassepôt still seemed to hold the edge in hitting power. However, budgetary constraints meant that the Werder had been issued to only four jäger battalions, the 2nd, 5th, 9th and 10th, in 1870. Had it been issued in greater numbers this Blitzgewehr, or lightening rifle, it could have made the Bavarians a much more potent force in the opening battles of the war.

Jägers, of course, did not carry standards, but they did carry fanions. While it is not certain if they carried the fanions in the field, I decided to include one and used a spare arm and fanion from the French infantry set.

Some Civil War Action

On Sunday we played an ACW game. The basic scenario was that a force of three Union infantry (each of two brigades, each of 5 regiments, and a field battery) was holding a position on a broad ridge. A small redoubt stood in the centre with a 24 pounder battery supported by two field batteries. Two of the divisions were deployed on the table with one in the centre around the redoubt and one extending to the left. The third division was held in reserve off table. In all they had 30 regiments and 8 batteries.

The Confederates were to capture and hold the redoubt and to achieve this had three infantry divisions each of 12 regiments and two batteries. They could also call on another two brigades each of five regiments at any time, but those would come with limitations. They chose to bring the reinforcements on at the start and discovered that both brigades were raw troops. In all they had 46 regiments and six batteries.

That big gun...from several angles...

The Union line

The Rebels massed in the centre

But those fences have the potential to disrupt those nice neat lines

In they surged...

The first attack is pushed back, but an attempt by the Union regiment to drive 

One of the Union reinforcing brigades arrived

And was quickly engaged

In the centre the Rebs surge in again...

...but are beaten back again.

Left of the centre both sides were wary of each other.

In the end the Union line held. The Confederate attack could not disentangle themselves from the fences of the farm and bring their strength to bear on the weaker section Union line. 

Now for a bunch of random images from my good friend John.