Line Zouaves

Having completed eleven battalions of the French Imperial Guard, I have moved on to some line zouaves. This is the first of three battalions, and it could be any one of the three regiments in service at the start of the war - the regimental distinctions were a coloured patch which is covered by the pack straps on these figures.

All three regiments were assigned to MacMahon's 1st Army Corps - one each in the 1st, 3rd and 4th Divisions - and all three were in the thick of the fighting at Froeschwiller, suffering frightful losses. The 1st Regiment, that fought the Bavarians in the woods on the French left, suffered the least taking 567 casualties from 2,100 engaged (27%). The 2nd Regiment, that fought in the centre suffered losses of 1,135 from 1,900 engaged (60%), but the 3rd Regiment that put up a desperate fight in the Niederwald on the French right that cost it a staggering 1,585 casualties from 2,000 present that morning (79%).

While their's is a relatively simple uniform they are quite fiddly figures to work on with many little different bits to paint. For those used to seeing zouaves in red pants, these are wearing their summer whites and getting good depth of gone into those bloomers is one of the things that makes these chaps fiddly.

Special care with the basing of these boys is required because their resin rifles and bayonets are very thin and easily broken - I broke two while assembling them (thankfully the breaks were clean and easily re-glued). To protect these fragile points I have used a deeper base (50mm deep instead of my usual 40mm) and positioned the figures so that those less likely to damage protect those more prone to it.

Next in the queue are some Bavarians.