The Last of the Cuirassiers

This is the fourth and final French cuirassier regiment for my Franco-Prussian armies.

These can be arranged in two historical configurations from 6 August 1870:

As Michel's Brigade (8th and 9th Regiments) that charged at Morsbronn, with two squadrons of the 6th Lancers attached (to the rear in the image).

And as Bonnemain's Division (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Regiments) that charged at Froeschwiller, an hour or so later and three kilometres to the north, formed here in double columns of squadrons with their commanders to the fore.

Then there are a few images looking down the line of massed cuirassiers.

The only other French cavalry needed are the two regiments of dragoons to complete the Second Corps cavalry division, but the Perrys haven't made them yet...although the Chasseures d'Afrique are tempting. 

First Battalion, 4th Regiment Duchy of Warsaw Infantry

This battalion starts the second of the two Duchy of Warsaw Infantry regiments that I am doing. This time I have opted to do the 4th Regiment in the traditional dark blue uniform rather than the white of the 13th Regiment.

The reason for the choice is simple. This regiment, along with the 17th, had drummers with the French style uniform and the Perry sprue provides both types and by using spare drums I have from other sets I can make use of them and build two full battalions (with two skirmish stands) from one box and one command frame, avoiding left overs...something that drives me to distraction! 

The second battalion is well under way and should be completed by the end of next week.

More Cuirassiers

I have no evidence that any of the French cuirassier squadrons in 1870 were mounted in specific horse colours, but this 1887 Morot painting La Bataille de Reichshoffen, 6 aôut 1870 shows what appears to be two, maybe three, squadrons mounted predominantly on greys charging at Froeschwiller. 

So for this, the third cuirassier regiment in my French FPW army, I have done with nine greys and three bays.

The fourth and final French cuirassier regiment has passed through the uniform store and is forming up ready to enter the parade ground.

Back Down South Again

This weekend we celebrated a significant birthday for her indoors. I offered a party as a celebration, but she objected saying that..."it's an unnecessary expense..." So instead we headed south for an epicurean extended weekend in Queenstown.

For those that have never flown into Queenstown, it is a difficult approach, descending through a number narrow valleys in the Southern Alps on a computer guided path that passes as close as 0.3 Nautical Miles (1800 feet) to terrain that rises as high as 6000 feet above the airfield.

Anyone familiar with aviation will appreciate the difficulty from this approach plate... 

But the view was spectacular on this fabulously sunny morning (but chilly at -1C). 

On arrival we picked up our rental car and drove directly to Wanaka, where we had a generous lunch before driving back to Queenstown, our home for the next three nights. 

A view of the steamer wharf in the late in the day

A pleasant Thai dinner and a bottle of Otago Pinot Noir rounded out the day.

At latitude of 45°2'1" South sunrise on Sunday was at 0754 and it was a cool -2 degrees C. Again it was a gorgeously sunny day and that weather promised to continue for the rest of our visit. We started the day with a walk around the promontory on which the Queenstown Gardens stand, followed by coffee and cake in a spot in "Restaurant Row".

A bit of retail therapy was followed by a drive to Arrowtown where a walk along the banks of the Arrow River was taken in considerably cooler temperatures, with a heavy frost.

"I'm sure that looks like gold,” she said. But alas it was not!

A delicious lunch in a warm restaurant kept the cold at bay.  A return to Queenstown and aVietnamese dinner finished the special day.

Monday had a slightly cooler start and light breeze dropped the perceived temperature to -6C. A little bit of low cloud shrouded the lake. We decided to drive over to Wanaka again intending to have lunch at another of our haunts. To avoid any possible frost on the Crown Range Road we took the longer route through the gorge so we didn't arrive until just before 11:00. Low cloud kept the temperature low and made it seem a little gloomy, but coffee and cake soon warmed us up and we went for a walk along the lake front.

We changed our minds about lunching in Wanaka and headed instead for the Cardrona Hotel where we had a couple of excellent burgers and spent a couple of hours before returning to Queenstown.

By the time we made it back to Queenstown the clouds were gone, the skies were clear and the sun was illuminating the Remarkables to the southeast.

A few "Happy Hour" drinks and a Thai dinner closed out the day and a fabulous break.

Our departure tomorrow is early and we expect to be turning the key in the door at home by 10:00.

French Generals

Well I have finished the mounted generals for the French FPW army. In addition to the three infantry brigadiers completed a couple of weeks ago I have added:

• The corps command group of three mounted and two dismounted figures

• A divisional command group

• Three more brigadiers

Finally, for a bit of fun, I took this image of all the staff figures painted in the last few weeks...

...and asked Google Gemini to "...Extract the figures from the image then render them into a painting in the style of Édouard Detaille..."

It did a pretty good job, but the flag is too big - HQ fanions were only about 400mm square - and there are three system generated characters lurking in the background in odd looking uniforms.

More Duchy of Warsaw Infantry

The week sees the completion of the 2nd battalion, 13th Regiment, Duchy of Warsaw Infantry.

This, along with the two skirmisher stands, sees the completion of the regiment.

And the two battalions...

Franco-Prussian French Cuirassier Regiment Number Two

After the detour to Poland and the McPherson farm I have returned to the French cuirassiers from 1870.

This completes a brigade, displayed here in all its glory with its new brigadier.

The great thing about these cuirassiers us that they all have the standard uniform - only the regimental number on buttons, etc, differentiate them, so the stands can be mixed and matched.

Next it back to Poland.