French Aides de Camp

A flurry of activity at the French command post as orders come and go.

Slowly I have been adding a number of free standing ADC’s to my collection which you may have seen in earlier posts, beginning with the British, moving on to the Spanish and now tackling the French.

When I was painting up some of my original French command stands, I did a number with ADC’s present on the same stand in a variety of uniforms. But as our games advanced, we began to have need of ADC’s separate from the command stand that would carry orders and execute other functions common to the ADC.

If there was an official uniform for ADC’s, it appears to be the dolman and pelisse, shako or colpak, riding breeches and hussar style boots. But a little bit of research will show ADC’s in a myriad of different uniforms, often in uniforms that reflected the unit from which they were seconded or simply inventions of their commanding officer.

The Osprey illustration of Berthier's ADC, by Chris Warner

According to Osprey’s Napoleon’s Marshals, Berthier’s ADC’s in 1812 wore a traditional Kinski-style tunic, dark blue with light blue cuffs, collar and facings. My research turned up a number of other ADC’s with light blue facings so I decided to go with that colour scheme. I also gave each of my two figures the armband that was a miniature of the sash worn by the commander they served - in this case, a white and gold brassard indicating a Marshal. (French marshals would typically have about a half dozen ADC’s on their staff.)

But I wanted to do my pair of ADC’s in more traditional dress, with the bicorne common to French officers in the earlier years in Spain and the long-tailed officer’s jacket. A long while ago I had been looking at the Zvezda French Napoleonic HQ staff set on Plastic Soldier Review, and was taken by one figure of an ADC mounting his horse. This was the inspiration for one of my figures, with the second simply riding “hell-bent for leather”.

Zvezda figure mounting his horse.

Some of the references I found that inspired my ADC's uniform.

The Build

These two figures, the dismounting (mounting?) one especially, probably represent my most ambitious conversions to date. I began with a couple of HaT Grenadier Horse Guards, partially because I liked their dynamic poses, partly because I have no other use for them in the Peninsular Wars! Bearskins were lopped off and replaced with bicornes, swords removed and replaced with written orders for one and a riding crop for the other. With the dismounting figure, I sliced him up in pieces, twisted the torso, and changed the positions of both legs and arms.

The initial chop and glue, giving them bicornes, and repositioning the arms and legs and twisting the torso on the figure on the left. The one on the right loses his sword and gains a riding crop. 

A bit of work on the horse blankets, tassels, a plume is added to the bicorne and epaulettes to the coats.

The figure on the right needed his coattails reconstructed. I also gave him orders rolled into a scroll in his right hand.

Primed and ready to go!

Regimento de Toledo

Regimento de Toledo

I was inspired to return to painting my Spanish after purchasing a few sets of the HaT Peninsular War sample sets. These sets give one sprue each from their light infantry, grenadier, fusilier and command sets and allowed me to add grenadiers to a few of my units still lacking them. 

With the fusiliers I decided to add another line regiment to my Spanish army and settled on the Regimento de Toledo. I wasn’t able to find reference for the grenadiers bearskin banner so went with one of my own creation, following the pattern of others with the civic coat of arms at the top and the banner executed in the facing colour. I used my home made decal process to create these, which you can find here.

The civic crest for Toledo that I based my grenadiers' banners on.

1/52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Light Infantry

In finishing painting the 52nd Light Infantry I have finally completed my goal set over a year ago to put together Crauford’s Light Division. My build of the 1/52nd was based on the Italeri figures I have used elsewhere in my British army. Although actually designed as a Waterloo era set, half the figures, representing the 29th, wear stovepipe shakos. The other half, 1st Guards, required some work on the Belgic shakos to give them the proper shape. Only a few of the figures have wings, so I experimented with sculpting wings on those missing them and was quite happy with the result! 

My 1/52nd in skirmish formation.

Because the light infantry officers traditionally wore shakos even at this point in the war, I decided to alter the shape of the Italeri Belgic shakos rather than do a head swap. I also added wings to the shoulders of these and many of the figures, which turned out easier to do than I had expected! The sergeant figure in this set, only armed with a stick, is useful for conversions. In the first figure I gave him a rifle and the third a homemade flagstaff. The centre figure was the commander figure, demoted to lieutenant and also given a flagstaff with an alteration on the right arm to hold it.

These figures were also fitted out with homemade wings and altered shakos.

Command stand.

A better view showing the altered flag bearers.

Fusilier stand with altered sergeant with rifle.

A Bit of History

My finished Light Division on the field.

The 52nd was originally raised as a line regiment in 1755, seeing action in the American War of Independence and the Anglo-Mysore Wars before their engagement in the Peninsular Wars. They were converted to light infantry in 1803 when the 1st Corps of Light Infantry was formed.

What was to become the Light Division went through various incarnations and arrangements, but at its heart were the 1/95th and 3/95th Rifles, the 1/43rd (Monmouthshire) and 1/52nd (Oxfordshire). Also part of the division at various times were Ross’s and Chestnut’s Horse Artillery troops, the 1st KGL Hussars, parts of the 14th and 16th Light Dragoons, 1st and 3rd Caçadores battalions and 1/17th and 2/17th Portuguese Line.

My version is the Division as it appeared in 1810 at the time of the Combat of the Côa on the Portuguese frontier when the 1st and 3rd Portuguese Caçadores had also joined the ranks. 

1/43rd and 3rd Portuguese Caçadores on left, 1/52nd and 1st Portuguese Caçadores on right, with 95th skirmishing out front. I really need more Rifles but at the moment can't lay my hands on the Italeri kit I have used to date. Thinking about buying some of those yummy Hagen Rifles!

The British regiments of the division were first brigaded in 1803 as the 1st Corps of Light Infantry, not being designated as the Light Division until several years later. They served Moore with distinction in Spain, notably keeping their discipline intact, fighting a series of rearguard actions during the exhausting and horrific British retreat back to Corunna.

Crauford’s brigade returned to Portugal, landing in Lisbon July 2, 1809 and after a gruelling march joining Wellesley just as the battle of Talavera was concluded. The Light Division went on to serve with distinction throughout the entire Peninsular War. Crauford himself, after a sojourn in England as a result of illness, returned to take command of the Division only to perish at the walls of Ciudad Rodrigo during the British siege of that city.