KGL 2nd Regiment of Hussars

 

My very first British cavalry regiment that I painted when I began my British army a number of years ago was the 1st Regiment of Hussars, King's German Legion. These, of course, weren’t British at all, but I have always wanted to do the 2nd KGL Hussars, and finally got around to it recently.

Unlike the 1st, where I used the Italeri British Light Dragoons (originally Esci, and actually a reissue of the Crimean War  Hussars) for the 2nd I decided to convert the Italeri French Hussars. The hussar uniform was fairly consistent across nationalities, but the French bearskin really had the wrong profile for the KGL’s, which was much taller. In addition, the 2nd KGL bearskin seems to have differed from the 1st in that it had a visor attached (although there is some debate as to whether it was a fur cap or shako).

So off with their heads and then a swap with some French grenadier bearskins (from HaT light infantry Carabineirs) which I built up a bit and added red sacks to. Finally I added some visors to each and they were ready to go!

A bit of history

Following Napoleon’s occupation of Hanover (a British electorate) many of the officers and soldiers fled to Britain. There they were formed into the King’s German Legion in 1805 which eventually grew to be 14,000 strong and included both infantry and cavalry.

The KGL cavalry were considered some of the best in the British army and the 1st and 2nd Hussars fought with Wellesley’s forces throughout much of the Peninsular War. The KGL was disbanded in 1816 as the re-established Electorate of Hanover had raised its own army in the meantime. Many of the officers and soldiers of the KGL were then incorporated into that force.

The 2nd Hussars were one of three Hussar regiments raised by the KGL. Like the light cavalry, they were responsible for all reconnaissance and outpost duties, duties they performed with such distinction in comparison with their British counterparts that they were almost exclusively given that role.

https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/Britain/Cavalry/WellingtonsCavalry/c_1stKGLLightDragoons.html

http://www.kgl.de/KingsGermanLegion/legion/kavallerie/kavalleriehomeGB.htm

https://thisreilluminatedschoolofmars.wordpress.com/the-dress-of-the-kings-german-legion-1-some-primary-sources/7-2nd-hussars-1808-16/

And some more photos:

My conversions for these French Dragoons consisted of head swaps with some HaT carabineirs, after which I built up the bearskin to the proper profile and added the red bag.