| Bill McHarg | 31 May 2014 3:13 p.m. PST |
On page 12 of the Bolt Action Armies of France and the Allies, there is a plate from Men at Arms 315 showing a French infantryman in blue pants. The rest of the uniform is what I would expect for France 1940. I don't have the Men at Arms book. Is this an optional part of the uniform? (having one squad in blue pants would make them easier to sort.) |
| Zargon | 31 May 2014 3:50 p.m. PST |
Just painted a few up like this, the blue plus4s and puttees ( blue shirt under the overcoat as well) represent Chasseur a pied (light infantryman)
You could have a seperate unit of these if you want or even do the whole force liker that. |
| Bill McHarg | 31 May 2014 3:52 p.m. PST |
As light infantry are they equipped differently? |
| Zargon | 31 May 2014 5:15 p.m. PST |
By the look of the kit no, its more of a tradition thing. I'm sure they thought they were capable of being light infantry but the differences between them and normal infantry regiments had log gone, still their uniform maybe gave them a bit more elan, so you could perhaps give them a slightly better rating. |
| Porthos | 01 Jun 2014 12:49 p.m. PST |
Perhaps you mean a Chasseur Alpin ? Those are mountain troops. Here is a picture of the uniform:
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| ITALWARS | 01 Jun 2014 1:28 p.m. PST |
it could be a Chasseur à pieds..they had great "ésprit de Corps" and liked to distinguish. The uniform you described is also present on the quite reliable Funcken Book on "l'Uniforme et les armes des Soldats de la Guerre 1939-1945" and on the web:
link or Chasseurs Alpins /Infanterie Alpine
link |
| Bill McHarg | 02 Jun 2014 5:26 a.m. PST |
The plate described them as Chasseurs a pieds, not the Chasseurs Alpins. It had the standard coat in whatever that greenish brown the French used was called, but with blue pants.
I just hadn't run across that before. Would they be organized like line infantry units? |
| lou passejaire | 04 Jul 2014 7:57 a.m. PST |
it's a chasseurs à pied , and yes, chasseurs à pieds units were organized as line infantry units .
the only difference was in tradition . |
| Jemima Fawr | 04 Jul 2014 11:23 p.m. PST |
I'm always very impressed at the lengths of research that people will go to, to discover the colour of a soldier's pants. :) |
| French Wargame Holidays | 13 Jul 2014 2:00 a.m. PST |
Blue trousers and puttees were issued to second line, and fortress troops from left over ww1 stocks. |
opens up the all-plastic M5 Stuart kit recently released.
