"Chef de Battalion, Regt Colonel, Bde General, & Staff" Topic

Using information gleaned from TMP and various Internet sites, here are the guidelines I plan to follow when basing and painting figures to represent Chef de Battalion, Regimental Colonels, Brigade & Division Generals, and their ADCs/staff. As always, I'm interested in any feedback regarding accuracy before starting to paint. Thanks in advance!

FYI -- I am using AB figures based for General de Brigade rules. The period is pre-1808, so 9-company battalions with 4 figures per base, except the command stand, which has 3 figures (1 mounted officer, 1 eagle bearer, and 1 drummer).

Chef de Battalion (CdeB): The Chef de Battalion is represented by one mounted figure on the battalion's command stand, which typically also includes an eagle bearer and a drummer, both on foot. The command stand is a 1-inch square, same as the other company stands in the battalion. A Chef de Battalion has gold epaulettes with fringes on the left shoulder only and a bicorne with red plume.

Note: AB-F17 can be used for the Chef de Battalion by removing the fringes from the right epaulette. AB-F59 can also be used, but the fringes on the right epaulette are more difficult to remove.

Note: For all higher levels of command, the base is circular. The number of mounted figures and the base size will tell at a glance if the base represents a regimental colonel, brigade general, division general, or corps general.

Regimental Colonel: A regimental colonel is represented by one mounted officer on a 1-inch circular base. The regimental colonel can be used in GdeB rules as a "poor brigadier" in rare situations. A regimental colonel has gold epaulettes with fringes on both shoulders and a bicorne with white plume.

Note: AB-F17 and AB-F59 can be used for the Regimental Colonel by leaving the fringes on both epaulettes.

Brigade Generals (GdeB): A brigade general is represented by two mounted officers on a 1˝-inch circular base. One figure is the brigade general, the other figure is the ADC. The brigade general has a sky blue and gold waist sash. The collar and cuffs have one row of golden leaves. The shabraque is red with gold trim. The ADC to a GdeB has sky blue collar and cuffs (not sure about the armband).

Division Generals (GdeD): A division general will have three mounted officers on a 2-inch circular base. One figure is the division general, the other two figures are ADCs or lower-ranking staff officers. The division general has a red and gold waist sash. The collar and cuffs have two rows of golden leaves. The shabraque is red with gold trim. The bicorne is trimmed in gold with black plume. The ADCs to a GdeD have sky blue collars and cuffs and a red armband edged with gold stripes.

Corps Generals (GdeC): The base for a corps general will have four mounted officers on a 3-inch circular base. One figure is the corps general, the other three figures are ADCs or lower-ranking staff officers. The shabraque is red with gold trim. The bicorne is trimmed with white feathers. The ADCs to a corps general have sky blue collars and cuffs (not sure about armbands).

Marshals & Napoleon: Bases for Marshals and Napoleon will be on large oval bases (92mmx120mm from Litko, approximately 35/8x43/4-inches inches or similar). Marshals have a red and gold waist sash. The shabraque is red with gold trim. The bicorne is trimmed with white feathers and white plumes. The ADC to a Marshal has a white armband edged with gold stripes.

References:

General de Brigade, link (accessed 12/15/14).
Timmo Sep 2 08 8:41 PM
"I'm getting round the the next phase of painting and wondered what rank of officer would typically command a brigade or a division and which AB figures you use to represent these. For example should I use a general figure for brigade commander or perhaps a lesser rank? Would it therefore follow the 'army' commander figure would best be represented by a Marshall casting? Sorry I know this stuff is probably quite basic."

baxterj Sep 3 08 12:13 PM
"Timmo, the uniforms of GdeB and GdeD are the same with only minor changes to the sashes. I would use any of the Set03 Marshals and Generals set plus ADCs (IF23). I would use the normal ADC in bicorne for normal generals and use the ADCs in hussar uniforms for Marshals and maybe LC GdeB and GdeD. Set IF23 is a cracking set of figures."

"If you want to use a generic general for your CinC, just use one of the generals from Set03 plus ADC plus a few additional hangers on including a LC trooper as escort. These could include mounted infantry officers (I esp like the ones in greatcoat."

"Otherwise just pick the Marshal fig that you like best and use him. You can then pick out the required ADC uniforms for that marshal (yes, some had the standard blue hussar rig, but others had their own designs)."

"I use two figs for the GdeB base (gen plus ADC), then maybe three for the GdeD, then 4-5 or more for the personality bases."

The Miniatures Page, TMP link (accessed 12/15/14).
pbishop12 on 24 Jul 2010 2:46 p.m. PST
"…On the table, I place a mounted colonel with my 1st battalions of French, with a white plume. 2nd and subsequent battalions the mounted chef de battalion sports a red plume. Gives me a quick reference when I look down at the troops."

The Miniatures Page, TMP link (accessed 8/9/15).
RuLane on 4 Nov 2014 7:02 a.m. PST
"For French, key distinctions I've worked out the following from various sources (please feel free to correct me!)
General de Brigade: red/gold shabraque, bicorne plain fore and aft;
General de Division: red/gold shabraque, bicorn fore and aft, gold trim;
General de corps: red/gold shabraque, bicorn fore and aft, white feather trim;
Marshall: same shabraque, bicorn left-to-right, white feather trim."

Marcel1809 on 4 Nov 2014 7:45 a.m. PST
"General de Brigade usually a sky blue en gold waist sash
General de division a red and gold waist sash (and black plumes on on bicorne)
Maréchal White and gold waist sash, White plumes…"

Clash of Empires, link (accessed 8/9/2015)
rcherk on October 12, 2009 at 11:22 PM
"It's been a while since I last researched this but I think most ADCs had sky blue collars and cuffs. They typically wore an armband that defined the rank of the general officer to whom they were attached. A white armband edged with gold stripes was for an ADC to a Marshall. A red armband with gold strips was for a General de Division. Uniform varied so dramatically I don't think it's worth discussing. You'll have to look up the ADCs based on their commanders."

Iannick Martin on October 13, 2009 at 3:13 AM
"I'll add to Randy's informations. From memory:
- Général de Brigade : gold and light blue sash
- Général de Division : gold and red sash
Général de Brigade had one row of golden "leaves" on collar and cuffs, Général de Division two rows. As Randy says, AdC uniforms in the french army was a free for all. You can see an example of a (almost) regulation uniform on this blog entry . But really, anything goes, the Hussars style uniform being especially favoured. French AdC's are a great way to let your imagination run wild!"

The Napoleonic Rules I use is GdB Deluxe also. For ease of play, I've found putting my 15mm generals on small, single figure, rectangular stands works best for me as they don't take up much space on a crowded battlefield. Other staff or ADC figures are on their own stand also and just follow the generals, usually in base to base contact. These smaller stands allow my generals to more easily come into base to base contact with other generals and to attach to units and lead from the front during the games. I also write the name of the general on the stand. Now admittedly, I'm very old school. I still paint and base my figures the same as when I started Napoleonic miniature wargaming back 1982.

Looks nice! I'm planning to have identification labels on units, too. Not handwritten, though, not with my handwriting. Instead, I'm experimenting with laser-printed labels that are glued to Litko flexible magnets. The battalion command stand has a small piece of Litko flexible steel on the back. The magnet with the unit label can be stuck to the back of the command stand.

My first unit in progress is St. Hilaire's 1st Division of Soult's IV Corps. This unit is intended for a scenario of St. Hilaire's attack on the Pratzaberg.

There is also a different scenario for the assault on the Stare-Vinohradya by Van Damme's 2nd Division. I plan to "re-purpose" St. Hilaire's 1st division by switching out the magnetic unit labels. The magnetic label will identify the actual unit being represented.

That's the plan anyway. Still quite a way to go since only 1/14 Ligne is done so far and 2/14 Ligne is about 75% done. It's taken a lot of time researching paint colors, which is why I'm hoping my painting guidelines are accurate for the regimental colonel and higher.

"Marshals have a red and gold waist sash."

Marshals have a white & Gold sash, and easy to remember ADC armbands matched the stripes on the Generals Sash.

White – Marshal
Red – General de Division
Light Blue – General of Brigade

Thanks for that correction. A cut-and-paste error on my part. The reference included above has it right.

Marcel1809 on 4 Nov 2014 7:45 a.m. PST
"General de Brigade usually a sky blue en gold waist sash
General de division a red and gold waist sash (and black plumes on on bicorne)
Maréchal White and gold waist sash, White plumes…"