"Best thing about playing...Russians?" Topic

We'll hit the "big" powers that seem to be very popular before we start doing the little guys (I know Netherlands was a request and I want to do a thread on the various German states as well).

So, the Russian bear in Napoleonic wargames? What makes you enjoy playing, painting or collecting them?

Artillery, LOTS of artillery.

BIG Cavalry formations

Depending on your rules, stolid infantry that don't break easily, good cavalry and lots of artillery. And they aren't shy about digging in, at least when defending Mother Russia.

Pretty cavalry and flags.
Loads of guns.
Can say some of their words, like them as a people.
They , historically were tough and it should reflect in the rules. Generals not worse than most.
Can play vs French and vassals, Austrians, Turks and Persians ( if we had a variety of minis for them.).
Can drink kwas and wistle Preobrajensky while playing.

Tons of infantry that are pretty easy to paint

Lots and lots of artillery

Cavalry in pretty uniforms

Cossacks! You can never have too many Cossacks

Erratic and often crazy generals

I don't particularly enjoy painting anything, but I did have a large 15mm army (and a 1/72 army) at one time. Lets see, depending on the time period, cool headgear, opolchenie with pikes, lots of arty, and some colorful cavalry. They can also fight the Ottoman Empire.

Lots of dark green to use if you have it.
Don't get me started how much artillery there is.
Raspberry facings
And just learning there is a lot of facial hair to paint on officers

I find this a somewhat difficult question to answer because it's so rule-system dependent, and so many rule systems implement myths based on the very, very few English-language sources available while the Iron Curtain was up.

Another complication is that many rules tend to model the pre-reform 1805-1807 period, and so 1812 battles fought on tabletop tend not to make a lot of sense.

An enjoyable part of the process is that a lot of new research has come out over the past decade, and there's still room to dive in and learn.

I find Russian infantry difficult to paint, with the combination of straps and shinel. Also, the canteen straps get me every time.

Jeffrey makes a really interesting comment that makes me wonder if we should have a thread about how different nationalities are rated in different rules.

A truely tough army in the field. Some very good and extensive ranges of figures available, including plenty of real campaign dress (Foundry -their best range) Front Rank and of course the Peryy's especially their cavalry.

The Perry Plastic Russian Corps deal!

Tally Ho!

I just received orders from both Front Rank and Perry and the quality of both is incredible. I think they will be a joy to paint.

Big units, lots of guns, wonderful looking cav.

The pageantry of the period is so enticing.

Great cat memes.

Well, my first memory of commanding Russian battalions that I was generously given in a multiplayer game. "don't worry, they're Militias. They will break".

Guns, Cossacks, more guns and more Cossacks coupled with tenacity and plenty of Vodka.

Love the dark green uniforms with red facings; reminds me of Christmas. I once painted 10x32-man battalions in greatcoats, thinking it would save time. Wrong. The backpack straps took just as long to do as full dress, but didn't look as good.

The kiwer Shakos with lots of cords. These are a pain to paint, but look fantastic.

Even though it's anachronistic, Tchaikovsky. Very atmospheric.

Big artillery batteries.

Most beautiful hussars.

War and Peace.

Same as Austrians but less drill and education.

Tough infantry!! Tough, tough infantry!! Colourful cavalry, masses of throw away light cavalry in the form of cossacks. Probably never do much in a battle – their usefulness was strategic not tactical – but they can run around lurking on the flanks and in the woods making your opponent a bit nervous.

I like the early period. The Russian Army of the 1807 Campaign was probably the toughest army Napoleon ever faced. Think about it, the French Army was at its zenith from 1805 – 1807, Davout's single Corps thrashed the Prussian Main Body at Auerstadt in a single day (yes, taking 30% casualties) but against the superb fighting force of La Grande Armee the Russians of 1807 extracted a bloody draw at Eylau. And it wasn't because their Generals and Officers were much good! (Bennigsen was brave but no genius)

1. War and Peace.

2. Artillery.

3. Infantry that prefers dying to running away.

4. Cavalry that prefers flat out charges to any of this namby-pamby 'tactical' nonsense.

5. Cossacks that are utterly expendable, assuming you can get them to stick around for long enough to fight/die. You can at least normally position them at the beginning of a game to make the approach to combat difficult for hostiles before the blighters run away.

6. THE best hussars in the period! (Ok, that is a personal opinion, highly influenced by Tolstoy, but what the heck.)

Kutuzov- surely having a commanding general who survived being shot in the head twice has to be worth plus 2 on morale in any set of rules!
My favourite army, first cobbled together by crude conversions from Airfix nearly 50 years ago, moved on to Hinchcliffe and Minifigs 25 mm and now represented by a few hundred 15mm figures who recently defeated the French at Maloyaraslavets, or at least our version of it.

You'll never run out? You'll never find that other people in the group have already built the only one of some tactically essential unit?

Battles without proper plan. No high command, when Kutuzov present.
No moves without Austrian help on earlier days (excluding Suvorov) in campaign games.
Drunking generals.

Never ending infantry. Generals who redefined the concept of 'nutcase', a supply system that would have brought tears to a Roman Centurian. Lots of artillery of every calibre imaginable.

Cossacks.

Also, I think this backwards, superstitious and highly devout people are facing a life or death struggle against a secular society who've really given government some thought and failed in it's reforms, whose wealth otherwise allowed for participation in the bounty of enlightenment values. That contrast is fascinating. Same for Spain.

Like others, I am fond of all that artillery, and the dogged infantry.

But really, itīs those wonderful green uniforms. When I first saw War and Peace I fell in love with them, and that started me in Napoleonics. They are just so cool!

The eternal hope that one's cossacks will one day manage to catch those pesky French voltigeurs – doesn't usually work though.

When a French brigade crested a hill to find most of my Russian artillery in cannister range – snigger…

Tolstoy
Friedland- my favorite battle
Green tunics.
Hussars. LOOK AT THOSE HUSSARS!
They are Rrrrrrrrussian!
The holy Orthodox Church
Green cannon!!! Lots of 'em, in 12-14 gun batteries. Painted apple green!
The Russsian people are a very passionate folk, very emotional among each other but to outsiders express a veneer of stoic fatalism and sternness that is easily misunderstood. The Russian can be your absolute best ally, to his last beat of his heart, or your hated enemy and your worst nightmare. Not a lot in between.