"Polish Troops in Attack" Topic

"Polish troops fought for France and Napoleon in many parts of Europe and also in the Caribbean, though they were often unhappy with the tasks that they were asked to perform. Their ultimate dream, that their mother country would be restored, got no further than the Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1813), a poor substitute that was little more than a satellite of the French empire. However it provided the French with a recruiting ground for many excellent troops, and this set from Strelets shows them advancing to the attack.

Taking the top two pictured rows first, we find most of the figures in this set are doing largely the same thing, which is advancing with musket to the fore. The fairly small differences in the basic pose make for a lifelike collection of men, and generally we had no problem with the position. However the two men holding their muskets directly in front of their body, as if performing some sort of moving present-arms, did seem quite unlikely. There are also three ‘command' poses, the first being an unusual example of an officer. This man is holding his pistol and has not drawn his sword, which is of course possible, though pistols were only effective at very short range, and the sword was a much more prestigious weapon. Not the first choice for such a pose, but officers with drawn sword can be found in other sets, so this offers something a bit different. The eagle-bearer holds his rather small burden a little casually to our eye, more as if on the march than leading the men in the attack, but the drummer is very nice and is actually beating his drum, which is not as common as you might think…"

Full review here
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Amicalement
Armand