"French guard artillery other uses!? " Topic

Hi all, just a quick one, I have some extra figures for French guard foot artillery in bearskins and French guard horse artillery in colpack. Any other units I can paint them as?

The Guard foot artillery could be painted as Gendarmerie d'Elite a Pied.

French Guard horse artillery can be painted as an elite company of chasseurs a cheval (those regiments, such as the 5th Chasseurs, who still wore hussar dress) or hussars.

Thanks brechtel, any artillery units amongst the French allies they wod do for? Also Ive read that the line horse arty used to wear colpacks and hussar-esque uniforms, when did they stop?

Officially with the Bardin 1812 Regulatins. In actuality a few years before-officially, but probably not practically.

And the colpacks worn by line horse artillery would usually only apply to officers and trumpeters, and that included the artillery train.

The following is not an all-inclusive list, but it should get you started.

Polish horse artillery, at least officer and trumpeters, wore colpacks.

The Nassau Light Cavalry Regiment wore colpacks.

The 1st Light Infantry Battalion of Westphalia wore visored bearskins. The sapeurs of the 2d Line Infantry Regiment of Westphalia wore visored bearskins. The 1st Westphalian Hussar Regiment wore the colpack. The officers of the Westphalian train troops might have worn the colpack.

Hussar officers of the Kingdom of Italy might have worn the colpack. The elite company of the 2d Chasseurs a Cheval wore the colpack, trumpeters wearing a white one. The entire 3d Regiment of Chasseurs a Cheval wore the colpack. The Royal Guard horse artillery wore the colpack and their uniform was modeled on the French Guard horse artillery. The Elite Gendarmerie of the Royal Guard wore the visored bearskin; however, this was a mounted unit and had no foot gendarmes.

The Neapolitan 1st Light Cavalry Regiment's elite company wore the colpack, as did the 4th regiment of that arm. The Trumpet Major of the Light Cavalry Regiment of the Neapolitan Royal Guard wore a white colpack. The Royal Guard Hussar Regiment wore the colpack, trumpeters a white one. The Royal Guard horse artillery regiment wore colpacks. The Royal Guard gendarmerie wore visored bearskins, but they were all mounted.

The Dutch Royal Guard Hussar Regiment, which would eventually become the Red Lancers (after 1810), wore the colpack.

For the Duchy of Warsaw:

Poniatowski's Guides wore the colpack. The 4th Chasseurs a Cheval's elite company wore colpacks with white for trumpeters. The 5th Chasseurs a Cheval elite company wore colpacks. The 10th Hussar Regiment wore colpacks.

What a great contribution by Brechtel198.

Let me just add two projects I have long planned. The Trumpet Major of the 2e Chevaulegers de la Garde Imperiale…which we all know better as the Dutch or Red Lancers. A white Colpack for full dress.

The other is the trumpeter of the Netherlands Horse Artillery (whether Belgian or Dutch I cannot remember offhand)

Obviously, Garde HA are ideal as dismounted Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde, whether in the habit or the dolman. What coat are your gunners wearing? The laced Dolman or the less splendid Habit with the aigulettes and long coat tails?

Brilliant list brechtel, many thanks.

Polish horse arty fits well for me, but I'm rather tempted by Neapolitan guard horse artillery :-). How about Italian guard foot artillery for the bearskin guard foot arty?

Perhaps the simplest option which works for both sets of figures is to use them as artillery of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Italy.
There was a company each of Horse and Foot artillery, I think organised the same as the French army.

The Foot Artillery Company wore a uniform of very similar cut (I would say identical for wargaming purposes) to the french Guard Foot artillery but in dark green faced black. Their bearskin however lacked a peak- at least as far as the illustrations I have seen. So this would mean very minor surgery to the headdress to trim away the peak if you want to be completely accurate. I'm no great shakes as a converter but I didn't find it difficult at all.

Italian Guard Horse artillery company is even easier- it was dressed exactly the same as their French Imperial Guard counterparts- blue hussar syale uniform with red facings and braid, and the same colpack.

These options also have the advantage that the gunner figures are just re-used as other gunners.

The Italian Royal Guard is an excellent little all-arms force which did quite a lot of fighting especially in Russia in 1812. Easy and quick to build with French figures but with some interesting colour variations.

Nice suggestion seneffe, between the Italians, Poles and possibly Neapolitans that should give me plenty to get on with.

I also used the horse chaps as Poles.

This question is a splendid inversion of one I first encountered 40-odd years ago: what can you use the lancer and the kettledrummer out of the Airfix hussars for? Not as hussars that's for sure.

The answer was Guard Horse artillery, if you cut them in half at the waist and joined them to British line infantry legs.

Had never got past that so thanks to Brechtel for a fabulous list.

Nice one 4th Cuirassier, my kettledrummer (known as the bongo player) resides in my dice box awaiting conversion to a Cossack who has done some spectacular looting, and can join his mate who nicked a tuba ;-).