"Napoleonic Early-Mid French Marching" Topic

"The revolution begun in 1789 had enormous consequences for the Army as on much else in French society, and what followed were years of upheaval and change as many officers emigrated or were removed, while the men caused much trouble for their new bosses, not least thanks to an unrealistic expectation of their own liberties under the republic which would have made the Army unmanageable. Bolstered by large numbers of recruits with little training it is a wonder that these men achieved the many successes that they did in the 1790s, but under the able leadership of such men as the young Napoleon Bonaparte this unpromising material would be forged into a highly effective military machine that would take the now emperor to many glories all over Europe.

Gone are the days when manufacturers only recognised the final years, and particularly 1815, when it came to making French Napoleonic infantry, and this set is just one of several covering the earlier period between the establishment of the republic and the height of the French Empire in Europe. The uniform on offer on these figures is mostly suitable for the years up to the 1812 reforms, when variations in all but the headgear were relatively small. All these men wear broadly the same thing, being a coat with long tails, a standing collar and lapels that part to reveal plenty of the waistcoat. Those with a particularly pedantic eye may want to know that all but one of these coats have the turnbacks extending to the very bottom of the tail, which technically only makes them correct for the period after 1810, but as we shall see this is not really an issue. Five of the six poses wear trousers over their breeches and shoes, which was common, and the one man without trousers has his gaiters reaching to above the knee, which was normal. All the men wear what was effectively a bicorn, as shown, slanted slightly to cover the right eye, which is not wrong, but we would have preferred the shape of this to be less symmetrical, with more of a suggestion of the residual third corner that is clearer on the box artwork. All the men wear their hat fore-and-aft, which is to say over the face and neck rather than across the head. This was the usual method when on the march, so appropriate here, and only turned to be side-to-side when in action. Each hat has a cockade and large plume, which for many regiments would be too much but of course can easily be trimmed down as required…."

Full review here

link

Amicalement
Armand

OK. why was the bicorn worn across the head when attacking? Wouldn't that interfer more with reloading?

I checked the internet and they provide half the figures for the same cost as earlier sets. Not worth it to me. That is 15mm metal territory (Blue Moon).

No… it wasn't … as I have seen in reenactors….

Amicalement
Armand