"French Dress Code - Campaign" Topic

Hi
I'm soon to start on some Calpe Miniatures French Infantry units and would like to check a couple of points that I've not considered before examining these beautiful models.
Would all the troops in a Regiment either wear shako covers or leave the shako uncovered or would there be a mix as it would be left to individual soldiers choice?
Similarly, if greatcoats were being worn, would everyone wear them buttoned back or everyone wear them closed at the front or again would it be a matter of individual choice?
Thanks for any help.

The greatcoats would be probably left to choice. On campaign the French were quite relaxed. An order of the day would probably instruct the unit to wear covers, but many would probably be lost and so I would have the odd uncovered shako in the ranks.

When I read or hear the term, "on campaign," that means "on the march." French infantry units, like everybody else, took pride in their appearance. The only time I would expect to see French troops on the battlefield in greatcoats and shako covers would be if they had no uniforms issued, like some units in 1813, and more in 1814. I would never expect to see shako covers on the battlefield unless it was raining.

I have always believed that the reason we see so many French infantry in greatcoats offered for sale by miniatures manufacturers is because so many gamers and collectors don't want to meet the challenge of painting French infantry. There's just so much piping . . . wah wah wah.

I know that French infantry are the most challenging paint work on the table top, so they are made to look like bums. I have no sympathy for that.

Check with military veterans, there are these things called sergeants whose lives revolve around enforcing discipline and uniformity.

Most challenging? You ain't never seen a properly painted Highlander! In fact, I do agree that French Infantry without the red piping (and white around the red collar) always look incomplete, same with regard to cords and racquettes. At least in the Guard, Orders of the Day specified exactly the order of dress to be worn, though I don't know if this were an everyday or universal occurrence. More to the point, it seems to have been the usual practice in the French Army at least, to appear as smart as could be if an action were imminent; "it is not possible to be too well dressed when the cannons roar" (seen it attributed to Davout).

An eye witness account of British Officer at Waterloo stated that the French were dressed 'as usual all in greatcoats'.

I think this quote comes from a book called Letters from Waterloo but I'm not certain.

During the Peninsular war the French were reported to often wear their greatcoats as they were more comfortable and cooler than the tight fitting uniform coat.

I think the real appearance of Napoleonic armies on campaign was quite a long way removed from how we would have liked them to have looked. There are numerous references from the Peninsular war as to just how ragged units became in the field, including a classic one about the 95th Rifles being mistaken for Portuguese since they were without a scrap of green uniform left.

I concede the superiority of the Highland tartan as THE most challenging infantry paint job. Hands down. Sorry. I forgot about those guys.

An eye witness account? I've seen other "eye witness accounts" that say with equal fervency that the French infantry at Waterloo were dressed to the nines. In any event, if some units were in greatcoat, one must remember that it was raining all night before. Conditions were sloppy. As for the peninsula, yes, I can see all armies in greatcoat on the march. But I seriously doubt that the French would not be wearing the best they had on a day of battle.Or that the Brits would not also want to be comfortable ON THE MARCH and save their uniforms for the more auspicious occasions.

But, much more importantly, it was raining on both sides of the battlefield at Waterloo. Are we to expect French soldiers wore their greatcoats but the British did not? Likewise in the Peninsula, the Brits were exposed to.the same kinds of conditions. They are almost never portrayed in greatcoats.

Now, no doubt, I'll hear more excuses for the rag tag French. I submit this is just as much a myth as the Confederate "rag tags." The French are portrayed in greatcoat because it's easier to paint, whereas the British infantry figures would never be caught dead in such dire dress.

I think I recall the Brits had been ordered to send the greatcoats back to the depot long before Waterloo

But it is interesting few "campaign dress" figures are available for other nations – French, yes, but other nations, less so. Why is that?

As a 1/72 fan, I notice Strelets are now making Austrians in greatcoats, but that is a rarity in this hobby.

I agree with Widowson I think. If one unpacks Timmo's quote "that the French were dressed 'as usual all in greatcoats'" (I've read that too and I can't remember where either), the question arises as to what the officer meant by 'usual'. Did he mean as usual in that campaign so far; as usual for the French he had observed on picket duty, on the march or as prisoners in Spain; or did he mean as observed in action in a representative sample of general engagement scale battles in Spain, i.e. five or six of these, where they usually wore their greatcoats? Any of those could apply.

It is a great pity that these eyewitness memoirists gave so little thought to the needs of wargamers 200 years later for unambiguous descriptions. It's thanks to their inattention to detail that no paint manufacturer has yet been able to come up with an accurate colour for bricoles.

@ Marc – I reckon the Austrians had one of the smartest uniforms in real life, including their very, very spruce long, charcoal-grey greatcoats with regimental metal buttons*, but one that then looks among the dullest at a table-top scale. Black Brunswickers, black hussars etc would all have looked pretty sharp in the flesh but somehow sorta lose it en masse in 15 to 28mm; "an immense, moving hearse" indeed.

* if I owned such a garment I would live in it for 8 months of the year.

There's another reference that I really ought to find made during the Peninsula War when a British Highland regiment was described as looking 'very French' as they were wearing very pale greatcoats that they had captured from the French. This might come from Oman but I'm not going through six volumes to find it.

Another quote described how two English officers, one wearing a red coat and the other blue described themselves as looking exactly the same colour after a day on the march and getting covered in dust.

I guess I ought to look for some references that state the troops wore full-dress for battle. I suspect the real truth is that some did and some didn't. For example, the converged grenadier battalions at Fuentes D'Onoro were wearing bearskins and must have look particularly imposing as the British opposing them thought they were Imperial Guard.

Bluth's Marching with Sharpe has some interested eyewitness quotes. The French Grenadiers are described by a British Highland regiment (so possibly at Fuentes) as having very gaudy plumes. However, might the fact that this was remarked on suggest this was unusual?

A British soldier describes his tattered threadbare uniform that was patched with anything he could find, so much that the original colour of his trousers were unrecognisable. Others wore trousers made from blankets.

Pges 104 – 106 describe in detail how knackered the uniforms became and how they contrasted with those of new recruits. I expect the same was true in the French army.

I'm fairly sure Urban's book Rifles has some descriptions of troops on campaign and how ragged they looked.

I don't think anyone disputes that the Old Guard wore their greatcoats at Waterloo, as described by both British and French eye-witness accounts. Some suggest this was to save their best uniforms for the victory parade into Brussels, but there is no French evidence (to my knowledge) for this and I suspect it is speculation. Mauduit, who, despite his shortcomings as an eye-witness, describes the greatcoat as the standard wear for the guard during the campaign.

In the heyday of French Imperial arms, 1805-07(?) they could well have dressed up for battle; no doubt this changed during and after Russia when either the weather or availability of decent uniforms became an issue as Widowson suggests. I suspect British army discipline maintained itself as the wars went on; I'm not quite so convinced that it did in the French army.

I suspect they often wore the overcoat, with as little as possible underneath it, with a shako cover if they had one, and plumes and ornamentation wrapped in something and stowed safely away. That protected the dress uniform from dirt (which mattered a lot on dusty roads in the days before colorfast dyes), and confined the dust and dirt from the march to your boots and an overcoat that was drab-colored anyway. It kept the rain off, when it came; you don't want to halt a regiment to changes clothes if you can avoid it. Wearing just a shirt or vest under the coat would've prevented overheating, and I doubt the overcoats were as warm as they are now; at West Point in the 1820s, they wore the long overcoat for PT.

Thanks to all those who replied to my original questions. I appreciate your time and effort.

Interesting topic.

Lots of relevant contributions thus far.

I served in the Coldstream Guards in the 1980s, and when we performed public duties, e.g. at Windsor, during the Autumn and Winter months, we wore the greatcoat, but never with a scarlet tunic underneath ~ more often than not just a t-shirt of some sort.

Jumping back 200 years, I think that on the march, troops would wear what was practical for maintaining their kit ~ hence shako covers and greatcoats on the march, sentry duty or when chopping firewood, etc.

But if the C.O. determined that the order of dress for a battle would be no shako covers or greatcoats, then surely the regiment would comply with his order. Particularly if the troops had had reasonable weather and a day of rest the day before, e.g. at Wagram.

Just a thought.

Maybe- but that whole "you can never look too fine on the day of battle" thing seems more characteristic of officers (especially staff or general officers, who have servants to clean their gear, and no troops or horses to look after) than the infantry. I am prepared to bet a lot of them (particularly in armies where the colonels were still proprietors) did their level best to keep the dress uniforms in packs until it was time for a review, if they could. The troops probably didn't need encouragement: they were the ones who had to keep their own gear clean, and I bet they had their hands full pipeclaying belts, shining shoes, and setting up and breaking camp every day.

Good reasoning, but if the Colonel says that the order of dress for tomorrow will be x, y and z, then that's very probably going to happen, unless it's at the Berezina.

True…..but not every colonel had the Imperial Guard's clothing budget.

The French infantry in the field customarily wore the capote over a waistcoat/shell jacket(can't remember the French term- ?veste) throughout the C19th and into the C20th.

I read that this practice was established in Algeria in the 1840s but it occurs to me that it may have dated from campaign practice further back during les guerres Napoleoniques.

I'm not saying that infantrymen were turned out for battle as though they were doing sentry duty at the Tuileries, but if an order was given that shako covers were to be removed, and greatcoats too, then they would have been.
Best parade breaches and white gaiters? Of course not, it was impractical. But shako covers and tunics would usually be seen on the march and in camp, rather than in a formal battle.
If no such order was given, then clearly the soldiers would probably wear more or less what they wanted.

I have always believed that the reason we see so many French infantry in greatcoats offered for sale by miniatures manufacturers is because so many gamers and collectors don't want to meet the challenge of painting French infantry.

Some of us like retreat from Moscow games.

However, if the weather was foul, the infantry exhausted and their arrival on the battlefield was preceded by a forced march, then clearly they would go into action wearing whatever they'd been using on the muddy roads.

Which means I'll now have to do Davout's Corps in greatcoats and chapeaux if Austerlitz is to look right. More seriously, the practical points and attendant compromises mentioned by Tassie seem to me most convincing (not discounting other views). When I saw the Guards at Windsor wearing the greatcoat, it did strike me that they all seemed rather thin, as well as tall. I just attributed that to their being all younger than I, as well as fitness training &c. Now I know it's because they were all wearing nothing but T-shirts! Good Luck.

the French had the habit to throw away parade dress at the begining of a campaign, the idea was to carry less, in the early days, they would keep in my opinion the coat, because the great coat wasn't there yet or in available numbers.

Here what happened at a regiment in 1812

1812
« Le 48e avait un habillement neuf et très soigné à l'entrée en campagne. Dans les plaines de la Lithuanien, le soldat, excédée chaleur, jeta la majeure partie de cet habillement, ne conservant que la capote, et le pantalon de toile. It avait à Wilna une réserve d'habilement, dont une faible part fut distribuée, et le reste laissée dans la ville. »
foot note page 489
Le Spectateur Militaire, volume XXIX, 15e année, Paris, 1840, S.481 – 493, Campagne de Russie, Rapport Historique du 48e Régiment d'infanterie de Ligne, remis au général Comte Ricard, Commandant la 2e Division du 1er Corps

Also Blaze comments on a similar thing, though not referring to a date.

Blaze
« The day after the first bivouac of a campaign saw an enormous quantity of breeches ; black and white gaiters, collars ; and stockings which littered the ground where we had slept – making it loo as if the enemy had surprised us during the night, and we had fled clad only in our shirts.(…) Formerly the soldiers was issued a pair of breeches free, and seldom wore them; he had to pay for a pair of trousers which he wore all the time. (…) But at the first bivouac at the start of a campaign, everyone emptied his pack of everything but the bare essentials, discarding everything else."
Page 34
Military Life Under Napoléon by Elzéar Blaze, translations and notes by John Elting, Emperor's Press, Chicago, 1995

Also before an attack – the burden was lightened – in 1806

« Le point où nous nous trouvions et d‘où était partie une division d'infanterie du 5e corps pour entrer en ligne, était couvert de nombreux effets d'habillement, que les soldats avaient jetés, pour alléger leurs sacs qui étaient trop lourde pour combattre.
En effet, nous étions tous trop chargés, ce qui rendait la marche de l'infanterie lourde et embarrassée. Nous arrivâmes à Schleitz. »
S. 61 – 62
Barrès : Souvenirs d'un officier de la Grande Armée, Éditions du Grenadier, Paris 2002

Still contemporary pictures don't show them all the times on campaign in great coats, it would depend, but white breeches and long gaiters would be a rare picture indeed, instead long over trousers would be predominant.

I cannot find the quote of an eyewitness, perhaps Odeleben, who sees French gunners change into parade dress before the battle of Dresden.

VW, good, useful quotes, which shows this could happen. With my own units, I personally prefer to have all the figures in a regiment either with or without shako covers, and similarly either all wearing habits or all wearing capotes. I like to think that the colonel has given an order for the day, relating to the above, and it also helps me to quickly visually distinguish battalions and/or brigades.

I was staying out of this one, well because…

But now_ vW

the French had the habit to throw away parade dress at the begining of a campaign, the idea was to carry less, in the early days, they would keep in my opinion the coat, because the great coat wasn't there yet or in available numbers.

I think you stress too much these points.
[1] French discipline doctrine was no different to any other army/ nation of the period (and now?)- they had to pay for their own uniform losses and complete equipment was expected/ inspected.
They may well have jettisoned extras to the 'parc' or camp before battle for later pick-up/ transport, but 'throwing away' is too far.

[2] The non-issue of greatcoats is just another myth of the French Napoleonic era. They were used in the Revolutionary armies, 1800 Switzerland, issued at Camp de Boulogne; 20000 issued to various Corps BEFORE the march into Germany 1805 (I have the equipment returns) and seen constantly in period artifacts.

The 'novelty' of Marie-Louises being depicted in them is of course expediency like tassie refers to- they simply weren't issued full uniforms anyway and only wore vest and overalls.

A famous British general in WWII ordered "making the men shave every day is the equivalent of two hours sleep", meaning they were alert and presentable for action.

Making soldiers 'dress' for battle had the same effect- sharpening their minds and setting a moral stance of superiority.

To the OP- it depends upon which campaign you are 'depicting' the troops.

I agree with all the writers, the effect will of course be variable, hence my own forces include a scattering of 'not in full dress' mode.
regards davew

"The only time I would expect to see French troops on the battlefield in greatcoats and shako covers would be if they had no uniforms issued, like some units in 1813, and more in 1814. I would never expect to see shako covers on the battlefield unless it was raining."

Sure ! It is well known that French troops were amongst the most elegant in Europe and they insisted every morning before battle that the ennemy froze and let them alone for 2 hours to get clean and smart before fighting begins.
It was also quite common for French soldiers to have a good shower on the evening after a 30 km-march.

That's why they achieved so great victories. Austerlitz could not have been wearing greatcoats or Friedland with mixed cover/uncovered shako.

And yes, it seemed perfectly normal to Davout's troops to wear their most beautiful outfit and spend an entire day fighting with it at Auerstaedt and then triumphally march into Berlin covered with rags.

Such a pity that exaggeration, ridicule and sarcasm has come to the table. There was really no need for that.

So this presents a dilemna:

Premier battalion in parade dress, with successive battalions in campaign dress as described,

or

Premier battalion in campaign dress reflecting their grognard-ness, noob battalions in besties – they don't know any better?

@ Stoppage

Unfortunately there's a third option which is

Premier battalion in campaign dress reflecting their grognard-ness, noob battalions in odds and sods reflecting equipment shortage at the depot.

I know that's of zero help. It just means any appearance can be justified.

Personally I like the era because of the sharp and colourful uniforms so all my guys look excessively spruce because they just do.

There's then there's the added question of when the uniform regulations changed for example the French going from white to blue coats and how long this took to have effect on those battalions already in the field.

Recently I've been researching Regiment Irlandais to add to my Peninsular War army. They are typically depicted wearing the official Legere style uniform but in green. However, the reading I've done suggests that the troops already in Spain never received this. It's also likely that they never carried their flag in the field in Spain. I wonder how many folks happily ignore that type of information and paint their emerald green uniforms in any green, as long as it's really bright and give them their flag?

Then there is the thorny subject of the French Legere uniform that Osprey depicted as being a bight mid-blue shade when in fact it should be the same dark blue of the line regiments.

Add to this the fact that most full dress uniform coats were wool based and were never as bright as many wargame armies have depicted them and everything is a real muddle. At best all each of us can ever do is paint our models how we like them to look.

Agree entirely, Timmo, and M. Cuirassier too.

Frequent references to the French wearing white or light coloured shako covers in Spain. I assume that they wore them in battle as well. Ditto campaign trousers. Ditto overcoats or waistcoats without habites in warm weather.

Scruffy lot, the Parlay-Voo!

There's a remarkable degree of agreement despite conflicting evidence, and I'm just adding a couple of minor thoughts which might be seen as relevant.

First, in addition to earlier point re. the drill manoeuvre of shaving each day – not in the French Army, certainly not in any Hussar regiment – there's the practical point that concentrating on pipe-clay and so on would serve to occupy soldiers' attention rather than have them dwelling on an imminent engagement. This together with the necessity of ensuring weapons were in good order.

Secondly, with regard to the preferences of war gamers/collectors/modellers &c., and again in addition to what has already been written, well, none of us as far as I know is actually putting together a definitive representation of each unit of the French Army, a personal museum, though it's a neat idea to have examples of the most representative appearances. Anything from Tuileries to the Berezina. If that's what one person wants, fine. Another may prefer uniformity. Just as good. One potential advantage of a comparatively plain appearance of troops in greatcoats, at the smaller scales admittedly, is that the same body of castings can represent any one of a dozen nationalities; just needs a selection of "command bases" with different flags. There are numerous compromises, as everyone knows and accepts. After all, a common figure-ratio is 1:50 for 15mm collections. Everyone recognises that there weren't fifty drummers in a battalion, let alone fifty flags. "Do as thou wilt" seems to be the rule. Great and informative discussion.

Now, any views on whether chin-straps & scales should be shown tied up over the peak of the Shako, or worn so as to keep the hat in place?

I'll get my Redingote…

Just makes me wanna go paint something.. so enemy it is!
d

In full dress?

""*[\\]) {>

whereas the British infantry figures would never be caught dead in such dire dress.

I've 12 battalions of British in greatcoat and will happily use them.

I have always believed that the reason we see so many French infantry in greatcoats offered for sale by miniatures manufacturers is because so many gamers and collectors don't want to meet the challenge of painting French infantry. There's just so much piping . . . wah wah wah.

People paint piping on French infantry? Who knew. Just one more reason to switch to microscale figures.

@Tassie

A friend of mine recounts the tale of doing public duties on a rainy day, with just a Helly Hanson under his greatcoat at Buck House (his sword was suspended from a piece of paracord, and poked through the slit). After the change and guard mounting, he was just about to skive off when a footman appeared, and informed him that as HM had no appointments and all the other royals were busy elsewhere, would the Captain of the Guard wish to join her for tea?

The fastest sprint across the road and quick change you ever saw in your life!

On the subject of shako covers, we do know that the 2nd Nassauers wore them at Waterloo, because they were thought to provide too good an aiming mark and they were ordered to remove them. As many Nassauers had seen service with the French, could that be their former practice? A bit tangential may be, they could just as easily have been "infected" with the practices of their British or Netherlands allies.

Handlebarbleep:
A bit tangential may be, they could just as easily have been "infected" with the practices of their British or Netherlands allies.

Not really by any Dutch example. More likely that was the other way around. Shako covers were adopted for the Dutch foot branches in October 1815. Some units had them before, such as the Belgian Line and Light Infantry on their Belgic type shakos. Some adopted them unofficially, such as the East-Indies Infantry and Artillery.
Of the Nassau regiments, the 2nd had black shako covers, the first white ones. The latter were the ones ordered removed.

As far as the use of the greatcoat was concerned: Dutch regulations forbade the wearing of greatcoats after 10 AM. Possibly this was to avoid being mistaken for Frenchmen?

@ Robert

In full dress?

Bien sur, grande tenue 1805!

However- the enemy in question were mere Kaiserliks.

But seriously- campaign dress is like Vegas, who knows what goes on and when it happens?? Except those involved.

When and until explicit military discipline is reinstated in an army, anything goes. To quiver under the fear that this or that is quite wrong and shouldn't be done has been a thought of no consequence compared to comfort or safety for the military man in battle.

regard davew

Thanks so much for the photograph (my own favourite style for French Habit, though the lapels could be a bit broader for absolute visual perfection). On a tangential note, but relevant, just look at photographs of soldiers in the field, from the Crimea onwards. Comfort and safety (or at least what was available) have seniority. Good Luck.

I suspect the drawings above are rather more realistic than most of the previous comments.

They are by the late, great Rick Scollins who was taken from us far too early in his life and artistic career.

link

Paul

Recent research shows the following information on the topic; "Rather than this getting lost elsewhere, herewith some notes on 'tenue' appropriate for 1809 based on the standing orders of the 3e, 61e, 64e 100e de Ligne:
Grande Tenue a Parade: schako with no cover, cords and plume, white stock, habit, veste, breeches, black gaiters. Full equipment. Giberne un-covered.
Grande Tenue: schako uncovered, pompom, black stock, habit, veste, long grey gaiters. Full equipment.
Petit-Tenue: schako covered, black stock, habit, veste, overalls, grey gaiters, full equipment, giberne covered.
Tenue de Route: schako covered, capote, black stock, veste, overalls, grey gaiters, full equipment, giberne covered.
Tenue de Corvee: bonnet de police, veste, black stock, overalls, grey gaiters.
Tenue de Route, as the name implies was worn on the march and in battle. The overalls were worn over the breeches and gaiters. The habit was NOT worn in battle or on the march. It was folded and placed in the haversac. The habit was worn for parades only. Black gaiters were hardly ever worn. Long knee length gaiters were worn for 98% of the time. Cords and plumes for schakos or bonnet a poil were hardly ever used. When the 64e de Ligne were reviewed in summer 1804 by Marechal de Soult, they were wearing grey gaiters. Only when the Emperor came past in review did they wear black gaiters. One supposes that 99% of images of Napoleon's infantry as we understand today are wrong when we look at archive sources. The plates by Martinet and others, show idealized parade dress as if the Emperor was present. The most accurate depiction of a soldier of the epoch are by Beyer: they capture the emaciated state of the soldat, their clothing in tatters. The image we have of soldiers marching into battle with plumes waving in the breeze, schako cords swinging, men in their habits as they marched into battle is, by and large fiction. Even for the Garde Imperiale, their is no evidence from the epoch they wore full dress in the field. Indeed, contrary to the myth the Garde wore parade kit at Austerlitz, we know from Colonel-General Hulin's standing orders, that the parade kit was packed into bales and put into the barrack store room before the regiment left Paris to march to the front. Therefore, as the parade kit was hundreds of miles away from Austerlitz, it is impossible for them to have worn grande tenue. I cover the Garde Imperiale, especially the various orders of dress, in my books on the Garde Imperiale. In due course, companion volumes on the Ligne and Legere will appear, which will render all other studies on the dress of Napoleon's Army obsolete."

Nice, Is this quoting from Paul Dawson's works? I have most of them but cannot recall this.

indeed and we had shared a lot from him in this following thread
TMP link
as Hussars and Chasseurs being available the rest of the 7 volumes will follow in 2024-2025

recycling Prussian equipments…

When we look at the clothing and equipment issues to the Grande Armée in winter 1806 to spring 1808 we find that huge numbers of captured pieces of equipment were issued: 76,906 gibernes were issued, just 1035 were French pattern, the vast majority were Prussian. We also note 2649 black giberne belts were issued, 28,635 baudiers of Prussian origin, 3084 Prussian havresac – we also note that 4827 red leather hussard gibernes were issued. Neccesities of campaign life meant that at Friedland a French infantry soldier was wearing a white habit, was issued a Prussian giberne, wore a Prussian chapeau, and carried their belongings in a Prussian havresac, and no doubt many had black leather equipment. It was not until 8 February 1808 that the French War Minisry passed an edict to try and bring some semblance of order to this chaos. The last of the black cross belts and Prussian gibernes were replaced during 1809 with the last of the chapeau.
(…)
The development and use of blackened cow hide leatherwork and the reliance on Prussian clothing and equipment 1806 to 1808 is covered in my three volumes on the Ligne and Légère released during late 2024 into 2025. Every regiment of Ligne and Légère is discussed in minute detail as far as archive and inconographic sources allow.
Paul Lindsay Dawson

I started painting a few French in greatcoats after painting a dozen or so battalions in regulation uniform. Same with British, Russians, Austrians etc. Breaks up the monotony.