10th "1st Silesian" Infantry Regiment (1)

This is the completed first battalion of musketeers of the Prussian 10th Infantry Regiment for 1815. As I understand it, the regular line regiments each had 3 battalions, of which 2 comprised musketeers and the third fusiliers. A detahments of volunteers jaegers is also attached to the battalion. The 10th formed part of von Hacke's 13th Brigade in Bulow's IV Corps. Bulow's troops did not fight at Ligny as they didn't arrive in time, but they were the first substantuial body of Prussians to arrive on the field of Waterloo and were heavily engaged in the battle for Plancenoit.


The General de Brigade order of battle that I use for my 1815 units lists most Prussian infantry units at 32 figures. Full strength would be 40 figures, but allowance is made for the loss of numbers as the Waterloo campaign progressed. However, on the GdB forum Eclaireur suggested that the 32-figure Prussian battalion may be a bit of a myth and that most infantry units at the start of the 1815 campaign would most likely be close to full strength, albeit then deserving of a reduction as a result of battle casualties at Ligny. However, since the 13th Brigade was not at Ligny I decided that it made sense to keep the 10th Infantry at and full strength and 40 figures. With 4 companies of 10 figures each I had to order some extra-large bases from ERM, which Tony delivered with his customary efficiency. The flag is the one that came with the box. It's a bit thicker than GMB flags and I would suggest using PVA rather than Pritt Stick when gluing it together.


The musketeer figures come in 3 parts: the main body, the backpack with half of the greatcoat roll, and the head. I still have the reservations about assembly that I mentioned a while ago when I first started painting these figures. Unless I am doing something wrong, it seems to me that backpack section doesn't quite join the body properly, so that there is a clear gap between the figure's back and the pack. The separate heads are a good idea though, as there are a decent number in the box and you can pose them at different angles to create a lot of variety (which you need in a unit of 40 similarly-posed figures). The jaegers for 10th Infantry require green caps, of which there is 1 head in the box. This is rather limiting for 6 figures, but with different positioning of the heads and eyes looking in different directions you can create a bit of variety; although ultimately they do look rather the same. The only other problem worth mentioning is that the unit bases provided are the usual mix of sizes which don't really meet the requirements of the box. The complete box envisages 4 companies of 10 figures, as I have done; but my origami skills were insufficient to work out how the bases might combine together to support 40 figures in close order.


I found these figures very quick and easy to paint. The Prussian musketeer's uniform is fairly "minimalist" compared to many other Napoleonic uniforms - no long coat tails, lace or fancy braid, for example. As with the Perries' plastic French infantry, I found that these figures took paint very well and, indeed, they Almost Paint Themselves. The trickiest parts for me were painting the breeches and the faces. For the musketeers I used the Foundry "Prussian Blue 66" palette with an additionan highlight of "Deep Blue 20 B". The jaegers' coats were painted with the "French Dragoon Green 70" palette (I think) and for the grey breeches/trousers and blanket rolls I used "Stone 57". I know next to nothing about the Prussian army of 1815 so I'm sure there plenty of minor mistakes, for which I apologise.


All together I am very pleased with these figures. They are cheap and quick to finish, which is exactly what is needed for Napoleonic infantry. Strongly recommended.


46 figures. Painted July and August 2011.

Current wip

I have some AWI French skirmishers to post about in a couple of days, but in the meantime I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the other large unit I am currently working on (i.e. in addition to the 24-figure AWI French chasseur unit, which is now three quarters finished). I bought a box of Perry plastic Napoleonic Prussian infantry at Salute and, having painted a couple of test figures back in April, decided last month to push on with the rest of the box. I will provide a proper review when I have the regiment finished, but my overall reaction is very favourably - the figures are dead easy to paint (like the plastic French infantry) and easy to put together. My only concern is how the backpack fits onto the figures, which doesn't quite seem to work as neatly as on the plastic French infantry.

The unit I am building is the 1st musketeer battalion of the 10th Regiment ("1st Silesian"), in Hacke's 13th Brigade. I chose this regiment simply because I liked the yellow facings and the 1st battalion's flag comes with the box. I think the regiment was involved in the fight at Plancenoit, but my research is ingoing. However, one issue I need to consider now is the number of figures. The Waterloo orbat on the "General de Brigade" website has Prussian infantry battalions at 32 figures mostly, with a few at 24 figures. I know that at full strength a battalion would be close to 800 men, or 40 figures at 1:20 (which is what you get in the Perry box, plus 6 jaeger). I'm assuming that the GdB orbat takes account of casualties incurred in the various battles preceding 18th June itself. However, I don't think Hack's 13th Brigade was present at Ligny and therefore I wonder whether the units in this force should not be closer to 40 figures rather than 32. I note comments on the GdB forum that whilst the 32-figure Prussian battalion is pretty standard in wargaming it may also be something of a "received wisdom", and that units at the beginning of a campaign or which have not yet seen action (like the 10th) would probably be close to full strength.

Like any sensible wargamer, I prefer smaller units (and so less painting) whenever possible and when tackling something like Waterloo a certain amount of "shrinkage" is required for space reasons anyway; but any thoughts from readers more versed than I in the Prussian army of 1815 would be welcome!