His Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 

by Johann Christian August Schwartz (1809)

The Duke of Brunswick cuts a somewhat eccentric figure. He ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel which was a patchwork of lands, much like most of Germany in the eighteenth century. His father, Charles William Ferdinand, a man of considerable military experience in the Prussian service, had raised the standard against the Republican government of France and missed a vital opportunity to crush in its cradle at Valmy.

Frederick William, the Duke pictured above, was one of Frances bitterest enemies during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic. After the battle of Jena, in which his father was killed, his home was made part of France and become part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. When the War of the Fifth Coalition broke out in 1809, he raised a corps of light troops (his father was acknowledged as an experienced leader of light infantry) in the Austrian service. He managed to liberate Brunswick briefly, but was forced to withdraw to England, where he and his men joined the British service.

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 

by Art Minaturen & Krisztian

They did however unlike many foreign corps (i.e. the Chasseurs Britanniques) keep their own uniforms; all in black in mourning for their homeland. They also wore skulls on their hats, without being the baddies. They served,  despite a habit of desertion, creditably in the Peninsula, including at Salamanca, the Pyrenees and Orthez.


Much like Claude Rains in Casablanca*, the romantic in me is attracted to the Brunswickers. Though the corps was marred by its spotty record of desertion, which was mostly a result of recruiting of prisoners of war when they were in the field, there is something deeply personal about their struggle with the French. It reminds me of General Thomas Graham, who only took up arms against the Republic after their soldiers had broken open his wifes coffin and interfered with her.  

The Duke & a horses ass

Brunswick was liberated by the Prussians in 1813, but the Duke did not live to appreciate his return home for very long. When Bonaparte escaped from Elba, he took up the sword again and led a small division of troops to join the Anglo-Dutch army that was to face the French at Waterloo. Sadly, he was slain at Quatre Bras, being killed by a musket while leading a charge. 

Curiously enough, the title lives on in an unusual way - in The Duke of Brunswick vrs Hamer 1849. This is a ruling in the English Law courts (and which has been used for precedent in Ireland) that each instance of a libel constitutes a seperate offence and that a non-resident may sue for libel in Britain. There is reason to believe that this law may be overturned in the near future.

*A shiny sixpence says Stokes knows the line I'm talking about.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhon

1st Line Battalion Brunswickers

In long shot, the black horde advances towards the garden

I've always had a soft spot for the Brunswickers and I knew I was going to have to get some for my Quatre Bras-Waterloo scenarios. These are SHQ figures painted by Simon Bennison and with a flag from Rofur.

The Colour Party, drummer, ensign and captain

I very rarely have flags with my units, but I didn't have an NCO figure so an ensign it was going to have to be. My second Brunswicker unit, not counting cavalry shall be made up of Hinton Hunt rankers with an SHQ colour party, but more of them anon.

The footsloggers sans colour party

The Brunwickers get a bit of a rough deal in Command & Colours Napoleonics. They're rated as Portuguese troops, though they retreat twice as far when hit. Though I think this may have more to do with rating them against the rest of the troops on the field rather than the Pork and Beans per se.

The last thing many Frenchmen ever see

Nevertheless, I am very fond of them and I hope that once my SHQ Grenadiers A Cheval arrive, I'll be able to play the last two scenarios in Command & Colours Napoleonics. I'm looking forward to it - I've even set aside in a special bottle of port (a gift from a very good friend of mine) in honour of the occasion.

The Twelve Days of Christmas rolls on...

2rd January - As requested, Cancer Aid UK.

Standard Bearers

Spanish Standard Bearer by SHQ Miniatures

(click to embiggen)

I learned yesterday the faintly depressing news that Command & Colours: The Spanish Army has been delayed yet again. I console myself that Hat's rather splendid looking Spanish infantry are unlikely to be out by then anyway and that Gorman is no doubt already attempting to inflict some form of collective punishment on the local Chinese community.

Little and often appears to be a good rule of thumb when trying to get modelling work done, so I've have been chipping away at my Cold War project, basing trees and finishing standard bearers for some Napoleonic units.

Brunswicker Standard Bearer by SHQ Miniatures

(click to embiggen)

These are both SHQ figures. There were some minor moulding issues with the Brunswickers sword, so I added some greenstuff to complete the blade. The Spanish chap came with a flagstaff, but I've learned from bitter experience that white metal flag staffs rarely survive very long so I've taken to replacing them with brass wire. I made a hash of drilling the Brunswickers hand and had to add some green stuff fingers to complete the job. The Spanish fellow presented no problem once I had cut the original flagstaff away.

Slow, but steady.

Are we the baddies?

They have skulls on their hats, but unlike the Brunswickers, these guys are definitely the baddies.

I've been eyeing the Quatre Bras and Waterloo scenarios included in the Command & Colours: Napoleonics scenario book for quite some time now. I had intended to field a mixed bag of Belgians, Dutch and Nassauers, but some practical considerations have come to the fore.

I play as much Command & Colors: Napoleonics as I can - generally with anyone who will stand still long enough. However, few of my friends and regular players are aficionados of Napoleonic uniforms. Consequently, I have had to make some compromises in the way I play the game - I no longer field units of British Grenadiers or Guards. I usually replace them with Highlanders because players who are not entirely au fait with the period often have difficulty spotting a shoulder wing or blue facings on a 1/72 scale figure.

My Waterloo Anglo-Dutch army will to muster some extra troops before it's ready to take the field. I need six line infantry units, two units of light cavalry, one units of light infantry, one unit of militia, one general and two units of foot artillery. These will represent the mix of Hanoverians, Nassauers, Brunswickers, Dutch and Belgians that were on the field. I had considered using a similar mix of figures to represent this polyglot force, but after play I think it might be fairer to at least have some consistency between troop types. It will make it easier for novice players to distinguish between them and I can add additional regiments as and when I wish.

I've decided that the line infantry will be Dutch, supplied by Hats offering, which gives me an admirable two units per box. The militia will be Dutch militia, that is Hat Peninsular British infantry with a paint conversion.

For guns, Waterloo 1815 do a Dutch-Belgian Artillery set. The guns will need to be replaced, something I can't pretend that I would have realised without plastic soldier reviews trenchant review of the set. But I have some replacement French guns that will do very well.

I've never been taken with HAT's cavalry figures, so I won't be fielding any of their Dutch light dragoons. In fact, I can't think of a single HAT cavalry figure that I've really liked. Their cossacks are passable, but more useful than attractive.

I have a unit of Brunswickers; they dress in black and they wear skulls on their hats*. I like to think of them as the rebellious teenagers of the Napoleonic era. How could I not? I'm also a big fan of Millais as it happens, but these fellows will not be taken into account as I'll only be fielding them when I feel that they won't confuse the situation for new players. Much the same can be said of the squadron of Kennington Dutch-Belgian Carabiniers that I ended up with.

Which brings me back to the problem of Light Cavalry and Light infantry.

The Light Cavalry are a more complicated question. I ended up with the Carabiniers due to a mix up when I ordered some Brunswicker Hussars at rest from SHQ, but didn't send them back because I liked the castings. I would like some Brunwicker Hussars, but I don't want to muster a unit from a range that lacks officers or trumpeters.

And who shall my light infantry be?

It is indeed a puzzlement.

*They are also quite clearly not the baddies - this is important.