Vive l'Empereur!

Finally, we have l'Empereur himself, astride his favorite mount, Marengo, accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Marechal Berthier, and one of his twelve officers d' ordonnance. 

Like Marecdhal Davout, I have had a Minifigs Napoleon in my collection for many decades, but a serious upgrade was called for, hence these Front Rank figures. 

Some have minimized the importance of Berthier, but not Napoleon, who missed him sorely during the 100 Days campaign. 

The deep sky blue uniform of the  Imperial officer d'ordonnance is quietly striking. 

Vive l'Empereur!

Marechal Davout, General Grouchy, and freind

I am not even going to attempt a biography of my favorite Marshal, Louis-Nicolas Davout!

Duc d'Auerstadt, Prince d'Eckmuhl, and his nickname as the Iron Marshal is a good a one line summary as any!

Davout was not fond of flashy dress, and is depicted in this (relatively) subdued version of the uniform of a Marshal of France. His companion similarly wears regulation dress of a Colonel of a line infantry regiment. 

I have had a figure for Davout for decades, and old Minifig casting. Monsieur le Marechal needed an upgrade, however, ably provided by this figure from Front Rank; the colonel is by Foundry. 

A pair of Cavalry commanders is next; to the left is Emmanuel, Marquis  de Grouchy, "before I was a Marshal"wearing his elaborate, self designed uniform as Colonel-General of Chasseurs. I have seen the ornamentation on the uniform depicted in in both gold and silver; silver seems more appropriate for the Chasseurs! One plate showing a cloak like this has it in dark green, but I used a contrasting light yellow/tan hue instead. 

The other figure is a superior officer of one of the Amaranth faced chasseur regiments, eveidently the 30th. He has adopted the popular  fashion (for officers) of having his trousers in the regiment's facing color as well. 

The pair of beau-sabres are quite a contrast to the dour Davout! Grouchy is once again by Front Rank, and the Chasseur is another re-purposed Foundy colonel; I don't think the chasseur's horse is from either, however

Maréchal Suchet et ses compagnons

Louis Gabriel Suchet was born in 1770, near Lyon, and looked to follow in the business of his father, a quite successful silk merchant. However, he caught the Revolutionary fervor, and joined the Lyon national guard. By 1793, he was a Lieutenant Colonel, and fought at the siege of Toulon, coming to the attention of General Bonaparte.  He later commanded the 4th battalion of the 18th Demibrigade, part of the Army of Italy, and during the 1796 campaigns fought with distinction at Dego, Lodi, Borghetto, Castiglione, Peschiera, and Bassano. As part of Massena's Division, he fought at Arcola and Rivoli. 

In 1798, he served as Chief of Staff to General Brune in Switzerland. and later that year was finally promoted to General de Brigade, and served as Chief of Staff to the Army of Italy under Joubert. While listed among the officers to take part in the Egyptian campaign, he ultimately wound up returning to Italy, subsequently commanding a Brigade in Massena's Army of Switzerland where he again distinguished himself; he later became Massena's Chief of Staff. In 1799, when Joubert was placed in command of the Army of Italy, he allegedly made having Suchet as his Chief of staff a condition of accepting the post. Unfortunately, Joubert didn't fare well in Italy, and against the advice of Suchet and others, gave battle at Novi, where the French were decisively beaten by Suvorov and his Russians, Joubert himself being killed early in the battle. With the return of General Bonaparte from Egypt and the subsequent Coup d' etat of 18 Brumaire 1799, Massena was appointed to command the Army of Irtaly. By that time, Suchet had left for France, but was convinced to take a command under him. 

Monsieur le Marechal is a Front Rank figure, and the colonel accompanying him is Foundry. In Spain, Suchet's command included some Swiss troops, so I have painted the colonel in a uniform suggestive of a Swiss regiment, in part to make Suchet's base stand out from the crowd! 

During the 1800 campaign in Italy under Massena, Suchet commanded  the center with 12.00 men. Under presuure from Melas's Austrians, Massena and the left wing were forced to retreat to Genoa, where he famously held the city as long as possible before capitulating on June 4th, Soult commanding the right wing was captured, and Suchet retreated to Nice. As Melas advanced, he was forcesd to withdraw to the ,line of the river Var, defending the French interior. Melas occupied Nice on May 13th, but Suchet and his men, although greatly outnumbered, succesfully held the line of the Var for 10 days. The arrival of Bonaparte in his rear eventually compelled Melas to withdraw, and Suchet re-entered Nice on May 29th. He pursued the Austrians vigorously, moved into the Tenda pass in early June, and defeating an Austrian force under General Elnitz several times, reached the Genoa river., and crossed into the plain of the Bormida river. In the process, his forces captured 15,000 men, 30 cannons, and 6 standards. 

Suchet had hoped to command a Corps in 1805, but instead lead an excellent infantry Division,  first under Soult and then under Lannes. His Division held the Santon mound at the Battle of Austerlitz, where it fought with distinction. During the 1806-1807 campaign, Suchet's Division was part of the V Corps under Lannes. It was one of the first to fight the Prussians (at Sallfield), lead the second  attack at Jena, and fought at Pultusk and Ostrolenka. he was sent to Spain in 1808. Interestingly, Suchet married Honorine Anthoine de Saint-Joseph  a niece of both Joseph Bonaparte's wife, Julie Clary, and Bernadotte's wife, Desiree Clary, on 16 November 1808.They had three children: The arranged marriage was a happy one, and his wife evidently often accompanied him on campaign, 

The center figure is an ADC to a General de Brigade, as evidenced by the blue brassard on his  right  arm (just like the sashes of their commanders, the brassards were red for an ADC to a General de  Division and white for those of a Marshal).  The mounted officers (colonels) wee included in the command packs of some recently purchased Foundry French line infantry. As I don't use mounted colonels in my infantry units, they were surplus. I have put them use as ADC's or temporary commanders of smaller forces. 

Described as "reserved, methodical, and dependable", Suchet was one of the very few to perform well and enhance his reputation in Spain. With the approach of war with Austria in 1809, Suchet was finally given the independent command he had sought since his days in Italy. He was appointed to command "3 mediocre  Divisions ", which would become the Army of Aragon. He lost his first (and only) battle with Spanish regulars to General Blake at Alcaniz on May 23, 1809. The men were ill fed, all but unpaid, and undisciplined. Suchet took measures to improve all three, as well as to work with the population of the province, respecting their religion and customs. He became by far the most successful of the French military governors. Less than a month later he defeated Blake twice at the battles of Maria and Belchite. He collaborated in the siege of Saragossa, at the conclusion of which he was actually thanked by the Spanish authorities. He went on to gradually subdue most of Catalonia as well, culminating in the successful siege of Taragona (May - June 1811), and a Marshal's baton for Suchet at last  on July 11, 1811. 

Ordered to subdue Valencia by Napoleon, Suchet bottled up General Blake in that city in January 1812; after only 7 days the city fell, and Suchet captured 18,00 Spanish regulars, along with Blake himself. Napoleon responded by naming him Duke of Albufera. He held his opwn through most of 1812, but as Wellington advanced, and troops were drawn off to the Emperor's armies in Germany. Despite another victory at Molina del Rey in January 1814, Suchet and his few remaining men finally returned to France in March 1814. He met the returning King Ferdinand of Spain near the border, who thanked Suchet for his benevolent conduct. he served the Bourbons under the restoration, but supported Napoleon when he returned to power in 1815. He was appointed to command the French Army of the Alps and was stationed near his birthplace in Lyon. He prevented that city from being dacked by the allies. After Napoleon's defeat (some have argued, with justice, that Suchet would have made a far better chief of staff to Napoleon than Soult), he was dismissed by the Bourbons (although later restored in 1819, He tried to persuade Ney to flee the country, offering him money, a passport, and an escort. Suchet died in relative obscurity in 1826; the following month the citizens of Sargossa attended a mass for his soul in their cathedral. 

Suchet's grave in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery (from Wikipedia)

Napoleon, asked while on St. Helena,. which of his generals was most skillful, answered "That is difficult to say, but it seems to me that it was Suchet..." Brigadier Peter Young stated of Suchet "he was a general of great ability, the superior in military skill to all but Massena, Davout, Soult, and perhaps Macdonald." "Few indeed of the 26 could equal Suchet's record, whether for military ability or personal integrity."

Four Austrian GM's

That's GM as in General-Major, the Austrian equivalent of a Brigadier General, not game master!

These are more Foundry figures. To the right is a Hungarian Cavalry general 

Nice sculpts all. 

To the left is an officer in the somewhat outdated hechtcrau coat from the late 1790's. 

The black and gold sash was worn by all Austrian officers, from a lowly lieutenant to a Feldmarschal. 

A second pair of Austrian Generals.

The figure to the right is from Front Ranks, and judging by the sash being worn over his shoulder, is probably meant to be a staff officer. However, he is serving as a Brigade commander; perhaps a battlefield promotion? 

I am not quite sure as to the manufacturer of the figure wearing the overcoat. Maybe Old Glory?

The fur trimmed collar would be nice in December in Bohemia... say at Austerlitz?!

Regardless, he does have a rather weary look to him!

FML Johann Hiller and GdK Heinrich Graf Bellegarde

In preparation for the Crisis on the Danube" Campaigns, and a future replay of Wagram, I decided that I need more Austrian commanders, especially at the Corps level.

I purchased some additional high commands figures from both Front Rank and Foundrylast year, and now it's time to paint them!

This is the Foundry figure for GdK Heinrich Graf Bellegarde, with a Friont Rank general accompanying him. I have Bellegarde painted in an out dated 1798 hechtgrau (pike grey, a decidedly blue color). staff officer's coat... mostly dfor the sake of variety!

  

Bellegarde  (1756 - 1845) was born in Dresden and began his career in the Saxon infantry before transferring to Imperial service in the cavalry. He commanded the I Corps in 1809. His leadership was described as "capable but unimaginative". 

By Josef Kriehuber - personal photo of the original lithograph, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4775851

I have used a generic Foundry general to represent FML Johann Hiller (1748 - 1819).

Hiller was a commoner and the son of a Colonel in the KuK army. He rose from the ranks, and was "popul;ar with his men, but widely disliked among his brother officers for blatant ambition and self seeking". One suspects his lack of Noble birth may have been a factor in that, however. 

Hiller commanded the VI Corps in 1809, and saved the left wing of the army in Bavaria, and defeated Bessieres at the battle of Neumarkt. His Corps lead the attack on Aspern, eventually holding the village after it changed hands nine times over the course of the battle. He sat out the battle of Wagram pleading ill health. 

Johann von Hiller, from Wikimedia, artist unknown.

Hiller had a difficult relationship with Karl, who described him as "an able man, but of unlimited ambition, which he deviously advanced". 

This winter has been relatively warm in New England, and with a lot of rain and little snow. Fortunately, it snowed last week in Vermont, and thus there was snow on the ground (and ski trails) last weekend when we visited our friends. 

Rory, senior among the five Goldens in our home, loves to lie and roll in the snow!

Huzzah for the Red, White, and (Bavarian) Blue!

I needed a few more Bavarian leaders for my Tyrol games, and thus added some figures to my Front Rank order a year or so ago.

 I believe the bare headed figure is Carl Philipp Josef von Wrede. 

During the Tyrolian revolt of 1809, the Tirolese nick named him "The Angel of Death".

Wrede was created a Prince of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and Field Marshal in the Bavarian Army in 1814, by which time he was of course fighting against Napoleon instead of with him. 

Another Bavarian officer,  perhaps Deroy? the aiguillette suggests an aide, though. We'll let him be Deroy, though.  Deroy fought at Eggmuhl in 1809, and then in the Tyrol, where he was the commander of the Bavarians at the 2nd Battle of Berg Isel. 

He looks rather contemplative! Perhaps he is considering the decision to slip away from Innsbruck under cover of darkness after the stalemate battle of Berg Isel? 

Deroy was probably second only to Wrede in prominence in the Bavarian army.

He was a veteran of many of the conflicts that Bavaria was engaged in, starting with the Seven Years War.

Bernard Erasmus von Deroy was wounded in the abdomen at the 1st Battle of Polotsk in Russia, and yet continued to lead his troops during the battle; he died of complications of his wound a few days later, on August 23, 1812.