Württemberg Command and casualty figures

Returning to the Kingdom of Württemberg for a bit, here we have  a command base featuring Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm.

The base has his dog, a Wurttemberg infantryman, and a mounted officer of the Royal Footguards,

The Prince commanded Wurttemberg troops in 1809, 1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815.

He became the second King pf Wurttemberg in 1816 as Wilhelm I, upon the death of  his father, the King, with whom he had often been at odds.

Two more Wurttemberg command bases.

The base on the left has a regimental officer and a private.

The other base has a staff officer and two wounded soldiers assisting one another. 

As with most of my recent Napoleonic figures, these are from Lucas Luber and Piano wargames.

Two mounted officers, previously seen but now with their basing finished; one from Gardes du Corps and the other the Mounted Grenadiers.

The casualty figure is from the Light Infantry.

Great sculpts by Lucas, as always!

Three more casualty figures.

A line infantrymen, a light infantryman, and a Jager. 

 

General Dominique Joseph René Vandamme commanded the Wurttemberg Corps in 1809.

He was a talented soldier, and being born in Alsace, fluent in German as well. 

However, he was famously irascible, and this probably prevented him from becoming a Marshal of France. Napoleon famously said of Vandamme, "If I had two of them, I would have had to order one to hang the other!"

Wurttemberg Garde zu Fuß Battalion

In 1802 the Grenadier Battalion Zöbel was renamed the Leib-Grenadier-Bataillon, with  Duke Frederick as its inhaber. He renamed the unit the Garde zu Fuβ Bataillon in January 1803. In 1807, the organization of the battalion was changed to mirror that of the line units, and in 1809 a 5th,  light infantry company was added to the Footguards, initially called the Garde-Jäger-Kompanie, and then later (1810), the Garde-Fusilier-Kompanie.  Early in 1814,  following the change from membership in the Rhine Confederation to an alliance with the Allies, three further fusilier companies were raised.  The four light infantry companies were thus formed into a second battalion,  and the resultant, two battalion unit  (one each of Grenadiers and Fusiliers) was renamed as the Garderegiment zu Fuß.

I just love the variety of poses Lucas has sculpted for these figures. 

Note the figure smoking his pipe!

The flag was once again laser printed from the free download files available from the Piano Wargames website. 

Black facings piped in white are worn on the collars, cuffs , and lapels, ornamented by white buttonhole lace (litzen). The turnbacks were initially also black piped white, and then later (1808) just white. 

The uniform of the Fusiliers was identical, except that a black double billed shako with the sides decorated with white chevrons and bearing a tall white  plume was worn in place of the bearskin. The only other difference for the Fusiliers was the wearing of  dark green epaulettes in place of the white one worn by the Garde-Grenadiers.

Wurttemberg I.R. #6, "Kronprinz"

The last of my six units of "new" Wurttemberg Line Infantry musters off the painting table. 

In 1807, the existing infantry battalions of the Army of Wurttemberg were all expanded into two battalion regiments. IR #6, Kronprinz (Crown Prince) derived from the battalion of the same name.

Throughout the era, the unit had white facings piped with scarlet, and brass buttons. 

The facings appeared on the collars, cuffs, lapels, turnbacks, and shoulder straps. 

The flag is of the new pattern ordered by King Frederick in 1807. They were not actually presented to the troops until 1811! These are of course Piano Wargames sculpts (and flags), by Lucas Luber.

Wurttemberg Garde du Corps

The Gardes du Corps comprised a single squadron of the Wurttemberg Gardes zu Pferd. The squadron had its origins circa 1806. 

In 1807, the King expressed a desire for a more impressive uniform for the formation, and the rather striking uniform and helmet seen in these pictures was the result. 

From 1809 uint5il 1814, a black bearskin with a back patch bearing a white cross, white cords and plumes was designated for wear, with the helmet reserved for full dress occasions. 

Rawkins states that there is little or no information available on the uniform worn by the trumpeters; I have given mine black wings piped white, and the black and white checkered soubreveste worn for some dress functions, and the back cummerbund that was worn with it. 

The shabraques once again had a black and white checkered border. The flag is a free download from the Piano wargames site. 

I didn't flock the bases of these two officers, as they may wind up being rebased as part of one or more High Command bases. The figure on the left wears the uniform of an officer of the two Grenadier zu Pferd squadrons of the Leibgarde regiment; those squadrons were raised in 1809.

The other figure wears the uniform of an officer in the Garde du Corps. Once again, these sculpts are all by Lucas Luber of Piano Wargames. 

Note the silver zigzag pattern on a black border (conceptually, a seam of W's, for Wurttemberg) on the yellow officer's shabraque. Like all officers of the Wurttemberg army, the silver mixed with gold, red, and black sash is worn about the waist. 

Wurttemberg Leibjäger Garde

The  Wurttemberg Garderegiment zu Pferd had its origins in 1801, when the Garde-du-Corps and Leibjäger squadrons of the Württemberg Reiter Regiment was separated from it and became an independent squadron under the direct command of Duke Frederick. At this time both were small, less than 50 men each. The Leibjagers performed the functions of the Gendarmerie for the Army.

Until 1808, the Leibjägers wore dark  green coats with red lapels, collar, cuffs, and green turnbacks piped yellow. A red cummerbund was worn around the waist. The pants were white, belts black, and the buttons and contra-epaulettes were brass.  A black helmet with a black comb and a brass plate on the front. and a long trailing black horsehair crest was worn. There was a dark green plume at the front of the comb, which was moved to the left side of the helmet in 1805. By this time, the unit was up to a full squadron (146 men). 

The Leibjäger received a new uniform and headgear in late 1808. The new coat was grass green with  a black collar and black square cuffs.  The turnbacks were yellow with a black edging piped yellow at the extreme edge. The front of the coat was decorated with a wide lace welt approximately 6 inches in width of a yellow and black ½ inch checked pattern. The contra-epaulettes were brass. A black cummerbund sash was worn at the waist over the coat. For gala dress a ‘soubreveste’ was worn over the coat of black lacquered cotton faced felt with a silver star of the order of Militär-Verdienst-Ordens on the breast and back. The edges were trimmed with a four deep with of black and yellow checked lace. The cummerbund sash wasn't worn with the soubreveste. This is the uniform depicted in the Funken plates. 

Also in late 1808 the squadron received new raupenhelm style helmets with black leather slightly elongated crown and a very low comb which supported a thick, black wool raupe. The front of the helmet had a brass plate with the Royal coat of arms flanked by the lion and stag supporters. The base of the helmet was trimmed with a brass band. The national cockade of yellow and red was worn on the left side of the raupenhelm. Above the cockade was a dark green plume. This pattern helmet continued to be worn for gala and parade dress until 1814.

In 1809 a new coat was issued for everyday wear and campaign dress, and the short tunic was reserved solely for gala dress. This was a single breasted, grass green long tailed uniform coat, with collar, cuffs and turnbacks faced black. The front of the coat was piped yellow and closed with nine brass buttons and the seams on the tails were piped with yellow. Cuffs were of the square cut pattern with two buttons one on the cuff actual and one above. The collar was decorated with yellow lace edging to the leading and bottom edges. The cuffs were trimmed in yellow at the upper and trailing edges and the turnbacks were also edged yellow. Full fringed yellow epaulettes were worn at the shoulders. This is the uniform seen above. 

In 1809 the Leibjäger rtecieved black bearskin bonnets, without a front plate for wear during campaign. The Leibjäger bearskin had a black cloth patch at the rear with a yellow lace cross and  yellow cords and flounders. A dark green plume was worn on the left side of the bonnet with a small socket conceal behind the national cockade which was now yellow, black and red. The chinscales were brass. Once again, this is as depicted above. 

The shabraque from 1808 on was dark green, with a broad band of yellow and black checks edging it. The officers had red edging with a zigzag yellow lace running through it, a glimpse of which can be seen on some of images of the standard bearer. The flag is speculative at best, the deign being known for only the Garde du Corps squadron. These lovely figures (and the flag) are from Lucas Luber and Piano Wargames in Germany. 

Wurttemberg I.R. #5, "Prinz Friedrich von Wurttemberg"

The Kingdom of Wurttemberg has another infantry regiument marching off the painting table this week!

The 5th Regiment has sky blue facings and pewter buttons. 

Therse are Piano Wargames figures once again, designed by Lucas Luber. 

The flags were laser printed from free downloads from the Piano Wargames site. 

The Inhaber of this regiment, Prinz Friedrich, was the King's nephew, who was 1 year old in 1809!

Prinz Friedrich later pursued a military career, with involvement in the Austro-Prussian war on the losing (Austrian) side.

Wurttemberg I.R #1, "Prinz Paul"

 

In 1807, the line infantry of the Kingdom of Wurttemberg replaced the previous Rumford style helmets with a new Raupenhelm.

The Grenadier companies had an unusual version with the raupe transverse, in some ways resembling the earlier Miters of the 7 Years War and early Prussian and Russian Napoleonic armies. Here, the Grenadier company is in the front, on the right side of the line. 

Infanterie Regiment #1 had yellow facings with white piping, and white metal buttons. These are once again Piano Wargamer figures by Lucas Luber. 

King Frederick of Wurttemberg devoted a lot of time and money to the army of his Kingdom, and expected them to perform well on campaign and in battle. 

The Army of Wurttemberg formed a small Corps in 1809, under the command of General de Division Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme. Vandamme was born in Cassel and was fluent in German. He had a nasty disposition that alienated his colleagues, and he also publicly criticized Napoleon. A talented commander otherwise, those character features were doubtless why Napoleon never appointed him to the Marshalate!

Note the rear view of the Grenadier helmets here. During the 1809 campaign, the Wurttembergers fought at Abensberg, Eckmuhl, and Landshut.