1866 Austrians - greatcoat or kittel?

[julesav]

Hi Guys

If one were to buy an Austrian army for 1866 - should the infantry be wearing tunic/kittel or greatcoat?

cheers

Julesav

[Leman]

Greatcoat for 1866, kittel for 1859:

Here are some 1866 - these are the old range. The new ones are more detailed:

[mollinary]

DP is right as always,  greatcoat for 1866, kittel for 1859.   That said, it is your army, and there are enough accounts from eye witnesses in Bohemia 1866 who refer to the Austrian "whitecoats", for you to justify using them if you prefer them.

Mollinary

[julesav]

Thanks very much for that - it confirmed my thoughts nicely! Great pj in the pic DP!

[Hertsblue]

Yes, I was always given to understand that the Austrian infantry wore their greatcoats in the 1866 campaign. However, many of the contemporary illustrations show them in white kittel (but I suspect that some of these illustrators never went further east than Whitechapel). However, as Mollinary says, some of the eye-witnesses speak of "white coated masses". I think you pays your money and you takes your choice.

[Leman]

If you're strapped for cash and also want to game 1859 then a kittel army is the best bet as it is an instantly recognisable Austrian army. However if you are only interested in gaming 1866 (or 1864) or you can afford two Austrian armies then the greatcoat army is the one to go for. Take a look at the Nachod 1866 photos in the Nachod thread. All the Austrians are in white but it still looks great.

[julesav]

Great info guys! Thanks!

I'll initially be aiming for 1864 but nice to know they can slip into 1866 with no problem!