1870-71 Winter Campaign Units

[Gareth121]

I've just finished this unit of FPW Prussian Cuirassiers for my Battle of Bapaume project. Fingers crossed this posts ok!

[pierre the shy]

Very nice Gareth 

I don't know a lot about the FPW but there was much more to it than just the initial large border battles in Alcase-Lorraine and the seige of Paris wasn't there?

[Leon]

These look excellent, very nice!

[Steve J]

Very nice Gareth .

[mmcv]

Excellent, very dynamic

[fred.]

Those are nice figures, and well painted up too.

[Chris Pringle]

I don't know a lot about the FPW but there was much more to it than just the initial large border battles in Alcase-Lorraine and the seige of Paris wasn't there?

Oh yeah, it was a seriously large war. Compared with the American Civil War, FPW mustered about 50%-75% as many troops in the field and generated 50%-75% as many major battles (if your cut-off for 'major' is about 30,000+ troops per side). Total battle casualties were about a quarter or so those for ACW, but the ACW dragged on for much longer because of the sheer size of the country and the resulting logistical challenges, so there were many more smaller battles (and many more deaths from disease).

Anyway, FPW: yes, it has lots to offer gaming-wise, with one pair of contrasting armies facing off in the imperial phase, and then a very different contrast in the republican phase.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/

[Westmarcher]

Very nice unit*   
*somehow 'old school' in the figure pose - but no doubt following contemporary doctrine.

Anyway, FPW: yes, it has lots to offer gaming-wise, with one pair of contrasting armies facing off in the imperial phase, and then a very different contrast in the republican phase.

I don't know a lot about this conflict either and have always been put off starting a collection for the period because of its brevity and size of armies involved. However, lately it's got me thinking that the FPW could be viewed as an entry point for gaming not only it but also the various European wars that immediately preceded it. In this respect I'm reminded that it was a war between France and a Prussian led German Confederation and that this confederation included other States such as Bavaria and Wurttemberg both of which were at war with Prussia only 4 years previously as part of an Austrian led German Confederation? If so, the hobbyist has the option to war-game another conflict, the 1866 'Six Weeks War' between Austria and Prussia, with existing armies? And when an Austrian army is added to the collection, presumably you could also use these against the French to re-fight battles of the 1859 Risorgimento? Which then means, of course, you would have to collect an Italian Piedmontese army .... and so it could go on.  Damn it! If only I was younger!   

[Perhaps from a sanity point of view, best to stick to the ACW?     ]

[Gareth121]

Very nice Gareth 

I don't know a lot about the FPW but there was much more to it than just the initial large border battles in Alcase-Lorraine and the seige of Paris wasn't there?

Yes that's right. At the moment my focus is on the second (Republican) phase of the war after the fall of the 2nd Empire and the virtual destruction of the professional army. The Republicans built 5 armies almost from scratch to continue the struggle, one on the Loire, one in Paris, one in the East of the country, a very odd one in the Vosges region and one in the north around Picardy. It is a very interesting period.

[Ray Rivers]

Nicely done!

The Prussian Cuirassiers are among my favorite sculpts. They are so dynamic and ... well... Cuirassiers! 

[John Cook]

Very well painted.  I dislike the pose of the figures though.

[fsn]

Seems to be a valid pose; I'm guessing you're not keen on its dynamism.

[paulr]

 

Very nice painting and basing, I look forward to seeing more

I quite like the pose but prefer at least a couple of poses, especially for cavalry

[Techno II]

Very nice work, Gareth ! 

Cheers - Phil

[Leman]

The golden rule for heavy cavalry is stick 'em with the pointy end. There are a couple of minor drawbacks to the wars preceding the FPW. 1866 Austrian infantry tended to wear greatcoats, 1859 Austrians wore a white linen jacket, even the jaeger. 1859 Austrian hussars wore a coloured shako but many hussars in 1866 wore a natty little busby. The 1866 Saxons wore light blue with a peaked cap and many other German states wore a similar or peakless field cap in 1866, such as the Bavarians in their little light blue peaked caps. All French Imperial line infantry in 1870 wore red fringed epaulettes, but most units ditched these after Sedan. Even more irritating is that in the Crimea and Italy in the 1850s only line grenadier companies wore red epaulettes. The ordinary line companies and the light companies wore different colour combinations of epaulettes. There are other notable variations; even Pendraken produce Prussians in the 1860 and the 1867 pickelhaub (spot the problem for 1866). There was a time when I might have been overly concerned about all this, but nowadays the only concession I make to historical accuracy is to have 1866 Saxons in the correct uniforms; everything else gets fudged.

On a slightly different tack, if you don't have an Italian army of the period but would like to use the Bersaligieri figures there is a Genest picture which shows a franc tireur unit in the eastern campaign around Dijon wearing a very similar looking uniform.