Portuguese 18th Infantry & a General completed.

These figures took a little while longer than usual to complete due to competing Summer activities. When I finish this project I will have enough Spanish and Portuguese to field a Brigade each (although the Portuguese will have one battalion per regiment rather than their usual two). 

I did not have enough figures to create a command base so the 18th Infantry will be flagless for the time being. 

It makes a change with Hintons not to have to paint backpacks 

The General makes his presence known at the centre of the square 

The light company has green tufts to their epaulettes which you can see with the aid of a magnifying glass! Yes I know their numbers are disproportianate but I have kept to my habit of a base each of grenadiers and light (the grenadiers have slightly different epaulettes from the centre companies).   

Their general (aka French General FN224). After closer examination I believe him to be a vintage Hinton Hunt rather than my earlier conclusion that he was a good copy. 

If you check out David Crenshaw's excellent Miniature Minion's blog you will find an identical pose in his Dick Tennant collection which leads me to believe this is a vintage figure. All my other FN224s are Claytons.   

A Clayton Hinton Hunt FN224 to his right as comparison. His right looking head is  less pronounced than his Portuguese counterpart.  

The next time these two appear together they will be on opposite sides of the battlefield. I have a scenario in mind based on an actual Peninsula battle.

A New Portuguese and Spanish Project

I had pretty well made up my mind to draw my Hinton Hunt collecting days to a close when I was overcome by ebay temptation recently (you all know the feeling!).

Until now my Spanish and Portuguese contingent has been represented by a single battalion of each (Kennington figures) a battery of Spanish artillery (Kennington) some Spanish Hussars (Kennington) and a recently completed Newline Portuguese battery. 

I now have enough Portuguese and Spanish infantry figures to represent a couple of Brigades and they will keep me occupied for the rest of the year. First up will be Portuguese 18th Infantry (2nd Oporto) together with a mounted General. I chose the 18th for no other reason than they are illustrated in Philip Haythornwaite's "Uniforms of the Peninsula War" and I like their red with yellow piping facing colour. 

The figures appear to be Clayton castings (PTN4) except the officer (PTN1) which looks to be vintage. The General Officer is actually French (FN224) and a reasonably copy but will paint up well as an Iberian counterpart. Incidentally I noticed that the pose of this figure is slightly different compared to others in my collection in that his head is looking distinctly to the right. 

A 24 figure battalion plus Officer and General ready for their undercoat. 

Waterloo - Another Go at D'Erlon's Attack (The Conclusion)

The French continue their push to take control of the ridge and the strategic farmhouse of La Haye Sainte

 

Ompteda's men move forward off the ridge to confront the besiegers of  LHS

But look out, cuirassiers are on the move!

Continued pressure along the whole of the allied line East of the crossroads

Despite the breakthrough at the crossroads the defenders of La Haye Sainte hold out 

The head of Donzelot's column have made it on to the road to grapple with Pack's brigade

At the top of the picture Marcognet's Division has also made it on to the road but it's ranks are much thinned. In the mid ground the 42nd are trying to stop any further break in the line

Just as Marcognet's battered men take their section of the ridge Vandeleur's dragoons are ordered forward. 

.......and the Union brigade also makes it's move

Meanwhile the cuirassiers have made made good ground, by-passing the ongoing melee between Ompteda's and Quiot's troops, only to meet the Household brigade 

The result of this melee outside LHS could be crucial 

The dragoons have seen off Marcognet's columns and now swing round to have a go at Donzelot's column. The 79th emboldened by the Greys' success move round to take on Quiot's troops in the flank

The French columns suddenly look less threatening

Will the gates hold out?

The household cavalry have forced the cuirassiers back and Ompteda's brigade has driven off the French attackers from the West face of LHS

Quiot's Division has failed to take La Haye Sainte and has stalled at the crossroads.

The French fall below 50 % strength and the general retreat is sounded.

I don't suppose this will be the last time I have a go at this scenario. It was a much closer affair than the first game due to the augmented French battalions. Unlucky dice rolls in melees and the introduction of the allied cavalry decided the fate of the French this time. 

Waterloo - Another Go At D'erlon's Attack (Part 2)

 The French columns have started to engage the whole of the allied lines 

The Dutch Belgian line is beginning to buckle

If they break, cannister awaits the French columns

La Haye Sainte is being besieged on three sides

My (very) vintage Hinton Hunt fusiliers taking on Kennington riflemen masquerading as KGL

The grand battery is able to fire off some shots where gaps appear between the columns

                         

No breakthrough yet

The 95th rifles are beaten back from the sandpit 

The  Austrian and Russian attaches in the middle of the cross roads stand their ground! (or I forgot to move them out of the way!) 

Alten's men start to advance in support of the beleagured defenders of LHS. 

The rest of the allied line still looks strong despite the rupture at the crossroads

Lots of melees to resolve!

A Dutch battalion has been beaten back behind Best's Hanoverians 

Picton's troops in line on the road and ready to receive

Will Kempt's brigade plug the gap in the centre?

At this point in the battle half of Quiot's Division are bogged down at La Haye Sainte but the rest are breaking through at the cross roads. Donzelot's Division are looking very threatening to their right. Marcognet's Division are less cohesive but are still a danger on the right wing.

The conclusion in the next post.

Waterloo - Another go at D'Erlon's attack. (Part 1)

 After my first restaging in January I quickly decided to do it all over again! I still had a lot of victorious allied troops on the table and it seemed a shame to put them back in their cabinets so soon. This time I wanted to better represent the strength of the French line battalions. I could just about field the number required using the remainder of my French line collection plus a couple of stand ins.   

To speed up the game I put all of the now augmented French Line battalions on the table from the start. This stretched their frontage beyond the grand battery which was already deployed. 

  

. Young Guard tirailleurs in the foreground were rebadged as line. 

En avant!

The starting positions viewed from the French lines

Quiot's columns starts to engage with the KGL in the La Haye Sainte orchard

At the top of the picture Marcognet's men are being staggered by artillery fire

Alten's KGL represented again by British figures

The disruption to Marcognet's columns from gun fire is evident to the right

The Dutch Belgians holding firm at the moment

Alten's Division have moved into line along the ridge in anticipation of an infantry assault

The French columns fast approaching the allied line. Quiot's troops are behind the rest due to manouvering around La Haye Sainte  

 

Surely the French Columns must succeed this time!

But this is what faces them

Melees begin across the line

The effects of allied artillery can be seen by lack of cohesion of the columns on the left and right of the picture. The Dutch Belgians are the first to meet their foes.

See how they get on in the next post.