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Author Topic: WW1 Greeks  (Read 2509 times)

Offline Firescale Whack

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  • Posts: 297
WW1 Greeks
« on: December 12, 2018, 09:17:34 AM »
I bought some of these Brigade Games Mexican Federales long ago, and haven't found a real good use for them. The uniform however looks
to me quite similiar to the Greek uniform used during the Balkan and Great War. Would they be useable as Greeks or is it perhaps a tad too
adventurous?

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Mexican-Federales-I-5_p_3623.html

Offline Lord Raglan

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2018, 10:01:46 AM »
The things we buy in haste, because we think it's such a great idea at the time, it always amazes me how we all surcome to such a folly. 

Offline waterproof

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2018, 11:10:36 AM »
The mexican federales are missing puttees and shoes, partly. The rest could work.
But you have only some infantry men without every support, machine gun or something more.

Offline Gribb

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2018, 02:05:02 PM »
Time to bring out the greenstuff and sculpting tools ;D That is the only way to make such adventure packs work out. But if you plan on for a large scale project it would be too much hazzle and you would need supporting units in Your army.

And it also comes down to picky you are about such stuff Yourself. If you want to portray them missing shoes and puttees go for it. What a lot of collectors do not take into account(or selectively ignore) is that often in warfare supplies are not up to date as when they left the barracks. Especially when logistics have been hard or failing due to finances. And as the warfare went on not every soldier were equally equipped and having exactly the same tools and backpack luggage.

Any pre-modern army on campaign would have a quite ragtag appearance after a few months in the field. Marching, fighting and sleeping in the same outfit takes a heavy toll on the uniforms. Plenty of examples of armies walking barefoot, sandals or with some sort of improvisation due to lack of supply logistically/financially. They were often of poor quality and first to fall apart.

Offline waterproof

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2018, 02:31:24 PM »
I find it difficult to bring the material battles of WW1 together with barefoot soldiers :). I agree with Gribb that the wear was very high due to the constant wearing of the uniform. Think but the shoes were regularly issued to the troupe. Even with the African units. Except for the Russians, I read that the soldiers exchanged their boots for food. And that they were of poor quality. But we were with the Greeks.

Offline Gribb

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2018, 03:14:40 PM »
You are right it would not look right, though not entirely impossible with a couple being unlucky.
But supply had improved significantly by ww1 than many of the wars of the previous centuries. And quality of uniforms and gear. In earlier wars the issue of shoe supply was far greater.

As said it would depend on the situation. I am not so familiar with ww1 Greek situation of logistics. I assumed they had not as good logistics and the situation in the Balkans being rather chaotic. I need to read more into the ww1 in that region.

Trading boots for food. The Russian army truly was in a terrible state in ww1 :o

Offline waterproof

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2018, 03:31:52 PM »
With the Russians it came already 1914 to supply difficulties. The Russian railway line ended at the Polish border. Russia and Prussia used different railway tracks, track width. Then it continued on foot. The supplies were loaded on ox carts and could not keep pace with the army. Also, Russian officers had enriched with the sale of replenishment.
Uups, i think this is the wrong thread to talk about the russians in ww1.  :D

Offline Gribb

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2018, 03:39:08 PM »
Great in numbers, scarce in supplies. I read about the ways Russian Officers profitted on the cost of their men. You are right, we got a bit carried away. But thanks for the great info, always learn something new on this forum :)

Offline Firescale Whack

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 297
Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2018, 01:31:02 AM »
The things we buy in haste, because we think it's such a great idea at the time, it always amazes me how we all surcome to such a folly. 

Yes, I fall victim to this all the time.  :D

The mexican federales are missing puttees and shoes, partly. The rest could work.
But you have only some infantry men without every support, machine gun or something more.

Interesting you say this because some of the pictures I have found of Greek infantry they are wearing long pants like the Federales.



As for there footwear, the majority are wearing shoes with the rest wearing sandles. It's probably the most stand out detail but as Gribb
says, they could be on campaign perhaps?

I was intending to use them as allies for Balkan front games so I'm not too fussed if support options are not available. Eureka miniatures
produce some 1890 Evzone's with command that could be used for variety though.

http://www.eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_139&products_id=9077

Offline waterproof

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2018, 08:42:43 AM »
Cool picture. It definitely works for the Balkan War. I was more in the ww1 theater of war. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the Balkan wars. As a project certainly interesting.

Offline Lord Raglan

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2018, 07:28:20 PM »
Works for me

Offline argsilverson

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Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2018, 08:24:04 PM »
Tiger miniatures has a dedicated range of Balkan wars Greeks and they are in putees and kepis. They are Ideal for WWI
Their Bulgarian, Serbs and Montenegrin can also work.

http://www.tigerminiatures.co.uk/page23.htm
argsilverson

Offline arktos

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 83
Re: WW1 Greeks
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2018, 04:05:30 PM »
Dear Firescale Whack

Greek army uniforms were highly influenced by the French army. The figures of  Brigade Games Mexican Federales are not depicting Greeks by no way !
They wear officer caps, they have bandoliers crossed their chests ( Greek cavalry men wore them ), and they have no field- bread bags or canteens, not even a bayonet holster or a back pack or even puttees .

Brigade Games also have ''U.S. Army 369th Infantry - Harlem Hellfighters - adv w/bayonet''  which you can use to represent WW 1 Greeks.

I hope that i helped.