Sharp Practice 1809 Project - Update 2/2023: Sharp Practice AAR

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@DintheDin: Thanks, I guess I was lucky in hitting that tone of brown.

@Shahbahraz: Cheers, much appreciated!

@OSHIROmodels: Thanks, Sir!


Right now I'm painting AB miniatures Prussians for 1806 for a gentleman elsewhere, but I already prepared the next figures for my Sharp Practice project: As you may remember, I'm planning to have my Austrians suit for all sorts of theatres of war for the war of the fifth coalition. Apart from Tyrol I'm focusing on the Vistula Campaign for now. The Austrian Corps over there didn't have any Jägers with them, but several battalions of Grenzers light infantry. I'm planning to do two units of Grenzers, both either 1st Szekler or 1st Wallachian (probably the latter, not sure). Neither of those regiments wore the tobacco brown coats by 1809 (they only really got them in 1814, I read), so they'll look a bit like Hungarian line infantry: white coats, sky blue breeches with some nice adornments. The only thing that makes them recognizable as Grenzers (to my knowledge) will be the odd (kinda stovepipe-ish) shako.

Once those are done I think I'd like to proceed to getting started on the force for the Duchy of Warsaw, so even during lock-down my Austrians got some opposition.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Heyhey. I got to workin' on the next figures for this project - 2 units of skirmishers and one officer from Militärgrenzregiment Nr.14, Székler Nr.1. Just a WIP shot for now (and weirdly blurry), but at least from the picture you can guess which colour goes where, and detailwork's not done yet properly anyway.


full size image:

Just a slightly blurry WIP shot.

These chaps retained their white coats until 1815; officers and NCOs seem to have gotten their prescribed tobacco brown coats (which we see Grenzers in usually) a bit earlier than that. For 1809 though it's white coats for everybody.

First of the units I do specifically for the Vistula campaign (as all the infantry for the Tyrolean theatre of war is done). These guys were detached from the main force for the battle of Raszyn, the only proper battle of the campaign. But once I find good literature on the matter I'm very sure that the campaign is ripe with all sorts of skirmish fun. Loads of space to skirmish, loads of uncooperative folk, loads of horrifying Polish horsemen, ...


edit: Right, fixed the picture link now.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Do we know which - if any - of the Grenzer regiments did have the tobacco brown coats in 1809?  I'm particularly looking at the Advance Guard forces that opposed the Bavarians at Landshut and elsewhere in the opening days/weeks.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Baron von Wreckedoften: I'm going by Rawkins' (Historybookguy) ebook on the Austrian-Hungarian army. According to him the order to wear tobacco brown coats was issued in 1798. Grenz regiments 1, 2, 4, 10 and 11 adopted the brown coats in 1807. Grenz regiments 7, 8 and 9 got them right away in 1798. Grenz regiment 1 (Lika), 2 (Otocac) and 4 (Szluin) changed cuff/color/turnback colours along with the coats as well: 1&2 from violet to "kaiser yellow", 4 from orange to sulphur yellow. I don't have the orders of battle at hand for the campaign around Landshut. All other regiments made the switch later, between 1810 and 1814, apart from Grenz regiments 13 and 14, which got brown coats after the end of hostilities in 1815, although NCOs and officers seem to have gotten the brown coats a bit earlier. So that might make for a nice spot of paint as well.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Thanks - I don't have the books with me (basically "With Eagles to Glory" and the "Thunder on the Danube" trilogy, but from memory I think it was regiments 7 and 8, which is great as they were wearing the brown coats in 1809.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Indeed! And according to our sources a.) The Street's the Place to gooooooooo and b.) these regiments had the mysterious cuff/collar/turnback colour "grisdelin".

[Aaron]

First of the units I do specifically for the Vistula campaign (as all the infantry for the Tyrolean theatre of war is done). These guys were detached from the main force for the battle of Raszyn, the only proper battle of the campaign. But once I find good literature on the matter I'm very sure that the campaign is ripe with all sorts of skirmish fun. Loads of space to skirmish, loads of uncooperative folk, loads of horrifying Polish horsemen, ...

Hopefully I didn't butcher the quotes...

Great brushwork, Sigur. The 1809campaign has long been my favorite. For info on the Vistula theater, try "Operations of the Polish Army During the 1809 Campaign" by Roman Soltyk. It is written by a Polish general and is very biased, but it contains a lot of detail on the smaller actions. I see that there is currently one copy on the US Amazon for $20.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Indeed! And according to our sources a.) The Street's the Place to gooooooooo and b.) these regiments had the mysterious cuff/collar/turnback colour "grisdelin".

From searching on the Interweb, "gris-de-lin" just seems to be a posh way of saying "beige"!!!

[Shahbahraz]

Brown coats with beige facings..  very 1960s. Well ahead of their time..

[Battle Brush Sigur]

I hear they wore orange turtlenecks underneath the coats too.

[Shahbahraz]

I heard they were unprepared for invasion as they were all out at Fondue parties... 

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

And what else for dessert but Black Forest Gateaux?

[Codsticker]

Wonderful thread Sigur. Really fantastic work as usual.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Sharhbahraz:

@Baron von Wreckedoften: Hey, when it comes to desserts there's a vast range of things to choose from in the Austrian army.

@Codsticker: Thanks very much, Sir! Always appreciated.



Well, well, well. I'm making good time on these ca. 600 AB miniatures, so I found some time to finish the Grenzers:



...despite my vow not to paint anything with a crossbelt the next weeks. Anyway, the bases look decidedly un-exciting in the picture. Now sure how that happened, but I'll have another look at the figures and maybe add some more different-looking static grass and tufts.

Once again, lovely figures by Front Rank. absolutely amazing faces; just a joy to look at. I have no idea which unit's up next. As mentioned above, I'm a bit burnt out on Napoleonics for now. I've done a LOT of Nappy stuff for other people in 2020, which is lovely and I'm mighty happy I get to do that, but it tends to scratch my Napoleonic itch, and I prefer painting something else for my own collections. But who knows.

Anyway, I think that's the last of my Austrian units done for now. Wow. At some point I'd like to add cavalry, but oh well. Maybe Perry plastics, maybe I'll go for Front Rank for those too.

In the mean time I could get started on Poles? I got plenty of cavalry for those of course. Oh, or I could finish that bloody coach for the Austrian staff officer, I guess...

[Codsticker]

... the bases look decidedly un-exciting in the picture. Now sure how that happened, but I'll have another look at the figures and maybe add some more different-looking static grass and tufts.

Really? I think they look quite nice- very natural.