French foreign legion in Sahara

[Plynkes]

My Mexican Osprey book isn't much help, it shows three French soldiers of different types, including a Legionnaire, and all three have green and yellow or green and red epaulettes. Yet the text says the standard colour was red. I also found this diorama of Camerone...



I don't know what the answer is, but I'd like to know for sure. I suspect it is indeed to do with troop types, but I really don't know.

[argsilverson]

OK I am convinced. I'll check my reference books and give you details. Since I am at office and my books are at home, the news will come either very late in the night or tomorrow.

[Stéphane]

The Légion étrangère (foreign legion) use many differents troops. Light ones with green epaulettes and other ligne troops with reds ones and probalby horses too. That is what I belive.

Stéphane

[Lowtardog]

Those with the green epaulettes would have been light infantry/company etc

Here is a good link which may help

http://www.geocities.com/fenerator/maxunif.htm

[Calimero]

Je croyais que les épaulettes de la Légion Étrangère étaient rose et a pois vert??? 

Anyhow, that kind of painting standard on 15mm figures is quite amazing!
Hope to see some more of your work soon! 

[warrenpeace]

Stephane,

If you are not already familiar with this website, you need to go here:

http://www.warflag.com/shadow/index.html

This website was put together by Ian Croxall.  He has good links to uniform info, movies, sources for figures and terrain, and a bibliography.  He also has posted photos and descriptions of games he has produced using his "Red Shadow" character.  I've had the great good fortune to have played in a couple of his "Red Shadow" games.  Really good stuff!

Warren

[argsilverson]

As I promised some notes, all data is from:

Uniforms of the french Foreign Legion
by Martin Windrow
illustrated by Mike Chappell
Blandford Press reprinted and revised 1986, paperback 1986:

1852: green epaulettes with red crescent. [No 13]
1863: mexico: red epaulettes
1868: legion has distinctive epaulettes: green epaulettes with red fringes for all companies.[No 24]
1886: tonkin as for 1868. the figure is depicted wearing the colonial pith helmet. [30]
there are numerous depictions of various legionnaires, in both white and red trousers without epaulettes in campaign dress.
1900-1913: parade dress still: green epaulettes with red fringes. [Nos 41,43]
ww1: horizon blue uniform no epaulettes
1920's white or khaki fatigue dress [it is stated that they wear and a combination of the two] No 53 is one sergeant, all white uniform, black (I think) kepi, green epaulettes with red fringes. rank chevrons in green.
the next plates show various in khaki uniforms till ww2. usually in campaign dress no epaulettes. all parade dress, walking out dress etc all show the same epaulettes; green with red fringes. Book stops at 1981 so, the last figure is end of 70's.

in the last parade in france legionaires had epaulettes. I cannot remember the colour.

so, contrary to the popular belief [be sure I thought that legion's epaulletes were always red, until now] the epaulettes of french foreign legion were: green with red for all companies.

hope I helped you. 


however what I am writing here has nothing to do with Stephane's work. It is marvellous
and if I understand well from the photo Stephane has correct epaulettes! 

[Landsknecht]

Minifigs makes a 15mm scale line for French Foreign Legion and Berbers.  They are still at:http://www.minifigs.com/

Could you not find Foreign Legion figures?

I've found the Stone mountain

ones and I had try to make an order this last summer. But They are not very reactiv to my e-mail. So, I had these mini from ESSEX and last days a big pulsion to peint some légionnaires  .
But, I need the stones mountain arab or berbers for finish the project. So, it si probably not finish soon 

Stéphane
[/quote]

[Plynkes]

Thanks, argsilverson. Good work. And sorry for distracting attention away from Stéphane's figures. I was curious as to the answer, that's all. Interesting that it says red for Mexico, and yet it was numerous depictions of green ones in Mexico that gave me the idea that they were green in the first place! Still a minor mystery there, then. 

But let's not worry about that now. Looking forward to seeing the North Africans Stéphane's boys will be facing (at least we won't have to worry about their epaulettes! 

[argsilverson]

No mystery at all.
In mexico two explains:
.-  the legion made use of whatever they could find. the plate in fact shows a legionary having a naval straw hat.
.- standarisation of the epaulettes in green/red came some time later. so, probably there was a distinction of the various companies. sorry this is a detail I could not find so easily.

As I told you, although I had this book, long time ago, never noticed it very well, because I had not to paint any legionaires. Always, I thought they had red epaulettes. Now, I know.
However, although I like historically correct figures, I don;t argue very much on the details, as long as it is good for the eye. SO, I could accept legionaires in red epaulettes, for gaming etc, but not for museums. Anyhow our hobby is mostly "fantasy" and we could always accept a certain degree of artists licence. 

[Lowtardog]

Freicorps have a good range of French for Mexico worth a look . I was planning on doing armies based on Fire and Fury with the French coming in on the side of the Confederates

http://www.quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=22

[Plynkes]

Yes, I always fancied using those Freikorps figures to do the Legion in Mexico. There's something about the uniforms of the earlier 19th Century troops that I like the look of more than the traditional early 20th Century "March or Die!" look we are so familiar with from films. They just look more snazzy and classy.

Of course, my 15mm Mexico project is one of those things I never got around to. At least I don't have loads of unpainted figures lying around. I didn't even get as far as buying them.


Thanks again for all your digging, argsilverson. You're a star. It's nice to know these things. As you say, one doesn't always have to pay attention to them when painting, but it is nice to know nonetheless.

[Lowtardog]

Yes, I always fancied using those Freikorps figures to do the Legion in Mexico. There's something about the uniforms of the earlier 19th Century troops that I like the look of more than the traditional early 20th Century "March or Die!" look we are so familiar with from films. They just look more snazzy and classy.

Of course, my 15mm Mexico project is one of those things I never got around to. At least I don't have loads of unpainted figures lying around. I didn't even get as far as buying them.


Thanks again for all your digging, argsilverson. You're a star. It's nice to know these things. As you say, one doesn't always have to pay attention to them when painting, but it is nice to know nonetheless.

Same here Poly, I even worked out for Fire and Fury the whole army lists for the French and which packs I would need etc and then decided against it. I dont think I could paint 15mm after so long doing 28mm. I did have the old Foudnry Mexicans and Frnech but with the new figures they sort of didnt work for me and sold them all off in the end

[argsilverson]

Freicorps have a good range of French for Mexico worth a look . I was planning on doing armies based on Fire and Fury with the French coming in on the side of the Confederates

http://www.quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=22

Indeed Freikorps has a very nice range of 15mm for mexico, not to mention the other ranges, like great paraguayan war range they have. Since I have not bought from them for the last 10 years or so, just a question. Did they improve in their metal? it was rather brittle and fragile.

Thanks again for all your digging, argsilverson. You're a star. It's nice to know these things. As you say, one doesn't always have to pay attention to them when painting, but it is nice to know nonetheless.

thanks for your kind words. you are flattering me. But I don not want to steal Stephane's thread.  All good words should go to him. He has a very beautiful paintjob to show us and also he has given us the chance to discuss all these minor details.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Stephane,
Excellent figures - couldnt believe they were 15's they are so well painted and modelled.
Tell us more about the rules you are working on please.