Warlod Games Plastic Portuguese

[rumacara]

Barretina shako was in use untill 1809/1810 when the stovepipe shako was introduced.
Some militia regiments also had the barretina untill latter (1812) and then they also started changing for the stovepipe.
Blue trousers for winter, white trousers for summer.
I hope this photo helps on painting ideas (23rd regiment).

[Jabba]

Useful picture Rumacara cheers.
Do you know much about the organisation of Portuguese regiments during the mid Peninsular war period after the changes around the time Beresford took over command?

[rumacara]

I may get some information.
What exactly do you need?
Strenght and composition of units/regiments?
Colors?

[Jabba]

Hi Rumacara
Basic composition stuff really.
How many companies in each Battalion of a regiment?
Did each battalion have a Grenadier and Light company as well as Fusilier companies?
Uniform distinctions between Grenadier, Light and Fusilier companies if any?
Confirmation of number of Colours/Flags carried, I believe the 1st Battalion carried the King's Colour and the 2nd Battalion the Regimental Colour?

Thanks for your help.

Tony.

[Arthur]

Hi Tony

According to René Chartrand, each light infantry battalion of Cazadores had five companies of 123 men each. Four of these were Cazadores companies while the fifth was an elite Atiradores company.

Under Beresford's authority, the reformed Portuguese line infantry regiments abandoned their older 7-company battalion structure after 1808 and were organised into two battalions, each comprising four fusilier companies and one of grenadiers. There was no light infantry company as that role was fulfilled by the Cazadores battalion brigaded with each par of line infantry regiments.

One flag per battalion, as you say.

[Jabba]

Thanks Arthur, so Front Rank Figurines Portuguese Line Infantry - Stovepipe Cap, light coy figures shouldn't actually be needed then.

[Arthur]

The stovepipe shako was introduced in 1809 to replace the barretina caps. However, it seems the transition took a while and the new shako did not become universal until 1811 at least, all the more so as the quality of the stovepipe was apparently rather shoddy. So unless you're doing an 1812 or 1813 Peninsular army, you can justifiably have a mix of barretinas and stovepipes, though probably not within the same unit.

And no, no light coy from 1809 onward despite Front Rank offering some in stovepipe shakos. 

[Kommando_J]

Found a review of them online...the neck join looks awful

http://wargamesillustrated.co.uk/napoleonic-portuguese-line-infantry/

[Jabba]

Thanks for the confirmations Arthur.

[Jabba]

Kommando_J,
Agreed the metals look especially bad unless they have used a strangely dark adhesive to attach the heads. The collars on Warlord figures  are moulded attached to the heads and on the plastic british i have don't look too bad once painted up.

[the commissar]

Under Beresford's authority, the reformed Portuguese line infantry regiments abandoned their older 7-company battalion structure after 1808 and were organised into two battalions, each comprising four fusilier companies and one of grenadiers. There was no light infantry company as that role was fulfilled by the Cazadores battalion brigaded with each par of line infantry regiments.

One flag per battalion, as you say.

I thought that from 1808 the Portuguese regiments had 10 companies 8 fusilier, 1 grenadier and 1 light infantry. This was split as 2 battalions 1 of 4 fusiliers and a grenadier co and the other  4 fusilier and a light co (this is the structure mentioned in the Osprey MAA book on the Portuguese Army (vol 1)  by Rene Chartrand)

In a couple of books I have Philip Haythornthwaite mentions that the light companies were apparently detached in 1811

Edit - Having said that I have just found a thread in the Napoleon Series Archive that discusses this -

http://www.napoleon-series.org/cgi-bin/forum/archive2003_config.pl?md=read;id=20893

does not really help - but if you want to use a light coy you probably could!

[rumacara]

The Commissar, you are right about the composition of a portuguese regiment.
I have no mention of a split of the light company in no period of the peninsular war but i will try and check as soon as i can with the efectives corrected (just didnt had time yet to do it).

Portuguese cacadores regiments where diferent in organization.

[gustav]

My memory from my reading and info from here was that the initial Beresford order in July was for the 10 companies and then this was overturned a few months later back to the 1808 5 company structure per battalion.  So I kept mine to 4 fusilier and one grenadier per battalion.

However given the historic relatively low numbers of men in each battalion in various OOB I have assumed that each regiment generally fought with both regimental battalions combined into one rather than as separate units so as to keep frontage.