Second Schleswig War 1864 - Uniforms

[Emir of Askaristan]

Thought as much, not seen them other than in the retail pics. Good to know they're close enough to to get away with.

[dhtandco]

And they are fantastic models

[traveller]

Updated with some great plates by Knötel

[traveller]

Good news on Northstar Facebook:

Spotlight on! Our Danish Infantry for the war of 1864. I watched the TV series '1864' last night, most excellent. We'll be releasing artillery pieces for the Danes this month, closely followed by Dragoons and Lifeguards. And we have Prussian Hussars on the horizon.

[juergen c. olk]

Hurra!

[De Meza]

Hi

I have just started researching 28mm figures for the 1864 campaign.  I was really surprised at the dearth of figures on offer so I have been trying to locate any other figures which can be adapted.

So far I am going to use the Spencer Smith 30mm Wurttemburg Infantry as Danish Troops in full Dress.  I have a large Prussian force in Helion/ North Star figures so I need the figures to be reasonably tall but also well proportioned.

The Wurttemburg infantry are reasonably close with a small adjustment to the Kepi.   The side bag on the left is covering the sword bayonet rather than behind it but I can live with that!  The belly pouch is close to the Holstein pouch used by some Danish units.

Danish Dragoons in full dress can be made from the Spencer Smith Austrian 1859 Dragoons.  The bulky greatcoat can be added with Milliput.  The Hussars can be modified from the Spencer Smith Austrian 1859 Hussars or possibly the Holger Ericsson Danish Guard Hussars (Later uniform but not many changes in style)

Artillery can be made up from ACW frock coated gunners.

The Guard Grenadiers are more of a problem.  The Perry Intervention Force British Guards have a Blanket roll over the shoulders which is not depicted on Danish units during the War (Was this to prevent confusion with Prussian/Austrian forces?)

Field guns can be sourced from North Star or other ACW style guns ( Steve Barber models has some interesting styles which may be useful).  The only Fortress artillery is from North Star at present.

Can anyone confirm details of the Danish Kepi?  Most units seem to have the authorised pattern but a lot of illustrations show a more ACW pattern.  Is this the older patterns used by replacements or the regulation style in a worn condition?

De Meza

[juergen c. olk]

Northstar and Eureka make wonderful Danish Infantry ,I have both side by side .plus the Defunct Waterloo to Mons inf. Also the Northstar guncrews are great.  I used the Perry stuff for the Guard . I used Miriliton and Battlehonours Austrian dragoons for Danish.And Battlehonours Austrian Hussars full dress for Danish Life Guards.I was lucky to buy Waterloo to Mons Officers when I did .Remember Wurttembrg inf,has the shoulder roll. Anyway I really like the Northstar,and Eureka comes in winter or summer dress.You can always checkout the Schleswig wars Yahoo site.

[jambo1]

Great resource here, well done!!

[traveller]

The Danish kepi is different from the ACW ones since the visor is angled downwards and therefore worn differently. It also has a chinstrap. Northstar got these details right. It is also worth noting that the Danish frock had two rows of buttons which unfortunately disqualifies ACW frocks (except some ACW officers). It also rules out Perry BIF to be used as the Guards. All of course depending on how picky you are 
I find Northstar Danes, Prussians and Austrians to be the best bet. The biggest challenge to me is the Danish dragoons in greatcoat.

[traveller]

I found an interesting Danish article explaining the use of flags in the Danish army in 1864:

https://krigsvidenskab.dk/emne/haerens-faner-i-krigen-1864

The flags were kept in their cases (unlike the 1848 war were they were used unfurled in battle) and only small company marker flags were used. The size was 50-70 cm square or rectangular and were used to mark the position of each company. The flag pattern were the Danish red with a white cross and yellow letters displaying the number of the Regiment/Battalion(upper left) and the  number of the company (lower left). Some illustrative examples:

[Peter Rathgeb]

Many thanks, traveller, the information about 1864 Danish flags is very interesting!

Logically, the "quarter flags" would be used only by infantry. But what about cavalry? Did the Dragoon Regiments / Squadrons use no standards in 1864? And what did they look like?

Cheers,
Peter

[traveller]

I would expect that the cavalry also kept their colours in their casings. The cavalry was used only in a reconnaissance and patrol role. The biggest engagement was at Vorbasse Feb 29 involving some 100 dragoons involved but mostly only skirmishing with Prussian/Austrian patrols. An example of a dragoon flag below (1842):

[Peter Rathgeb]

Thank, traveller.

I think you are right about the colours. Even at Vorbasse, the Danish Dragoons were not prepared for a larger engagement and had to improvise anyway (which they did in a splendid manner!).

Cheers,
Peter

[carlos marighela]

Very useful stuff indeed. Much appreciated. I've fancied doing this for a while but stuck on a decent rule set that would cope. V&B seems an obvious choice for the various Bismarckian wars but then the major battle of the war is Dybbøl  and for flavour you really want something that will give a bit more granularity, well at least I do and of course you want to model the redoubts. Most things for the period are geared at corps and above level engagements, which is a bit OTT for this war.