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Murat

Nice painting and terain job Adam!

Re: Murat

Hi Adam,

a great paintjob - but what source have you used for the blue uniform-coat? With Murat everything is possible, but I know this coat in green colour.

cheers
Uwe

Re: Re: Murat

A description, I'll quote you exactly when I get home, but it was a plate in the blandford uniform series. (the plate shows one uniform different to this, but the accompanying text describes a pale blue jack etc etc as I have painted, I though it sounded too good to miss!

Its a sham, the Tiger skin shabraque took ages and looked great, then its all covered now!

I couldn't miss the opportunity to put in some neopolitan gerndarmes d'ordanance in full dress and a chasseur as aides. Neopolitans may be rubbish troops, but they are great to paint. Besides, I have decided too many games pit the Imperial guard vs the Russian Grenadiers or British foot guards- lets have some realism- tired rubbish troops and an odd unit of good ones!

Cheers for the nice comments, and thanks to strelets, I have a nice load of your new sets coming so hopefully there will be plenty more contributions where that came from!
Adam

Re: Re: Re: Murat

They look **** great.

Italians in the Napoleonic campaigns

Hi Adam,

the exact quote and book would be interesting for me. Is it “Uniforms of the Napoleonic wars”?
Yes, really a shame with the Tiger skin, I know this is really hard work.

The Neapolitan army is a very interesting one. Very colourful and exotic, a feast for the eyes.

I don’t know if they were rubbish troops. Most of the sources I have are from their enemies and allies. In these, they of course suffer the same fate as the Dutch at Waterloo, the Spanish in the Peninsular etc.

On the other hand I have the memoires of General Pepe who fought in Spain and especially in 1814/15. Very interesting stuff, which shows the Neapolitans from another point of few. And this is very different to all the Austrian sources I have for the 1815 campaign in Italy.

My wish would be to have a history of the Italian and Neapolitan (as well as Royal Sicilian) troops in the Napoleonic wars in a language I can read. There is a French one, but my French is too bad to read full books.

Maybe our Italian friends can help here with some information?

Cheers
Uwe

Re: Italians in the Napoleonic campaigns

Sorry that may have sounded like a racial attack and of course was not what I meant. but one only needs look at the desertion rates of Neopolitan troops in the Peninsula to see that their hearts were not in it. (and who can blame them!)

It may well have been that book, I'll have a look tonight after footie, please remind me if I forget, I'm not being rude, I just have a mind like a sieve!

It's true about the Dutch and Spanish troops too. The Duke of Wellington could not rely on them as he did now know of their fighting qualities, and all to recently they had been allied to France. This is often taken along with the post battle glorifying and the 200 years of historical crap from british military propaganda generators that the dutch-belgians were beads troops? Dunno how that came about, but its nice to know that history has swung round to a more balanced view. (I still think Peter Hofschroer is a poor historian though)

cheers
Adam

Murat reference

Right- it is actually the unform of the retreat from moscow, in the blandford series, by Phillip Haythornthwaite. On plate 19 they show the strelets figures uniform, in green with silver lace with his typical feathered peakless czapka, and beige pants with a red stripe and his blue and red sash.

The accopanying text on page 19 goes on about various variants on this from tudor style ruff etc etc. But also mentions a similar uniform to page 19 in a description from Albrecht Adam in said campaign about Murats dress when he saw him:

"in a gold braided light blue jacket, gold laced red trousers and a 'strange hat lavishly decked with plumes'" He apparently thought he was some austentatious drum major!

Anyhoo, I just used this and his known usuals like mameluke sword, hat and sash and did what you see. I have two Murats from various sets so I needed some variety!

cheers
Adam

Re: Murat reference

Hi Adam,

if it only would be Haythornthwaite, I would say this is one of his typically mistakes. But as Albrecht Adam mentiones this too, it must have a reason. Maybe the green coloured out or it was one of Murat fancing colours like "Azul-blue" or something else which you can see as green and blue.

So with this source I think your figure is ok and researched Beside this the excellent paintjob of course!

I haven't taken your comment as racistic, it is just the ordinary point of few about the Neapolitan troops in the Napoleonic wars. But I don't think, that it is really right as memoires from Italian officers showing another picture of them. For example in Spain General Pepe wrote that his regiment was of a very good moral and high qualitiy after he reorganised them.

cheers
Uwe