Before & After Dorking

The 1st Field Engineer Regiment are  represented by a 6 figure Company of Pioneers. Like the artillery, they wear the dark blue  uniform with red piping, with black collars and cuffs but with white buttons and white shoulder scales. Unlike the artillery, the engineers retain the short red plume to their helmet. The engineers are converted from  Eagle of Empires  Bavarian Infantry. (Note the two far right figures have helmet plumes on the wrong side; subsequently corrected) Reference Image :

The 3rd Infantry Regiment are veteran, steadfast line infantry. They will be represented by 3 battalions of 12 figures each, with 2 battalions presently completed. They wear the standard cornflower blue uniform with red piping, distinguished by scarlet collars and cuffs with yellow buttons. As regular line infantry the 1st Battalion’s figures include an officer, the regimental standard and a drummer. The 12 figures of the 1st Battalion: The  12 figures of the 2nd Battalion : All of the figures are  Eagles of Empire   Ba varian Infantry in summer uniform.  As with the other line infantry regiments, the flag is also by  Eagles of Empire  (albeit repainted for effect, but with the printed L corner monogram repainted as the M for Maximilian monogram). The seated lion atop the flagpole was converted from the standing lion that comes with the  Perry Miniatures   British Zulu War Infantry plastic set. The officer’s right arm had a pistol added. Reference...

This Order of Battle (OOB) for the Bavarian Force provides a list, for tabletop wargaming purposes, of the units that are completed or planned, and the number of removable model figures that they will be represented by.  Blue  = completed Green  = work in progress Red  = planned This post to be updated as the project progresses DIVISION (Total 202 figs + 4 guns) COMMAND (6 figs) Field Command Commander  & Staff (6 figs) INFANTRY BRIGADE   (72 figs) 3rd Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion (12 figs) 2nd Battalion ( 12 figs) 3rd Battalion  (12 figs) 12th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion  (12 figs) 2nd Battalion  (12 figs) 1st Jäger Battalion 1st Companies  (6 figs) 2nd Companies (6 figs) INFANTRY BRIGADE   (72 figs) 10th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion (12 figs) 2nd Battalion ( 12 figs) 3rd Battalion  (12 figs) 13th Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion (12 figs) 2nd Battalion ( 12 figs) 7th Jäger Battalion 1st Companies  (6 fig...

The foot gunners of the 1st Artillery Regiment are organised into crew units of 6 figures per model gun, with 4 individually based gunners plus 2 drivers fixed-into-position on a separate limber model.  A model gun plus crew plus limber represents two batteries. The  gun crew are converted from Eagle of Empires Bavarian Infantry, including surplus drummers and flag bearers. As infantry converted into walking (as opposed to riding) gunners, they have kept their backpacks, though in reality these were probably transported on limbers or wagons as the gunners manhandled or otherwise walked alongside their guns. On the wargaming tabletop, the presence of the backpacks helps distinguish foot batteries from riding batteries. Officers, sergeants and drivers were mounted and therefore wore riding breeches;  other than the drivers, the Other Ranks walked;  the uniform was dark blue with yellow buttons and piping was red with black collar and cuffs;  instead of shoulder w...

This post briefly considers the field artillery available to the Bavarians, how it was deployed during the Franco-Prussian War, and how it might be represented on the wargaming table. General Notes The version of steel-barrelled rifled breach-loading (RBL) field guns manufactured by Krupp are often designated  by the letter C followed by a year, eg C64 (or as C/64). At first, the caliber of the Krupp guns was determined by a weight in pounds, with this measurement being of an iron sphere that would notionally fit inside the barrel. In the 1860s the designation became by caliber, measured by the diameter of the bore in centimetres or millimetres. The Krupp C?? designation sometimes seems to be assumed to refer to a specific size of gun barrel (ie, a 4-pounder or a 6-pounder, etc) but this was not the case, as it merely referenced the model year, not a particular calibre, as there could be multiple calibres of guns within one year.  For example: The C64 is the oft-used...

The 2nd Cuirassiers are veteran shock cavalry who are represented by 12 mounted figures that can be deployed on the wargaming table as a single unit or as two units of 6. They wear a cornflower blue uniform with a steel cuirass and helmet; collars, cuffs and piping are red and buttons are yellow. Unlike the 1st Cuirassiers, the 2nd did not carry a standard while on campaign in the Franco-Prussian War.  The finished figures viewed from front and back: The figures are conversions of Eagle of Empires Prussian Cuirassiers: As cast, the swords were very thin and prone to bending so the blades were snipped and replaced  with 2/3rds the length of a T50 metal staple. The flattened and shortened staple was sunk and superglued into a hole in the sword hilt while the tip was ground with a dremel to a knife-like shape.  The conversions also use modified Perry Miniatures  plastic Napoleonic Austrian Cavalry heads. The ‘ankles’ of the horses were quite weak and in places were rei...

The somewhat ficticious Field Command has been created to lead the Bavarian Force on the wargaming tabletop.  The unit of 6 figures comprises a senior officer in cap, two junior officers as aides, a sergeant, a drummer and a flag bearer. While they have the red piping (yellow on cuff and collar for the musician) and shoulder wings, they have not been given a facing colour. Some conversion work was required, with the two junior officers and the sergeant having their ‘waving’ right arms (and one face) altered for a bit of variety, while the commander was the  Giants in Miniature  Prussian General Bismark with a change of hat and arm to become Bavarian. To denote Command status, the unit carries the national flag (the  Weckenfahne)  normally carried by the 1st Battalion of each Infantry Regiment.  The version used is a Napoleonic-era equivalent from GMB Designs , which closely matches that carried during the Franco-Prussian War: And shown here carried by ...

There has been much conjecture about the ‘correct’ colour for Bavarian Army cornflower blue, ranging from very pale blue, to grey blue, to a darker blue; this project has settled on a medium blue.  Apparently even now there isn’t an official standard for Bavarian Blue, though the flag usually features a medium pale blue. The following composites show quite an extensive range of colour references for the historic uniform plus a swatch of what is usually used on current official flags. Foundry Miniatures retail a Bavarian Cornflower Blue paint set that is actually quite close to the Vallejo colours (and mixes) used for this project .  Standard bearer of the 12th Infantry Regiment in 1870 - note the flag is apparently buttoned or riveted to the pole, and the pole is black with a brass footer, while out of image the pole is topped with a brass seated lion: The regimental standard had an L or M monogram in each of the four corners, but in overpainting the flags the letter has...