Recently Painted No 21 Russian Empress' Cuirassiers 1812

Another recently painted unit from Posties Napoleonic collection. Today's subject are the Russian Emperess' Cuirassiers. They are 15mm Essex figures based up for Posties GdB rules. Postie didn't have the flag for this unit so he used a normal Colonel's standard and coloured the badges in pink with a felt tip, which works quite well.  I've struggled to find any info about this unit, but here's what I did find.

In the 1812 campaign, the regiment were in The First Army of the West and were part of the 17,000 men that made up the 5th Corps, The Guard.

5th Infantry (Reserve) Corps: H.M. Grand Duke Constantin

1st Cuirassier Division: General Lieutenant Depreradovitch

1st Brigade: Major General Chevitch

Chevalier Guard Regiment

Horse Lifeguard Regiment

2nd Brigade: Major General Borodin II

Emperor Cuirassier Regiment

Empress Cuirassier Regiment

Astrakhan Cuirassier Regiment

The Battle of Borodino

General Borosdin-II brought two crack regiments of Russian heavy cavalry; the Emperor's Cuirassiers (or Tzar's Own) and Her Majesty the Emperess' Cuirassiers, and threw them at the Saxons. The Astrahan Cuirassiers joined the fight. The Ahtyrka Hussars charged with the utmost fierceness against the flank of the enemy. The clash was very violent. For Fedor Glinka it was an unforgettable spectacle: “What a bloody fighting! What a cram!” (Kak oni rezhutsia! Kakaya tesnota!). It was like a clash of armored knights with a frenzy of cutting and thrusting and the fighters going mental. The most miserable however were those who fell under the hooves where their bodies turned into unrecognized bloody pulp. The Saxons suffered in this "cram" for they have left armor in Germany.

While the whole air was reeking with gun smoke, the earth was shaking from thousands of hooves, the Russian 2nd Cuirassier Division drew their sabers, and strucked the Saxons, Poles and Westphalians from the flank and rear. The Germans and Poles resisted the enemy for a few moments before being driven back.