Retreat from Moscow - Hessian Chevau Leger

 

The best laid plans of mice and me?

All through the planning stages of my French and Allied army for my and Lee's Retreat project, my plan was to have a small number of cavalry, and the units that did get painted were going to be a mish mash of individual figures from several different units, which to me was the best idea, but...........

In reading more and more about the Retreat, I decided that this unit, the Hessian Chevauxleger or Chevau leger deserved their own unit. So more figures had to be bought and a few heads that had been glued on, had to be swapped again.

During the Russian Campaign the regiment were assigned to Marshal Victor's IX Corps as part of Daendels' Division. On its pass through Danzig, it was  praised by General Rapp, and it would linger in East Prussia for most of the early campaign due to Russian forces threatening the Duchy of Warsaw. After a horrible stay in Tilsit, the troops moved into Russia and reached Smolensk on 29th September.

When Napoleon's main army commenced its retreat, the IX Corps was made to meet the retreating II Corps of Marshal Saint-Cyr at Vitebsk. By 5th November, the regiment would be at Lukoml, where it halted the advancing Russian forces,  despite the difficult conditions endured by the entire division. The retreat would continue and on 14th November, Victor's corps fought at Smolensk but withdraw the following day to Krasnaya Gora. 

During this march, it formed the rearguard of the XI Corps, constantly harried by Russian Cossacks until the Berezina where they fought a glorious final stand. Russian forces had captured the French Partoneaux Division, forcing Victor to send a patrol of Baden Hussars in the direction of Borisow with the Hessians trailing behind. The Baden Hussars were caught and were severely outnumbered by Russian Hussars, but were saved by a timely attack of the chevauxlegers.

The patrol returned and formed the rearguard of the arny crossing the Berezina, they came under the fire from the advancing Russian army and in the desperate defense, Russian Cuirassiers would crush the weakened Hesse-Baden riders, which spelled the end of the regiment as an organized fighting force. Thirty men would be fit for duty by the night of 28th November, who withdraw across the river and remained part of Marshal Victor's headquarters for the remainder of the campaign.

I bought the unusual sabot bases on ebay, not realising at the time that they were from Northumbrian Painting Service aka Reiver Castings, who I've dealt with loads of times previously. Here's a link if your interested. They're a card base with the mdf cut out glued into place.

Now the last question is, will I paint up their partners in crime, the Baden Hussars????