Dispatches
Letters to the Editor
from First Empire Readers
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So Well Done Dear FE, Just a few lines to congratulate you upon a splendid magazine. Since returning to 'serious' wargaming in the last few months, after an absence of several years, I find myself looking forward to my new copy of FE dropping on the doormat every couple of months. Keep it up please. Yours faithfully Kevin W. Lowth, Boston, Lincs. Just What Was The Prince Of Orange Wearing At Waterloo? Dear Dave I am in the final stages of completing my I Corps for the Waterloo Campaign, but I am having some difficulty in deciding how the Prince of Orange was dressed. On one hand you have the figure as depicted by MINIFIGS, which also appears to be identical to his dress in "Sharpe's Waterloo"; as the former was first perhaps the latter copied the former? On the other hand two contemporary pictures 1 have of the Prince, both of which are in Osprey's "Waterloo 1815" (Pages 14 and 71), show him as being rather more conventionally dressed. Which is correct? Yours sincerely, Robert Carter, BFPO 115 Re: Gross Vert Dear Sir, I am a French national, working for a British company in Bangladesh . . . under the Wagons Ho! Heading in the latest (37ème) issue of First Empire I received in Bangladesh today, there are extremely interesting and detailed answers to Russ Feakins' questions. I would like to add just a little more information about one of them. The colour of the French wagons, gun carriages and limbers was in fact called "Gross vert" (or Fat green in English) at the time. It was basically yellow paint mixed with a dash of black. True enough, the result is very close to olive green. I obtained this information from the Curator of the artillery department at the Invalides in Paris whom I approached for designs of Napoleonic field guns as my current hobby is to make working (i.e. firing) miniatures of such guns. So far I have made only one; a 12 pdr with limber complete with all the monograms and inscriptions on the barrel. It was fired, with a 16mm ball, for the first time on 14th July of this year when I was on holiday in France. Yours faithfully Denis Stévenin, Bangladesh A Major Mistake! Dear Dave, While tending to agree with Wilde's notion that there is no such thing as bad publicity I feel it is only fair to point out an error in Major A.W. Field's article in Edition 37. That being wrongful attribution of a question in relation to Prussian and British lines and their relative ability to beat the French to me, rather than Jeff Lewis. As this did produce an interesting piece from the good Major I have put the lawyer back in the cupboard on this occasion ! However, three points just to prove I did read past my name, which I hope add to the explanations of Major Field. Firstly, while agreeing this is a more complicated area than meets the eye, the Prussian lines were three deep and this must, if the same argument is applied as to French lines, have made some significant difference as to fire received by an attacker. Secondly, as far as I am aware, in the Peninsular the British adopted a level of skirmish screen that was unsurpassed by any nation in the period. This protected the line and confused the French attack in a manner which they did not meet else where. Finally, the dammed un-sporting habit of not standing in the open to be shot at (more properly known as "reverse slope") until the last minute, gave the British an edge that the Prussians and others never seem to have had. Hence the Duke's remarks on Prussian dispositions at Ligny. O God! I've mentioned the Duke, Prussia and the Waterloo campaign in the same sentence. Must be off, I hear a Hofschroer approaching ! David Commerford, West Drayton. Middlesex Maida OB 1806 Dear Sir, I recently acquired a copy of First Empire No. 11 mainly because it had on the front cover Maida 1806. Ever since discovering this little action I have been on the look out in books to try and find out information. I thought this article would be the answer to my dreams. I have very sketchy information gathered from forgotten sources which are a little conflicting in themselves. I have found the B.E.F. to be either 5,200 or 5,400 strong with 4,300 British troops. As stated in the article Kempt is in charge of the Light Brigade consisting of the light companies of the 20th, 27th, 35th, 58th, 61st and 81st Rgts (700?), possibly De Watteville's Swiss (650?) and the Corsican Rangers(250?). Acland's Brigade consisting of the 78th and 81st Rgts, totalling 1,300. Cole's brigade, up to now I had no idea of the units involved. Oswold's brigade which I believed to contain the 20th Rgt. With them were 3 guns. General Reynier forces have been stated as 6,200, 6,440 and 6,500. Compere's Brigade I believe to consist of 2 battalions of the 1st Light Legere and the 42nd Regiment of the Line, totalling 2,800 or 2,400. Peyri's Brigade consists of 1,500 men in three battalions probably one Swiss and two Polish. Digonet's Brigade consisting of the 23rd Legere. The French cavalry numbered 328 and were Chasseurs. I have only found record of one horse battery being with the French forces. I appreciate my information is fairly vague but I hope it is of some use and that any mistakes I have made can be clarified. Yours faithfully, Mr A Cooke, South Ascot, Berkshire Cook's Tour (Military Experience) Dear Citizen Dave, Why is it people jump to such massive conclusions. However, since Mr Gavan has raised the subject of my "military experience" (Dispatches FE37), I will briefly describe it. First though, nobody has called me 'Cook' since I put my first tape up in 1970 and I calculate that by the time Mr Gavan joined his army I already had my first two-year tour in Northern Ireland behind me, and was a sergeant serving on secondment with the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, in the southern province of Dhofar during the communist insurgency there. For his information, in addition to the General Service Medal, I hold three campaign medals, one of which is the Sultanate of Oman's General Service Medal with Dhofar clasp, and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, which in my case is a reflection of repeated tours in Northern Ireland. I wouldn't presume to guess where Mr Gavan has done his soldiering, but I expect that my career was at least as varied as his has been. His comments are incompatible with my own experiences which include exchanges with the Australian and New Zealand armies, and service alongside colleagues in the US Army. As for drill specifically, I also had the 'pleasure' of attending the Guards' All-Arms Drill Course in 1979. I retired from the army in 1993. Don't you feel just a little bit of a plonker now, Mr Gavan. Next time, just remember to engage brain before putting mouth into gear. John Cook Of Tempus Humorous Dear Editor, May I take this opportunity to comment on John Cook's letters in FE 37? Firstly, his statement that: "Peter Hofschröer and I have been friends for the better part of two decades" is an inaccurate interpretation of the situation for which there is no documentary evidence. While I would not deny that we have been acquainted for some years, it would be a misinterpretation to describe this relationship as 'friendship' (See Pflugk-Harttung's 'Belle Alliance' for further information on this). Secondly, his interpretation of the reasons for Wellington's non-appearance at Ligny is quite wrong. The Duke, commanding a multinational force, had several different time systems running both concurrently and consecutively in his headquarters in Brussels. Part of the day was run under Dutch time, which was slow, boring and tedious, another part under Belgian time, which ran backwards at varying speeds, and the rest under British time, which was unreliable and inaccurate and changed according to Wellington's needs. Obviously, this system was totally incompatible with the clockwork precision used by the Prussian army. I hope my comments will be of interest to your readers. Yours faithfully, Peter Hofschröer The Imperial Mail Dear Dave I wonder if readers can throw light on a mysterious letter from Joseph Bonaparte to the Emperor, translated below, which I found in the Public Record Office. It was intercepted by Wellington's people and translates as follows:
Sire My health is ruined and is forcing me in ten days' time to leave this country to convalesce within the heart of my family. The gentle air of Morfontaine and its tranquil atmosphere will perhaps restore me to my earlier health. It is quite pointless for me to stay here. On my return to Paris, I will, of course conform to Your Majesty's wishes. And I beg you to believe me that in good or ill, Your Majesty will never have any-one who is more sincerely attached to him, be he king or subject. I will always be Your Majesty's best friend, his most faithful servant and affectionate brother. And I will, as Your Majesty would wish, love him quietly and not importune him with problems that he would be likely to rebut. Your affectionate brother JOSEPH Did this letter eventually reach its destination, and if so, has any-one come across a reply? If it did not, it can only have been to Joseph's advantage. He was certainly in Spain at the Battle of Vitoria, (1813) after which he presumably retired to France in a hurry. Yours sincerely Jane Hoyle Of Foreign Memoirs Dear David Once again another fine issue of First Empire (FE37). I particularly enjoyed the mix of articles, including Peter Hofschröer and the amusing piece from David Commerford. My main reason, however, is to support Dave Hollins' campaign for a broad range of Napoleonic books. Some publishers seem to think that out period consists of Waterloo and the Peninsular. Clearly this is not the case and I am sure that many readers would want to read about other aspects of our period. I am left wondering whether rank and file from nations other than England and France wrote memoirs. Where are the Prussian accounts of the Waterloo campaign? Or a Russian account of 1812? Or even a Spanish account of the Peninsular? There must be such books in existence, but where are they? Thank you for my chance to rant. Yours sincerely Phil Nicholls, Gorleston, Norfolk Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #38 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
