As a gamer takes up his paint brush to outfit his Napoleonic Army, he makes an important initial decision. I made mine unwittingly, and I made a poor choice. The issue is whether to paint the figures in immaculate, dress uniforms or to paint them in realistic, worn clothes. I urge you to consider the benefits of the latter approach.
First, it's undoubtedly more realistic. Wellington was well known for his lack of concern over how his army dressed. The Peer himself set the trend with his casual kit that looks more civilian than military. Picton followed suit with his very un-regulation top hat habitually worn while on campaign and in battle. The rank and file were quick to follow. The wore a variety of multi-colored clothes, including items stripped from the French dead (more of that in a moment) and other well-patched garments. Wellington's only concern was that they appear on the battlefield with a clean musket and sufficient ammunition.
French armies were little different. They suffered from poorer logistical support since Napoleon tried to rapidly win campaigns using very modest supply trains, his theory being rapid movement could win out before grinding logistical demands impeded his operations. Consequently, baggage wagons carrying spare uniforms were a rarity. In the Peninsula, where supply problems were particularly acute, the soldiers outfitted themselves as best they could. The white uniforms introduced in 1806 continued to be worn by some regiments well into 1811, even though they were formally replaced with the well known blue uniform. Shortly after their introduction, blue dye proved difficult to locate in Spain - brown dye was easier to find. Consequently, as time went on, more and more units were compelled to wear brown.
Prussia was a relatively poor country, forced to rely heavily on British hand-me-downs. Russian logistical support was virtually nonexistent when it came to such niceties as replacement uniforms during a campaign. Although I have no documentation, I suppose the Austrians kept the freshest appearance. Something must have been in those tremendous baggage trains that kept the Austrian Army moving at a snail's pace while other European armies were learning to march light!
Then there was that constant source of 'new' uniforms, those taken from the enemy dead. (Lest we think the stripping of enemy dead restricted to this period, recall the Confederates in the War Between the States occasionally welcomed futile Yankee attacks against their fortifications, since these attacks brought badly needed shoes, gum blankets, overcoats, etc.) The British gadabout General Wilson comments on the vast number of naked Frenchmen - the Russians having taken their clothes for themselves - being escorted to the rear during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.
Marbot at Eylau
And then we have the colorful account from Marbot as he lies badly wounded on the Eylau battlefield:
"Stretched on the snow among the piles of dead and dying... gradually and without pain lost consciousness... I judge that my swoon lasted four hours, and when I came to my senses I found myself in this horrible position. I was completely naked, having nothing on but my hat and my right boot. A man in the transport corps, thinking I was dead, had stripped me in the usual fashion." [Memoirs of Baron Marbot (London 1892); p. 267.] Note Marbot's passing this incident off as being "usual".
So, knowing all of this, how do we apply it to our figure painting? First, you can give your men a 'worn' look by painting them with dilute washes rather than all bright colors. This leaves the high points with a realistic sun bleached appearance while the low spots appear darker as if partially shaded. Then you can easily paint on some patches at the points of greatest wear - knees, thighs, elbows, bottom. This is done by painting a small square of black paint, waiting for it to dry, and then painting in a patch of some color that stands out from the basic uniform color.
Second, you can give your men a variety of clothes. Say you are working on a 24-man French line unit serving in Spain. Twelve will be in basic blue coats and white pants (three in bright colors representing the new uniforms of just arrived replacements). Six might have pants and/or coats of various brown shades. Two might retain the white uniform of 1806. Two might have grey pants (taken from the British) and two might have sky blue (taken from the Spanish).
Third, you can mix figures with a variety of headgear and coats. To continue with the above example, some figures might have greatcoats while others have short vest coats. Several would wear forage hats and even more retain the bicorne. Some shakoes might be covered in beige oilskin, others should retain their cording.
There are three great advantages to the 'campaign look'. It is realistic. It's visually appealing. Instead of unrelieved masses of figures in identical dress uniforms advancing in the same pose, there is agreeable variety. Finally, elite figures really stand out if you paint them in better kept campaign (or even dress) uniforms. Recall that the imperial Guard would occasionally don their dress uniforms for certain battles. On the tabletop, they really look terrific in contrast to the more tattered uniforms of the line. Furthermore, generals and their staff truly stand out in their showy, dress uniforms with colorful aide-de-camps vying to present the best appearance.
The campaign look is easy to achieve and well worth the effort.
Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #5
To Courier List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1987 by The Courier Publishing Company.
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