Cavalry Corps - French 15mm Waterloo

Armée du Nord

Cavalry Corps - 15mm Napoleon Bonaparte Waterloo Campaign

IV Reserves Corps

Here we go again, it’s Friday and it’s time for another post. We have moved onto French 15mm epics last week. At 1:10 ratio, this is an army of over 4000 miniatures across 4 separate Corps, making up roughly half the French that were present at the Battle of Waterloo.

1st Cuirassiers Regiment

1st Cuirassiers - red cuffs

As you might of noticed with most of my posts army’s I paint take on a little story all of their own when I create them. These posts end up reflecting elements of that story. In this instance my French started off focused on the opening attack on Le Haye Sainte, but then slowly this expanded into 1st Corps massed infantry attack. 

4th Cuirassiers - orange cuffs

This happened naturally because I had worked out the most efficient painting regime with these is to paint a sprue at a time, this comes from experience of the ACW. Less than a sprue means you end up going back to paint Brigade assets like Commanders & Cannons. More than that, and it becomes a chore and it doesn’t really save time, plus I lost the sense of achievement from completing a battalion or regiment. 

 

 

This means I quickly end up with painted spares after the infantry was completed. This starter box essentially encouraged me to keep painting with there being lots of Cavalry to crack on with in the box, which is why I moved into the IV Cavalry Corps above.

 General de Brigade Jacques-Charles Dubois

General de Division Pierre Watier

For the attack at 11am I only really needed to paint a brigade of Cuirassiers of the IV Cavalry Reserve Corps for the support in the immediate vicinity, for which the 1st & 4th Cuirassiers are above.

3e Régiment de Chevaux-légers (Lanciers)

4e Régiment de Chevaux-légers (Lanciers)

But this would leave lots of the three other types of line cav within the starter box unpainted. Sooooo 🙄 as I was expanding the infantry of 1st Corps with the Cuirassiers, the opportunity to complete Napoleon’s right flank with Jacquinot’s 1st Light Cavalry Division also appeared and was completed, the lancers above and…Hussars below.

7e Régiment de Hussards

The Light Cavalry Division would use Hussars, Chasseurs a Cheval, and Lancers. This would mean only Carabiniers and Dragoons would be left, so to polish off the box these would be used to form up III Reserve Cav Corps. Essentially for anyone familiar with the battle, the whole right side of the French is now present in 1:10 scale roughly one base to a company or squadron. In total this had given me: 

I Corps complete - 4 Divs of infantry and Light Cav Div.

III Reserve Corps - one brigade of Carbiniers.

IV Reserves Corps - one complete div of Cuirassiers, (plus nearly all of the 2nd div lancers and cheval but I did run out to complete so Dragoons stand in).

Imperial Guard Corps complete - 3 Demi Divisions of Infantry, 2 Cavalry, 26 artillery (9 batteries to represent all the mixed artillery in this corps).

Army Train and Supply - enough of one full corps support (probably IG).

Jacquinot’s 1st Light Cavalry Division