A Fusilier-Grenadier of the Guard circa 1809-1814
In Part 1 last week, I looked at the infantry of Napoleon’s Old Guard and my recreation of them in 15mm, using AB Figures. In Part 2 I’m going to look at what was initially the ‘Young Guard’, but which then became the ‘Middle Guard’.
In 1806, Napoleon embarked upon an expansion of the Imperial Guard infantry, creating the 2nd Regiments of Grenadiers à Pied and Chasseurs à Pied of the Old Guard. Additionally in October of that year, a new regiment of light infantry was formed from the Vélites of the Guard (i.e. the Guard’s corps of infantry officer-candidates), titled the Regiment of Fusiliers of the Guard. Only a few weeks later in December 1806, this regiment became the Fusiliers-Chasseurs of the Guard and a new sister-regiment was formed; the Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Guard. These two new Guard Fusilier regiments were collectively termed the ‘Young Guard’.
In 1809, the infantry regiments of the Guard were reorganised again, with the 2nd Regiments of Grenadiers à Pied and Chasseurs à Pied of the Old Guard being disbanded as a cost-saving measure.
A sentry of the Fusiliers-Chasseurs of the Guard circa 1810-1814 (with an officer of the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Guard)
The savings generated by the disbandment of these expensive regiments enabled several new Young Guard infantry regiments to be raised in 1809, including the Battalion of Vélites of Turin, the Battalion of Vélites of Florence, the Regiment of Tirailleurs-Grenadiers, the Regiment of Tirailleurs-Chasseurs, the 1st & 2nd Regiments of Conscrit-Grenadiers and the 1st & 2nd Regiments of Conscrit-Chasseurs. I’ll cover most of the ‘new’ regiments of the Young Guard in the next article.
With the creation of so many new light infantry regiments for the Young Guard, the Fusiliers-Grenadiers and Fusiliers-Chasseurs were initially known somewhat confusingly as ‘Old Soldiers of the Young Guard’, through from 1811 became known as the ‘Middle Guard’. The Vélites of Turin and the Vélites of Florence were also designated as Middle Guard. (In fact, the 2nd Grenadiers à Pied and the 2nd Chasseurs à Pied, which had been reformed in 1810, along with the newly-raised 3rd (Dutch) Grenadiers à Pied were also officially designated as being part of the Middle Guard, but in reality were lumped with the Old Guard.).
With the huge expansion of the Young Guard, followed by a further expansion in 1813, the Middle Guard really ceased to be light infantry and instead became an extension of the Old Guard, providing excellent recruits for the Old Guard regiments, as well as excellent leaders for the Young Guard and Line regiments. The Middle Guard was finally disbanded with Napoleon’s abdication in 1814 and was not re-raised with his return in 1815, though veterans of the Middle Guard formed a large part of the newly-raised 3rd and 4th Regiments of the Grenadiers à Pied and Chasseurs à Pied.
The Regiment of Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Guard
The Regiment of Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Guard was formed in December 1806 from the 1st Battalions of the Grenadier-Vélites and Chasseur-Vélites of the Guard. Only a single regiment was ever raised, consisting of two battalions. Each battalion initially had four companies, expanding in 1811 to five and then in 1813 to six companies. Like the rest of the Guard regiments, there were no elite companies. The regiment was initially intended to be attached to their ‘parent’ regiment; the Grenadiers à Pied of the Old Guard. However, in practice on campaign they were increasingly brigaded with the Fusiliers-Chasseurs and other Middle/Young Guard units.
The uniform of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers was largely modelled on that of Grenadiers à Pied of the Old Guard; namely a long-tailed blue ‘cutaway’ coatee cut in the line infantry style, with brass/gold buttons, blue collar, white lapels, red tail-turnbacks with white eagle ornaments and red Brandenburg cuffs. However, from 1806 to 1808 the uniform had some slight differences; the collar and lapels were edged with red piping and the cuff-flaps were red, piped white with more white piping around the edge of the cuffs. On the shoulders were blue pointed shoulder-straps, edged with red piping.
Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Guard circa 1809-1814 (NCO on the left)
From 1809 the red piping was removed from collar and lapels, the white piping was removed from the cuffs and the red cuff-flaps were replaced with plain white flaps. The shoulder-straps were replaced at this time with white fringed epaulettes, which had red crescents and two red stripes along the epaulette-straps (NCOs had mixed red-gold epaulettes, while officers had gold epaulettes). Aside from the epaulettes, the coat of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers now looked exactly like that of the Grenadiers à Pied of the Old Guard.
Drummers’ uniforms were essentially the same, though had yellow-gold lace edging added to collar, cuffs and lapels.
The waistcoat and breeches were white and worn with long black gaiters, which came up to the thigh and which were secured down the seam with brass buttons. White gaiters were reserved for formal parade dress.
In 1806 the shako of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers had a red, carrot-shaped pompom, white cords, a wide band of white lace around the crown and a ‘V’ of narrow white lace on each side. The front was decorated with the national cockade and the brass crowned eagle badge of the Young Guard. There was no chin-strap or scales. NCOs replaced the lace bands with gold lace and the ‘V’s had a red insert. NCOs’ cords were mixed gold/red. Officers’ shakos lacked the ‘V’s, but had rich gold lace decoration along the upper and lower bands, plus gold edging to the peak.
In 1809 the white lace band was removed from the upper-edge of the shako, though the white ‘V’s were retained. The pompom was replaced with a tall, red feather plume and brass chin-scales were added.
The equipment consisted of two white cross-belts; one holding a sabre-briquet decorated with a red sword-knot on a white strap and the other holding a black leather cartouche, which was decorated with the brass crowned eagle badge of the Young Guard. Backpacks were of the usual French hairy-hide type with white straps, usually topped with a rolled greatcoat in blue.
The uniform of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers remained essentially unchanged until their disbandment in 1814. Like the Old Guard (and unlike the Young Guard) they never adopted the 1812 Bardin Pattern coat. However there were various campaign dress variations, including blue or brown campaign trousers, shako-covers and red pompoms or padded discs instead of plumes.
As for flags; the Fusiliers-Grenadiers and Fusiliers-Chasseurs were not eligible to receive Eagles like the Old Guard and instead were ordered to carry plain fanions (i.e. marker-flags) in dark blue. The lack of decoration on fanions was intended to deny any value as a battle-trophy to the enemy. Details are sketchy, but units inevitably decorated their fanions with various emblems and inscriptions and the Fusiliers-Grenadiers were no exception, decorating their fanions with gold-yellow grenades.
For figures I’ve used the stunningly good AB Figures Fusiliers-Grenadiers, which like their Old Guard figures are standing at attention, as if waiting in reserve. The flag is by Fighting 15s.
(NB Fighting 15s at present is the UK agent for AB Figures, though that contract will pass to someone else later this year. Fighting 15s will however, continue to produce their lovely range of flags.)
[Edited to add: AB Figures are now available in the UK from Eureka UK]
The Regiment of Fusiliers-Chasseurs of the Guard
Fusiliers-Chasseurs of the Guard circa 1810-1814 (NCO on the right)
This regiment was initially raised in October 1806 as the Regiment of Fusiliers of the Guard from the 2nd Battalions of the Grenadier-Vélites and Chasseur-Vélites of the Guard, plus a draft of selected conscripts. However, its title was changed only a few weeks later, in December 1806 to the Fusiliers-Chasseurs of the Guard.
Once again, only a single regiment was ever raised, consisting of two battalions. Each battalion initially had four companies, expanding in 1811 to five and then in 1813 to six companies. Like the rest of the Guard regiments, there were no elite companies. The regiment was initially intended to be attached to their ‘parent’ regiment; the Chasseurs à Pied of the Old Guard. However, in practice on campaign they were increasingly brigaded with the Fusiliers-Grenadiers and other Middle/Young Guard units.
Uniforms were modelled on those of the Chasseurs à Pied of the Old Guard; namely a long-tailed blue ‘cutaway’ coatee cut in the light infantry style, with brass/gold buttons, plain blue collar, plain white pointed lapels, red tail-turnbacks and red pointed cuffs edged in white piping. From 1806 to 1808 the uniform had blue pointed shoulder-straps, edged with red piping. However, in 1809 the shoulder-straps were replaced with the same fringed epaulettes as those worn by the Chasseurs à Pied, being green with red fringes and crescents. Tail-ornaments were also added in 1809, being hunting-horn and grenade badges embroidered in aurore (a pinkish yellow-orange) on a white backing.
The shako was initially of the 1801 Light Infantry pattern, with the brass crowned eagle badge of the Young Guard on the front and the national cockade on the left-hand side. White cords were suspended from the cockade-strap on the left side. A mushroom-shaped, red-over-green pompom was also worn on the left side. Officers wore a more conventional shako with plume and cockade positioned on the front. In 1809 chinscales were added and the pompom was replaced with a tall feather plume, coloured red-over-green. Sources are split over the exact proportion of red to green in the plume – some say a 50/50 split of red and green, while others suggest mostly green with a red tip. In 1810 (ish) the shako changed to a more conventional type, with the plume and cockade moved to the front and the cords suspended from both sides. The shako of the Fusiliers-Chasseurs lacked the white lace of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, though NCOs and officers still wore gold lace (minus the ‘V’s of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers).
Drummers of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers (left) and Fusiliers-Chasseurs (right)
Drummers’ uniforms were essentially the same, though had yellow-gold lace edging added to collar, cuffs and lapels. However, some sources suggest that the lace was coloured aurore (as shown in the plate on the right).
Waistcoats, breeches, gaiters and equipment were the same as for the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, except for the sword-knot, which had a white strap, green knot and red fringe.
The uniform of the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, like that of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, remained essentially unchanged until their disbandment in 1814, except for various items of campaign dress.
As with the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, the Fusiliers-Chasseurs were not eligible to receive Eagles and instead were ordered to carry plain blue fanions. Again, information is scant, but the Fusiliers-Chasseurs probably decorated their fanions with gold-yellow hunting-horn and grenade badges.
In terms of modelling, I should point out that I don’t actually need a large, formed unit of Fusiliers-Chasseurs. As mentioned before, I play Napoleon’s Battles, in which each unit on the table represents a full brigade at roughly 1:100 ratio. The two regiments of Fusiliers were never deployed in sufficient strength to warrant having two formed units on the table, so my Fusiliers-Grenadiers are sufficient for the job. However, I do need some skirmisher bases for occasions when the brigade needs to deploy in entirety as skirmishers, so I’ve decided to use the Fusilier-Chasseurs for the skirmishers.
While AB Figures produce lovely Fusilier-Chasseurs wearing the 1809 side-plumed shako and standing at attention (and their Fusilier-Grenadier figures can be used for post-1810 Fusilier-Chasseurs), they don’t produce any Guard Fusilier skirmishers. Consequently, I’ve used AB Figures Young Guard Voltigeur skirmishers and have simply painted in the upper part of the gaiters above the knee. The plumes are on the front of the shako and the coat-tails are a little short, but the differences aren’t all that noticeable, so I’m happy.
The Battalions of Vélites of Turin and Vélites of Florence
Although I haven’t painted these units, they formed part of the Middle Guard and wore very similar uniforms, so are worth mentioning here. Both battalions were raised in March 1809 from a cadre of Imperial Guardsmen and volunteers (most of them Italian). The Vélites of Turin were specifically raised to be the bodyguard for Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Prince Borghese, who lavished money and expensive Parisian tailoring on his beloved regiment.
The uniforms of both these units were meant to be the same as those of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers of the Guard, though various conflicting sources show a few minor differences and some more differences were created by Prince Borghese’s largesse!
As can be seen in the plate on the right, the uniforms of the Vélites of Florence were essentially identical to those of the Fusiliers-Grenadiers, though almost all sources show that the shakos lacked the white lace ‘V’s on the sides (the cords were white for rank and file – the soldier shown here is a sergeant and has the usual gold lace band around the crown and mixed red/gold cords.
Depictions of the original 1809 uniform for the Vélites of Turin show an identical uniform to that of the Vélites of Florence, again lacking the white lace ‘V’s on the shako. However, some sources show red epaulettes. By 1812 the shakos had been modified with the addition of aurore lace ‘V’s and the white cords had changed to aurore. This modification was presumably due to the patronage of Prince Borghese. Again, most depictions of troops wearing the latter shako have the regulation white epaulettes, but some are depicted wearing red epaulettes (there is a suggestion that corporals may have worn red epaulettes as a mark of their rank, while the sergeants wore mixed red/gold).
A specific request by Prince Borgehese for the Vélites of Turin to be issued with an Eagle was refused by Napoleon, but there is a surviving flag of the standard 1804 ‘lozenge’ Pattern (pictured here). This may have been a private purchase by Prince Borghese, but if officially issued, it seems likely that the Vélites of Florence would also have been issued with such a flag. These flags were probably carried on light-blue poles with gilt spearhead finials. I can’t find any other details of fanions for the Vélites.
I doubt that there’s a single Napoleonic wargamer who doesn’t have at least one Imperial Guard unit in their collection and I’m certainly no exception… And having recently painted my very LAST Imperial Guard infantryman (for the two Young Guard Corps at Leipzig in 1813), I thought I may as well post the pics here, starting with the Old Guard (which appropriately enough, are the oldest figures in my Imperial Guard infantry).
Back in the mists of time, I had a single unit of 16x 15mm Old Guard Grenadiers à Pied by Battle Honours. They got a lot of mileage and by the mid-1990s were looking rather battered. By then we’d started doing demo-games at wargames shows and I was wanting some new models, so asked Mike Hickling at AB Figures if they had any imminent plans for Old Guard infantry models. By sheer luck, he had just cast the very first of the new AB Figures Old Guard and he put them straight in the post to me on approval! I had it on good authority therefore that these AB Figures Old Guard figures were the first to appear anywhere – they were in our Bautzen 1813 game at ‘Warcon’ (1995 I think?) before they even appeared in the AB Figures catalogue! 🙂
Above: French 15mm Old Guard Grenadiers à Pied by AB Figures. When I first saw these, I was totally blown away by the quality of sculpting and the accuracy of the depiction. They look just as though they have stepped out of a Detaille or Gerard painting. Even today, nearly 25 years later, I still think that they’re the best figures ever to have been produced in this scale (or indeed any scale). They’ve even got their customary earrings sculpted on…
Above: Regular readers of this blog will note that my painting was a fair bit better in those days… 🙁 Eyesight and cramping hands now get the better of me. I also had a lot more patience and would routinely paint my own flags…
Above: The Chasseurs à Pied had some subtle uniform differences to the Grenadiers à Pied; their coat was cut in ‘light infantry’ style, with pointed lapels and pointed cuffs, edged in white piping. Epaulettes were green with red fringes and crescents. The bearskin this time had no front-plate and no cul de singe and plumes were now red-over-green.
Above: The Old Guard on parade, with Général de Division Dorsenne, the Colonel-General of the Grenadiers à Pied at their head in full ceremonial uniform.
I’m just having a drink to the memory of my late father-in-law, Chief Petty Officer Harry James RN, chief engineer of a Royal Navy Landing Craft Flotilla, who 75 years ago tonight was being fished out of Portsmouth Harbour by the crew of a US Navy DUKW…
Above: Harry’s vessel on D-Day – LCT(E) 413. This was a very rare vessel – only four LCT(E) were employed during the Normandy Landings and this (Harry’s photo – taken at Port Said in 1946) is the only photo I’ve ever seen of one. It was the Emergency Repair (E) variant of the Landing Craft Tank (LCT) and instead of the tank-deck it had workshops for the at-seas repair of landing craft. Unlike the standard LCT, there was also an upper deck with offices, cabins and stores, plus stowage and davits for its own motor-launch (and presumably Harry’s rowing-boat).
Above: But all is quiet in Fackingham… The vicar strolls through the church-yard and thinks about choirboys…
Above: Factory-workers take up positions around the tank-factory. While many of the armoured vehicles are only partly-built, some are runners and the crews fire up the engines and load ammunition.
Above: Upon reaching the edge of town, the armoured car crew halt and scan the houses warily, waiting for the infantry to move forward and lead the advance into town.
Above: Cadet cavalry follows the infantry into town… Who brings cavalry to a street-fight…? Oh well, at least they add a degree of class to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl. In the background, a Cadet headquarters orderly runs forward to commandeer an animal feed agent’s steam-truck. Thankfully, steam and internal-combustion motor maintenance and operation is all part of the thoroughly modern educational syllabus provided by the Slebech Castle College for Young Ladies…
Above: At the western end of Fackingham, the rich pickings have attracted other factions… Socialists, Anglican League and Yorkists advance on the tank factory.
Above: With the fight at the abbey over, the Cadets, covered by the tankette and a heavy machine gun, move forward into town.
Above: Demonstrating a remarkable degree of dexterity and speed, the Post Office Rocketeers somehow manage to dismantle their weapon and leg it into cover as the armoured car’s machine gun knocks chunks out the brickwork around them! The armoured car turns its attention to the machine gun, but is in turn engaged by previously-unseen heavy machine guns at the far end of the square! The armoured car’s paper-thin armour can’t withstand much punishment and the car is soon reduced to a burning wreck in the middle of the square.
Above: The LDV machine gun crew atop The Pelican whoop with triumph and taunt the Royalists as they turn their gun on the tankette.
Above: The surviving bank staff are taken prisoner and are escorted to the rear by a mounted Cadet.
Above: On the north side of The Pelican, the LDV Headquarters Platoon is getting the worst of their firefight with the Welsh Royalists.
Above: Duty done, the cadets have a lock-in and a party on the roof terrace of The Pelican, while waiting for their Gentleman Friends from the Welsh Royalists to join them…
Above: At the far end of town, the Anglican League and Yorkists look to be making headway into the tank factory.
Then at last, salvation arrived in the form of a new Estonian scupltor named 
Above: The first Murat figure depicts him in the uniform he wore in 1800 as Général de Division of the Reserve Cavalry Division 0f the Army of Italy at the 
Above: My second Murat figure shows him as a Marshal of the Empire, commanding the Reserve Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée at the 
As Murat was now commanding a whole Reserve Cavalry Corps, he’s based with an Aide de Camp (ADC) on a 40mm square base.
Again, as a corps commander, I’ve based him on a 40mm square together with an ADC.
His ADC is dressed much as before, except this time he has buff campaign overall trousers with a crimson-pink stripe down the seam, as well as a crimson-pink shabraque with gold edging. The figure is taken from the latest French ADC pack by AB Figures.
Above: Following his appointment on 15th March 1806 as 
Once again, as a corps commander, I’ve based him on a 40mm square; this time with two ADCs. I must confess however, that I decided not to add the snows of Eylau to the base!
The other ADC is wearing the uniform worn by the famous memoirist 
Above: Following his proclamation as King of Naples on 1st August 1808, Murat devoted most of his time to the governance of his kingdom and didn’t participate in the 1809 Campaign against Austria. However, in 1812 he was recalled along with the Neapolitan Army to join the Grande Armée for the invasion of Russia and true to form, Murat had a whole new uniform that was even more off-the-wall than ever…
Murat’s flamboyant dress, bravery, horsemanship and dazzling swordsmanship on the battlefield won him a whole new legion of adoring fans – the Cossacks…
Above: This figure is based on a famous 1815 equestrian portrait of Murat as King of Naples (shown here) and was probably the uniform worn during Murat’s disastrous 
Murat was placed in command of an entire army-wing during the 1813 Campaign and as such, I’ve based him on a 50mm square with three ADCs in attendance, including a Polish officer as his command contained two corps from the Duchy of Warsaw. All three figures are taken from the most recent AB Figures French ADC pack; two are dressed in the usual variations of white & crimson-pink, though one this time has the pelisse jacket slung over his shoulder to show off the crimson-pink dolman beneath. The dolman has white facings and gold braid, though buff facings are also recorded, as shown here. The yellow plume is another recorded variation on the usual theme.
Above: As mentioned at the top of this article, I decided to use the less animated of the 1807 Murats to plug another significant gap in my French Napoleonic collection; 
His ADC is an officer of the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard and is dressed in much the same ‘undress’ uniform as his Marshal, though in somewhat simpler style. I actually used a spare AB Figures Officer of the Sailors of the Guard and the horse was taken from an AB Figures ADC pack. The two escorts are Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard in full dress and are taken from the AB Figures Napoleon & Staff set.
With Lord Tenby’s 
However, Prince Albert’s forces had not been idle. Under the leadership of the capable Sir Charles McKay-Price and aided by reinforcements and resupply from Canada, they had slowly been building their strength in preparation for a major offensive against Lord Tenby’s forces. Nevertheless, the Protectorate Army was still some way from being a competent field force and so it was left to the more capable elements of the army to conduct raids, fighting patrols and spoiling attacks against the Royalists.
Manor Park, looking west toward Carew and Pembroke.
In the courtyard we see the VIP consulting with the local BUF staff – it’s the notorious 
Manor Park, looking East toward Tenby. The BUF are completely unaware that Albertine Highlanders are lurking in the woods at the top of the picture. However, the Albertines are equally unaware that a Royalist field gun is deployed behind Manor Park (roughly where the sheep are in this photo).
Looking north toward Redberth, the Albertines are also unaware that BUF outposts are deployed along this sunken lane.
The attack begins. In the foreground are the territorials of ‘D’ Company, 4th Welch Regiment. Beyond the road are the dismounted Freshwater West Australian Light Horse, while the Pembroke Post Office Lancers split into two Troops.
In the centre, the Light Horse deploy their Vickers MG Section to cover the road.
Major Broughton and his guidon-bearer move forward.
On the left flank, ‘A’ Troop of the Lancers move forward to support the Light Horsemen.
Resplendent in their purple ‘kangaroo feathers’, the Light Horsemen move forward through the hedgerows.
An Australian blows his thing.
As the Australians cross a field, a unit of BUF open fire from the sunken road.
The clock starts ticking now that the BUF are alerted to the enemy presence. Royalist reinforcements will soon start to arrive, so the Albertines need to complete their mission in the shortest possible time.
The Australians and BUF trade fire with each other, with light casualties being suffered on both sides. Men on both sides scramble for cover as bullets find their mark. The Lancers move forward in support, firing from the saddle as they do so. A saddle is emptied by BUF bullets, but the Lancers press on.
On the Albertine right flank, ‘B’ Troop of the Lancers moves forward, covered by the Territorials.
The Territorials haven’t yet spotted any enemy, but don’t like the look of that hedgerow in front…
With trumpet blaring, the Post Office Lancers add a degree of tone and class to the battlefield as they dash forward.
With the Australians now suppressed by fire from the hedgerow, ‘A’ Troop of the Lancers attempts to seize the initiative and launches a reckless charge on the BUF!
However, the Lancers’ gamble pays off, as the BUF are also suppressed by Australian fire. They completely fail to cause any casualties on the charging Lancers and as the Lancers charge home they break and run! Blackshirts are quickly lanced, ridden down or captured by the victorious Lancers.
Meanwhile, on the other flank, ‘B’ Troop of the Lancers dashes across the field to the sunken lane. A volley of shots rings out…
As the Territorials suspected, a second unit of BUF Militia is lurking in the lane. The two sides trade shots inconclusively across the field.
The BUF Militia Commander and his 2IC leave Manor Park to tell his men to keep the bloody noise down… Just in time to witness one of his units being ridden down by Lancers!
A St John’s Ambulance officer attached to the BUF, looks on in horror as the Lancers complete their annihilation of the BUF.
“View Halloo!” Spotting the BUF officer and his friend, the Lancers charge off in hot pursuit, though the officer manages to dash back into Manor Park, while the NCO hides in the phone box.
The St John’s Ambulance officer sneaks off, hoping that his black & white uniform will enable him to hide among the cows…
Major Broughton moves forward to rally his men and get them moving forward again.
Having seen what happened to their comrades on the right and not wanting it to happen to them, the remaining unit of BUF leg it as fast as their hairy little fascist legs will carry them back to Manor Park.
The Territorials set off in hot pursuit!
‘A’ Troop charges on up the road, unaware of the fugitive hiding in the phone box.
The Blackshirts scarper, with the Lancers hot on their heels!
The BUF officer bars the gate, while one of his staff officers frantically looks for an escape route. A BUF signaller, calling frantically for support, finally manages to make contact with a friendly unit!
Captain de Carnelle’s Company of Cadets has heard the call and has withdrawn from the front line near Carew. The young ladies arrive in rear of the Australians!
The Lancers reach the lane, but their horses refuse to tackle the steeply-banked hedges! The BUF make good their escape and barricade themselves inside Manor Park.
‘A’ Troop of the Lancers meanwhile, runs into trouble as a previously un-located BUG heavy weapons detachment opens up on the horsemen. Amazingly, no casualties are suffered by the ‘Lucky Lancers’.
Another heavy weapon joins in – this one an 18-pounder field gun belonging to the 2nd Haverfordwest Volunteer Horse Battery RA. Still the Lancers suffer no casualties!
The Haverfordwest Horse Artillery have traded their horses in for a commandeered tea van…
The Duchess of York’s Highlanders, waiting in ambush positions, spot te approaching convoy…
A Highlander NCO orders his men to hold their fire until he gives the word.
However, a Highlander fires on the horse gunners and the ambush is compromised!
With the ambush detected, Baron Kylsant attempts to escape across the fields. Meanwhile, fortune favours the ‘Lucky Lancers’ once again as the BUF machine gun jams!
However, Captain de Carnell’s Cadets are now engaging the Australian rear.
A cadet sharpshooter takes aim at the exposed Australian machine gun team.
Another cadet rushes forward to engage the Australians.
As more cadets move forward, one takes a tot from her hip-flask to steady the nerves!
A cadet seeks a target among the hedgerows.
A cadet readies her rifle and prepares to engage the enemy.
Major Broughton’s men turn to face the new threat. With the ambush blown, the time has come for his force to scatter and infiltrate back into friendly lines. Baron Kylsant has escaped justice this time, but his time will come…
As recounted in my 
1. ‘D’ Company, 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Welch Regiment (Territorial Army) was based at Pembroke Drill Hall. As the local Territorial Army infantry company, one platoon of ‘D’ Company had naturally been called out to assist the police in maintaining order at a large public meeting that was to take place at the Great War Memorial on Castle Hill, Pembroke. However, the BUF also decided to impose their version of the ‘King’s Peace’ and a massacre was the result.
One of the first to fall was the Territorial platoon commander and his incensed men were quick to return fire on the BUF. Civilians were armed from the Drill Hall’s armoury and the BUF were soon driven from the town. ‘D’ Company then moved quickly to secure the locality: The Defensible Barracks was seized in a bloodless coup as they were joined by ‘A’ Squadron of the Pembroke Yeomanry and the men of the local Coastal Artillery Regiment, Royal Marines Detachment and Royal Dockyards Police. Most of the Officers and Airmen of RAF Pembroke Dock also joined the coup, though the Loyalists made a stand at the depot of the 2nd KSLI in Llanion Barracks. Nevertheless, the loyalist positions at Llanion were quickly overrun and the rebels consolidated their position in the south-west of the county. Within a week, an Albertine brigade group landed to reinforce the rebels, who quickly declared for Prince Albert.
Despite the switch of allegiance, the men of ‘D’ Company are proud of their regiment and have retained the old title. Perhaps in a vain hope that the rest of The Welch will join them against the King? They continue to wear their old Service Dress uniform and insignia. The only variation on Dress Regulations is the cap-band, in Albertine Purple.
With the sudden descent to war, the tent-pegging display team soon became the Pembroke Post Office Lancers, volunteering en masse to defend Pembroke (and the Albertine cause by default). Their smart uniforms were also an extremely effective recruitment tool and the Lancers quickly found their ranks swollen to full Squadron strength. Their uniforms retain the blue, red and brass Post Office theme, though with the addition of smart-as-carrots pith helmets which are festooned with spare elastic-bands in the finest traditions of the Post Office (you never know when they might come in handy for parcelling up loot or prisoners).
Aside from a few Great War veterans and a few former Yeomanry and Territorials in the ranks, the Lancers have little in the way of infantry skills, so they are retained as shock cavalry and reconnaissance troops.
The Post Office Lancers formed part of the Albertine contingent sent by sea from Pembroke Dock to reinforce the beleaguered Bishopric of St Davids, where they fitted in well with other cavalry contingents outfitted in Ruritanian uniforms. They fought well in their first engagement at Robleston Hall, charging fearlessly in the face of stiff enemy opposition and blunting the Royalist offensive there, pausing only to carry out the day’s 2nd Collection at Dudwells Sub-Post Office. However, they suffered heavy casualties, as nobody likes a show-off; least of all BUF Vickers Machine Gun teams…
So despite their detractors and accusations of being a throwback to Queen Victoria, the ‘Parcel Force’ as they have become known, have proved their worth on the battlefield. They might be silly buggers, but they’re sill buggers with style, panache and bulging sacks.
16. In 1936, the Royal Australian Air Force purchased a number of Saro London flying boats from Great Britain. RAAF personnel were then sent to RAF Pembroke Dock, to train on the new aircraft, with the intention of forming a brand-new RAAF flying boat squadron at Pembroke Dock, before flying their new machines back to Australia. However, the war intervened and the aircraft were not even delivered to Pembroke Dock. The Australian aircrew, finding themselves marooned in the midst of a war on the far side of the globe and hearing the trumpet’s call… found a superb surfing beach at a place called Freshwater West and set up camp there, well away from the Poms and their stupid war. However, the Main Street Massacre changed all that.
It came to pass that some of the Australian officers were relaxing in the King’s Arms on Pembroke Main Street, enjoying a few quiet pints and looking forward to a few loud ones. Squadron Leader ‘Skip’ Broughton was just lifting a foaming pint of “Feelin’ Foul” to his lips (‘Felinfoel’ isn’t a name that comes easily to Englishmen, let alone Australians) when a volley of shots erupted in the street outside! A bullet smashed the window, then smashed Skip’s pint before passing through his hand and lodging in the dark oak panelling of the public bar! Squadron Leader Broughton stood, ashen-faced, dripping with blood and beer as the other Australians looked on in shock and horror. “Strewth, Skip! The bastards shot your pint!” Unaware of the screams and incessant gunfire outside the smashed window, the Australians stared dumbstruck at their stricken leader and his former pint. Then, as one man, the enraged and dripping Australians charged out into the street. Someone was going to pay!
Having joined forces with the people of Pembroke against the Blackshirts (and by association, the King), the Australians have nailed their colours firmly to the Albertine mast. There are no aircraft to fly, so the Australians have turned their hand to horsemanship (already a well-honed skill among many of them). The Australian airmen’s natural dash and initiative has made them excellent light cavalrymen and the Freshwater West Australian Light Horse Squadron has been rapidly incorporated into the Pembrokeshire Protectorate forces. Some wags insist on referring to them as ‘Air Cavalry’ – a clearly ridiculous name that
will surely never catch on…
Since starting my 
Shamefully, Howard later pinned the blame for the retreat on to I Corps and Abner Doubleday, who had taken command of I Corps, following the death of Reynolds. General Meade, a long-time enemy of Doubleday, wasted no time in sacking the blameless general and the truth of Howards’ actions, when revealed, only led the rest of the army to despise XI Corps and the Germans even more. Nevertheless, XI Corps solidly defended Cemetery Hill against Ewell on 2nd July.
Above: Here we see a combined-arms Tank Squadron Team, consisting of a Tank Squadron minus one Platoon and reinforced by an Armoured Infantry Platoon in YPR-765 PRI, an anti-tank section with YPR-765 PRAT and an attached artillery forward observer in YPR-765 PRCO-C5.
Last September I posted 
I’m pleased to say that I absolutely was not disappointed! The BPM Chaparral is if anything, even better than the SKOT. In the photo above, the cleaned-up model is on the left and the ‘unclean’ model with all its supporting printing-structure is on the right (plus three separate pieces at the front). Behind are a Team Yankee M113 and Leopard 1 for scale – the M48 Chaparral was based on the same chassis as the M113, so should have exactly the same ‘footprint’, which I’m pleased to report that it does.
I’m also pleased to report that the model is almost completely absent of ‘stepping’, which is a fairly common criticism of 3D-printed models. There is a some stepping on the curved rail-things at the front of the vehicle that obscures the divisions between the rail-things (what are they? Stowed tarpaulin-supports perhaps?), so I used some black lines to create the impression of rails.
Note also that the kit is modelled in the ‘buttoned up’ configuration, ready to fire. In order to drive the vehicle, the crew would have to open the hatches on top of the cab – it isn’t possible to model the kit in this configuration without some serious conversion-work.
MERDC camouflage was designed to be of a standard pattern on all vehicles of the same type and the colours would (theoretically) be changed, depending on the terrain and season. In practice however, USAREUR tended to stick with Winter Verdant colours all year-round and the Summer Verdant scheme (replacing the Field Drab with Light Green) was only seen on reinforcement vehicles from the USA during 
You will find various paint-guides for MERDC camouflage on the web, but my own preferred colours are:
To finish off, I painted the MIM-72 missiles in US Olive Drab (Humbrol Enamel 155) and the gunner’s canopy and track-guards in black. The track-guards were then highlighted Humbrol 67 Tank Grey and the whole model was lightly dry-brushed with Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill before being sprayed with matt varnish. Last of all, the gunner’s canopy was given a coat of Humbrol Gloss-Cote.