Sharp Practice - British Peninsular War
At this year's Claymore Show I took the plunge and started a British force for the summer project. I wanted to avoid the Rifles for now, so I've expanded on the rulebook's "List 1" - musket-armed Light Infantry, Line Infantry and that left room for some Light Dragoons as support. These chaps came out better than I feared - all that lace etc can be a bit daunting.
The research for these projects is half the fun. I stumbled on the Roll-Dillon combined battalions - a combination of Swiss, British and other "foreign" soldiers. So some of the units have that "regiment" in mind.
These are a mix of Perry plastics and metals. They were a bit fiddly to build and clean up but they look great when they're finished - they are very forgiving for a painter like me!
British Line Infantry - Cumberland/Dillon's
This unit (yellow facings) can be fielded as 34th (Cumberland) Regiment. This was an easy choice given the Cumbrian family roots. However, they can also be fielded as Dillon's Regiment as part of the Roll-Dillon combined unit. Dillon's was originally a French-Irish Regiment which switched sides during the Revolution. It has a varied history, including the Alexandria campaign where officers wore rather nifty top hats.
In Sharp Practice, the British Line are really rather powerful - especially with their volleys and their ability to fire and then charge (with the right chips in hand.) There's 3x groups of 8 in this formation.
In true Lardy fashion, the officers are named. The chap in the white top-hat is Captain Hosenhorn from the 2nd Company of Dillon's 1st Battalion. He has clearly refused to change out of his Alexandrian campaign uniform. He is a bit of a cad, truth be told, and originally hails from Dutch East Indies.
The officer who is more sensibly dressed belongs to the Cumberland Regt. He is Captain Maycock-Ettupp. He's usually accompanied by Sergeants Unthank and Swindle but they are currently MIA.
British Line - De Roll's (Swiss) Company
This is De Roll's (blue facings). They were a Swiss Regiment in British service. Swiss and Roll. Magic.2x groups of 8 Line in this formation. The keen-eyed amongst you might go apoplectic with rage at the red-over-white stovepipe shako cockade. But stand easy, De Roll's were allowed to reverse the usual colours. They also seem to have had red-coated sharpshooters as well as a unit of green-coated riflemen who may have worn blue facings too. That'll be a future project - I'm projecting that they might have worn uniforms similar to the KGL or Brunswickers which might be a bit different too.
De Roll's are led by Captain Raclette and Sergeant Lindt - both Swiss mercenaries with a long and distinguished history of valour, pillage and standing with hands-on-hips. De Roll's also fought in the Alexandrian campaign which gave me an excuse to use the magnificent be-hatted model for the officer.
British 14th Light Dragoons
I've wanted to give cavalry a spin in some SP scenarios. The 14th Light Dragoons with their orange facings fitted the bill rather nicely as they spent much of their tour of duty in the Peninsular War on piquet (picket?) duty, raiding and generally getting somewhat filthy. I went for the Tarleton helmet as I imagine this force is from around 1811/12 - matching the slightly later uniforms of the French in my collection.
The dragoons are led by Lieutenant Shattenkirk, a Scottish-American emigrant who is seeking fame and fortune with the British army. Shattenkirk has led a couple of dashing charges but it turns out the dragoons have a propensity for plunder and shirking off a table edge if the opportunity presents itself.
Cavalry in SP2 are pretty interesting. They can be a major threat because of their charge range and potential to do damage, but rarely fulfil their potential (especially in a small group of 8.) Some use the term glass cannons. But I like the extra command puzzle they add to a game - for both commanders in a game. I have some French Dragoons waiting on the painting table too.
Light Dragoons can dismount or begin the game dismounted - acting as skirmishers with inferior carbines. Again, they can add an extra dimension to a scenario. They are temporarily/permanently led by a Light Infantry officer because I liked it! He can fill in as a dismounted Shattenkirk, or be fielded as Lieutenant Puddocks who is an enthusiastic indoor cricketer and steeplechase champion.
43rd Monmouthshire Light Infantry
Musket armed Light Infantry. Yes please! At a pinch, these can double up as Dillon's light company sharpshooters too, although they may have adopted the Belgic Shako by 1812. I really like the sculpts for all of these figures. Bravo Perry's.
The Light Infantry are led by Captain Pitlick, a tough Welshman with a mighty fine set of mutton chops. He's supported by Sergeant Leghorn (known as Foghorn to his unit, which is a bit confusing because foghorns weren't invented until 1859.)
No photos of their first foray into action. But suffice to say that each "big man" was cut down to size. I seem to remember one stepping in dog muck, another being shot in the backside, one being barged over and another (Pitlick, no less) being unable to read the map properly. The curse of freshly painted toys!
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