Monday, August 17, 2020

57e Ligne Voltigeurs 1809

57e Ligne Voltigeurs uniform plate. The voltigeur caporal is wearing double red diagonal stripes across his foreams. Both yellow and red stripe variations are recorded for caporals.


 
Just like their taller and larger brothers in arms, the Grenadiers, the Voltigeurs were considered elite soldiers. This elite status came with prestige and respect. However, the life of a Voltigeur in battle was a dangerous cat and mouse game. These men were expected to fight in line like the rest of the battalion and expected to protect the front of the battle when in line and the flanks while on the march as skirmishers. Unlike the rigid formations when in line, skirmishers were expected to work in pairs and take aimed shots from any concealed cover that could be found. Orders from the 3rd Corps commanding officer Marshal Davout two years after the 1809 campaign cite skirmishers' role in his letter to his generals in 1811.
 
French Voltigeurs screen the advancing battalion. I believe the title is incorrect. Should be column of peletons(companies)
 

         Article 1.
          Covering the head of a column or the front of a line

The tirailleurs must always walk in pairs in order to give mutual assistance. They should fire only one after the other, so that one of them always remains loaded.
As much as possible, the line of the riflemen covering the head of a column, will describe the part of circle the head of the column of which would be the center.

 Article 3.
Covering one flank of the column.

Remark.

The cordon of skirmishers being established, it will march by the flank together with the reserves whilst following the direction of the column.                                                                        

                                                                Article 7.                                                                   March.

In open country, the riflemen will have to walk in the greatest order with calm, sang froid and silence; to reserve their fire and to be held ready to execute all the movements which will be ordered of them.
When one positions the rifleman on the sides at the head or tail of a column marching in open country, with not only the purpose of being informed of the movements of the enemy, but also to keep the skirmishers of infantry and cavalry distant so that they do not approach the column.
If the open country through which the column advances is furrowed with gullies and small hills or thickets, the riflemen will have to enter the gullies to clear them, to climb to the top of the hillocks, to turn and clear the thickets.

 This is important because the 3rd Corps on the morning of 19 April 1809 made a flank march against a known enemy force from Ratisbonne to Abensberg. The voltigeurs were the column's eyes and ears with the cavalry vedettes and were ready to fire and advance against any enemy light troops that got too close to the column. As was the case with the Battle of Thann, the French light troops were pushed back by the larger light infantry force ascending from the hills between Hausen and Teugen. However, this allowed time for the formed battalions to advance and take the fight to the Austrians.

 

French Voltigeurs advance from the left of the line (second place of honor) to cover the front of the battalion in line.


  

      In battle, the skirmishing voltigeurs' goal was to take out high-value targets of opportunity such as officers, Nco's, artillerymen, and other enemy skirmishers. Being at least 100 paces in front of the battalion to shield it from fire from other enemy skirmishers, the men had to listen to their officers' voices and signals from the cornets and their common sense to make quick reactions with the fluid fighting style of skirmishing. According to T.E. Crowdy's Napoleon's Infantry Handbook, "Napoleon stipulated voltigeurs had to be less than 1,598mm tall (officers could be up to 1,625 or 5 French feet). There were two reasons for this selection process. Firstly, short soldiers of whice there were plenty which would never qualify for service in the grenadiers, but they could aspire for service in the voltigeurs. Secondly, Bardin estimated this measure increased the pool of those eligible for conscription by about 40,000 men.... This decree clarified the recruits must be of a sound constitution, vigorous and nimble, but short in stature." 

   

    At the Battle of Thann, it is somewhat unclear what role the voltigeur companies from the 57e Ligne played. What is for sure, the terrain around Teugen and Hausen's villages with its thick forest and uneven ground would have played right into the small unit tactics of the French Voltigeurs. However, it seems from some of the wounds received by the officers that they not only fought with their parent battalions but came to close grips with the enemy. One unfortunate Voltigeur officer from the 1e Voltigeurs named S. Lt. Charles Basset received seven saber wounds all over his body. These wounds were as follows, 1.) left cheek 2.) lower lip 3.) right shoulder 4.) right hip 5.) right thigh 6.) left shin 7.) left leg. These wounds must have been inflicted by an Austrian officer's sword when the French finally crested the Hausner Berg. There are many reports of hand -to-hand fighting, as we have seen from Grenadier Lt. Raverat citation from my previous post. Also, 2e Voltigeurs Capt. Antoine Pelenc received two shots from a canister round: 1.) in the lower part of the right thigh 2.) In the lower abdomen. His wound suggests that the men were in the line of battle taking fire from the Austrian artillery on the higher ground. This would seem very possible because the Austrians would not waste their ammunition on skirmishers as the more compact formed battalions were a much higher valued target. Just like the Grenadier companies, four Voltigeur officers were wounded. Two of those were the commanding officers of the 2e & 3e Voltigeurs (2e Voltigeurs Capt. Antoine Pelenc, who was previously mentioned, and 3e Voltigeurs Capt. Bernard Boyer: Shot in the right leg). The other two officers were 1e Voltigeurs S. Lt. Charles Basset mentioned above and 3e Voltigeurs S. Lt. Joseph Olivier Dehemery (also spelled in the rolls as D'Hemery). Overall, the voltigeurs suffered 4 WIA officers, 7 KIA, 1 MW, and 27 WIA Nco's and soldiers. 

1e Voltigeurs S. Lt. Charles Basset's service record from Base Leonore. His wounds did not stop him from being promoted to Lt. in August 1809.


Voltigeur c.1809 and Voltigeur Cornet c.1805 from Petit Soldats de Strasbourg
 

Voltigeur Caporal, Voltigeur coat (habit), Voltigeur Cornetist, and a close up of a cornet from a H.Knotel and Hans M. Brauer

Voltigeur veteran of over 15 years of service showing his LdH award on his left lapel. From Bucquoy plates

 
Voltigeur Officer of the 57e Ligne by Manuscript de Petit Suhr c.1807 from Brown Digital Library.

  Voltigeur Cornet of the 57e Ligne by Manuscript de Petit Suhr c.1807.  The uniform is similiar to 1809, but the voltigeurs plume, epaulettes, shako plate, and the tricolor lace are different. This could be a possible uniform through a transition period from 1807-1809. Also, the cornet seems to be a trumpet instead.

 

Sources:

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Friday, August 14, 2020

Grenadiers of the 57e Regiment d'infanterie Ligne 1809

 

    The 57e Ligne Grenadiers at the Battle of Thann paid a high price for being elite soldiers. During the battle 11 Grenadiers were killed, 14 mortally wounded, and 39 wounded including 3 of the 4 Grenadier Captains (1e Grenadiers Capt. Jean Viala: Shot in the stomach, 2e Grenadiers Capt. Laurent Bertet, and 3e Grenadiers Capt. Sernin Laffont: Contusion on the left arm). The high ratio of killed and mortally wounded to wounded shows the severity of the fighting against the Austrian who was holding the high ground. The third battalion, which most likely was posted on the extreme left of the regiment 's formaton in line, received the heaviest number of casualties.The regiment not only had to fight off 6 different regiments and an artillery battery posted on high ground, with no battery of their own to respond but also had to form square on it's left to fend off an attack by an Austrian Hussar squadron.Their position on the left allowed the Austrians to attack them from the front as well as work their way around the 57th flank in the woods that dominated the battlefield. The 3e Grenadier company commanding officer Capt. Sernin Laffont received a contusion to his left arm as well as 3 killed, 4 mortally wounded, and 13 wounded Nco's and soldiers.

3rd Grenadier Sergeant Philippe Montmayeux, Killed at The Battle of Thann on April 19, 1809 .   

  An unforunate NCO killed on the hills in front of Teugen was Grenadier Sergent Philippe Montmayeux, born in 1767, he had joined the 69e Ligne in 1791 and then transferred to the 4th Foot Artillery regiment in An 4. Montayeux joined the 57e Ligne in An 6 and would serve the majority of his time in the grenadier companies of the 1st and then 2nd battalion. Being promoted to Caporal in an 12 and Sergent in 1806, Sergent Montmayeux was a old veteran by the time of the battle with over 9 campaigns under his belt. His death with countless other veterans of the volunteers from 1791, 1792, and 1793 would be hard to replace after the heavy casualties sustained by the regiment in 1809.

    One of the 4 Grenadier officers wounded at the battle was the gallant 2e Grenadiers Lt. Rene Claude Jean Raverat, who was shot in the right hand, breaking his hand. At the battle of Thann, Lt. Raverat who was already well known for bravery in the campaign of 1807, shown brightly again when, " On April 19, 1809, the day of the battle of Thaun, the enemy having seized the heights, made a division run to go and intercept the road; General Saint Hilaire wanted to oppose this movement, which could compromise the fate of his troops and that of part of the army. The 57th Regiment was ordered to march on this battery; it was only a short pistol shot away when it was greeted by the musketry of an infantry battalion. The 72nd line infantry regiment, seen at this point, had already come to grips in a wood, where it was crushed by grape-shot from a battery located on a hillock some distance away.The fire was so well fed and so well directed that the French were forced to retire in disorder. Raverat, with half of his grenadiers and about fifty voltigeurs, remains the last; but he is soon obliged to follow the retrograde movement. While he beats in retreat, one of the soldiers who had crossed the Passarge with him, falls wounded by a shot: he takes care to raise him; but at the same time, he himself was struck by a bullet which broke his right hand. the Colonel (Charriere) of 57th then ordered Raverat to go to the ambulance to get bandaged: "No, colonel," replies the lieutenant; This during the General Saint-Hilaire having rallied the troops, arrived with a reinforcement to attack a second time the mamelon;you have already lost a lot of officers, you might need me: "besides, I want to have the honor of commanding one" of your companies, and despite my injury, it is on "this redoubt that you will give it to me”. Ráverat, seeing that the moment is favorable, sets off at the head of a handful of brave men who emerge with bayonets; he climbs the height, after having killed a great number of enemies, and appears the first on the hillock, which is carried by storm. This bold move decided the victory. The one who had contributed so much, then yielding to the strong urges of his chiefs, entered the hospital of Newbourg, where he underwent an operation all the more painful, that it was necessary to extract from his hand the bullet which had remained there. Four days later, Napoleon arrived under the walls of Ratisbon; he was already informed of the courage displayed by this officer: "Where is Lieutenant Raverat, from" he asked the colonel of the 57th regiment? "Sire," replied the latter, "a shot from which he was hit" at the battle of Thaun, where the whole army saw him performing wonders of value, forced him to enter the country. ' hospital . - Well! added the emperor, let him know that I "appoint him baron, with an endowment of four thousand francs". 

Baron Raverat's LdH papers and service record can be seen at Base Leonore.

Grenadier officer from the 57e Ligne c.1807. Notice the officer is wearing a bearskin cap, but is not shown wearing the usual brass plate. Drawing by manuscript of Petit Suhr.   
t
Sapeur, Grenadier Tambour, Caporal Grenadier from Le Petit Soldats de Strasbourg. The caporal has red stripes instead of yellow.

 

Two paintings by Henri Boisselier for the Bucquoy plates depicting a Grenadier Caporal, Grenadier Tambour, Capt. Adj. Major, and a Sapeur.


Article from Rigo's Le Plumet Planche 79 in Tradition Magazine of the 57e Ligne in 1809
 

 

 Sources:

  1.  Base Leonore: http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/leonore_fr?ACTION=RETROUVER&FIELD_1=Cnoms&VALUE_1=raverat&FIELD_2=PRENOMS&VALUE_2=&FIELD_3=DATE%2dNSS&VALUE_3=&FIELD_4=LIEU%2dNSS&VALUE_4=&FIELD_5=Nom%20de%20jeune%20fille&VALUE_5=&FIELD_6=SEXE&VALUE_6=%20&FIELD_7=COTE&VALUE_7=&NUMBER=8&GRP=0&REQ=%28%28raverat%29%20%3aNOM%2cNOM2%2cNOM%2dJF%2cNOM%2dMARI%2cSURNOM%2cNOTES%20%29&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P&SPEC=9&SYN=1&IMLY=&MAX1=1&MAX2=1&MAX3=100&DOM=All  
  2. 1809 Thunder on the Danube. Volume 1 by John H. Gill
  3. The Fastes of Glory or the Braves Recommended to Posterity: Monument Erected to Defenders of the Fatherland, Volume 2 pages 326-327 by Louis-Fran Ois L'h Ritier (De L'Ain) .
  4. 2YB320 57. Line An X.1811
  5. 2YB321 57. Line 1808.1815
  6. XB459 57. Line 1809
  7. Rigo's Le Plumet Plate 79 in Tradition Magazine
  8. Bucquoy, EL: Premier Emprie Uniforms
  9. Small Suhr manuscript
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Tuesday, August 4, 2020

3e Ligne in 6MM



    
    While visiting my parents for a little, I was able to paint some of my 6mm Adler Miniatures. These are truly the most detailed 6mm out there and even better than some larger scale miniatures. I decided to paint a few test figures to get a feel for painting again. It has been over 3 years since I painted and I felt these are a good start. 6mm miniatures are easier to paint than larger scales and I enjoy creating larger battalions. I have decided to start painting the 3e Ligne because I had some grenadiers in bearskins and I wanted to see how the unique sky blue uniform would look of the fusilier drummers/ voltigeurs cornets in 6mm. I think the color came out pretty good and like a lot of paintings it looks better in person. Below are French fusiliers, Grenadiers, Voltigeurs, wounded, and killed.  Painting the wounded and dead miniatures was interesting as I was researching the wounded and killed soldiers from the Battle of Thann. Putting a name to the men who were casualties on April 19, 1809 makes it more rewarding to paint this little dudes as my wife calls them!

    For anyone intersted in learning how to paint 6mm I highly recommend these painting tutorials. Sadly, none of these blogs are still active in 6mm, but a great place to learn the skills to paint 6mm. I have taken skills from each of these blogs, but the most important thing I have learned is that you need to be tidy and leave some of the black showing to help the miniatures pop.

















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