Thursday 25 February 2016

A rare military force - Swedes in the late Napoleonic wars

Sweden had an interesting place among the Allies fighting Napoleon in 1813.  It's king and army commander Bernadotte (ex-French General under Napoleon...long story that) was very keen, it would appear, to keep the Swedes near the action but not in the action.  Thus, outside of very minor engagements,  the only Swedish units to gain action in a major engagement was the Mornerska Hussars and a small horse battery at the Battle of Dennewitz. (and please correct me if I am wrong)
Leipzig might (?) be the only other battle but I think more only of a support role.


I had still a few bits and pieces from all the boxes of Perry plastics (every nation luckily has a hussar unit or two).  While I had one horse with the pointed saddle cloth on which the distinctive 'wolfs-tooth' design could be painted, the other horses were modified to a more campaign look. The one thing I was missing was sword arms.  I simply had ran out of them.  But I thought, were not the Swedes the 'neutrals' of the world?  Going into combat without a sword in the hand would be appropriate, no?  So arms were found from other sources and scabbarded swords were collected(ex for trumpeters and at one per box I am 'lucky' to have bought three boxes! )The Swedes were a bit behind in the military sartorial department so were still wearing the old mirliton headdress, colourful as that is.



......and how is NASA's lunar program like my wargaming hobby?  Spend loads of money, countless years of research, spend lots of effort to get to the moon/ collect a unit , then never to go back/ put in a box!