I started putting together the T35 the other day and realised that after nineteen tanks during March I had enough of them. I really do have the attention span* of gnat (but the memory of an elephant!).

I have a whole lot of Napoleonic cavalry that has just been sitting there waiting for a good set of rules. With the advent of Lasalle 2 for larger games and Rebels and Patriots for skirmish games it was time that I started the final touch ups and basing.

Firstly the Berg Regiment of Light Horse:

The Berg Light Horse are one of the most well known of Napoleon’s “Duchy” troops, probably since the unit ultimately gained for itself the special distinction of being admitted to Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. In other respects, however, they are somewhat obscure, primarily because the regiment went through a surprisingly large number of reorganizations and transformations during its relatively short existence.

The designations of Chevau-Legers, Chasseurs à Cheval, Lanciers, and Chevau-Legers Lanciers are all referring to the same unit, albeit with different functions from Light Horse to Mounted light Infantry to Light Cavalry Lancers.

The unit grabbed Murat’s attention and was formed into one of his own bodyguard units. However with a lack of suitable cavalry mounts in Berg the units longevity looked limited. Murat gained Imperial permission to acquire horses outside the boundaries of the Duchy, and on May 21, 1807, the regiment was renamed the “Regiment of the Grand Duchess Caroline of Cleves”.     

 

During the grand review of the army which took place at Madrid on December 11, the Berg Light Horse then found itself in the ranks of the Imperial Guard , taking its place to the left of the senior cavalry units of the Mounted Chasseurs, the Mounted Grenadiers, the Dragoons, the Mamelukes, the Polish Light Horse and the Mounted Gendarmes and showing a strength of four officers and 105 men. So these six figures represent the unit in a 1 to 20 scale.

I will work on these throughout the month of April with the odd other shiny “thingies” in between.

*A gnat has an attention span of zero and it has no memory. It responds to stimulus rather like a machine – a bit like me………oh another shiny toy – must paint!