Monday 16 September 2019

A lighter shade of bleu...

Way back in the spring of 2018 Quatra Bras was my first event of the year after a winter where my shoulder had 'frozen'.  The muscle plate was like stiff, scarred leather but the general prognosis was of getting better after two, or three years, hopefully, maybe.

The foggy nights in Belgium that weekend didn't help and when we started doing drill  I pondered if I should take up another role. I simply couldn't make all the shapes.
But it wasn't so bad at later events, and I soldiered on, until drill at Cheriton suddenly agitated something.

What to do? Of course we do this for enjoyment, my officer was first to point that out, if someone can't do something, nevermind. It's a hobby.


But at Quatra Bras after that drill we had been by the roadside when the Marshal had appeared, quickly we drew together and presented arms! The salute. Except I had a twinge in my shoulder and transferred the weight to my other hand for a moment or two.
Click. A picture later appeared on Facebook deriding the unit for not saluting properly. Of course I'd like to get that guy's head and crack it against a table until it also hurt, but he will never know that there was a reason for me holding my musket like that. I don't know what his problem with the rest of the unit was, maybe his protractor was stuck up his arse and he couldn't measure the angles properly, or maybe he was upset that he had to go more than five miles from Paris and the champagne and truffles parade circuit.
Even with a note from matron I'd rather not be the only one in the unit going to Porte arms differently to everyone else.


We already have a very good medical display from our infirmiere, there are other camp roles like traders, or my journalist impression or running an illicit gambling set up or being some administrative/political post or what about being even a proper regency era painter with canvases and an easel etc?
Or take the chance to do something obscure (especially in the UK) like a Bavarian cartography officer or a Westphalian pontoniere?  These would need to be tailor made and have the disadvantage of only being apt for the French side from 1805/7 to 1813.

Also I'd still like to take to the field and do some fighting.
Voltigeur? I didn't want to diffuse the appearance of the 45eme any more, we need a measure of uniformity and things are looking good, plus you should really still be in the ranks doing the same drill.. I needed to be attached to the 45eme and yet not..

A supply role? Logistics would also give me something to talk about, the sheer amount needed just for a gun battery is quite astounding. Every infantry battalion had two supply wagons attached.

The uniform for the artillery train, the train d'equipages (general supply) and the Ambulance drivers is very similar and with a cover over my shako I could easily adapt my look to each as required. Each was issued a musket or carbine and could fight, defending a gun position in the artillery role or helping and protecting our Infirmiere as an Ambulance man.


Research! Research! Research! Napoleon's specialist troops' from Osprey and the book below was very good for all sorts of supply/support services. 
One of the key factors was eliminating oddities, like one book that described Ambulance drivers as having brown trousers, something which doesn't tally anywhere else. 


I will keep all my fusilier kit for campaign events and for those events where we are sometimes short of troops, particularly firers.
So the project for this winter is to get this impression together with its curious mix of infantry and cavalry style gear, although the wagon and horses will have to wait a bit.


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