Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow 1812 - The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV

For the last three months I have been participating in the Painting Challenge and having submitted my last entry I have a chance to review how I did. The short version is I think I did pretty well. My initial target was 300 points which reflected the models I had bought when the challenge started. My final output is a little over 1000 points so you can see I bought a few more figures along the way! I have managed to complete one, sometimes two units a week, while still keeping up with posting on the Challenge blog, here on BLMA and still getting my weekly video for the channel in on time. Time now to dial back the workload, take a deep breath and have a tidy up (the Operations Room is a proper mess!). 

My trajectory during this challenge has been pretty consistent, netting my third highest tally.

Grenadiers

Musketeers / Line Infantry

3 units of Jáger skirmishers

Mounted officer

Another Musketeer / Line infantry unit

Three junior officers /  NCO's

12 Pounder Artillery and crew

Don Cossacks

Moscow and St Petersburg Opolchenie

Two mounted officers

Smolensk Dragoons

Two units of Jágers

Opolchenie 3 pounder gun & limber

Opolchenie 3 Pounder Gun Team

Cossack Opolchenie

6 Pounder Artillery piece & crew (and a Water Cart)

6 Pounder and 12 pounder Guns side by side

Water Cart

Two units of Carabineer's

Very angry peasants!

Phew!

Is This the End? The Emotional Journey at the end of a project

In this video, I explore the emotional rollercoaster that comes with completing a miniature painting project in the world of tabletop wargaming. From the excitement of finishing a wargame army to the bittersweet feeling of loss as a project comes to an end, I dive into the complex emotions that wargamers often face when reaching the finish line. Whether you're a seasoned historical wargamer or a newcomer to the hobby, you’ll relate to the sense of achievement mixed with a tinge of sadness when completing your painted 28mm miniatures or entire wargame army.

But do we ever really finish a project in the world of wargaming? This video also discusses the question that many wargamers ask themselves: Would I consider painting another 28mm army? I touch on the ever-evolving nature of the hobby, and why wargamers often return to old projects or start new ones.

If you're passionate about miniature painting, wargaming strategy, or just the hobby industry in general, this video is for you! Join me as we reflect on the highs and lows of completing wargaming projects and what comes next in our tabletop adventures.

Russian 6pdr Gun and Crew and a Water Wagon

So a few weeks ago I painted a 12pdr Gun Team and I mentioned that I also had a 6pdr gun and crew to paint. But you may recall that I had to ‘borrow’ a crewman from the 6pdr team because Sharp Practice has five-man crew for guns but the packs only come with four figures. Well, now that it was time to paint the 6pdr I was two figures down, so I bought a couple of artillery officers from Front Rank to fill the gaps. 

Actually what I plan to do is swap back the ‘borrowed figure’ from the 12pdr crew and give each set one of the officers (shown below)

As with the earlier gun, this was fun to paint, and I look forward to doing more artillery at a later date. During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the Russian army had a substantial artillery force, with estimates ranging from over 600 guns present at Borodino alone. Some sources indicate the Russians had over 2,000 artillery pieces available during the campaign compared to the French, who had approximately 1400 artillery pieces available.

I also had time to do a wagon, this one being a 3D print from Iron Gate Scenery. The Barrels are from Debris of War and the Horse is by Tiger Miniatures. 

Cossack Opolchiene - Russian Mounted Militia for 1812

I need to add more cavalry to my army so when I purchased the Gun and Limber that I painted last week I also purchased this unit of mounted Opolchiene from Perry Miniatures. The set comes with lances for all, however, there are also several muckets/carbines in the pack so I decided to give a couple of them firearms instead of lances. These are militia after all, and uniformity is not a word I would usually associate with a unit of this type. 

I’ve already painted a couple of units of foot Opolchiene, but there were also a series of short-lived cavalry formations. These were formed in July 1812 as ‘Cossack’ (ie mounted) militia regiments. The Moscow militia had two regiments, but other regions were able to raise considerably more. All were disbanded in 1813-14 once the crisis of Napoleon's invasion had been defeated. 

I probably won’t have time for more cavalry before the Challenge ends, but I am giving careful consideration to adding a few units of Uhlans to my army to give it more mobility and lethality. Let's see if I have the energy (and the money) once the challenge ends!

Opolchiene 3 Pounder Gun & Limber

A few weeks ago I completed a couple of units of Opolchiene Militia and enjoyed them so much I decided to expand this section of my growing army. I was immediately tempted by the options offered by Perry Miniatures and decided a small artillery piece would be good with the foot troops. So I purchased the 3 Pounder Gun with its associated Limber.

I haven’t been able to find out much about the use of artillery with the Opolchiene so I have had to ‘fill in the gaps’ a little. Some sources mention that Cossak Opolchiene used captured Turkish guns dating from the 18th Century and I guess that makes sense. Modern artillery pieces would be used by the regular army, but these older, supposedly obsolete weapons, would be ideal for the Militia.

The sculpting on this model is really nice but my one criticism of the set is that none of the ropes between the draft horses and the limber are included. I couldn’t reconcile myself to the omission so I made the ropes using a few metal spears that were left over from an earlier project. A little bit of texture was added using a file and then the new ropes were pinned to the horses and cut to the right length to attach to the limber. It is surprisingly difficult to find pictures of how these were harnessed but I think I eventually worked it out (via a bit of head scratching and swearing) and I’m pretty happy with this modest bit of conversion work.

I also had time to work on a wagon and some casualties this week. I found this model, painted but seriously battered, in a box of terrain that I used to use for face-to-face roleplaying games. It's made of resin and had taken a lot of damage with a lot of the paint chipped off. So I cleaned it up and gave it a new coat of primer before repainting it. I also made a pile of grain sacks from greenstuff to partially fill the back of the waggon and left just enough room for one lucky passenger. This guy may survive the battle simply because he has been able to get up off the ground, unlike his companion who has succumbed to wounds and the cold down on the ground. Both figures are Perry Miniatures and are painted as Jagers, with green uniforms and black leather belts and straps.

Retreat from Moscow 1812: Smolensk Dragoons and Officer

I needed to get more cavalry completed so this week I have focused all my efforts on a unit of Dragoons. By 1812 there were somewhere around 37 Dragoon Regiments in the Russian Army. This had risen in stages from about 15 regiments back in 1801. 1812 would be the high water mark because in December of that year, partially in response to battle losses, some regiments were converted into Cuirassier Regiments and some reduced regiments were absorbed into equally understrength Hussar regiments.

Russian Dragoon uniform for 1812 was largely established in the 1807 changes with troopers wearing a Dark Green jacket with coloured facings and collars of various colours. The Yellow cuffs can’t be seen under the Greatcoats but the Yellow collars and the trim around the Shabraques (saddlecloths) reveal that this unit is the Smolensk Dragoons, originally formed as part of Catherine the Great’s army in the previous century. Troopers wore grey trousers, often reinforced with black leather, with black-buttoned over-trousers and boots. 

Typically each Dragoon was armed with a cavalry musket, a bayonet and 2 pistols. The Russian musket was significantly shorter than the French version which made it easier to use on horseback, although it limited its range. This was normally carried on the right side of the saddle but in 1812 many of the Dragoon regents lost their muskets which were given either to the infantry or the many Militia units that were being raised. Instead, they relied on their pistols for short-range fire and their stout cavalry swords for close action. 

(Scoring: 9x28mm Cavalry = 90 Points)