Wild Raiders: Cossacks for the 1812 Retreat from Moscow

Another unit is completed for my 1812 Retreat from Moscow project — this time, a band of wild, non-uniformed Cossack horsemen. These figures come from Wargame Foundry’s Seven Years War range, but they fit the Napoleonic era beautifully. In fact, this unit perfectly captures the kind of irregular warfare that made the Russian campaign so harrowing for Napoleon’s retreating Grande Armée.

The figures themselves are armed with muskets, pistols, and swords — all exactly the sort of weapons you would expect Cossacks to carry during the 1812 campaign. Unlike the more regular Don Cossacks or the reformed Cossack regiments in Russian service, these men weren’t equipped by the state. Most would have ridden into battle with whatever weapons and gear they could muster, often passed down from father to son. A battered flintlock musket, an old cavalry saber, or a heavy pistol could easily have seen service across multiple generations.

What makes these Cossacks particularly exciting to paint is their lack of uniformity. Unlike the French, or even the Russian line troops, these men wore what they had — and they wore it with flair. Bright colours and mismatched garments were all fair game. In a world where regular soldiers were becoming ever more standardized, these raiders clung to the traditional, the colourful, and the personal.

I leaned into that when painting them. Rather than sticking to a muted palette, I deliberately chose vivid reds, rich blues, ochres, greens, and warm browns for their coats, tunics, and sashes. While I made sure to tone the figures down slightly with my usual dark ink — to reflect the dirty, brutal conditions of the Russian winter — I wanted them to stand out against the white snowscape that will dominate the tabletop. 

Their horses, too, reflect the same variety. Rather than a uniform line of cavalry mounts, these Cossacks ride a wild assortment of ponies and small horses, painted in browns, blacks, greys, and the occasional piebald. Some have rough-looking saddles and simple bridles, consistent with the idea of men who rode into war with what they had, not what they were issued.

From a modelling perspective, the Wargame Foundry sculpts were a joy to work with. Despite originally being marketed for an earlier period (the Seven Years War), there's nothing about their kit that feels out of place for 1812. Traditional Cossack dress and weaponry changed very little over that half-century, especially among the irregulars. Foundry’s figures have a lot of character — fierce, rugged faces, loose clothing, and a real sense of movement. You can practically imagine them swooping down on a broken French column, firing from the saddle or cutting down stragglers with a worn sabre.

Tactically, these Cossacks are going to play a vital role in the games I’m planning for the Retreat from Moscow project. In the historical retreat, irregular forces like these were the bane of the French army. They harassed supply trains, ambushed stragglers, and picked off isolated units, all while avoiding stand-up fights with better-armed regulars. They turned a military retreat into a chaotic rout. In gaming terms, I imagine these Cossacks will function as highly mobile skirmishers — ideal for ambush scenarios, hit-and-run attacks, and exploiting any disorder among the French forces. Their irregular status also allows for some fun rules around variable quality, surprise attacks, and unpredictable behaviour. It’s fitting: the Cossacks of 1812 were not just another regiment to be lined up and sent charging. They were a constant, unpredictable threat — and now they’ll be one on the tabletop too.

This unit also represents something a little broader about the Retreat from Moscow project. One of my long-term goals is to capture the incredible diversity of forces involved. The Russian side wasn't a monolithic army: it included regular line infantry, artillery, Cossacks, Asiatic tribesmen, peasant militias, and more. These non-uniformed Cossacks add that critical irregular element that makes the story of 1812 so rich and complex. Overall, I'm very pleased with how they turned out. They bring a splash of colour, chaos, and character to the collection — and I can't wait to see them in action, galloping across a snowy battlefield, causing havoc among the retreating French.