Wednesday, December 16, 2015

A Prussian Conundrum.

lately I've not been painting much, but what i have been painting has been mostly sci fi. But last night's Lasalle game( battle report is in the works), got my Napoleonic juices flowing again.

I was hit by another bout of insomnia last night, so i decided to pull out some Perry Prussians to paint.  I completed half a battalion(including the command) and realized I had no flags to use for them. so I set about looking for suitable bits to make my flags.

the research is a little sketchy. i was mostly relying on pictures on warflag with a few places cross referenced.
1st east Prussian infantry, 2nd battalion?

The first 2 flags I've done are teh 2nd battalion of the 1st  and 2nd East Prussian Regiments( 1st and 3rd infantry regiments, respectively), i think. The 1st battalion flags(Avancier fahne?) seem to be essentially inverted colours. so the 1st east Prussian 1st battalion flag would be white field instead of black,  teh eagle would be gold, with the white around it black.

2nd East Prussian Regiment, 2nd battalion?
the order of battle I'm using for the force i chose is the from the Battle of Leipzig.  Army of Silesia, Prussian I corps, 2nd Brigade. under the command of General-Major Prinz Karl Von Mechlembourg-Strelitz.  depending on the source there are 2 or 3 battalions each of the 1st and 2nd East Prussian regiments.  but in my research on flags I've only seen mention of the 1st and 2nd battalion. so which flags would the 3rd battalion use?

Unfortunately I'm currently unemployed so my sources are a little lacking at the moment. any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.




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4 comments:

  1. GozzaDecember 16, 2015 at 4:08 PM

    Hi Stephen,
    In reference to the two Prussian colours above.
    During this period there were three basic designs.
    Plain without a cross, solid cross & wavey cross.
    a. 1st East Prussian infantry, 2nd battalion is correct, plain no cross. The plain background for the 1st Btn would have been white with a black centre.
    b. 2nd East Prussian Regiment, 2nd battalion is also correct, white background, solid black cross.

    More info can be gained from a pdf extract from David Nash's fine book "The Prussian Army 1808-1815". The extract is specific to the flags of the Prussian Army available here http://1drv.ms/1moHSzm

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  2. Stephen ThomsonDecember 16, 2015 at 6:13 PM

    Thanks for the heads up. that file answered my next question: what flags did reserve battalions use.

    Cheers

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  3. UnknownDecember 22, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    This link has some useful information ...

    http://www.warflag.com/napflags/flaghtml/pr1808_1.htm

    Those Prussian battle flags are just gorgeous ...

    http://www.warflag.com/flags/syw/sywprus2.shtml

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  4. DougHFebruary 13, 2016 at 11:15 PM

    A little late however you might still need the answers :-)
    The third battalion were the fusiliers which were suppose to form the skirmishing contingent of the regiment. Being so, they would not carry any flag.
    My references do not have a 'Reserve' unit (these became line regiments later) but does show the 6th Silesian Landwehr Regiment (Prussian militia) which had yellow facings/piping and white metal buttons.
    hope this helps
    (your flags are very nice)

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