A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

Inspired by my recent discovery of the Susane/Philipoteaux plate, and by the fact that I was already working on them, I decided to complete another in my series of plates, which I hope will be of value to some of you. The Gardes Francaises were created in 1536 under Charles IX and remained in existence until the French Revolution in 1789. Per various sources (Chartrand, Susane, Boyle) the Gardes had a total strength of 9,000 men in 30 companies of 300 each by 1656. However, at the time of Louis XIV's ascendancy in 1643 they were in 30 companies, but reported at a strength of only 200 men each, or 6,000 men total (Johnson). According to Chartrand, by the early 1670's they had increased to 40 companies of 200, or 8,000 men, but declined back to 32 companies by 1715. Tactically, the Gardes could be deployed in as many as 6 "battalions" in the field and could be found in multiple army corps (i.e.; under both Turenne and Condé in the later Thirty Years War and in the 1670's). The challenge to the wargamer trying to depict French from the 1640's through the 1680's (OK, maybe I'm the only one that strange) is that at least three actual battalions will have to be painted; (1) the early Gardes under Condé at Rocroi (when they are reported to be predominantly in blue with red trim, but this could be speculation based on unconfirmed reports and correspondence), (2) the later Gardes of the Dutch Wars in their gray uniform with red trim, officers in scarlet with a lot of individuality allowed, and the drummers in the Royal livery, and (3) the even later Gardes of the Grand Alliance era in the post-1684 uniform of the familiar blue with red facings and small clothes, officers in the same but with individual "touches" added, and the drummers still in the Royal livery. The only constants throughout this period appear to be the drummers in Royal livery and the standards of the Regiment, which (according to 3 different vexilollogie sites) remained the same from the 1640's through the Seven Years War, with some additional flags being carried during the early Thirty Years War (prior to Rocroi). I actually already have about a third of the battalion painted for the 1640's and will be doing at least one full battalion for our figure review, probably for the Dutch War of the 1670's. Eventually I will do all three variants, but I think I have enough on my plate for now. As always, feel free to use this painting guide as you wish, for non-commercial use, and enjoy it. Bill p.s. - I would also highly recommend the plate (or planche) available from Le Cimier and produced by Eugene Leliepvre in his Ancien Régime series. They are available from La Cimier here, and are quite reasonable at € 3,50 each. Be advised though that unless you're ordering a large quantity of printed material, postage can be prohibitive. An order of 6 Leliepvre plates would cost € 20,00 to the United States because they are only shipped in a stiff, protective package and only by premium shipping methods. As La Cimier also produce some other excellent reference plates and some paper cutout soldiers, I intend making myself a Christmas present of a large parcel this year. That is, unless I discover that I have a friend visiting France in the near future with a little room in his travel case (hint, hint). I have reproduced the "thumbnail" image from the La Cimier site below to give you an idea. It covers the Regiment from 1648 through 1765, with many uniform variants shown. There are also plates on the Maison du Roi, the Dragoons, the Marines and others. Caliver Books in the UK carry many of the La Cimier plates, but they do not stock this particular series.

See more of this work here

French; Louis XIV's Dragoons; L to R Firmacon 1685, Le Roi 1695, La Lande 1680 & Fonbansart 1690 by R.J. Marrion, originally published in Military Modelling.

Rousselot's study of the evolution of French infantry 1645 to 1812 6- Piquiers. À gauche 1680-1690, à droite vers 1700 7- Infanterie 1690-1695. Source: maniement d’armes de Giffard. La baïonnette à manche est en usage, depuis peu. Elle se mettait dans le canon du mousquet et avait l’inconvénient d’interrompre le tir. Le fourniment est modifié. Le baudrier porte-épée est remplacé par un ceinturon muni d’un porte-baïonnette. La giberne est adoptée, c’est un sac à balles recouvert d’une patelette ornée. Au baudrier sont suspendues les pulvérins, le plus petit contient la poudre à amorce. 8- Infanterie vers 1695-1700. Source: gravures de Guérard et maniement d’armes de Giffard. L’équipement est peu modifié, toujours le sac à balles, la grande poire à poudre et le petit pulvérin. L’adoption de la baïonnette à douille a fait raccourcir le bois des fusils. 9- Infanterie française 1700-1705. Source: deux tapisseries d’époque. Le fusil est d’un usage presque général et se complète de la baïonnette à douille. Variante de fourniment plus simple et moins encombrant. 10- Infanterie française, fusiliers. À gauche, Régiment de St Germain Beaupré 1705. À droite, régiment de Hainaut vers 1715.

I posted this on my Flintlock and tomahawk blog but thought it might be of interest to you. The Cdlfm were French naval and colonial troops and so served in lots of North American campaigns. https://pin.it/ibj4rehcvkncig a Pinterest page I made for early years reconstructions. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Marines_in_Canada,_1683–1715

These 28mm figures look really nice - check out the website for the all important pictures and size comparisons.

A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

Pretty good source material for the Royal Artillery - David Morier, the British artillery train at the camp of Roermond (Flanders) in 1748 .More Morier paintings

At least that's what I think it is - thanks to Uwe for sending it in - it's from the Dublin museum.

A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

Inspired by my recent discovery of the Susane/Philipoteaux plate, and by the fact that I was already working on them, I decided to complete another in my series of plates, which I hope will be of value to some of you. The Gardes Francaises were created in 1536 under Charles IX and remained in existence until the French Revolution in 1789. Per various sources (Chartrand, Susane, Boyle) the Gardes had a total strength of 9,000 men in 30 companies of 300 each by 1656. However, at the time of Louis XIV's ascendancy in 1643 they were in 30 companies, but reported at a strength of only 200 men each, or 6,000 men total (Johnson). According to Chartrand, by the early 1670's they had increased to 40 companies of 200, or 8,000 men, but declined back to 32 companies by 1715. Tactically, the Gardes could be deployed in as many as 6 "battalions" in the field and could be found in multiple army corps (i.e.; under both Turenne and Condé in the later Thirty Years War and in the 1670's). The challenge to the wargamer trying to depict French from the 1640's through the 1680's (OK, maybe I'm the only one that strange) is that at least three actual battalions will have to be painted; (1) the early Gardes under Condé at Rocroi (when they are reported to be predominantly in blue with red trim, but this could be speculation based on unconfirmed reports and correspondence), (2) the later Gardes of the Dutch Wars in their gray uniform with red trim, officers in scarlet with a lot of individuality allowed, and the drummers in the Royal livery, and (3) the even later Gardes of the Grand Alliance era in the post-1684 uniform of the familiar blue with red facings and small clothes, officers in the same but with individual "touches" added, and the drummers still in the Royal livery. The only constants throughout this period appear to be the drummers in Royal livery and the standards of the Regiment, which (according to 3 different vexilollogie sites) remained the same from the 1640's through the Seven Years War, with some additional flags being carried during the early Thirty Years War (prior to Rocroi). I actually already have about a third of the battalion painted for the 1640's and will be doing at least one full battalion for our figure review, probably for the Dutch War of the 1670's. Eventually I will do all three variants, but I think I have enough on my plate for now. As always, feel free to use this painting guide as you wish, for non-commercial use, and enjoy it. Bill p.s. - I would also highly recommend the plate (or planche) available from Le Cimier and produced by Eugene Leliepvre in his Ancien Régime series. They are available from La Cimier here, and are quite reasonable at € 3,50 each. Be advised though that unless you're ordering a large quantity of printed material, postage can be prohibitive. An order of 6 Leliepvre plates would cost € 20,00 to the United States because they are only shipped in a stiff, protective package and only by premium shipping methods. As La Cimier also produce some other excellent reference plates and some paper cutout soldiers, I intend making myself a Christmas present of a large parcel this year. That is, unless I discover that I have a friend visiting France in the near future with a little room in his travel case (hint, hint). I have reproduced the "thumbnail" image from the La Cimier site below to give you an idea. It covers the Regiment from 1648 through 1765, with many uniform variants shown. There are also plates on the Maison du Roi, the Dragoons, the Marines and others. Caliver Books in the UK carry many of the La Cimier plates, but they do not stock this particular series.

Rousselot's study of the evolution of French infantry 1645 to 1812 6- Piquiers. À gauche 1680-1690, à droite vers 1700 7- Infant...

A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century

Article with Karsten artwork here. This book is worth getting