8174 Brunswick Cavalry
Dated: March 8, 2008, updated October 20, 2011
The cavalry of the Black Brunswickers shared the same dramatic appearance and determined reputation as the infantry raised by Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick. After Napoleon dissolved the Duchy of Brunswick following the Prussian defeat of 1806, the Duke created a new corps in Austrian service in 1809. Dressed largely in black and displaying the skull-and-crossbones badge, these troops continued the struggle against French rule even after Austria withdrew from the war.
Front cover.
The original Brunswick cavalry included a regiment of hussars and a small squadron of lance-armed uhlans. In 1809 they accompanied the Duke during his celebrated march across northern Germany to the coast, from where the corps escaped by sea to Britain. The Brunswick troops were then taken into British service. The hussars later served in the Mediterranean, including eastern Spain and Sicily, although their opportunities for major battlefield action there were limited.
Test shot.
The hussars wore the traditional close-fitting dolman, braided trousers, hussar boots and a black shako bearing the Brunswick death's-head badge. The original regiment did not initially wear the pelisse, but received this additional fur-edged jacket after entering British service. Because the hussars in this set wear the pelisse, they are best suited to the period of British service from approximately 1810 to 1814 rather than the newly raised Brunswick hussars of the Waterloo campaign.
Line drawings.
The uhlans formed only a single squadron and wore the Polish-style kurtka and square-topped czapka associated with lancer units. Armed with the lance, they provided scouting, escort and light cavalry support. A new uhlan squadron was raised when the Brunswick army was rebuilt in 1814, and this figure can therefore be used for either the original corps of 1809 or the Waterloo campaign of 1815. At Waterloo, the Brunswick uhlans were the only lance-armed cavalry serving under Wellington.
Masters.
When Napoleon returned from Elba in 1815, Brunswick once again supplied troops to the Allied army. The newly raised hussar regiment and uhlan squadron fought at Quatre Bras, where Brunswick cavalry helped cover the infantry and oppose French mounted troops. Duke Friedrich Wilhelm was killed during the battle, but his troops continued the campaign and fought again at Waterloo two days later. The cavalry remained available for reconnaissance, flank protection and pursuit as Wellington's army resisted the final French offensive.
This set contains twelve mounted figures and twelve horses. It provides three basic hussar riders and one uhlan, together with separate weapon arms that create additional variety. The hussars include swordsmen and a figure that can be equipped with a sabre, carbine or trumpet, while the uhlan's separate arms allow the lance to be carried upright or lowered for action. The two horse poses can be mixed throughout the unit to create a moving regiment, a patrol or a cavalry attack.
The figures can be combined with our Brunswick Avant Garde and Brunswick Leib Infantry, while our upcoming Brunswick Line Infantry will provide the main battalions of the re-formed 1815 army. Together, these sets can represent the changing Brunswick forces from the Black Duke's campaign of 1809 and British service in the Peninsula and Mediterranean to Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
8008 Brunswick Avantgarde Jaeger