#8186 Peninsular War British Infantry
Dated: October 9, 2008, updated January 13, May 4, 2009,
Britain's great land campaign of the Napoleonic Wars was fought not at Waterloo, but across Portugal, Spain and southern France between 1808 and 1814. Under commanders such as Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, British troops fought alongside Portuguese and Spanish forces in a long series of campaigns that gradually drove the French armies from the Iberian Peninsula. Battles such as Talavera, Busaco, Salamanca and Vitoria established the reputation of the British infantry as one of the most formidable fighting forces of the period.
Front box picture
This set depicts British infantry of this Peninsular War period wearing the distinctive stovepipe shako, the headgear most closely associated with Wellington’s earlier campaigns. The set contains 92 figures in 16 poses, including centre-company infantry, flank-company troops, officers, NCOs, a bugler and a fifer. Centre-company figures wear shoulder tufts, while figures with shoulder wings may be used as grenadiers or light infantry. The men carry the Trotter-pattern knapsack and the equipment typical of British infantry campaigning in the Peninsula.
Test shot.
Cut out figures.
Abandoned test shot, this sprue was not produced.
The stovepipe shako
Introduced before the Peninsular War, the tall cylindrical shako commonly known today as the stovepipe shako gave the British infantry of the early Napoleonic period a very different appearance from the Waterloo army. Battalion-company soldiers wore a shako plate and a white-over-red plume, while grenadier and light companies had their own distinctions. From around 1812 the stovepipe began to give way to the later Belgic or 'Waterloo' shako, although replacement was not instantaneous and older headgear continued to be seen for some time.
Battalion company, white over red plume.
Elite companies with wings comes with blank shako so the desired plate/device may be painted on it.
Highlander.
British infantry battalion
A typical battalion contained 10 companies:
8 centre or battalion companies - formed the main body of the battalion
1 grenadier company - traditionally composed of selected, often taller soldiers
1 light company - trained particularly for skirmishing and light-infantry duties
The grenadier and light companies were known collectively as the flank companies, because they traditionally occupied the ends of the battalion line.
Optional Belgic shako, grenadier company with wings.
Optional tapered shako, light infantry, with wings.
Line drawing
Map showing the principal campaigns of the Peninsular War, 1808–1814. Red arrows indicate the main French offensives, while blue arrows show the advance of the British, Portuguese and allied armies under Wellington. Key battles and major cities are marked for reference.