Russian battalions - need pictures.
Hi all I'm about to paint some 15mm Old Glory Russians , and need some inspiration , anyone got any links to some good paint jobs ? 8 Figure companies can someone give me a run down on what makes up the Battalion ? 1 Grenadier company in a line unit etc ? thanks

But when? There's a lot of difference between the Russian organization of 1805-1807, on the one hand, and 1812-14. The organization for 1810 and later is: Each infantry brigade contains two infantry regiments. Each infantry regiment contains two infantry battalions (the 1st and 3rd). Each infantry battalion is composed of eight platoons. One platoon of Strelkovi (sharpshooters) one platoon of Grenadiers, and six line platoons. A fairly up-to-strength unit will be four figures per platoon; for the sake of ease of use on the wargames table, most people base at least the line platoons in pairs on a single base, with 8 figures per base. Grenadier and Jager organizations are identical. (Companies are, in fact, administrative organizations; Russian tactics are based on the platoon. Many sources term the elite light platoon "tirailleurs", but in fact this the Russians did not use this French term.) I don't have any links to good paint jobs, but here's what my "little green men" look like; Old, 2nd Generation Minifigs. Yours, James D. Gray

Thanks James. Yes I should have said , I'm doing 1812 , so 8 figure bases. I found these pictures on the forums :) forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=3117&highlight=russian+battalion" target="_blank">http://generaldebrigade.13.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=3117&highlight=russian+battalion I need an order of battle to loosley base my army on now.

I suggest simply picking an infantry division. Russian infantry divisions are very standardized (there are a few freaks, but not many) and one can stand in for most in most scenarios. So, each division will be composed of; 2 infantry brigades of 2 infantry regiments of two infantry battalions. and... 1 jager brigade of 2 jager regiments of 2 jager battalions. and... 2 light artillery companies and... 1 position artillery company. Add a dragoon brigade (of two dragoon regiments) and you should have a good, well rounded force. Beware of the colors. Lots of wargamers use the 1803 pattern but in fact the 1803 pattern colors are pretty rare. Most Russian battalions bore the 1797 pattern. 5th Division; 7th Division; (N.B. the Moskovsky Infantry Regiment's officers were authorized to wear Guard Lizen for some previous exploit. Note that the Sofiaskii Infantry Regiment had been converted from a Garrison infantry regiment and still bore the 1803 garrison standard.) Yours, James D. Gray

Wow , Thanks again James :)

The right hand base should have a platoon ( 4 figures of Grenadiers) ? So ont hat base should be the Grenadiers and the Jagers ? Did the Jagers have a different uniform , green pants ?

Do you mean my guys? The right hand platoon are indeed grenadiers; red pompons (for the first battalion) black plumes, and three-flamed grenades instead of single-flamed grenades for the regular infantry. It's harder to see in a small photograph with 15mm figures, but it's there. In line, the Grenadier platoon forms up on the right of the battalion. The Strelkovi platoon forms up on the left of the battalion. Jagers are the rearward unit in my photograph. Jagers have black leather strapping, as opposed to white for the infantry. Jagers have light blue or yellow shoulder straps, while infantry are red or white or yellow or dark green. The senior jager regiment wears the yellow shoulder straps, junior the light blue. Jagers have the regimental number on their cartridge box instead of a grenade. In the winter uniform, jagers have green breeches with a red stripe up the outside seam. Infantry wear white breeches. Both wear black knee-high gaiters (these look like boots, but they are not.) In the summer uniform, both jagers and regular infantry wear white long trousers. Yours, James D. Gray

Thanks I have almost finished my first Battalion , one flag is correct ? Or two ? I have based them in 8's But am thinking I will do the next battalion with 3 bases of eight and the Grenadiers and Strelkovi in 4's so they can deploy skirmishers or form line correctly. Do you think that's a good idea ?

Keith; Each battalion of line or grenadier infantry should have two colors (flags). The First Battalion should have one "White" color and one "Colored" color. All other battalions should have two "Colored" colors. In my illustrations, the "White" color is the one on the left side of the page. Remember flag etiquette; the senior flag goes on the right-hand side (from the view of the unit). I always split up the two elite platoons, so I can use the strelkovi as skirmishers. The Russians seem to have taken their skirmishers from the third rank, or volunteers or small detachments from each platoon, more often than the strelkovi. Nevertheless I still use the Strelkovi Platoon as the 1/8th ratio seems about right for Russian skirmishing capabilities in this era. 24th Division 26th Division Yours, James D. Gray

Ok thanks My first battalion is painted and based , just need to add the flags. I based the whole unit in 8's But I'll split the skirmishers and grenadiers up from now on , this was just a test battalion. I'll post a picture when I get the flags on.

Hi James, I don't suppose you have such pictures for all the infantry corps that fought in the war of 1812? :D :D Cheers Andrew

No, alas! My source of information/translation from Gabayev dried up. I do have one more page of infantry division colors, the 12th; I also have both Grenadier Divisions and a small selection of the cavalry standards. Yours, James D. Gray

Keithandor, Some 15mm AB Russians; Regards,

Thanks Craig , very nice , 1805 I assume ? Much nicer then my old glory figures , will take osme pictures when I add my banners, I have 5 battalions done now , 6 guns and a small unit of 12 Uhlans almost done. Got any pictures of your Jager , skirmishers ?

Inspirational stuff there, looks like im getting the 1807 bug but 1st some 1809 poles