Photos of 1866

Go here to see rare photos of combatants of the Austro-Prussian war.

Königgrätz 1866

Image from this news item
Today in 1866 this battle was fought. See images and an article on a wargames battle in 15mm here.
Apparently this battle was the largest one ever fought up to that point. Presumably it is being reenacted this weekend so soon we'll have some new videos to watch and photos to enjoy.

Champ D'Honneur (1987) trailer

A French language film set during the Franco-Prussian war (though there was an English dub called 'Field of Honor) starring Cris Campion. IMDB here. Looks very good. Imdb says

The Dordogne, 1869. Pierre Naboulet, a poor tenant farmer, has drawn a lucky number in the French Army draft lottery. He will be exempt from a five-year period of military service. But he sells his number to Florent, a rich merchant, and takes the place of Florent's son, Arnaud, who has been drafted. Woodcutting with his brother, Pierre leaves his axe in a tree to await his return home. He spends his last night in the barn with his redheaded sweetheart, Henriette... Emperor Napoleon III declares war on Prussia, and the Prussians invade. In Alsace, Pierre's regiment fights the invaders in a forest. Many French are killed; Pierre escapes, wounded. He finds a cottage. Inside a boy is hiding. The redheaded boy speaks only the Alsatian dialect of German...

Spencer Smith Franco-Prussian war

Figures painted by John Preece
The individual photos of this new range in 'old 30mm' will be up in the next day or so but the infantry listing is there - I am quite tempted - seriously tempted - multipart figures in a classic toy soldier style - I reckon they'll sell like hot cakes especially at what seems like a reasonable price per figure. Bavarians and Chasseurs a Pieds are interesting new additions. They say:

'CLASSIC 30mm FIGURES

A brand new range of multipose 30mm miniatures which, given the 'scale creep' of recent years, fit extremely well with 28mm miniatures from other manufacturers.

This specially-commissioned range begins with the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 but will grow over time to cover other major conflicts of the mid to late 19th century.

Elegantly proportioned, easy to paint and competitively priced, this range is destined to become a firm favourite with wargamers.'

Von Bredow's 'Death Ride' at Mars-La-Tour

Go here for a brilliant 1/72 diorama of this action.
Of course the French weren't the only ones to do suicide rides during the Franco-Prussian war. German cavalry charged French guns at Mars-La-Tour though this was actually a successful operation.

Charge of the Chasseurs d'Afrique at Floing

One of history's great cavalry charges. I have a record, as I mentioned once, with a march of the same name so I have always been a little curious to find out more about this suicidal attack - now this piece in English on the Armchair General Forum fills in the gap nicely.
Cavalry
Also there's links to two online studies on cavalry in 1870-1 here and here

DSM film section

The DSM (Darstellungsgruppe Süddeutsches Militär) recreate the period 1870-1918 and they have some great things on their site including some great photos of various film projects that they have done.

Bavarian rifle of the Franco-Prussian war

Podewils Gewher pic from this site where there is one for sale and an English description.
This is the firearm issued to Bavarian troops during the F-P war.

De Jydske Landsoldater

I am not sure but I think this is a Danish group recreating the period 1842-64.

Bavarian Chevauleger

Going to feature some German groups - to show there's no hard feelings from the football. This group looks excellent - recreating the era of 1900.
Website here
Uhlans here

Saxon Uhlans

'The Kerry Recruit'

An Irish song about the Crimea - something to sing around the fire. According to tradition you could be thrown in jail for being around when this song was sung (Wiki). Famine in Ireland meant joining the army was an escape from poverty. Lyrics and info here
Watch it being performed here by Ronnie Drew.

Pickelhaubes

I don't know anything about these - but I am surprised at these repros from India - they seem ridiculously cheap - ideal for Steampunks. This one for example is less than 30 quid. Might make an amusing cycle helmet. There's a Facebook group dedicated to bringing them back into fashion - good luck with that. Actually I just joined it. There is a plastic version used by ironic German football fans - which reminds me - time to watch tv.

Carl Röchling

You have to love this German artist. He makes being in the Prussian army and getting killed look like a pleasant thing to do.
Biography here