My French Carabinier Brigade
French Carabiniers of the Napoleonic War
My French Carabinier Brigade in 18mm* by AB Figures
Historex Plate on French Caraniniers
Historex B&W French Carabiniers
One of my favorite units when I started painting napoleonics was the famous Carabiniers. Besides a sharp uniform, they were an outstanding and elite regiment. The actual Carabiniers trace their history back to before the Marlburian Wars. Throughout the French Revolution they kept their unique bearskin caps their identity separate from the other French heavy cavalry. Napoleon took a keen interest in the Carabinier brigade. The Carabinier regiments were always brigaded together, and considered the 1st brigade of the division they belonged to. Their uniform at the start of the Napoleonics wars was a dark blue habit with long coat tails. A red collar, cuffs, lapels, and turnbacks denoted the regiment as a elite unit. The tall bearskin cemented the regiments’ boast of being the grenadiers of the cavalry. They carried long carbines and which they used quite often on the battlefield setting themselves apart for other cavalry units.
The pictures below are of the regiments I have painted. They are the 1st and 2nd regiments in their pre 1810 uniform. The figures are AB figures and are considered to be 18mm in size. Each regiment is 8 figures strong mounted for Empire type rules at 1:60 scale. I have kept the regiments on the small side (480 troopers) to show the affect of campaign wear and tear. The carabineers were to be mounted on black horses, so I have kept the horses to darker colors. The AB standard bearer does not have an eagle on top, but I converted the figure with a spare eagle from another figure. These figures are one of the weaker in the AB French cavalry range. They wear the surtout as was common for campaign dress. All the figures have been painted by me.
French Carabiniers detail (early)
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French Carabiniers detail 2 (early)
The story goes that after suffering heavy losses in the 1809 campaign, particularly to enemy uhlans, Napoleon ordered a cuirass for the Carabiniers. A gorgeous uniform was created for them, but they had to switch their long carbines for the standard short cavalry carbine. This was authorized in 1810, so when they went into Russian in 1812, they would have worn the new uniform. Like all the French cavalry they were depleted by the retreat from Russia. Their quality and discipline suffered as their ranks were filled with raw recruits. There is a story of how the brigade ran from a charge of Allied Hussars at Leipzig, though it is not confirmed by other stories. On other occasions they are described as fighting well. They made several brave but futile charges at Waterloo. It is worth noting that there are a lot of descriptions of the regiment wearing a blue coat (probably a surtout) on campaign. In fact, it is likely that is what was worn during the Waterloo campaign. I have painted them up in the white, as it looks to damn good. The figures are from AB Figures and are probably one of the best figures in the range. The detail on the officer’s cuirass is amazing. All the figures have been painted by me.
French Carabiniers (late)
French Carabiniers (late) detail
French Carabiniers (late) detail 2
*AB Figures are considered big for 15mm and hence are often referred to as 18mm.
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