My converted Pendraken Archduke
Charles miniature was last seen on my
Blog back in Post 132. A somewhat
unsuccessful attempt at mini-millinery I
thought but he was brought up to some
sort of standard with a bit more putty to
beef up his hat and he got a new
pointing right hand. Already having a
Korps commander (see Post 139), I
reckoned the look of this latest chap was
fine for a less celebrated Austrian staff
officer such as one of Rosenberg’s
subordinates. Rosenberg’s IV Korps was
split into two columns to attack the
village of Essling. Feldmarschall-
Leutnant Josef von Dedovich
commanded the 4th Column while
Rosenberg is reputed to have spent most
of his time leading FML Hohenlohe’s 5th
Column. Little is trumpeted about poor
old Dedovich – David Hollins doesn’t
include him in his Osprey, Austrian
Commanders of the Napoleonic Wars –
except that he and Rosenberg didn’t
manage to coordinate their attacks on
Essling. Earlier in the campaign at
Schärding, however, he had displayed a
stubbornness – or perhaps foolishness –
under overwhelming odds not to leave
his position.
Just Another Dedovich
There I was criticising myself
for modelling my Austrian
staff officer’s cuffs the wrong
way round (see Post 141) only
to realise on painting my first
Pendraken Archduke Charles
miniature – albeit converted –
that the cuffs matched mine.
Well, great minds and all
that. However, the Johann
Krafft’s portrayal of Charles
in his Aspern-Essling
painting really is in a class
of its own. It appears that
Charles was being
somewhat flamboyant that
day, wearing his cuffs open
in a jaunty way. And I’m
very relieved I didn’t take
the scalpel to my putty-
work!
POST 157
157
