As I mentioned in the last post, my First World War project kept me busy painting khaki for a good long time. So long that as soon as I returned from putting on a 10mm World War One display game at Edinburgh’s Claymore show I very nearly leapt on a unit of Napoleonics just to paint some pretty colours. I had a unit of six Pendraken Bavarian chevaulegers primed and waiting to be painted. There was no sign in the foreseeable future of any Pendraken Badeners so I decided I might as well have a shot at painting the Bavarian figures as Baden light dragoons. 290 Baden light dragoons were present at Aspern-Essling so six miniatures were all I needed. My initial thought was that this conversion required nothing more than a paint-job until – in what was becoming a bad habit – I had finished painting the figures. It was only then that I decided the flaps on the cuffs really should be snipped off. I had first thought that the Baden cuff was somewhat similar to the Bavarian cuff with its ‘false’ flap. However, cutting off the Bavarian flaps and painting straight cuffs seemed more appropriate. The Baden officer also needed a slight addition in the form of at least one fringed epaulette. Fringed epaulettes weren’t traditionally worn as a sign of rank by German troops and weren’t something the Bavarians adopted in this period – the silver sash being the traditional sign of rank. Baden, on the other hand, kept the silver sash (with red and yellow rather than the Bavarian light blue silk) but also adopted French rank insignia and light dragoon officers did wear fringed epaulettes in 1809.

Baden Light Dragoons

During the 1809 War the Baden Light Dragoons managed, amongst other things, to break an Austrian square and act as guard to Napoleon and his staff. The regiment was led by Oberst Karl von Freystedt. There was a period, though, when Oberstlieutenant Friedrich von Heimrodt took command of the regiment when the oberst was indisposed due to injury. My officer with only one putty fringed-epaulette was unlikely even to be an oberstlieutenant.
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