The Battle of Aspern Essling 21/22nd May 1809

[Ochoin]

Austrian Jäger.



My painting is nowhere near Stephan Huber’s standard but I am pleased with the results so far.


Chris

And so you should be. they're a spiffing unit & do you credit.

donald

[C M Dodson]

Austrian hussars No.7

These fine fellows are Liechtensteins Hussars No. 7 forming part of the Austrian advance guard under GM Nordmann.

I used Hat Brunswick hussars with Austrian infantry head swaps for the rank and file along with Franznap officers and trumpeter.



The sabretaches were constructed by using a print to size picture which was then glued to the blank sabretache.

Oberst Franz Von Vlasits proudly leads his men.

[Captain Sibourne]

Nice work Chris, can't wait to see the diorama come together. The width of the river will be a striking sight!

[Bessiere]

Our synchronicity continues Mr D. I have only painted one unit of Austrian hussars and of course it would be the Leichtenstein chaps. I chose them for the prettiest uniform. Yours look far superior to mine and I must say the idea for printing out the sabretache pattern was a great idea. We're not here to drive ourselves mad are we?
Cheers,
Bessiere

[C M Dodson]

Thank you Captain, you are very kind and indeed I have plans for the Danube shots once Antietam is finished.

I intend to set up a big river scene on my sand table, photograph it and then construct the battlefield itself. I cannot fit both in my garage.

Mr. B, thank you as well.

The only maddening thing was all the black dots on those chaps. However, my waterproof marker pen came to the rescue thanks to your brilliant idea.

Best wishes,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

I have taken a picture showing the glued on sabretaches, an excellent idea using print to size from our friend Egbert.

My printer is not really sharp enough but I am pleased with the result as my painting skill is not good enough to do them free hand.

I tried to do a job lot by copying the copies but this further reduced the print quality so each one was a separate print.



Lots to do .

Chris

[Michael Robert]

Hi Chris,
did the same just like you, used Brunswickers as Austrian Hussars - you can use the lancers as Austrians as well and then I added Franznap command. Didn't even change the heads (just took off the horsetail and added the hat badge). Always wonder why people complain there being a huge gap for Austrian hussars. Easy job. In fact you can even easily convert the old and still great Italeri French Hussars into Austrians by changing the horses or just a paint job for the shabraques and modifying slightly the shakos.

Liechtenstein regiment with its flashy green shakos is a nice regiment to paint and you did a great job. Final outcome will be magnificent
Greetings
Michael

[C M Dodson]

Thank you for your kind comments.

I have saved nineteen ‘lancers’ but need potentially forty for the unit.

That means a lot of packs to buy , so I intend to use Mr Kanes fantastic sculpts for half and my Hat ones for the other half, thus saving a fortune!

It’s back to buildings at the moment using Harry’s wonderful pictures.

Lots to do .

Chris

[Santi Pérez]

Those Liechtenstein Hussars look impressive, Chris, in those colorful, eye-catching uniforms, including the printed and glued sabretaches.

Santi.

[MABO]

Austrian hussars No.7

These fine fellows are Liechtensteins Hussars No. 7 forming part of the Austrian advance guard under GM Nordmann.

I used Hat Brunswick hussars with Austrian infantry head swaps for the rank and file along with Franznap officers and trumpeter.



The sabretaches were constructed by using a print to size picture which was then glued to the blank sabretache.

Oberst Franz Von Vlasits proudly leads his men.

Very interesting and convincing conversion.

[C M Dodson]

Liechtenstein Cuirassier regiment number six.



This unit was part of Brigade G M Kroyer along with Kaiser regiment number one whose numbers present were reduced due to train protection duties.

I have used Mr Kanes wonderful product along with an Art Miniturian trumpeter and am pleased with the result.

Oberst Freiherr Von Flachenfeld proudly leads his unit.

Twelve more cuirassiers for the Kaiser element and the cuirassiers are complete.

Progress of a sort.

Best wishes,

Chris

[sberry]

This project has made fantastic progress during the long months I was absent from the forum. Those colorful uniforms look great, but I also like the careful research and the patience that went into creating those pontoons from scratch!

[Bessiere]

Another big vote of approval for Mr D's Austrian pontoons. They look designed for faster waters than the French versions. Absolutely gorgeous and an element I' d love to have in my own Austrian army which I just might throw myself back into. Black Watch minis are lovely but a tad too expensive for my tastes. Your full Austrian regiments are a sight to behold. Aspern Essling refight will be truly special.
Cheers,
Bessiere

[C M Dodson]

Infantry Regiment No. 60 Gyulai

This regiment was part of the advance guard under GM Nordman, of Hiller’s sixth Corps.

The unit comprised two battalions as the third was training in Moravia .

Oberst Graf Wiessenwolf orders the advance.

[Ochoin]

Your usual inimitable effort, Chris. You must admit, without Hungarians, the Austrian infantry would be a tad boring.

We've been discussing doing an A-E wargame. Obviously not in the same ballpark as your fantastic diorama but there are possibilities - building intact & damaged bridges, the barges floating down the river, the distinct buildings etc. One of the most memorable of battles even if not recognised by Bruce Public.

donald

[C M Dodson]

Thank you for your kind comments, they are very much appreciated.

You might find this link useful.

http://obscurebattles.blogspot.com/2016 ... -1809.html

It is quite good but be careful.

The map of Aspern has the church pointing the wrong way and no presbertary either!

His OOB is not correct as for example the French Carabiners were stuck on the far bank due to the bridge collapsing.

The Hapsburg monarchy maps in the thread are much better.

If you need any info that is not on the thread, let me know.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Ochoin]

Thank you, Chris. I may well take you up on your kind offer.

There are problems. To fit this battle onto our 5 boards will necessitate simplification. Three pontoon bridges? We'd have one. Aspern & Essling would have perhaps 3 buildings each. etc.

The biggest challenge would be making a decent game of it. Too hard to cross the Danube & the French would be easily crushed. Too easy & the whole point is lost. Some sort of time table, moderated by a little luck is required.

My French army is 1814 BTW & these are the figures I'd be using. So lot's to decide & not really for the purist.

donald

[C M Dodson]

Hi,

I think from memory the Obscure battles topic has some war gaming options.

I will be working on the units historical initial locations as per Antietam.

The bridge breaches will be approximated as near to the original action times as can ascertained.

The point will be can the Austrians crush the French before adequate reinforcements arrive?

The Austrian Army as I understand it was not very imaginative or flexible in action.

To replicate this I will use the Black Powder idea and weight the movement dice against them.

This will slow the advance potentially, giving the French the advantage of time.

The amount of troops meant that the Corps had difficulty in deploying and I am thinking that this idea will also create the potential for Austrian confusion with the French operating on interior lines.

The French will suffer only from luck ( dice rolls) as a comparison which should generate a lively event.

Lots to do!

Best wishes,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

Ps.

Mr Gills’ Thunder on the Danube has OOB and a timescale too.

Great research by him and a good read to boot.

Chris

[C M Dodson]

Following Harry’s excellent pictures that he took in Essling, his home town I have been constructing more buildings for the project, along with further research.

I found this picture showing the Aspern church ceremony and dedication of the wounded lion. It is interesting as it shows the vicarage with its adjacent building along with the extended perimeter wall.



This painting shows German and Hungarian troops assaulting the church.

The vicarage is shown on the left but the chapel seems to have disappeared along with the enclosing wall!



An interesting uniform observation is that the Hungarian chaps have their trousers piped in silver and not the yellow and black dots.

I also found a range of Austrian buildings suitable for the Vienna area of the time.

These are straight out of Thomas’s ‘ Raft’ blogspot observations.

Interesting stuff and inspiration for the smaller details such as logs toilets fencing etc.





Lots to do.

Chris