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March 03, 2011
| 28mm Russian Infantry 1799 | Russia took no part in the Wars of the French Revolution until 1799 when Tsar Paul I was eventually goaded into war by a combination of personal and political reasons. The French seizure of Malta in 1798 and General Bonaparte’s expulsion of the Order of the Knights of St. John (of which Paul was a proud Grand Master) enraged the Tsar, and Bonaparte’s subsequent invasion of Egypt was viewed as a direct threat to Russian ambitions in the Middle East. By January 1799 Russia had concluded a treaty with her historical enemy the Turks, anti-French alliances with Britain and Austria were in place – and Russian armies were on the march!
Tsar Paul I was a complicated character. He idolised Frederick the Great of Prussia and his military achievements and as a boy tried to replicate the army of his hero by dressing his own private army of Russian soldiers in Prussian style uniforms and parading them around his estates in the manner of the rigorous Prussian drill manual. When Paul became Tsar in 1796 he immediately set about remodelling the entire Russian army into the same pseudo-Prussian mould. New military Codes issued in 1796 and 1798 imposed Prussian drill books and uniforms, and although most contemporaries privately recognised the reforms as regressive, few (surprisingly enough) dared to complain. Those that did were disgraced (including – to begin with – the famous General Suvarov).
The Russian infantry were forced to wear a new uniform of an old fashioned, tight fitting style (similar in appearance to the unpopular uniform the Prussians had adopted in 1786), and endure a return to the tedious daily routine of dressed and powdered hair. Automaton movements and straight legged cadence marching were strictly enforced, backed by typically severe Russian corporal punishment for the slightest transgressions. As usual the Russian soldier bore these anachronistic changes with stoicism and unquestioning loyalty, and marched off to fight for their Tsar. Three Russian armies took the field in 1799: a small force was despatched under Hermann to cooperate with a British army in Holland; while two much larger armies were sent to southern Germany (under Korsakov) and North Italy (Suvarov) to assist the Austrians. It is General Suvarov’s successful campaign along with his Austrian allies to drive the French out of North Italy, and the later dramatic battles in the high mountain passes of Switzerland, which captures the imagination.
Our new range provides collectors with the three principal types of Russian infantry – Musketeers, Fusiliers and Grenadiers – together with command and musician figures for each of them. (We hope to release Jägers in the not too distant future). We can also offer all the figures in a choice of two of the four different versions of the soldier’s coat worn by the Russians – either with collar and lapels, or with collar but no lapels. These two versions of the coat were worn by the great majority of all Russian Line Infantry regiments (68 of the 81 regiments in the Russian army at this time), and those collectors who wish to accurately represent regiments who wore coats without any collars should still be able to do so using these figures with a little creative work with a file and paint brush.
If that sounds a little confusing (and the Russian army of 1799 is a tricky thing to get your head around) we would like to suggest you take a look at our second Eureka ‘Quick Guide to the Armies of the French Revolution’ which explains just about everything you will need to know about Russian infantry for this period – including organisation and complete painting details for the regiments that served under Suvarov. You can download this for free from the ‘Ideas’ section of our website (along with the first ‘Quick Guide’ for the Cossacks).
If this inspires you, you might also want to check out our discounted unit deals (see below) to get you started.
Here are the codes and details for the new figures and details of our special offers.
28mm Russian Infantry 1799 (from our Wars of the French Revolution range) Sculpted by Alan Marsh 100WFR301 Russian Musketeer, coat with lapels and collar, march-attack (4) 100WFR302 Russian Musketeer, coat with lapels and collar, advancing (4) 100WFR303 Russian Musketeer, coat with lapels and collar, firing & loading (4) 100WFR304 Russian Fusilier, coat with lapels and collar, march-attack (4) 100WFR305 Russian Fusilier, coat with lapels and collar, advancing (4) 100WFR306 Russian Fusilier, coat with lapels and collar, firing & loading (4) 100WFR307 Russian Grenadier, coat with lapels and collar, march-attack (4) 100WFR308 Russian Grenadier, coat with lapels and collar, advancing (4) 100WFR309 Russian Grenadier, coat with lapels and collar, firing & loading (4) 100WFR310 Russian Musketeer NCO, coat with lapels and collar, halberd, marching (1) 100WFR311 Russian Fusilier NCO, coat with lapels and collar, halberd, marching (1) 100WFR312 Russian Grenadier NCO, coat with lapels and collar, musket, marching (1) 100WFR313 Russian Musketeer NCO, coat with lapels and collar, halberd, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR314 Russian Fusilier NCO, coat with lapels and collar, halberd, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR315 Russian Grenadier NCO, coat with lapels and collar, musket, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR316 Russian officer, coat with lapels and collar, spontoon, marching (1) 100WFR317 Russian officer, coat with lapels and collar, spontoon, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR318 Russian Musketeer drummer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR319 Russian Fusilier drummer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR320 Russian Grenadier drummer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR321 Russian Musketeer standard bearer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR322 Russian Fusilier standard bearer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR323 Russian Grenadier standard bearer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR324 Russian Musketeer fifer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR325 Russian Fusilier fifer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR326 Russian Grenadier fifer, coat with lapels and collar, marching (1) 100WFR327 Russian mounted officer, coat with lapels and collar (2)
100WFR328 Russian Musketeer, coat - no lapels, march-attack (4) 100WFR329 Russian Musketeer, coat - no lapels, advancing (4) 100WFR330 Russian Musketeer, coat - no lapels, firing & loading (4) 100WFR331 Russian Fusilier, coat - no lapels, march-attack (4) 100WFR332 Russian Fusilier, coat - no lapels, advancing (4) 100WFR333 Russian Fusilier, coat - no lapels, firing & loading (4) 100WFR334 Russian Grenadier, coat - no lapels, march-attack (4) 100WFR335 Russian Grenadier, coat - no lapels, advancing (4) 100WFR336 Russian Grenadier, coat - no lapels, firing & loading (4) 100WFR337 Russian Musketeer NCO, coat - no lapels, halberd, marching (1) 100WFR338 Russian Musketeer NCO, coat - no lapels, halberd, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR339 Russian Fusilier NCO, coat - no lapels, halberd, marching (1) 100WFR340 Russian Fusilier NCO, coat - no lapels, halberd, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR341 Russian Grenadier NCO, coat - no lapels, musket, marching (1) 100WFR342 Russian Grenadier NCO, coat - no lapels, musket, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR343 Russian officer, coat - no lapels, spontoon, marching (1) 100WFR344 Russian officer, coat - no lapels, spontoon, advancing/action pose (1) 100WFR345 Russian Musketeer drummer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR346 Russian Fusilier drummer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR347 Russian Grenadier drummer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR348 Russian Musketeer standard bearer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR349 Russian Fusilier standard bearer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR350 Russian Grenadier standard bearer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR351 Russian Musketeer fifer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR352 Russian Fusilier fifer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR353 Russian Grenadier fifer, coat - no lapels, marching (1) 100WFR354 Russian mounted officer, coat - no lapels (2) 100WFR356 Russian infantry casualties – 4 figure set
Figures are sold individually unless a set is indicated. The number in parentheses denotes the number of available variants for that product code. Variants are supplied randomly, but Eureka Miniatures will always endeavour to supply a representative sample.
New Release Special Offers THE “1799 Russian Musketeer battalion” DEAL A 24 figure starter unit of Russian Musketeers, at march-attack, including dismounted officer, standard bearer, drummer, fifer and NCO for au$60.00 (normally au$70.80)* Choice of coat with lapels or without lapels.
THE “1799 Russian Fusilier battalion (Grenadier Regiment)” DEAL A 24 figure starter unit of Russian Fusiliers, at march-attack, including dismounted officer, standard bearer, drummer, fifer and NCO for au$60.00 (normally au$70.80)* Choice of coat with lapels or without lapels.
THE “1799 Russian Combined Grenadier battalion” DEAL A 24 figure starter unit of Russian Grenadiers, at march-attack, including dismounted officer, standard bearer, drummer, fifer and NCO for au$60.00 (normally au$70.80)* Choice of coat with lapels or without lapels.
* Excluding shipping (and ‘Goods and Services Tax’ payable by Australian customers only)
Click here to see detailed pictures of all our 1799 Russians.
Click here to see colour pictures of this range.
Click here for painting guides for the Wars of the French Revolution.
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