Darko Pavlovic – The Wargaming Erratic

The Painting Pedestal: Austrians 1859

My Wars of the Italian Unification (WotIU) see the grip of the former Holy Roman Empire, now the Austro-Hungarian Empire loosened and then effectively removed. Some consider the period to be 1848 to 1866. Others take a more broader approach of 1815 to 1870.

Waterloo 1815 fortunately produced some key figure sets covering the Franco-Austrian War of 1859 – as Italy did not exist! it was not considered a belligerent in this war…….The Kingdom of Sardinia was the junior partner of the French side. To be fair the Kingdom of Two Sicilies (Naples) and the Papal States still sided with Austria.

So Waterloo1815 Bersaglieri should be called something other than Italian for 1859. Strelets call their Bersaglieri Sardinian and are shown in the Crimean War (1854) section by Plastic Soldier Review.

Whichever period you settle on, two dates are signficant. 1848 and 1859. In 1848 it was a last hurrah for the Austrians while in 1859 it was the last hurrah for the 2nd French Empire under Napoleon III. As usual the “Italians” provided the battleground and a lot of suffering.

Thats why 1870 is the best date to view Italian unification when the French were effectively removed from the peninsula as the Prussians marched on Paris.

During the period 1815 to 1870 the Austrian army infantry uniforms changed from all white with tails, gaiters and helmets or shakoes to white kittels with blue trousers, maybe short gaiters and kepi’s plus greatcoats.

The Osprey Nos 323 and 329 Austrian Army 1836-1866 give you the infantry and cavalry but sadly no artillery. Both authored by Darko Pavlovic these pair are an excellent reference book to get started in this period.

First up are my Austrian Artillery who are made by Waterloo1815 in 1/72 and present in 1859 era uniforms and kit. Plastic Soldier Review was not impressed picking out detail errors plus deciding “the look” was all wrong.

Once you get beyond the Napoleonic period though, apart from the Amercian Civil War, it is like tumbleweed blowing across the painting desk until you arrive at World War 1!

And Plastic Soldier Review comes up short on ideas for the 1859 Franco-Austro-Italian wars anyway. Just 10 sets on offer.

Having opted for 1/72 and essentially 24mm high = six foot tall real humans, I have made this my problem.

Dolphins a problem? For the solo wargamer though it is an opportunity – CHANCE CARD – Austrian foundries supply miscast barrel dolphins leading to breakages in handling. D6 for number of batteries unavailable at start of campaign!

In previous posts I have set out my thoughts on figure choice and especially the tricky issue of scale figure height.

metallic normans in the south at 1/72

Given that 28mm scale which is relatively new could not establish some fixed limits then I think the rule is always “if you like it go with it”.

Back to these Austrian Artillerists. They will do for me and as it happens I quite like the quirky design style with their tall kepi’s balanced on their moustachieoed heads.

Now where are those Infantry?

Uniform Parade

Over at the Duchy of Tradgardland blog the pleasure of well illustrated uniform books was raised.

So, I thought I would put some of my favourite uniform books on parade.

Before I do that, I am parading a book that many wargamers will not be familiar with. I picked it up in a shop clearance in Exeter. A book on costumes might seem irrelevant to wargamers: Army uniforms were designed to meet the needs of warfare. That is true, also true is that civilian fashion will have driven those aspects which were not entirely driven by the practice of warfare.

For my latest project – the Wars of the Italian Unification – I can say that civilian costumes for men seem fairly static from 1800 to about 1880, loose trousers and frock coats abound, even tailcoats are still in evidence. Prior to 1800 the combination of tricorne, short waistcoat, knee breeches and stockings spanned roughly 1750 to 1800.

I noticed that if anything military uniform seems conservative with mid 19^th century Kingdoms like “The Two Sicily’s” still equipping some troops in what looks like 50-year styles, without tricornes though.

So, looking at the civilian costumes makes me feel more relaxed about what soldiers would be wearing and when during those 1800’s. When you add in regulations being only periodic and often reliant on funding and supply you can make the case for some latitude in what a unit was wearing.

On the other hand, Wargamers love military uniform books and probably cannot survive without the certainty of that presentation. That assumes the uniform you want is the one shown!

Onto the book parade

First up are “ageing nicely” my four Funckens, Ancient Egypt to the 18^th century; 18^th century to the present day plus the Napoleonic Wars Parts 1 & 2. I have had these 40+ years.

I really like these books because the artwork is literally that. Paintings where the brushstroke give an enduring roughness to the figures and horses. These books ideas are most transferable to wargames figures in my view.

Next up are two smaller A5 sized books from Denmark – authors Niels Saxtorph (illustrated by Stig Bramsen) and Preben Kannik having their work translated into English and published by Blandford. These are more sharply defined figures with crisp artwork. Yet the style is still visibly “pre-digital”.

Rounding off the “old style” are the three volume Funckens – “the Age of Chivalry Parts 1,2 and 3. Fantastic is an understatement.

Modern day wargamers might say – no need for this book lark as I get all my images online. Well, I guess that is so, although many will be photos of publications including those I have mentioned and possibly not attributed.

More to the point is the issue of OSPREY publications – the elephant in the room. For sheer volume there is no competition. Osprey have delivered the hobby an immense range of work for decades. Most of it as good as the Funckens or Blandford’s or superior and often backed by better research which is to be expected.

And yet despite the illustrations becoming ever more “accurate” digitally there seems to me something lost.

I can best illustrate this with my final offering.

4 Ospreys from their “men at arms” series Nos. 323, 329, 512 and 520.

The Austrian Army 1836-1866 parts 1 & 2. Both written and illustrated by Darko Pavlovic they are an excellent read and the colour plates well chosen and detailed. Yet there is something cold about them.

And this is illustrated by the Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848-1870 parts 1&2. Written by Gabriele Esposito and illustrated by Giuseppe Rava the illustrations are richer and warmer. They hark back to the pre digital Funckens in a way that perhaps Darko Pavlovic’s Austrians pay homage the work of Preben Kannik instead.

So, in this digital era I still think there is a place in uniform illustration for roughness, approximation and a level of abstraction – which is what wargames really are about.

And I really do enjoy opening a book and turning a page – no amount of digital paraphernalia currently does the same thing.

As Leo Tolstoy wrote “if you look for perfection, you’ll never be content”.