Undercoated Austrians

Undercoated Austrians by HAT, Officers and Musicians by SHQ

I have returned to the Puzzle Palace, so there's precious little wargaming going on. There is however plenty of drill, followed by drill, some drill and when we feel like a change, some more drill. Two points that struck me this morning in the midst of square bashing.

1. When marching in close order, the average Johnny's view is severely circumscribed. It is very difficult to see what is actually going on, even in the front rank because of the need to maintain the dressing and look to your front. In the rear ranks you're following the chaps in front and have an excellent view of the back of his head and not much else.

2. Even in a relatively small, company sized formation in good conditions (i.e. not with cannon going off and donkey wallopers galloping by) it can be difficult to hear vocal commands. Music is far better at both providing a cadence and communicating an order to the group.

I'll be passing out next week which will be a big day out for the family and will mark the end of two years of work. I still can't really believe it.

I took some pictures of my Austrians before I left. I undercoated them white in the vague hope that it might do for a basecoat. I've never really painted white uniforms before, so I'll take look around and see what is the right way to go about it. I will probably subcontract the job, but in a way that actually makes it more important to get some instructions as the painter can hardly be expected to read my mind. I'm still unsure about what regiment to pick, though my natural instinct is to go with one with red facings. Hoch und Deutchmeister perhaps?