Wednesday 29 January 2014

The Danish Horse Guard – Lund 1676

The Danish Horse Guard

Ok, it was time for some Danes now, and since more than two thirds of the troops at Lund were cavalry, what more suitable start than the Danish Horse Guard (Hestegarden).

The excellent source materiel from Hasselager & Snorrason stated that the Horse Guard could have been wearing cloaks in addition to their red uniforms. Also there are evidence in Möinichen’s paintings that some could have been wearing collets at Lund, which were immensely popular among cavalry at the time, as it offered excellent protection against saber cuts in melees.



The Horse Guard - led by Fredrik von Ahrensdorf

Since there were two regiments present at Lund, I decided to do both. One unit wearing the red uniform with cloaks and one in collets. Now, first of was the cloaked unit.

Light sculpting with Green Stuff

Using the Warefare cavalry miniatures Dutch Gard te Paard unit, which have the extra decorative sleeves on the back, I extended these with some green stuff in order to simulate a cape or cloak flowing in the wind as the unit charges forward.

Some handy work - used the thinnest paper I could find (60gr)

Next up I added King  Christian the 5th’s monogram to the cloaks by using a paint over tip I picked up at Jonas’s blog: "Conflict of interests"

Steady hands, loads of patience and a very thin brush required. But, after a few tests I got to a result that was no too bad for a first go at this technique.

The monograms adding detail to the deep red

The Horse Guard served on the Danish Right Flank under Lieutenant-General Fredrik von Ahrensdorf, and took part in the pincher attack that isolated and decimated a few units on the Swedes left flank, before the Swedish Västgöta Cavalry regiment under Hierta came to the rescue and stemmed the tide.

The Horse Guard also formed the core of the King’s Guard at royal procession, and was indeed to be reckoned as elite. They added elan and back bone to the Danish forces fighting next to them at Lund, and should by no means be held back or spared. Forward boys!

Next up – the Horse Guards in collets

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