Imperial French Infantry, Franco-Prussian War 1870

A close up of the Command element

The entire unit, French Infantry from 1870

I have painted some French infantry from the Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871. The miniatures are from a new manufacturer Eagles of Empire Minitures. This new range of miniatures and the company producing them has been set up by my friend Sören.

The minitures are 28mm and sold in a set of 18 miniatures. There is. Set of rules that will be published in some form by Eagles of Empire. The basing is done from instructions given by Sören and more info these rules has to be given by him. 

The minis are really good. The casting is clean. My minis had almost no flash. The sculptor has done a good job. The details are crisp and if you check available sources they are correct for the period. 

According to the producer the miniatures can be combined with the newer ranges from the same period(for example North Star's 1866 range). 

What can be said about the period. Well it is new one for me. I bought these minis mainly because I curious about the minis and the project as such, not because I had sudden urge to paint something from the period. However once put to brush I felt confident that there will be more of this and I need to update myself on the history of this was. It is after all a war that  brought dome to the final French Empire. It created Geermany as unified modern nation and in way paved the way for the coming cataclysm of the First World War. French lost this war and had to hand over sizeable  chunks of territory to the German(Alscace and Lorraine). The French would never forget this and it shaped politics in Euope along the lines that eventually led to the Black Week of 1914.

The French Infantry of this Era had good equipment, for example fast loading rifles. On paper the French army had considerable experince from the Wars of the 1860's. However there was something lacking. Some claim that the leadership left something to be desired. The tactics were too defensive in order to win a war.