The Brunswick contingent of Wellington's Anglo-Allied Army at Waterloo was a small, yet colorful force.  With their all-black uniforms and skull and crossbone crest, one observer likened them to "an immense moving hearse."  The "Black Band" had a Leib battalion, Avante Garde battalion, 3 line battalions, 3 light battalions, a regiment of hussars, a squadron of uhlans, a battery of horse artillery, and a battery of foot artillery.  The HäT Leib Battalion set has all the figures dressed in the characteristic Brunswick dolman with braided front.  Each infantry battalion in the Waterloo campaign had a strength of 672 men.  Facing colors for the infantry were as follows:
 
 

Unit and Uniform Color	Collar, Shoulder Straps, and Trouser Stripes	Cuffs
Gelernte Jäger, Avante Garde
Light Companies, Avante Garde
Leib Battalion
1st Line Battalion
2nd Line Battalion
3rd Line Battalion
1st Light Battalion
2nd Light Battalion
3rd Light Battalion

When HäT Industrie issued their Avante Garde set, the Brunswickers were available in plastic for the first time.  The Avante Garde Battalion consisted of four companies.  Two were Gelernte Jäger and two were light infantry.  The HäT figures have a plain, unbraided jacket, making all their figures Gelernte Jägeren.  The light infantry companies in the Avante Garde wore the same hat as the Gelernte Jägeren, but also wore the Brunswick dolman with braided front.

The line and light battalions all wore the bell shako with a small plume on top.  The plume was colored light blue over yellow for the line battalions, and yellow over light blue for the light battalions.  The shako plate was silver, and depicted a running horse for the line battalions and a bugle for the light battalions.  The small silver disc above the plate bore the battalion's number.  The Leib Battalion wore a bell shako with white death's head emblem and black horsehair plume.  All Brunswick men had silver buttons on their uniforms.

Only the line battalions carried flags at Waterloo.  The figure loading his musket makes an excellent colorbearer - all that is required is to remove the musket and replace it with a length of piaon wire.

Now, with the new Leib infantry set, most of the Brunswick contingent can be fielded by wargamers and modellers.

Here we see all eight poses in the HaT Industries set, along with a converted colorbearer.  HaT was correct in the ommission of a colorbearer, as the Avante Garde battalion carried no colors at Waterloo.  Still, I like my command bases to be easily recognizable, so I have ahistorically included a flag.  The figures are a little flat, but they are historically correct in every way and easy to paint.  The bottom three are Gelernte Jager, conspicuous in their light grey uniforms.  Facial detail is very good on these figures.  Overall, this is a nice set, and a must-have for any modeler or gamer attempting to depict the Waterloo campaign.  The Corsican hat these men wear will prove useful for many conversions.

Last updated 08 August, 2002
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