UNIFORM GUIDES FOR THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR

There is a marked contrast between the state of dress of the two sides in the FPW. On the one hand the Imperial French army started the war with splendid uniforms which had more than a nod to the glories of the army of Napoleon I. The various Guard and special units such as the Zouaves added rich splashes of colour. However by the Republican era this martial elegance was discarded by the vast majority of the army and shortages of basic material saw the French army equipped in a wide range of styles.

By contrast, the Prussian troops were centrally equipped to a standard pattern of generally more sober cut and appearance. Having said that, the mounted arm retained some of its traditional spendour. Even the various allied contingents followed the Prussian pattern to a great degree with only odd exceptions appearing here and there. The one obvious exception that this uniformity was provided by the large Bavarian contingent whose blue coats bring welcome relief to the ranks of field grey.

This section is aimed directly at enabling someone to paint their 6mm army and get it on the table. It does not go into the minutiae of the subject, as this would be a huge work in itself, rather than a quick and handy reference. As we are also primarily concerned with painting small scale armies it does not consider those details that cannot easily be depicted on 6mm wargaming figures. The exact spacing of buttons, piping and variations on official practice are not considered.

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