"The Brave" 18th Line Infantry

The soldiers pictured below are from Napoleon’s 18^th Line Infantry, known as
"the Brave."

The Line infantry were the basic foot soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars. As their
name suggests, they formed the iconic lines, fired volleys of musket fire, and
advanced with bayonets fixed in one spirited final charge. A French line infantry
regiment was not much different than a British one, although a French battalion
consisted of four companies of regular infantry, while a British battalion consisted
of eight companies of regulars. French brigades were normally organized by
regiment, while British brigades were normally organized by battalion.

First is the Regimental colonel. Like the British senior infantry officers, he rides
into battle mounted. He wears a shako, like the regular infantry, because by the
latter years of the Napoleonic Wars, officers came to prefer the regulars’ shako
over the officers’ bicorn. Like their British adversaries, the French senior officers
wear a pair of fringed epaulettes to denote their ranks.

Next is a porte-aigle, or junior officer selected to carry the regiment’s colors.

I did make one mistake in drawing: the regiment is dated from 1813, when it took
part in the Battle of the Nations, but the porte-aigle is carrying the colors from
1804 to 1812. In 1813, the colors would have been the tricolor French flag we
know today, with the name of the Emperor and the regiment name embroidered
in gold lace on one side and their battle honor for Wagram on the other.

Next to him is one of the two sergeant majors that flanked him in battle. They
were armed with halberds, one with a red banner and the other, white. Like the
regimental colors, these were also embroidered with the emperor’s and regiment’s
names in gold lace on either side. The chevrons on his lower sleeve indicate his
rank, while the chevrons on his upper sleeve indicate seven years’ service each.
Many English-speakers may find this confusing, as the latter is usually used to
denote NCO rank.

Finally, is one of six Caporal-fourriers, six experienced corporals chosen to serve
in the Quatermaster Corps. Like the sergeant major, he carriers a sabre-briquet or
short sabre. This was too short to be used in battle and soldiers stated that it was
only good for chopping firewood. It nonetheless served as a rank symbol for the
NCOs.

Moving from the staff to rank and file, first is one of their officers: a captain in a
grenadier company. To indicate he is a company officer, he wears one gold
fringed epaulette over his left shoulder and one without fringes over his right.

To indicate he is in the Grenadier company, he wears a red pompom and plume
on his shako, however, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, most grenadiers found
it more practical to cut their plume short. Next is a corporal from the fusiliers, or
regulars. He wears epaulettes without fringes and a pompom on his shako. Each
company had their own different color pompom. This corporal is from the 4^th
Company, as indicated by his violet pompom.

Next is a soldat, or private in the grenadiers. Like the British, the grenadiers were
the tallest and strongest men in the regiment. He wears a pair of red epaulettes to
indicate he is a grenadier. and as a grenadier, he also has the privilege of
carrying a sabre-briquet, even though he is only a private.

Next is a sergeant in the voltigeurs, or light infantry. Like their British opponents,
the light infantry were trained with greater emphasis on marksmanship and
skirmish tactics, though they could also fight as regular line infantry, too. He wears
a pair of green epaulettes and a yellow pompom to indicate he is a voltigeur. He
also carriers a sabre-briquet, as an NCO and as a voltigeur.

Finally, is the youngest member of the regiment: a tambour, or drummer boy. This
boy is from the 3^rd company of fusiliers, as indicated by his orange pompom.
Unlike the British regiments, the voltigeurs, or light companies of the line infantry
employed drummers, instead of buglers, although bugles were emblazoned on the
shako plates and cartridge pouches of the voltigeurs.

Finally, as many of you were aware, this Easter weekend marked the millennium
anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf, where Irish King Brian Boru after successfully
uniting western Ireland, defeated the invading Vikings and their Leinster puppets.
To commemorate this anniversary, I drew Brian Boru's March and
Odin’s Raven Falls.

Brian Boru's March is named in honor of the Irish Folk song composed to
commemorate him and depicts him marching into Connaught in 997 to unite
the regions under his rule. Brian Boru was a King of Munster, in the South
of Ireland, who united Connaught in the West and waged war against Leinster,
in the East around Dublin, which was under Norse rule.

Odin's Raven Falls depicts the turning point in the battle. As King Brian Boru
leads his men forward, one of his warriors strikes down the Viking Jarl Sigurd
of Orkney. The Earl was carrying into battle the Viking battle standard, with
Odin’s raven emblazoned on it. The Vikings believed that if this banner fell,
the battle would be lost. So it was at Clontarf on Good Friday of 1014.

Although King Brian was assassinated shortly after the battle’s conclusion, he
successfully broke Norse power in Ireland and saved Christian Ireland from
the grasps of Pagan invaders.

Happy Brian Boru Easter!

F-22 Raptor, 2012, Spitfire, 1940, and 11th Cuirassiers, 1805

Above is the United States Air Force’s fifth generation fighter: the F-22 Raptor.

The idea for the Raptor was conceived at the height of the Cold War. The plan 

was for a stealthy fighter jet to infiltrate into Soviet airspace and strike the Soviets 

in a single decisive blow.

The F-22 is a stealth fighter, meaning it is undetectable to radar. This is achieved 

by a special coat of paint and by storing the fuel tanks and weapons inside the 

wings. It is designed as an air-superiority fighter, capable of sweeping any enemy 

fighters aside. Although the F-22 is capable like many modern fighters, of 

executing strafing runs if necessary. In fact, it was originally designed as a 

multirole fighter and prior to service was designated as the F/A-22 Raptor.

Like most other fighters, it has a crew of one. However, the aircraft is so 

advanced with its fly-by-wire technology, it can almost fly itself. The weapons are 

not pictured, as they are stored internally. But, they include six radar-guided 

AIM-120C air-to-air missiles, two heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles,

and one M61A2 20mm cannon.

Despite its impressive qualities, the F-22 has yet to see combat.

But the next aircraft was battle-tested like never before.

The Supermarine Spitfire earned a reputation as the icon of the Battle of Britain.

Although the Hawker Hurricane downed more enemy aircraft, the more beautiful 

and easier-turning spitfire became the symbolic Royal Air Force fighter of World 

War II.

This aircraft is labelled as being from 1940, during the Battle of Britain.

However, I made a number of mistakes and crossed several different versions.

The plane is armed with 20mm cannons, characteristic of the Marks IV and

later. The plane also has clipped wings, which were a later feature. The two 

features I did get right were the early three-blade propeller and the closed 

canopy.

Nonetheless, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and distinctive fuselage make this the 

icon of the Battle of Britain in 1940. I do have one scene featuring the Spitfire: 

Locked on and an Ace depicting English ace Eric Lock and his ace-making 

victory on the 4^th of September, 1940.

I also featured this with two other scenes of World War II Allied fighter aircraft

for an exclusive interview and co-commentary with World War II ace Steve Pisanos,

who flew the Spitfire with the Royal Air Force’s Eagle Squadrons, comprised of a

dventurous American volunteers.

The full interview may be found here.

Finally, moving from modern cavalry of the sky to traditional horse-mounted 

cavalry, is one of Napoleon’s regiments of armored cavalry, or cuirassiers: 

the 11^th Regiment of Cuirassiers.

The Napoleonic cuirassiers were the last armored troops employed by 

European militaries until the advent of Kevlar in the late 20^th Century. They 

were also the last armored horsemen to charge into battle. Depending on the 

range and caliber of the firearm, a cuirassier’s cuirass was actually strong 

enough to stop a bullet. The armor also served much more effectively in 

sword melees with enemy cavalry.

The 11^th Cuirassiers were one of the regiments in Napoleon’s cavalry corps

 held in reserve at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 under the command of the 

audacious Marshal Joachim Murat. At the end of the battle, Napoleon ordered 

them forward to help the French break the Austro-Russian right. The French 

cuirassiers bested those of the Allies and ran down the retreating Allied soldiers.

First is the chef d’escadron, or squadron leader. A cavalry squadron consisted 

of about 120 to 150 horses. He is distinguished by a fringed epaulette over his 

left shoulder, another epaulette without fringes over his right shoulder and a red 

plume on his helmet.

Next is a maréchal des Logis, or sergeant. His rank is distinguished by his red 

and silver epaulettes and a red-lined silver stripes, sewn on the lower sleeves.

Instead of a plume, cuirassiers with rank of captain and below wore a pompom, 

a different color for the eight companies.

Finally is a soldat, or private. His rank is indicated by a pair of red epaulettes.

Like the other enlisted ranks, he wears tan breeches,while the officers wear white.

All ranks wore white leather gauntlets, but many men preferred  to just keep the 

cuffs white, while the hands retained their natural leather color.

All the officers and men are armed with straight-edged sabers. The heavy blade 

was ideal for hacking, although the French cavalry were trained to thrust, 

ensuring a quick and painless death.