Yet More Weaponedge Napoleonics
Jul 31, 2010 22:08:03 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2010 22:08:03 GMT
WEAPONEDGE FRENCH NAPOLEONICS ENCORE
The new Garde De Bataille vs an original
and a head to head for the Cuirassier Enlisted Sword
The new Garde De Bataille vs an original
and a head to head for the Cuirassier Enlisted Sword
Introduction: I have previously done work ups on Weaponedge’s French Imperial Guard Swords and their Cuirassier Enlisted Sword. Earlier this year Empire Costume announced that it was sponsoring a new production version of the French Cavalry Officer favored Garde de Bataille. They didn’t specifically mention that it was a Weaponedge, but the price range and the fact that Messr Guinhut is a WE purveyor made it a fair deduction. The full fare for the sword (France does not wave VAT) and the heavy air fare would raise the price to near $400. I asked our local Rob Sanford to help out. After a few months he announced he had the sword.
During this same period I had miraculously become the caretaker of a real Cuirassier Officer Garde de Bataille and the owner of a Hundred Day – Waterloo Cuirassier Enlisted. So one more time I have the good fortune to offer you a chance to see entry level historical weapons from WE side by side with their actual historical counterparts.
My apologies. Not everyone is a Napoleonic period enthusiast. The lump of historical art may not be recognized. The first three pieces are French Cuirassier ( Armored Cavalry ), these were the point lead shock troops of the battlefield charge. First is Detaille's Cuirassier before the advance view of a regiment on line. Second is a dashing view of a Colonel of Regiment. Third is a modern pic of a fractile of a charge.
The last two pics, with green uniforms are of French Dragoons. The Dragoon type is Dutch in origin. A mounted infantry in its beginnings who used a type carbine called a dragon. Dragoons matured in time into a flexible medium cavalry armed with "heavy" swords.
Oh. Just to add or maybe clear another oddity. The French for "sword knot" is "dragonne". ( to be confused with dragoon )
( Mark Twain: I had a friend who could only pronounce one german word properly, but it didn't mean what he thought it did. { dammit }
)
Military art loves to show cavalry barging about the battlefield at a dead run. This was discouraged. A more controlled gallop was about as fast as one moved so as to retain organization and mass for attack.
The heavy cavalry helmets of the french 1st Empire are distinctive and quite handsome. Frankly, the men who had to wear them despised them. They were top heavy, provided little defensive protection, and the sexy horse main collected gunk and rusted the metal underneath them.
Historical Overview
The “ Garde de Bataille “ does not refer to a specific weapon. This half basket hilt with the scallop plate ( coustille St Jaques) was introduced for the French Army in 1782 ( officially 1784 ). Deepeeka has actually had an infantry hanger in their stock for years quite similar to the actual version shown here:
The Revolution might have put an end to this style as a royalist artifact, but it remained popular with officers, and Napoleon’s Cavalry elite made the Garde de Bataille their own. It was more common with the heavy regiments, ( Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Gendarmes: the Caribinieri had their own hilts ) but there are rare and valuable examples of light cavalry use as seen in this example on sale by MD Long for a Hussar officer:
Initial Impressions: The French Heavy Cavalry sword is deliberately a big, intimidating longsword. In it’s scabbard it is 45 inches long with a 37 inch blade. The line swords come in right at 3 pounds.
The Weaponedge swords certainly appear to pass the 5 foot inspection for shape, size and right looking furniture. My original GdB looks unprepossessing as it is 3 inches shorter than the other weapons from the scabbard. Officer swords were tailored to their wishes, and there is quite a variation is blade and weight among these swords.
Components:
I screwed up. The base thickness of the WE GdB should be 8.5mm. The lockett closure on the sword blocks the ricasso and I didn't correct the measurement.
The Blades: The standard Cuirassier/Dragoon blade was the double fullered, backsword with the hatchet point. Conversion to the rounded spear point was a field expedient that wasn’t acknowledged by the Army until the Hundred Days when all units were ordered to convert. The WE opted for the spear point. The original still has the hatchet point. Both enlisted swords are spear pointed.
( Note: The above pic was shot at a 30 degree down angle from six feet away. The sight line give the appearance that the swords are getting smaller. The WE Gdb and the two enlisted Cuirassier are in fact the same size; the period GdB is two inches shorter. )
The length and weight of historical GdB blades vary quite a bit. The intro of the new Montmorency blades in 1810 increased the variety. ( For the Montmorency see my post on the swords of the Imperial Guards and the mounted Grenadier type 3. ) The grind and taper on officer swords were pronounced; significantly lightening the weapon. My GdB with its "diminutive" 35 inch blade length only weighs 2 lbs! By comparison, the WE uses their 3 lb untapered dragoon blade and is grossly out of balance.
The two AN XIII Cuirassier swords are very close in physical dimensions; both are 3 lbs total weight. But the original French military sword is far and away superior in harmonic balance. The blade is well tapered with the last eight inches to the point halved in mass. The action on the WE isn’t bad considering it’s lack of taper. But the real one is quite markedly easier to manipulate.
The Handle: The heavy sword class grips are quite comfortable with nearly 5 inches of handle. The large pommel cap extends beyond the bow juncture and provides space to anchor the heal of the hand, giving full support. ( This is not a cramped grip. I left my grip open handed so you can see handle. ) There is little difference in the four swords in this aspect. They are all very comfortable accommodating a closed or open grip.
The Guard: The elegant and reasonably effective GdB half basket guard builds on the classic quillon and D guard by adding the shell plate to cover the back of the hand, and anchors the plate with a series of ribs flowing to the bow and quillons. As noted in my previous reports, the WE brass castings are over thick and tend to pull the cut off line. The WE plate and rails are also smaller and shorter than historical casts. The top rail on the originals connects on the top of the shell. The WE wasn’t caste that way as the plate is smaller.
The enlisted swords use the familiar D knuckle bow with an attached 3 rail half basket that merges towards the pommel. The WE uses a denser brass based cast that is thicker but actually thinner than the originals.
Probably should comment on the row created by WE on the collectors market. The WEs are good enough for some folks to try to pass them off as originals by letting them get a little seedy and then asking original prices for them. Ebay can be a dangerous place to shop for the unwary.
The WE Cuirassier has several clear tell tale errors:
1. The ricasso. Period blades didn't have them.
2. The hard brass guards are of the right weight but too thin.
3. The blade has two inspection marks instead of the required three.
4. The WE has 17 wire turns on the grip. ( A la 1854 swords ) The Napoleonic Cuirassier has 10-12 )
The GdB is fairly new so I don't know if anyone has tried to pass one yet. In some respects passing one of these might be easier because they weren't as tightly controlled. A few giveaways:
1. Cheap wire binding of grip.
2. Poor grind and taper of the blade.
3. Small shell plate.
The Pommel: The highly recognizable Phrygian cap is already associated with French sword design in the 1780s and is part of all four sword designs.
The Scabbard: The officer scabbards favor a leather case with brass furniture mounted for the throat rings and chape. The WE is a soft scabbard. This was not uncommon, however without structure underpinning the leather it gets rapidly distressed in use and few such survive intact. The original GdB has a wood core with overlaid leather and has survived well.
You may also have noted the variations in the throats. The WE variant with a locket attached to the sword that clasps the scabbard, is historically correct but less desirable as it is susceptible to damage.
The enlisted cuirassier swords used iron scabbards until after 1810 when they were being replaced with lighter steel ones. My originals scabbard was anodized at some point in its collectors history. This process is not period.
Sword Knots: There were several options for officer knots. Officer grades had more elaborate threading and tassels. Most common were was a 18-22 inch gold or silver ¾ inch wide sash with one stop and a tassel. Officially the cavalry officers basic knot was a cord lanyard ending in a tassel. Third pic is a Field Marshall's knot.
The enlisted leather strap which was 18 to 22 inches long and ¾ inch wide; tasseled and with one or two stops. Leather was either white or natural buff.
Handling Characteristics:
I’d already discussed the French school of thought that promoted the superiority of the thrust in the charge and that the heavy sword is engineered for that purpose. With it’s raw taper the WEs are uncomfortable, tiring and hard to handle in charge mode. The Cuirassier is probably the best balanced of it’s several configurations based on the same blade. Mating it to the GdB doesn’t work at all.
The GdB, compared to the line sword, is practically a dress sword. It maintains the look of a Heavy Cav sword, but it’s a toy by comparison to the AN XIII. ( Then again when the Br Life Guards adopted the French blade for their 1814 sword they used the GdB as a template, and their enlisted sword only weighed 2.1 lbs. )
The enlisted AN XIII is a beautiful weapon with surprising agility. Not surprising that it would be adopted by most of the major European powers and see service everywhere for the next 30 years.
Conclusions:
Pros:
WE scores well for eye candy. These sword have the right “look”
WE good value for reenactors or entry level history buffs.
Cons:
WE uses weapons grade materials, but rather gross production values. Taper and balance is hit and miss.
Handling on the AN XIII enlisted is acceptable; the GdB is way out of line.
The Bottom Line:
A period history buff mad for a wall hanger will love what WE has done for them. But when you pick up the real one you will certainly feel some disappointment. Don’t. AN XIIIs are running $900-3000 now. And I’m not even going to tell you what GdB’s demand on the market.
On the other hand, WE needs to seriously look at their business model and put better harmonics in their swords if they want to broaden their market.
Hope you found this enjoyable. More pics to be found at:
s747.photobucket.com/albums/xx115/kelly1863/Garde%20de%20Bataille%20Sabers/?start=all