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Post by bas on May 13, 2021 23:56:46 GMT
There seems to be an odd transposition, the number of British 1796 pattern light cavalry officers swords available appear to out number the trooper version by a considerable margin. This is easilly explained by them being private purchase vs Government owned meaning that the government may have disposed of them by means other than selling them.
But the reverse appears to be true for the m1811 Blucher sabre, I don't think I have seen an officer's version, only the trooper swords. Are they available or did officers use a different type of sword?
The closest I have seen is this Dutch m1813/30 Sabre:
(The pictured sabre isn't mine, it's one I found on edgedweapons.nl)
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Uhlan
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Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on May 15, 2021 5:13:07 GMT
The M1811 model does not have a regulation Officers variant. There are only a few models around without same. Forgot which. As to the reason I can only speculate, but my best guess would be money, or better, lack thereof. Coupled with a period of intense stress. The survival of the State was at stake. Not the right time to indulge in Officers fancy frilly knicker needs. Like you said, Officers were expected to take care of their own gear anyway. Cheers. Edit. The Swedish M1814 LC and HC did not have a regulation Officers model too. See: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/55415/swedish-m1814-troopers-sabre-conclusion
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Post by bas on May 16, 2021 20:55:25 GMT
Thank you for the reply Uhlan. When you say that there wasn't a regulation officer's variant, does that mean that they could carry pretty much what they wanted?
Cheers
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Uhlan
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Posts: 3,121
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Post by Uhlan on May 17, 2021 8:00:35 GMT
Within limits that was the old Officers prerogative yes, but in both cases Field Officers had to carry the regulation Troopers sabre when on campaign. One could argue that Sweden never saw any campaign at all, so why this rule? The answer may be that the Swedish M1814 was meant to be used in campaigns against the French and as such the Officers sabre was probably seen as a waste of resources. Sweden was as poor as Prussia at the time. Other, more propaganda oriented objectives may have played out here too, like: See how the upper classes suffer just like you, blah, blah, booh, hooh, hooh. Certainly in Sweden revolt hung in the air. By the time the M1814 was delivered the Napoleonic Wars were over, but the edict was never changed. Not surprising considering what happened to both M1814 models. At least Prussia had work to do on the Napoleonic front, so the edict may have made some sense, though I highly doubt it would help to make a dent in the Prussian debt. I think in both cases one could argue there was a strong element of propaganda aimed at the Troopers behind rules like this.
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