A French M1816 Cavalry of the Line Trooper Pallasch.
Mar 26, 2022 16:34:52 GMT
Post by Uhlan on Mar 26, 2022 16:34:52 GMT
Gérard - Louis XVIII of France in Coronation Robes.
Introduction.
After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 the AN XIII pallasch pattern went through some changes.
That is the official narrative.
As with many official narratives this turns out to be untrue.
Many examples of spear pointed blades have been found dating from 1814 at least.
Not only field cut blades, but AN XI or XIII (M1816) spear pointed blades coming straight from the forges.
This is also, it seems, the case with the M1816 pattern scabbards. Long before these were officially adopted they already were in use.
Some folk, somewhere, took notes and saw where the AN XIII fell short .
Too little, too late. It reminds me in a way of the fate of the German Stg M1944.
And just to keep things interesting for us later collectors, this being an old French tradition and source of much French merriment for generations already as we well know by now, you'll have a hard time finding a straight up M1816 pallasch made according to the regulation pattern.
There are plenty examples of ,,old'' AN XI - XIII blades with the flat spine and the ,,Imperiale'' removed from the spine etch, mounted on M1816 hilts that have the thick, box like, guard plates and vice versa, M1816 pattern blades, with the round spine, mounted on AN XI - XIII hilts.
This gets even worse with the M1854. Because the older patterns (AN XI, AN XIII and M1816) were still in use. (In some form or another.) Only the AN IX ceased to exist by 1854.
Sorting messes like that reminds me of ordering coffee in one of those new fangled coffee shops.
They proudly present you with those long lists of the various torture programs they put the honest to God innocent coffee bean through, but when one orders ,,just coffee'' you'll get this vacant Millennial Hippie 2.0 stare like you're a friggin Alien. A confrontation which could have the Ulahn contemplate serious ultra violence if he weren't such a really, really, very, very, nice person indeed.
Another nice French touch is that though the new pallasch was called the M1816, the pattern started to come online only in 1819. It was made by Klingenthal. In 1822 the Bancal was introduced, but the Cuirassiers and Dragoons did not want to adopt it. The Dragoons folded later on, but the Cuirassiers were adamant and refused point blank to play. They never gave up their M1816 pallasch. (And the older patterns too for that matter.)
Production of the M1816 by Klingenthal ceased in 1829 and went to Chatellerault were the pattern was kept in production until slightly after the introduction of the all new and shiny M1854.
Here is an M1816 dated to 1855. Notice the flat spine and field cut tip. It probably has a refurbished AN XI or AN XIII blade.
An M1816 Cavalry of the Line Trooper pallasch.
Compared to the AN XIII this is quite a step up qua build quality. Where the AN XIII blades had all the characteristics of old school 18th C. work, what with the way the fullers were made which could result in rather wavy lines and uneven thickness over the blade and sometimes tempering issues which could cause the blades to break at the ricasso, the new M1816 blades look much better with straight and well defined lines and fullers.
The fullers themselves are box like. Straight walls with only the bottom ever so slightly concave.
There's always one that does not want.....
The double edged tips are long and very nasty indeed.
These M1816 blades belong to another, more modern era altogether.
It must be said though that the circumstances for the M1816 production were, of course, much better.
The AN XIII was a product of many different forges, with a 50% of output going to AP and to top that off, made during times of war.
The thin AN XIII guard plates made way for the reinforced plates with thick sides which prevented bending and made the whole hilt more rigid. This also gave the ball ends of the bars a larger connection point without much of an increase in weight.
My M1816 has the rounded spine of the regulation production samples and is signed ,, Manufacture Royale de Klingenthal Mars 1822'' with a ,,9'' at the end which is code for ,,Acier Fondu''.
Although the blade is a rather early example of being forged from cast steel billets I could not see any adverse effects.
No delamination scars, so often encountered on early and to be honest, on much later examples.
Note that the ,,Royale'' was,on many M1816 first generation blades, removed from the spine etch.
Instead it shows an open space. Because Second Republik politics.
The hilt and the scabbard have the same rack numbers, though the hilt has older and faded numbers too.
Work.
Not much of that. The blade was dirty with oil and crud.
A light polish removed the superficial pitting for the most part. I could start with 240 grid and work my way up to a hard polish.
There is still a lot of the old skin remaining, with some deeper pitting here and there, but nothing serious.
The experiment with Mothers to remove small polishing scratches and afterwards removing the ugly ,,in your face'' Mothers shine with Commandant No. 4 car lacquer polish paid off I think.
The hilt was dirty too. Much old brass polish in and under the wire and much dirt in the corners made by the guard plate wall at the underside and in the stamps. Wood toothpicks and acetone did a good job there.
The scabbard showed the same pattern. This one was easy for once and I like the results very much.
The numbers.
WOA : 2330 gram.
WS : 1400 gram.
LOA : 118 cm.
LS : 115 cm.
BL : 100 cm.
BW : 34 mm.
BT : 11 - 8.5 - 7.5 - 6 - 4 mm.
POB : 11.5 cm.
The poinçons.
The blade: It still shows the old school vertical stamping.
Bick :: Controleur 1 Class since 1809.
Lobstein :: He did service for a long long time as Controleur 1 Class of Revision and Repair, but here he is in his new job as Controleur 2 Class.(since 1821.)
The hilt: Nothing on the pommel cap.
On the knuckle bow :: A faded Bisch poinçon + faded 703 + new rack number 381.
Under the guard plate :: 50 E E which is covered by the leather washer + a Bisch poinçon under the beak.
What the 50 E E stands for I do not know.
The scabbard :: an ,,A'' control stamp on the first ring mount and the 381 rack number on the inside of the first bracelet.
Conclusion.
For me the M1816 HC Trooper is a huge step up from the AN XIII.
The old style back sword and wedge shaped, in section, AN XIII blade was refined to an, in section, more oval shaped blade, like a fine riding sword. It could have been even better if it would have been double edged all over like the Spanish M1832. The M1816 blade is stiffer than both the AN XIII and the Spanish M1832.
The numbers compared ( for the AN XIII see :: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/67115/french-xiii-cuirassier-pallasch ) tell the story. Though the difference with the AN XIII isn't that huge on paper, the entire revised concept makes for a much more nimble and easy to handle sword.
For me the M1816 is what the AN XIII should have been.
Of course the AN XIII takes all the glory (just look at the number of notes!) and the M1816 falls of the cliff in that regard, but it is the better sword. Seriously.
Its Spanish contemporary, the M1832, ( see :: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/66355/spanish-cavalry-m1832-trooper-review , even with its thin blade, in my view still shows more of the character of the AN XIII.
Nah, in my book of these three the M1816 is clearly the winner.
Cheers.
France in 1822.
Notes.
Nothing much here.
It is almost embarrassing. Like no one cares.
Even PM let's the side down.
Weapons and Warfare: weaponsandwarfare.com/the-bourbon-restoration-armies/
Cuirassier : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuirassier
Louis XVIII : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVIII
Pino :: Notes about some Cuirassier and Dragoon swords : sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/59634/notes-french-cuirassiers-dragoons-swords