Náměšt' na Hané

Despite the symbolic value of starting my blog on the anniversary of Austerlitz, I can see that the idea was not thought through particularly well. The approach of Christmas and all that that entails (end of term marking, the obligatory Xmas parties, the horrors of Christmas shopping and suchlike) has meant I have had little time to sit down and sort through further pictures, let alone take the photos of my minis that I wanted too. Ach jo, as the Czechs would say (it's so much more expressive than Such is life).

Anyway, the weekend before Austerlitz there was a small display of militaria and reenactment at Náměšt', which is just down the road from where Sebastian, my son lives. Only a few hundred people there, and a very funny talk by the Uhlans I later took pictures of at Tvarožná. The display was very small, a few helmets, muskets/rifles and sabres ranging from c. 1750 to the Second World War, a couple of uniforms, and an Austrian flag.

Detail of the Austrian flag. I see the Bohemian lion, the eagles of Silesia and Moravia, the Hungarian arms and the Austrian - I really should identify the rest ... Austria is not really my forte but I think Seb will make me change that.

There was a uniform there labelled as French, 1810. Not very helpful. The czapska makes me fairly sure it's Polish, but I can't find the leaf pattern anywhere in my limited library (which includes this lovely book I just have to mention)


If anyone could help in identifying it I'd be very grateful...

The reenactment itself was more a demonstration of drill and an explanation of the uniforms. I was quite impressed by the turn out; they were almost all locals from the looks of things and showed a genuine interest in everything.


I, of course, gravitated towards the French. This gun got me thinking - it looks very light to me; I had always been lead to believe that they were painted a darker olive than this.

Seb showed where his loyalties lay, preferring to spend time with the "Austrian" reenactors. In fact, they were all from Ostrava...

Here's a final photo of the French infantry reenactment group. There were only 9 of them in total but what they lacked in numbers they more than made up for in enthusiasm. The youngest there was 14, a real Marie Louise!

Thanks for looking - hope it was of interest.