This product is sold as a single unpainted figure.

Additional Images.

1. Belgian Legion at Oudenaarde 1864 by Michel Provost (provostmichel.blogspot.com).

2-5. B/W images of the Belgian Legion at Morelia during the war in Mexico. Kindly provided by Michel Provost.

6. The whole French Intervention in Mexico French and Allied Army range.

THE FORGOTTEN LEGION

‘On 1 August 1864, an Admission Commission was installed at Oudenaarde, a small Flemish city forty-three miles from Brussels, where the recruits for the ‘Belgian Legion’ received their first instruction with thirty-two carbines loaned by the government. After a difficult start imposed by lack of money, recruiting began. The recruits came mainly from all ranks of the Belgian army but there were also the customary groups of employees and craftsmen dreaming of great adventures or exotic emotions; parochial dandies, tired of hoping to reach improbable social standing; up-rooted foreigners (principally Germans) and very young men. Enlistment was for six years.’

The corps was composed of one battalion of grenadiers and one battalion of voltigeurs, to be assembled in Mexico by the progressive amalgamation of four successive detachments sent from Belgium.  

• 16 Oct 1864. A staff corps of seven officers and a battalion staff of seven, 1^st Grenadier Company (four officers, fourteen NCOs, three drummers, three buglers, 125 grenadiers, one femme de compagnie (company woman). 2^nd Grenadier Company, 1^st and 2^nd Voltigeur Company (the latter three companies organised in a similar manner to the 1^st Grenadier).
• 14 Nov 1864. Battalion staff of eight. 3^rd and 4^th Grenadier and 3^rd and 4^th Voltigeur companies (the other rank manpower for these companies was approximately 70 men each). Thirty-five musicians.
• 16 Dec 1864. 5^th and 6^th Grenadier and 5^th and 6^th Voltigeur companies. Approximately 362 people.
• 27 Jan 1865. Approximately 189 people.

‘As soon as they were assembled in Mexico City, the detachments were regrouped and renamed according to an Imperial decre. The grenadier detachment became Bataillon de l’Imperatrice and the voltigeurs became Bataillon Roi des Belges.  The Belgians were formed in a brigade with the Austrian corps, under the command of General Count de Thun. This though, was only on paper, the Belgians and Austrians never fought together.’

Source: ‘Campaigns Magazine’, No 32, The Forgotten Legion article written and illustrated by Liliane and Fred Funcken, January-February 1982. Contains at least 19 lovely illustrations of the Belgian Legion and five of the Austrian Legion in Mexico.