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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & DETAILS ABOUT THE FLAGS

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 1. What flags are included in this book?

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This book includes 400 original paper flags duplicated into TWO identical sets of different sizes (800 flags). The purpose of this duplication, is to offer a choice - to use either the smaller or slightly larger variation according to preference. The difference is only about 2mm. 

 

These flags are designed for cutting-out and gluing to miniatures. They cover all the armies that were present at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18th, 1815, with flags for every regiment and battalion, with the exception of some Light Infantry units (i.e. British Rifles, KGL, and Brunswick).

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 2. What size miniatures do the flags fit?

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The flags have been sized for a standard 6 mm scale, but as stated, offering two slightly different sizes.

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​3. How should I fix the flag to the miniature flag pole? 

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The best glue to use is one that doesn't dry too quickly so you enough time to manipulate the flag into the position you want, before it dries. This will allow you to form twists and turns in the flag to depict it waving and bellowing in the wind, if desired. The flags already include artistic depictions of "folds and creases", but carefully bending the flags will improve, although at this scale the effect is somewhat limited.

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 4. What type of paper are the flags printed on?
 

The colour flags are laser printed onto 80gsm white paper. This paper was chosen because it is flexible enough to enable the tiny flags to be bent into shape if desired.

 

 5. How accurate are the flags historically?

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The aim of this set is to provide collectors and wargamers with a complete range of flags for the Battle of Waterloo, that are both flexible and as historically accurate as possible.

 

The flag dimensions are not strictly to scale, but are usually a shade larger for a better visual impact on miniatures. Where flags still exist in museums, these designs are followed. In the case where little or nothing is known about what flags were carried, then hypothetical flags have been created. These are based on conjecture using some historical details, or creative designs where no details exist at all, such as for most Hanoverian battalions, and for the majority of Prussian units who were officially not supposed to have carried any flags during the campaign.

 

Regimental flag details are of course not possible to see at this scale. However, for collectors who prefer to give a passing nod to their flags being regimentally accurate, even at this scale, details of each flag and what regiment they are meant to portray, are faithfully recorded on the flag identification pages which in the book are found opposite the actual flag pages. The fact is, these 6 mm flags have been directly copied from my 15mm range, most of which have regimental and battalion details. So, even if you can't see them, trust me, they are there! :)
   
British, King's German Legion & Hanoverian Regiments - British flags for Waterloo are well represented in historical records and so these designs are followed. Both the Rifles and KGL Light Infantry regiments did not carry flags. Cavalry flags for the British are included, and indeed for all armies, even though these were usually not carried into the field.

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Hanoverian regiments carried flags of no standard design, and what most battalions furnished at Waterloo remains unknown. Therefore, while a few of the designs in this set are based on historical flags from 1813 (Field battalions) and just a few sketchy details from 1815 (Landwehr: Salzgitter, Osnabrück, Gifhorn), the majority are hypothetical. Most Field and Landwehr regiments appear to have carried just one flag, and there's no evidence these German troops ever carried British ones - unlike the King's German Legion, who were entitled to do so being enlisted in British service.

 So in the absence of fact, and employing a healthy dose of reasonable conjecture (such as using the home town's coat of arms), I've come up with a selection of designs for all the remaining Hanoverian Landwehr, plus a selection of generic ones to provide flexibility and choice. The flags for the three field battalions are based on surviving historical details from an 1813 flag, plus the addition of town coat of arms.

The newly formed Netherlands army had no official regimental flags at Waterloo, but as their units had been in Napoleon's service only a year previous, some used battalion fanions as per the French model. As to their colour, one source speculates that Line battalions carried white flags, Light infantry yellow, and Militia orange [Wise. T, Flags of the Napoleonic Wars Vol.3]. However, surviving flags of the period in the Dutch war museum do not follow this pattern, and in 1820 new regimental flags were issued to the Netherlands army all of which were orange.

 

Battalion fanions issued after 1820 were also orange with a white border, so this colour may also have prevailed at Waterloo. A choice is therefore offered! Have all your Dutch-Belgians carry orange flags, or instead choose white, yellow and orange for different troop types.

Nassau Regiments - for the two battalions of the 28th Orange-Nassau Regiment, I've offered two variations to choose from. This new regiment was assigned a Netherlands Line Regiment number, so may have carried an orange flag (or white, if you so choose). The orange/blue variant is speculative and based on the Nassau state flag.

 

Brunswick Regiments - in addition to the known flags carried by the three Brunswick Line battalions (two each), I've also included speculative flags for the Light battalions and cavalry, should they be desired.

Prussian Regiments - only a handful of Prussian regiments were officially supposed to have carried flags at Waterloo. This is because after the 1813-14 campaigns,  Landwehr were not permitted to have them, while the former Reserve regiments promoted to Line status for the 1815 campaign, were also not issued with their new flags until after Waterloo later the same year (12th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 25th, 26th).
 

So what to do? Most collectors and wargamers prefer to have flags with their model regiments, so this set offers a selection of conjectural and hypothetical designs to choose from, including the flags that were eventually issued to the former Reserve regiments a few months after Waterloo.
 

It is difficult to imagine Napoleonic battalions manoeuvring without some kind of flag, so it may be reasonable to assume that they ALL had one. The choice is yours! The 3rd battalions of Prussian infantry regiments (Fusiliers) did not carry flags until after Waterloo, but again, if desired, a selection of generic flags are offered that could be used for this purpose. 

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Quite clearly, if we follow what history states, then there's no real need to create a Waterloo Prussian flag set at all, because so very few flags were officially carried. But we are in the business of creating personal, miniature armies, and many people prefer to have flags for all of their regiments!

What I have set out to do, therefore, is to present a selection of flags for both the former Reserve and Landwehr regiments:
 

For the Landwehr:

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• Flags based on conjecture - these designs utilise coat of arms and the various Prussian state Eagles, to produce flags that give some identity

• Generic Prussian flags - these feature historically known details of some Landwehr flags

 

For the former Reserve, now Line regiments:
 

• Flags issued in late 1815 - these are the flags they were eventually issued a few months after the Waterloo campaign

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I have also created flags for all the Prussian light cavalry units as well, even though these were not carried into the field. The general designs for the Hussars and Uhlans should be fairly accurate, although the flag field colours are speculative, being based here on uniform facing colours. You will also find flags for light cavalry flags from all nations, should you wish to use them.

 

French Regiments - While French regimental tricolours are embedded in history, details of battalion fanions are less certain. Infantry of the Line were meant to have carried plain colour flags with no embellishments - White for 2nd Battalion; Red for 3rd; Blue for 4th - but one colonel of a Waterloo regiment, at least, is known to have ignored the Emperor's dictate, and so therefore for this flag set, so have we :).

 The whole of the Imperial Guard infantry had only two eagles and regimental flags between them which were carried by the 1st Grenadiers and 1st Chasseurs, all the rest had battalion fanions only. Based on 1812 regulations, these were meant to be: Old Guard Tricolours; Middle Guard Blue; Young Guard White for Tirailleurs, Red for Voltiguers. Fanion embellishments in this set are speculative based on pre-1812 styles, because whether regulations were adhered to, or not, remains a fact lost to history!

I trust this 6 mm Waterloo flag set will provide all the flags you should ever need for this iconic battle. If not, your feedback would be most welcome.

​​Michael,

TBW

 

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