The Polishov Infantry Regiment on Maneuvers

It is now late summer in the mountainous valleys of Polishov, Syldavia’s northeastern frontier. A battalion of the Polishov Infantry Regiment has been sent from Fort Navoronje to show force on the Bordurian frontier. Here they are on their route of march on the west bank of the Dirinje River, having passed through the village of Velikuja. Detachments from the St. Vladimir Jaeger Korps and a hussar regiment march in support. The St Vladimir Jaegers were reviewed in a previous post and the hussars will have their own day in the sun later on.

IR Polsihov is wearing the new uniforms which feature colourful crab-red small clothes and trousers with yellow braid and a similarly-coloured braided sash reminiscent of traditional clothing of the region’s inhabitants, all worn under a German-style coat of unbleached wool with red cuffs, lapels and turnbacks. The uniform inspired by the Hungarian regiments of the Habsburg army which so impressed the youthful King Ottokar when he was sent to serve as an ensign in the K.ü.K to learn the soldier’s trade. The Polishov regiment is of somewhat uneven quality and the region itself has a history of dubious loyalties; the flashy uniform was an effort to foster an esprit du corps in the regiment and to make deserters easier to find and follow. The regiment has its main garrison in the town of Bellicosow, with secondary detachments spread out elsewhere in the province, notably in the Spinaltapen Grad fortress and the border stronghold of Ft. Navaronje.

The Polishov Regiment is #7 in seniority amongst the infantry of the Syldavian Army and is a relatively new regiment, having been raised in the 1720’s once the eastern Polishov region had been recovered from the perfidious Bordurians during the brief Polishov War.

I made the flags with Adobe Illustrator using some of Hergé's illustrations as inspiration and some borrowed ideas from Balkan heraldry and SYW banners. I printed the banners out on a good laser printer and applied the results to the figures. I like the national banner but I am not completely sold on the regimental banners in general. I don'T mind this one however, and the bear seems a natural emblem for this intractable region in the midst of the Dinaric Alps. Figures are all from Eureka Miniatures' excellent 18mm SYW Austrian line, with a couple of converted Blue Moon and Old Glory figures hiding somewhere in the background. The terrain pieces are my own scratch built pieces with one Old Glory Napoleonic Russian cabin.

Attentive readers will note that I have attempted to cut out the Ikea furniture creeping most clumsily into some photo. I've abandonded the cause however as it was a bit more effort than I was willing to make and the results aren't as smart looking as I had hoped! Oh well.