Portugese Infantry flank companies

[Igor]

I`m going to paint set of Napoleonic Portugese Line infantry.

But I dont have enough information how flank companies were different from center. Where can I find information about it? I`we read that battalion organisation war like in british battalions. What I must know to pain grenadiers and light company in the right way?

[Garry Wills]

The Portuguese line battalions had 4 line companies and 1 grenadier company each.  No light company after 1808. Loads of info here LINK

[ArtfulB]

As per the excellent reference above, 4 Batallion and 1 Grenadier (Grenadarios) companies per Batallion, officially no skirmishers.

You get 1 Grenadario (short sword backpack) per strip in the Warlord Portuguese box.

There is also an Osprey  Portuguese-Army-Napoleonic-Wars-Men-at-Arms series on the subject.

 

According to Albion Triumphant Vol 1 (pp 101-103) ,   A single batallion of Portuguese may be added to a British Brigade (E) or form part of a  2 Line Regiment Portuguese brigade (M,L) .

The latter is modelled as Regiments of line plus a full strength Batallion of Cazadores, yet the line batallions are rated as mixed formation i.e. skirmish capable – the Grenadarios take up the role of the Atiriadores in the Cazadore Batallion ?

A alternate (non-standard) interptetation of a Portuguese brigade would be 4 non skirmish small battalions plus 1 rifle mixed order batallion.

Standard British Peninsular orders were to group their light and rifle companies into a brigade level skirmish unit, it also happened in N.America. Having the Brigade skirmishers solely in one unit for a Portuguese Brigade reflects this practice (1 small Batallion free to compensate for the lack of skirnish capability?).

 

 

 

 

 

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