Smohain/ La Marache

 

I have now completed Papelotte Farm, La Haye Farm and the chateau of Frischermont.  It therefore remains to fill in the gap between these buildings.

The village of Smohain, known more often nowadays as La Marache was not modelled on the Siborne diorama.  There are however several contemporary maps and we can use Google Earth to look at existing building and deduce which might have been there in 1815.

A key question is whether there was a church in Smohain.  This contemporary image suggests there was.  

Again, in this image the same church can be seen. Both pictures are however painted from La Haye Sainte, and are therefore at some distance.  The problem is that none of the contemporary maps show a church.

This image is part of a broader series and clearly shows that intense fighting took place around the church.  The image is wrongly entitled "Frischermont" but it is clearly the village and not the chateau.

The nearest church is in Ohain, not Smohain and is a good match for the contemporary image.  Could it be that there was a church in Smohain that was destroyed after the battle or did the contemporary artists paint the church in Ohain not Smohain?

This image, taken from a contemporary panoramic seems to confirm it is Ohain not Smohain church:

Fresh Progress at Frischermont

 Taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend I've made progress with the Frischermont model.

South side

The tower

Sunken lane

Frischermont

 The Easter holidays has allowed for further progress on the model.  Here are some shots of Frischermont showing progress:

East of Mont St Jean

 I've been working on the area immediately East and Southeast of Mont St Jean.  This is the area where Ghigny's Light Cavalry brigade was located.  Only a few of the figures are on the model - these will follow in the coming days.

The modelling is based on the Siborne diorama, with pictures courtesy of the National Army Museum. A large ploughed field can be seen immediately East of the farm.

Overhead view of Mont St Jean at the bottom (North) of the picture, with South at the top of the picture

Looking North

Looking South

looking East

Using Google Earth looking North East with Mont St Jean in the top left.  Other buildings are modern. The real ground is much flatter than Siborne shows it - he had to exaggerate the relief to make it stand out.

From Mont St Jean looking Southeast.

The ploughed field.

This area will contain most of Ghigny's Brigade.