This grenadier captain belongs to the Consular Guard, placing him before Napoleon’s imperial title. The tall headgear and pale uniform front anticipate a familiar Guard appearance while the date tells a different political story.
The flag gives this Del Prado Guard figure a broad silhouette above an otherwise narrow standing pose. It is a miniature about the visible identity of a regiment as much as the uniform of one soldier.
White clothing, dark headgear and a long musket give this voltigeur a deceptively formal appearance. Del Prado’s standing figure opens a useful window onto the light infantry work inside Napoleon’s armies.
The mixed clothing, beard and long rifle set this partisan apart from the regular soldiers around him. His 1944 date leads into one of the most difficult transitions of the war: liberation from occupation did not bring Greece an uncomplicated peace.
The landing is only the beginning of an airborne operation. Del Prado’s British sergeant, with rifle across his body and equipment ready for movement, is a useful reminder that the objective still had to be reached and held.
The distinctive helmet and camouflage smock carry the airborne identity. By 1944, however, that identity did not mean the soldier was about to jump: German paratroopers were also fighting prolonged ground battles.
The tasselled cap catches the eye before the date does. Yet 1922 is the detail that makes this officer interesting: the Spanish Legion was still a young formation, and the setting was Morocco rather than the later Spanish Civil War.
The boonie hat is a useful corrective to the word “airborne.” Del Prado’s 1971 American sergeant is dressed for service on the ground, not suspended beneath a parachute, and that is central to understanding the subject.
The pith helmet and rifle identify a regular soldier in Del Prado’s late-war Vietnam subject. The date is the key: 1975 belongs to the final campaign, two years after the agreement that ended direct American military involvement.
The red beret and camouflage are familiar, but the year is easy to overlook. This Del Prado colonial paratrooper belongs to 1952, when the experience of an air-supplied position at Na San still lay ahead of the catastrophe at Dien Bien Phu.
