SYW Saxony: IR Kurprincessen

Another Saxon regiment painted as it might have looked in French service. Pre-Pirna this was a single battalion regiment called Grenadierbataillon Kurprinzessin which was brigaded with converged Grenadier battalions. It featured lapels (unusually in this period) and the entire battalion wore Grenadier mitres.

But after the troops had deserted en-masse from Prussian service, they formed a two battalion regiment and dropped the Grenadierbataillon designation. I have still retained red sword knots for the whole battalion on the assumption that elite troops liked to retain their distinctions even after they had been 'reduced in status'. Note that although they lost the designation as a Grenadier regiment, according to Kronoskaf, they retained the right for their regimental band to play the Grenadiermarsch. For the actual Grenadier company I have given them moustaches, which is again conjecture on my part. Besides the lapels this regiment's main difference from Xaver (which you have seen in a previous post) is that Xaver had gold coloured buttons, while this had silver.

There is quite a story to be told about the wholesale absorption of the Saxon army into the Prussian (Frederick II created new regiments against the advice of his generals who wanted the personnel packaged out in small parcels amongst the other regiments) and their subsequent mass-desertion to be reformed in Hungary (equipped by the Austrians but at French expense?) and then for them to march over to Western Germany to join their new paymaster, the French. Kronoskaf calls this
process 'REVERTENTEN' but Christian Rogge told me in an email “Refertenten is a funny outdated German term. Not sure what it means. Possibly English "revertents" "reverters" or in more recent English "returnees".” so I'm not sure. What I do know is that there is a book produced in German by Marcus von Salisch called “Treue Deserteure. Kursächsischen Das Militär und der Siebenjährige Krieg” and I've asked the author if he would do an English precis of his book. If I manage that you will hear of it first here.

Sometime soon I'll be painting up some rather exotic Saxon Grenadier companies – exotic because many of them wore their old cavalry uniforms!

Tchernigov 2nd Battalion

Here is the second battalion of IR Tchernigov - well it is the 3rd battalion actually but the second of what was fielded - I hope you know what I mean! That now completes eight battalions of musketeers and I've just got the Jaeger Brigade to do. I have not decided for sure on how I intend to paint the Jaegers but I'll probably give them their winter green trousers only because that makes them instantly recogniseable on the war games table.

When I have a minute I'll take pictures of each of the completed brigades. Figures are Perry plastics.

So there is progress, I hope you will agree, on this Napoleonic 1812-14 project.
Phase One is finished - 10 battalions of French (each 36 figures plus 6 skirmishers so the light company is effectively duplicated), a battery of artillery and 4 squadrons of hussars.

Phase Two is in progress. The plan is for 12 battalions of Russians (a division) plus a battery and a couple of squadrons of cossacks/opolochenie. Phase two needs to be finished by the late spring of next year.

Phase Three (some time next year) is to paint another 6 battalions of French to make up two full French Divisions, another battery and 4 squadrons of Chasseurs-a-cheval.

Phase Four will be a Prussian Brigade, more Russian artillery and cavalry and a French Cuirassier brigade. Then a rest!

SYW Saxony: IR Prinz Friedrich August

Another colourful Saxon regiment, this time Prinz Friedrich August - the same figures from Eureka and the same regimenatl composition as the last one Xaver. Yellow facings on a white coat is very rare in this period (I think the only other 'state' to use this colour combination was Lorraine) and this is rarer still as it has yellow buttons as well. So the drummer's coat was a challenge - a yellow coat with yellow lace. There is another Saxon regiment with yellow facings (Lubomirsky) but it had white buttons. With yellow flags as well this is certainly a vision in yellow. I've used Army Painter again to dampen down the impact of yellow on white but even so it is a startling combination.

SYW Saxony: IR Prinz Xaver

Here are some 25mm SYW (mid-war) Saxons from Eureka in Australia. They are two battalions of regiment Prinz Xaver plus a grenadier company with each battalion. They are in their post-Pirna disaster uniform with the only difference being the grenadiers who have lost their mitres and now wear the plain tricorne. This is how they looked in French service in the Western theatre (at Minden for example). After Pirna they had been conscripted en-masse into the Prussian Army, which they promptly deserted, so they could only serve with the French without breaking their parole. By 1761 they appear to be serving alongside the Austrians and their grenadiers had been issued Austrian style Grenadier bearskins.

In French service the only distinction I can find for the grenadiers might have been red sword knots and, perhaps, moustaches, but this is conjecture on my part.

Eureka are to be congratulated on making Saxons as nobody else does. But there are some small errors in the uniforms and I can only wonder whether Kronoskav was available as a source when they produced this range. The details are all small and don't detract from the figures but I'll point them out anyway – there should be a pompom and a cockade on the tricorne and there isn't. I've painted the cockade in. The cuff buttons are horizontal on the figures and should be vertical.

Despite these small matters the figures are charming with lots of character.

These were painted a few days ago but I've been waiting for a tin of Army Painter to arrive which it has. A few months ago I decided to try to make my own as the tins kept on drying out but the experiment was a failure so I'm back to using this product which, for white uniforms, really makes a difference. I've decanted the tin of Army painter into two glass jam pots in the hope that I can keep this product useable before it dries rock solid – I'll let you know if that works. On the same subject, I've used this product very sparingly (almost a dry-brush) over the white coats and trousers only so perhaps you will let me know what you think and whether it is worth all the trouble!

Tchernigov 1st battalion

This is the seventh battalion I have finished for my 12 battalion Russian division - IR Tchernigov. They are Perry plastics and I've given them the 1809 shako and the grenadiers have the tall busch plume. I'll finish the second battalion this month and this will complete two brigades of musketeers leaving only the Jaeger brigade to do. Then all I need to do is duplicate the Strelki platoons, paint a battery and give them some cossack cavalry.

Hanoverian Horse Grenadiers

One of my all-time favourite regiments of cavalry from the Lace Wars period. I know where this came from - my dog-chewed John Mollo "Uniforms of the Seven Years War" part of the Blandford series. Illustration 64 from this little book shows a magnificent mounted Horse Grenadier with a frown and I think I have now painted this small unit (it was only one squadron strong) about six times in 15mm to 28mm. By the way, if you ever see this book for sale, buy it as it is a treasure.

Front Rank produce a figure but holding a carbine in one hand so these are conversions. I'm now finished with cavalry for a while and soon will be starting on Saxon infantry.

Hanoverian Horse Alt Bremer

Another Hanoverian Horse regiment, this time 2CA Alt Bremer. Rather subdued colours here, facings of apple green, so unusually discrete by Hanoverian standards. Figures by Front Rank.

Hessian Leib Cavalry

This is the last of the late-uniform Hessians for a while - the Leib Regiment, a crack unit. The figures are from Eureka. There are very few options, in terms of figures manufactured, when it comes to fielding a cuirassier regiment that was not issued with cuirasses. Besides using a 'dragoon figure' and being creative with the painting, your best option would be to use a Prussian Cuirassier figure and say that they were issued with cuirasses.