Graf Brühl Chevauxlegers

Here we continue to show those cavalry regiment stuck in Poland and the start of the SYW. After the capitulation of the Saxon army at Pirna, these units served mostly with Austrian armies.

This units wears the caps that it is famous for but Franco Saudelli's fantastic illustration show a ranker in a tricorne which probably replaced the cap in 1756. Still the cap is rather cool so the unit wears them!

Prinz Karl Chevauxlegers

I had not realized that I was to paint an extra 6 Saxon cavalry regiments - for some reason I thought it was just two. So here goes with three Chevauleger regiments plus one cuirassier. The choice of facing colour was determined by the beautiful drawing by Franco Saudelli. This shows a rasberry red facing which I thought made an interesting change.

The figures are actually Saxon Cavalry from Eureka (most unusual - I'm painting figures as the designer intended them to be) and they are fabulous figures.

Graf Rudnicki Uhlanen

I left the picture with the hand in it deliberately as it gives a sense of scale and size.

You have seen the earlier Uhlanen I posted here the other day – with red facings. This is their sister unit and had blue facings.

The Pulk was created early in 1745 from a unit of Tatar Guards of the Principality of Kiev. The two units appear to have always operated together and those campaign details I posted for Renard apply equally to this this unit.

The figures are from Eureka and closely model the Bosniak regiment in Prussian service. Those Bosniaks were recruited in Poland as well.

Graf Renard Uhlanen

I thought I had finished the Saxon SYW army but two small units escaped my notice so here they are and they are beautiful figures from Eureka. This is Uhlanen Renard.

The Uhlanen were maintained by the Polish Commonwealth and hired into Saxon service. They participated in all campaigns from 1757 onwards. Initially with the Austrian armies, later on with the Reichsarmee in Saxony. After the death of King August III, they were returned to Poland. Two Pulks were kept on Warsaw's provisions budget in March 1757. Each Pulk had 6 Hoffahnen (court-banners), 1 banner counting 75 men. They were especially recruited in Lithuania and from Tartars. It seems that their tactical role was to scout and skirmish in support of the Saxon Chevaulegers.

On May 17 1745, the unit counted 8 Hoffahnen when it entered Silesia with the Austro-Saxon Army. On December 15, it was present at the Battle of Kesseldorf, together with the Belwedowsky, Rudnicki and Bertuszewski regiments under the command of von Sybilsky. In 1746, after the Treaty of Dresden (December 25 1745), the unit returned to Poland.

By 1757, the unit counted 603 men and 575 horses.

During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was commanded by Renard and then in 1759 by Schiebel

Of note during the SYW, in 1758, the unit was with Daun's army at the relief of the siege of Olmütz. On June 17, along with the Löwenstein Chevauxlegers and Dessewffy Hussars, under the command of the Count de Stainville, they routed the Bayreuth Dragoons near Gross-Wisternitz. Also, in 1760, the unit was attached to the Lacy Corps. On July 20, during the relief of the siege of Dresden, along with the Esterhazy Hussars under Brentano, they evicted the Mohring Hussars from Leuben, coming close to the capture of Frederick the Great at the nearby headquarters on the Grune Wiese.

In 1764, the unit was transferred to the Polish Army and renamed "5th Pulk Przedniej Straży (5th Pulk of the Forward Guard).

In 1792, the unit was involved in the Russo-Polish War and in the Kościuszko Insurection, taking part in the battles of Mir, Zelwa, Maciejowice and Praga.

WAS in Italy (9): Piedmontese De Portes Regiment

1703 - 1798

On the 27 October 1703 Duke Victor Amadeus II made a convention with Colonel Ludovic De Portes to raise a regiment of infantry with foreign men, German, Swiss, protestant French, Dutch and British, with a strength of two battalions. [I would imagine that the language of command was Italian]

Service during the War of the Polish Succession (1733-38) The regiment campaigned in Lombardy in 1733 and in the spring of 1734 was present at the battle of Parma and, three months later, at the battle of Guastalla. In 1735 the Regiment marched up the Adige Valley and in September it joined the Piedmontese Army on the West side of lake of Garda supporting the French action on the East side. At the end of the year the whole Army took winter quarters in the country around Cremona and Brescia. In 1735 the regiment changed it’s colonel and became Audibert.

Service during the Austrian Succession War (1740-48) In 1742 only the 1st battalion campaigned in north-east Italy in the Po plains. In September both battalions combined and the regiment marched on the Alps to undertake a campaign in Savoy against an invading Spanish army. In January 1743, after a cold winter campaign ,Savoy was abandoned and the regiment returned again to Piedmont. It remained located there on the alpine front in theVaraita Valley. Posted over the village of Chateau, the regiment participated in the struggle to stop the Spanish autumn offensive. The western front remained the focus of the war for the year 1744 and again the Varaita Valley was the centre of the struggle. The 1st battalion of Audibert fought inside the redoubt of Mount Cavallo (on the 17 July 1744). By that evening the battalion had lost 139 men. Later the regiment was attached to the main Army to break the siege of Cuneo. Maillebois' offensive achieved its acme at the battle of Bassignana (27 September) and Audibert was on the right of Sardinian line, defending the plain before the village of Pietramarazzi.. The follow year Audibert was present in Leutrum's Army. In April there was a new colonel, Jean du Monfort de Varache, and the units was renamed Monfort. Then the two battalions were separated. The 1st battalion fought in the south-west in the Mediterranean theatre during the offensive in Provence (30 November 1746 to 3 February 1747).

At the end of the war, in 1752 Monfort revised it’s rules and new rules permitted the enlisting of Italians. In 1769 new regulations forbade the recruitment of Protestant soldiers. In 1769 the regiment changed Colonels again and it became De Sury.

Colonels
Lodovic De Portes                                                              From 4-11-1703
Pierre Audibert                                                                   From 10- 3-1739
Jean du Monfort de Varache                                              From 6- 4-1746
Eugene Alexander de Sury                                                 From 16-11-1769

Karlstädter-Ottochaner

The last of the Grenzer regiments. Next week - more Saxon cavalry, including some rather unusual regiments.

Prussian IR6 on ebay Grenadier Guard

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-28mm-Seven-Years-War-Prussian-Infantry-IR6-pro-painted-24-figures-Nigbil-/111694490234?

Karlstädter-Szluiner Grenzer

Another colouful Austrian Grenzer battalion joins the army. This is the third and there will be another (the last) soon. All the figures are from Crusader.

Also please check out my Prussians on ebay - there are now three battalions of IR3 for sale and IR6 Grenadier-Garde will go on tomorrow.

Karlstädter-Lykaner Grenzer

This Grenzinfanterieregiment (Frontier Infantry Regiment) was raised in February 1746 by Joseph Philipp Count von Guicciardi as the “Liccaner Grenz-Infanterie-Regiment” 1 in the Generalate of Karlstädter. The regiment was then known as the “Joseph Philipp Graf von Guicciardi Liccaner Grenz-Infanterie-Regiment” and consisted of six battalions totalling 9,000 men.

By 1756, the regiment really consisted of two companies of grenadiers, twelve companies of fusiliers  (in 2 battalions) and four Landesdefensions (depot) companies. In addition, there were two companies of sharpshooters and two artillery companies. A company counted about 100 men.                    

It would be wrong to assume these Grenzers only participated in the 'petite guerre' - they were comfortable in that role but also they were capable of being in the line on a battlefield. Both battalions of the regiment took part in the Battle of Lobositz,  with one of them, along with a battalion of Karlstädter-Oguliner Grenzer, stubbornly defended the Lobosch Hill till they were forced to abandon their positions by vastly superior Prussian forces. They were present in most Austrian armies in battles of the SYW and could operate in both close and open order making them very versatile troops.

The figures are a mix of Crusader and Front Rank. Pretty uniform!