Sunday 25 November 2018

40mm SYW Austrians High Command








Back in June 2013 I did a base with 3 mounted officers as my Kommandierenden General but I was never really happy with it so I have reworked it this time using mostly Front Rank figures. You can see how substantial these figures are as they are the two on the right. The chap on the left if from Matthias Manske and it is rather crude in comparison to FR and significantly smaller requiring stacking under the horse's base.

I've not been sure who to represent but I have ended up by doing Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg in the uniform of a Feldzeugmeister  or Full General of Infantry. He was, of course, commanding in the disaster that was the Battle of Mollwitz but, had he won, he might not have 'retired' and might well have served in the SYW. 

Neipperg died in 1774, just one day before his 90th birthday.


SYW Kreis: Kurbayern Infantry Regiment






This regiment of three battalions was drawn from Bavarian regiments and then re-uniformed so that it probably looked like this by the end of 1759. The colours are quite striking and the flags obviously Bavarian in style. Figures are from Front Rank.

Friday 16 November 2018

Hessian Regiment Prince Karl







Here is the second regiment for my Hessian SYW army, Prince Karl. The Inhaber of this regiment remained the same person for the SYW through the AWI. There is also a well known painting of the regiment which shows an incident at the battle of Krefeld. Kronoskaf says “ On June 23, the regiment took part in the Battle of Krefeld where it was deployed on the right wing under the command of the Hereditary Prince. Towards the end of the battle, the Hereditary Prince and Gilsa rallied the battalion along with Wutginau Infantry and other Allied infantry units and advanced onto the plain. The Comte de Gisors at the head of 4 squadrons of the Corps des Carabiniers de Monsieur le Comte de Provence charged these advancing battalions who let them close in to about 20 paces before firing a devastating volley mowing down in an instant most of the first rank. A single squadron managed to break through but the third rank of infantry knocked it down (ie turned round)”.

My flags here are the AWI ones which are probably the wrong style of flags because at the time of the battle (1758) the regiment was a one battalion regiment with different plainer flags.

Note also that during the SYW this regiment had silver buttons and white lapel lace. By the AWI, the regiment had yellow buttons and lapel lace. I do not know when the change was made but I have gone for the SYW colour scheme.

I have compiled a painting card to assist you in painting this regiment.



Salzburg Infantry Regiment




The Bavarian District supplied a regiment to the Reichsarmee during the Seven Years' War. This regiment's book strength consisted of 2 battalions, including 1 grenadier company and 2 battalion guns for an initial total of 1,170 men. There were contingents from the Bishopric of Salzburg, from Regensburg and Passau. Some of the contributions were tiny – for example Niedermunster Abbey contributed 8 men. Each company supplied a flag so there was a wide variety and these four samples are shown on Kronoskaf.



Figures are from Front Rank and make a pleasant change.

Wednesday 7 November 2018

18mm Swedish Cavalry Södra Skånska Horse





Eureka figures for my Swedish-Danish War project.

Bayreuth Cuirassiers





The District (Kreis) of Franconia supplied a cuirassier regiment to the Reichsarmee during the Seven Years' War. The regiment consisted of 5 squadrons (each of 2 companies) for a total of 666 men. It was formed from troops contributed by 23 distinct contingents and had rather an uninspiring reputation despite it looking very Prussian.