Prussian 28mm SYW: 21/27 Grenadiers Lengefeld

Grenadiers from regiments 21 and 27. My previous comments apply again and this regiment was temporarily converged with other converged grenadier battalions on at least three other occasions – after the battles of Moys, again in 1760 and 1761.

Prussian 28mm SYW: 5/20 Grenadiers Jung-Billerbeck

Grenadiers from regiments 5 and 20. Normally these convergences lasted the duration of the war but, on a number of occasions, strengths fell so low that they were converged with other grenadier battalions until their strengths were restored at which point they were separated again. Take this regiment as an example. After the battle of Kunserdorf, where losses were about 300 men, the battalion was converged with 7/30 Grenadiers to form a single battalion with 4 different facings. Between the battles Kunersdorf and Torgau, a period of just over a year, one assumes that new recruits filled 5/20 and it returned to independent existence. But at Torgau it again suffered heavily and after that battle was converged with Grenadiers 1/23.

Prussian 28mm SYW: IR32 Tresckow

This regiment was raised in 1743 and drew it's recruits largely from newly-conquered Silesia. It was present at the battles of Prague, Moys (where its had very heavy losses, over 50%), Kay (50% losses), Kunersdorf and both battalions were captured when Schweidnitz was seized by Loudon.

My view is that these later raised regiments, which had plainer uniforms, were given flashier flags as some form of 'compensation' and probably because colour combinations were running out.

Prussian 28mm SYW: IR28 Hautcharmoy

This regiment was raised in 1723 as a fusilier regiment and converted to musketeers in 1741. It's colonel was killed at the battle of Prague and does not appear to have been held in high regard by Fredrick who assigned it to his brother's corps in Saxony. This is the penultimate unit I have painted in this batch of Prussian reinforcements. Next week the last regiment followed by some grenadiers and artillery.

Prussian 28mm SYW: IR27 Alt Kleist

Another hard fighting Prussian Regiment although it is hard to find a regiment that had an easy time in the SYW. This one took part to the battle of Lobosit where it was assigned to the brigade of major-general Zastrow in Kleist's Division. During this battle, the regiment saw intense fighting and lost 13 officers (including its colonel) and 277 men. For their conduct in this battle, all captains of the regiment received the “Pour le Mérite”.

In the battle of Breslau it lost 13 officers and 687 men and at Zorndorf 12 officers and 623 men. Like many other regiments maybe only 5-10% of its original strength were still in the ranks by the end of the war, it have been refilled with 'recruits' many times over.

Prussian 28mm SYW: IR21 Hülsen

This regiment was raised in 1713 in Halberstadt. Prior to the battle of Kolin it seems to have had minor losses but at that battle, 11 officers were killed and 16 captured while 500 soldiers were killed, 200 wounded and 250 captured. Then on August 12 1759, the regiment fought in the battle of Kunersdorf where it was deployed in the first line of the right centre as part of Thile's Brigade. In this bloody battle, the regiment lost more than 700 men killed or wounded. One battalion of the regiment was at the bloody battle of Torgau but it served in Zieten's corps so losses were light.

The colour of the flags is a most unusual shade of red which Kronoskaf calls 'purple-red'.

Prussian 28mm SYW: IR31 Lestwitz

This was a very hard-fighting regiment and according to Kronoskaf: “In 1757, the regiment took part to the invasion of Bohemia. On May 6 1757, it was at the Battle of Prague where it was deployed in the first line in Hautcharmoy's Brigade. It suffered heavily in this battle, losing about 33% of its total strength. On September 7, when an Austrian force under the command of General Nádasdy attacked Winterfeldt's isolated corps in the Combat of Moys, the regiment was deployed in the first line of the centre under Major-Generals Wied and Kannacher. On November 22, the regiment took part in the Battle of Breslau where it was deployed in Prince Carl von Bevern's Brigade, in the first line of the infantry centre. It lost 3 officers and 474 men in this battle. After the surrender of Breslau, the remnants of the regiment dispersed.”

Of course the regiment was re-raised and then it lost a further 431 men in the Battle of Kunnersdorf.