Good news! It’s time for more Reichsarmee units! 🙂
Upper Rhine District (Oberrheinischen Kreis)
The Imperial Circle of the Upper Rhine was one of the weakest contingents in the Reichsarmee, having only the ‘Hessen-Darmstädt’ (‘Prinz Georg’) Infantry Regiment (1 bn), the ‘Nassau-Weiburg’ Infantry Regiment (2 bns), the ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Infantry Regiment (3 bns) and a small district artillery corps. They were also a very mixed bag, with Marshal Soubise rating those regiments respectively as ‘Excellent’, ‘Average’ and ‘Poor’. The Hessen-Darmstädt Regiment (which I covered in Part 2) really was superb, frequently being the only unit left mounting a dogged fighting withdrawal. The ‘Nassau-Weiburg’ Regiment spent the entire war on garrison duty, so they will be one of the few units I’m not going to paint. The ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment however, turned up at a number of engagements so needed painting.
Above: The ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment was actually titled ‘Ysenburg’ until 1757 and does sometimes appear listed as such after that date. It was also occasionally listed by the full title of its inhaber, ‘Prinz Friedrich Pfalzgraf (‘Count Palatine’) von Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld’. The regiment theoretically consisted of 18 companies (raised from 33 county contingents), organised into three battalions and a 3pdr artillery detachment (no grenadiers), for a total strength of 1,473 men. In August 1757 the regiment reported 1,346 men fit for service, but by November that had fallen to 808, despite fighting no battles (the regiment had been absent from Rossbach)!
Another curiosity is that whenever the regiment appears on an order of battle (such as at Strehla), it only shows as two battalions. Perhaps one battalion was left in garrison, or as a depot, or guarding the baggage train, or perhaps the three battalions were combined into two due to their low strength? With this in mind, I decided to represent the regiment as two 12-figure battalions.
Pfalz-Zweibrücken IR (Becher)
Above: Yet again, there are some differences of opinion regarding the uniform of the ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment. I’ve followed the version put forward by Knötel and Kronoskaf. This has red lapels, tail-turnbacks, Prussian-style cuffs and tail-turnbacks, with brass buttons and white buttonhole-lace (three pairs of lace bars on each lapel and a pair on the flap above each cuff). Smallclothes and belts are white. Hats are decorated with white, scalloped lace and red-over-white pompoms. Gaiters are white.
However, Frédéric Aubert has a different take on the uniform, instead showing white metal buttons, bastion-shaped lace loops; arranged 1-2-2-2 from top to bottom on each lapel and three loops on each (Swedish-style) cuff. Gaiters are also black, though it’s possible that this regiment, like many others, had both black and white gaiters; white for parade and/or summer and black for campaign or winter wear. I decided to go with the white gaiters, just to make them look a bit different from other, similarly-dressed units.
The Becher Manuscript shows yet another version of the uniform (inset above), being devoid of lace and having tri-coloured red/white/blue pompoms.
Above: My ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment is comprised of Old Glory 15s Prussian infantry figures, with flags by Maverick Models (resized to 20mm square). Not By Appointment have also recently added a downloadable flag-sheet for the regiment.
Above: The Circle of the Upper Rhine’s district artillery corps provided units to the Reichsreserveartillerie or Imperial Artillery Reserve (which I covered in Part 2) and may also have supplied regimental artillery to the district’s infantry regiments, though information is scarce.
Above: The uniform of the Upper Rhine District Artillery consisted primarily of an iron grey coat with brass buttons and green collar, cuffs and tail-turnbacks. The waistcoat was green, breeches were straw and hat-lace was yellow. I’ve been unable to discover what colour they painted their gun-carriages, so I’ve arbitrarily painted them grey to match the uniform coats.
These are Old Glory 15s Austrian artillery figures.
Swabian District (Schwäbischen Kreis)
In contrast to the Circle of the Upper Rhine, the Circle of Swabia was one of the strongest districts, fielding the ‘Hohenzollern’ Cuirassiers (4 sqns), ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons (2 sqns) a district artillery corps and four infantry regiments; ‘Alt-Württemberg‘ (1 bn*), ‘Baden-Durlach‘ (1 bn*), ‘Baden-Baden‘ (2 bns) and ‘Fürstenberg’/’Rodt‘ (2 bns). I painted cuirassiers during the 1990s and cover them in Part 3, while the infantry were all painted during 2021 and 2022, being covered in Part 2 and Part 4. I therefore had the district artillery and the dragoons left to paint (although the regular Württemberg Army provided some of the artillery and I’ve already got some of those painted as part of my Württemberg Auxiliary Corps).
*The ‘Alt-Württemberg’ and Baden-Durlach’ Regiments each actually had two battalions, but one battalion of each regiment remained on garrison duty for the duration.
Above: I didn’t originally plan to paint the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons, as they were such a tiny and ineffective unit. At full strength they only had 138 men (not including officers) and performed abysmally at Rossbach, even suffering a nasty case of ‘friendly-stab’ from some Austrian hussars, losing their standards in the process! However, from 1759 they were usually brigaded with the Upper Saxon ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons (see below), bringing their combined total strength to 360 men (plus officers), so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and field them as a (bloody awful) combined unit.
Württemberg Dragoons (1st uniform)
Above: The Württemberg Dragoons were initially uniformed very much in Prussian style, with light blue coats, black lapels, collar and cuffs, brass buttons, yellow turnbacks, shoulder-strap, aiguillette and waistcoat and straw breeches (some sources show a straw waistcoat). Horse furniture was light blue, edged yellow worked through with light blue. However, this uniform was VERY similar to those of the Prussian ‘Normann’ Dragoons (DR1) and ‘Herzog von Württemberg’ Dragoons (DR12) and undoubtedly led directly to the abovementioned ‘friendly-stab’ incident!
Clearly learning their lesson from Rossbach, by 1759 the regiment had changed to a distinctly-different dark blue uniform coat. As nice as the earlier uniform looks, I’ll be using them primarily in the post-1759 battles, so I’ve gone for the later uniform. The lapels, collar and cuffs were still black, though these were now edged with yellow lace, worked through with a zig-zag ‘worm’ of black thread. Buttons were still brass and the yellow aiguillette was still worn, though turnbacks were now red and the shoulder-strap was dark blue. Smallclothes were now all straw-coloured and the horse furniture was dark blue, edged white with black ‘worms’. Belts and ammunition pouches were ‘natural leather’, so I’ve gone for a buff shade.
Württemberg Dragoons (2nd uniform)
Above: For the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons I used Old Glory 15s Austrian dragoons. I’ve always loved these figures, as they have stacks of character, lots of different poses and in my opinion are the best figures in the whole Old Glory 15s range. I’ve used them for other Reichsarmee regiments, as well as Saxon Chevauxlégers, though Old Glory 15s cavalry figures were always let down by their mutant horses.
Having now exhausted my stash of Old Glory Austrian Dragoons from the 1990s, these figures were newly-bought from Barry at Timecast and I was very pleased to discover that the sculptor has re-modelled and vastly improved the horses at some point in the intervening 25 years! 🙂
Above: Here are the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons as they’ll appear on the wargames table; grouped with the white-coated ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons (detailed below). The standards of the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons are very well-documented, being very similar to those of the ‘Hohenzollern’ Cuirassiers, though with the central armorial device rotated through 90 degrees (the white cross on black field is shown above the three leopards, whereas on the Cuirassier standards they are side-by-side). The regiment’s Leibstandarte had a white field, though I’ve opted for the yellow Eskadronstandarte. This is another design by Ad Hoc Editions, printed on my own laser-printer..
Above: The Circle of Swabia raised a district artillery corps to provide Swabian infantry regiments with regimental artillery, as well as to reinforce the Reichsreserevartillerie. The Army of the Duchy of Württemberg is also known to have supplied units in order to beef up the district’s artillery strength.
Above: The uniform for the Swabian District Artillery Corps was a dark blue coat with red lapels, cuffs and turnbacks, white metal buttons and blue shoulder-strap. Smallclothes were red and hat-lace was white. For once we actually know the colour of the gun-carriages and these were yellow with black ironwork, reflecting the colours of Swabia’s heraldry.
These are Old Glory 15s Austrian artillery figures with a Eureka Miniatures Austrian 6pdr.
Upper Saxon District (Obersachsischen-Kreis)
The Imperial Circle of Upper Saxony was in 1757, thanks to Prussia’s annexation of the Duchy of Saxony during the previous year, followed by the depredations of marauding Prussian Frei-Infanterie, absolutely destitute and unable to meet its Reichsarmee commitments. It only managed to raise a single infantry regiment of two battalions (the ‘Ernestinisch-Sachsen’ Regiment) and the tiny ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoon Regiment of only two squadrons.
However, Austria assisted Upper Saxony in meeting its commitments by hiring two units from the standing army of the Palatinate (Pfalz); namely the II. Battalion of the Garde zu Fuss Regiment and the Leib-Dragoner-Regiment ‘Kurfürstin’. This can get a little confusing, as Pfalz was officially part of the Imperial Circle of the Kurrhein, so Pfalz troops also appear there.
Above: I originally covered the II. Battalion of the Pfalz Garde zu Fuss Regiment just over a year ago, in Part 4 and I won’t repeat myself here. However, I’ve since re-flagged the battalion with one of Frédéric Aubert’s lovely creations, as shown here. 🙂
Above: As discussed above, the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoon Regiment was a tiny unit of only two squadrons, numbering some 222 men at full strength (not including officers). It wouldn’t normally be worth bothering with, but from 1759 it tended to be grouped with the even smaller ‘Württemberg’ Dragoon Regiment (see above), so I thought I’d model the two regiments as a weak combined unit.
Above: Uniform details for the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons are fairly sparse, but it is known that the regiment wore a white coat with red facings, brass buttons, yellow aiguillettes and yellow hat-lace. Sources are split over whether or not the coat had (red) lapels. I’ve gone with Frédéric’s interpretation, showing no lapels, but red cuffs, collar and shoulder-strap, red waistcoat and pale straw breeches. I’ve also followed Frédéric’s depiction of red horse-furniture with white lace edging, but I do wonder if yellow lace edging would be more in keeping with the button and hat-lace colour?
Above: Musicians’ uniforms are unknown for the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons, but I’ve gone with the style of the Army of the Duchy of Saxony; namely a reverse-coloured coat with button-coloured lace. Once again, the figures are Old Glory 15s Austrian dragoons. Nothing whatsoever is known about the regiment’s standards, so I’ve used Frédéric’s hypothetical regimental standard.
Above: Again, here are the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons grouped with the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons, as they’ll appear on the wargames table.
Above: As discussed above, the Pfalz Leib-Dragoner-Regiment ‘Kurfürstin’ was part of the standing army of Pfalz (The Palatinate), but was hired by Austria to beef up the strength of the Imperial Circle of Upper Saxony. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to in orders of battle and accounts as the ‘Kurpfalz’ Dragoon Regiment, as a ‘Kreis-Regiment’ or as a regiment of the Circle of the Kurrhein. It was none of those things.
Above: At the start of the Seven Years War the ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons consisted of three squadrons, each of three companies, for a total of 468 men. In 1758, following the Austrian contract, the regiment was expanded to conform to Austrian organisation and now consisted of five squadrons, each of two companies, for a total of 800 men. As such, it was the Reichsarmee’s strongest cavalry regiment and is represented here as a ‘large’ unit of 16 figures. However, the regiment had an inauspicious start, suffering the loss of 522 men taken prisoner in their first engagement! Nevertheless, the regiment was quickly reconstituted to full strength and served at all of the Reichsarmee’s major engagements.
Pfalz ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons Horse Grenadier Company (Knötel)
Above: The uniform of the ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons consisted of a striking ‘dark’ or ‘brick’ red coat with black lapels and cuffs, red tail-turnbacks and shoulder-strap, brass buttons and yellow aiguillette. Smallclothes were straw-coloured and the horse furniture was red with yellow lace edging. Hats were unlaced, though had a black cockade and blue/white corner-rosettes.
One company was designated as Horse Grenadiers and wore Austrian-style bearskin caps with brass plate and red bag, piped and tasseled yellow. The Horse Grenadier Company was probably normally detached from its parent regiment and massed with other elite companies, in accordance with Austrian practice, but I’ve included them here, as a. they look rather spiffing and b. I had two spare Horse Grenadier figures.
Yet again, these are Old Glory 15s Austrian dragoon figures.
Above: The guidon of the ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons once again comes from one of the superb plates by Frédéric Aubert’s Ad Hoc Editions. I’ve used the white Leibguidon, though I was very tempted to use the red Eskadronguidon.
Anyway, that’s it for now. More to come…
In the unlikely event that there is still someone reading this who isn’t now sick to the back teeth of all things Reichsarmee, here are some more painted units! 😀 Rest assured that they’re all finished now and it’ll soon be over (I finished painting the last Reichsarmee unit last night)…
Above: However, before I look at the newly-painted units, here are some cavalry units I painted last year. As discussed in 
Above: The only sources for the uniforms of the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment are a plate from the 
Above: To add just a little confusion, the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment is also sometimes referred to as the ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment, due to initially having Johann Georg Baron von und zu Wildenstein as its Colonel and can also be confused with the pre-war Mainz ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment or even the Kurköln ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment, which had a different member of the Wildenstein clan as its Colonel! Wildenstein didn’t stay with the regiment for very long, as he was promoted in 1757 to Generallieutenant and placed in command of the entire Kurrhein contingent. As shown in 
Above: Pfalz or ‘The Palatinate’ possessed by far the most powerful standing army of the Kurrhein, consisting of nine infantry regiments (each of two battalions), a cuirassier regiment, a dragoon regiment and a permanent squadron of cavalry for Imperial service, plus the usual artillery corps and company of horse guards. However, Pfalz was only required to provide a single infantry regiment of two battalions, a regiment of cavalry and a small artillery contingent to the Reichsarmee. The Elector-Palatine had some other deals on the side; he had a contract to provide France with an Auxiliary Corps of ten battalions, Austria paid for the use of a single battalion of the Pfalz Garde zu Fuss and also later hired a regiment of dragoons.
Above: As part of its contribution to the Reichsarmee, Pfalz assigned one of its regular infantry regiments, namely the 
Above: As mentioned above, the Pfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment had a detachment of battalion guns assigned from the Pfalz Artillery Corps. Curiously though, each battalion only had a single gun assigned at the start of the war (more may have been assigned later), while the battalions of the Pfalz Auxiliary Corps assigned to the French had double that number. It’s possible that Pfalz gunners were also assigned to the Reichsreserveartillerie.
Above: The uniform worn by Pfalz artillerymen was generally dark blue in colour, including the tail-turnbacks and smallclothes. Cuffs and shoulder-straps were red and buttons were brass. Pengel & Hurt and Frédéric Aubert suggest red lapels, but I’ve gone for the plainer look. Hat-lace was yellow; Kronoskaf shows this as straight lace tape, but Frédéric shows this as scalloped and I’m inclined to agree, as the Pfalz infantry regiments had scalloped hat-lace as standard. I was able to discover absolutely nothing about the colour of Pfalz gun-carriages, so went with their main heraldic colour of light blue.
Above: Each Kurköln infantry regiment consisted of a single battalion of six Fusilier companies, a single (detached) Grenadier company and a battalion gun detachment of two 4pdr guns, for a theoretical total of 820 men. However, the recorded strength of Leib-Regiment ‘Nothaft’ throughout the war ranged from 373 to 711 men, while the ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment varied between 585 and 714 men. They were reported as being constantly under-strength, badly-equipped and in a poor state of morale. I’ve therefore done them as ‘normal’ sized (12-figure) units for 
Above: I needed some more gunners for my Kurrhein contingent, due to several contingents (most noticeably Mainz) having no known uniform. However, Frédéric came to the rescue again, with the uniform of the ‘
Above: According to Frédéric, the Kurtrier Artillery wore a dark blue coat with red cuffs, no lapels and dark blue shoulder-straps, dark blue tail-turnbacks and brass buttons. Smallclothes were red. Hat-lace was white, cockade was black and pompoms were red. However, I’ve just realised that the hat-lace should be scalloped and I’ve done it straight! Aargh! Back to the painting-table…
As mentioned in recent posts, I’ve been steadily working toward completing the Reichsarmee and last week I finally had enough finished to field all the Reichsarmee units present at the 
Above: The battlefield as seen from the south (the same orientation as the map above). Although it’s not that obvious in the photos, the first contour of the larger hills is actually formed by a layer of polystyrene placed under the terrain-cloth. The second contours of the Dürren-Berg and Otten-Berg were then placed on top of the cloth. I decided to leave off the very small ring-contours of the Liebschützer-Berg, Sittel-Berg and Latten-Berg.
Above: The view from the western edge of the battlefield, with the Austro-Imperial flanking columns in the foreground, aiming to assault the Prussian outpost on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: The view from the eastern edge of the battlefield. This flank of the battlefield was anchored on the wide River Elbe and the large riverside town of Strehla.
Above: Zedtwitz’s Austro-Imperial cavalry division forms the right flank of Zweibrücken’s Main Corps, comprising two Austrian and two Imperial cuirassier regiments. However, while this deployment made good sense during the approach-march, they’re now stuck facing Strehla and the entrenchments, with the Elbe blocking any attempt at a flanking move. The very first order transmitted by Zweibrücken during the game would be to order Zedwitz to move his cavalry to the centre.
Above: Zweibrücken’s Main Corps consists of seventeen Reichsarmee battalions and five Imperial auxiliary battalions. While they do look pretty, they are mostly bloody awful! Two batteries from the Reichsreserveartillerie have deployed in front of the army, but they are heavily out-gunned by Hülsen’s Prussians, who have 36 heavy guns (six batteries in game terms)!
Above: On Zweibrücken’s left, Guasco’s Grenadier Corps has deployed onto the Otten-Berg feature and is meant to be launching an assault on Clanzschwitz and the Dürren-Berg beyond. However, he has deployed his guns and seems content to wait while the gunners do their work.
Above: The crest of the Otten-Berg was fortified during the previous century by Gustavus Adolphus’ Swedish Army. However, the old earthworks were not occupied by the Prussians and will play no part in this battle.
Above: Guasco’s Grenadier Corps includes a dazzling array of colours, including as it does, grenadier companies from 24 different regiments; most in bearskin caps, but some wearing Prussian-style mitre caps. Historically these were organised into six four-company ad hoc grenadier battalions, but as these were very weak, I’ve rationalised this into four battalions for game purposes; one Austrian and three Imperial. Guasco’s Corps also includes the Austrian Pallavicini (2 bns) and Sachsen-Gotha (1 bn) Infantry Regiments, the Imperial Hohenzollern Cuirassiers (with some attached Austrian elite Carabinier and Horse Grenadier companies) and a detachment from the Reichsreserveartillerie. However, it’s just occurred to me while looking at this photo that I completely forgot to deploy the battalion of the Sachsen-Gotha Regiment on the table! 🙂
Above: On the western edge of the battlefield, the Prince of Würzburg’s Reserve Infantry Division is deploying onto the Liebschützer-Berg feature, above the hamlet of Liebschütz. Würzburg has the Austrian Luzan and Macquire Regiments (1 bn apiece), another Austrian grenadier battalion and the Imperial Kurtrier (1 bn) and Pfalz-Zweibrücken (2 bns) Regiments. However Würzburg, like Guasco, has opted to halt his infantry while his gunners (limited to just a few battalion guns) soften up the Prussians on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: On Würzburg’s left, Kleefeld’s Auxiliary Corps is made of sterner stuff. Kleefeld had the Imperial Blau-Würzburg Regiment (2 bns), two Grenzer battalions and a weak grenadier battalion under his command. His mission is to circumvent the Dürren-Berg position via the Laas woods and attack the Prussians from the rear.
Above: On the extreme left flank, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen, Colonel of the Austrian Pfalz-Zweibrücken Chevauxléger Regiment, has been tasked with cutting off the Prussian lines of retreat. For this task he has his own regiment, reinforced by the Austrian Baranyay Hussars and the Pfalz Kurfürstin Dragoon Regiment.
Above: So to the Prussian side of the battlefield: At Strehla the southern end of the town is prepared for defence and occupied by the Wunsch Frei-Infanterie. The Manstein Grenadier Battalion meanwhile, has occupied the hamlet of Klein-Rügeln, supported by battalion guns. The Wunsch Frei-Infanterie Jäger Detachment, the Prussian Feldjäger-zu-Fuss and elements of the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusiliers are deployed as picquets along the stream-bank.
Above: The bulk of Hülsen’s Prussians (9 battalions) are dug in behind a strong line of entrenchments on the high ground just to the west of Strehla. This position was built by Prince Henry’s of Prussia’s corps during the previous year’s campaign.
Above: The main Prussian position is very strong in heavy artillery and will be a very tough nut for the Imperial troops to crack.
Above: Another view of the Prussian entrenchments. I must say that I’m really pleased with how the refurbished entrenchment models look! 🙂
Above: The Prussian regular cavalry forms up to the west of the earthworks. This consists of the Kleist (or ‘Green’) Hussars (HR 1) and the Schorlemmer (or ‘Porcellain’) Dragoons (DR 6). Both regiments had ten squadrons apiece, so were very large and are represented by two tactical battalions (only two Prussian dragoon regiments had ten squadrons; most had five squadrons). Dragoon squadrons were around one-third stronger than hussar squadrons, so the dragoon battalions are large 16-figure units. However, I don’t yet have one of the two large dragoon regiments painted, so I’ve used two different regiments to represent the Schorlemmer Dragoons.
Above: To the rear of the regular cavalry regiments are two embryonic regiments of Kleist’s new Freikorps; the Dragoons in green coats and bearskin caps and the Hussars, in their nausea-inducing uniform of orange-red and vomit-green. These are the two most recently-raised units in the army and are the most recently-painted units on the table… They’re doomed…
Above: Out on the far Prussian right flank, Generalmajor von Braun has reinforced his detachment atop the ancient hill-fort of the Dürren-Berg with several battalions and a detachment of 12pdr heavy artillery, in response to the detected Imperial flank-march.
Above: In front of the Dürren-Berg, the hamlet of Clanzschwitz has been occupied by the Lossow Grenadier Battalion (IV. Standing Grenadier Battalion) and prepared for defence. On the high ground behind the village, the 12pdr battery, protected by the Lubath Grenadier Battalion (GB 7/30), is positioned to engage Guasco’s Imperial Grenadier Corps on the Otten-Berg.
Above: The view from the top of the Dürren-Berg. From right to left, the position is occupied by the two battalions of the Braunschweig-Bevern Infantry Regiment (IR 7), the Beyer Grenadier Battalion (GB 11/14) and the I. Battalion of the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusilier Regiment (IR 55). After this photo was taken, Braun pulled the 12pdr detachment up to the top of the hill (facing west) and placed the Lubath Grenadiers at right-angles on the right of the line, essentially forming three sides of a square. Braun was later to regret not pulling the Lossow Grenadiers in from Clanzschwitz…
Above: General von Hülsen and his staff wait for the enemy to make their next move. Observing nearby is the ever-present correspondent for the Times of London, Sir Aiden Catey, who has survived numerous cavalry charges, ‘accidental’ bounce-throughs and blatant assassination attempts over the years.
Above: In front of Sir Aiden, a Prussian field-postman accuses a cavalry Flügeladjutant of ‘looking at him in a funny way’.
Above: In the meantime, most of the Austro-Imperial commanders on the left wing had opened their packets of orders, turned to their aides and said “Ficken das für ein spiel auf soldaten!”
Above: As Kleefeld’s Grenzer begin to make a nuisance of themselves on the north side of the Dürren-Berg position, the 12pdr battery (in the foreground) opens up on the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment (IR 33). The Austrian battalion gunners return fire, cutting down some of the Prussian gunners, but the Prussians slew their heavy guns around and load canister, quickly annihilating the impertinent Austrian guns.
Above: On the other side of the Laas Wood, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen leads the Austro-Imperial cavalry forward against the Kleist Freikorps. He orders the Baranyay Hussars to fall back to the second line and the red-coated Imperial Kurfürstin Dragoons (another freshly-painted regiment!) to take their place on the left flank.
Above: Kleist meanwhile, has turned his regular cavalry around and they are now riding to assist the Freikorps. However, the enemy cavalry will get there first!
Above: Nassau-Usingen wastes no time in launching his charge! His own regiment, the blue-coated Zweibrücken Chevauxlégers (ChR 39) charge the green-coated Kleist Freikorps Dragoons with the Baranyay Hussars in support. The Kurfürstin Dragoons meanwhile, hit the Kleist Freikorps Hussars.
Above: Despite having a slight advantage, the initial clash goes badly for the Austro-Imperial cavalry and both leading regiments are beaten off, though with only light casualties. Sensing victory, the Kleist Freikorps follow through, launching a charge on the Baranyay Hussars. However, the Hungarian horsemen prove to be made of stronger stuff and having been unfazed by their retreating comrades, succeed in beating off the impetuous Freikorps cavalry, who fall back over the stream. However, with large numbers of Prussian cavalry bearing down on them, the Baranyay Hussars wisely decide to fall back to rally near Laas, where their comrades will (hopefully) be rallying.
Above: However, disaster strikes as both Austro-Imperial dragoon regiments fail to rally from their retreat and suddenly discover that they have urgent business to attend to in the rear! Despite the loss of over two thirds of his command, Nassau-Usingen manages to keep control of the Baranyay Hussars who despite the appalling odds, prepare to charge again. On the Prussian side the Kleist Freikorps Dragoons managed to rally, but the hussars (being the most recently-painted) headed for the hills.
Above: At Liebschützen meanwhile, new orders arrive for the Prince of Würzburg. Zweibrücken is this time taking no chances and has sent both of his ADCs!
Above: Honour (and the rules…) demands that Nassau-Usingen has no choice but to comply with his orders and therefore leads the Baranyay Hussars once more into the fight. They are met by the Prussian Kleist Hussars who, despite some sniping from Grenzer in the woods, manage to comprehensively defeat the gallant Hungarians.
Above: This time Nassau-Usingen is unable to prevent a rout and his entire command quits the field.
Above: Despite the success of Kleist’s cavalry, the situation for Braun’s infantry atop the Dürren-Berg is deteriorating. On the edge of the woods, the Lubath Grenadiers are getting the worst of a firefight with the 1st Battalion of the Imperial Blau-Würzburg Regiment and Kleefeld’s grenadier battalion (formed from the grenadier companies of Blau-Würzburg and the Grenzer). Braun sent the Hauss Fusiliers across to reinforce the firefight, but they immediately suffered heavy casualties from the Grenzer, who also managed to finish off a section of Prussian battalion guns. With things starting to look dicey on the right flank, Braun orders the Beyer Grenadiers on the left flank to turn about and be prepared to stabilise the situation on the right.
Above: Würzburg’s Reserve Infantry Division finally advances past the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy (on the left). The Prussian 12pdrs on the Dürren-Berg have inflicted massive casualties on the Hungarians and have knocked out another Imperial battalion gun section, but the Prussian 12pdrs have finally been silenced by the combined fire of the 1st Banal Grenzer and the remaining Austrian battalion guns. The loss of the 12pdr battery is a massive blow to Braun.
Above: With the defeat of the Austro-Imperial cavalry, Kleist considers leading his cavalry in a wide ride around the woods, to overrun the Imperial left flank. However, this request is vetoed by Hülsen, who orders the incredulous Kleist to resume his defensive posture in the centre. While his hussars rally following their combat (all the while being sniped by Grenzer), the dragoons turn about to resume their former positions.
Above: The reason for Hülsen’s caution soon becomes apparent; Zedwitz’s Austro-Imperial cuirassier brigade have arrived in the centre, having marched from their former position on the right flank. To add to Kleist’s problems, the Schorlemmer Dragoons are reporting that they are suffering a constant trickle of casualties from the Imperial heavy guns at Zausswitz. However, the Imperial infantry are also getting a pasting from long-range Prussian heavy artillery fire.
Above: As Würzburg’s division advances, the jaws start to close on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: Even though the situation is turning in their favour, Kleefeld and Würzburg still need Guasco’s Grenadier Corps to join them in crushing the Prussian position. But where are they?!
Above: Guasco has spent all this time stationary on the Otten-Berg, observing the fall of shot as his artillery hammers the Prussian Lossow Grenadiers in Clanzschwitz. However, Guasco’s two right-hand grenadier battalions have been suffering heavy losses from long-range Prussian artillery fire. But as it happens, an ADC has just arrived at Guasco’s headquarters, demanding that the Grenadier Corps advance at once on the Dürren-Berg!
Above: It’s entirely possible that the battle for the Dürren-Berg may well be over long before Guasco’s grenadiers arrive! The Austrians are moving into position for a massive, coordinated charge, but for now seem content to trade volleys. However, they don’t have it all their own way, as the 1st Battalion of the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment is broken by fire from the 1st Battalion of the Braunschweig-Bevern Regiment.
Above: At Clanzschwitz, the Lubath Grenadiers, having suffered heavy losses from Guasco’s artillery, make a break for it and attempt to march to Braun’s aid. However, Würzburg spots the move and sends his grenadiers and remaining battalion guns to interdict their march.
Above: At long last, Guasco’s division starts to move forward. Having driven the Prussian grenadiers out of Clanzschwitz, Guasco’s artillery switches its fire to the Dürren-Berg.
Above: The situation for Braun’s Prussians on the Dürren-Berg is grim. On the right flank, the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusiliers, under intense pressure from the Grenzer in the woods, perhaps unsurprisingly, break and run. Rather more alarmingly, the 2nd Battalion of the Braunschweig-Bevern Regiment, ordinarily a good, solid unit, were holding their own against the Austrian Macquire Regiment to their front despite losses caused by ‘overs’ from the earlier artillery duel. However, the sudden storm of shot from Guasco’s artillery finally breaks them. The Beyer Grenadiers wheel into line on the left flank to hold the line, but the sudden loss of two battalions (on top of the previous loss of two artillery units) demoralises Braun’s command.
Above: Another view of Die Kleine Rund-Spitze. In the background, Kleist’s cavalry are returning to their original positions, but are being battered by Imperial heavy guns and Grenzer. But where is the Imperial cavalry threat…?
Above: Kleist curses foully in Low German, as it soon becomes apparent that the enemy cuirassiers are content to sit and wait for the artillery and Grenzer to soften up the Prussian cavalry!
Above: As expected, the main Prussian position remains completely un-engaged. It would be suicide for a good army to mount a frontal assault on these earthworks, let alone a poor-quality one like the Reichsarmee! The Prussian heavy guns have done some damage to the Imperial lines, but nowhere near enough. In the meantime, the Manstein Grenadiers, garrisoning the outlying fortified village of Klein-Rügeln, have been taking a pasting from Imperial guns.
Above: At last the Imperial infantry begin to move. The Imperial Right Wing has formed columns to the right (indicated by the MDF arrows) and is marching off to the flank, over the Reussen-Berg. Although they’ve attracted a lot of long-range gunnery, only one unit, the 4th Battalion of the Kurmainz Regiment, has been broken by the artillery and casualties are otherwise light.
Above: Two excellent units lead the columns; the Hessen-Darmstädt Regiment (single-battalion regiment with Swiss-style flag) leads the 1st Line, the remained of which is formed by theKurmainz Regiment. The 2nd Battalion of the Pfalz Garde-Regiment zu Fuss (blue flag) leads the 2nd Line, followed by the two battalions of the Pfalz Effern Regiment and two single-battalion Köln regiments; Nothaft (Leib) and Wildenstein.
Above: The Imperial Left Wing remains stationary for the time being. The 1st Line is formed from the three battalions of the Kurbayern Regiment (nearest the camera), then the 1st Battalion of the Swabian Alt-Württemberg Regiment and the two battalions of the Rot-Würzburg Regiment. The 2nd Line is formed from two battalions each of the Swabian Rodt Regiment, the Swabian Baden-Baden Regiment and the Mainz Lamberg Regiment.
Above: Back at the Dürren-Berg, Würzburg and Kleefeld, increasingly frustrated at the dogged resistance shown by Braun’s Prussian infantry, order a general assault. On the left, the 1st Battalion of the Blau-Würzburg Regiment charge out of the woods, but are stopped dead at the wood’s edge by the fire of the Lubath Grenadiers. The pattern is repeated all along the line, as the surviving battalion of the Bevern Regiment halts the charge of the surviving Hungarian battalion and the Beyer Grenadiers throw back the Luzan Regiment. On the right of the Austrian line, the Macquire Regiment look certain to capture the last detachment of Prussian battalion guns, but they are frustrated by the Lossow Grenadiers, firing in support of the gunners.
Above: However, Prussian jubilation is short-lived, as the supporting Austrian battalion gunners soon destroy the Lossow Grenadiers with point-blank canister fire! The vengeful Macquire Regiment soon overruns the Prussian guns and wheels left to turn the Prussian flank. A battalion of the Imperial Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment reinforces this success. The rest of the Austro-Imperial line charges again without success, but with their flank turned, the Prussians are now doomed.
Above: With his position collapsing, Braun looks behind him, hoping to see salvation in the form of Kleist’s cavalry… However, Kleist has his own problems. His dragoons have suffered heavy losses from Imperial artillery fire while attempting to hold the centre, while his hussars have also suffered losses thanks to stray rounds bouncing through the dragoon lines and the ever-present Grenzer sniping from the woods. Kleist judges that Braun is doomed and that the army will now have to retreat. Hülsen will need Kleist’s cavalry to screen that retreat, so it would be folly to waste them now on a doomed charge.
Above: However, Kleist’s assessment is correct… The Austrian and imperial infantry charge for third time and once again receive withering fire from the Prussian defenders as they climb the slopes of the Dürren-Berg. The 1st Battalion of the Blau-Würzburg Regiment this time is completely broken by the fire of the Lubath Grenadiers and they are soon followed by the 2nd Battalion of the Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment, who have dashed themselves to pieces against the indomitable 1st Battalion of the Bevern Regiment! The Italians of the Austrian Luzan Regiment are halted once again by the Beyer Grenadiers.
Above: However, despite having destroyed the enemy to their front, the Lubath Grenadiers are surprised to find themselves suddenly attacked from the rear by the Macquire Regiment, who have charged over the crest of the Dürren-Berg! There is little quarter for the grenadiers as they are completely destroyed. The Beyer Grenadiers meanwhile, are charged in the flank by the Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment and are similarly annihilated. The Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment has the dubious honour of being judged the worst regiment in the Reichsarmee, but every dog has his day…
Above: With the Prussian cavalry retiring, the Grenzer keep on the pressure.
Above: “Weglaufen!” Thankfully for Kleist, ADCs arrive from Hülsen, telling him to do exactly what he’s already doing… Kleist ensures he gets his orders in writing and deposits them safely in his sabretache for future Courts-Martial…
Above: At last, the Imperial Left Wing, plus Zedtwitz’s cuirassiers, begin to advance past Zausswitz.
Above: The Imperial Right Wing continues its march out to the right flank. Zweibrücken has assessed that the town of Strehla is the weak-point in the Prussian line; it’s only lightly-defended and although fortified, doesn’t have anything like the concentration of artillery that the main line possesses.
Above: The Imperial artillery meanwhile, has massively reduced the defences of Klein-Rügeln (represented by the half-timbered house forward of the main Prussian line). The garrison, consisting of the Manstein Grenadiers are on the verge of breaking and their supporting battalion guns have been silenced.
Above: All that stands between the Imperial infantry and the town is a single battalion of the Wunsch Frei-Infanterie-Regiment and a few companies of Jäger. If they can take the town, the entire Prussian line will be severely compromised.
Above: However, with the fall of the Dürren-Berg, Hülsen has already accepted defeat and with Kleist’s cavalry largely still intact, his army should be able to disengage and withdraw unmolested to the next defensive position at Wittenberg.
Above: An overall view of the final situation. All-in-all a total balls-up by the Prussians… As is patently obvious, I should have been FAR more aggressive with Kleist’s cavalry and give them orders to attack on the right; either from the outset, or as soon as Hülsen could get an ADC to them, once the Austrian flanking cavalry had been defeated. Instead I allowed myself to be distracted by the Imperial cuirassier division, which to be honest, had no chance of making it through the storm of 12pdr shot that would have been heading their way, had they advanced!
I actually painted these a few months ago, over Christmas and New Year, in preparation for our January 
Above: HR 4 had a number of other unofficial nicknames, including Bählämmer (‘Bleating Lambs’), due to their distinctive white pelisse jackets. It must therefore have come as relief to later be referred to as Wölfe im Schafspelz (‘Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing’) or simply Wölfe (‘Wolves’) thanks to their impressive fighting reputation.
Above: The reason these are very large 24-figure units, as opposed to my usual 12 or 16 figures, is that most Prussian hussar regiments were very large, comprising ten squadrons apiece. Each hussar squadron started the war with around 115 men, though this number was increased during the war, varying by regiment. In 1759 the Puttkamer Hussars were recorded as having around 145 men per squadron. Most hussar squadrons were around the same strength, though the squadrons of HR 5 and HR 7 attached to Ferdinand of Brunswick’s Western Allied Army were around 25% stronger. Dragoon and cuirassier squadrons were routinely around 25% stronger than hussar squadrons. Tactically, these large regiments usually operated as two five-squadron battalions which would usually be grouped together, though could operate completely independently.
Above: The uniform of HR 4 consisted of a light blue dolman jacket, decorated with mixed light blue & white lace and braid and white metal buttons. Collar and cuffs were the same colour as the dolman. Sources disagree as to whether the barrel-sash was red & white or light blue & white. Breeches were buff and were worn with light blue charivari leggings edged with mixed light blue & white lace. The pelisse was white, edged with white fur and decorated with more mixed light blue & white braid and white metal buttons. Headgear was a plain black mirliton cap, dressed with white cords and a white tassel at the end of the ‘wing’. The sabretache was white, edged light blue and with the royal ‘FR’ cypher in light blue. The carbine cross-belt was white, while the sabre-scabbard and sabretache were suspended from red leather belts. The shabraque was white, edged with light blue vandycking.
Above: Officers of HR 4 had silver buttons and lace, as well as a silver lace ‘frame’ around the breast-braiding, silver edging to the ‘wing’ of the mirliton cap, silver cap-cords, a silver barrel-sash and silver edging to the vandycking on the shabraque. Officers also had a different pattern of sabretache, being light blue with a white or silver zig-zagged edge and a white shield bearing a black eagle, with a gold crown above. Officers also had a light blue rosette on the front of the mirliton and black fur edging to the shabraque. NCOs wore much the same uniform as the rank-and-file, though with the light blue rosette and mixed black & white cords on the mirliton and silver laced edging to the cuffs. Trumpeters had lace shoulder-wings and white lace edging to the ‘wing’ of the cap, as well as a white plume (Bleckwenn shows light blue threads mixed into the white plume).
Above: Like most other Prussian hussar regiments, HR 6 had ten squadrons and like HR 4 was recorded in 1759 as having around 145 men per squadron. I’ve therefore represented the regiment as 24 figures, grouped tactically into two 12-figure battalions.
Above: The uniform of HR 6 comprised a brown dolman with yellow collar, cuffs, lace and braid with brass buttons, brown charivari edged yellow and a brown pelisse with white fur edging, yellow braid and brass buttons. Breeches were buff. The headgear was a plain black mirliton cap with white cords and a white tassel at the end of the wing. Belts were same as those for HR 4. The sabretache was brown with yellow lace edging and the ‘FR’ cypher in yellow.
Above: Officers of HR 6 had gold lace and braid in lieu of yellow, including a scalloped gold lace ‘frame’ around the breast-braid. Cap-cords were gold and the ‘wing’ was edged and tasselled in gold. Barrel-sash was silver. The officers’ pattern sabretache was brown with yellow vandycking around the edge and a central white shield with black eagle and gold crown above. Another version shows gold wreaths instead of the yellow vandycking. NCOs had the same uniform as the rank-and-file, though with gold lace around the cuffs of the pelisse, mixed black & white cap-cords and a yellow rosette on the front of the cap. Trumpeters had mixed white & yellow lace and braid, lace shoulder-wings, gold cap-cords, gold lace edging to the ‘wing’ and a yellow plume with black threads mixed in.
Above: When Werner was promoted to Generalmajor in 1758, he adopted a tricorn hat decorated with a black cockade and edged with gold lace and white ostrich feathers. He also adopted a red shabraque with rounded corners, silver lace edging and silver ‘scalloping’. The whole ensemble is shown on the right.
Above: After painting HR 6, I vowed I would never paint another hussar… However, I have all the breaking-strain of wet tissue-paper and as mentioned above, I’ve been painting elements of Kleist’s Freikorps for tomorrow’s Strehla game, including Kleist himself and half of the Kleist Freikorps Hussar Regiment. I’ll cover these fellas in detail in a future article, but I couldn’t resist showing them off! 🙂 They were also sometimes known as the ‘Jung-Kleist’ Hussars, to avoid confusion with the regular ‘Kleist’ Hussar Regiment (HR 1), who also happened to have Kleist as their Chef!
Above: The Kleist Freikorps Hussars had possible the most GOPPING uniform of the Prussian Army, being a combination of orangey-red and yellow-green… They should certainly stand out on the table! Galloping alongside is ‘Green’ Kleist himself, who wears the two-tone green uniform of HR 1.
The Scenario
Terrain Notes
Deployment
Prussian Corps of Generallieutenant Johann Dietrich von Hülsen
Above: I profiled the 
Above: If you’re looking for a source of free SYW flags to print yourself, 
Above: Another Imperial auxiliary regiment to recently get a new flag is the II. Battalion of the Pfalz (i.e. the Palatinate) 
Above: This new flag comes from the superb range of uniform plates and flags designed by Frédéric Aubert of 
Above: And so to the new regiments, starting with the 
Above: After Rossbach, the Blau-Würzburg Regiment continued to serve with the Reichsarmee, consistently maintaining its reputation as a solid regiment when so many other regiments failed in their duties. In 1760 the Rot-Würzburg Regiment (along with Mainz-Lamberg) were also assigned to support the Reichsarmee and so both Würzburg regiments fought at the 
Above: The uniform of the Blau-Würzburg Regiment consisted of Austrian-style white coat and smallclothes, with dark blue lapels, cuffs, linings and shoulder-strap and no collar or lace. Buttons were white metal. Neck-stocks were red. Hats had white lace and pompoms and black cockades. Grenadiers wore bearskins with a blue bag, piped white. Officers had silver hat-lace and yellow sashes. Drummers had the same coat, though with dark blue swallows’-nests at the shoulders.
Above: I must confess that my second ‘new’ regiment, the 
Above: Saxony was very quickly knocked out of the war by Frederick’s invasion of 1756, with the Saxon Army being conscripted en masse into the Prussian Army. However, a number of regiments remained within Saxon-ruled Poland and the King of Saxony placed a number of these under Austrian command, namely the 
Above: On campaign the Carabiniersgarde typically wore a pale straw coller (also called a collet or ledercoller), being a tight-fitting buckskin coat with short tails, very much like the style of coat worn by Austrian and especially Prussian cuirassiers. A red waistcoat was worn beneath the coller. A black-enameled cuirass edged with red cloth, was worn over the coller, being secured at the back with white straps. The coller had red cuffs, pale straw shoulder-straps and a strip of red-white-red lace down the edge of both front-seams, which then continued around the edge of the otherwise pale straw turnbacks.
Following my recent flurry of Napoleonic units (namely the 
Above: I must confess that this first unit was painted quite a bit earlier than December! In June last year we were preparing to do our large refight of the 
Above: The subject of Austrian artillery uniform during the mis-18th Century is an insanely complicated subject, with sources being utterly at odds with each other, describing dark brown, light brown, grey, dark grey, ‘wolf grey’ and even white coats. The majority view however, now seems to be that the uniform was brown, being a much paler, greyish shade of brown than the darker, earth-brown shade used during the Napoleonic Wars and FAR paler than the dark coffee-brown shade used during the mid-19th Century. The shade was known as Rehrbraun or ‘Fawn Brown’. There is also some suggestion that the descriptor ‘Wolf Grey’ does actually mean a light, greyish-brown. I use Humbrol 29 Dark Earth, with quite a lot of white mixed in.
The cuffs were Feuer-rot or ‘Fire Red’, being a bright shade of red. There was no collar or lace, apart from the hat-lace, which was yellow. The shoulder-strap was fawn brown, buttons were yellow metal and the neck-stock was black. Gaiters were black and the powder-flask was suspended from a yellow-black cord worn over the left shoulder, the tassel of which often looked like a fringed epaulette on the shoulder. A triangular black primer-box with a brass plate was worn on the belly and on campaign could have a white linen cover.
Above: In January I realised that despite having painted all that artillery for the Leuthen game, I STILL didn’t have enough guns for our forthcoming Kolin refight! I therefore ordered some Austrian 3/6pdrs from Eureka and in a moment of fuckwittery, ordered some more Austrian gunners, despite still having a gigantic stash of Old Glory figures (in the meantime I’ve used my stash to provide crews for all my Reichsarmee and Schamburg-Lippe guns and I STILL have 17 figures left)! Ah well, the Eureka gunners are lovely figures.
Above: The Austrians always painted their gun-carriages a deep yellow-ochre shade that actually seems to have been more yellow than ochre. Ironwork was painted black. The standard Liechtenstein Pattern guns had polished brass barrels.
Above: My old Austrian army headquarters group was starting to show its age and most worryingly, the horses were starting to break at the ankles. I therefore needed to do a new staff group in time for the Kolin game. These fellas were therefore done at breakneck-speed on the day before the game. They’re all Eureka figures.
Above: Two staff officers discuss what type of biscuits to have in the Mess during Afternoon Tea. The troops at the back are the newly-painted Pfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment; I’ll cover them in detail in a future article.
Above: With the glue under the flock still drying, Feldmarschall Daun establishes his headquarters atop the Przerovsky Hill, during our Kolin refight. The cloaked general is an Old Glory 15s figure painted by me. The two hussar couriers are Old Glory 15s conversions painted many years ago by Gareth Beamish. The Austrian infantry are Lancashire Games figures, again painted by Gareth, with new flags by Fighting 15s, 
Above: For our Leuthen refight I needed a couple of Hungarian generals (Nádasdy and Forgách). I had some spare senior hussar officers/generals in my stash, which I think came out of the Old Glory 15s Austrian Generals pack back in the 90s, when they had 30 mounted figures per pack (nowadays you get nine figures in the pack and I think they’re a random selection from the original 30).
As I was on a roll with the reasonably obscure 
As briefly mentioned during my discussion of my 
Above: As was the case with their grand-dads during the Seven Years War, the artillery arm of the Swedish Army wore what was quite possibly the most boring uniform of the age…
Above: These are most definitely not the best models in the world, but they look the part with their distinctive Swedish round-hats, resplendent with yellow plumes and cockades! 🙂
Above: There is some disagreement regarding the colour of Swedish gun-carriages. during the 18th Century they had traditionally been painted light blue with yellow fittings (whether yellow metal or painted yellow is a matter of debate), though the fittings were painted black by the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
Above: As mentioned above, I decided to go rummaging through the AB figures Lead Dungeon for my General Stedingk. I wanted an officer in a cocked hat with a tall plume and decided to use a spare British officer figure.
I’m happier with his entourage, however. I used two 1806 Prussian cavalry figures; an officer of hussars wearing mirliton and an officer of dragoons.
It seems that the Mörner Hussar Regiment probably deployed to Germany wearing mirlitons, but then transitioned to shakos (or perhaps the mirlitons were retained for full dress?). Much the same thing happened in the infantry, with round-hats in many units apparently being replaced during the campaign by both French-style and Russian-style shakos.
Above: The third figure in the group is painted as an officer of the Skånska Carabinier Regiment. Nafziger and others list this regiment as being present in 1813 (though not at Leipzig), though other source suggest it may have been converted to hussars in 1807. To be honest, I lost the will to live by this point and given the general blue & yellow scheme, he could be an officer of the Swedish general staff (for whom I’ve never found any uniform information), so what the heck… 😉
With over 2,000 unpainted 
The new uniform was very modern in styling, being a dark green double-breasted jacket with short tails, pointed cuffs, plain shoulder-straps and closed collar, dark green long trousers, a shako with plume and cords, a curved steel sabre and scabbard suspended from a white waist-belt and white cross-belts worn over the left shoulder, supporting a black cartridge-pouch and carbine and dark green dragoon-style horse furniture with curved corners and no holster-covers. All regiments had white ‘metal’, a white full-dress plume, green cords, flounders and pompom and an orange and black cockade fixed with a white strap. Sources show both white and yellow metal chinscales. The pouch-plate and cross-belt buckles were brass.
Officers had silver buttons, shoulder-scales, crossbelt, cords, flounders, waist-sash and shabraque-cypher. They also had a black and orange base to the plume and a silver pompom with orange centre, bearing the imperial cypher in gold. As in the rest of the army from 1812 onward, officers were probably permitted to wear white camelhair sashes, cords, etc, in order to reduce personal cost. NCOs had silver lace edging to collar and cuffs, a quartered orange/white pompom and an orange tip to the plume. Trumpeters had extensive white lace decoration on the jacket, plus a red plume.
But which regiment to paint? During the Spring 1813 Campaign, George Nafziger mentions the ‘Lithuania Chasseur à Cheval Regiment’ serving in Lanskoi’s Hussar Division (Trubetzskoi’s Cavalry Reserve) at Lützen, being brigaded with three hussar regiments. At Bautzen the same regiment is listed with the same brigade (then commanded by Paradovsky) and the Tchernigov Regiment had also appeared as part of Pantschuild’s brigade (Prince Eugene of Württemberg’s Russian II Corps).
Given that the ‘Lithuania Regiment’ is listed by Nafziger as being the first to fight at Lützen and also fought at Bautzen, Katzbach and Leipzig, they would be the obvious choice for painting. However, the astute will by now have noticed that there was no Lithuania Mounted Jäger Regiment! Nafziger has clearly confused ‘Livonia’/’Livland’ with ‘Lithuania’. There was no Lithuania Dragoon Regiment, so there could not therefore have been a Lithuania Mounted Jäger Regiment. There was however a Lithuania Horse Regiment, who in 1807 became the Lithuania Uhlan Regiment, but the Lithuania Uhlans are listed elsewhere in 1813 and the Livonia Mounted Jäger Regiment is completely missing from the orders of battle.
First an apology for it being a bit quiet here this last month! I haven’t managed to do any wargaming since our 
Above: Smallwood’s Maryland Battalion was raised in January 1776 by Colonel William Smallwood as state troops. However, on 6th July of that year the regiment was attached to the Continental Army, where it was brigaded with Colonel Haslet’s Delaware Battalion. This began a long partnership between the two units, who became regarded as something of an elite corps. Both battalions were formally adopted into the Continental Army on 17th August 1776 and Smallwood’s Marylanders distinguished themselves only two weeks later during the Long Island Campaign, where they single-handedly mounted the rearguard against vastly superior numbers. However, the battalion was virtually wiped out in this heroic action and was reconstituted during September by absorbing various Maryland Independent Companies. The unit officially became the 1st Maryland Continental Regiment in January 1777.
Above: Although it seems rather incongruous to have an American Patriot dressed in red, Smallwood’s Marylanders definitely went to war in 1776 dressed in this manner; red coats with buff facings and smallclothes. However, there is good evidence to suggest that some or all of the unit might already have been wearing hunting shirts (variously described as buff or violet) by the time of their heroic action on Long Island. Uniformity probably broke down completely following and the absorption of other units in September 1776 and following the General Order of 1779 they were largely wearing blue coats with red facings, line the 2nd Maryland Continentals shown below (and in the famous painting of the 1st Maryland Continentals at Guildford Courthouse at the top of this article). Other units also wore red coats (often from captured British stocks), with Forman’s Additional Continental Regiment in 1777 having the same combination with buff facings and smallclothes, so this unit can do double-duty.
Above: Smallwood’s Marylanders are 
Above: The 2nd Maryland Continental Regiment had a far shorter history than the 1st Maryland Regiment, having been formed in January 1777 from various Maryland Independent Companies then serving with the Continental Army.
Above: The 2nd Maryland Continental Regiment seems to have worn a blue coat with red facings, white tail-turnbacks, white metal buttons and white hat-lace for much of its existence. This uniform was formalised (with white smallclothes) for all Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia regiments with the General Order of 1779 (with wildly varying degrees of success). I’ve thrown a couple of red turnbacks and hunting-shirts in, along with other items of headgear and unlaced hats to represent ‘vagaries of supply’. The smallclothes were recorded as russet-brown during the regiment’s early days, though buff smallclothes also appear in paintings, as do dark brown waistcoats with blue breeches. Yet another depiction of the 2nd Maryland Regiment from 1781 shows them wearing earth-brown coats and breeches with red facings, white turnbacks, white metal buttons and white waistcoats. I’ve mainly gone with the blue and brown theme, though with a few men wearing randomly-coloured hunting shirts, ‘overhauls’ and ‘American trowsers’.
Above: The 2nd Maryland Continental Regiment is my most recently-painted American unit. I painted it last Autumn, using 
Above: Colonel John Haslet’s Delaware Battalion was raised in early 1776 and in August of that year was assigned to the Continental Army in Long Island, being brigaded with Smallwood’s Marylanders, with whom they were to have a long association. Both battalions fought well during the Battle of Long Island, though the Delawares managed to escape without the catastrophic casualties suffered by the Marylanders and were therefore still fit to fight for the rest of campaign, fighting especially well at White Plains.
Above: The Delaware Continentals are possibly unique in the annals of the Continental Army, in that they somehow managed to maintain a reasonably consistent uniform throughout the war. In 1776 they are recorded as having a blue coat with red facings, white turnbacks and white metal buttons (gold for officers), with white smallclothes. By 1778 they seem to have added yellow hat-lace to the ensemble and seem to have remained dressed much in this manner for the rest of the war, aside from some suggestion of brown breeches. The Delawares were therefore in the fortunate position of almost matching their stipulated uniform of the General Order of 1779.
Above: For the Delaware Continentals I used Perry Miniatures figures and painted the flag myself. As usual, I mixed in a few men dressed in hunting shirts and ‘overhauls’. This was actually the last Continental regiment I painted before my ‘Long Pause’ of 2009. The Perry ‘Ragged Continentals’ pack had just been released at the time, so I included a few of those figures.