As mentioned last time, we recently had a playtest of ‘Tricorn’ (my Seven Years War variant of ‘Shako’ Napoleonic rules). I decided to go for a historical scenario (The Battle of Lobositz 1756) rather than a random ‘pick-up’ battle, as I felt it would give us a better idea of how the rules fitted the period.
This was sharply demonstrated during the game set-up and even before Turn 1, when it was realised that having deployed the two armies in their accurately-scaled historical positions, the two batteries of heavy guns, which were both recorded as performing accurate and damaging fire before the main engagement, were both out of range when using the standard ‘Shako’ rules and artillery ranges! 🙂
I particularly wanted to test an idea for abstracting battalion guns in the game. This works by increasing the firepower of musketry (4, 5, 6 to hit in Shako terms) while reducing the movement speed for any unit accompanied by a battalion gun (from 4 inches to 3 inches per turn when in line formation).
Another idea (which we always used when playing ‘Shako’ at W.A.S.P. during the 1990s) is one adopted from ‘Napoleon’s Battles’ rules, which is ‘winner losses’ for cavalry. This inflicts a single casualty on a cavalry unit when they win a mêlée (maximum of one such casualty per turn). This represents the accumulation of attritional casualties during combat, as well as men detached to escort prisoners, squadrons detailed off to pursue and accumulated fatigue on the horses. In ‘Shako’ the winners of a mêlée do not suffer losses, but we found that this resulted in endless to-and-fro cavalry battles and/or élite heavy cavalry units simply ploughing their way through a weaker enemy formation and still being as fresh as a daisy at the end of it.
The incorporation of the ‘winner losses’ rule meant that even élite cavalry would eventually be worn down by repeated charges and could then become vulnerable to the injection of fresh enemy cavalry into the fight. Additionally for campaign purposes, players were more inclined to keep a portion of their cavalry fresh and in reserve to conduct post-game pursuit of the defeated enemy. However, Phil and Mike were not over-keen to adopt this concept and were happy with the existing rules for cavalry becoming ‘blown’ for a turn after combat, so I agreed to play the rules as written and see how it panned out.
Above: The bulk of the Austrian infantry were deployed in ‘ambush’ positions on the left wing, behind the walled parkland, ornamental lakes, fishponds, boggy streams and reed-beds along the valley from Sullowitz to Lobositz.
Above: Another view of the Austrian left wing. Löwenstein’s powerful cavalry wing is just off-table, though could be immediately brought on to table (in two columns) once an ADC delivered orders to Löwenstein, whose figure is visible on the table-edge, behind the far flank of the infantry.
Above: The Austrian right wing consisted of a number of infantry regiments under the command of Wied, plus four grenadier massed battalions, a position battery with pitifully-few heavy guns and Lacy’s recently-arrived division.
Above: A closer look at Lacy’s command, plus two of the four grenadier battalions.
Above: A detachment of the Karlstädter-Lykaner Grenzer skirmishes forward of Lacy’s main line.
Above: Radicati’s Austrian cavalry division forms up behind the sunken road to the west of Lobositz.
Above: Hadik’s Advance Guard Division (wrongly assumed by Frederick to be a rearguard covering the Austrian retreat), consisting of the massed Carabinier (élite Cuirassier) and Horse Grenadier (élite Dragoon) Companies plus the Hadik and Baryany Hussar Regiments, forms up on the plain and is immediately taken to task by Kyau’s Prussian cavalry, who have been ordered to mount a reconnaissance in force into the valley.
Above: Draskowitz’s Grenzer, reinforced by some grenadier companies and Hungarian volunteers, harass the left flank of the Prussian army from the steeply-sloped vineyards of the Lobosch. Frederick is forced to send Bevern with several regiments to eject the Grenzer from the mountain.
Above: The view from behind the Prussian centre. As Bevern begins his ascent of the Lobosch on the left, Kleist’s infantry deploy into line, while Schwerin and Katzler deploy their cavalry.
Above: As Kleist’s line advances past Frederick’s headquarters at Wchnitz, four batteries of heavy guns follow him down the road. On Kleist’s right, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick deploys the rest of the Prussian infantry as two more heavy batteries open fire from the Homolka Spur.
Above: Attended by his staff, Frederick awaits news of the cavalry clash.
Above: As his few heavy guns open fire on the approaching Prussians, Browne sends an aide with orders for Radicati to support Hadik. A second aide is dispatched with orders for Löwenstein to bring his cavalry to the centre with great haste! Neither ADC was seen again and the cavalry remained unmoving… More ADCS were dispatched…
Above: Feldmarschall von Katte deploys…
Above: And so it begins… Hadik and Kyau clash on the plain.
Above: Kyau has a massive advantage in terms of quality and quantity and with Radicati’s cavalry still stationary behind the sunken road, Hadik doesn’t fancy his chances against the mass of Prussian cuirassiers!
Above: On the Prussian left, the battle is initially even between the Prussian Gelbe-Reitere (so-called due to wearing dark yellow coats instead of the usual pale straw colour) and the massed Austrian Carabinier companies, but the Carabiniers eventually fall back. Next to them, the massed Austrian Horse Grenadier companies fare badly against the ‘Rochow’ Cuirassiers led by their talented Colonel, Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz. The ‘Baryanay’ Hussars are similarly beaten off by the Prussian Leib-Carabiniere. So Round 1 goes to the Prussians.
Above: But what’s this?! Having not been engaged in the initial combat, Hadik’s own regiment, the ‘Hadik’ Hussars charge alone and unsupported against the Leib-Carabiniere, who are blown following their combat against the ‘Baryanay’ Hussars!
Above: Astonishingly, the ‘Hadik’ Hussars throw the Leib-Carabiniere back in disorder! In their panic, the fleeing Prussian horsemen disorder the ‘Bayreuth’ Dragoons and the ‘Hadik’ Hussars use the confusion to retire back to the safety of their own lines.
Above: On the opposite flank, Bevern’s infantry come under intense skirmisher fire from the Grenzer hidden among the vines, rocks and stone walls on the steep slopes of the Lobosch. However, casualties are remarkably light.
Above: Waiting behind the skirmishing Grenzer is a stronger line of formed troops. Draskowitz has placed his strongest element, the combined companies of grenadiers and Hungarian volunteers, in the centre with Grenzer formed on the flanks. The position is very strong and Draskowitz is optimistic that he might be able to hold the position, or at least inflict significant damage on the Prussians.
Above: As the battle rages on their flank, Kleist pushes forward onto the plain as the guns move up, ready to deploy and bombard the waiting Austrian line.
Above: Frederick watches as the battle for the Lobosch unfolds. He is alarmed that he has misread the situation and that the Austrians now seem to be making a stand, though is confident that they would crumble in the face of his army, just as they had in the last war.
Above: On Frederick’s right, Moller’s battery on the Homolka Spur hammers away at the Austrian battery, but to little effect.
Above: Katzler’s Prussian cavalry division forms column to the right and moves around the back of Wchnitz and the Homolka. Descending through the saddle and into the plain, Schwerin is intending to follow his orders and move across the plain (cleared by Kyau) to engage the Austrian battery and the left flank of Wied’s Austrian infantry. However, Kyau has not yet cleared the plain…
Above: As its supporting artillery opens fire on the approaching Prussian cavalry, the Austrian left wing waits for orders… Two ADCs can be seen galloping over the bridge on the west side of Lobositz, yet both fail to reach their destination… A suspicious-looking group of Grenzer deny all knowledge, yet are sporting very nice new pelisses…
Above: Hadik’s cavalry mill around blown following their previous combats and are in danger of being swept away by the freshly-rallied Prussian cuirassiers.
Above: However, the Austrian gunners earn their pay as they ignore the incoming fire from the Homolka and accurately bounce some round-shot through the Prussian cuirassiers, stalling their advance.
Above: Things are about to get very hot for the Austrians, however…
Above: With the Gelbe-Reitere damaged by Austrian guns, the Austrian Carabiniers charge again and throw back the yellow-coated Prussian horsemen, who rally at the foot of the Homolka, disrupting Prince Ferdinand’s attempts to get his infantry into some semblance of order! The Prussian ‘Rochow’ Cuirassiers meanwhile, utterly rout the Austrian Horse Grenadiers, though this remains the only bright spot for the Prussians at this time, as the heroic Austrian hussars throw back the combined unit of Gensd’armes and Garde du Corps and completely crush the 2nd Battalion of the ‘Bayreuth’ Dragoons!
Above: On the Lobosch, Bevern’s Prussian infantry finally engage Draskowitz’s main line, though casualties are now starting to mount. The Grenzer skirmishers have fallen back, though continue to be an irritant.
[Something I noticed here is that in Shako 2nd Edition, skirmishers can only suffer a single casualty before being removed from play. In 1st Edition they dispersed on their third casualty, which I prefer, as it makes them much more of an irritant]
Above: Schwerin’s division of Dragoons and Hussars follows Katzler onto the plain. Katzler has formed his cuirassier division into line near Sullowitz, though is waiting for Kyau to clear away Hadik’s cavalry!
Above: On the Lobosch, Bevern has decided to go in with the bayonet rather than engage in a fruitless firefight. However, his supporting battalions are too far to the rear to provide any meaningful support and the centre battalion (1st Battalion of the ‘Kleist’ Musketeers) is beaten off with heavy losses by the Austrian grenadiers and Hungarian volunteers.
Above: However, the 2nd Battalion of the ‘Kleist’ Musketeers defeats a battalion of the Karlstädter-Lykaner Grenze and the other Grenzer are starting to waver in the face of determined Prussian attacks.
Above: Having pushed well forward of the flanking divisions, Kleist completes his orders and halts his infantry as the heavy guns deploy within effective range of Wied’s line.
Above: Down on the plain, the cavalry battle continues. The Austrian Carabiniers have pushed too far and are charged by the vengeful Gelbe-Reitere. The Carabiniers are broken, but Hadik’s astonishing run of luck continues as the ‘Baryanay’ Hussars throw back the ‘Rochow’ Cuirassiers!
Above: As the hussars fall back to rally yet again, Hadik (who has now suffered in excess of 50% losses) somehow manages to keep his division in the battle, though his men are now demoralised!
Above: The carefully-ordered lines of cavalry from the start of the battle are only a distant memory as the Prussians try to re-order their lines amid the chaos!
Above: Katzler’s cuirassiers have also now become embroiled in the swirling cavalry battle. Schwerin’s cavalry also now attempt to deploy onto the plain, but rallying cavalry keep getting in the way.
Above: It’s not only the cavalry… Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick’s infantry have become utterly disordered by the combined effects of terrain and stampeding cavalry.
Above: Back on the Lobosch, Bevern’s aggressive tactics have finally broken Draskowitz’s defenders. However, it wasn’t without cost, especially in the ‘Kleist’ Musketeers. Although the Grenzer have been beaten off, Bevern still has to fight his way through the difficult terrain of the Lobosch, so it’s going to be some time before his division can join the main attack.
Above: Draskowitz’s boys run for it! They had hoped for support from Lacy or Wied, but that support was not forthcoming, due to yet more Austrian command and control problems!
Above: As Kleist waits for the flanking divisions to move up, his heavy guns hammer Wied’s Austrians. In the distance, Moller’s battery on the Homolka has ceased fire and Moller is moving his guns forward, to more closely support the attack.
Above: Here they come again! As the Austrian ‘Erzherzog Joseph’ Dragoons charge the ‘Bayreuth’ Dragoons frontally, the indefatigable ‘Hadik’ Hussars strike yet again at the left flank of the Prussian Leib-Carabiniere.
Above: The view from the Austrian side: The green-coated ‘Erzherzog Joseph’ Dragoons clash with the Prussian Dragoons. The ‘Cordua’ and ‘Stampach’ Cuirassier Regiments finally cross over the sunken road to provide support.
Above: The view a short while later: Prince Ferdinand’s attempts to get his infantry into some semblance of order are frustrated yet again by Kyau’s recoiling cavalrymen!
Note the arrow marker next to the grenadiers at the lower-right; this indicates that the unit is marching in column to its left. These days I tend to base my SYW units in line on a single base, as they rarely used any other formation unless it was an open column of platoons or companies, whose depth equalled the frontage in line (which is what they’re doing here). Basing them on a single base also helps to demarcate the separation between units deployed in long lines. It’s also a lot less fiddly and speeds up movement enormously.
Above: The view from the other side of the cavalry battle: The Gensd’Armes and Garde du Corps, having destroyed the newly-arrived Austrian ‘Cordua’ Cuirassiers, are rallying behind Katzler’s fresh cuirassier regiments and the ‘Bayreuth’ Dragoons.
Above: Pulling back, we can see Radicati’s remaining regiments; the ‘Erzherzog Joseph’ Dragoons and the ‘Stampach’ Cuirsassiers rallying at the sunken road, along with the ‘Baryanay’ Hussars, following their successful charges against the Prussian horse. However, the ‘Cordua’ Cuirassiers have been swept from the field, Löwenstein is still refusing to move from the left flank and there are still an awful lot of Prussian cavalry on the plain!
Above: The heroic ‘Hadik’ Hussars, having rallied behind the Lobositz battery, charges yet again! Kyau’s Prussian cavalry are demoralised and the Gelbe-Reitere are rallying and have already taken heavy casualties. They are completely swept away by the hussars’ charge!
Above: Further mêlées on the plain see the Prussian ‘Markgraf Friedrich’ Cuirassiers and ‘Brandenburg’ Dragoons thrown back by the determined Austrian counter-attacks, but the fresh Prussian Leibregiment zu Pferde (here on the left) destroys Radicati’s remaining regiments, leaving the ‘Baryanay’ Hussars feeling very lonely…
Above: The ‘Hadik’ Hussars rally behind Browne’s headquarters at Lobositz. At this moment an ADC gallops past to inform Browne that Löwenstein’s cavalry is at last on the move! However, it’s still going to take some considerable time for the Austrian horse to move from the extreme left flank to the centre.
Above: With only Hadik’s two weakened hussar regiments left to oppose them, the (mostly) fresh divisions of Katzler and Schwerin can now comply with their orders and engage the left flank of Wied’s line in front of Lobositz.
Above: Although the ‘Alt-Dessau’ Musketeers are still being arsed about by the milling horsemen, the rest of Prince Ferdinand’s division has finally got itself into some semblance of order and is advancing on Wied. The grenadiers of Ferdinand’s second line have shifted position to the left and have turned back into line formation (the arrow markers have been removed). They will now move forward to provide support to Prince Ferdinand’s own regiment in the first line. The 3rd Battalion of the ‘Alt-Dessau’ Musketeers is similarly shifting to the left, to provide rear-support to the single battalion of the ‘Zastrow’ Musketeers.
Above: On the left flank of Prince Ferdinand’s first line, the ‘Hülsen’ Musketeers have crossed over the stream to link up with Kleist’s division on their left. Behind them and just out of shot, the ‘Quadt’ Musketeers have also crossed over the stream and are moving up to provide rear-support. Seeing the artillery deploying near the culvert, Wied shifts the fire of his artillery onto that point, doing nothing to the Prussian guns, but inflicting casualties on the ‘Zastrow’ Musketeers as the Austrian roundshot bounces through their line.
Above: On the Austrian right, Wied’s and Lacy’s infantry remain unmoving as orders fail to get through, despite the short distance from Browne’s headquarters! [Phil’s luck in dice-rolling for the hussars was definitely cancelled out by his dice-rolling for the ADCs!] Wied’s infantry have been hammered hard by the Prussian guns, but now the guns start to fall silent as Kleist resumes his advance and Bevern finally emerges from the vineyards of the Lobosch.
Above: On the Austrian left, the bulk of the whitecoats remain unmoved (quite literally) by the cavalry battle in front of them. To their rear, Löwenstein’s cavalry had started to move, but it was all too late.
It was at this point that Phil’s personal morale broke and we ended the game with Browne withdrawing from the field to fight another day.
Conclusions – The Rules
Even though it was slightly disappointing as a game in that the main infantry lines didn’t come to grips, it did serve the purpose of thrashing out the finer points of the rules and scenario and we had a lot of fun doing it, which were the main points of the exercise. It was great to have a game after all this time and my thanks to Phil and Mike for such gentlemanly company!
Anyway, here are the changes to the rules that arose from the playtest:
1. Artillery/Infantry: Scrap the idea of incorporating Battalion Guns into the infantry musketry movement rules. It seemed an interesting idea, but there were too many ‘fudges’ that had to be made. e.g. If we’re marking units without battalion guns, would that be by unit or by division? If units enter terrain impassable to artillery, what happens to the guns, etc, etc.
2. Artillery: With regard to the above; Add a new class of Battalion Gun artillery to the standard Shako rules with a shorter range, lower firepower and better mobility than the existing Light Foot Artillery class in ‘Shako’. In previous games it was found that standard Light Foot Artillery was FAR too powerful (using ‘Shako’) when deployed in the quantities that SYW armies fielded (averaging at one gun model (eight actual guns) for every four battalions fielded). we incorporated a few separate Battalion Guns into this game and found that they worked really well – providing relatively short-range support without dominating the game.
3. Artillery: Increase the Long Range bracket of Heavy Foot Guns to 36 inches. Note that historically, there was a bewildering array of gun-barrel weights/lengths and carriage-sizes within each class of shot-weight, leading to many oddities such as Heavy 9pdrs easily out-ranging Light 12pdrs. I don’t want to add any more artillery classes to the game, but players could keep the standard ‘Shako’ rules for Light 12pdrs and perhaps use the 36-inch range with Light Artillery firepower for Heavy 9pdrs and the like.
4. Cavalry: Reinstate the Winner Loss rule for cavalry; At the end of the Mêlée phase, each cavalry regiment that won its mêlée applies a single casualty (even if it fought more than one mêlée in the turn due to a breakthrough charge), representing attritional combat casualties, cumulative fatigue, men detailed off to escort prisoners, etc. Where more than one regiment contacted one target, only one regiment (of the owning player’s choice) takes the winner loss. In campaign games these can be counted separately from ‘proper’ casualties and will be reinstated after the battle.
4. Skirmishers: Skirmishers take three hits before dispersing, as per ‘Shako’ 1st Edition.
5. ADCs/Messengers: ADCs travel at a standard rate of 16 inches per turn. Upon arrival at their target general, they roll 1D6 and apply the following results: 1 = ADC did not get through. 2 = Implementation of the order is delayed by 2 extra turns. 3 = Implementation of the order is delayed by 1 extra turn. 4-6 = Order is implemented as per the standard rules (immediately for divisions on Reserve orders, or in the following turn for all other divisions). ADCs are ‘teleported’ back to the Army HQ and may be used again on the following turn.
Conclusions – The Scenario
1. Battalion Guns: In accordance with the changes to Battalion Gun rules above, delete the ‘Very Light Guns’ (these were our playtest Battalion Guns) and add the following numbers of Battalion Guns (in brackets) to each of these divisions: Bevern (2), Kleist (1), Ferdinand (2), Wied (2), Lacy (2), Stahremberg (2) & Kolowrat (3). N.B. Lacy’s number includes Draskowitz’s guns.
2. Orders & ADCs: The limits on orders available to the Austrians at the start of the scenario seems too restrictive. However, simply allowing the Austrians to do whatever they want from the start will almost certainly result in a general advance as they use their superior numbers of infantry to simply bottle in and defeat the Prussians. It’s worth remembering that the Austrians started this battle in ‘ambush’ positions, in a foggy valley-bottom, with very little clue about Frederick’s strength or intentions and were waiting for Frederick to come to them. Phil did have a VERY bad run of luck with his ADCs and using ‘Shako’ 2nd Edition ADC rules meant that statistically they would almost certainly die on a long gallop to the far flank (which all but one did)! I think therefore that my amended ADC rules will help in this regard, though I am tempted to allow Attack orders to be issued to Lacy and Löwenstein’s divisions from the start, simply in order to allow Lacy to support Draskowitz and Löwenstein to support Radicati & Hadik (as they did historically) before those formations are overrun by the Prussians.
3. Alternative for Radicati: For reasons that aren’t clear, part of Radicati’s division was deployed on the flank with Löwenstein. So as a scenario-balancing option, the Anspach Cuirassiers and the Erzherzog Ferdinand Cuirassiers could be transferred back to Radicati and deployed in the centre, behind the sunken road.
Anyway, that’s all for now! Sorry for the long wait since the last article, but I’ve got my ‘Tricorn’ rules-notes and Quick Reference Sheets waiting to be posted, along with the first of my Hanoverians, some painting and terrain-building for my forthcoming ACW demo-game and some other bits and pieces besides.
At long last, I’ve had a game and not just with myself!!! 🙂
The original version of Shako actually included a Seven Years War variant, but I didn’t like it at all and so wrote my own. I dug it out again last year following a Napoleonic game with Phil using 
As the fog started to disperse, a few Austrian cavalry could be seen on the plain. Frederick immediately assumed that Browne must be in retreat and that this was his rearguard. General Kyau was ordered to take his cavalry, along with that of General Katte, and mount a reconnaissance-in-force, to clear away the rearguard and locate Browne’s main body.
The Austrian Army – Feldmarschall von Browne
Terrain Effects
Deployment & Fog Of War
Sorry for the sparsity of posts over the last few weeks. Mrs Fawr has been cracking the whip… 🙁 Thankfully however, my rate of painting has been maintained and I’ve been making good progress on my new ‘Western Allied’ army for the Seven Years War, starting with the British. 
I always like to use a historical order of battle as a ‘To Do’ list, so I arbitrarily picked the order of battle for the 
Above: At Minden, the British infantry battalions were grouped in two brigades under the command of Major Generals Waldegrave and Kingsley, along with the two battalions of the Hanoverian 
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Above: Lord von Spörcken. I couldn’t find information on Hanoverian infantry officers’ horse furniture, but assumed that it followed the British pattern of being coloured according to the regimental facing colour and then edged in the regimental ‘metal’ colour.
Above: Waldegrave’s Brigade at Minden. This brigade formed the first line of Spörcken’s command and consisted of the 
Above: 
Above: 12th Regiment of Foot (Napier’s). Note that the tail-pockets were edged with the regimental lace and the cuffs had a ‘ladder’ of buttonhole lace running up the lower sleeve. This was the most common arrangement of lace on British infantry uniforms. Note also that the 12th curiously didn’t use ‘reversed colours’ (i.e. a yellow coat with red facings) for its drummers and instead issued them with a red coat, albeit with ‘false’ sleeves on the back and extra lace decoration on the sleeves.
Above: The Grenadier Company of the 12th Regiment of Foot (Napier’s). The grenadiers were almost always separated from their parent regiment on campaign, so they’re unbased here, awaiting basing with the rest of Maxwell’s Grenadier Battalion (see below). Although the actual role of grenade-lobbing was long gone, the traditional and distinctive items of grenadier dress; the brass match-case on the cross-belt, the ornately decorated mitre cap and the basket-hilted short sword were still worn. Lace ‘wings’ had also been added to the shoulders during the 1750s.
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Above: 37th Regiment of Foot (Stuart’s). Like the 12th Foot, the drummers of the 37th did not wear reversed colours and instead wore red coats with yellow facings, though decorated with additional lace on the sleeves. Note that British drummers of all companies wore a mitre cap that was very much like that of the grenadiers, though was a few inches shorter and lacked the tuft on the top. They also sometimes had a different embroidered design on the front, though I’ve gone with the usual ‘GR’ cypher here. Many of these cap designs are not known, though a design showing ‘piled trophies’ was popular.
Above: The Grenadier Company of the 37th Regiment of Foot (Stuart’s). The grenadiers of the 37th wore a cap very similar to those of the 12th above, with cypher and foliage embroidered in red. However, the regimental number ’37’ was embroidered on the rear band in Arabic rather than Roman numerals and the back lacked the embroidered ‘flames’. Note also the ‘hat company’ Sergeant, carrying a pole-arm and wearing a sash around his waist. The Sergeants’ pattern of sash was crimson with a central facing-coloured stripe.
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Above: 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers). The 23rd wore blue facings and as a Royal regiment also had blue breeches, though waistcoats remained red. The regimental lace was white with thin black and red lines, though again, I’ve just painted it plain white. The 23rd were one of the few regiments authorised to wear an ‘ancient badge’, in this case the three feathers of the Prince of Wales. For the battalion companies, this was flanked by yellow foliage and the ‘flap’ seems to have been in the facing colour. The detached grenadier company (not shown here) seems to have had a red flap and white foliage, as well as a grenade-shaped tuft. Officers’ mitres were invariably embroidered with expensive metallic thread and as a consequence were usually replaced by hats in the field (but that’s boring…).
Above: 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers). The 23rd had lace ‘ladders’ on the lower sleeves and lace edging to the tail pockets. The regiment’s drummers meanwhile, wore Royal Livery, which was a red coat, faced with blue and heavily decorated with golden-yellow lace with thin lines of purple running through it (I’ve just painted it yellow).
Above: 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers). The 23rd’s mitre caps were decorated with the regimental number ’23’ in Arabic numerals. Note also that the battalion companies lacked the shoulder wings of the grenadier company (these would be added in later years, but were not a feature of the uniform at this time).
Above: The Hanoverian 
Above: Kingsley’s Brigade formed the second line of Spörcken’s command at Minden, though the intense nature of the fighting during the French cavalry attack meant that they had no better a time of it than Waldegrave’s Brigade. The brigade again consisted of three British infantry battalions; the 20th Foot (Kingsley’s) on the right, the 51st Foot (Brudenell’s) in the centre and the 25th Foot (Home’s) on the left.
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Above: 20th Regiment of Foot (Kingsley’s). The tail pockets were edged with lace and the lower sleeves had the ‘ladder’ design. On this occasion the regimental drummers wore reversed colours.
Above: The Grenadier Company of the 20th Regiment of Foot (Kingsley’s). Again, the 20th used the ‘GR’ cypher as their badge, but the embroidery colour is not recorded, so I’ve gone with black to make it stand out from the pale yellow and look a bit different from the others. The back of the cap was once again decorated with the regimental number and both the Roman ‘XX’ and Arabic ’20’ are recorded, so I’ve gone with ‘XX’.
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Above: 51st Regiment of Foot (Brudenell’s). The lace colour for the regiment was generally white, though the exact pattern of lace is unknown. Again, this regiment had lace edging to the pockets and ‘ladders’ on the sleeves. The regimental ‘metal’ colour was white and the drummers wore reversed colours.
Above: The Grenadier Company of the 51st Regiment of Foot (Brudenell’s). Again, this regiment wore the ‘GR’ cypher as it’s badge, this time embroidered in white and flanked by white foliage. The rear band was decorated with the Roman numeral ‘LI’.
Above: 25th (Edinburgh) Regiment of Foot (Home’s). This regiment had ‘deep yellow’ facings and white ‘metal, though the officers’ gorgets were gold. The regimental lace was white, though edged with thin lines of dark blue, yellow and red. The ‘deep yellow’ shade is difficult to pin down, though it’s also described as ‘almost buff’. That said, I’ve studied surviving samples of the facing cloth and it doesn’t look any different to the yellow of the 12th or 37th.
Above: 25th (Edinburgh) Regiment of Foot (Home’s). Again, the 25th had lace edging to the pockets and a ‘ladder’ pattern on the lower sleeves. The regiment’s drummers wore reversed colours.
Above: The Grenadier Company of the 25th (Edinburgh) Regiment of Foot (Home’s). Again, this regiment used the ‘GR’ cypher as it’s badge, this time embroidered in white and flanked by white foliage. The rear was decorated with the regimental number, though both ‘XXV’ and ’25’ are recorded. I’ve gone with ‘XXV’.
Above: Maxwell’s Grenadier Battalion. The grenadier companies of the six British infantry battalions were detached and grouped as a combined grenadier battalion under the command of one Major Maxwell and were brigaded with Hanoverian, Hessian and Brunswicker grenadier battalions as part of Wangenheim’s Corps on the left flank.
Above: Maxwell’s Grenadier Battalion. Note that I made a mistake with the ordering of the regiments here. I’ve lined them up in the usual order of seniority for most nations; the senior regiment (12th) on the right and the junior (51st) on the left. However, I completely forgot that the British alternated seniority by flank, starting with the most senior on the right flank, but then having the second most senior regiment on the left and then alternating on each side, with the most junior in the middle! The order from the right flank to the left flank should therefore be 12th, 23rd, 37th, 51st, 25th, 20th.
Above: Maxwell’s Grenadier Battalion. When the reinforcement wave of a further six regiments arrived (5th, 8th, 11th, 24th, 33rd & 50th), a second grenadier battalion was formed. However, all twelve regiments were apparently mixed up and I can’t for the life of me discover how they were mixed. I’ll probably just create a new battalion using the six new regiments. The grenadiers of the two Highland regiments (87th and 88th) remained with their regiments. The three Foot Guards battalions sent to Germany massed their grenadier companies in a half-strength Guards Grenadier Battalion of only three companies.
Following my recent, though blessedly brief descent into olive-drabness, I’ve now recovered my senses and am feeling much better now, thanks for asking!
I dedicated the month of April to painting nothing but French cavalry and managed to get 60 of them done; four 12-figure brigades of Chevauxlégers and one 12-figure regiment of Dragoons. These are all 18mm figures by 
I’ve only given an officer, standard-bearer and trumpeter to one regiment in three (the senior regiment in each brigade, based on the order of battle for the 
It’s worth mentioning at this point that the bulk of France’s cavalry arm were referred to as ‘Chevauxlégers’ meaning ‘Light Horse’ or ‘Cavalerie Légère’ meaning ‘Light Cavalry. However, these terms are misleading. French Chevauxlégers of the time were very much heavy cavalry, fighting in the line of battle, riding heavy horses and often wearing a cuirass under the coat and an iron skull-cap under the hat. The term was a historical one dating back to mediaeval times, differentiating the relatively lightly-armoured retainers from the fully-armoured Gendarmes (knights). That said, the ‘light’ part of the title was falling out of use during this period, with ‘Cavalerie’ often being used (though not formalised until 1791). Nevertheless, I have seen figure manufacturers list these in their catalogues as ‘light cavalry’ due to their misunderstanding of the terminology, so it can be rather baffling when you are collecting a SYW French army!
Above: The ‘La Reine’ Brigade at Rossbach was formed from the ‘
Above: The ‘La Reine’ Brigade. The ‘Bourbon-Busset’ and ‘Fitz-James’ Regiments both had royal blue saddlery, while ‘La Reine’ had red. The lace edging for ‘La Reine’ was blue with a white chain pattern, while that of ‘Bourbon-Busset’ was blue with a yellow chain pattern and ‘Fitz-James’ had a green & white check pattern. ‘La Reine’s shabraque and holster-covers were decorated with a yellow fleur-de-lys badge.
Above: The ‘La Reine’ Brigade. As mentioned above, I’ve only done command figures for the senior regiment in each brigade. Consequently the standard here is that of the ‘La Reine’ Regiment, having a red field scattered with small fleurs-de-lys, the Queen’s crowned cypher in each corner and emblazoned with the universal sun motif and white scroll bearing the motto ‘Nec Pluribus Impar’, edged with a fringed of mixed silver and gold threads. Staves always resembled a tournament lance and were usually coloured to match the standard’s field colour, though royal blue was also common. The trumpeter wears the Queen’s livery, which was essentially the reverse of the King’s livery, being a red coat with blue facings and heavily laced in a blue & white chain pattern. French cavalry musicians commonly rode greys.
Above: The ‘Bourbon’ Brigade at Rossbach was formed from the ‘
Above: The ‘Bourbon’ Brigade. Saddlery was royal blue for all three regiments. The lace edging for the ‘Bourbon’ Regiment was white with two crimson stripes, speckled white. ‘Beauvilliers’ had yellow lace with a red chain pattern. The ‘Volontaires-Liègeois’ had plain yellow lace, though the shabraque and holster-covers were decorated with three fleurs-de-lys arranged in a triangle, with a crown above.
Above: The ‘Bourbon’ Brigade. Again, I’ve only done command figures for the lead regiment, namely the ‘Bourbon’ Regiment. ‘Bourbon’s trumpeters had yellow-buff livery with crimson facings, white buttonhole lace and crimson saddlery with white lace edging. ‘Bourbon’s standard was of the ‘stock’ pattern, featuring the sun motif with white ‘Nec Pluribus Impar’ scroll above, surrounded by a wreath and four fleurs-de-lys. The field colour was blue. 
Above: The ‘Lusignan’ Brigade at Rossbach was formed from only two units, the ‘
Above: The ‘Lusignan’ Brigade (plus ‘Montcalm’ Regiment). All three regiments had royal blue saddlery. ‘Lusignan’ had lace consisting of alternating yellow and blue squares, while ‘Descars’ had red & yellow checked lace and ‘Montcalm’ had a red and green check pattern.
Above: The ‘Lusignan’ Brigade (plus ‘Montcalm’ Regiment). ‘Lusignan’ carried a standard which had a white field on the obverse side with the ‘stock’ golden sun design. The reverse had a plain red field with a white scroll carrying the motto ‘Nec terrent, nec morantur’. The livery for ‘Lusignan’ is not known, so I’ve gone with a grey-white coat and saddlery (to match the white field of the standard), decorated with the blue & yellow regimental lace.
Above: The ‘Penthièvre’ Brigade at Rossbach consisted of the ‘
Above: The ‘Penthièvre’ Brigade. All three regiments had royal blue saddlery. The ‘Penthièvre’ Regiment had blue lace edging with a central yellow stripe, while ‘Bussy-Lameth’ had violet lace with a buff central stripe and ‘Saluces’ had white lace with red edging and a red chain pattern.
Above: The ‘Penthièvre’ Brigade. The ‘Penthièvre’ Regiment had red standards, with the obverse side being of the ‘stock’ pattern and the reverse showing Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus, with a white scroll above, bearing the motto ‘Terraque, marique’. The regiment’s musicians wore red livery, decorated with the regimental lace.
Above: The ‘
Above: The ‘Apchon’ Dragoon Regiment. Most French Dragoon regiments at this time wore red coats, with a few wearing blue. The coat lacked lapels but was heavily decorated with white buttonhole lace for all regiments. The waistcoat would be coloured to match the coat or the facing colour and was also heavily laced in white. Headgear was either a tricorn or the traditional French Dragoon’s ‘Pokalem’ stocking-cap. Instead of tall cavalry boots, Dragoons wore infantry-style gaiters in black.
Above: The ‘Apchon’ Dragoon Regiment. All Dragoon regiments carried swallow-tailed guidons. Those of the ‘Apchon’ Dragoons were green and decorated with the golden sun and a red scroll with the motto ‘Nec pluribus impar’.
I promised a little while ago that there would be some breaks from the wall-to-wall Seven Years War coverage and that the Olive Drab would return! So even though I’m still painting tricorns and lace, here’s a look at some of my 15mm Cold War Canadians.
Then, just a few years ago, 
In 1957 the brigade, then designated as 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group (4 CIBG), was deployed to West Germany, replacing 2 CIBG as Canada’s contribution to 1 (Br) Corps of the 
4 CIBG became fully mechanised from 1965 to 1966, adopting new equipment such as 
All these shenanigans caused massive dismay within NATO and accusations that Canada wasn’t pulling her weight within the alliance. In response, the Trudeau administration offered a brigade as a wartime reinforcement to NATO’s 
The election of 
There also even wild talk of equipping the two mechanised infantry battalions of 4 CMBG with a British-conceived turretless 120mm tank destroyer designated 
The long-held plan to purchase Leopard 2 didn’t materialise until well into the 21st Century (and a wholly different range of world problems), though with the recreation of 1st Canadian Infantry Division, plans were put in place to purchase a further two squadrons of Leopards, thus allowing Militia units to gain proper tank experience and to provide additional tank support for 1st Canadian Infantry Division. However, the Cold War ended before these plans could be implemented. Other abandoned plans included the purchase of a light section/platoon-level ATGM such as 
Above: The single Canadian tank regiment in 4 CMBG was crewed by the 
Above: The Leopard C1 was largely based on the Leopard AS1 which was in turn developed for the Australian Army from the basic Leopard 1A3. The Leopard 1A3 was the first model to adopt a ‘square’ welded turret instead of the rounded cast turret of earlier models and had spaced armour, giving it much the same level of armour protection as the Leopard 1A2, but with greater interior space. The Leopard AS1 and C1 both adopted the superb Belgian fire-control system developed for the Belgian Army’s Leopard 1BE and improved it further by adding a laser rangefinder, though the Canadians did away with the Australian modifications for fighting in a tropical environment. The Canadians improved the design further by adding a low-light TV (LLTV) system which, while not up to the standard of the thermal imaging systems then in development, still gave it a considerable night-fighting advantage over most other tanks then in service.
Above: As previously discussed in an 
Above: The Squadron Group’s attached infantry platoon dismount from the M113s and move forward. The callsign 42B on the M113 indicates the 3rd vehicle of the 2nd platoon of the 4th company of the infantry battalion to which it belongs. The full platoon of four vehicles would be marked 42, 42A, 42B and 42C. The armoured regiment followed the same pattern, with A, B, C & D Squadrons having 1, 2, 3 & 4 as their squadron callsign. The RHQ used 9.
The base colour was a bluish grey-green that tended to fade to the blue (some vehicles I saw parked up in Canadian bases in 1989 were almost turquoise!). I use Humbrol 78 (Cockpit Green) for this colour, which is a little bright, but doesn’t look anywhere near as bright on the table as it does here in these photographs! The other colours were khaki-green (for which I use Humbrol 159 Khaki Drab – my standard WW2 British tank colour) and black (which I heavily highlight with Humbrol 67 Tank Grey). I should add that all my vehicles get a final dry-brush of Humbrol 72 Khaki Drill.
Some photos show the khaki-green part of the scheme as brown and restored vehicles often have red-brown in lieu of khaki-green. In the case of old photos, this is sometimes an artefact of the colour film processing, but some units did started using brown paint once the Leopards had adopted the NATO three-colour camouflage scheme. In the case of 8th Hussars, there are photographs of them on parade in 1981 using additional bands of dark red-brown as a fourth camouflage colour. These seems to be a scheme unique to that regiment and they don’t appear to have used it once the regiment deployed to 4 CMBG in 1986.
Above: The 1st Troop of Lynx recce vehicles from the armoured regiment’s D Squadron moves forward (‘4’ indicating D Squadron and ‘1’ indicating the 1st Troop). Although administratively a part of the Armoured Regiment, D Squadron was actually a brigade recce asset (having replaced the former independent Brigade Recce Squadron of Ferret armoured cars) and would therefore be separated from its parent regiment in wartime to conduct Brigade recce tasks. Close recce tasks for the regiment were actually therefore performed by the RHQ’s own Lynx Troop (which presumably had ‘9’ callsigns, though I’ve not had this confirmed). 
Above: D Squadron Lynxes move through a village. Sources disagree regarding the number of Lynx operated by 4 CMBG. Veterans tell me that D Squadron RCD had three Troops, each with seven Lynx (Troop HQ with one Lynx and three patrols of two Lynx), while the RHQ Lynx Troop is described as having four patrols of two Lynx. However, published sources repeatedly state a total of 20x Lynx for the regiment, although usually then stating that they were all massed in D Squadron, ignoring the RHQ Lynx Troop, so that can’t be right.
The Mech Infantry Battalions each had a Close Recce Platoon also equipped with Lynx. This is described in most sources as having 11x Lynx, organised into an HQ of 2x Lynx and three patrols of 3x Lynx. However, some sources suggest 9x Lynx, organised into an HQ of 1x Lynx and four patrols of 2x Lynx.
Above: A Mechanised Infantry Company dismounts from its M113s. One Mechanised Infantry Battalion, the 1st Battalion 
Canadian infantry companies were organised along the classic ‘triangular’ theme; each of three platoons, with three sections apiece. Each infantry section at full strength (which it rarely achieved) had ten men led by a Sergeant, with a Master Corporal as 2IC. The section organisation was reminiscent of that employed in WW2, with a Rifle Group of seven men (including the Section Commander) armed with 
In Mechanised Infantry Sections, one rifleman would be designated as the M113 Driver and would be equipped with a 
The standard Canadian 
The reverse side of the Mitchell Pattern cover was a ‘cloud’ pattern in five shades of sand and brown designed for use in arid terrain, though I’ve seen photos of Canadian troops using the ‘arid’ side in areas of dead grass and leaves (presumably during winter). During the 1980s Canadian troops also started receiving 
Above: The platoon would ride in four M113 APCs, with the Platoon Commander’s vehicle also carrying a Weapons Squad, consisting of a 
Above: Mechanised Infantry Companies rarely operated in isolation and would invariably have elements attached from the battalion’s Support Company and might also swap platoons with the armoured regiment to form combined-arms Groups. Here we have a Mechanised Company Group, which has swapped out one platoon for a tank troop.
Above: Each mechanised battalion had a Support company consisting of a Mortar Platoon, Anti-Tank Platoon, Recce Platoon and Pioneer Platoon. The Mortar Platoon (as shown above) consisted of eight 
Above: The Anti-Tank Platoon was equipped with sixteen (or eighteen – sources disagree) with TOW ATGM launchers mounted on M113s. A lot of wargame rules and army lists refer to this combination as the ‘M150’, but it would appear on deeper investigation that the ‘M150’ designation was never officially applied in the US Army, Canadian Forces or NATO generally.
As mentioned above, 4 CMBG upgraded its AT Platoons during the late 1980s and replaced the M113/TOW combination with the new M113A2 TUA (TOW Under Armour). This vehicle was also adopted by the Norwegian Army as the NM142 and had an armoured turret fitted with thermal sights and a ready-to-fire TOW 2 missile mounted in a box on either side of the turret. A C6 GPMG was fixed coaxially to the outside of the righthand missile box and could be fired from within the turret. The turret was offset to the left and the standard M113 commander’s cupola (without HMG) was shifted to the right. Note that all M113A2 TUA were delivered to 4 CMBG already painted in the new NATO three-colour scheme and exercise photos from 1989 show them working alongside older M113s still painted in the former Canadian three-colour scheme.
Above: When fighting a defensive battle, a proportion of the battalion’s TOW teams would be dismounted from their M113 and a tripod was provided for that purpose. The M113A2 TUA was also equipped with a dismountable launcher. Dismounting TOW isn’t an option in Team Yankee rules (yet another reason not to play them), so of course they don’t produce models for dismounted TOW teams… QRF thankfully fill that capability-gap!
Above: An M577 command vehicle belonging to the battlegroup Headquarters Company (9 callsign). Note that this camouflage scheme is slightly different to that of the M113 or Lynx, but this is the mandated scheme for the M577 and all such vehicles would be painted the same. This is a very nice little model by QRF, though looks a little small next to this rather over-scale Team Yankee Lynx!
Mechanised Infantry Battalion Pioneer Platoons also operated the M113 Dozer. These would have 58 as their callsign.
Above: 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA), in addition to its four batteries of M109A1 self-propelled 155m howitzers, also included an Air Defence Troop, equipped with fifteen 
Above: The anaemic air defence element of 4 CMBG meant that the brigade would invariably be supported by air defence elements from the US VII Corps or II (Ge) Korps. In ‘First Clash’ the brigade was under US VII Corps command and was therefore supported by a US Air Defence Artillery (ADA) group consisting of 
However, in 1988 the extremely expensive Canadian Low-Level Air Defence Project finally bore fruit with the arrival of the super-advanced 
Most unusually and as the name suggests, ADATS also had a secondary anti-tank role and its laser-guided missiles were capable of defeating 900mm of homogenous steel armour, which is on a par with TOW 2. Note that while the cancelled US version of ADATS also included a co-axial 25mm cannon, the Canadian version was only fitted with missiles.
Above: 444 Tactical Helicopter Squadron was assigned to 1 Canadian Air Group/Division at CFB Lahr, tasked with providing tactical helicopter support to 4 CMBG. It had a unique organisation of twelve CH-136 Kiowa Light Observation Helicopters, whereas the squadrons assigned to the other three Canadian brigade groups had a 6/6 split of 
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Münchow’ Füsiliers, like most Prussian Füsilier Regiments, had a relatively simple uniform, devoid of lapels and lace. The coat had white Swedish cuffs, white collar, shoulder-strap and small-clothes, poppy red linings, black neck-stock and yellow ‘metal’ (i.e. buttons, officers’ hat-lace and cap metalwork). 
Above: A rear view of the ‘Münchow’ Füsiliers, showing the plain white back to their Füsilier caps. Note that Prussian infantry officers never wore Füsilier or Grenadier caps and always wore hats.
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Jung-Braunschweig’ Füsiliers wore the typically simple Füsilier style of uniform, without lapels or lace. The coat had lemon yellow Swedish cuffs, shoulder-strap and collar with white ‘metal’ and poppy red linings. The small-clothes were also lemon yellow and the neck-stock was black. The uniform is almost identical to that of the 
Above: A rear view of the ‘Jung-Braunschweig’ Füsiliers, showing the plain lemon yellow back to the regiment’s Füsilier caps.
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Kreytzen’ Füsiliers wore one of the more spectacular uniforms of the Prussian Army and were presumably regular participants in the annual ‘Potsdam Pride’ Parade. As with most Füsilier regiments, the coat for the rank-and-file was fairly plain, lacking lapels and lace. The Swedish cuffs, shoulder-strap and collar were coloured rose pink and the ‘metal’ was white. Most unusually, the linings were also coloured the same as the facings, instead of the usual poppy red colouring. The small-clothes were also rose pink and the neck-stock was black. Officers’ coats were a little more spectacular, having the addition of rose pink lapels and silver ‘Brandenburg’ lace on the buttonholes.
Above: A rear view of the ‘Kreytzen’ Füsiliers, showing the unusual rose pink coat-linings (visible as turnbacks) and the plain rose pink backs to the Füsilier caps.
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Diericke’ Füsiliers were yet another regiment who wore a plain coat without lapels or lace, but who managed to pull off a striking colour scheme, thanks to their choice of small-clothes. The coat was very plain, with blue Swedish cuffs and shoulder-strap (matching the coat colour), no collar and white ‘metal’. Officers had silver Brandenburg lace on the breast, cuffs and pockets. The only splashes of colour were the poppy red linings and piping on tail-pockets and shoulder-strap. Neck-stocks were black. The main colour was provided by the small-clothes, which were coloured dark orange.
Above: A rear view of the ‘Diericke’ Füsiliers, showing the backs of the Füsilier caps. The regiment initially had Pioneer Caps, which were lower than the Füsilier pattern, being dark orange, piped white, with a white pompom on top of the crown and a silvered front plate that was distinctly lower than that fitted to the Füsilier-type cap. Sources disagree as to when the Füsilier caps were issued, but there are several surviving examples in Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian collections that had been captured at Paltzig and Kunersdorf, so it seems very likely that they were issued very close to the regiment’s creation and there are suggestions that the caps were being issued to the Pioneer Regiment even before its conversion to Füsiliers. 
Above: 
Above: Grenadier Battalion 4/16, like the majority of Prussian Grenadier Battalions, was formed at the start of the war from four Grenadier Companies – two each from two regiments. These pairings remained unchanged for the entire war, though different pairings were used in other wars (in the case of the War of Austrian Succession/Silesian Wars, the pairings had changed with each new phase of the war). There would therefore be two different uniforms used within each battalion:
Above: A rear view of Grenadier Battalion 4/16, showing the rear of the caps. These were straw with a red band for both regiments. It’s impossible to paint the piping details in 15mm, but IR 4 (here on the right) had blue/red/blue piping, while IR 16 (here on the left) had blue/white/red/white/blue piping. I find that with complicated lace colours, it’s often best to look at the picture from across the room and see what colour it looks like from there!
Above: 
Above: Grenadier Battalion 17/22. The grenadiers of IR 17, here on the left, had white small-clothes, lapels, shoulder-strap, collar and Brandenburg cuffs and red & white ‘toothpaste-stripe’ buttonhole lace (which I’ve painted as salmon-pink, as that what it looks like at a distance). The officers had gold Brandenburg lace buttonholes. Pompoms were red/white/green.
Above: A rear view of Grenadier Battalion 17/22, showing the cap detail. The grenadiers of IR 17, here on the right, had an all-white cap. The lace was white, decorated with red dots and here depicted as salmon-pink.
Above: No. II Standing Grenadier Battalion (45/48/gIX). As 
Above: The uniform for the grenadiers of the ‘Dossow’ Füsiliers (IR 45), here on the left, was the same as the uniform of their parent regiment; poppy red Brandenburg cuffs and linings, no lapels or collar, blue shoulder-strap piped red, yellow ‘metal’, white buttonhole lace on breast and cuff-flaps, red neck-stock and white small-clothes. The officers had gold buttonhole lace (some sources show the officers’ lace as only a pair of buttonholes below the breast, a pair on each pocket and none on the cuff-flaps). Pompoms were yellow/black/red.
Above: A rear view of No. II Standing Grenadier Battalion, showing the cap details. The grenadiers of IR 45, here shown on the right, had white caps with a blue band and lace coloured the same as the pompom (I’ve tried to do yellow piping within red – I should have just gone with orange).
In addition to all the new Seven Years War armies and units recently mentioned, I’ve also been building up my Prussian army with a load of new infantry units from 
As previously discussed, my original SYW collection consisted of 
Above: Here’s a comparison of Prussian Musketeer figures by (Left to Right) Old Glory 15s, Eureka, Lancashire Games Mk 1 and Mk 2. Bear in mind that the cast-on Eureka bases are actually a little thicker than the others – as much as 1mm thicker compared to Old Glory 15s. Also note that the Old Glory are in a sort of lunging-forward/crouched pose. Height-wise they’re all much the same. The Lancashire Mk 1 figures are the skinniest, while the Mk 2 are the chunkiest. Eureka and Old Glory 15s are very close in terms of build, with the Old Glory figures having somewhat oversized heads and hats.
Above: Here’s a comparison of Prussian Füsiliers. Lancashire Mk 1 on the left, Eureka in the centre and Lancashire Mk 2 on the right (I don’t have any Old Glory 15s Füsiliers). Again, the height to eye-level is virtually the same for all three and the ‘build’ is the same as for the Musketeers. The Füsilier caps are quite radically different for all three, however and does accentuate the height-difference. 
Above: Lastly, here’s a comparison of Prussian Grenadiers. Old Glory 15s on the left, Eureka in the centre and Lancashire Mk 1 on the right (I don’t have any Lancashire Mk 2 Grenadiers). again, the Old Glory 15s and Eureka figures are very close in size, though the Lancashire Mk 1 figures in this instance are very weedy and un-Grenadier-like! However, the Eureka figures have clearly been modelled using British grenadier heads, as the cap has the upturned false ‘peak’ above the eyes and the pompom is more of a British-style tassel than the Prussian ‘mushroom’ shape. The cap is also generally smaller than the Füsilier cap shown above, when it should be larger! These are therefore, definitely the weakest of the Eureka Prussians (I absolutely love the Musketeers and Fusiliers).
Above: Although I’ve already got a King Frederick army command group, it suddenly occurred to me that I could do with having another Prussian army commander for those occasions when the King wasn’t present. I still have quite a few spare Old Glory 15s generals, so picked out this map-reading officer (I think he’s actually an Austrian figure, as the same chap appears among my 
Above: There was no officially-designated uniform for Prussian general officers during this period, so generals wore a version of their own regimental uniform. In Bevern’s case, this was 
Above: I’ve wanted some 
Above: The initial uniform of the Prussian Horse Artillery was essentially unchanged from their original Artillery uniform; a plain dark blue coat with poppy red linings and piping on the pockets and cuff-flaps, brass buttons, straw small-clothes, white belts, red neck-stocks, white hat lace and pompoms coloured yellow/blue/red/white. Only their tall heavy cavalry boots (replacing the usual shoes and gaiters) and straw-coloured gauntlets marked them out as mounted troops.
Above: As mentioned above, the Horse Artillery initially wore the same pompoms on its hats as the rest of the Artillery branch. However, in 1762 there was a general order for Prussian mounted troops to adopt a short white feather plume as a national field-sign in order to aid battlefield recognition (the Austrians adopted their yellow & black plume at much the same time). This order probably wasn’t carried out until just AFTER the Seven Years War, but what the hell, as they look lovely… 😉
Above: The ‘Alt-Braunschweig’ Regiment’s uniform had straw-coloured cuffs, collar, shoulder-strap, lapels and small-clothes, though some sources suggest that this colour had changed to white. The linings and piping on cuff-flaps and tail-pockets were poppy red. The junior ranks had a pair of orange lace buttonholes below the lapels. The ‘metal’ colour was yellow and officers had gold ‘Brandenburg’ buttonhole lace on the lapels and cuff-flaps. Pompoms were coloured (from top to bottom) red/white/straw. The flag-staves were cherrywood (not that Prussian officers’ and NCOs’ pole-arms were always coloured the same as the flag-staves).
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Itzenplitz’ Regiment’s uniform was very similar to that of the ‘Alt-Braunschweig’ Regiment above, except that the straw colouring was distinctly more pale in shade and the ‘metal’ colour was white. The lace buttonholes below the lapels were white and there were an additional two lace buttonholes on the cuff-flaps. The officers had no lace on the lapels. Pompoms were yellow. The flags are again by Fighting 15s and the flag-staves were light brown wood.
Above: The 
Above: The ‘Markgraf Karl’ Regiment’s uniform had poppy red cuffs, collar, linings and piping on pockets and cuff-flaps. The coat didn’t have lapels, but the breast and cuff-flaps were decorated with buttonhole lace. The lace was made of mixed orange and white threads, so I’ve depicted it as pale orange. The ‘metal colour was yellow, the neck-stocks were red, the small-clothes were straw and the pompoms were coloured orange/white. The officers’ coats were heavily decorated with gold buttonhole lace. 
Where has the last year gone?! Perhaps it’s a consequence of Covid Groundhog Days, but it only seems like a couple of months since I was writing 
One unexpected consequence of the pandemic and lockdown is that the stats for this blog absolutely sky-rocketed immediately after the start of lockdown in March 2020 and have only kept climbing! In the first year I received 20,000 hits on the blog, which I was perfectly happy with. I then had 40,000 hits in the second year, bringing the total to 60,000 and since then I’ve received another 65,000 hits, bringing the total to over 125,000! My ‘followers’ (I prefer to call them ‘supplicants’ or perhaps ‘disciples’) have also doubled in the last year to over 80. The only explanation I can find is that desperate times bring desperate means to find entertainment… Or sleep…
In the meantime, I’ve still got a vast heap of pictures, articles and scenarios in the crypts of Fawr Towers, so there will be plenty to post here on the blog, even if we don’t manage to get wargaming again for a while yet! Sorry if the Seven Years War doesn’t float your boat, but I will get back to all things Olive Drab, Khaki Drill, Jungle Green, Dunkelgelbe and DPM again soon, I promise! 🙂
In 
The military and political structure of the 
In a nutshell, the Holy Roman Empire was divided up into ten ‘Imperial Circles’ (Kreisen) or Districts, with each district being required to provide the Reichsarmee with a contingent of Foot and Horse, the number of whom would be based on the population of the district. Each duchy, principality, county and bishopric within the district would then be required to provide a set portion of the contingent, again based on their population. The only parts of the Reichsarmee to be formed centrally from Imperial taxes would be the Imperial General Staff and the
Above: The 
Above: The Ferntheil Regiment (became the Hohenlohe Regiment in 1759). All three Franconian infantry theoretically regiments carried colours of a common pattern. Each battalion officially carried three colours; the 1st Battalion having the Leibfahne and two Kompaniefahnen, while the 2nd Battalion carried three Kompaniefahnen. The pattern was changed in 1757, with the new flags being issued in 1758, so these flags are wrong for Rossbach (more of which later) and the older type was probably therefore carried. However, no description or surviving example of the older type has been found, so these will have to do!
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: Sources agree that the 
Above: 
Above: I used yet more 
Above: With their white coats and red facings, the uniforms for the Fürstenberg Regiment are very similar to other Imperial contingents, such as the Red Würzburg, Salzburg and Kurtrier Regiments, as well as many Austrian regiments. However, this does mean that you can sneak them in at the back of an Austrian army to make up the numbers if needed! The details of the uniform are almost identical to those of the Red Würzburgers described earlier, with white coat and breeches, red lapels, cuffs and turnbacks, white metal buttons, white hat-lace and red-over-white pompoms. However, Fürstenberg had no collar on the coat and had red waistcoats instead of white. The Grenadiers had brown-black bearskins with a white metal front-plate and red bag.
Above: A rear view of the Fürstenberg Regiment. Note that the drummers’ uniforms are not known, so I’ve arbitrarily gone for reversed colours of red coats with white facings. 
The flags were carried on black & white spiraled staves with gold finials. These are taken from the Kronoskaf article and were then printed on my own laser printer. I’ve given the 1st Battalion a white Leibfahne and the 2nd Battalion a yellow Ordinärfahne, though in reality each battalion probably followed the usual practice of having two flags per battalion – one of each type in the 1st Battalion and a pair of Ordinärfahne for the 2nd Battalion. 
Above: The 
Above: The Hohenzollern Cuirassiers wore a uniform very similar to that of the Austrian cuirassier regiments, being a white coat with red facings (including lapels), white metal buttons and straw small-clothes. However, sources are not clear on whether or not the regiment was actually equipped with cuirasses and they are usually depicted without. the hat had white lace with a black cockade and red corner-rosettes. Horse furniture was red with a double stripe of white lace around the edge, though with the outermost edge being red (I was clearly a bit lazy when I painted these). Officers had silver hat and shabraque lace and an Austrian-style gold and black sash. Trumpeters’ uniforms from the period are not known, but Kronoskaf gives a uniform from 1794, being a red coat with ‘false sleeves’ and white facings, all laced silver.
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The Kurtier Regiment again followed the popular Imperial theme of white coats with red cuffs, lapels and turnbacks (no collar) with white metal buttons. Neck-stocks were black and small-clothes were white. The hat lacked pompoms, but had white scalloped lace edging and a black cockade.
Above: A rear view of the Kurtrier Regiment. The regiment’s drummers are described as having light blue coats with red facings and white metal buttons, along with light blue small-clothes.
Above: Although I haven’t yet painted the 
Above: The 
Above: The Hessen-Darmstadt Regiment’s uniform was a dark blue, Prussian-style coat with white metal buttons, white facings (no lapels), white aiguillette on right shoulder and heavily laced with white buttonhole lace. Neck-stocks were red and small-clothes were white. The hat had a black cockade and white pompoms, but sources disagree over the hat-lace; Kronoskaf says white hat-lace, while Pengel & Hurt say no hat-lace. Officers had silver buttonhole lace, silver scalloped hat-lace, silver gorgets and silver sashes striped with red. I’ve used 
Above: Sources differ markedly over the details of the grenadiers’ mitre cap. My only source at the time was Pengel & Hurt, who described a silver front with a blue enameled disc bearing the Hessian lion rampant in red and white. Knötel meanwhile showed a plain brass front, while Kronoskaf shows a plain silver front, though pierced to reveal a white cloth backing. All agree that it had a white band, blue bag, white piping and a white pompom. I must admit that I am rather pleased with those tiny stripy lions! 🙂
Above: As you can tell, I was still painting my flags in those days and these are quite spectacular! However, I’ve based them the wrong way around; the white Leibfahne should always stand on the right! I’ll have to have a word with my 1990s self…
General officers of the Reichsarmee initially wore a version of their own regimental dress (such as General von Wildenstein above, in the dress of his own Kurmainz Regiment) or some other concoction of their own design. However, the inevitable confusion this caused soon resulted in an order for all generals of the Reichsarmee to adopt 
Above: I’ve gone for the majority ‘Franconian Red’ option with regard to gun carriage colour. I’ll paint some other colours when I paint the next batch.
Above: The uniform of the Imperial Artillery Reserve was a dark blue coat with red cuffs, lapels, turnbacks, collar and shoulder-strap with white metal buttons. Small-clothes were dark blue. Neck-stocks and cross-belts were black, though waist-belts were white. The hat was laced white, with a black cockade.
Above: I used Old Glory 15s Austrian Artillery and simply painted on the lapels.
Joining the garrison of Prague alongside another Imperial auxiliary regiment, the 
Following Frederick’s withdrawal from Bohemia after his defeat at 
Imperial uniforms mostly fell into one of two camps: ‘Prussian Style’ and ‘Austrian Style’. Würzburg uniforms were very much in the Austrian camp, being indistinguishable from Austrian ‘German’ infantry uniform and I’ve therefore used 
The two Saxon-Polish Uhlan regiments proved to be superb light cavalry and highly skilled in the petit guerre of scouting and raiding, though didn’t take part in any major battles (which is fortunate, as I can’t find any decent figures for them). However, the others were assigned to Marshal Daun’s main army in Bohemia and excelled themselves at the Battle of Kolin (with the exception of the Karabiniergarde, who were routed by Prussian Dragoons). Saxon cavalry throughout history have often been among the best in Europe and these regiments were no exception to that rule. They fought on with the Austrian Army throughout the Seven Years War, even after the re-creation of the Royal Saxon Army, though by the end they were apparently ‘dressed in rags’. 
The 
The Saxon Chevauxlégers (above) are often defined in wargame army lists as ‘light cavalry’. However, while the literal translation obviously means ‘Light Horse’, the French definition of that term simply meant anyone lighter than a fully-armoured gendarme! So in the French army, ‘Chevauxlégers’ were the main heavy cavalry type, being routinely issued with cuirasses and armoured skull-caps and classed heavier than Dragoons; not exactly what might be termed ‘light cavalry’. 
The Chevauxléger Regiments were each organised into four squadrons, with 762 men at full strength. When committed to the Austrian Army in 1757 they were fairly close to full strength and in 1759 they actually exceeded 800 men per regiment. One of the eight companies (i.e. half-squadrons) in each regiment was designated as the elite Carabinier Company, though I’ve never found any information regarding special uniform distinctions for these men and they were probably dressed the same as the rest, though it’s possible that it was the Carabiniers who wore the short mitre caps shown in a few sources such as Knötel (right).
The Graf Brühl Chevauxlégers wore an iron grey coat with lapels, cuffs, turnbacks, collar and waistcoat in bleumourant (a bright shade of light blue), white metal buttons and a white aiguillette on the right shoulder. Breeches and gloves were straw-coloured. Neck-stocks were red. Belts were white. Horse furniture was bleumourant with white-red-white-red-white lace edging and ‘AR3’ cyphers in red, edged white, on the rear corners and holster-caps. The hat had a white cockade and bleumourant rosettes in the corners. Pengel & Hurt describe yellow hat-lace (gold for officers), while Kronoskaf describes white hat-lace (silver for officers). Officers wore silver & crimson sashes.
The 
The trumpeters and drummers of the Prinz Albrecht Chevauxlégers again followed the same pattern, having green coats with white facings. The lace this time was white. Their horses again were piebald.
The 
The trumpeters and drummers of the Prinz Karl Chevauxlégers had poppy red coats with green facings and yellow lace, this time including upward-pointing lace chevrons on each sleeve. There was no specified horse colour for the trumpeters and drummers of this regiment.
Saxon general officers all wore a standard regulation uniform which came into service from 1753. It consisted of a ponceau red coat with cuffs and collar in the same colour. The collar, cuffs and pockets were edged in a double row of gold lace, as were the front seams of the coat. The waistcoat was straw-coloured and had another double-row of gold lace down the front seams, with a line of red between the gold. Breeches were straw and white gloves were usually worn. The hat was edged with straight or scalloped gold lace and split white ostrich feathers, with a white cockade held in place with a gold strap. The sash was mixed silver and crimson. Horse furniture was crimson with gold lace edging.