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 Battle of Minden 1759. At this stage of the war, the British contingent in Germany was small, consisting of only six infantry battalions, a combined grenadier battalion, six regiments of cavalry and a brigade of artillery. As the war went on, the British presence in Germany was more than doubled, so there are plenty of further options for army expansion, including Highlanders and Foot Guards.
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 Foot Guards Regiment, who were attached to the left of Waldegrave’s brigade in the first line (the Hanoverian ‘Hardenberg’ Regiment – not shown here – also somehow became attached). This force was designated as the 3rd Column, under the command of the Hanoverian General of Infantry Lord August Friedrich von Spörcken.
At Minden, Spörcken’s column formed up in its (exposed) allotted position well ahead of the rest of the Allied army. Then, whether through a misunderstanding of orders or sheer impetuosity, they advanced alone against the entire French army, even leaving behind their regimental artillery in their enthusiasm to get ‘stuck in’! Immediately taken to task by a huge mass of French cavalry, Spörcken’s infantry, alone and unsupported, completely defeated the French horse, taking numerous standards. It was an astonishing achievement and won the regiments involved a very well-deserved Battle Honour. Later in the battle, the British infantry picked roses to wear in their hats as a mark of celebration and the ‘Minden Rose’ has been worn (and even eaten!) by their descendant regiments on Minden Day (1st August) ever since.
Above: Lord von Spörcken is shown here wearing the regimental uniform of his own Hanoverian ‘Spörcken’ Infantry Regiment (numbered 2-A under the post-war numbering system). There was no stipulated uniform for British or Hanoverian general officers during this period, so they invariably wore a version of their own regimental uniform. A 1770 portrait of Spörcken shows him wearing the dark blue facings of the Hanoverian Foot Guards Regiment, of which he became Colonel during the winter of 1760/61.
The uniform of the ‘Spörcken’ Regiment consisted of the usual British-Hanoverian scarlet coat, with facings and waistcoat coloured ‘pale straw’, with gold buttons, lace and aiguillette. By 1759 the Hanoverian Army had simplified its infantry uniform somewhat, removing all the extraneous lace edging to lapels, cuffs and waistcoat and just leaving the buttonhole lace. However, as a general officer, he’s retained some gold lace on his waistcoat. His breeches are a darker shade of yellow-buff and the yellow sash, worn British-style over the shoulder, was the ‘badge of office’ for Hanoverian officers.
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 12th Foot (Napier’s) formed on the right, with the 37th Foot (Stuart’s) in the centre and the 23rd Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) on the left. As mentioned above, they were further reinforced on their left by the Hanoverian Foot Guards.
Above: 12th Regiment of Foot (Napier’s). The standard British infantry uniform of the period was the classic red coat with half-lapels, large cuffs with a deep v-shaped slash, voluminous coat-tails turned back to reveal the lining colour (which always matched the facing colour on cuffs and lapels) and a matching red waistcoat, all very heavily decorated with lace that changed slightly in terms of colour and positioning from regiment to regiment. Most regiments wore red breeches, though ‘Royal’ regiments wore blue and some regiments wore other unofficial colours. Gaiters were white for full dress, secured with a black strap under the knee. However, brown, grey or black gaiters were worn on campaign, with black becoming standard in 1759. Neck-stocks were white. Belts were buff (a paler shade than that used by the French). Hats were always edged in white lace, regardless of the regimental ‘metal’ colour and the only other decoration was a black cockade.
Officers wore lace of the regimental ‘metal’ colour, as well as an aiguillette on the right shoulder. Their badge of office was a crimson sash, worn over the right shoulder. Officers coat-tails were not normally turned back. Some officers also wore fashionably buff waistcoats.
The 12th Foot had yellow facings and yellow ‘metal’. Note that the rank-and-file always wore white metal buttons. Only the officers (and sometimes NCOs) wore buttons of the regimental metal colour. The regimental lace was white with a wide central yellow stripe, so I was considering painting it in a pale yellow shade, but in the end just went with plain white.
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.
I’d better mention here that I realised after painting this (my first) regiment that the muskets have been wrongly modelled with barrel-bands. The British Brown Bess musket of course lacked such things. There’s not much I can do about them, but I didn’t paint the bands on subsequent units.
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.
The grenadier cap was invariably fronted with the regimental facing colour, with the back of the cap being red, though with the lower band being of the facing colour. Above the brow was a false turned-up flap, which was usually red and was decorated with the white running horse badge of Hanover (which at this scale looks like a badly-inflated balloon animal), edged with the motto ‘Nec aspera terrent’. Above the flap was usually the crowned royal ‘GR’ cypher, flanked by sprays of foliage. Some regiments had ‘ancient badges’ in lieu of the cypher. The sides and rear were then piped in white and the cap was topped with a woollen tuft (often in the shape of a bursting grenade) which was usually white, but could have other coloured threads worked into it. In the case of the 12th, the cypher and foliage were embroidered in red and the Roman numeral ‘XII’ was embroidered in red on the back, with a red grenade badge separating the ‘X’ and the ‘II’. The regimental number was flanked by more red foliate embroidery and there were white ‘flames’ embroidered up the red segments of the cap’s rear.
Above: 37th Regiment of Foot (Stuart’s). The 37th had yellow facings like the 12th, but this time had white ‘metal’. The regimental lace was a complicated pattern, being mainly white, but incorporating fine yellow lines and blue zig-zags (I just painted it white!). Unlike the 12th, the lace of the 37th formed a ‘herringbone’ pattern on the lower sleeves and coat-tails and is clearly shown in the photo below. This style of lace was fairly uncommon, but was also used by the Royal Artillery.
In terms of organisation, each battalion consisted of nine ‘battalion’ or ‘hat’ companies and one grenadier company. In peacetime these companies would number 81 men of all ranks and in Ireland the number was far lower, with only 37 men per company. In wartime these companies would theoretically be expanded to 114 men per company, though with the exception of a few Scottish regiments, would hardly ever reach that strength. In any case, not all men would be deployed abroad and a field strength of 50-70 men was far more common. I’ve therefore organised these at ‘field strength’ of 12 figures (roughly 400-800 men) for ‘Shako’ rules, as that seems to be typical for British regiments in Germany.
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.
Above: 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers). The three Fusilier Regiments (7th, 21st and 23rd) were authorised during the late 17th Century to operate as grenadiers and would therefore wear grenadier-style uniforms, including mitre caps for the whole regiment. In theory the cap was meant to be shorter than that of the grenadiers, though paintings from the period show no appreciable difference other than the tuft, which tended to be smaller for the Fusiliers and larger and grenade-shaped for the grenadiers.
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…).
Note that as a ‘Royal’ regiment, the 23rd DEFINITELY had yellow ‘metal’ (confirmed by my own visits to the RWF Museum at Caernarfon Castle), though Kronoskaf mistakenly lists white metal, so beware of this trap if you’re painting them!
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).
Note that as these figures lack shoulder-wings and belly-boxes they would actually be perfect for Hanoverian grenadiers… I just wish I’d realised that before buying British grenadier figures for the Hanoverians…
Above: The Hanoverian Foot Guards Regiment. This regiment uniquely put two battalions into the field and I thought I’d include a picture of these here, as they were part of Spörcken’s command, but I’ll cover the Hanoverians in detail in a future article. The uniform style was very similar to that of the British infantry, but there were quite a few subtle and not-so-subtle differences, which I’ll cover next time.
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.
Above: 20th Regiment of Foot (Kingsley’s). This regiment had pale yellow facings and white ‘metal’. The pale yellow shade is akin to a primrose flower, though Kronoskaf and Maverick Models have gone for a more pale cream shade for the Regimental Colour (i.e. the flag), so I’ve aimed somewhere between the two, as in reality the facing colour would exactly match Regimental Colour. The regimental lace was white with thin red and blue stripes. From a distance, the lace where it lies on top of the pale yellow facings looks quite red and I did consider painting it as red or pink on the cuffs and lapels, but in the end decided to just stick with white (again).
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’.
Above: 51st Regiment of Foot (Brudenell’s). It should be noted that this was the second regiment numbered 51st to have fought in the Seven Years War. The first iteration had red facings and was captured in 1756 at Fort Oswego in North America. This is therefore the second iteration of the 51st, which was raised in September 1757.
Sources are confused regarding this regiment’s facing colour. Some say ‘gosling green’, which was a horrible pale khaki shade, famously worn by the 5th Foot and often referred to as ‘gooseshit green’. Others meanwhile, describe it as ‘dark green’ and a number of paintings show it as quite a grassy shade. I’ve erred toward a darkish grassy shade, roughly matching the Regimental Colour supplied by Maverick Models, which also matches the colour plate in Stuart Reid’s Osprey book on the western allied armies. Stuart Reid also makes the case for green breeches in this regiment, so given an inch, I’ve taken the proverbial mile and gone with the green breeches look! 🙂
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.
These models are all Eureka Miniatures 18mm figures and the flags are by Maverick Models.
In the next SYW instalment I’ll be looking at the first of my Hanoverian, Hessian and Schaumburg-Lippe troops…
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.
Above: The Swiss ‘Planta’ Brigade for the Battle of Rossbach orbat, consisting of the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: As if the Swiss weren’t colourful enough, here’s the German ‘La Marck’ Brigade, consisting of the 
Above: The 
Above: The distinguishing features of the 
Above: The 
Above: A rear view of the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: A rear view of the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: A rear view of the 
While having a rummage through an old campaign chest filled with mouldy old rule-books and the like, I recently came across two old copies of Wargames Illustrated (November & December 2000). These two magazines contain my article on the AB Figures Wargames Weekend 2000, where we played the 
This was the second of three such Wargames Weekends; the first in 1999 was the 
Above: The village of Hassenhausen at 0930hrs. As the morning mist lifts, Davout and his staff, escorted by a squadron of the 1st Chasseurs, ride forward to assess the situation of Gudin’s Division, just as Blücher launches a huge, yet foolhardy and unsupported cavalry assault on the squares of Petit’s Brigade (12e & 21e de Ligne). In the distance, the Prussian infantry of Schemttau’s Division (Schimonsky’s and Alvensleben’s Brigades) starts to deploy around the village of Taugwitz.
Above: As Petit’s squares hold back the Prussian horsemen, the first battalions of Friant’s Division arrive to stabilise the situation. However, yet more Prussian infantry are beginning to appear from the misty valley of the Lissbach; this is Wartensleben’s Division (Renouard’s and Wedell’s Brigades).
Above: The view from Spielberg, behind Blücher. The Queen’s Dragoons, having already mounted two failed attacks, reform their lines as the ‘Heising’ Cuirassiers have a crack at the squares. In the distance, the Prussian advance guard infantry (the massed Schützen of Schmettau’s Division, the ‘Schack’ Grenadier Battalion and 2nd Battalion of the 33rd ‘Alvensleben’ Regiment) skirmish with Gudin’s Voltigeurs in the copse below Hassenhausen.
Above: The scene at 1100hrs. With Blücher’s cavalry assault beaten off, Friant extends the French line to Gudin’s right, as far as Spielberg (in the left foreground). Schmettau’s Division is now fully engaged with Friant and Gudin and the bodies are beginning to pile up. Reinforcements arrive in the form of Prince Henry’s Brigade of the Prince of Orange’s Division.
Above: The view from behind Prince Henry’s Brigade as Schmettau’s Division assaults the French line between Hassenhausen and Spielberg. On the right, King Frederick-William III and his staff, escorted by the Gardes du Corps, move forward for a closer look. In the distance, Friant moves a regiment to extend his line further out to the right and Vialannes’ cavalry also move to envelop the Prussian left flank.
Above: On the Prussian right flank, Wartensleben’s Division is now fully engaged with Gudin around Hassenhausen as Prince William gather’s all remaining cavalry regiments in an attempt to envelop Davout’s left flank. However, Davout has moved Morand’s freshly-arrived division to that sector and the Prussian cavalry once again runs into a mass of squares. In the foreground, Renouard’s Brigade from the Prince of Orange’s Division moves up in support, but to little effect…
Sorry, but those are the only photos I’ve got 🙁 I’m sure the photos for the three AB Figures games must be here somewhere (it’s such a long time ago that they were PROPER photos, printed on paper and living in a packet!), so I might one day be able to post the actual game photos here.