As mentioned in the last few articles, I’m presently expanding my ‘western’ armies for the Seven Years War (France, Saxony, Great Britain, Hanover, Hessen-Cassel, Brunswick and Schaumburg-Lippe), with plans to refight the larger battles in western Germany, such as Minden and Vellinghausen, as well as earlier battles from the War of Austrian Succession, such as Dettingen. In the meantime, I’m using some smaller battles such as Lutterberg, Clostercamp, Warburg and Corbach as objectives for painting.
We actually fought Clostercamp two weeks ago at Haverfordwest Gaming Club‘s open day (pictured below) and I did manage to paint a lot of new units for the game, including the Hessian troops seen last time, as well as Highlanders, additional French infantry and the rather spectacular Gendarmerie de France (the red-coated cavalry in the foreground).
The Gendarmerie de France were considered (not without some justification) to be an elite corps, being classed as senior to all French troops excepting the guard regiments of the Maison du Roi. The regiment’s senior company, the Gendarmes Écossais, in particular could trace its unbroken lineage all the way back to 1422! During the War of Austrian Succession they had re-affirmed their reputation as a hard-fighting elite regiment, being distinguished at a number of battles, most notably at Fontenoy.
During the Seven Years War their finest hour was arguably at Minden, where they, along with the Royal-Carabiniers, launched the third cavalry charge on the Allied infantry and unlike the first two charges, managed to charge home and break through the Allied first line (before coming a cropper on the second line, however). They were present at a number of other engagements, most notably at the bloody little battle of Clostercamp, where the regiment achieved some success and contributed to the French victory, but suffered heavy losses in the close terrain that was not well-suited to cavalry.
Note that the Gendarmerie de France should not be confused with the Gendarmes de la Garde, which was a far smaller regiment (only a single company), forming part of the Maison du Roi. The Gendarmes de la Garde also wore a red uniform, though with black facings and gold lace.
Above: The Gendarmerie de France had a unique organisation and was very strong indeed. It wasn’t the strongest in the French Army; that title was held by the Royal-Carabiniers, but it still weighed in at a whopping sixteen companies, organised into eight squadrons! At full strength, the regiment had 1,240 enlisted troopers, so once the company, squadron and regimental staff are added, the regiment had around 1,400 men of all ranks.
By contrast, almost all French line cavalry regiments until late in the war had only two squadrons apiece, with 400 men of all ranks when at full strength (the notable exceptions being the Colonel-Général Regiment with three squadrons and the Royal-Carabiniers with ten squadrons). However, the endemic poor leadership, corruption and inefficiency of the French cavalry arm meant that even at the start of a campaign, 240-280 men per regiment was more typical, just as it had been during the War of Austrian Succession. However, the Gendarmerie de France and Royal-Carabiniers seem to have suffered less from these problems and are recorded as being on campaign at near to full strength.
Above: Due to the colossal size of the Gendarmerie de France, I’ve represented the regiment as two tactical ‘wings’, in much the same manner as the ten-squadron Prussian Hussar Regiments and larger Dragoon Regiments. However, I must confess that I have cheated slightly, in that I’ve made each wing a ‘Large’ unit of 16 figures. I’ve done this for purely aesthetic reasons, as I wanted the frontage of the entire regiment to be divisible by eight, so that the sequence of squadron bandolier colours looked ‘right’ across the front of the regiment. In game terms they should really be two 12-figure units. I’ll make it up to the Allies…
For the Gendarmerie de France I’ve used the 18mm French Chevau-léger figures by Eureka Miniatures.
Above: As mentioned above, the eight squadrons of the Gendarmerie de France consisted of two paired companies. Six of the sixteen companies were known as Chevau-légers rather than Gendarmes, but the title made no difference in terms of seniority, uniform, tactics or fighting ability. The 1st Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes Écossais and the Gendarmes de Bourgogne. The 2nd Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes Anglais and the Chevau-légers de Bourgogne. The 3rd Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes Bourgignons and the Gendarmes d’Aquitaine. The 4th Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes de Flandres and the Chevau-légers d’Aquitaine. The 5th Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes de la Reine and the Gendarmes de Berry. The 6th Squadron consisted of the Chevau-légers de la Reine and the Chevau-légers de Berry. The 7th Squadron consisted of the Gendarmes du Dauphin and Gendarmes d’Orléans. The 8th Squadron consisted of the Chevau-légers du Dauphin and the Chevau-légers d’Orléans.
Above: Each squadron of the Gendarmerie de France was identified by the colour of the central stripe of their bandoliers, sword-belts and shoulder-straps: 1st Squadron – Yellow. 2nd Squadron – Purple. 3rd Squadron – Green. 4th Squadron – Aurore. 5th Squadron – Cherry Red. 6th Squadron – Red. 7th Squadron – Dark Blue. 8th Squadron – Medium Blue.
Most of the regiment had the same uniform; namely a scarlet coat with matching cuffs, linings, breeches and horse-furniture. Buttons were silver. The cuffs, pockets, front-seams and rear-seams of the coat were edged with silver lace. The coat was worn over a buff, sleeved leather jerkin, edged with silver lace. The horse-furniture was edged with wide silver lace. Belts and shoulder-straps were silver with a central stripe in the squadron colour, as discussed above. Hats were edged with silver lace and had a black cockade, secured with a silver button. Neck-stocks were black. On campaign a breastplate was also worn; theoretically worn under the coat, though in practice the coat was often stowed behind the saddle, giving the troopers a very different appearance as buff-clad cuirassiers. Officers wore a full back-and-breast cuirass over the coat and I should therefore have perhaps used Cuirassiers du Roi officer figures for the officers (true of all regiments).
Above: The 1st to 4th Squadrons of the Gendarmerie de France. Three companies had slightly different lace decoration on the coats:
The Gendarmes Bourgignons (3rd Squadron) had an additional broad strip of silver lace around the top edge of the cuffs (just below the narrow strip of silver lace common to all squadrons), which extended down the back seam of the cuff.
The Gendarmes Anglais (2nd Squadron) had the same additional lace, though with yet another narrow strip of silver lace placed just below the broad strip mentioned above. They also had broader lace around the pockets and a narrow strip of silver lace going up the front seam of the sleeve, over the shoulder and down the back seam of the sleeve.
The Gendarmes Écossais (1st Squadron) had the same cuff-lace and pocket-lace as the Gendarmes Anglais and the same style of sleeve-lace, though the sleeve-lace was broader. The Gendarmes Écossais also had buttonhole-lace down the front of the coat.
Above: A rear view of the 1st to 4th Squadrons of the Gendarmerie de France. The identifying belt-colour for each squadron was repeated on ‘rosettes’ attached to the horses’ manes and tails. So from right to left we have yellow (1st Squadron), purple (2nd Squadron), green (3rd Squadron) and aurore (4th Squadron). The regiment’s trumpeters wore the standard Royal Livery of blue with red cuffs and lace in a silver & red ‘chain’ pattern.
Above: The 5th to 8th Squadrons of the Gendarmerie de France. The regiment’s horses are recorded as being of ‘mixed colours’, so I’ve gone with a mixture of chestnuts, browns and bays, with greys for the trumpeters.
Above: A rear view of the 5th to 8th Squadrons of the Gendarmerie de France. Again, the horses’ manes and tails were decorated with ‘rosettes’ in the squadron colour, so from right to left we have the 5th Squadron (cherry red), 6th Squadron (red), 7th Squadron (dark blue) and 8th Squadron (medium blue).
Above: The Gendarmerie de France. Each company had a standard, so there were sixteen standards in the regiment, in a dazzling array of designs. Frédéric Aubert of Ad Hoc Editions very kindly sent me his sheet of standards for the Gendarmerie de France, which I then printed off on my own laser-printer. As gorgeous as they are, sixteen standards might be a bit much, so I decided to use four standards… Although I’m slightly regretting this, as I now think I should have used eight… In the end I decided to use the standards of the Gendarmes Anglais (white flag in foreground), the Gendarmes Bourgignons (white flag with Ragged Cross of Burgundy), the Gendarmes de Berry (blue flag) and the Chevau-légers d’Orléans (red flag).
Above: The Gendarmerie de France. As mentioned before, I tend not to paint badges, crest, cyphers, etc, on horse furniture, as they tend to obscure the actual colour of the horse furniture. But if you’re interested, the holster-caps and the rear corners of the shabraques were decorated with the crowned cypher or badge of the company’s Colonel-in-Chief, which was embroidered in silver.
That’s it from me for now. More to come…
As mentioned 
On 18th November we have a refight of the 
However, in 1760 the new Landgraf Frederick (Friedrich) II, having served as a Prussian general, reorganised the army along Prussian lines, splitting each regular infantry regiment into two small battalions of five companies apiece. The grenadier component of each regiment was expanded to two full companies. In wartime the two grenadier companies would now be paired at the start of a campaign with the grenadiers from another regiment, forming one of six permanent, Prussian-style grenadier battalions.
Above: The Grenadierregiment was originally formed in 1672 as a combined grenadier battalion, but in 1702 became formalised as a regiment in its own right. It kept the status of grenadiers and therefore continued to wear grenadier-caps, but was also granted the right to carry colours and a regimental Chef (Colonel-proprietor) was appointed. By the time of the Seven Years War, it was therefore just another line infantry regiment (6th in order of seniority, although regimental numbers were not used at this time), albeit one with fancy headgear. We could argue until the cows come home as to whether it should be classes as ‘elite’ or not, but it seems to have been a good, solid regiment and in 1760 Frederick II re-designated the regiment as 2. Garderegiment.
Above: The Grenadierregiment. In 1760 the regiment was re-titled as 2. Garderegiment and the uniform was altered, removing the white lace edging from lapels, collar and cuffs and reducing the number of buttons and lace buttonholes. However, the buttonhole lace bars had small tassels added. A white aiguillette was added to the right shoulder and a red shoulder-strap was added to the left. The colour of smallclothes was changed to lemon yellow. This uniform change probably came into effect during 1761.
Above: The Grenadierregiment. Reversed colours for infantry drummers had been discontinued in the late 1740s or early 1750s. They wore the same coat as the rank-and-file, with the addition of red-and-white ‘national’ lace edging the facings and seams, as well as ‘swallow’s-nests’ on the shoulders and inverted chevrons down the sleeves. Drummers’ pompoms were coloured red & white.
Above: The ‘Haudring’ Infantry Regiment was the 2nd most senior infantry regiment in the army. In 1757 the regimental Chef, Colonel Otto Friedrich von Haudring was killed at the Battle of Hastenbeck and so the regimental title changed to ‘Capellan’ for Colonel W. F. von Capellan. In 1759 the regimental title passed again to Baron G. H. von Toll and yet again in 1760 to Colonel G. F. von Bartheld.
Above: The ‘Haudring’ Infantry Regiment. In 1760 and as mentioned above, the regiment was changed to a Fusilier Regiment. The basic uniform didn’t change very much; the white lace disappeared from the lapels and cuff-flaps, the neck-stock changed to black and the breeches were confirmed as white. Once again, sources are split over whether the tail-turnbacks were red or orange. The newly-authorised fusilier-caps had brass metalwork with an orange ‘bowl’, though these may have been slow to arrive and one source describes hats with green pompoms.
Above: The ‘Haudring’ Infantry Regiment. Again, the drummers wore the same coat as the rank-and-file, though with the addition of red-and-white lace decoration.
Above: The Cavalry Regiments ‘Ysenburg’ (on the left) and ‘Miltitz’ (on the right). The four senior Hessian heavy cavalry regiments were organised very similarly to those of Hanover and Great Britain, each consisting of two squadrons of three companies, for a total of 362 men. This was increased in 1760 to 412 men. One regiment on it’s own is not therefore really viable as a Tricorn unit in its own right, so I ‘brigade’ two regiments together to make a 12-figure unit, though from 1760, these units might tip the scales into 16-figure ‘Large’ unit territory.
Above: The Cavalry Regiments ‘Ysenburg’ and ‘Miltitz’. All Hessian Cavalry Regiments wore the same style of uniform, namely a white coat, waistcoat and cloak, with the regimental facing colour displayed on the lapels, collar, Swedish-style cuffs, shoulder-straps, tail-turnbacks, aiguillette, waistcoat-edging and cloak-lining. The facing colour was repeated on the horse-furniture. Breeches were straw or ‘pale straw’, neck-stocks were black and belts were white and ‘Prussian-style’, with the buckles at the back. Hats had lace edging in the button colour, with a black cockade.
Above: A cavalryman of the ‘Ysenburg’ Cavalry Regiment, painted in 1748 by David Morier. The armorial details of the horse furniture had changed by the time of the Seven Years War and the button colour had (probably) changed, but the rest of the uniform was unchanged. This painting gives an excellent indication of the shade of blue facings.
Above: The Cavalry Regiments ‘Ysenburg’ and ‘Miltitz’. Each cavalry squadron carried a fringed square standard; the 1st Squadron in each regiment carried the Leibstandarte, which had a white field decorated with the lion badge of Hesse-Cassel, either in a ‘metal’ colour or in ‘true’ colours. The 2nd Squadron carried an Eskadronstandarte of the same design, though having a facing-coloured field. The standards of the ‘Miltitz’ Regiment are recorded as having gold fringes and armorials, while those of the ‘Ysenburg’ Regiment had silver. Staves are variously described as red or brown.
Above: The Cavalry Regiments ‘Ysenburg’ and ‘Miltitz’. Trumpeters are recorded as wearing ‘reversed’ colours in both the early and late versions of the uniform, but I’ve been unable to dig out any more details. I’ve given them red & white ‘national’ lace edging on their collars, cuffs and lapels.
Above: The ‘Prinz Friedrich’ Dragoon Regiment was one of two Hessian dragoon regiments. I should clarify that this regiment was actually titled the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons until 1758, having Prinz Moritz von Sachsen-Gotha as its Chef. However, by the time they were actively engaged in the war, the title had passed to Prinz Friedrich von Hessen, who owned the regiment for the duration of Hesse-Cassel’s active participation in the Seven Years War, so I’ll refer to them as the ‘Prinz Friedrich’ Dragoons.
Above: The ‘Prinz Friedrich’ Dragoons wore a sky-blue uniform coat that was almost identical to that of the Prussian dragoons. The lapels, cuffs, collar, shoulder-strap, turnbacks and waistcoat were all yellow with white metal buttons and a white aiguillette at the right shoulder. Breeches were straw and neck-stocks were black. Belts were white and the cross-belts had the buckles at the back, Prussian-style. Unlike Prussian dragoons, the hats had white lace edging. The horse furniture was yellow with a double strip of white lace around the edge. A black sheepskin or bearskin covered the horn of the saddle and the tops of the holster-caps. The cloak was white, lined yellow; this was rolled with the yellow lining outermost and stowed behind the saddle.
Above: The ‘Prinz Friedrich’ Dragoons had square standards with silver fringe and embroidery. The Leibstandarte was white, with the arms of Hesse-Cassel in silver, while the Eskadronstandarten were of the same design with a pale yellow field. Some sources describe the arms of Hesse-Cassel as being in ‘true’ colours, including a red & white-striped lion-rampant.
Above: The ‘Prinz Friedrich’ Dragoon Regiment’s drummers were initially dressed in ‘reversed colours’, which I’ve interpreted as yellow coats with light blue facings. These were decorated with ‘swallow’s nests’ of red & white national lace on the shoulders and possibly other lace decoration (I’ve edged the collar, cuffs, lapels and pockets with lace). In 1761 the ‘reversed’ uniform was changed to the same colourings as the rest of the regiment, though still with lace decoration (i.e. Prussian-style).
Above: At the start of the Seven Years War, the Hessian artillery arm occupied a very low status in the pecking order of the army and had not even been given official status as a ‘corps’. As a consequence, it had fewer than 100 men of all ranks and very few heavy guns. However, it slowly began to expand at the start of the war, initially providing a detachment of two 3pdr battalion guns for each of the eight infantry battalions contracted to serve in Britain. With their departure, a further five 3pdr detachments were formed to serve the infantry regiments remaining in Germany.
Above: The uniform of the Hesse-Cassel Artillery Corps was very Prussian in style, comprising a dark blue coat with white belts and straw smallclothes. However, unlike the Prussian uniform, the coat had lapels and the facing colour was crimson, being displayed on lapels, collar, cuffs, shoulder-straps and turnbacks. The cuffs were Swedish in style, with two buttons. Buttons were pewter. Gaiters and neck-stocks were black. Hats were edged in white lace and had crimson pompoms. It was simple enough to paint the lapels onto these Prussian gunner figures.
Above: Hessian gun-carriages were traditionally painted white with ironwork painted red, reflecting the red-and-white stripes of the national lion-rampant badge. A bad batch of Humbrol 60 Scarlet (which is the colour of dried blood) always comes in handy for these red-painted guns! 🙂 It’s entirely possible that the guns supplied by Hanover and Schaumburg-Lippe remained in their original paintwork, which for Hanover was red with black ironwork and for Schaumburg-Lippe was probably white with black ironwork (a surviving Schaumburg-Lippe 12pdr at Bückeburg Palace has been mounted upon a white-painted carriage as far back as records can ascertain). However, I’ve gone with the traditional Hessian colours, as they look rather spectacular! 🙂
Last time, in 
Above: DeLaune’s (4th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Major William DeLaune (also sometimes spelled ‘DeLawn’, ‘De l’Ane’ or ‘DeLanne’) was unusual among the Légion Britannique, in that he was seconded from the British, rather than the Hanoverian Army.
Above: DeLaune’s (4th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. This unit wore red coats with light blue cuffs and turnbacks and white metal buttons. Hat-tassels were white. Waistcoats were a pale shade of straw.
Above: DeLaune’s (4th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Again, I’m lightly in disagreement with David over his choice of flag colour, as he interpreted the facing colour as more of a blue-grey/turquoise/sea-green shade. But as before, David does a wonderful job, so I’ve used the flags regardless (my 4th Battalion clearly had a misunderstanding over the colour swatches at their tailor’s)! 🙂
Above: DeLaune’s (4th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique in skirmish order.
Above: The Dragoon Squadron of DeLaune’s (4th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. As usual, the Dragoon Squadron wore the same uniform as the parent battalion, with the addition of a button-coloured (white) aiguillette on the right shoulder. Horse furniture was the same for all squadrons; red with button-coloured lace edging and embroidery.
Above: Fircks’ (5th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. This battalion was officially commanded by Major von Fircks for the duration of the war, though executive command was actually exercised by a Major von Mauw for most of that time (for reasons that are unclear).
Above: Fircks’ (5th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. This unit also wore red coats with white metal buttons, though this time with black cuffs, white turnbacks and white waistcoats.
Above: Fircks’ (5th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. David’s lovely flags again follow the British regulations of the period, which stated that regiments with black facings were to have a Regimental Colour with a black field. superimposed with a red St George’s Cross.
Above: Fircks’ (5th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique deployed in skirmish order.
Above: The Dragoon Squadron of Fircks’ (5th) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Once again, the squadron wore the uniform of the parent battalion, though with a button-coloured (white) aiguillette on the right shoulder and red horse furniture with button-coloured lace edging and embroidery.
Above: The massed Dragoon Squadrons of the Légion Britannique. As discussed in Part 5, each battalion of the Légion Britannique had its own organic Dragoon Squadron, comprising 101 men at full strength. However, in battle the five dragoon squadrons were often grouped together as an ad hoc regiment. One well-recorded example is that of the Battle of Warburg, fought on 31st July 1760, where the five squadrons were grouped together on the right flank of the Legion, under the command of one Major von Hattorf. This grouping was formalised in October 1762, when the five squadrons were officially brought together under Hattorf’s command as Dragoon Regiment ‘Von Hattorf’.
Above: The massed Dragoon Squadrons of the Légion Britannique. 
Above: The massed Dragoon Squadrons of the Légion Britannique. I’ve already covered all the uniform details, so I won’t repeat myself here. I wanted to use the 1st Squadron guidon as the unit standard, so 1st Squadron needed to go in the centre… Not very historical, but again, sue me… So from left to right as we look at them, we have the 4th Squadron, 2nd Squadron, 1st Squadron, 3rd Squadron and 5th Squadron.
Above: The massed Dragoon Squadrons of the Légion Britannique. David Morfitt again came to the rescue with regard to flags, producing a very nice sheet of five squadron guidons. They’re in typical British style; the crowned central panel has the letters ‘LB D’ for ‘Légion Britannique Dragoons’. Two of the corner panels have the running horse badge of Hanover, while the other two panels have the squadron number in Roman numerals. It’s just a shame to waste the other five guidons! 🙁
As discussed 
In December 1759, five ‘free battalions’ were formed from PoWs, deserters, foreigners and other assorted riffraff at Paderborn by the Hanoverian General von Spörcken. Two months later in February 1760, 30 officers and NCOs were assigned to the new battalions from Hanoverian infantry regiments, while 10 officers and 20 NCOs were assigned from Hanoverian cavalry regiments. Each battalion was then organised into four infantry companies, totaling 500 men and a dragoon squadron of 101 men.
Above: Command of the newly-created Légion Britannique was given to an adjutant of Ferdinand of Brunswick, the Prussian Major August Christian von Bülow (a great-uncle of the famous Napoleonic Bülow, the Graf von Dennewitz). This talented officer achieved some remarkable feats during his time in command of the Legion, including the storming of the town of Warburg and would probably have made an excellent general. However, he was severely wounded in the Combat of Rhadern on 13th September 1760 and died on 24th September. Following Bülow’s death, command of the legion passed to the Hanoverian Adjutant-Major Emmerich Otto August von Estorff, who commanded the Legion until its transfer to Prussian service and Beckwith’s command.
Above: Stockhausen’s (1st) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. As in pretty much all armies of the period (except the British Army), the battalions of the Légion Britannique were known by the name of their commanding officer and not by a number. The commanding officer in this instance was one Major von Stockhausen, who remained in command of the unit for the duration. However, there was an order of seniority within the Legion and the battalions are therefore referred to by number in most histories. As has previously been discussed with regard to the Prussian, Austrian and Hanoverian armies, using anachronistic unit numbers makes battle-maps FAR easier to label!
Above: Stockhausen’s (1st) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. While the Legion’s five battalions each had radically different uniform colourings, there were some uniform features common to all five battalions:
Above: Stockhausen’s (1st) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. The Legion is recorded to have carried flags ‘of the British pattern’, though nothing more is known about them. After much badgering, David Morfitt very kindly produced a set of battalion colours and dragoon squadron guidons ‘of the British pattern’, using a Roman numeral to identify each battalion/squadron (in this case ‘I’). The Regimental Colour here is straw/buff, matching the battalion’s facing colour.
Above: Stockhausen’s (1st) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. As I was feeling keen, I decided to do a pair of skirmisher stands for each battalion, thus enabling each battalion to deploy in skirmish order.
Above: Dragoon Squadron of Stockhausen’s (1st) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. As mentioned above, each battalion included a Dragoon Squadron of 101 men at full strength. However, in reality the Dragoon Squadrons were usually massed together as a de facto regiment and this grouping was formalised in October 1762, with the formation of a Légion Britannique Dragoon Regiment under Major von Hattorf, who had previously commanded the informal grouping since of dragoon squadrons at least 1760 (being named as the commander of the massed squadrons at Warburg).
Above: Udam’s (2nd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Major von Udam remained in command of the 2nd Battalion for the duration of the war.
Above: Udam’s (2nd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique.
Above: Udam’s (2nd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. As the facing colour for this unit was red, David has used the ‘St George’s Cross’ pattern of Regimental Colour, which was the pattern used for British regiments with red or white facings. The St George’s Cross was also used with a black field for regiments with black facings.
Above: Udam’s (2nd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique deployed in skirmish order.
Above: The Dragoon Squadron of Udam’s (2nd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Again, the uniform is the same as that of the infantry, except for the addition of a white aiguillette.
Above: Appelboom’s (3rd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. Major von Appelboom remained in command of the unit for the duration of the war.
Above: Appelboom’s (3rd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique.
Above: Appelboom’s (3rd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. David went again with the St George’s Cross pattern for this Regimental Colour. He was working from the view that ‘orange is a sort of red’. However, I do have to slightly disagree here, as the British 35th Foot had orange facings and they carried an orange Regimental Colour. However, beggars can’t be choosers and David has once again produced a magnificent set of colours, so I’m more than happy! 🙂
Above: Appelboom’s (3rd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique, here deployed in skirmish order.
Above: The Dragoon Squadron of Appelboom’s (3rd) Battalion of the Légion Britannique. This plate, copied from the Gmunder Prachtwerk (the same source as the infantryman shown above), raises several questions: First, the facing colour is a very dark shade of orange, bordering on red. This may be caused by the contrast being cranked up by whoever scanned the original image and may also be the reason why the 2nd Battalion Dragoon plate above is shown in a very dark blue coat. Second, the aiguillette appears to be red or orange, rather than the regulation button-colour (white). Third, the cross-belt appears to have two bands of orange or yellow lace, though this may be a misinterpretation of the two stitched seams running along the edges of the belt. Fourth, the valise is red, matching the horse furniture, whereas the previous dragoon had a blue valise, matching the coat.
With the 
Above: The 
In February 1758 the mixed companies were increased in strength to 54 fusiliers and 44 dragoons and the worker company to 32 men, for a total of 1,304 men.
Above: The 
In 1757, half the unit was split off to become the 
Above: As mentioned above, the 
Above: The 1759 organisation remained in place until December 1762, when the unit was amalgamated with the Volontaires d’Austrasie. The unit was then renamed in March 1763 as the Légion du Hainaut.
Above: The uniforms of the Volontaires du Hainaut were very similar to those of the Volontaires de Flandre, essentially just replacing the red facings with black. To recap, the coat and waistcoat were blue with white metal buttons. The coat had blue tail-turnbacks, black lapels and black cuffs. The lapels, cuffs and lower breast were decorated with white buttonhole lace. Headgear was a cocked hat with false silver lace and white or black cockade. Breeches were white or black. Belts were natural leather and the cartridge pouch was black.
Above: When formed in 1757, the Volontaires du Hainaut were issued with the old colours of the Arquebusiers de Grassin. This famous unit had been one of the units amalgamated into the Volontaires de Flandre at the end of the War of Austrian Succession and so the colours were still held by the Volontaires de Flandre. New colours were eventually issued to the Volontaires du Hainaut during the course of the Seven Years War, but I’ve used the former colours of the Arquebusiers de Grassin, as I really like them.
Above: The drummers’ livery for the Volontaires du Hainaut is unknown, so I’ve just used the standard Royal Livery. There’s no information regarding any specific items of dress for the grenadier company.
Above: In addition to the formed Volontaires du Hainaut, I again did a couple of skirmisher stands. Again, the Volontaires du Hainaut are all 
Above: Waaay back in 
Above: Rather than re-paint my existing gun-carriages red, I relegated the old guns to various Reichsarmee contingents and bought some new 12pdr and 4pdr guns from 
Above: My French artillery figures are all 
Above: Here are the French ‘Swedish’ 4pdrs. These models are excellent value, as they come two per pack. The barrels and trails are cast as one piece, which also means less sticking.
Above: Again, I’ve used Eureka artillery crewmen for the 4pdrs, giving them the men with shorter rammers. However, I do rather regret not replacing the shafts with brass rod, as I did with the longer rammers, as again, they’re very bendy.
Above: A last view of the French artillery.
The long and winding road has finally reached its destination! As discussed in 
Well all good things (and tedious blog articles) must come to an end… I’ve finally painted my last unit for the Reichsarmee. I will post a Grand Imperial Parade in Part 11, showing the Reichsarmee as a whole and the grouped district contingents en masse, but for now here are the last units to be painted.
Above: The Franconian ‘Cronegk’ Infantry Regiment. Like many other Reichsarmee units, the three Franconian regiments were raised from a multitude of tiny contingents. The units raised in this manner were invariably bad and the Franconian regiments were no exception, being rated by the French Marshal Soubise as ‘poor’ and ‘too Prussian in their ways’. It certainly didn’t help that the regiments were riven by religious disputes, including the ridiculous argument over the regimental colours, as described in 
Above: The Franconian ‘Cronegk’ Infantry Regiment wore a dark blue coat cut in Prussian style, with white lapels, collar, shoulder-strap, (Swedish) cuffs and tail-turnbacks. Buttons were brass. Smallclothes and belts were white. Gaiters and neck-stocks were black. The hats were decorated with white lace and white-over-blue-over-white pompoms. Officers wore gold hat-lace and aiguillette, with a gorget and silver waist-sash, woven through with black and red. The only adornment to drummers’ uniforms was a white ‘swallow’s nest’ on each shoulder.
Above: The Franconian ‘Cronegk’ Infantry Regiment. As mentioned above, the tail-turnbacks were coloured white, though some sources show them as red. This confusion seems to stem from a later uniform-change, first depicted in 1782, by which time the tail-turnbacks of all three Franconian regiments had changed to Prussian-style red. The general consensus is that they were still white during the SYW and were depicted as such in the 
Above: The 
Above: This battery of the Franconian District Artillery Corps is therefore based on the description provided by Frédéric Aubert, who asserts that Franconian gunners were still wearing red smallclothes during the SYW and that the blue smallclothes shown in Kronoskaf did not appear until sometime around 1781 (being illustrated in 1782). Kronoskaf does describe red smallclothes being worn by Franconian artillery officers.
Above: The Franconian District Artillery Corps was equipped with guns from the Nuremberg Arsenal, which also supplied the bulk of the guns for the Reichsreserveartillerie. The heavy Nuremberg guns supplied to the Reichsreserveartillerie are known to have been carried on red carriages, so I’ve also painted this gun-carriage red.
As the war went on and in common with the Austrian grenadiers, they were increasingly used as an elite corps, being used for critical assault tasks and as a tactical reserve to defend key points and react to enemy breakthroughs. However, unlike the Prussian grenadiers, who were formed into semi-permanent battalions at the commencement of hostilities, the Austro-Imperial grenadier battalions were always ad hoc affairs, being grouped together on or very close to the day of battle.
Above: Franconian Grenadiers. The three Franconian infantry regiments each provided two grenadier companies. I use two roughly figures per company, so each regiment is represented by four figures.
Above: Franconian Grenadiers. From left to right, the three Franconian regiments represented here are ‘
Above: Franconian Grenadiers. While the majority of Franconian grenadiers wore Austrian-style fur caps, some contingents equipped their grenadiers with Prussian-style mitre caps. There is some disagreement among sources as to how many contingents were still wearing mitre caps during the SYW, but all seem to agree that the Bayreuth Company of the ‘Varell’ Regiment wore mitre caps, while the Eichstädt Company of the same regiment wore fur caps. As for the rest, the Anspach contingents of the ‘Cronegk’ and ‘Ferntheil’ Regiments may also have worn mitre caps. I’ve therefore given mitre caps to half of the ‘Varell’ Regiment’s grenadiers and also arbitrarily given them to half of the ‘Ferntheil’ Regiment’s grenadiers.
Above: Franconian Grenadiers. The fur caps worn by Franconian grenadiers were all made of dark brown fur, with brass front-plates and bags in the facing colour, piped blue for the ‘Cronegk’ Regiment and white for the other two. The mitre caps had a facing-coloured front-piece, decorated with a brass crest, bearing a blue enamel disc. The head-band was also facing-coloured and decorated with brass grenades. The bag was blue for the ‘Fertheil’ and ‘Cronegk’ Regiments and red for the ‘Varell’ Regiment. Piping and pompoms were white for all three regiments.
Above: Kurrhein (Electoral Rhine) Grenadiers. Four of the five Electoral Rhenish infantry regiments supplied six grenadier companies between them; the 
Above: Kurrhein Grenadiers. The regimental contingents from left to right are: the two Kurköln regiments (red facings), the Kurmainz Regiment (green facings) and the Kurpfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment (white facings). I detailed the uniforms of all these Kurrhein contingents in 
Above: Kurrhein Grenadiers. All Kurrhein grenadier companies wore Austrian-style fur caps of dark brown/black fur with a plate at the front and a hanging bag at the rear. The metal of the plate matched the regimental button-colour, which was certainly brass for the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment, though the other regiments are the source of some debate. The Kurpfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment is variously described as yellow or white metal and I’ve gone with white metal. As for the two Kurköln regiments, one had white metal and the other yellow, but nobody can agree which regiment was which (Kronoskaf also says that the plate was brass for both regiments)!
Above: Kurrhein Grenadiers. The colour of the bags on the back of the grenadier caps matched the regimental facing-colour. The piping and tassel was blue for the Kurpfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment, yellow (or possibly a darker shade of green) for the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment and white for both Kurköln regiments.
Above: Swabian Grenadiers. The four Swabian infantry regiments; ‘
Above: Swabian Grenadiers. From left to right, the regiments represented here are the ‘Baden-Baden’ Regiment (white facings), the ‘Alt-Württemberg’ Regiment (yellow facings) and the ‘Baden-Durlach’ Regiment (red facings). I covered their parent regiments in 
Above: Kurbayern, Oberrhein & Obersachsen Grenadiers. This battalion is comprised of the various odds & sods making up the remainder of my Reichsarmee. These were for the most part painted in the 1990s, when my sources were limited to just the (excellent) Pengel & Hurt booklets. Some of the details have since been challenged by more recent research, but I’ve left them largely unaltered.
Above: Kurbayern, Oberrhein & Obersachsen Grenadiers. From left to right, these grenadier companies are from the ‘
Above: Kurbayern, Oberrhein & Obersachsen Grenadiers. While most of these contingents wore Austrian-style fur caps, the Hessen-Darmstädt grenadiers wore Prussian-style mitre caps. It should be noted that when I painted these, Pengel & Hurt specified that the Salzburg grenadier caps were made of ‘brown fur’, so I painted them that horrible ginger colour. I know now that virtually all fur grenadier caps were made of ‘brown’ fur and it was usually a dark brown, bordering on black, so they should probably all be roughly the same colour.
Above: Kurbayern, Oberrhein & Obersachsen Grenadiers. From right to left, the cap-bags of the ‘Holnstein’ contingent of the ‘Kurbayern’ Regiment should have light red bags, piped white, not the poppy red piped yellow shown here. The straw bags with white piping of the ‘Pechmann’ contingent may well be correct, or they may also have adopted light red (sources are split). The ‘Salzburg’ Regiment’s bags are just described as ‘red’, though they may have had white piping. All sources agree that the Hessian mitre caps had white bands, grenade badges in brass or white metal, blue bag, white piping and white pompoms. The Kurpfalz ‘Garde zu Fuss’ had red bags with white piping.
Above: Imperial Auxiliary Grenadiers. As discussed in 
Above: Imperial Auxiliary Grenadiers. From left to right, these are the grenadier companies of the ‘Mainz-Lamberg’, ‘Blau-Würzburg’ and ‘Rot-Würzburg’ Regiments. I covered the ‘Rot-Würzburg’ Regiment in 
Above: Imperial Auxiliary Grenadiers. All three regiments wore Austrian-style fur caps of dark brown fur, with white metal front-plates.
Good news! It’s time for more Reichsarmee units! 🙂
Above: The 
Above: My ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment is comprised of 
Above: The Circle of the Upper Rhine’s 
Above: The uniform of the Upper Rhine District Artillery consisted primarily of an iron grey coat with brass buttons and green collar, cuffs and tail-turnbacks. The waistcoat was green, breeches were straw and hat-lace was yellow. I’ve been unable to discover what colour they painted their gun-carriages, so I’ve arbitrarily painted them grey to match the uniform coats.
Above: I didn’t originally plan to paint the 
Above: Here are the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons as they’ll appear on the wargames table; grouped with the white-coated ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons (detailed below). The standards of the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons are very well-documented, being very similar to those of the ‘Hohenzollern’ Cuirassiers, though with the central armorial device rotated through 90 degrees (the white cross on black field is shown above the three leopards, whereas on the Cuirassier standards they are side-by-side). The regiment’s Leibstandarte had a white field, though I’ve opted for the yellow Eskadronstandarte. This is another design by 
Above: The Circle of Swabia raised a 
Above: The uniform for the Swabian District Artillery Corps was a dark blue coat with red lapels, cuffs and turnbacks, white metal buttons and blue shoulder-strap. Smallclothes were red and hat-lace was white. For once we actually know the colour of the gun-carriages and these were yellow with black ironwork, reflecting the colours of Swabia’s heraldry.
Above: I originally covered the II. Battalion of the Pfalz Garde zu Fuss Regiment just over a year ago, in 
Above: As discussed above, the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoon Regiment was a tiny unit of only two squadrons, numbering some 222 men at full strength (not including officers). It wouldn’t normally be worth bothering with, but from 1759 it tended to be grouped with the even smaller ‘Württemberg’ Dragoon Regiment (see above), so I thought I’d model the two regiments as a weak combined unit.
Above: Uniform details for the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons are fairly sparse, but it is known that the regiment wore a white coat with red facings, brass buttons, yellow aiguillettes and yellow hat-lace. Sources are split over whether or not the coat had (red) lapels. I’ve gone with Frédéric’s interpretation, showing no lapels, but red cuffs, collar and shoulder-strap, red waistcoat and pale straw breeches. I’ve also followed Frédéric’s depiction of red horse-furniture with white lace edging, but I do wonder if yellow lace edging would be more in keeping with the button and hat-lace colour?
Above: Musicians’ uniforms are unknown for the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons, but I’ve gone with the style of the Army of the Duchy of Saxony; namely a reverse-coloured coat with button-coloured lace. Once again, the figures are 
Above: Again, here are the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ Dragoons grouped with the ‘Württemberg’ Dragoons, as they’ll appear on the wargames table.
Above: As discussed above, the 
Above: At the start of the Seven Years War the ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons consisted of three squadrons, each of three companies, for a total of 468 men. In 1758, following the Austrian contract, the regiment was expanded to conform to Austrian organisation and now consisted of five squadrons, each of two companies, for a total of 800 men. As such, it was the Reichsarmee’s strongest cavalry regiment and is represented here as a ‘large’ unit of 16 figures. However, the regiment had an inauspicious start, suffering the loss of 522 men taken prisoner in their first engagement! Nevertheless, the regiment was quickly reconstituted to full strength and served at all of the Reichsarmee’s major engagements.
Above: The guidon of the ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons once again comes from one of the superb plates by Frédéric Aubert’s 
In the unlikely event that there is still someone reading this who isn’t now sick to the back teeth of all things Reichsarmee, here are some more painted units! 😀 Rest assured that they’re all finished now and it’ll soon be over (I finished painting the last Reichsarmee unit last night)…
Above: However, before I look at the newly-painted units, here are some cavalry units I painted last year. As discussed in 
Above: The only sources for the uniforms of the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment are a plate from the 
Above: To add just a little confusion, the ‘Kurmainz’ Regiment is also sometimes referred to as the ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment, due to initially having Johann Georg Baron von und zu Wildenstein as its Colonel and can also be confused with the pre-war Mainz ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment or even the Kurköln ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment, which had a different member of the Wildenstein clan as its Colonel! Wildenstein didn’t stay with the regiment for very long, as he was promoted in 1757 to Generallieutenant and placed in command of the entire Kurrhein contingent. As shown in 
Above: Pfalz or ‘The Palatinate’ possessed by far the most powerful standing army of the Kurrhein, consisting of nine infantry regiments (each of two battalions), a cuirassier regiment, a dragoon regiment and a permanent squadron of cavalry for Imperial service, plus the usual artillery corps and company of horse guards. However, Pfalz was only required to provide a single infantry regiment of two battalions, a regiment of cavalry and a small artillery contingent to the Reichsarmee. The Elector-Palatine had some other deals on the side; he had a contract to provide France with an Auxiliary Corps of ten battalions, Austria paid for the use of a single battalion of the Pfalz Garde zu Fuss and also later hired a regiment of dragoons.
Above: As part of its contribution to the Reichsarmee, Pfalz assigned one of its regular infantry regiments, namely the 
Above: As mentioned above, the Pfalz ‘Effern’ Regiment had a detachment of battalion guns assigned from the Pfalz Artillery Corps. Curiously though, each battalion only had a single gun assigned at the start of the war (more may have been assigned later), while the battalions of the Pfalz Auxiliary Corps assigned to the French had double that number. It’s possible that Pfalz gunners were also assigned to the Reichsreserveartillerie.
Above: The uniform worn by Pfalz artillerymen was generally dark blue in colour, including the tail-turnbacks and smallclothes. Cuffs and shoulder-straps were red and buttons were brass. Pengel & Hurt and Frédéric Aubert suggest red lapels, but I’ve gone for the plainer look. Hat-lace was yellow; Kronoskaf shows this as straight lace tape, but Frédéric shows this as scalloped and I’m inclined to agree, as the Pfalz infantry regiments had scalloped hat-lace as standard. I was able to discover absolutely nothing about the colour of Pfalz gun-carriages, so went with their main heraldic colour of light blue.
Above: Each Kurköln infantry regiment consisted of a single battalion of six Fusilier companies, a single (detached) Grenadier company and a battalion gun detachment of two 4pdr guns, for a theoretical total of 820 men. However, the recorded strength of Leib-Regiment ‘Nothaft’ throughout the war ranged from 373 to 711 men, while the ‘Wildenstein’ Regiment varied between 585 and 714 men. They were reported as being constantly under-strength, badly-equipped and in a poor state of morale. I’ve therefore done them as ‘normal’ sized (12-figure) units for 
Above: I needed some more gunners for my Kurrhein contingent, due to several contingents (most noticeably Mainz) having no known uniform. However, Frédéric came to the rescue again, with the uniform of the ‘
Above: According to Frédéric, the Kurtrier Artillery wore a dark blue coat with red cuffs, no lapels and dark blue shoulder-straps, dark blue tail-turnbacks and brass buttons. Smallclothes were red. Hat-lace was white, cockade was black and pompoms were red. However, I’ve just realised that the hat-lace should be scalloped and I’ve done it straight! Aargh! Back to the painting-table…
As mentioned in recent posts, I’ve been steadily working toward completing the Reichsarmee and last week I finally had enough finished to field all the Reichsarmee units present at the 
Above: The battlefield as seen from the south (the same orientation as the map above). Although it’s not that obvious in the photos, the first contour of the larger hills is actually formed by a layer of polystyrene placed under the terrain-cloth. The second contours of the Dürren-Berg and Otten-Berg were then placed on top of the cloth. I decided to leave off the very small ring-contours of the Liebschützer-Berg, Sittel-Berg and Latten-Berg.
Above: The view from the western edge of the battlefield, with the Austro-Imperial flanking columns in the foreground, aiming to assault the Prussian outpost on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: The view from the eastern edge of the battlefield. This flank of the battlefield was anchored on the wide River Elbe and the large riverside town of Strehla.
Above: Zedtwitz’s Austro-Imperial cavalry division forms the right flank of Zweibrücken’s Main Corps, comprising two Austrian and two Imperial cuirassier regiments. However, while this deployment made good sense during the approach-march, they’re now stuck facing Strehla and the entrenchments, with the Elbe blocking any attempt at a flanking move. The very first order transmitted by Zweibrücken during the game would be to order Zedwitz to move his cavalry to the centre.
Above: Zweibrücken’s Main Corps consists of seventeen Reichsarmee battalions and five Imperial auxiliary battalions. While they do look pretty, they are mostly bloody awful! Two batteries from the Reichsreserveartillerie have deployed in front of the army, but they are heavily out-gunned by Hülsen’s Prussians, who have 36 heavy guns (six batteries in game terms)!
Above: On Zweibrücken’s left, Guasco’s Grenadier Corps has deployed onto the Otten-Berg feature and is meant to be launching an assault on Clanzschwitz and the Dürren-Berg beyond. However, he has deployed his guns and seems content to wait while the gunners do their work.
Above: The crest of the Otten-Berg was fortified during the previous century by Gustavus Adolphus’ Swedish Army. However, the old earthworks were not occupied by the Prussians and will play no part in this battle.
Above: Guasco’s Grenadier Corps includes a dazzling array of colours, including as it does, grenadier companies from 24 different regiments; most in bearskin caps, but some wearing Prussian-style mitre caps. Historically these were organised into six four-company ad hoc grenadier battalions, but as these were very weak, I’ve rationalised this into four battalions for game purposes; one Austrian and three Imperial. Guasco’s Corps also includes the Austrian Pallavicini (2 bns) and Sachsen-Gotha (1 bn) Infantry Regiments, the Imperial Hohenzollern Cuirassiers (with some attached Austrian elite Carabinier and Horse Grenadier companies) and a detachment from the Reichsreserveartillerie. However, it’s just occurred to me while looking at this photo that I completely forgot to deploy the battalion of the Sachsen-Gotha Regiment on the table! 🙂
Above: On the western edge of the battlefield, the Prince of Würzburg’s Reserve Infantry Division is deploying onto the Liebschützer-Berg feature, above the hamlet of Liebschütz. Würzburg has the Austrian Luzan and Macquire Regiments (1 bn apiece), another Austrian grenadier battalion and the Imperial Kurtrier (1 bn) and Pfalz-Zweibrücken (2 bns) Regiments. However Würzburg, like Guasco, has opted to halt his infantry while his gunners (limited to just a few battalion guns) soften up the Prussians on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: On Würzburg’s left, Kleefeld’s Auxiliary Corps is made of sterner stuff. Kleefeld had the Imperial Blau-Würzburg Regiment (2 bns), two Grenzer battalions and a weak grenadier battalion under his command. His mission is to circumvent the Dürren-Berg position via the Laas woods and attack the Prussians from the rear.
Above: On the extreme left flank, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen, Colonel of the Austrian Pfalz-Zweibrücken Chevauxléger Regiment, has been tasked with cutting off the Prussian lines of retreat. For this task he has his own regiment, reinforced by the Austrian Baranyay Hussars and the Pfalz Kurfürstin Dragoon Regiment.
Above: So to the Prussian side of the battlefield: At Strehla the southern end of the town is prepared for defence and occupied by the Wunsch Frei-Infanterie. The Manstein Grenadier Battalion meanwhile, has occupied the hamlet of Klein-Rügeln, supported by battalion guns. The Wunsch Frei-Infanterie Jäger Detachment, the Prussian Feldjäger-zu-Fuss and elements of the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusiliers are deployed as picquets along the stream-bank.
Above: The bulk of Hülsen’s Prussians (9 battalions) are dug in behind a strong line of entrenchments on the high ground just to the west of Strehla. This position was built by Prince Henry’s of Prussia’s corps during the previous year’s campaign.
Above: The main Prussian position is very strong in heavy artillery and will be a very tough nut for the Imperial troops to crack.
Above: Another view of the Prussian entrenchments. I must say that I’m really pleased with how the refurbished entrenchment models look! 🙂
Above: The Prussian regular cavalry forms up to the west of the earthworks. This consists of the Kleist (or ‘Green’) Hussars (HR 1) and the Schorlemmer (or ‘Porcellain’) Dragoons (DR 6). Both regiments had ten squadrons apiece, so were very large and are represented by two tactical battalions (only two Prussian dragoon regiments had ten squadrons; most had five squadrons). Dragoon squadrons were around one-third stronger than hussar squadrons, so the dragoon battalions are large 16-figure units. However, I don’t yet have one of the two large dragoon regiments painted, so I’ve used two different regiments to represent the Schorlemmer Dragoons.
Above: To the rear of the regular cavalry regiments are two embryonic regiments of Kleist’s new Freikorps; the Dragoons in green coats and bearskin caps and the Hussars, in their nausea-inducing uniform of orange-red and vomit-green. These are the two most recently-raised units in the army and are the most recently-painted units on the table… They’re doomed…
Above: Out on the far Prussian right flank, Generalmajor von Braun has reinforced his detachment atop the ancient hill-fort of the Dürren-Berg with several battalions and a detachment of 12pdr heavy artillery, in response to the detected Imperial flank-march.
Above: In front of the Dürren-Berg, the hamlet of Clanzschwitz has been occupied by the Lossow Grenadier Battalion (IV. Standing Grenadier Battalion) and prepared for defence. On the high ground behind the village, the 12pdr battery, protected by the Lubath Grenadier Battalion (GB 7/30), is positioned to engage Guasco’s Imperial Grenadier Corps on the Otten-Berg.
Above: The view from the top of the Dürren-Berg. From right to left, the position is occupied by the two battalions of the Braunschweig-Bevern Infantry Regiment (IR 7), the Beyer Grenadier Battalion (GB 11/14) and the I. Battalion of the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusilier Regiment (IR 55). After this photo was taken, Braun pulled the 12pdr detachment up to the top of the hill (facing west) and placed the Lubath Grenadiers at right-angles on the right of the line, essentially forming three sides of a square. Braun was later to regret not pulling the Lossow Grenadiers in from Clanzschwitz…
Above: General von Hülsen and his staff wait for the enemy to make their next move. Observing nearby is the ever-present correspondent for the Times of London, Sir Aiden Catey, who has survived numerous cavalry charges, ‘accidental’ bounce-throughs and blatant assassination attempts over the years.
Above: In front of Sir Aiden, a Prussian field-postman accuses a cavalry Flügeladjutant of ‘looking at him in a funny way’.
Above: In the meantime, most of the Austro-Imperial commanders on the left wing had opened their packets of orders, turned to their aides and said “Ficken das für ein spiel auf soldaten!”
Above: As Kleefeld’s Grenzer begin to make a nuisance of themselves on the north side of the Dürren-Berg position, the 12pdr battery (in the foreground) opens up on the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment (IR 33). The Austrian battalion gunners return fire, cutting down some of the Prussian gunners, but the Prussians slew their heavy guns around and load canister, quickly annihilating the impertinent Austrian guns.
Above: On the other side of the Laas Wood, the Prince of Nassau-Usingen leads the Austro-Imperial cavalry forward against the Kleist Freikorps. He orders the Baranyay Hussars to fall back to the second line and the red-coated Imperial Kurfürstin Dragoons (another freshly-painted regiment!) to take their place on the left flank.
Above: Kleist meanwhile, has turned his regular cavalry around and they are now riding to assist the Freikorps. However, the enemy cavalry will get there first!
Above: Nassau-Usingen wastes no time in launching his charge! His own regiment, the blue-coated Zweibrücken Chevauxlégers (ChR 39) charge the green-coated Kleist Freikorps Dragoons with the Baranyay Hussars in support. The Kurfürstin Dragoons meanwhile, hit the Kleist Freikorps Hussars.
Above: Despite having a slight advantage, the initial clash goes badly for the Austro-Imperial cavalry and both leading regiments are beaten off, though with only light casualties. Sensing victory, the Kleist Freikorps follow through, launching a charge on the Baranyay Hussars. However, the Hungarian horsemen prove to be made of stronger stuff and having been unfazed by their retreating comrades, succeed in beating off the impetuous Freikorps cavalry, who fall back over the stream. However, with large numbers of Prussian cavalry bearing down on them, the Baranyay Hussars wisely decide to fall back to rally near Laas, where their comrades will (hopefully) be rallying.
Above: However, disaster strikes as both Austro-Imperial dragoon regiments fail to rally from their retreat and suddenly discover that they have urgent business to attend to in the rear! Despite the loss of over two thirds of his command, Nassau-Usingen manages to keep control of the Baranyay Hussars who despite the appalling odds, prepare to charge again. On the Prussian side the Kleist Freikorps Dragoons managed to rally, but the hussars (being the most recently-painted) headed for the hills.
Above: At Liebschützen meanwhile, new orders arrive for the Prince of Würzburg. Zweibrücken is this time taking no chances and has sent both of his ADCs!
Above: Honour (and the rules…) demands that Nassau-Usingen has no choice but to comply with his orders and therefore leads the Baranyay Hussars once more into the fight. They are met by the Prussian Kleist Hussars who, despite some sniping from Grenzer in the woods, manage to comprehensively defeat the gallant Hungarians.
Above: This time Nassau-Usingen is unable to prevent a rout and his entire command quits the field.
Above: Despite the success of Kleist’s cavalry, the situation for Braun’s infantry atop the Dürren-Berg is deteriorating. On the edge of the woods, the Lubath Grenadiers are getting the worst of a firefight with the 1st Battalion of the Imperial Blau-Würzburg Regiment and Kleefeld’s grenadier battalion (formed from the grenadier companies of Blau-Würzburg and the Grenzer). Braun sent the Hauss Fusiliers across to reinforce the firefight, but they immediately suffered heavy casualties from the Grenzer, who also managed to finish off a section of Prussian battalion guns. With things starting to look dicey on the right flank, Braun orders the Beyer Grenadiers on the left flank to turn about and be prepared to stabilise the situation on the right.
Above: Würzburg’s Reserve Infantry Division finally advances past the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy (on the left). The Prussian 12pdrs on the Dürren-Berg have inflicted massive casualties on the Hungarians and have knocked out another Imperial battalion gun section, but the Prussian 12pdrs have finally been silenced by the combined fire of the 1st Banal Grenzer and the remaining Austrian battalion guns. The loss of the 12pdr battery is a massive blow to Braun.
Above: With the defeat of the Austro-Imperial cavalry, Kleist considers leading his cavalry in a wide ride around the woods, to overrun the Imperial left flank. However, this request is vetoed by Hülsen, who orders the incredulous Kleist to resume his defensive posture in the centre. While his hussars rally following their combat (all the while being sniped by Grenzer), the dragoons turn about to resume their former positions.
Above: The reason for Hülsen’s caution soon becomes apparent; Zedwitz’s Austro-Imperial cuirassier brigade have arrived in the centre, having marched from their former position on the right flank. To add to Kleist’s problems, the Schorlemmer Dragoons are reporting that they are suffering a constant trickle of casualties from the Imperial heavy guns at Zausswitz. However, the Imperial infantry are also getting a pasting from long-range Prussian heavy artillery fire.
Above: As Würzburg’s division advances, the jaws start to close on the Dürren-Berg.
Above: Even though the situation is turning in their favour, Kleefeld and Würzburg still need Guasco’s Grenadier Corps to join them in crushing the Prussian position. But where are they?!
Above: Guasco has spent all this time stationary on the Otten-Berg, observing the fall of shot as his artillery hammers the Prussian Lossow Grenadiers in Clanzschwitz. However, Guasco’s two right-hand grenadier battalions have been suffering heavy losses from long-range Prussian artillery fire. But as it happens, an ADC has just arrived at Guasco’s headquarters, demanding that the Grenadier Corps advance at once on the Dürren-Berg!
Above: It’s entirely possible that the battle for the Dürren-Berg may well be over long before Guasco’s grenadiers arrive! The Austrians are moving into position for a massive, coordinated charge, but for now seem content to trade volleys. However, they don’t have it all their own way, as the 1st Battalion of the Hungarian Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment is broken by fire from the 1st Battalion of the Braunschweig-Bevern Regiment.
Above: At Clanzschwitz, the Lubath Grenadiers, having suffered heavy losses from Guasco’s artillery, make a break for it and attempt to march to Braun’s aid. However, Würzburg spots the move and sends his grenadiers and remaining battalion guns to interdict their march.
Above: At long last, Guasco’s division starts to move forward. Having driven the Prussian grenadiers out of Clanzschwitz, Guasco’s artillery switches its fire to the Dürren-Berg.
Above: The situation for Braun’s Prussians on the Dürren-Berg is grim. On the right flank, the ex-Saxon Hauss Fusiliers, under intense pressure from the Grenzer in the woods, perhaps unsurprisingly, break and run. Rather more alarmingly, the 2nd Battalion of the Braunschweig-Bevern Regiment, ordinarily a good, solid unit, were holding their own against the Austrian Macquire Regiment to their front despite losses caused by ‘overs’ from the earlier artillery duel. However, the sudden storm of shot from Guasco’s artillery finally breaks them. The Beyer Grenadiers wheel into line on the left flank to hold the line, but the sudden loss of two battalions (on top of the previous loss of two artillery units) demoralises Braun’s command.
Above: Another view of Die Kleine Rund-Spitze. In the background, Kleist’s cavalry are returning to their original positions, but are being battered by Imperial heavy guns and Grenzer. But where is the Imperial cavalry threat…?
Above: Kleist curses foully in Low German, as it soon becomes apparent that the enemy cuirassiers are content to sit and wait for the artillery and Grenzer to soften up the Prussian cavalry!
Above: As expected, the main Prussian position remains completely un-engaged. It would be suicide for a good army to mount a frontal assault on these earthworks, let alone a poor-quality one like the Reichsarmee! The Prussian heavy guns have done some damage to the Imperial lines, but nowhere near enough. In the meantime, the Manstein Grenadiers, garrisoning the outlying fortified village of Klein-Rügeln, have been taking a pasting from Imperial guns.
Above: At last the Imperial infantry begin to move. The Imperial Right Wing has formed columns to the right (indicated by the MDF arrows) and is marching off to the flank, over the Reussen-Berg. Although they’ve attracted a lot of long-range gunnery, only one unit, the 4th Battalion of the Kurmainz Regiment, has been broken by the artillery and casualties are otherwise light.
Above: Two excellent units lead the columns; the Hessen-Darmstädt Regiment (single-battalion regiment with Swiss-style flag) leads the 1st Line, the remained of which is formed by theKurmainz Regiment. The 2nd Battalion of the Pfalz Garde-Regiment zu Fuss (blue flag) leads the 2nd Line, followed by the two battalions of the Pfalz Effern Regiment and two single-battalion Köln regiments; Nothaft (Leib) and Wildenstein.
Above: The Imperial Left Wing remains stationary for the time being. The 1st Line is formed from the three battalions of the Kurbayern Regiment (nearest the camera), then the 1st Battalion of the Swabian Alt-Württemberg Regiment and the two battalions of the Rot-Würzburg Regiment. The 2nd Line is formed from two battalions each of the Swabian Rodt Regiment, the Swabian Baden-Baden Regiment and the Mainz Lamberg Regiment.
Above: Back at the Dürren-Berg, Würzburg and Kleefeld, increasingly frustrated at the dogged resistance shown by Braun’s Prussian infantry, order a general assault. On the left, the 1st Battalion of the Blau-Würzburg Regiment charge out of the woods, but are stopped dead at the wood’s edge by the fire of the Lubath Grenadiers. The pattern is repeated all along the line, as the surviving battalion of the Bevern Regiment halts the charge of the surviving Hungarian battalion and the Beyer Grenadiers throw back the Luzan Regiment. On the right of the Austrian line, the Macquire Regiment look certain to capture the last detachment of Prussian battalion guns, but they are frustrated by the Lossow Grenadiers, firing in support of the gunners.
Above: However, Prussian jubilation is short-lived, as the supporting Austrian battalion gunners soon destroy the Lossow Grenadiers with point-blank canister fire! The vengeful Macquire Regiment soon overruns the Prussian guns and wheels left to turn the Prussian flank. A battalion of the Imperial Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment reinforces this success. The rest of the Austro-Imperial line charges again without success, but with their flank turned, the Prussians are now doomed.
Above: With his position collapsing, Braun looks behind him, hoping to see salvation in the form of Kleist’s cavalry… However, Kleist has his own problems. His dragoons have suffered heavy losses from Imperial artillery fire while attempting to hold the centre, while his hussars have also suffered losses thanks to stray rounds bouncing through the dragoon lines and the ever-present Grenzer sniping from the woods. Kleist judges that Braun is doomed and that the army will now have to retreat. Hülsen will need Kleist’s cavalry to screen that retreat, so it would be folly to waste them now on a doomed charge.
Above: However, Kleist’s assessment is correct… The Austrian and imperial infantry charge for third time and once again receive withering fire from the Prussian defenders as they climb the slopes of the Dürren-Berg. The 1st Battalion of the Blau-Würzburg Regiment this time is completely broken by the fire of the Lubath Grenadiers and they are soon followed by the 2nd Battalion of the Nikolaus Esterházy Regiment, who have dashed themselves to pieces against the indomitable 1st Battalion of the Bevern Regiment! The Italians of the Austrian Luzan Regiment are halted once again by the Beyer Grenadiers.
Above: However, despite having destroyed the enemy to their front, the Lubath Grenadiers are surprised to find themselves suddenly attacked from the rear by the Macquire Regiment, who have charged over the crest of the Dürren-Berg! There is little quarter for the grenadiers as they are completely destroyed. The Beyer Grenadiers meanwhile, are charged in the flank by the Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment and are similarly annihilated. The Pfalz-Zweibrücken Regiment has the dubious honour of being judged the worst regiment in the Reichsarmee, but every dog has his day…
Above: With the Prussian cavalry retiring, the Grenzer keep on the pressure.
Above: “Weglaufen!” Thankfully for Kleist, ADCs arrive from Hülsen, telling him to do exactly what he’s already doing… Kleist ensures he gets his orders in writing and deposits them safely in his sabretache for future Courts-Martial…
Above: At last, the Imperial Left Wing, plus Zedtwitz’s cuirassiers, begin to advance past Zausswitz.
Above: The Imperial Right Wing continues its march out to the right flank. Zweibrücken has assessed that the town of Strehla is the weak-point in the Prussian line; it’s only lightly-defended and although fortified, doesn’t have anything like the concentration of artillery that the main line possesses.
Above: The Imperial artillery meanwhile, has massively reduced the defences of Klein-Rügeln (represented by the half-timbered house forward of the main Prussian line). The garrison, consisting of the Manstein Grenadiers are on the verge of breaking and their supporting battalion guns have been silenced.
Above: All that stands between the Imperial infantry and the town is a single battalion of the Wunsch Frei-Infanterie-Regiment and a few companies of Jäger. If they can take the town, the entire Prussian line will be severely compromised.
Above: However, with the fall of the Dürren-Berg, Hülsen has already accepted defeat and with Kleist’s cavalry largely still intact, his army should be able to disengage and withdraw unmolested to the next defensive position at Wittenberg.
Above: An overall view of the final situation. All-in-all a total balls-up by the Prussians… As is patently obvious, I should have been FAR more aggressive with Kleist’s cavalry and give them orders to attack on the right; either from the outset, or as soon as Hülsen could get an ADC to them, once the Austrian flanking cavalry had been defeated. Instead I allowed myself to be distracted by the Imperial cuirassier division, which to be honest, had no chance of making it through the storm of 12pdr shot that would have been heading their way, had they advanced!