Sunday, January 24, 2016

Fritz's Grand Review of the Troops

Fritz and Staff (Bevern in front and Schwerin behind) review the troops. Click all pix to enlarge the view.

Today, January 24th, is the anniversary birthday of Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia and to honor him, my Minden Prussian army turned out onto the marchfeld for the annual grand review of the troops. As is my tradition, I like to pull out my Prussian army from storage and present it on my table top for my annual grand review of the  troops. I hope that you will enjoy the pictures. Be sure to click on all pix to enlarge the view.

The grand review begins with the infantry brigades.

Overhead view of the entire parade ground.
Take a closer view of the grand review by clicking or double clicking on all of the pictures below. Feel free to leave any comments in the Comments Section.

Frederick inspects the Guards Brigade.


Prinz Moritz of Anhalt Dessau passes his brigade in review.

Winterfeld's Brigade awaits its turn to be reviewed by the King.
This overhead photo of Winterfeld's Brigade gives the reader a good idea of how I organize my infantry brigades. Each brigade consists of two regiments, each with two battalions, one brigade ammunition wagon, and one 3-pound regimental cannon for each 60-figure infantry regiment. Each regiment has its own inhaber (Mounted colonel). Finally, the brigade commander is shown on the 2-inch diameter round base.

The King compliments von Winterfeld for the turn out of his brigade. IR5 Alt Braunschweig regiment of the brigade stands behind the VIPs.

IR1 von Winterfeld regiment is the senior regiment of the army and the first unit of Minden figures that I painted back in 2010.


Satisfied with the overall appearance and smartness of the infantry brigades, the King now rides to the other side of the marchfeld to inspect the cavalry. Most of my cavalry regiments are in two "squadrons" of 12 figures. Twelve figures at 1:20 is actually closer to three squadrons, but for gaming purposes, I use 12 figures in a game squadron.




General de Cavalrie, von Seydlitz, gets his cuirassiers ready and positioned for their turn in the review.

The famed Bayreuth Dragoons are a brigade in and of themselves because it is a 10-squadron regiment. Four squadrons are pictured with the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in front.
 In the upper right corner, you can see the first squadron of the newly-painted DR3 Meinicke Dragoon Regiment. (The stands have not been grassed and tufted yet).


Von Zeiten readies the von Reusch (Black Hussars) hussar regiment for review.

A squadron of RSM dragoons positions itself behind the Black Hussars to pad out the Hussar Brigade until I can paint more hussars.

Von Seydlitz never fails to present his cavalry up to snuff and the King is satisfied with the look of his cavalry brigades. Now he moves on to the outskirts of the encampment where Colonel Moller has the artillery brigade ready for review.


Major Moller (with flag) readys his battery of 12-pounders. The Garde du Corps cavalry regiment stand guard in front of the Prussian encampment. After the parade, the King and his staff will retire to the Gasthaus Der Alter Fritz for a celebration.

While the army is turned out for the grand review, the work never ends behind the scenes. The Commissary Staff is busy getting the bread baked for the daily rations in the field bakery, shown below.

Meanwhile, the Commissary is busy baking the bread for the army.

Across the way, the blacksmith's shop and mobil field forge are busy keeping the horses shod. In the background, an artillery crew hoist the barrel of  a 12-pounder off its carriage, using a gyn. The gun carriage is in need of some repairs, possibly some ironwork that will be made in the field forge area.

There is always work to do at the field forge and blacksmith's shed.

 We have a lot more of the encampment to show over the next several days. So stop in frequently this week and see more pictures of the town and camp as they are posted on this blog.












mmm

30 comments:

  1. Very impressive, always look forward to the anniversary parade :)

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    1. Thank you Graham. It is a lot of fun (and a bit of work too) clearing off the game table and then setting up the parade of the troops. Quite enjoyable.

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    2. Absolutely stunning. I particularly like the artillery park, camp and sentry box by the inn.

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  2. Your annual parade is an annual treat and a showcase of your work. I always enjoy it particularly seeing the additions and plans for new additions. I know the king's birthday is a special commemoration but do you have plans for any other anniversary parades for other nations?

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    1. I will give the Austrians equal time in about two weeks. One advantage of the grand review is that with everything on the table, I can see what needs to be added to the army or I can fix and repair any campaign damaged troops.

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  3. What a superb display!!! I take my hat off to you Sir and I look forward to further updates on the encampment and then the Austrians.

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    1. I hear that Marshal von Daun is not pleased to hear that the Prussian army has grown a little bit. On the otherhand, so has the Austrian army, as we shall see in a couple of weeks. :)

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  4. Splendid photos Jim. Your army, er, I mean Frederick's army, is superb. I love the behind the scenes stuff like the bakery and blacksmith's workshop.

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    1. I am rather surprised at the number of civilians that I have added to the collection over the years. They really make some of the scenes more interesting.

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  5. Winterfeldt is in the dog-house! Frederick tells him to organize his flags correctly!
    But lovely stuff.

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    1. I knew that someone would notice. :)

      When you are the King's best friend I guess that you can get away with it for awhile.

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  6. A fantastic looking parade troops your majesty should be quite pleased!

    Christopher

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  7. Agreed. It does a man's heart good. One thing though. Were the 'inhalers' of each regiment affiliated with Vicks?

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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  8. Lovely parade - a feast for the eyes

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  9. What a marvelous display. I think you need a Military vband to provide suitable music for the event as well!

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  10. Happy birthday Fritz!

    May I second the band suggestion?

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  11. Always enjoy your Grand Parades, Jim! This commemoration is no exception.

    Looks fantastic!

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  12. A great idea and a wonderful display of hard work.

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  13. Happy Birthday, Frederick! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

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  14. A delightful posting and an awesome collection. Something for us to aspire towards, however unlikely the chance.

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    1. The army slowly builds over time. I have been painting units for it since at least 2010, so 5+ years of painting.

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  15. A wonderful spectacle, Jim, and a credit to you - the annual parade is a much anticipated treat. I do hear the background cacophony of Austrian & Russian sables rattling, and drums beating!! Cheers, Rohan.

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  16. Super pictures of a lovely collection, especially I liked the encampment scenes.

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