Friday, October 9, 2020

Showdown With Some Cossacks

Russian Cossacks catch some Prussian Jagers out in the open.
 

The is a story about the demise of the ill-fated Prussian Jager regiment at the hands of some Russian Cossacks near Spandau. The following excerpt comes from Kronoskaf's history of the Prussian Jager zu Fuss;

Prussian Jäger History

In 1756, the unit took part in the invasion of Saxony and was present at the blockade of Pirna between September 11 and October 16. On December 1, the unit received a reinforcement of 46 men.

On February 5 1757, the unit was organised into two companies. On March 1, it received a further reinforcement of 3 officers and 100 jägers; bringing its total strength to 300 men. On November 22, the unit took part in the Battle of Breslau where it was deployed en potence to protect the right flank. On December 5, at the Battle of Leuthen, the unit was deployed on the left in the first line of the infantry centre. 

In the Spring of 1758, the unit took part in the invasion of Moravia and, from May to July, in the Siege of Olmütz where it was deployed in General Mayr's Brigade, on the opposite bank of the Morava to cover the road to Silesia. During the retreat from Moravia towards Silesia, the unit was attached to the rearguard and took part in several actions. On October 10, the unit took part in the Battle of Hochkirch where it was initially deployed in Manteuffel's Corps, in the village of Lauske, on the extreme left flank of the Prussian positions. 

On October 10 1760, the unit was decimated by the Russians at Charlotteburg. 

In 1761, a new unit of 4 companies was raised in Berlin and Wittenberg.

On July 21 1762, the unit took part in the Battle of Burkersdorf where it was posted on the right wing in the woods to the south-east of Hochgiersdorf.

I set up a vignette of this action on my game table, but the outcome was substantially different. As Bugs Bunny would say, "aren't I a little stinker?" The Russian Cossacks are RSM figures that I have mounted on Minden light hussar horses. This demonstrates the complete compatibility of RSM and Minden figures. The Jagers are Minden figures, of course. In this instance, the Jagers have managed to retreat into the somewhat questionable light cover, but will it be enough to stop being skewered by the Cossack's lances?


Russian Cossacks catch the Prussian Jagers, who have retreated into the woods.

In this instance, the cavalry rides to the rescue in the nick of time. The Prussian Ziethen Hussars (H2) have emerged from behind the woods and have caught the Cossacks in the flank. It's a trap!

The Prussian Ziethen Hussars hit the Cossacks in the flank!



But wait, there's more! The Bosniaken lancers also come out of hiding and hit the other flank of the Cossacks , who are likely doomed (he, he, he, he).

The Bosniaken arrive and charge into the left flank of the Cossacks .

The Bosniaken were often brigaded with the Black Hussars during the Seven Years War. Click the link below to view the Kronoskaf history of the Bosniaken.



A good day for the Prussians.

Fritz's Painting Table

I plan on moving more Bosniaken up near the top of my painting queue because I only have one squadron of 12 figures and normally have two 12-figure squadrons in my cavalry regiment. My Ziethen Hussars are in the same position so they need 12 more figures in their regiment.

The painting mojo ebbed away at the conclusion of the Sudan Project battle a couple of weeks ago. It is not easy painting 28mm figures after painting the larger 54mm plastic toy soldier figures nonstop since March 2020. I am forcing myself to work on some Prussian infantry and power my way through the painting wall. I figure that the more 28mm figures I paint, the sooner the painting mojo will return.

So here is what is in the painting queue at the moment. These are units that are either primed or partially painted:

  1. IR1 Winterfeld Prussian musketeers (42 figures)
  2. H7 Yellow Hussars (12 figures)
  3. Saratoga British regiment (36 figures)
  4. Bosniaken lancers (12 figures)


xxx

10 comments:

  1. Wow, Jim, powering through the wall - way to go. I wish you all the best with that. Thanks for the great photos - the Light Troops from both sides look great.
    The Cossacks are such versatile troops to have - only minor changes through a range of periods.
    Stephen

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments. I finished 20 Minden Prussian musketeers this evening and this might portend a return of my painting mojo.

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  2. A lovely colourful post Jim. I'm really looking forward to seeing your Yellow Hussars

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    1. They are rapidly moving to the top of the queue.😀

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  3. Jim,

    A good little skirmish! Too bad that Kronoskaf uses the wrong verb to describe what happened to the jagers in the actual fight -- "decimate" really means only 10% losses, from the Latin for 10. They should have probably used "destroyed." But unfortunately for us language "purists" the word decimate has come to signify any large number of losses. Oh, well.

    Jim

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  4. Duffy says:

    “ the Jager were caught out in the open near Spandau by a force of Cossacks and virtually wiped out”

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  5. About how long would you guess does it take you to finish one mounted hussar? I am returning to 25/28 mmm after many years of 15s and am just curious about what others are capable of.

    Thank you, John

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    1. Hi John,

      I figure that I spend about 20-30 minutes per infantry or rider figure and maybe 10 minutes per horse. I paint 8-12 figures at a time in assembly line fashion. When I start on a figure style that I’ve never painted before I will paint one figure from start to finish and this is how I do the time estimate.

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  6. Fritz: Your fast and they look good! Hussars take me hours for each one. Thanks, John

    Ps. Enjoy this blog very much!

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