Austrian Battalion Strength in the SYW

Grand Review of the Austrian Army done in early December 2007

Someone on the Old School Wargamers' group was asking about the size of Austrian battalions during the Seven Years War and naturally, I became a bit curious about finding the truth. I have heard everything from a low of some 500 men to as high as 900.

Let's begin by looking at some of the few source books in English, primarily those written by Professor Christopher Duffy, as well as some information from the Pengel & Hurt series. Things are complicated by the fact that the Austrians changed the size of their infantry regiments in 1740, 1748 and again in 1756, just before the outbreak of the SYW. I will focus on the organization as of 1756 since our interest is in the Seven Years War.

Pengel & Hurt

In 1756, an Austrian infantry regiment was comprised of 2 field battalions with 2 grenadier companies, and 1 garrison or depot battalion. The field battalions were comprised of 6 fusilier companies having a strength of 130 to 160 rank and file and 110 grenadiers per company. So doing the math yields a battalion strength of 780 to 960 plus the grenadiers.

The company establishment included 44 other officers, NCOs, corporals, drummers and clerks. This number (44) includes 25 "gefreiten" and I am wondering if this may be a typo. Multiplying these company extras by 6 companies adds another 264 extras to the battalion. So I'm thinking that this number is overstated bigtime, because that would increase the battalion to 1,044 on the low end and 1,224 men on the high end. Then add 23 regimental staff for the two field battalions and you end up with, well... a lot of guys in white coats.

Christopher Duffy - Instrument of War
The most recent study, in any language, on the Austrian army of the SYW was written in 2000 by Christopher Duffy, in his book titled, Instrument of War - Volume I of the Austrian Army in the Seven Years War. This book seems to contain some conflicting information, which I will get to in a moment.

Duffy says that there are 4 different measures of the regimental and battalion strength over the course of the SYW. The first method is called the Completter Stand, or the paper strength as if the regiment was staffed up to its establishment. The second method is called the Effectiver Stand and measures the actual numbers present in a theatre of war overall (presumably deducting the depot battalion and any regimental staff taking up cosy quarters at the depot). The third measure is called the Loco Stand, or the number of men physically present at individual locations, excluding men who are absent for various reasons. And finally, there is the Dienstbarer Stand, or the numbers from the Loco Stand actually capable of doing service (excluding sick and wounded, etc.).

Duffy uses information from the muster lists, which correspond to the Loco Stand, and estimates that the average regiment (German) has 1,734 officers and rank and file. Assuming two battalions, this works out to 867 men of all ranks; or if we deduct the 98 noncombatants per regiment, then it averages out to 1,636 men or 818 per battalion. On the other hand, if Duffy is counting the third battalion back at the depot, then the numbers will be much lower since we are spreading them over 3 battalions instead of 2 battalions. The 1,636 men in 3 battalions becomes 548 men per battalion. Let us keep that number in mind.

Duffy then cites a study of the Austrian army made in the early 1790s by Lt-Colonel Gomez, who was trying to determine the relationship between the size of the army and its need for rations and transportation equipment, so he used statistical information from the SYW from the Austrian archives. Gomez did a Completter Stand analysis for each year of the SYW. For example, in 1758, Gomez estimates that there were 116,116 German fusiliers in 816 fusilier companies, or an average of 142 fusiliers per company in 1758. The average grenadier company was 104 men. The Dienstbarer Stand totals for this period are one-third less than the Completter Stand figures, so if we multiply all of the above numbers by 0.67 (ouch, math!), we derive an estimated field strength of around 570 men per battalion.

Field Marshall Lacy complained to Daun, in a letter dated June 17, 1759, that the authorities in Vienna held an inflated view of the number of actual combat troops in the field and supposed that an Austrian army to rival the size of Xerxes Persians must certainly crush, overwhelm and eradicate the King of Prussia from the face of the earth.

Duffy's Second Estimate
On pages 402 and 403 of Instrument of War, Duffy goes into some detail about the tactical operation of the battalion and its companies in battle. Here Duffy states that the battalion is organized into 4 "divisions" of 128 privates each. Multiplying that figure by 4 generates a rank and file battalion strength of 512 men. I am assuming that this figure excludes the officers, NCOs, etc. So we have to make an estimate of these "extras" and add them back in. Page 403 provides a diagram of a full division including rank and file and extras (of which there are 18 men). So 18 + 128 = 146 men of all ranks per division or 584 men in the whole battalion. I think that it is not unreasonable to add back another 16 officers at the battalion level to cover the senior officers of the battalion such as the Obrist, the Obrist-leutnant, the Obrist-wachtmeister, 2 standard bearers, some kadetten junior officers and a few musicians. The extra officers boosts our tallly up to 600 officers and men.

Duffy's "Army of Maria Theresa (1990 facsimile edition)

In his first book on the Austrian army (long out of print by now), Duffy indicates that the wartime establishment of the company varied from 130 to 160 men. I assume that the size differential relates back to the type of Stand that is being used. So if we use the smallest number, i.e. 130 and multiply it by 6 companies, we generate a battalion strength of 780 officers and men.

Conclusions

I believe that the Pengel & Hurt data is overstated, or at best, represents the Completter Stand or theoretical strength of the regiment and battalions of the German fusilier establishments. Duffy's original estimates in Army of Maria Theresa range from 780 to 960. The numbers are reduced to a low of 570 to 584 as a Dienstbarer Stand in the field while my own estimate brings the number closer to 600 officers and men. I think that it is highly unlikely that a battalion ever had 900 to 1,000 men on the battlefield, so I am more inclined to use 600 men as the estimate that I will use for my own miniature battalions. Hence, my Austrians will have 60 figures at a 1:10 ratio of figures to real men.

Stadden 18th Century Artillery Crew

Stadden AWI artillery crew painted as SYW Prussians, manning Elite Miniatures French 12 pdr. (click on picture to enlarge).

As someone who paints and collects a 30mm Seven Years War Prussian army, I have been bemoaning the fact that nobody made suitable artillery crew to use with my 30mm Staddens, Surens and my own Potsdam Miniatures Prussians. I have been using Foundry Prussian artillery crew as a stop gap measure. The Foundry figures have the "chunkiness" that deceives the eye and makes it think that the figures fit in with the taller 30mm figures (which in fact are closer to 34mm in height).

The ideal solution would be to make my own figures, but I do not have the talent to sculpt my own artillery crew, nor can I seem to find a sculptor who has the time to work with me right now. As it turns out, a good solution may be found in the Stadden range itself. I few months ago, I bought some sample AWI Staddens to see how they compare with other figures, and I have to say that they should work fairly well. Stadden made six different artillery crew poses for its AWI 30mm range (also known as the Tradition 30mm range) that are suitable for use as either American Continental artillery or British Royal Artillery. Samples are shown below:


Stadden AWI figures (left to right) XA4 "match", XA5 "lever" and XA3 "ramming" figures painted by Der Alte Fritz.



Stadden AWI figures (left to right) XA2 "standing with rammer", XA6 "ball", and XA1 "officer" figures, painted by Der Alte Fritz.

I painted them as "Prussians" with the straw breeches and waistcoat, blue coat and red turnbacks. The SYW version should be wearing gaiters (easy enough to "convert with paint", i.e. just paint over the stockings as gaiters) instead of the knee breeches and stockings with short "spats" at the ankles. Prussian artillerymen also don't have collars and lapels, but guess what, Hesse Seewald artillery crew do have these features. And they also don't wear the gaiters, apparently. So in my opinion, these figures will work for me, even without any conversion work.

Here are some photos that compare the Stadden, Foundry and RSM artillery crew:


(left to right) Stadden, Foundry and RSM artillery crew

The Stadden crewman measures in at 35mm from the sole of the foot to the top of his head. In comparison, the Foundry Prussian crewman has a height of 31mm and the RSM crewman measures in at 30mm. You can see that while the Stadden and the RSM figures are similar in style, there is an appreciable difference in their respective heights, so I don't think that the two ranges would work together. The Foundry figure is closer to the Stadden, and is definitely shorter and stoughter in stature, but somehow they seem to work together. I guess that chunkiness fools the eye into thinking that the figure is larger than it actually is.


The whole Stadden team in action, with an Elite Miniatures French 12 pdr.

The Stadden AWI range has a lot of interesting figures that are worth the extra look when it comes to finding a figure here or there for SYW usage. Another thought is that anyone creating fictional 18th Century armies could easily use the British, French and Americans in their campaigns. The French uniform had a tighter, almost Prussian-style to its cut and might be suitable as a Prussian stand-in for the SYW. The British light dragoon figures could stand in for the light dragoons at the battle of Emsdorf during the SYW. The French Lauzan Legion hussars could be, well, French SYW or Prussian SYW figures. So grab a Stadden catalog, or click on the link that I have provided on the left hand side of this page, and go visit their web site and see for yourself. There are lots of little surprises in the AWI range.

In all likelihood, I will start replacing my Foundry gun crews with these Stadden AWI crews and just call them Hesse Seewald artillery crew. Who is to say that the uniforms are not correct? Afterall, it is my own fictional country so that gives me a lot of leaway in my uniform and figure selection.

The Elements of Fredrician Warfare

Frederick II making a personal reconnaissance of the Austrian position, taking advantage of the height offered by a local windmill. Figures are (left to right) Elite, Front Rank, a stand of Old Glory figures and the Suren Frederick atop the windmill (built by Herb Gundt).

The traditional form of warfare, prior to the ascencion of Frederick II to the Prussian throne, was for two armies to line up their forces, parallel to each other, wih cavalry protecting the flanks, and then blazing away with muskets and cannons until one side quit the battlefield. Frederick was looking for something more decisive and economical; some tactical innovation that could take advantage of the Prussian army's superiority in speed and maneuverability. Frederick realized that once the fighting began, effective command and control of the army ceased to exist.

Frederick developed and refined the Oblique Order, which in essence was the tactic of attacking the enemy's flank with overwhelming local forces, while refusing, or holding back, the other wing of his army in order to pin the enemy in place. In theory, the Oblique Order enabled Frederick to fight battles with his smaller army (vis-a-vis the size of the Austrians and Russians) by exploiting his advantage of speed on the march to hit the enemy flank with larger number of Prussian, while negating the overall numbers advantage that his enemies had.


Frederick outlines his battle plan to his senior generals prior to the battle. Usually this was done from an elevated vantage point, such as a hilltop or even the second floor of a building, such as the Gasthaus Alter Fritz (modeled by Herb Gundt after an actual building in the town of Hochkirch).

The elements of the Oblique Order were as follows:

{1} The march to the enemy's flank or rear. Woods (Zorndorf, Kunersdorf, Torgau), hills (Rossbach and Leuthen) or darkness might be used to screen the march from the enemy. At Prague and Kolin, the march was done in full view of the Austrians;

{2} The personal reconnaissance. The King would halt the army within sight of the enemy and make a personal reconnaissance of the enemy's deployment and then form a plan of battle. This was particularly used when the King was not familiar with the terrain. An example of this is recon that Frederick conducted prior to the battle of Kolin in June 1757.

{3} The battle plan is communicated to the senior commanders in the army. After making his recon and formulating a battle plan in his mind, Frederick would gather his senior officers together at some convenient viewpoint, and express his ideas in general terms. He left it up to the generals to develop the details and the execution. The following briefing that was given prior to Kolin serves as an example of how this was done.

"We must confine our attack to the enemy right flank, where they can oppose us on a frontage of only six or eight battalions. We march until our left wing reaches the Kolin stream, and then we proceed to roll up the enemy line and throw their right flank into their left, so that it will either end up in the marsh or they lay down their arms. Our right wing must be held back so that if possible it does not hear a single enemy cannon shot, let alone sustain any casualties.

Look gentlemen, over there on the left you can see that large building or granary! Next to it is a little village and some ponds, and that's where our right wing must come to rest. If for any reason it has to move further to the left, when our left wing attacks, it mus still hold back, as I have just said. Gentlemen, if you do not understand I ask you to say so. I will not take it amiss, and I will be happy to go over the plan again."
{4} An advance force leads the way. An advance guard of light troops and cavalry, or in some cases a division, such as Hulsen's at Kolin, was employed to clear the way, deceive the enemy (ex. Leuthen) or spearhead the attack.

{5} The main attack is launched. The attacking wing of the army had now marched into its designated position to attack one of the enemy's flanks or rear. The advance guard would hit the targeted flank, followed by one or more lines of infantry and cavalry. At Rossbach and Leuthen, Frederick had the attacking wing of the army deployed in a staggered echelon formation with each regiment or battalion some 20 to 50 paces behind its neighboring regiment. This tweak in the Oblique Order was made in order to ensure that elements of the army did not attack across a broad frontage, as had happened at Kolin.

{6} The refused flank. The rest of the army was held back from the battle (Driessen's cavalry wing at Leuthen, Dohna's right wing at Zorndorf, Finck's command at Kunersdorf, etc.) so as to "fix" the enemy in their position and to provide a reserve which Frederick could use to exploit success or cover a retreat in the event of a defeat.

Despite all of the good intentions and the best layed plans for battle, once the army began its minuet of maneuver and engaged the enemy, it was difficult for any general, even Frederick, to exercise command and control over the events that followed. His confidant, Henri de Catt recorded this exchange after the battle of Zorndorf in 1758.

Frederick: That was a hell of a day. Did you understand what was going on?

Catt: Your Majesty, I had a good grasp of the preliminary march and the first arrangements for the battle. But all the rest escapes me. I could make no sense of the various movements.

Frederick: You were not the only one, my dear friend. Console yourself, you were not the only one.

January Painting Production

It has been a "moderate" month in terms of my painting activity in January. The total number of Olley Painting Points was 93 points. This was actually more than I thought I had done - perhaps the fact that I did not paint full regiments made me think that I hadn't accomplished much. January was designated as "1806 Month" and my goal was to bring my 3 1806 Prussian battalions up to 60 figures and hopefully add a 60 figure grenadier battalion to my forces. As you can see from the list below, I fell a little bit short of my goal, but the total number of painting points was close to the sweet spot of "not too many, not too few" that is needed to maintain a balance in life between work, family and hobby and just plain relaxing. I decided that 60 to 72 points per month is a good target to shoot for.

I also played in one wargame during January, the small SYW action at Muhlenberg, which resulted in a French (Gallian) victory over the Prussians (Germania). I want to keep working on some smaller game scenarios throughout the year and I will share these with you as they occur.

Here is a list of what Der Alte Fritz painted in January:

1806 Project
IR13 von Arnim (white facings) - 21
IR19 Prinz von Oranien (orange facings) - 16
Osten Grenadiers (from IR22 - red) - 30
1er Chasseurs a Cheval - 1 mounted figure = 2 points

Seven Years War
RSM command stand dioramas - 12 figures in total
RSM Austrian Generals - 2 figures = 4 points
Coach driver and passenger - 2 figures
Riesengarde (Staddens) - 4 figures
Mounted Prussian officer - Prinz Moritz von Anhalt Dessau = 2 points

On The Painting Table
30 more 1806 Prussian Grenadiers
2 gun battery of 6-pounders for the 1806 Prussians
10 French Chasseurs a Cheval
15 SYW Stadden grenadierss which will become part of the Riesengarde
12 Crusader SYW Austrian cuirassiers

February is supposed to be SYW Austrian Cavalry Month, but I have a hankering to get those 1806 grenadiers completed. This will give me 4 battalions of Prussians and 3 battalions of French, which should be enough to start play testing a BAR variant for the 1806 campaign.

Eureka 100 Club SYW Saxon Cavalry
Nic Robison sent me an e-mail advising me that it was time to place orders for figures as he is ready to get these into production. Eureka will have a substantial range of Saxon cavalry which will include cuirassiers, light dragoons, von Bruhl dragoons and hussars in both mirliton and colpacks. The chevaulegers and hussars will also have horseholders and dismounted skirmishers. So Bill, Randy and I all ordered tons of hussars and dismounts so that we can use them in some Kleine Krieg scenarios. I envision painting my hussars as Milady de Winter's personal retinue of black hussars with the appropriate number of dismounts. The black uniforms will be modeled after one of the freikorps units that were in Prussian service during the SYW. I ordered some extra horse holders and kettle drummers to use for other units. I am really looking forward to seeing how these figures will turn out.

Some Thoughts About Croats

RSM Croats skirmishing out in front of the Austrian battle line, taking advantage of the cover provided by the trees and the village. Terrain boards and figures by Der Alte Fritz. Buildings by Herb Gundt.

There was some recent discussion on the Old School Wargamers Yahoo group about the use of Croats in Seven Years War battles. Did the Croats engage only in kleine krieg style actions, or were they trained to fight as formed infantry during the SYW?

The Croats were a force of light infantry recruited from the border areas of the Habsburg Empire. During the War of the Austrian Succession, they excelled in the small wars and skirmishes and neither the Prussians in the Silesian theatre of operations, nor the combined Franco-Bavarian armies operating in the Danube, had any effective means of countering the wild and aggressive Croat light infantry. As Frederick said to his generals:

"But it is a different question in the woods and mountains. In that kind of terrain the Croats throw themselves to the ground and hide behind rocks and trees. This means that you cannot see where they are firing from, and you have no means of repaying them for the casualties that they inflict on you." [Duffy, "Army of Maria Theresa", pg 82].

The Croats were transformed from roving bands of freebooters, in the manner of the infamous Baron von Trenck, into an organized establishment of regiments under the direction of Prince Joseph Saxe-Hildburghausen: two Warasdiner regiments, four of Carlstadter, and three of Slavonians. At the outbreak of the SYW, the Croats could field 34,000 infantry and 6,000 hussars. Duffy states that altogether 88,000 Croats saw service over the course of the SYW. They played major roles at Prague and Kolin, especially in the latter battle where they served as the tripwire against the Prussian attack. Over 7,000 Croats screened the Austrian columns of attack at Hochkirch in 1758, provided the blocking force at Maxen in 1758 and they were the first to storm into the fortress of Schweidnitz in 1761.

Perhaps the one major problem with respect to the Croats was the tendency of Austrian commanders to disperse them in penny packets throughout the army. This reduced their effectiveness and also made them more vulnerable to Prussian attacks, especially as the Prussian freikorps regiments began to master kleine krieg tactics. Loudon recognized this problem and proposed adding grenadier companies to the Croat regiments. Taking this idea a step further, Loudon proposed the formation of Austrian freikorps regiments to counter the Prussian ascendency in the kleine krieg, thus nearly dispensing with the Croats altogether.

"No general believed he could exist away from the main army unless he had several hundred or upwards of a thousand of the redcloaks scattered about him to see to his safety. Hence we had some of these brave men almost everywhere, but never had them in a united corps." [Cognazzo, per Christopher Duffy]

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My belief is that the Croats were not used as formed infantry on the battlefield, but rather, they stuck with their natural inclination to fight from cover where they had protection from the Prussian formed infantry and cavalry units. Croat infantry can be used in two manners: first, as small parties of raiders causing havoc in the little conflicts and skirmishes that occured frequently along the supply routes and rear areas of the enemy lines; and secondly, on the perifery of the battlefield in areas where they could seek cover.

As evidence of this claim, I would point to their use at Kolin, where they were deployed in a number of small villages in front of the Austrian lines, as well as in the tall cereal grass near the Kaiser-strasse. From these vantage points, the Croats were able to pepper the Prussian march and distract them into losing sight of their battle plan and turning the attack into a frontal assault of the high ground at Kolin. At Lobositz in 1756, the Croats occupy the Lobosch Hill and provide considerable discomfort to the Prussian infantry which had the unenviable task of rooting them out of this difficult terrain. Again at Hochkirch and Maxen in 1758, the Croats operated in the covered wooded areas of the battlefield.

I would direct everyone to take a close look at Christopher Duffy's book Instrument of War (Emperor's Press, 2000), which provides an excellent study of the Austrian army organization and its tactics on the battlefield. Pages 394 to 398 provide some valuable insights into how the Croats fought during the SYW.

"The honour of the army resides in our 60,000 Croats. They never desert. They are sober, obedient, easy to lead, tireless, and as splendid-looking as they are proficient" -- Prince de Ligne,

The Austrians Are Mobilizing

Front Rank Austrians fend off an attack of the Kliest (HR1) and Gelbe (HR7) Foundry Hussars. Crusader grenadiers in the background. Figures from the collection of Der Alte Fritz. Photo by Bob Pavlik (from the Historicon website).

Those poor Austrians of mine deserve a better fate than they have received, so far, on this blog. I mean afterall, this is Der Alte Fritz Journal, not the Maria Theresa Journal. Part of this is due to the fact that I have had to build up my own Prussian army in order to keep up with the painting of a cadre of Francophiles centered around Brown Deer, Wisconsin. While I firmly believe that I can paint anyone under the table if I set my mind to it, keeping up with three French painters means that I'm virtually painting nothing but Prussians.

Over the past year, I have been slowly accumulating Austrian infantry to the point where I now have 8 battalions of line infantry, 1 converged battalion of Croats (3 by 24 = 72) and three 24-figure regiments of Austrian cavalry (one each of dragoons, cuirassiers and horse grenadiers). Considering the fact that I have nearly double that amount of Prussians, one can see that I have a long way to go before the Austrians can achieve parity with the Prussians. Fear not you Habsburg Afficionados, the Austrians are mobilizing and help is on the way.

My old wargaming buddy, Dennis Smail of Lexington, Kentucky, has been helping me out by painting a few battalions of Austrians for me. He painted the grenadier battalion that I featured on these pages back in November 2007. He also added the Hungarian Regiment Joseph Esterhazy and the German regiment Gaisruck. The latter two battalions need to be based and terrained, but I will get to that soon and hopefully post some pictures of Dennis' fine brushwork.

My plan is to get the Austrians to a state of parity with the Prussians in time for a big battalion game at Historicon this year (July 2008). By the way, the theme for this year's Historicon convenion is the Seven Years War. That's pretty cool, don't you think? The infantry is coming along nicely, but I am going to need something on the order of 240 cavalry figures, of which only 72 have been painted so far. In a pinch, I can put a couple of my old 20-figure RSM Austrian cuirassiers and dragoons together to form one BAR-styled regiment, so I'm not all that worried about meeting my goal. Still, that said, I'd like to get all new regiments onto the table before Historicon.

I am using the Crusader range of 28mm SYW figures for the bulk of my Austrian forces. These actually measure closer to 30-32mm in height from the ground to the top of the head. As such, they fit in nicely with all of my other Surens, Staddens, Potsdamers and other "officiall 30mm figures". Thank God for scale creep, is all I have to say. The Crusader figures are well sculpted, nicely cast, and easy to paint. So virtually all of the cavalry will be Crusader figures. On the infantry side, I am using a mix of RSM, Front Rank, Warrior (British painted as Austrians - hey, I got a bargain at a flea market) and Crusader.

February 2008 will be Austrian Month at Der Alte Fritz's Painting Emporium. I have some Crusader cuirassiers primed and ready for the brush and several boxes of dragoons at the ready. Wish me luck, that's a lot of horses to paint.

Finally, I want to thank Bob Pavlik for taking some exquisite pictures of my SYW collection for use in the Historicon promotional website and event brochure. It is fascinating watching how Bob sets up a shot and I've learned a little bit about taking pictures and picture composition from him. Bob is a master and I appreciate him bringing my collection to life. If you want to see more pictures, take a visit to the Historicon web site at:

http://www.historicon.org/HIST2008/theme2008.asp

Prussian Cavalry Review - King's Birthday

The royal party at the review stand. The Queen consort in green and Frederick are both Surens, the ADC is a Front Rank figure, and the second has two Staddens with drawn sword and one Elite Miniatures ADC on the review stand. Note the victory columns in the background with plaques denoting the names of battles won.

Today was the anniversary celebration of Frederick II of Prussia's birthday, having been born on January 24, 1712. In honor of Der Alte Fritz, I decided to conduct a grand review of all of my 30mm Prussian cavalry on the parade ground. A total of 19 squadrons (12 sqds of cuirassiers, 3 sqds of dragoons, and 4 sqds of hussars) donned their dress uniforms and paraded past the royal review stand. They approached the stand in a grand column of squadrons and then did a left face towards the King.

A view of all 19 squadrons as they march down the parade ground in a column of squadrons, led by the cuirassiers, then the dragoons, and finally the hussars.

The grand column was led by the two-squadron Garde du Corps (CR13) cuirassier regiment that was brigaded with the Prinz von Preussen (Gelbe Kuraisier) CR2 regiment. These are comprised of Elite Miniatures Prussian SYW cavalry figures and are nicely animated.


Elite Miniatures are used to form the CR13 (right) and the CR2 (left) cuirassier regiments. Each line of figures in single rank represents a squadron of 12 figures.

The next regiment in the parade column was the famous Seydlitz Cuirassiers (CR8) - Suren figures. This regiment was recently increased from 3 sqds to 5 sqds.


CR8 Seydlitz Cuirassiers - Suren figures - 5 squadrons.

The next group in the parade was the dragoon regiment Jung Krakow (DR2) - also Suren figures. Their famous charge at Little Wars 2007 rode down three Austrian battalions to nail down the Prussian victory.

DR2 Jung Krakow Dragoons - Surens - 3 sqds.

And finally, bringing up the rear of the parade column, were those magnificent hussars. First came the Zieten Hussars (HR2) in blue pelises and fur busbies and all riding white stallions. These are Stadden 30mm figures. They were followed by the elite regiment of the von Reusch or Black Hussars (HR5), decked out in their fearsome all black uniforms and mirliton hats bearing the dreaded death's head on the front of the cap. The Black Hussars recorded their second battle honor in 2007 and thus were elevated to "elite" status. They seem to continually befuddle that eminent French cavalier, Monsieur Chevert, in many of our wargames.

One squadron of Zieten Hussars (right) followed by 3 sqds of Black Hussars. Both are from the Stadden range.

The regiments then did a left face turn so that they were all facing the royal party, assembled near the victory columns. Each brigade commander then rode towards the review stand and saluted King Frederick II with a sword salute, and then doffing their tricorns, they bowed in front of the King.

The column executes a left face and aligns itself facing the royal party at the review stand and victory columns.


The brigade commanders ride up to the review stand and offer their compliments and good wishes to King Frederick on his birthday.

It was a glorious ceremony full of color , precision drill and festive music. While setting up the parade, I played a CD of 18th Century Prussian military marches, including the King's favorites "The Hohenfriedberger March" and "The Old Dessauer March."

It is also nice to see the full complement of cavalry on the table at one time. It enables me to pick out some small items that need changing, such as adding a few more squadron flags for particular regiments, or the need to add a couple more cuirassier commanders here and there. Also, having 19 squadrons seems a little bit odd to my ordered and symetrical 18th Century mind. Methinks an even 20 squadrons would be nicer. So I will probably add one more squadron of dragoons or hussars in the near future in order to bring everything back into balance.

And somewhere, off in the distance, there lurked a black coach and its sinister passenger, but it went unnoticed by all eyes, as far as I know.

Milady de Winter's black coach and escort provided by a troop of the Black Hussars. Coach by Redoubt and assembled by Herb Gundt, driver sculpted by the talented John Ray for this project, Suren Milady de Winter (??) on horseback and various other attendants.