Austrian Pontooniers Corps in the SYW

Austrian Driver of the Pontoonier Corps in the SYW

Another view of the driver (part of the first picture above) plus two of the Pontooniers wearing a different uniform than the train driver.

Let us start of the new year, 2013, with something from the Seven Years War. I was talking with Stokes Schwartz during my recent visit to the Grand Duchy of Stollen, and he expressed an interest in adding a pontoon corps to the Grand Duchy's military establishment. Naturally, he wanted to know what the uniforms looked like.  So with that in mind, I present some pictures that I scanned from the book "Die Osterreichische Armee Im Siebenjahrigen Krieg" by Lars-Holger Thummler.

The pictures are all from the Bautzen Manuscript, which depicts every regiment of infantry, cavalry, artillery and support establishments that were in the Austrian army during the Seven Years War. It is interesting to note that the drivers for the artillery train, the commissary train and the pontoon train have similar, but different uniforms.

Pontooniers (top) and Sapper Corps (bottom) uniforms.

Driver of the Austrian Provision Corps.

Inspired by the Grand Duke of Stollen, Irwin Amadeaus, I think that I shall create my own pontoon wagon train for either the Austrian or Prussian armies of the SYW. One can purchase the pontoon train from Berliner Zinnfiguren at a very dear price. I think that Hinchcliffe might also have pontoon trains and pontoons in their fine range of figures.

Or, if you can wait for a bit, I intend to add pontoons and pontoon wagons to the Fife & Drum artillery equipment range in 2013.