British Artillery & Equipment of the SYW

British Light 12-pounder at Fort Ligonier, Pennsylvania

I downloaded the pictures that I took with my camera whilst on the road to Fredericksburg and Historicon last week. I used my iPad primarily for indoor pictures and my Canon digital camera for the outdoor photos. It is my intention to eventually add models of these cannon and supporting equipment to the Fife & Drum artillery equipment range.

I spent the whole morning of July 17th at Fort Ligonier, photographing cannon and measuring the wheel diameters and carriage lengths for a number of pieces of equipment. It was hot work, as the temperature soared over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But the results were worth the hard work.

Closer view of some of the tube detail on the light 12-pounder.

The ammunition boxes are covered in canvas, painted the same color as the gun carriage. In the picture above, you can detect some red paint on the left-hand box, suggesting that the carriage might have been painted red at one time.

British 6-pounder with limber at Fort Ligonier. This piece was the workhorse of both the British and Continental armies during the American Revolution.

Next we have pictures of the British 5.5-inch howitzer:

British 5-inch howitzer at Fort Ligonier

A closer view of the carriage and tube details.

And finally, there were a number of mortars on display at Fort Ligonier:

British 8-inch mortar at Fort Ligonier

Detail on the tube of the mortar.

Later in the week I will post some more pictures from Fort Ligonier; this time, showing some of the wagons used to move ammunition and supplies.

The Siege of La Crenoil, by Charles S. Grant

Cover photo of Charles S. Grant's new book on his siege warfare and related campaign

Just before departing for Historicon a couple of weeks ago, I received a packet from the UK containing a copy of the latest work from the prolific pen of Charles S. Grant: The Siege of La Crenoil, Fleisher's Revenge and only now have I had an opportunity to look at the book in detail.

The purpose of the book, of course, is to guide the reader through the inner workings of how to conduct siege warfare on the table top and then tie it into the on-going war between the Grand Duchy of Lorraine and the Vereinigte Freie Stadt (or "VFS" for short). The thought of trying to replicate sieges on the war game table has always intimidated me to a degree, as I held the preconceived notion that such games are inherently complicated. Smack me on the side of the head for that, because Mr. Grant proves that siege games are easy to play and that there is a wealth of scenario ideas that can be played out on the tabletop that are both challenging and fun.

The frame work for the siege campaign lies in the mid 18th Century war between Lorraine and the VFS, circa 1754. The book picks up where the preceeding book, The Annexation of Chiraz left off. The Grand Duchy of Lorraine had spoiled the VFS's attempt to annex Chiraz and they then launched a counter-strike into the state of Wolfenbuttel (see Grant's book The Wolfenbuttel War ), leading to a humiliating defeat of the VFS. Now the leaders of the VFS are plotting their revenge which will see their army advancing into Lorraine territory to invest the key trading city of La Crenoil.

The book then lays out seven Table Top Teasers, all linked one to the previous TTT, which enables the game to string together an informal campaign that can be played out over time (weeks, months etc). The Teasers are all done in the usual Grantian manner or format, beginning with a brief background to place the scenario into a context, followed by a description of the terrain and tabletop layout, a description of the forces that are available to each side, and finally, a set of victory conditions for each side. Grant then follows up with a brief after action report of the scenario, which helps to convey to the reader how to play the scenario and how it might turn out.

TTT #1: The Run For The Fort sees General Fleischer leading a small strike force to cut off a Lorraine supply convoy before it can deliver its supplies to the soon to be invested city of La Crenoil.

TTT#2: Storming The Grammon Revelin has the VFS attempting a daring night attack on a key defensive position of the city's works and an escalade of the same.

TTT#3: Attack on the Siege Park finds the Lorraine forces mounting a daring raid on the VFS artillery park, with the hope of disrupting the timing of the VFS siege.

TTT#4: The Sally - Lorraine forces stage a raid on the nearly-completed VFS siege trenches, hoping to cause maximum damage to the entrenchments.

TTT#5: Storming the Breach (The Forlorn Hope) there is a practicable breach in the city's walls and a VFS forlorn hope force must attack the breach and gain a lodgement in the town so that the rest of the VFS army can storm the city.

TTT#6-V1: Fight Through the Town sees the final storming of the city by the VFS.

TTT#6-V2: Fight Through the Town is a variation of version 1.

The book concludes with some examples of how to wargame the siege and how to organize a simple  (i.e. easy to play) campaign that leads to the siege of the town.

Charles S. Grant illustrates his book with plenty of wonderful color pictures of the two armies in action, and I daresay that I am suitably impressed by the depth and detail of the armies that he has built up over the past 5 or so years. There are vignettes galore and unusual wargame units such as the La Crenoil Fire Brigade, the VFS pioneers and siege train forces. The book concludes with a glossary of siege terms (something that I find very helpful) and a pictorial section featuring some of the famous leaders of both armies, such as the VFS leaders General Fritz von Tarlenheim, Brigadier General Pottsdorf, General Fleischer, Brigadier von Sprackel and of course, the Margrafin von Wolfenbuttel-Oldenburg (otherwise known as "Tutzie"). The Lorrain leaders include General Count Chambrey, Major General Louis Reynaud and Colonel Remy Martin.

As you might guess, I am very impressed with this book and am glad to include it in my collection of wargame books. You can never go wrong with a book produced by the Family Grant and this one should provide hours of fun and reading and/or playing entertainment for you. Now, I had better start getting to work on my entrenchment terrain pieces so that I can start the business of trying out one of these siege games.

I Am Boycotting The Miniatures Page

The 18th Century Boards used to be the epitome of politeness and gentlemanly behavior, but of late, things have changed as a minority of people that visit the boards have a harder and unpleasant edge about them. I will not tell you about some of the "behind the scenes" things going on, but I have decided that the best thing for me is to simply not visit TMP for a long while and reduce my level of aggrivation. Let me say that the majority of the people on TMP and friendly and I enjoy interacting with them.

I will still keep my banner ads on TMP (as I have no beef with Bill, he is a good egg), but I will not be posting or visiting the site for at least the next 30 days.

Going forward, any information about Fife & Drum, my pictures from our wargames and other eye candy will be posted only on my blog.

New Fife & Drum Shipment Arrived Today = Pontoons!

Pontoon Wagon (AE-018) from Fife & Drum shown with a Minden Miniatures pioneer.

Pontoon wagon shown with the pontoon loaded onto the wagon.

I just received a restocking order of pontoon wagons (have 30 of them now) AE-018 today. A number of people were looking for these at Historicon, but I had run out of stock. I also have lots of pontoon packs (2 pontoons per pack) AE-017.

We also restocked on the British Guards centre company figures marching (BA-13) and all of the American Militia codes.


Fife & Drum Advertises in Miniature Wargames

Check out Miniature Wargames Issue No. 364 and look for our full page advertisement on page 9, where we have a full colour spread featuring our range of 18th Century artillery equipment and wagons. This is our first foray into print advertising and you can expect to see more advertisements as we feature each component of our fine AWI range.

More Fort Ligonier Pix

General Forbes At Fort Duquesne (courtesy of Fort Ligonier museum)

There a several interesting dioramas at the Fort Ligonier museum. The first one depicts General Forbes in his litter, between two horses, during his campaign to capture the French-held Fort Duquesne (renamed Fort Pitt after its capture by Forbes). I thought that I would post this picture because (1) it is interesting, and (2) it would make for a good table top vignette, so I hope that someone gives it a try and reports back to DAF Journal Central.

The second diorama is so big and wide that I had to take the picture in two separate photographs. It depicts the British-American wagon teams trying to get a 6-pound cannon and a wagon up the hill, over a very poor road that they have hacked out of the woods. The museum notes that wagon teams were often pulling the load in tandem, i.e. one horse is ahead of the other, rather than having the horses side by side. My recollection is that the diorama caption at the museum mentions that the wagon team shown below is incorrect.

Pushing a wagon up the hill (courtesy of Fort Ligonier museum)

Pulling a 6-pounder up the hill. (courtesy of Fort Ligonier museum)

Later in the week, I have some pictures from inside the Fort, showing the officers' quarters and the officers mess, done in life size exhibits (using uniformed manniquins).

Master of My Domain

Frederick the Great, on display at Fort Ligonier

You know what I really like about blogging? Aside from the fact that I have made friends in nearly every corner of the world and that I have fun posting pictures of historical wargame activities, etc. It is the fact that nobody can tell me to shut up on my own turf.

I have had nearly 445,000 visits to this blog since I began it back in 2005, and I think that I have had no more than two, maybe three impolite visitors to this site. I think that I issued the death penalty (i.e. deleting the offensive comment) in one instance while the other two comments were so silly that I left them on the board so that the commentator could display his ignorance for time ever after.

It is good to be king.

I plan to take leave of a certain public wargaming forum for awhile. Its 18th Century forums (fora?) used to be the epitome of politeness and friendliness, but it has become less so more recently. The majority of visitors to the Other Place are good people, but the minority have increasingly made it an unpleasant experience for me, hence my decision to stop visiting the site. There are other friendly places for me to visit such as Emperor vs. Elector or WD3 and a couple of other places where I can visit and know that what is said there stays there and that everyone will treat the others with courtesy and respect. Those are truly Better Places to visit.

What does that mean for the Der Alte Fritz Journal? It means that I will probably be posting things here more frequently. You may have noticed an uptick in the number of entries in 2013 compared to previoius years. I think that I have hit 90 posts so far - it took me nearly the whole year to reach that figure in previous years.

The first half of 2013 has been somewhat stressful with so many tight deadlines to meet for wargame conventions and other related activities. With the stress of Historicon and Kickstarter behind me, I intend to get back to using the hobby for enjoyment and relaxation. I feel like the weight of the world is now off my shoulders and I can once again enjoy this wonderful hobby.

It all starts the first weekend of August when I travel to General Pettygree's home and resume our Napoleonic campaign in Iberia. I look forward to that game very very much.

Last 24 Hours of Fife & Drum Kickstarter!

Minden (left and right) and Fife & Drum (center) mounted officers.

There are about 24 hours left in the Fife & Drum Kickstarter Project, and as of this posting the pledges totaled $22,887 from 96 backers. Since my target goal was $5,000 for the initial funding, it goes beyond saying that this has been a very successful Kickstarter Project and it will provide all of the funding that we will need for the next two years. Thank you everyone!

Now there is the little matter of reaching the final stretch goal of $24,000 which will unlock the French circa Savannah in 1779. If we are able to raise $1,113 in additional pledges over the next 24 hours, then the French will become "unlocked". The term "unlocked" means that enough pledge dollars will have been raised to fund the development and production of that specific item, in this case, the French Army of 1779.

Just a few more pledges will get us there. So if you enjoy the Fife & Drum range of miniatures and you want to see the French added to the range, now is the time to pledge some money to make it happen. Click on the link below and travel to the Kickstarter Project page for Fife & Drum Miniatures.

Fife & Drum Kickstarter Page

In the right hand column of the page, you will see a number of Pledge Levels that you can choose from. Each pledge sends your investment dollars to our Kickstarter Project, and in turn, you will receive the miniatures listed for the various pledge levels. Select the level that interests you by clicking the green icon and you will be walked through the process.

It's Time To Get Back To My Minden Austrian SYW Army

Esterhazy Hussars in Austrian service - not my favorite regiment. Minden Miniatures painted on commission.

I have been rather AWI-centric on this blog over the past year or two due to the need to build up armies for participation games at conventions. The best way to show off a range of figures is to see them in a tabletop battle. Now that Historicon is over, and now that both AWI armies are built up to a core level, I now have time to return to the Seven Years War.

Austrian Army Command Stand: Marshal Leopold von Daun and staff.

My Minden Miniatures Austrian army currently includes 5 battalions (30 figures each) of musketeers, 2 battalions of converged grenadiers (10 stands of 6 figures each) and two battalions of Croats (30 figures each) in its infantry component. The first thing is to paint the second battalion of the Josef Esterhazy regiment of Hungarians. Damn those Esterhazys! They are on my black list because they wouldn't let our tour group into Forschstenstein Castle to see their magnificent display of SYW Austrian uniforms and equipment and the vast collection of Prussian uniforms, flags, equipment (all captured at Maxen in 1759). Back in 2005 when we visited the castle, we were told that most of the uniform collection was not on display and they would not let us go into the secret rooms to see them. Imagine travelling across the pond to see the exhibit and to get turned away. Thus, whenever I see any of the Esterhazy units on my wargame table (or any other table for that matter), I will stop at nothing to destroy that wargame unit with all the artillery and musketry that I can muster and throw at those naer-do-wells. :)

I need to add a pair of limber teams to my 6-pounder battery. Perhaps a couple of supply wagons too.

The Austrian artillery park is in pretty good shape. I have two 12-pounders with limber teams already painted (they still need two ammo wagons) and two 6-pounders that are missing their limber teams and ammo wagons.

The Josef Esterhazy Regiment needs its second battalion painted.

Grrr, Esterhazys (above). Ooooh, I really hate those guys, as Indiana Jones might say.

Austrian Cuirassier Regiment "Portugal" needs at least a dozen more troopers to bring the regiment up to 24 figures (actually, it should be more like 36 figures, but putting them all out on the table shows me what I need and what I need to order in the way of new figures).

The Austrian cavalry establishment needs a lot of work. I have one regiment of Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons completed and only a dozen of the Portugal Curassiers. Everyone has this regiment in their Austrian army because it is the only regiment that does NOT have red facings, i.e. it is the only regiment that has blue facings. Putting the figures on the table shows me that I probably need to order another dozen Austrian cuirassiers, as I would like the regiment to have 36 figures (720 troopers at my 1:20 ratio that I use for this army).

I am contemplating the need to paint Austrian hussars, noting that they generally were not used by the Austrians on battlefields. They stayed on the perifery of the field, guarding the flanks and scouting the opposing army's lines, etc. I could paint one of those damn Esterhazy hussar regiments (light blue dolman and pelisse, red breeches and yellow boots), but more likely, I will go with the Baranyay Hussar regiment (green dolman and pelisse, tan or buff breeches, and red facings) which is a spectacular uniform to behold.

I think that I would rather paint some more cuirassiers in red facings, though.

British Officer Uniform at Fort Ligonier

Here are a couple of pictures of the British officer's coat and waistcoat on display at Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania. The detail in the gold braiding is truly a sight to see.

More Pix of Fort Ligonier Collection of SYW Militaria

Here are some more photographs that I took at the Fort Ligonier SYW collection on the way to Historicon.

The items (top to bottom) are (1) a pair of British sash pistols, (2) French officer's "broad gorget", (3) French cavalry cuirasse, (4) French drum for the Dauphin Regiment, and (5) a Swedish cavalry standard.

A Fist Full of xxxmen Pirate Game Pix @ Historicon

There seemed to be a lot of quality 28mm naval games, or land games that had some stellar ship models, at this year' Historicon. Here are of the pictures that I took :

On the Road to Historicon

I left Hesse Seewald at 9 AM on Tuesday and drove about 530 miles to Ligonier, PA so that I could see Fort Ligonier the next day. It wasn't the easiest f drives, but I was able to pick up the signal for WSCR "The Score" sports radio all the way to Toledo, Ohio which killed off 3-4 hours of travel. After that , I listened to a book on CD called The Rise and Fall of Alexandria which is really a fascinating listen. That took me the rest of the way to Ligonier. I would have to visit the fort the next day.

My mission was two fold: see the SYW artifacts and take pictures and measurements of the British artillery equipment for Fife & Drum purposes.


The fort has a very impressive collection of SYW in Europe artifacts from Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sweden, France and Britain. It is difficult to post more than a couple of pix on the road using my iPad so I will post the rest of the pix when I get home. Or, you can become one of my Facebook friends and see them now.

My second goal was to take pictures of the 2-wheel and 4-wheel ammo carts, the Conestoga wagon, the British 12-pounder and 5-inch howitzer and other items. I measured wheel diameters and carriage lengths for my equipment sculptor. I nearly melted in the heat, but mission accomplished.

Then I hit the road again to Fredericksburg and hit a traffic jam on I-81 in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, the next exit said Antietam so I got off the freeway and made a side trip to Antietam. I really only wanted to visit the bookstore at park HQ and look around the museum, as I've been to the battlefield more times than I care to count, and besides, it was getting late in the day.

Then I meandered around the countryside trying to get south to Winchester, VA, but I always seemed to be heading west as there were no roads in the area going south. Finally, I got back on the interstate and arrived in Fredericksburg and checked in to my hotel.

I waited too long to book a hotel so I am about ten miles away from the Historicon site. The convention expo building is in the midst of the largest collection of malls and chain stores that I have ever seen. I think that EVERY SINGLE franchised store is in this retail park.

I'm getting tired of tapping on the iPad, so to make a long story short, I set up my booth at the Age of Glory booth and am next door to Eureka. Steve from Age of Glory was kind enough to offer me some space at his booth so we are piggy backing. This helps me get the lay of the land in the dealer area and hopefully I will learn how to run a dealer booth at a convention.

My fingers are tapped out on this iPad thingy, so good night.

British Light Infantry from Fife & Drum

British Light Infantry from the American Revolution - Fife & Drum figures. Click to enlarge.

I really liked this picture so I thought that I would post it on my blog and share it with everyone. These are Fife & Drum AWI British Light Infantry, of course, and their superb animation really got my creative juices flowing when it came to the basing.

The British hived off their flank companies to form converged grenadier and light battalions of around 600 soldiers. These were the "cream of the crop"of Howe's army during the 1776-1777 campaigns and they were often brigaded together with the converged battalion of Foot Guard infantry and commanded by Lord Cornwallis.

When I put the light battalion together, I painted each stand as a company from different regiments. So one stand will have all white facings, blue facings, green facings or yellow facings, etc. The term "facings" refers to the color of the collar, cuffs and lapels, although light infantry jackets (called roundabouts) did not have lapels.

The animation that sculptor Richard Ansell gave to the Light Bobs, as they were called, seemed to call out for something special on the bases. For example, the standing firing figure is resting his musket on a tree branch to steady his aim, while other figures take cover behind rocks, tree stumpls and piles of logs. This unit is actually 48 figures strong, but in war games I often split the unit into two "wings" of 24 figures, essentially giving me two battalions of Light Bobs.

AWI Hessian Grenadiers & Jagers Are Coming

The Fife & Drum Kickstarter Project has now passed the stretch goal of $16,000. This means that the Hessian Grenadiers and Jagers for the AWI will now be able to go into production in late 2014 or early 2015. A hearty thanks to all of the backers of this project. Your support of Fife & Drum is most appreciated.

Our next stretch goal is the $20,000 level -- this would unlock the Highland Regiment figures.

With respect to timing, I've pegged January 2014 for the delivery date of the first 16 dragoon castings, which will cover the British 16th Light Dragoons and the 1st Continental Dragoons.

After that, I am assuming six month intervals between new product releases that will be funded by the Kickstarter funding. So roughly, the British Legion and 3rd Continental Dragoons would go into production around June 2014 and the first of the Hessian infantry would arrive by the end of 2014. Then the second half the Hessians would be shipped by June 2015.

Richard and I will be exploring ways to create dollies for commonly used poses throughout the range. This will help reduce the amount of time it takes to sculpt a new figure and possibly improve the turnaround time a little bit. Basically, Richard is creating each figure from a dead start, whereas if some of the equipment pieces and heads are already made and available, then it doesn't take as much time to complete a figure.

It seems odd to be thinking about 2015 when I am primarily focused on working on the dragoons and getting ready for Historicon, next week, but successful "crowd funding" enables us to zero in on long-term plans with a higher degree of certainty.

Closing in on the Hessian Part Deux

The Fife & Drum Kickstarter project has soared to $15,460 and only requires $540 to reach the stretch goal of $16,000. This will unlock the rest of the Hessian infantry (grenadiers and jagers).

Next goal: $20,000 which will release the Highlanders! As you all know, Highland regiments are among my favorite troop types.

Whoever pushes us over the $16,000 level will get a mounted general or the Spirit of 76 vignette painted by me, Der Alte Fritz.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1937253848/fife-and-drum-expands-its-american-revolution-rang

The Erbprinz Arrives in the Vereinigte Freie Stadte Capital of Kranz

The Erbprinz Karl Friedrich (center) with the captain of his Garde Jager escort (left) and his ADC, Captain Jakob Berkebiel. Click photo to enlarge. The Erbprinz is a Minden Miniature British officer painted in the uniform of a Hesse Seewald general.

One of the two companies of Garde Jagers of the Hesse Seewald army that provided an escort for the Erbprinz in his recent journey to Kranz, VFS.

Today a message arrived by courier to the Herzog Friedrich von Hesse Seewald announcing the safe passage and arrival of his son, the Erbprinz Karl Friedrich in Kranz, the capital city of the Vereinigte Freie Stadte ("VFS"). The Erbprinz has been sent to the VFS to learn the art of military science from one of the prominent military captains of the 18th Century, Baron von und zun Trinksblut und Eisenessen.

There is much rejoicing in the Ducal Palace at Gotha, as there were some concerns that the Erbprinz's party might be ambushed by agents of Herzog Wilhelm von Sachsen Raschstein. See the picture below for some of the naer-do-wells who were trying to find the Erbprinz:

Bercheny Hussars on the prowl for the Erbprinz's traveling party. These are Minden Miniatures -- the new French Hussar figures -- painted by and in the collection of Charles S. Grant. Click to enlarge.

*********************************************

To His Excellency the Herzog Friedrich von Seewald of Hesse Seewald


Sir,

I am delighted to report to Your Excellency that the Erbprinz Karl Friedrich has just arrived at Kranz and presented himself to the Military Council of the Vereinigte Freie Städte. I am bidden by the Council to say that he is indeed most welcome.

His recent experience during the campaigning against the vaunted Gallian army during the recently concluded War of the Saxon Duchies will stand him in good stead and we look forward to his first had account of this campaign.

The Erbprinz Karl Garde Jäger have made a very fine impression. They are exceptionally well equipped and make an imposing sight. I understand that I have been invited to review them in training once they have settled into their barracks and I very much look forward to this.

At this stage I cannot provide details but I can assure Your Excellency that both the Erbprinz and his Garde Jäger will find themselves on in action before too long.

Your Servant

General Baron von und zu Trinksblut und Eisenessen

Hessian Musketeers on Kickstarter Are Unlocked!

Yikes! That was fast. Early Tuesday morning we passed the $12,000 stretch goal which unlocks the Hessian Musketeers to the Fife & Drum AWI range of miniatures. I am excited by these new possibilities and am very grateful to everyone who has supported the Kickstarter Project so far. Every contributor at or above the $12 level now gets 24 free Hessian infantry figures along with the right to swap them for any other existing or future figures in the range (1 dragoon = 3 infantry figures or = 1 artillery piece).

Our next stretch goal is to reach the Knyphausen Level of $16,000 so that we can get the Hessian grenadiers and jagers into production. There will be some more reward enhancements announced later, but I would imagine that a Knyphausen personality figure will be one of the items under consideration (I want a Knyphausen, so you can probably guess where this is heading).

If we really get rolling and hit the $20,000 stretch goal, the Patrick Ferguson Level, then the Highlanders will become unlocked  and we just might get a Major Ferguson figure as well.

Thank you everybody for your support. It is both humbling and highly appreciated.

New Kickstarter Rewards Offered For AWI Hessian Fundraising

Our Fife & Drum Kickstarter project is now up to $10,233 and we have 39 backers. We are funded and we passed our first stretch goal of $8,000 which unlocked the British Legion cavalry.

Now we have the Hessian infantry in sight as our next goal, but we need to reach a funding level of $12,000 to unlock the Hessians. Every pledge moves us closer to our goal, even the smallest pledge.

But we've added a HUGE incentive for you Hessian fans: free figures! That's right, if we hit the $12,000 funding level then EVERYBODY GETS 24 FREE HESSIAN INFANTRY FIGURES!

Think about that for just a minute. You could pledge say $24 to get 4 dragoons, and you will get 24 foot for free. But wait, it gets better: you can swap each dragoon for 3 infantry or 1 cannon. That's potentially 12 more infantry as your base reward and 24 more foot just for being smart enough to pledge before the $12,000 goal was achieved. That's a 25% discount off of our retail price for an infantry figure or $1.50 per figure with the discount. And we are not done giving away freebies!

Since we already hit the $10,000 pledge level, every backer automatically receives a free mounted officer of your choice. Guys, we already passed that threshold so ANY new pledge qualifies for the free mounted officer. That's free cheese! You can't lose with this deal.

So help us move the ball another $1,800 by visiting our Kickstarter page and make your pledge today:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1937253848/fife-and-drum-expands-its-american-revolution-rang

Fife & Drum expands its American Revolution range