Two pictures to whet the appetite

Germania's IR18 is currently reorganizing to the BAR doctrine, as seen in these photos. These are Foundry figures painted by John Price.

You may be surprised just how much the ImagiNations fraternize during the "off season." In the background, you can see the Imperium's IR Salm-Salm as it enters the area for reorganization!

And so it begins...

Sixty-six of the Landgrafin's Fusiliers, newly drafted from the Minden (Miniatures) district, on parade before being issued their undergarments (primer):

Crazy idea?

I've been wondering about the Reichsarmee and their...shall we say "polyglot"...appearance during the Seven Years War. Much of this is due to the units being made up of contingents from multiple countries.

It's difficult enough in these days of the Internet to get people on the same page. Imagine what the tailors and outfitters of literally dozens of small towns had to do.

Which really got me to thinking. What if I painted a Reichsarmee unit, using castings from all the different companies? Then, what about asking different people to do so?

For example, the Baden-Baden regiment was made up of 42 (yes, Virginia, forty-two) different contingents. They had a uniform cut in the Prussian style, with white small clothes, trousers, and facings.

So, give THAT information to a dozen or three gamers. Ask them to paint ONE figure from their lead mountain and send it to a single person to base (the basing will "tie them together").

So, everything from Minifig to Stadden via Foundry and Front Rank, all in one battalion. Do the "size forward, size right" drill, with the largest at the flanks.

And then I find out the Kapiti Fusiliers did so, albeit with all Front Rank French Napoleonic figures. See http://web.mac.com/nataliendpeter/Site/Napoleonic_Fusiliers_Batt.html

Anyway, said regiment could then become a traveling show, going to Big Battalion games or conventions. It would probably be best given to an organization, perhaps the SYW Association.

So, crazy?

Troops for Big Battalions in Texas

You may know about our planned Big Battalions game at next year's Millennium Con (if not, see http://texasbigbattalions2008.blogspot.com/

Here is the current order of battle that I will be bringing to that effort.

Germanian Column
1st Brigade
Infantry Regiment von Itzenplitz (IR 13), 48 figures
Infantry Regiment Prinz von Preussen (IR 18), 48 figures
Infantry Regiment Alt-Braunschweig (IR 5), 48 figures
2nd Brigade
Infantry Regiment Jung-Kleist (IR 9), 48 figures
Infantry Regiment Prinz Heinrich (FR 35), 48 figures
Infantry Regiment Alt-Münchow (FR 36), 48 figures
3rd Brigade
1st Grenadier Battalion (13/18/5/20), 48 figures
2nd Grenadier Battalion (35/36/GR3/GR4/NGR), 48 figures
Cavalry Brigade
Cuirassier Regiment von Seydlitz (CR 8) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Dragoon Regiment von Schorlemer (DR 6) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Hussar Regiment von Puttkamer (HR 4) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Artillery
2 x 12pdr with limbers
2 x 6pdr with limbers


Imperial Column
1st Brigade
Infantry Regiment Neipperg (IR 7) (48 figures)
Infantry Regiment Salm-Salm (IR 14) (48 figures)
Infantry Regiment Gaisruck (IR 42) (48 figures)
2nd Brigade
Infantry Regiment Kaiser (IR 1) (48 figures)
Infantry Regiment Moltke (IR 12) (48 figures)
Infantry Regiment Esterhazy (IR 37) (48 figures) (Hungarian)
3rd Brigade
1st Grenadier Battalion (7/14/42/52), 48 figures
2nd Grenadier Battalion (1/12/37), 36 figures
1st Cavalry Brigade
Cuirassier Regiment Alt-Modena (CRiii) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Cuirassier Regiment Serbelloni (CR12) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Converged Horse Grenadiers (DR9/19/31/X) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
2nd Cavalry Brigade
Dragoon Regiment Zweibrucken (DRX) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Dragoon Regiment Savoy (DR 9) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Dragoon Regiment Prinz de Ligne (DR31) (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Artillery
2 x 12pdr
2 x 6pdr
2 x 3pdr

Gallian Column
1st Brigade
Infantry Regiment Conde, 48 figures
Infantry Regiment La Sarre, 48 figures
2nd Brigade
Cavalry Regiment Rougrave, 12 figures
Cavalry Regiment Royal Allemand, 12 figures
Artillery
2 x 6pdr


Hesse-Fedoran Column
Avantgarde Brigade
Grenadier Battalion von Dobbs, 48 figures
Fusilier Regiment Landgrafin, 60 figures
Jägerkorps von Norris, 30 figures
Hussar Regiment von Steele (2 sqd, 24 figures)
1st Brigade
Infantry Regiment Leib, 48 figures
Infantry Regiment von Spade, 48 figures
Infantry Regiment von Blaine, 48 figures
Infantry Regiment von Earle, 48 figures
2nd Brigade
Garde de Corps (1 sqd, 12 figures)
Karabinier Regiment von Marlowe(2 sqd, 24 figures)
Dragoon Regiment von Gunn (2 sqd, 24 figures)
Artillery
4 x 3pdr


Electorate of Weisspferdheim Column
1st Brigade
Weisspferdheim Leibgarde (2 sq)
Herzog von Beverforden (2 sq)
Der Blauens (2 sq)
2nd Brigade
Weiss Hussars (2 sq)
Rot Hussars (2 sq)

This unit may make it, if I can recruit the units up to strength. However, they are low on the priority list:

Brittanian Column
1st Brigade
11th Foot (1 bn)
20th Foot (1 bn)
37th Foot (1 bn)
Grenadier Battalion (11/20/37)
Artillery
2 x 6pdr

Almost everthing above is already painted, except the Landgrafin's Fusiliers. I also want to add a Hesse-Homburg column of 4 infantry units (54 figures each plus grenadiers), 2 each cuirassier and dragoon regiments of two squadrons (total, 24 figures per regiment) and artillery.

That's all. :)

MConX big Napoleonics game

Here's a teaser from the big game this weekend. We hope to post more over the next couple days over at http://huzzahm10.blogspot.com/.

This is a picture of the table just prior to the game starting. Sadly, it was 8 feet shorter than intended.

The Landgrafin’s Fusiliers

It has been widely known for some time that Her Excellency Landgrafin Loren has been expressing an interest in the country’s military establishment. Unable to directly influence her husband or the military, she has decided to use her family’s not inconsiderable wealth to raise and equip her own regiment.

The unit is organized in a manner unlike those of the “regular” establishment. The Landgrafin and her advisors scientifically determined the structure of the regiment, rather than simply accept military traditions. They settled on a structure of twos, as can be seen from this chart:

Zug (60 sergeants and men, 1 lieutenant)
Company (2 züge, 1 captain)
Division (2 companies, 1 major)
Battalion (2 divisions, 1 lieutenant colonel plus one grenadier company)
Regiment (2 battalions, 1 colonel)

So, a battalion has 2 divisions, or 4 companies, or 8 züge, for a total of 480 men, plus staff.

The grenadier companies are organized in the same manner as the line fusiliers, with the regiment’s two companies commanded by a grenadier major. Theoretically, as the scientific precision of this system becomes recognized by the hide-bound generals they will adopt the superior organization for the main army.

In an attempt to impose Her Excellency’s ideas on the army, the official title of the new unit is the Normal-Infanterie-Regiment, which translated from the German means “The Infantry Regiment which sets the Norm,” or more precisely “the Model Infantry Regiment.” In day-to-day use, it is usually referred to as “the Landgrafin’s Fusiliers.”

For uniform, the Landgrafin wanted a uniform distinctive from musketeers of the line. A green coat was adopted, as Her Excellency is quite convinced that her soldiers would be just as capable as that parvenu General Norris’ jägers in any situation. However, she picked a shade slightly lighter, and added burgundy distinctives and cream small clothes. A fusilier mitre was chosen as giving the soldiers an improved martial stature, without insulting the sartorial prerogatives of the grenadiers.