Our Annual SYW Christmas Game

 

Tomorrow we will be playing our annual Christmas Game at Kieth L.'s home (he of the huge basement with three 6ft by 30ft tables). We have been doing this for at least the past decade, usually the first weekend of December. We often play the Big Battalions using Bill Protz's "Batailles dans l'Ancien Regime" or B.A.R for short. Click on some of the pictures here to get the true feel for the vast amount of tabletop space that we have to play with.

Ian Weekley buildings, vintage 1990. Der Alte Fritz made the church.

This year's game is a little unusual in that there is a tectonic shift in the alliances of Europe in our 1757-ish period. Gadzooks, Britain and France are now allies, while cats (Austria) and dogs (Prussia) are playing together after forging a new alliance. I have heard that Frederick II and Marie Therese have secretly divided the German Holy Roman Empire into two spheres of influence. Prussia has the northern half while Austria holds sway in the largely Catholic south.

I have no idea how Britain and France came to terms, other than a fear of the Austro-Prussian alliance. Britain has always been the counterweight to alliances and affairs in Europe so my guess is that this is the motivation for the two countries to set aside their differences and seek out a common good.

Here are some pictures of the game tables with all of the troops set up in their positions several days before the actual game day on Saturday.

The British brigade.

The center table (of three) where all of the action is likely to play out.

One of the Austrian brigades that Himself will command.

The view of all three tables. My Austrian brigade of four infantry battalions 
and two regiments of cuirassiers are in the foreground.

So Der Alte Fritz, Himself, will be commanding some of the Austrians. My brigade, shown in the pictures above, cover the left flank of the Austrian-Prussian army. Apparently the two army commanders had a player draft and I was selected by the Austrian side. I am not so sure that I look very good wearing white, but I will give it my best effort. LOL!

There will be some after action pictures and a game report on my main blog, Der Alte Fritz Journal, and I will likely post a few pictures on this blog, probably on the Sunday following the game.

Winter Comes Early to Hesse Seewald

Festung Hesse Seewald

A thick blanket of snow draped over Hesse Seewald today, thus shortening the military campaign season. Crown Prince Friedrich ordered all troops to go into Winter quarters.

The army will be resupplied over the Winter months and new cavalry regiments are on their way to the capital city.

Meanwhile, the citizens welcomed the early arrival of the snows by organizing a Winter festival.

Another New Cavalry Unit in Hesse Seewald Service

The Kronprinz Friedrich horse grenadiers (Minden Miniatures Austrian Horse Grenadiers)

Today, His Royal Highness, King Georg Ludwig, is pleased to announce that the Saxe-Gotha horse grenadier cavalry regiment has been transferred from service in the Duke of Gotha to that of Hesse Seewald. It seems that the Duke had to settle some gambling debts with the King, and so the regiment passed into Hesse Seewald service to settle those debts.

The Kronprinz Friedrich Horse Grenadiers on parade.

Reverse view of the previous picture.

The unit will be renamed the Kronprinz Friedrich regiment of dragoons. The Hesse Seewald cavalry establishment allows its inhabers some latitude in uniform details, so tricorns or bearskin hats, they are all considered to be "dragoons", which are still heavy cavalry regiments.

The command section of the regiment.

King Georg Ludwig is quite pleased with his newest acquisition.

New Cavalry Unit Enters Service in Hesse Seewald Army

The Messerschmidt Horse Grenadiers
(de Ligne horse grenadiers in Austrian service)

King Georg Ludwig is pleased to announce that a new cavalry regiment of horse grenadiers has been raised and will join the Hesse Seewald army as the Messerschmidt Horse Grenadiers.

The regiment has only one squadron, which is typical of the Hesse Seewald cavalry establishment, but there is a possibilty that a second squadron might be raised in the future.

As anyone with a discerning eye can see, the unit is actually comprised of Austrian horse grenadiers from the de Ligne dragoon regiment. However, since they are sporting the green coats of the Hesse Seewald army, they can easily do double duty serving as an Imaginations unit. 

That is one of the nice things about Imaginations army - they can consist of anything and whatever you fancy in your own army. And who can say that the uniforms are not correct? It is your army.

These are the new Minden Miniatures Austrian Horse Grenadiers: MAC-007 Horse Grenadier Command and MAC-008 Horse Grenadier Reiters. Each pack has three cavalrymen with horses.

What's Wrong With Imaginations?

The Battle of Lobositz at the Little Wars Convention, using BAR rules in Old School style wargaming.

I recently read a blog that has taken a few swipes at "Imaginations Armies" and  says that his way of doing things in wargaming is the best way. Several other blogs have carried a similar tune from time to time, so I thought tha a rebuttal of sorts was long overdue.

Well, it's ok to have your opinion, but we live in a big church - the wargaming community - and there are a lot of different ways of approaching the hobby of playing games with the Little Men, as our wives and sweethearts call them. As long as people are having fun playing wargames and socializing with like minded friends, what is the point of disparaging one form of wargaming over another?

* the majority of wargamers like to build historical armies and recreate historical battles on the table top. They might also (and often do) create fictional battles and scenarios for their table top wars. This is the lane that I choose to play in most of the time.

* an even larger community of wargamers dwell in the fantasy realm of Hobbits, orcs and dwarves and all kind of imaginable monsters and enemies. Not my cup of tea, but I recognize that this segment of wargaming is vastly larger than the historical miniatures segment.

* back in 2005 or there abouts, Patrick Lewis created a Yahoo Group titled "Old School Wargaming" ("OSW") that celebrated the "good old days" of wargaming with the likes of Donald Featherston, Peter Young, Charles Grant and Peter Gilder, among others. It also remembered some of the old figure ranges such as Suren, Spencer Smith, RSM, Minifigs, Heritage, and Connoisseur, among others.

The Battle of Mollwitz, an old favorite from The Wargame book by Charles Grant. Suren Uhlans de Saxe clash with Stadden Black Hussars.

Another cavalry scum at Mollwitz featuring Hinchcliffe Austians and Elite Miniatures Prussians. Note the use of single stand figures mounted on movement trays, or sabots, paying homage to the Old School style of single mounted figures in Peter Young's Charge book and rules.

The Origins of Old School Wargaming and Imaginations

OSW brought back memories of the imaginery armies created by Peter Young and Charles Grant and books such as "The Wargame" by Charles Grant and "Charge" by Peter Young. People  remembered cutting their wargaming teeth on these books and many a fond memory was dredged from our memories from those early days of the 1960s and 1970s. I think that the main attractions of wargaming in the Young-Grant style are the large regiments of big, easy to see 30mm figures and the kinder, gentler style of interaction amongst the players.

The Old School Wargaming movement brought a lot of people into the realm of 18th Century wargaming, and the Seven Years War in particular. They began to build imaginery armies, just like those of Charles Grant, that might have represented fictional countries, but they were firmly based in the era of tricorn hats, coats with turnbacks and a rather gentlemanly approach to wargaming that emphasized courtesy, corgiality and a sense of fair play. This was all good.

Somewhere along the line, someone applied the name "Imaginations" to all of the fictional countries, kingdoms, dukedoms and principalities that gamers had developed. The name stuck and now a days when wargamers hear the word "imaginations" it conjures up wargaming in the manner of Young and Grant. 

Let me be clear in my opinion, Old School Wargaming and Imaginations brought a lot of new people into the world of 18th Century wargaming and anything that expands the populace of 18th Century wargaming is a very, very, very good thins. Period!

Batailles dans l'Ancien Regime Rules Are Developed

Circa 2007, I was attending the Seven Years War Association Convention in South Bend, Indiana and I was hosting some sort of conventional SYW game featuring Austrians and Prussians. On the table next me was a game hosted by Bill Protz that featured large battalions of 48 and 60 figure battalions of soldiers fighting in three ranks, just like they did in the SYW. Bill was running a French and Indian War game at the time. As my game progressed, I found that I kept peering over at Bill's game table to watch these "Big Battalions" fight it out on the table top

After our prospective games had concluded, I walked over to Bill Protz and told him how interested I was in his wargame and discovered that Bill's game and rules were strongly influenced by Peter Young and his book "Charge". As the conversation continued I got around to asking Bill the question, "have you ever considered building armies for the European theatre of the Seven Years War and  using your big battalions for wargames?"

Well, like minds converged and we agreed that it would be a good idea for us to get together and try some games in the European theater of the SYW. I began painting Prussian battalions of 60 figures and cavalry squadrons of 12 figures. Bill began adding cavalry to his existing French and British armies. After several months of painting we collectively had enough big battalions on hand to fight a decent SYW battle on Bill's large 6ft by 24ft table.

Paying homage to messers Young and Grant, we created fictional nations for our armies. Bill had an afinity for the French army and so his "imagination" was called "Gallia". I countered with a country called "Germania" (or Geraniums as Hal Thinglum called it). My own particular country was called Hesse Seewald, a small country that modeled its army after the Prussian army. As a matter of fact, all of my infantry battalions and cavalry regiments were painted and flagged as Prussian regiments. They just happened to be fighting under the banners of Germania or Hesse Seewald.

The Napoleonic Battle of Aspern-Essling fought as an imaginary SYW battle between  Gallia and Germania.

The happy band of brothers playing an Old School style game of Imaginations.

The town of Aspern decorated with old style Ian Weekley buildings and a newer church built by Herb Gundt

Big 60-figure cavalry regiments at Aspern-Essling.

Where does the name Hesse Seewald come from" I live in a town called Lake Forest so Lake = See and Forest = Wald, thus Seewald would, in theory, be a German name for Lake Forest. It seemed like there were many German principalities that were called Hesse-this or Hesse-that so I added the word Hesse to Seewald and created the fictional country of Hesse Seewald.

Rules for Playing With Big Battalions

We fought our battles using Bill's "Drums of War Along the Mohawk" rules for the French and Indian War. The rules use a figure to man ratio of 1:10, meaning that one wargame figure represents ten actual men. We played a lot, and I mean a really large lot of wargames with these rules, tweaking and adding things here and there. Over the course of several years, we had developed a really nice set of 18th Century wargame rules and I encouraged Bill to publish his rules.

Bill did indeed publish the rules under the name "Batailles dan l'Ancien Regime" or Battles in the Ancien Regime (which is what France was called prior to the advent of the French Revolution. We needed an acronym for the rules because it had a rather long name, so we settled on "BAR" for short. From 2005 to 2010 we staged many battles between Gallia and Germania. Following the admonishement of Peter Young, we celebrated our victories by bestowing battle honors to the winning armies and gluing wooden plaques to monuments to celebrate our wins. Battles were named after Donald Featherstone, Peter Young, Charles Grant and other pioneers of the wargaming hobby from the 1960s and 1970s.

Historicon Game hosted by Protz, Frye & Purky

Big battalions, Winter terrain and Imaginations armies add up to a whole lot of FUN!

We must have garnered some attention to the 18th Century, because Bill sold a lot of sets of his rules and people all across the USA were building BAR armies. Bill had the honor of being invited to a convention in Texas and helping to run a BAR game at the convention. In 2007 as I recall, Historicon invited Bill Protz and I as special guests of the convention given that the theme of the year was the 18th Century Warfare. We ran 3 or 4 games in the front lobby of the hotel and conducted a seminar on infantry tactics (we pushed a bunch of our battalions together to create two 600 figure battalions of French and Prussians so that people could see how long a battalion was and how hard it might have been to maneuver such a battalion. That was a really cool thing to see.

Above all, WE HAD FUN!

My Style of Imaginations & Old School Wargaming

Many of my forces were built using 30mm Stadden and Suren figures, as featured in Charles Grant's book, The Wargame. I also used RSM figures, some Elite Miniatures, Old Glory and Front Rank figures. I had fun building my Prussian/Germanian/Hesse Seewald army with these figures. At one time I had as many as 20 battalions of 60-figure Prussian battalions, but over the years I have reduced my army to about 12 battalions (about the amount of figures that I can carry in the trunk of my car to a wargame at Bill Protz's house).

On at least four occasions I organized and hosted large mega-games at a local hotel for our SYW games. We played SYW versions of Rossbach, Gettysburg, Aspern-Essling and Austerlitz with our BAR armies and had 20+ players in each game. It was really amazing to see so many troops spread across two or three 6ft wide by 20 feet long game tables. I was always enamored with Peter Gilder's Wargame Holiday Center and Grand Manner style of gaming, and this is what I attempted to recreaate in these large games. All were fought under the Imaginations banners of Gallia and Germania.

So I have nothing but warm feelings about Imaginations armies and wargames. I caught the wargaming bug, and the SYW bug in particular, from messers Grant and Young. If Imaginations were good enough for them, they are good enough for me too.

Conclusion

The concept of Imaginations has attracted a lot of gamers to the SYW era of historical minatures wargame. Anything that brings in new people to the hobby is something that should be celebrated, rather than disparaged.

As I said earlier, there are a lot of different approaches to the hobby and the diversity of ideas on how to wargame is one of the things that make this such a great hobby to pursue. 

Map of Hesse Seewald in Central Germania Theatre of War

Hesse Seeewald in the central Germanian theatre of war.

CLICK MAP To ENLARGE

We are pleased to announce that our most righteous royal sovereign, King Georg Ludwig II, has commissioned a recent drawing of a map depicting the location of the Kingdom of Hesse Seewald in central Germania. The highly respected cartographer,  Jakob Birkenbeil & Sons, accepted the commission and has presented the map included with this report.

The Key Players in the Final Arguement of Kings

A perusal of the map highlights the Kingdom of Hesse Seewald in green, the vile Duchy of Saxony in red and the contested territory of the Grand Duchy of Altenburg in purple. Other countries of note include Prussia in blue, Bohemia in brown-orange and the latter's ally, the Bishopric of Wurzburg also in brown-orange.

Allies of Hesse Seewald include the Duchies of Hesse Kassel, Hanover and Brunswick and the Principality of Anhalt.

The Saxons can count on Bohemia and Wurzburg as committed allies with the Kingdom of Bavaria leaning in their direction.

The neutral lands include the duchies of Anspach, Bayreuth, Mecklinburg and Lippe. Poland, of course, is a failed state that aligns with whichever army happens to be passing through it (usually the Russians).

The Grand Duchy of Altenburg is a contested land with both Saxony and Hesse Seewald claiming its ownership. It is a long and complicated story that dates back to the 14th Century and it is one that will have to be told on another day.

Brief Potted History of the Region

The territories of Anhalt, Altenburg, Bayreuth, Coburg are the "Saxon Duchies" over which many a war has been fought by Hesse Seewald and Saxony. In the most recent round of this decades long struggle, the Saxons invaded Altenburg in 1740 thereby setting off the gunpowder for the War of the Saxon Duchies. In 1742, the Hesse Seewald army marched into Altenburg to "rescue" the Grand Duchy from the unhappy grip of Saxony. A brief war lasted until 1744 when both sides agreed to a truce called the Treaty of Naumburg,  that called for a withdrawal of both armies from Altenburg. A codicile of the treaty was Saxon recognition of Hesse Seewald's acquisition of the Duchy of Saxe Coburg in 1735.

The Saxons had a great deal of incentive to end the conflict on their western border, for in 1745 they would make the unwise decision to abandon their alliance with the King of Prussia and join the Austrians in the Second Silesian War (1744 - 1745). The Saxons were crushed by the Prussians at the battle of Hohenfriedberg in 1745 and ended the year with two more losses in December of that year at Hennersdorf and Kesselsdorf.

The demise of Saxon fortunes in 1745 swung the pendulum in Hesse Seewald's favor, which has used the peace to increase its influence over the politics of Altenburg. There are some who believe that Georg Ludwig should take advantage of the current weakness in the Saxon state and outright annex the Grand Duchy of Altenburg.

Ever mindful of the impact that another war could have in this part of central Germania, diplomats from both Berlin and Vienna have been doing there best to keep Hesse Seewald and Saxony from resuming hostilities.

Garrison Regiment Beck

Garrison Regiment Beck

I had forgotten to show pictures of the most recent addition to the Hesse Seewald Heer: the Garrison I Battalion Beck. They are a snappy looking regiment clad in all green uniforms. The grenadier company is detached on permanent duty with the Grenadier Battalion Rochling.

Russian merceneries are assembling to enter service of the Duke of Saxony.

Oh dear, it's been two years since I posted a blog entry on the Kingdom of Hesse Seewald blog. It's not that I haven't been active, it's just that more of my efforts have been devoted to my other blog, Der Alte Fritz Journal. I am sure that most of the readers of this blog are following me on the Der Alte Fritz Journal.

There is some bad news for Hesse Seewald: the vile Saxons are recruiting mercenaries from Russia, and Koenig Georg is a bit concerned about this development:

New Minden SYW Russian Observation Corps Grenadier Command.

New Minden SYW Observation Corps Grenadiers.

Fear not though, Hesse Seewald is always on my mind and I plan to fill out several infantry regiments and finished the HS Garde du Corps.

There's more to come this Summer. I promise.

New Year's Greetings From Hesse Seewald

The Elector Georg Ludwig II (self styled King of Hesse Seewald) and his family wish everyone a happy and prosperus New Year on 2017. The Elector regrets the lack of news reported from his country in 2016, but this is more a function of the Phony War that existed between Hesse Seewald and Saxony.

DR3 - the Hesse Seewald Corps of Guides travels through the town of Grunwald on its way to Trentonburg on Christmas Eve (the figures are Fife & Drum AWI British 16th Light Dragoon figures painted in HS livery).

The year ended with a victory over the Saxons at Trentonburg on Christmas Eve and represented the first blooding of the Hesse Seewald army, commanded by the Erbprinz Friedrich. A parade in his honor is being organized in the capital city of Gotha early in the New Year.

Georg Ludwig is planning an expansion of his army in 2017, notably the addition of more cavalry, and the increase of one company per regiment in the infantry. This will enable the army to detach the grenadier companies and converge them into two grenadier battalions, while maintaining the 30-figure complement in the musketeer regiments.

Concurrently, there are rumors that Saxony will rebuild its depleted army so that it no longer has to rely on the Austrians for infantry in its battles.

Stay tuned for more information postings in 2017 as the war between Hesse Seewald and Saxony heats up.

Battle of Trentonburg

Battle of Trentonburg Click Pix to enlarge.

Please check out the Battle of Trentonburg fought on Christmas Eve, posted on my Der Alte Fritz Journal blog.

Der Alte Fritz Journal Blog

This is the very first battle fought by the Hesse Seewald army and they won a moderate victory over the Saxons, who were in Winter quarters in the quiet little town of Trentonburg.


2017 will see the addition of Hesse Seewald cavalry which is needed to fend off the forces of evil Saxony.

CR1 Garde du Corps
CR2 Wittman Cuirassiers
CR3 Hammerstein Cuirassiers

DR1 Munchausen Dragoons
DR2 Buddenbrock Dragoons
DR3 Corps of Guides (Light Dragoons) - add a second squadron

HR1 von Hetzer Hussars

AWI Hessians Have Arrived in Hesse Seewald

The new Fife & Drum American Revolution Hessians are arriving today from Griffin Moulds. The musketeers and grenadiers wear gaitors so they can conceivably be used for SYW Prussians, Brunswickers and Wurttemburg troops as well.

I will post pictures on my various blogs over the weekend.

Garrison Regiment von Beck Reporting For Duty

Garrison Regiment No. 1, von Beck

The first four companies of the Garrison Regiment No. 1 von Beck were completed over the weekend and partially based. I have to dry brush the stands with a light tan and then add Silfor Tufts and Static Grass to complete the basing.

The von Beck regiment is the seventh Hesse Seewald regiment that I have painted so far (eight, if I count the von Arnim regiment which is actually a Faux Russian regiment).

There will be an announcement soon about a treaty between Hesse Seewald and Hanover, in which the latter has agreed to provide several regiments of mercenaries to the Hesse Seewald army. There will be a stipulation that the Hanoverians may only serve in Hesse Seewald and may not be used in any territory outside of Hesse Seewald. As such, the Hanoverian mercenaries will be used primarily to provide protection for the Homeland while the regular army is out on campaign.

Garrison Regiment No. 1, von Beck, is now forming.

PRESS RELEASE:  from the Ministry of Defense


DATE:  15 April, 1750


SUBJECT: Formation of Garrison Regiment No. 1

(Gotha) The Ministry of Defense announces the formation of a new regiment that will provide for the town garrison of Gotha. The new regiment, titled Garrison Regiment Number One, will replace the ad hoc rotation of regular army companies detached from their parent units to serve as the garrison for the town of Gotha. It's numerical designation shall be "GR1" (or Garrison Regiment Number 1).

Uniforms, currently in production at the establishment of Herr Haberdasher of Savilestrasse, will be entirely of dark green wool cloth (coat, waistcoat, breeches) with red turnbacks and collars on the coats. The green lapels on the coats will be piped in red and provide a pleasant contrast to the dark Elven Green color.

The Grenadier company will have a similar uniform, save for their silver plate mitre caps with red bag and green base.

The regiment's flags are currently being stitched together by GMB Designs, Ltd., a very reputable firm in the Royal Kingdom of Britannia.

Quaratermaster General Ernst von Jung reports that two of the center companies are outfitted with all of their kit and that the grenadier company will be completed within another day. The reminder of the regiment should have its uniforms by the end of this week.

Sketch drawings will be posted in the Gotha Times in time for publication in its weekend edition.

HS Army Organization - Update

I have finished 30 Prinz Heinrich IR5 fusiliers for the HS army and only have to paint 6 grenadiers to complete the regiment, The grenadiers are permanently detached from the regiment and will be converged with the to-be-painted IR6, IR7, IR8 and Garrison Regiment 1 grenadiers to form the Uchlander Grenadiers.

I did a couple of test figures for proposed new regiments last night ( sorry, no pix) :

IR6 Royal Foresters - green coats, light green facings and waistcoat, buff breeches
IR7 von Arnim Musketeers - green coats, white facings, buff waistcoat and breeches

IR8 -name  to be determined
GR1 - Garrison Regiment No. 1 - von Beck: dark green coat, waistcoat and breeches, red facings or maybe dark green facings so that they are similar to Prussian Garrison Regiment uniforms, except in dark green rather than dark blue, with red turnbacks. I might use the tighter Prussian cuffs instead of the larger Swedish cuffs on the Garrison regiments to further differentiate them from the line regiments.

Once all of the above are completed, I will have 8 line regiments ( single battalion), 2 converged grenadier regiments, and 1 Guard regiment. I will probably add some Jagers to give me a twelfth regiment. That would make my Hesse Seewald infantry component the same size as my Prussian infantry establishment.

I'm really lacking in cavalry so far, having only done the Guides Light Dragoons regiment and 3 test Garde du Corps figures. I plan to "borrow" the Austrian de Ligne Dragoon regiment for use in the HS army, since they wear green coats. I'm thinking that a small nation would economize and have a minimal cavalry establishment of 1-2 heavy cavalry, 1 dragoons and 1 light cavalry regiment.

Prinz Heinrich Fusiliers IR5 Are Now Recruiting

Prinz Heinrich Fusilier Regt. IR5 (click to enlarge)

PRESS RELEASE: Ministry of Defense

Subject: Recruitment of a new fusilier regiment for the Hesse Seewald Army.

(Gotha) The Ministry of Defense announced today the formation of a new regiment of fusiliers that will be placed on the establishment as IR5. Defense Minister Colonel Otto Bauer announced that His Grace, Prinz Heinrich von Hesse Seewald would be designated as the inhaber of the regiment.

"We are looking for young men, aged 16 to 25, who are of good spirit and fortitude to join the new regiment of fusiliers in the Hesse Seewald army. This will be the first time that the Army has employed fusiliers, so there is much opportunity for good men who seek employment in the service of His Highness, King Georg Ludwig II."

The new regiment of fusiliers is very smart looking with their traditional green coats with red facings, nicely offset by straw-colored waistcoats and breeches. The fusilier mitres have a red mitre bag trimmed in white piping. The rear base of the mitre is Hesse Seewald Green. All buttons and emblems are silver in color. Regimental musicians follow the convention of wearing reverse colors: i.e. red coats with green facings.

Colonel Bauer reports that the first three companies of fusiliers have completed their training and have been assigned to the Garrison of Gotha until the regiment is brought up to its full complement of 5 fusilier companies and 1 grenadier company.

Reporters for the Gotha Times noted that the new fusilier regiment will have a total of 6 companies, compared to the usual 5 companies of the other line infantry regiments in the Hesse Seewald Army.

Colonel Bauer informed our reporters that henceforth, all regiments will add a sixth company in order to bring the regiments up to a wartime footing. Accordingly, the standard organization of all line infantry regiments will be 5 companies of musketeers/fusiliers and 1 company of grenadiers. As our readers well know, the grenadier companies are hived off from the regiment and amalgamated into standing grenadier battalions of 4 companies.

At the present time, the grenadier companies from regiments IR1, IR2, IR3 and IR4 combine to form the Rochling Grenadier Battalion, listed as IR8 on the army rolls. A second standing grenadier battalion, to be commanded by Colonel Gerhard Uchlander, is now forming and will include the grenadier companies from IR5, IR6, IR7 and Garrison Regiment No. 1.

No Convention, But Lots of Painting

Since I couldn't make it to the SYWA convention this weekend, I decided that I should reward myself with a painting binge. I have completed 18 Prussian fusiliers ( out of 30), however, they are painted as Green coated Hesse Seewald Prinz Heinrich Fusilier Regiment IR5. They have green coats with red facings, straw colored breeches and waistcoat, silver buttons and mitre front plate, red mitre bag with green base.

Please refer to the posting ahead of this one to view a picture of the Prinz Heinrich Fusilier Regiment.

Breakfast in Potsdam

The Scene: the King's Study at Potsdam. The time is 6:30 A.M. Friedrich is waiting for his morning tea. The servant, Otto Schmidt, walks into the study carrying a tray of tea service, toast and jam.

The Prussian Minister of State, Count Schadenfreude, is seated in a chair talking with the King.

Fritz: " oh, there you are Schmidt! Just set the tray on my desk. I've much work to do and won't be seated at the table .

Schmidt juggles the heavy service tray with one hand while pushing the door open.. Friedrich' s pet Whippet, Biche, races over to Schmidt, hoping to find a biscuit. The startled servant does a half spin as he tries to avoid Biche, who has now raised up on her hind legs, fore paws on Schmidt's arm. Tails are wagging.

The tea cup and a plate slide off of the tray and shatter on the floor.

Schmidt: " I am so sorry Your Highness! Please forgive me."

Schadenfreude: "Meissen pottery! Expensive stuff it is."

Fritz: " Made in Saxony, is it not?"

Schadenfreude: " Yes, but it is a bit over rated if you ask me."

Fritz: "Precisely, a little bit like the Duchy of Saxony, don't you agree?"

Count Schadenfreude emits a little cackle as he laughs at the King's joke.

Schadenfreude: "Your Highness, I wish to convey some information that I have received from sources in Gotha and Dresden."

Fritz: ( his ears perk up) "Do tell, my dear Count, what is going down there on the Saxon border."

Schadenfreude: " Well Sire, it appears that Hesse Seewald is building up stores of grain, munitions and other war materials. Dresden is quite apprehensive about these developments."

Fritz: "Hmm, yes, I have heard rumors of war rumblings. That block head Georg Ludwig aced me out of a herd of 600 of the finest horses from the Celle Stables in Hanover. Seydlitz was not happy about that development. "

Schadenfreude: ( continuing his conversation ) "Yet there is much opportunity for Prussia in this unrest, Sire."

Fritz: " There is a powder keg that only need a lit match to force events in My favor. Your thoughts, my dear Count."

Schadenfreude : " Quite coincidentally powder kegs have been on my mind of late. There is quite a large one at the Saxon depot in Torgau and I know just the person who could do the job. She is..."

Frederick interrupts the Count, putting one finger to his mouth to indicate silence. "Tisk, tisk Schadenfreude . I do not need to hear the details. Just make it so!"

Schadenfreude : "I understand, Sire. All will be taken care of in short order."

Fritz: " I have come to expect no less from you Dear Count. You may leave now. There is much work ahead of us."

Friedrich waves off Count Schadenfreude towards the doorway. The count bows and backs his way out of the study.

Fritz: "oh and Schadenfreude, send for Winterfeldt. We need to start mobilizing soon."

Count Schadenfreude nods in understanding and exits the room. Biche ambles over to the King seeking a comforting scratch behind her ears. As Schadenfreude leaves, he hear a muffled cackling behind him in the King's Study.

The Hesse Seewald Army Goes on Maneuvers

IR4 Birkebeil in front row and IR1 von Glasenap in the second row. (click pix to enlarge)

Now that there are a symmetrical four line infantry battalions (plus one guard battalion), the Kronprinz Friedrich has decided to give the brigade a workout on the Marchfeld so that the new recruits could participate in brigade maneuvers.

IR3 Holstein in front row and IR2 Charlottenburg in the second row.

At least that is what Kronprinz Friedrich wants the rest of the world to think, that the Heer is going on  Spring Maneuvers. In reality, he plans to march the brigade from Gotha east to the Saal River and the Saxon border.

Reports have come back to the capital, in Gotha, of a mysterious band of brigands, clad in all black uniforms, burning farm houses and barns on both sides of the Saal. If that is indeed the case, then the Kronprinz is prepared to cross the Saxon boder and hunt down these near-do-wells, who undoubtedly are in the employ of Saxony.

IR4 Birkebeil Musketeer Regiment Is Ready

King Georg Ludwig conducts a practice review of the new Birkebeil Musketeer Regiment, IR4 on the  army rolls.

Colonel Andreas von Birkebeil contemplated the world with disapproval. He had reached the conclusion that it was no place for a gentleman.

This discovery percolated through his mind while he gazed out the window of the War Ministry and watched the newest regiment in the Hesse Seewald army form up on the parade ground below. The soldiers were fitted out in dark green coats with straw yellow facings and waistcoats, white knee britches and black gaitors.

He was rather pleased with their initial appearance, but this was offset to some degree by his displeasure in not seeing the bases terrained and based. That would come in due time. For now though, the regiment, HIS REGIMENT, formed into pelotons and went through their paces on the parade ground.

"It is a hard world," he said aloud to no one in particular, "made somewhat better when one is backed up by 600 armed and well trained men."

There was the sound of the clatter of horse hooves on the cobble stone parade ground, and this quickly grabbed von Birkebeil's attention. It was the King, arriving in his wicker chariot to inspect the regiment. No one had bothered to tell him that the King was going to review the regiment today. Someone was going to pay for this surprise, as von Birkebeil always liked to stay two steps ahead of everyone else, by owning information that nobody else had.

He really wasn't ready to have King Georg Ludwig of Hesse Seewald come unannounced to inspect his regiment. Nonetheless, the King looked to be pleased with what he saw. It was a fine looking regiment indeed.

Here are a couple of closer view of the von Birkebil regiment:

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Birkebeil Musketeer Regiment Is Being Raised

IR4 Birkebeil Musketeer Regiment

The Quartermaster General of the Hesse Seewald Heere, Ernst von Jung, paid a visit to the training barracks to view the progress of the new Birkebeil Musketeer Regiment, that is now forming. He watched as the three new companies (of a five company establishment) went through their paces on the parade ground and was pleased with the progress being made.

He noted that the regimental tailor, Herr Haberdasher of the renowned firm, Minden & Saville Ltd., was busy going over bolts of Elven Green cloth and Rucksack Yellow that would be used to outfit the rest of the regiment.

Von Jung: "Guten tag, Herr Haberdasher! How are the uniforms coming along?"

Herr Haberdasher: "It was slow going at first as I had to measure all of the recruits and order sufficient material to sew the jackets and small clothes, but now the pace seems to be picking up and I should have Company No. 4 kitted out and ready to go within another day."

Von Jung: " And what about Company No. 5; how are their uniforms coming along?"

Herr Haberdasher: " We have enough cloth and green dye, but we are missing sabots, of all things. I was certain that we had plenty of stock on hand."

Von Jung: "The lads can not march and fight without shoes/sabots. The King will not be pleased to hear about the delay. What do you propose to do about it?"

Herr Haberdasher: "I will have to send Captain Joachim Birkebeil of Company No. 5 to Prospectberg to see if the lumber yard has the timber that I ordered awhile ago."

Von Jung: "And what is your back up plan? What if the lumber yard did not reorder the wood, what shall you do? The King expects to have the regiment filled out and ready to train by next week."

Herr Haberdasher:" then I shall cut my own lumber and make my own sabots. It is not an easy task, but it can be done. You may inform His Majesty that the Birkebeil Regiment will be up to full strength by the middle of next week."

Von Jung: "Very good news, Herr Haberdasher, very good news indeed. You know that there may be a new war on the horizon. I would imagine that the Quartermaster's department can keep you fairly busy as the King has authorized the further build up of the army."