Merry Christmas!

As snow closes the passes in the Thuringenwald, the various states' armies move into winter quarters. The Markgraf of Carpania has secreted himself in his small country bungalow to await the spring thaw.

The Markgrafin and I wish all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My First "BIG" Battalion

I've mounted my first "big" battalion of 24 Sash & Saber Russian infantry. They are mounted on 3/4" Litko bases (with self-stick metal sub-bases) and then onto magnetic movement bases. The individual bases still need to be terrained, but that will come over the coming days.













The mounted officer is a Front Rank Prussian who was "pressed" into service as a Russian.











In my imagi-nations, this battalion will be part of the army of the Duchy of Courland.














I also tried the "dip" method with these figures. The picture shows a newly painted musketeer (mounted on the nail) and a similar figure after being dipped. The MinWax stain adds a bit of definition to my average painting job and makes the miniature look a little better.







Another battalion of Russians, errr Courlanders, awaits individual bases and then it is on to my Prussians, ummm army of the Duchy of Carpania.

My SYW Imagi-Nations

Well, the fat is in the fire, so to speak. Hapnich of Carpania, worried that the Francophile syncophants of Concordia are desiring to encroach upon his domains, has entered into a defensive alliance with the Dukes of Friesland and Grand Fenwick (both Anglophile states). With their combined might, Hapnich now is secure on his throne. Of course, this entire incident has been encouraged by the Baron von Stuppe (a devotee of the Great Friedrich) who, being a first cousin, twice removed, of Hapnich, wants the throne for himself. He wants to get Carpania involved in a war with Concordia and get Hapnich killed on the field of battle. Then he can step into the breach, save the day, and ensure his ascension to the throne of Carpania. Oh what tangled webs we create!

On the other side, Piotr Ustinov, Prince of Concordia, wants nothing more than peaceful relations with all of his neighbors (and plenty of gourmet victuals). Fearful of the behind-the-scenes machinations of von Stuppe, Ustinov has persuaded his cousins, Iago of Campostella, Siegfried of Sachsen-Wachsenstein, and Yakov of Courland, to join his Entente of Concordia to oppose the perceived aggressive nature of the League of Potzdorf.

Both sides are now beginning a mobilization of their military forces. Concordia has just recruited a battalion of foresters, a battalion of infantry, and a squadron of heavy horse, while Carpania has added another dragoon squadron to its already impressive forces. More to come, including pictures, and maybe even separate blogs for the League and the Entente.

Le Grande Revue - To Be Continued

I'm having difficulties getting my pictures and text to post properly so until further notice my Grande Revue of my 25mm Napoleonic forces will be held in abeyance.

Le Grande Revue - Part 1

After a summer and fall of campaigning, my Napoleonic forces will soon go into winter quarters. But before they do, and following the example of Der Alte Fritz, I have decided to conduct a grand review of my troops. This will allow me to ensure I have an accurate accounting of the forces that are painted and based, as well as to make some minor repairs to battlefield damage. My Prussian, Russian, and French forces are organized on the August 1813 orders of battle for the Coalition’s Armies of the North and of Silesia and the Grande Armee’s Army of Berlin.

This review is divided into three segments. The first will cover the smallest of the three, the Russians. The Prussians and the French and their allies will be covered in subsequent posts.

The Russians of Corps Winzingerode, consist of the following:

21^st Infantry Division, commanded by Generalmajor Laptiev, is represented by the Lithuanian, Petrovsk, and Polotsk Infantry Regiments, using Miniature Figurines figures, in a brigade commanded by Colonel Rosen, and

Heavy Battery No. 12, equipped by 12-lbrs, using older Miniature Figurines figures and guns; and Light Battery No. 11, equipped with 6-lbrs, using older Miniature Figurines figures and guns.

The corps cavalry is represented by:

3^rd Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Generalmajor Pahlen, consists of Dragoon Regiments Riga and Finland, both using Scruby figures.

8^th Cavalry Brigade is represented by the Mounted Jager Regiment Nijinsk, using Miniature Figurines figures.

Reserve Brigade (fictitious), commanded by Prince Jakov Alexandrovitch Pavlov, is represented by I Battalion, Pavlov Grenadier Regiment, using Der Kriegspieler figures; I Battalion, Finnlandski Guard Jager Regiment, using Der Kriegspieler figures; and Chevalier Garde Cavalry Regiment (with two squadrons of horse grenadiers), using Der Kriegspieler and Scruby figures.

Note: These are some of the oldest metal troops in my Napoleonic armies, having been purchased in the early 1970s while I was in college.

Flash from the Past

I just ran across this photo showing an early wargame (circa 1972) being played in the wing of my parents house in which my two brothers and I grew up. It is a Napoleonic battle using Scruby, MiniFigs, and Airfix figures and our group's homegrown house rules, with 30-40 man infantry battalions and 30-50 man cavalry regiments.

It's in black and white because we haven't gotten to Oz yet. :^)

IMAGINARY LACE WARS

Like many others have done (and will do), I have translated my interest in the Seven Years War into an alternate reality - using fictional countries as a backdrop for battles during this period. So far I've painted and mounted troops for two of them - the Margraviate of Carpania (ruled by Markgraf Friedrich Hapnich) which uses Prussian troops, uniforms, and flags, and the Duchy of Courland (ruled by Duke Yakov Alexandrovich Pavlov) which uses Russian troops, uniforms, and flags. Other fictional countries for which I have unpainted troops will be the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (British), Principality of Concordia (French), Principality of Campostella (Spanish), Duchy of Sachsen-Wachsenstein (Saxon), and Duchy of Friezland (Hanoverian). All these imaginary countries will be located in the similarly imaginary Kreis of Mittleland (which will occupy the same area as Thuringia in central Germany).

For those of you who are steeped in the names of imaginary movie countries, I'm sure you'll recognize several of the names, especially the Duchy of Grand Fenwick (from The Mouse That Roared) and the Markgraviate of Carpania (from The Great Race).

Here are some pictures of the units I have so far. The first four are from the Margraviate of Carpania and the last is from the Duchy of Courland.

Markgraf Friedrich Hapnich of Margraviate of Carpania

(a Front Rank Frederick the Great figure)

Colonel von Warsteiner, commander of the Warsteiner Grenadier Battalion and proprietor of the Warsteiner FreiKorps. The officer is an old Hinchliffe and the grenadier is a specially commissioned figure offered by Grenadier Books (http://www.grenadierbooks.com/).

1st Battalion of Fusilier Regiment von Stuppe (Front Rank figures).

Freikorps von Warsteiner (Front Rank figures)

1st Battalion, Musketeer Regiment Livlansicher Orden (Sash & Saber figures)

Although these units are ready for gaming, I still have some more work to do on them, such as completing the terraining of the bases and doing some detailed touch-up of the figures.

I'll post more as they become available.