The Barony of Eisenmühle

Part of the Margraviate of Carpania is the Barony of Eisenmühlen, ruled by Baron Traskon. This barony is centered around the excellent iron deposits and mills south of Potzdorf, Carpania’s capitol. There Baron Traskon operates armaments factories for artillery and small arms. His highly trained metallurgists and gunnery experts give the Margraviate a formidable artillery park of some 20 guns and howitzers of various calibers. Here is some of the latest production:

Ringing in the New Year

As the new year was celebrated in the Markgraviate of Carpania with a magnificent fireworks display

the Markgrave's army settled into their winter quarters. Some work was done on equipping another battalion of Carpanian infantry but had to be put aside when the Erbprinz required some soldiers for his upcoming campaign against the barbarian Saxons by the forces of Charlemagne. So efforts were turned to raising and equipping pseudo-Franks and Saxons for this Dark Ages campaign.

The addition of community blogs for Old School Wargaming in the ancient/medieval/renaissance and musket and pike eras:

the Great Hall of the Kingdoms of Antiquity -- http://kingdomsofantiquity.blogspot.com/ and

the Age of Reform and Chaos -- http://ageofreform.blogspot.com/

have led me down other paths. While my SYW "big battalions" project will continue, I will also be adding freshly raised forces to my 25/28mm High Medieval (1300s-1400s) and Renaissance armies. This will be especially useful as the theme year for our wargaming group ( www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/ ) will be "Before the Socket Bayonet." We have many ancients, medieval, and Renaissance games scheduled, both on land and on sea.

I hope to do better in the coming year in keeping this blog current.

Happy and Prosperous New Year to All!!!

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.