I couldn’t stay long at the club last night, so didn’t get chance to get a game in. I watched / umpired the remaining Maurice campaign game for this round for a little while before I had to leave though (and which our alliance won, thereby ending the war with our side victorious). Huzzah!
To celebrate our victory in the Silver War(e), I thought I’d do another quick post on my Maurice / M&R army. This time, it’s the regular cavalry in all their glory. I’ll do one more at some point, featuring my Irregulars (both infantry and cavalry) and commanders / Notables. Anyway, here are our brave men on horsies:
The massed ranks of the Cavalry
At the front there are our two units of dragoons, followed by four units of kurassiers, and at the back are our four units of cheveaulegers. For Maurice, I usually only have 3 cavalry, so I generally use two cheveauleger and a unit of kurassiers. I’ve been treating the cheveauleger as conscripts, the dragoons as trained, and the kurassiers as elites, but at the moment, they’re all trained.
Here are the cheveauleger:
Cheveauleger
The four units are (from left to right, front to back) DR11 Wurtemberg, DR5 Jung-Modena, DR8 Sachsen-Gotha and DR6 Lowenstein. The Austrian Cheveauleger were often originally dragoons (hence the DR signifier) converted to light troops during the Seven Years War.
DR11 Wurtemberg were raised in Bohemia in 1688 and fought in many wars for the Austrians, including in Turkey, Italy, Hungary (to suppress the insurrection there in 1705), the Netherlands, Balkans, in Austria during the War of Austrian Succession and in various parts of Germany during the Seven Years War, including at Hochgiersdorf under Nauendorf as a detachment from von Loudon’s Corps. They wear red coats with black lapels and black tricornes without lace. Straw-coloured breeches and waistcoats, white belts and red saddlecloths with red and white blanket rolls complete their look.
DR5 Jung-Modena were raised in the early 18th C at Mainz as dragoons, and incorporated into the Austrian army in 1710. They were converted to cheveauleger in 1760, but reverted to being a Dragoon regiment again in 1763. At Hochgiersdorf, they operated under von Beck’s Corps. They wear the same red coat and black tricorne without lace, but add sky blue lapels, waistcoats and breeches. They too have white belts, red saddlecloths, and red and white blanketrolls.
Side view of the Cheveauleger
DR8 Sachsen-Gotha were raised as Dragoons in Austria in 1718, but stationed mostly in Bavaria and Italy. They too were rebranded as cheveauleger in February 1760 before being re-converted back to Dragoons in December of that year. They wear similar uniforms to DR5 Jung-Modena with the exception of sky blue blanket rolls. They too fought under Nauendorf.
DR6 Lowenstein are the final unit of cheveaulegers and the youngest, being raised in 1758 as Cheveauleger, converting to Dragoons in 1761. They are notable for being the only Austrian unit to carry kettle drums rather than normal drums, having destroyed the Prussian Bayreuth Dragoons at Olmutz in 1758 and taking their drums as their prize. At Hochgiersdorf, they fought under Nauendorf too. They wear green rather than red coats, with red lapels waistcoat and breeches, but are otherwise equipped as DR5.
Kurassiers
The Kurassiers are the heavies of my army, and consist of (from left to right) CR9 Sachsen-Teschen, CR8 Trautmansdorf, CR7 Schmerzing and CR15 Anspach.
CR9 Sachsen-Teschen were raised in the mid 17th C, usually stationed in Hungary. They operated under von Loudon at Hochgiersdorf. Black tricornes without lace, white coats with a blackened breastplate, red waistcoat and straw breeches with a white crossbelt make up their uniform, with red saddlecloth, sabretache and red and white blanketroll make up their other gear.
CR8 Trautmansdorf were founded in 1618, the second oldest Austrian cavalry regiment, originally raised to ensure the obedience of Bohemia. Their uniform and horse furniture was identical to that of CR9 Sachsen-Teschen. They too fought under von Loudon.
Kurassiers from the side
CR7 Schmerzing were created in 1701 from two previous groups, the companies of the Caprara regiment and those of Philipp, landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt. They fought so well at Landshut in 1760 that despite their victory, they didn’t lose a single man, and at Liegnitz in the same year they charged the Prussian infantry and captured five flags at the loss of only four men killed. They wear the same uniform as CR9 Sachsen-Teschen.
CR15 Anspach are the last of my Kurassier units, raised in 1702. Like CR7 Schmerzing, they also fought at Hochgiersdorf under von Loudon. Thye too wear the same uniform and have the same horse equipment as CR9 Sachsen-Teschen.
Dragoons
Finally, I have my two units of dragoons. On the left are DR13 Althann, and on the right are DR10 Kolowrat-Krakowski. Both fought at Hochgiersdorf under von Loudon.
DR13 Althan were raised in 1733, and didn’t see as much action as other units already mentioned, often being part of the reserve. They wear white coats with red lapels, white waistcoats and breeches, and black tricornes without lace. As with most Austrian cavalry regiments, they have white belts, red saddlecloths and red and white blanketrolls.
Dragoons from the side
DR10 Kolowrat-Krakowski were raised in 1683, again often held in reserve. They’re more colourful than the other units, wearing blue coats with red lapels, red waistcoats and breeches. Their saddlecloths and blanket rolls are also blue.
That’s all my regular cavalry. I’ve tried to base them so that I can immediately tell which unit is which. My Kurassiers have 9 men on each base, my Dragoons have 8, and my Cheveauleger have 7. To further tell the difference where the uniforms are similar or the same, I have them in different formations – in line, in a V-shaped wedge, in a chequered formation and in a random formation (obviously regrouping after a successful charge). As with all of my units, they all have a paper label stuck to the back of the base as well so I can tell which unit is which. All the figures are from Baccus’ excellent Austrian SYW range.
I won’t be posting for the next two weeks, but hopefully the week after that I’ll be able to do another battle report using these fine men, as our next Maurice campaign round is upon us. If not, I’ll probably do my final look at my Maurice / Might and Reason army, focusing on the Irregulars and Commanders.
