Uniform Solicitations

Inspired by a fellow blogger, Cavenderia, I've decided to call upon the readership to submit suggestions for a uniform to equip another battalion of the Bad Nachtschweiners. A uniform for a unit of dragoons would not be uncalled for either. Austrian as the base is desirable in both cases. In the usual effort to combat automated email address harvesters, take all dashes out of chasing-crickets-at-gmail-dot-com as the submission address.

While I am likely not going to paint them up anytime soon, since I'm currently focused (if you can call it that) on 10mm ACW, I need a new regiment to ponder upon for possible upcoming battle.

More painting

I finally made a little further progress on our grenadier, adding face and hands. It's interesting how much improvement just having skin on him makes.

Answer to Stokes

Stokes asked a couple of questions in his comments, about how I liked painting the SSMs and about the brush used.

They're a challenge, mostly to decide where the borders are between things. I've thought about the blacklining, but I think I need to get more comfortable with just the basic painting first. I don't yet have a clear grasp of where the dividing lines would be.

For brushes, assuming the number engraved on them is correct, as I think they're older than I am...I'm using a 5 brush to slop on gesso and other large areas, and a 1 brush to do the main painting. The 1 brush is unusual in that its bristles are cut off at only 3/16 of an inch long, which gives them a square and farely controllable tip. I'm finding it a good compromise of control and surface area from the little 3/0 I was using on the RSMs earlier.

First Bad Nachtschwein soldier in progress

A couple of you had asked for an in-progress shot, so below you can see three views of my plastic Spencer Smith grenadier being painted as a member of the Gebuhren Eber Grenadiers of Bad Nachtschwein. There's a fair bit of overlap among the different colors as I work to learn how much paint to put on the brush and try to judge where the different colors should go on the relatively undefined SSM figures. But it's at least looking vaguely like a grenadier in uniform now. As usual, click the thumbnail to bring up a larger view.

Bad Nachtschwein Threatened

Rumor out of the Landgraviate of Ober-Schweinsberg suggests that the squadron of Hesse-Engelburg ships last seen off the Shetlands has appeared suddenly on the river approaches near Bad Nachtschwein, and begun landing troops to threaten the capital of the Bad Nachtschwein League and its surrounding towns. It would appear the spring campaign season is opening....

News from Ober-Schweinsberg

Ober-Schweingau Herald (loyal to Asgar) - With mid-February snows still upon the ground, and armies retired to winter quarters as is common for the season, the town of Unter-Schweingau was chosen to be the meeting place for the great nobles loyal to our rightful Landgrave in a council to prepare for the coming spring. A peaceful town, Unter-Schweingau is well known as a favored in along the trade routes through the pass in which it lies, just across the river from our own fair city. However, that peace was shattered by invasion less than a fortnight ago, as the forces of Prince Arnold determined to disrupt and capture our honored Council, dispatching several brigades under the Polish immigrant Generalmajor Wlodzimierz Borowczyk, once a trusted officer of the Landgraviate.

We are pleased to report that Generalmajor Schweiger and his forces of Asgar were quick to respond and managed to extract the council members from the town to safety despite attack by a superior force. A valiant fighting withdrawal has brought the Council members to safety behind the firm wall of the Schweingau river, upon which our lines now rest. Though we celebrate this victory with joy, there yet remains a measure of sadness in our hearts, for the victory was not won except with great cost. A great many casualties and prisoners were left behind, particularly the loss of Brigadier Murnau and almost the entirety of his cavalry brigade, who are reported to have fallen in brave and furious charges to defend our noble Council. Shame, too, must fall upon some. The 8th Line regiment, having been shattered in two consecutive battles, has reportedly been taken out of the line in disgrace, having proven itself unworthy of the Prince it serves. More heinous than the failure of the 8th, however, is the defection of those blackguard foreigners of Shannon's regiment, who have deserted their rightful Prince and sullied the name of their once fine regiment. Let them return unto their original lands ere they meet us in battle, for we shall surely cut them down like the vile dogs they are for their treachery.

Vergoldeten Bulletin (loyal to Hesse-Engelburg) - Christmas passed quietly in Vergoldeten, a peaceful Christmas unmarred by war. After being so recently threatened with great bloodshed, we owe our thanks to the good rulers of Hesse-Engelburg for their kind dealings and the protection we enjoy with their troops wintering about our fair city. Trade continues to flow, and the new year looks bright with joy and increase. We of Vergoldeten extend our sincere condolences to those of our kindred who have lost loved ones in the recent fighting, and our hopes for a peaceful resolution to the civil war that has befallen the Landgraviate.

Yet More Notes

The motto on Arnold's banners, Maior Natu, is (supposed to be at least) the Latin for "First Born". This is a reference to Arnold being the firstborn twin by a small margin, which makes his primary claim to the throne as eldest son.

The Margarethe and Franka Dragoon regiments are named after Prince Asgar's daughters. Thus, our aggressive Brigadier Murnau could find his career adversely affected were he to get them destroyed ingloriously. Glorious destruction is, of course, an entirely different matter. The dividing line between glorious and inglorious is, naturally, at the whims of Prince Asgar. :>

Note the presence of a Kinski Hussars in Asgar's forces, and a Brigadier Kinski in Arnold's forces. These two commanders are likely related. This is a common happening in civil wars.

Shannon's Irish Guards and the Von Trotta Horse Grenadiers from Asgar's force and the Schwarze Eber Fusiliers from Arnold's are all former Guards regiments under the deceased Landgrave.

Uniforms and flags for Battle of Unter-Schweingau

Rather than try to load them all into a post, I've put the uniforms and flags into an online gallery viewable at this link: http://www.musterthetroops.com/BattleofUnter-Schweingau/view.html.

Missing: Unter-Schweingau militia
Extra: Van Ackeren Cuirassiers, Asgar's army

The Van Ackeren unit will not be present at the battle, but I threw them into the gallery since I had an image for them.

The two forces combined at this point total 10 brigades, with 17 battalions of infantry, 25 squadrons of cavalry, and 8 guns on the field. Here's the order of battle for the troops, including commander initiative/command radius as rolled by Jeff:

Arnold’s Forces
=======================
C-in-C: Generalmajor Wlodzimierz Borowczyk (Polish immigrant) – Steady, Initiative 2, Command 11”

Jagers: Schlöndorff Jagers – 420 men, Trained

Black Brigade - Brigadier Max Färberböck – Steady, Initiative 1, Command 9”/6”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schwarze Eber Fusiliers – 510 men (90 gren), Veteran
Emmerich Musketeers – 510 men (90 gren), Trained
Potente Musketeers – 510 men (90 gren), Trained

Kinski Brigade - Brigadier Werner Kinski – Political, Initiative 1, Command 8”/5”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riefenstahl Musketeers – 510 men (90 gren), Veteran
Tykwer Musketeers – 510 men (90 gren), Trained
Belgischer Musketeers – 510 men (90 gren), Raw (Belgian raw recruits, ex-POWs)

French Brigade - Brigadier Jean-Louis d'Civeyrac – Aggressive, Initiative 1, Command 11”/7”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grenadiers d’Civeyrac – 480 men, Veteran
Leterrier Musketeers – 600 men, Veteran

Muldowney Heavy Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier Sean Muldowney – Aggressive, Initiative 2, Command 8”/5” (Irish immigrant)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Von Praunheim Cuirassiers – 3 sqdns, 360 men, Elite
Lubitsch Dragoons – 2 sqdns, 240 men, Trained
Lamarr Dragoons – 3 sqdns, 360 men, Raw

Light Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier Hans Andress – Political, Initiative 1, Command 15”/10”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bandauer Hussars – 3 sqdns, 360 men, Veteran
Puchalski Lancers – 2 sqdns, 240 men, Trained (Polish immigrants)

Artillery
-------------
1 x 12pdr
3 x 3pdr

Asgar’s Forces
==================
C-in-C: Generalmajor Peter Schweiger – Aggressive, Initiative 2, Command 10”

Town Garrison/Council Escort – Brigadier Wolfgang Storch – Cautious, Initiative 1, Command 10”/5”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unter-Schweingau Militia – 360 men, Raw
Dieterlestadt Grenadiers – 420 men, Veteran

3rd Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Wim Gronenborn – Veteran, Initiative 1, Command 12”/7”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shannon’s Irish Guard – 660 men, Elite (Guards unit, Irishmen)
7th Line – 600 men (60 gren), Trained
8th Line – 600 men (60 gren), Raw

2nd Infantry Brigade – Brigadier Roland Kruger – Political, Initiative 2, Command 11”/7”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Line – 600 men (60 gren), Veteran
5th Line – 600 men (60 gren), Trained
6th Line – 600 men (60 gren), Trained

Murnau Heavy Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier Klaus Murnau – Aggressive, Initiative 1, Command 11”/7”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Von Trotta Horse Grenadiers – 3 sqdns, 360 men, Elite (Guards unit)
Margarethe Dragoons – 2 sqdns, 240 men, Veteran
Franka Dragoons – 2 sqdns, 240 men, Veteran

Light Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier Sebastian Boll – Aggressive, Initiative 1, Command 10”/7”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kinski Hussars – 2 sqdns, 240 men, Trained
Hippler Hussars – 3 sqdns, 360 men, Trained

Artillery
----------------
1 x 6pdr
3 x 3pdr

Some more thoughts on Unter-Schweingau

Those not in the habit of reading comments should read the ones on the sketch map post beneath this one. Lots of exchange of information going on there.

While I didn't start out that way, I've found some story growing as I've been making up the forces for these. The majority of the best cavalry seem to have followed Asgar, while the majority of the better infantry seem to have gone with Arnold. This theory is based on the concentration of high-grade heavy cavalry in Asgar's army, and the possibility that the numbering of some of the line regiments represents hasty recruiting to fil in gaps as much of the senior infantry units went to Arnold.

Eventually, these theories will probably spawn more storyline.

A sketch map for Unter-Schweingau

The result of about an hour's fiddling with GameMapr. Actual terrain is free to vary as those setting it up see fit, but this should give a general idea of the battlefield. A pass amongst hills, with a central road leading through the town and off to the river crossing. Murdock/Jeff, feel free to add another river crossing if you think it needs it, for easier troop movement or scenario challenge. Adjust the road if need be, too. Such scouting sketches are, of course, notoriously unreliable. ;)

Click on the image for larger view.

Landgraviate Council to Meet...Trouble Expected

Rumors spreading from the Landgrave of Ober-Schweinsberg speak of the impending meeting of the council loyal to Prince Asgar, one of the competing brothers engaged in civil war over their deceased father's throne. The Landgraviate continues to be divided over the issue of succession, with each Prince having been crowned Landgrave by different bishops and supported by their own government structures.

Speculation runs high that this gathering of Asgar's Council will draw the attention of Prince Arnold, and that an expedition may be mounted despite the winter season to arrest the Council members. Already, some residents are reported to be leaving the small town of Unter-Schweingau in anticipation of bloodshed, while others stay, the mayor having called the town's militia to arms. As of yet, there is no word of the Council's arrival in the town, and rumors differ as to the exact date planned for the meeting.

It is thought that any move by Arnold's wintering forces will result in a battle of some size, as one of Asgar's divisions lies in winter quarters across the river from the town, and would likely be called upon to defend the town.

(and yes, this is a background post for the proxy battle I'm working up to be played out by Murdock's group)

A Formal Proclamation

See the Hesse-Engelburg blog for details....