Army Reorganization

HUACK, Fortinbras Palace (DP) Today the Duke presided over the retirement of Major General Paul von Vorbeck, Chief of the Royal General Staff. General Vorbeck retires after serving in the Royal Army for over 45 years. Foreign dignitaries in attendance were Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz of Prussia and Lt. Colonel Charles Cornwallis of Great Britain. The Duke has appointed Brigadier Wilhelm von Bach as the new Chief of the Royal General Staff.

As I mentioned in my last update I am expanding into 15mm models in addition to my 1/72 & 25mm models. The 15mm will be my "travel" army while the bigger scales I can still enjoy at home.

Also to more realistically reflect the armed forces of a small state I have decided to reorganize the force structure of the Royal Army. These reforms will be known as the Bach Reforms, since the new Royal Army Chief implemented his new vision for the Royal Army. Prior to this I was playing that one element (stand) of models represented one battalion, I've now decided that one element shall be equal to one company. The 1st Grenadier Guards re-designated to the Grenadier Guards. The Guards will be a "half-regiment" comprised of an over-sized battalion of 5 companies. The Lieb Grenadiers are restructured into one company that draws it's members from the best of the Grenadier Guards.

In 15mm I have based and primed the 1st Regiment and the Regiment of Grenadier Guards and organized the regiments as fols:

1st Infantry Regiment
2 Battalions of 3 infantry companies and 1 HQ/Support company each.

Regiment of Grenadier Guards
4 grenadier companies and 1 HQ/Support company.

I will be ordering 15mm artillery, command and cavalry blister packs shortly from Essex Miniatures via Wargames Inc. I'm wanting to get my models out and have a battle, maybe have the Duke order Bach to invade Bittburg and put paid on the incredulous peasants for daring to form a non-regal form of government, this is what happens when you let the masses learn to read! (heh, just kidding) After all the Duke has claim to the title Margrave of Bittburg. However, I know that once I have that battle it'll lead to another one and that will require changes to the regional map which requires the use of a pc, and since I don't have a laptop to take with me in the truck yet, I shall wait! I'm also working on a fantasy wargame-rpg campaign using a mod of HOTT-DBF-Great Hordes in a setting thats a mixture of high & dark fantasy. This will allow either the communists of Bittburg or that vile monarch in Ostenburg respite until All Hallows Eve to see their pleasure done, for on that night I shall visit my ruin upon them.

Please note that the fantasy campaign has nothing to do with my SYW project aside from delaying battles at the present.

Update

Finally finished training and my apprenticeship. Will have my own truck by the end of the week. I have determined that I can play 15mm in my truck during my off time and evening hours. I shall take a small foldup table and a 2x2 playing board to place on top of that and battle out and paint miniatures in my "home-away-from-home" truck. I'll post pictures to more clearly show what I'm talking about.

Hard to believe that after military, college and self-employment that I would now be a truck driver but hey, moneys good and it's actually quite fun.

Revolutionary Army of the Union of Bittburg

Just finished putting the figures through the dip. This will serve as the army for the city state of Bittburg an enemy of Saxe-Huack.

Army Composition

As I've mentioned before I'm campaigning using the DBx mod Vae Victis. All armies involved in my solo-wargaming are based elements of 2 to 4 figures per stand. Each element (stand) is a battalion. Each figure represents one company or troop. My SYW toy soldiers are 25mm metal miniatures and 1/72 scale plastic soldiers.

As a father's day gift my son has finished painting 7 stands of troops for me. I have dipped them all in wood varnish, which shades and adds the clear coat all in one dip.

So far the Royal General Staff has the following regiments on active service (based, painted, dipped) in the Royal Army.

-The 1st Grenadier Guards "First to Fight" (current strength: 3 battalions)

-The 1st Infantry Regiment "For Duke & Country" (current strength: 3 battalions)

-*The Lieb Grenadiers "The Duke's Own" (full strength: 1 battalion)

*The Lieb Grenadiers are fixed by royal decree at battalion strength. They are the household guards of the Duke. A company, on rotational status, is always on duty at Fortenbras Palace, however, if the Duke takes the field with the Royal Army, the entire Lieb Grenadier battalion will accompany him as his bodyguard. Historical Note: During the First Eschian War the Duke sent the battalion to serve as the bodyguard of, then, Colonel Wilhelm Bach. During the Battle of Drax, Colonel Bach sent the battalion into the fight to support the left flank of the 1st Grenadier Guards. The Lieb Grenadiers proved their elite status as one of the premier fighting units in the Reich.

Battle Standards

The Duke's Battle Standard

Colors & Battle Streamers of the 1st Grenadier Guards


Colors and Battle Streamers of the 1st Infantry Regiment

PEACE!

After the death of the man that signed their paychecks, the mercenary army of the League of Bittburg quickly disbanded and the men quickly left the region for other parts of the Empire and western Europe. With their army gone, the citizens of Bittburg rose up in revolt against their merchant rulers and took over the capital of Bittburg. The merchant leaders were hung and a new interim government installed. With Saxe-Huack's army securing the Barony of Pomerania before continuing their advance towards Bittburg, the new government quickly sent messengers to the Grand Duke of Burgundy asking him to serve as mediator and to Col. Bach to press him for peace.

Therefore the Congress of Bittburg was formed to bring an end to the war. Upon arriving at the congress, Duke Augustus greeted Col. Bach by saying "Hail, Wilhelm von Bach, Baron of Drax." The colonel smiled broadly, bowed then said "There are some who would say usurper." At this they both laughed then proceeded to the city hall.

The Revolutionary Committee lead by their Revolution Minister Ludwig Stauffenburg apologized for the aggression of the merchants, and asked that the Royal Army of Saxe-Huack depart their lands. It is the premise of the Revolutionary Committee to secure their borders and create a new republic from the ashes of the League. Duke Augustus concurred with the formation of a new state but refused to cede the baronies of Drax and Pomerania, claiming instead that they were his. After a heated debate, Min. Stauffenberg raised his voice in question to Duke Augustus demanding to know by what right were the baronies of Drax and Pomerania his? The duke calmly replied "Because my army is all over them." At this the representative of the Grand Duchy of Burgundy bowed his head to hide his smile and then stood and raised his hands to restore order to the council. So after several hours of negotiation peace was settled, a new nation born, and the Duchy of Saxe-Huack had grown larger.

Map of the Duchy of Saxe-Huack and the Revolutionary Union of Bittburg as outlined by the Congress of Bittburg after the end of the First Eschian War.

As a result of the heroic actions of the Royal Army several promotions were rewarded to those deserving. The following officers are noted for heroism and duty to the Duke.

1. Colonel Wilhelm Bach, promoted to Brigadier, granted the title of Baron of Drax and the legal privilege for his family of being known as "von" Bach.
2. Major Romulus Paul von Vorbeck, promoted to Colonel.
3. Captain Albrecht von Lettow, son of the Duke, promoted to Major and assigned as Adjutant Royal General Staff.
4. Lieutenant Manfred von Jagow, son of the Baron of Dinante, promoted to Captain.

Also the Barony of Pomerania is dissolved and those lands now invested with the Baron of Esch.

Royal Flag of the Duchy of Saxe-Huack

Battle of Pomerania - First Eschian War

Taking advantage of the initiative gained after the first battle of the war, Colonel Wilhelm Bach marched his troops into the Barony of Pomerania. The royal army met the mercenaries of the league and won a decisive victory over them.

For this battle I classed 4 elements of infantry as Grenadiers, 1 of which served as bodyguard to Col. Bach. The other 3 I deployed in line formation on my right flank. In the center stood Bach and the colors, the artillery and 2 elements of line infantry. On the left in line formation were the remaining 7 elements of line infanty.

The Tactical Engine deployed the mercenaries for the League of Bittburg, the bulk of their forces, 8 elements in the center with their command. One their left they had 3 elements of line infantry and on the right 3 elements of line infantry.

The Tactical Engine placed the mercs in an aggressive mood, however by having first turn my army marched within 24" of the enemy to negate their abiltiy to make any strategic moves. This coupled with the enemy's subsequent low rolls for PIPs put them at a great disadvantage. On a better note for the enemy, my artillery couldn't hit nothing but dirt the whole battle.

As you can see from the bottom picture by the end of the battle the mercs had regrouped their forces into the center while I was marching my Grenadiers into a flanking position to attack the enemy center. The flank attack never came after finishing the move, shooting began and a unit of my line infantry destroyed the enemy commander's element which was lined up directly to their front.

Battle of Drax - First Eschian War

This is the first battle in my SYW campaign! I played using the Vae Victis with my own rules mod and I used the Tactical Engine from De Bellis Solitarius for the enemy general. I used no terrain as this was a learning game for me. The artillery element is a ACW miniature but I needed it for learning purposes. I classed all troops as Line Infantry, the mercenary army had 14 elements, the royal army had 15.

The battle started out with the League Mercenary Army being very aggressive. I thought for a while that my army might lose the battle. However, right was on our side and Col. Bach led his men to victory over the heinous merchant troops of the League of Bittburg. Casulties on our side were 80 dead, 160 wounded. Estimates of enemy losses are over 160 dead and 400 wounded.

At the end of the battle the league troops abandoned the Barony of Drax and that night Col. Bach and his officers had supper at the baronial villa in the town of Drax. The royal army was welcomed as liberators by the common folk, oddly enough none of the ruling class of the barony could be found.

Zvezda 1/72 Swedish - Great Northern War - Ducal Army

My first attempt at painting 1/72 plastics. I still must finish the flag, weapons and the drum. Then I'm going to dip the whole stand into a brown wood varnish to seal and highlight. After that I will flock the base with GW static grass. Their coats are white, their pants and undercoat is an ivory white. I used Dark Angels Green for their trim and hats.

On the left is Colonel Wilhelm Bach, Royal Army.

Prelude to War

The sanctuary camp for the refugees from Drax and Pomerania was attacked by company troops from the merchant guild in the Barony of Drax, League of Bittburg. One night guard from the city of Esch was slain in the attack along with 6 refugees. The attack happened around midnight, a total of 20 refugees are reported missing. It can be concluded that this was effectively a slave raid.

The League of Bittburg's ambassador in Huack reportedly has been expelled from the duchy. Sources have it that the ambassador tried to explain away the attack as the actions of one private company and not a state act. The duke retorted "that the entire league is a corporation, nonetheless those in Bittburg are responsible for the actions of those they issue charters to."

Shortly thereafter Major General Paul von Vorbeck, Chief of the Royal General Staff, ordered the active army towards Esch under the command of Colonel Wilhelm Bach. Also a call for volunteers has been put out by the Royal General Staff.

The League of Bittburg

The League was founded by the city leaders of Bittburg and several other surrounding towns after the last margrave there died without an heir. Rumor has it that the margrave was poisoned. It is suspected that the margrave had been under the control of the merchant guilds for the last several years of his life. He was old & sickly. The death of the margrave was kept quiet. The merchant guilds in Bittburg took over the reins of the city. The merchant guild demonstrated good management of the city and since the territory was a small one things went unnoticed by the Empire. After several more towns and baronies joined the league it's power grew. Eventually through bribery or other means the Grand Duchy of Burgundy and many nobles in the Empire gave recognition to the league.

In the years since the league has prospered through their pro-merchant policies. However as the rich in the league grew richer the poor grew poorer and their freedoms dwindled. Now most of the common people in the league are serfs. The former city guard have been replaced by a small mercenary army. War is not in the leagues desires, not at the present. It interferes with profit, unless there are monetary reasons to start a war.

Map of The League of Bittburg

The First Eschian War Campaign map Version 1.1, before hostilities. Drax and Pomerania are the 2 baronies closest to the Saxe-Huack city of Esch. As an off-post topic, I may switch my rule set to a hybrid of Vae Victis and Charge, mixed with my own rules.

City of Esch Suffocated with Refugees

HUACK, Fortinbras Palace (DP) As many in the Duchy of Saxe-Huack know, indeed in all Germania, our noble lord Augustus has claim to the city and lands of Bittburg. A claim that goes back to the days of Charlemagne. A claim that he has cordially and honorably kept in title only, for the preservation of peace and good will between the Duchy and the League of Bittburg.

In recent days our southern city of Esch has been flooded with massive refugees fleeing the northern league lands of Drax and Pomerania. As you may now know the League of Bittburg recently passed laws declaring those two baronies as serf-lands. This was done in order to funnel "slave" labor for rich merchants, farms and the rapidly spreading industrial factories that are beginning to crop up in Europe. Many who would not be slaves have fled to our lands, particularly the city of Esch to escape this horrible fate. They call upon our duke to save them. Indeed many have sworn fealty to our duke and his appointed lords and ministers.

News of the crisis reached Fortinbras Palace and the Council of Lords. Prince Eric Von Lettow, Prime Minister and brother of the duke has presented an emergency bill in the council to extend temporary protection, food and shelter to the several hundred refugees in Esch. If the measure passes it will be presented to the duke for his approval. However the ambassador for the League of Bittburg, the hon. Herr Max Schultz has expressed his concern to our Foreign Minister and anonymous sources say that this was more a warning not to protect the "serfs" and to immediately expel them from our borders back into League lands.

Relations with the merchant dominated League and our people have always been tenuous. It seems that these recent events can only add to the strain. If you would like to help the refugees see your local baron, mayor or postal depot for more information. School children in Huack have already started collecting their pennfigs to send to Esch to help relieve the suffering there.

Zvezda & IMEX Plastic Box Sets

I bought the Swedish box set from the Great Northern War series. Clipped them off the sprue, based them on a 60mm frontage and have tried to prime them. However, the primer is not sticking to good. Also bought an IMEX AWI British Infantry box set. I thought that this might be some quick, cheap and easy troops to fill out the armies of the League of Bittburg and the Kingdom of Ostenburg. Both sets were listed as 1/72 scale, yet the Zvezda are a "head" bigger and a bit wider than the IMEX box. sigh.

A few soldiers, a start...........

Out of my miniatures collection these are the only 25mm 18th century soldiers that I have. The militia (Rogers Rangers, not sure as to what European militia should look like, surely some were hunters in the Black Forest) I bought painted at a local store about 5 years ago for a dollar. The grenadiers I bought unpainted on eBay. Anyway as far as the grenadiers go I primed them up, and started to paint one with a broken gun (it will still shoot & poke). The Grenadier Guards will have a uniform of green and white, with the bear fur hats being dyed a darker green than their coats.

The Duke of Saxe-Huack's Military Instruction to his Generals

I've downloaded Charge! from the files section at Old School Wargamers yahoo group. I like the rules and since I shall be solo wargaming and limited to a 4x4 playing surface I have decided to go with a "home variant" of these rules, mixed with some of the rules that the Duke of Alzheim posted on his blog. Notable changes and solo system as of the date of this post shown below.

Article I: Grenadiers and Infantry of the Line
The amount of privates in a company from 16, to 6 to 16.

Article II: Light Infantry
The amount of privates from 12, to 6 to 12.

Article VI: Militia
The amount of militia from 12, to 6 to 12

Article XV: Normal Musketry Fire
Short range: 0 to 12
Long range: 12 to 18, hits halved
Extreme range: 18 to 24, hits halved

Fire Effect:
Grenadiers: 1d6 per 4 men.
Line & Light Infantry in close order: 1d6 per 6 men.
Militia & Engineers: 1d6 per 8 men.

Solo System:
Enemy command & firing based on die roll. ie. 1: stay, 2. move towards objective, 3. move/fire towards nearest enemy. Enemy movement rated through die roll(s) based on unit and the units formation.

//signed//
Augustus von Lettow
By the grace of God, Duke of Saxe-Huack, Margrave of Bittburg & Baron of Chaurmont
Major General (hon.) Prussian General Staff

Ducal Seal & Map

I have made a seal and have finished my map of the Duchy. Seal is at left and here is the map.

SYW Project Begins

I'm still searching for a set of rules that I will want to invest time in. Besides writing my own rules I'm considering the following; 1. Standing Like a Wall, 2. Mod for Armies of Arcana, 3. Vae Victis (DBx variant), Pro Gloria, and Charge! I also have looked at the Duke of Alzheim's writings on his own SYW rules and various stuff I find at Free Wargames Rules website. Vae Victis would be the easiest for me to jump right into as I am a DBx wargamer. I have printed out Charge from the Old School Wargamers Group web page and intend to read it tonight. I also want to find something that will lend itself well to solo wargaming.

I haven't decided on the scale just yet either. I'm leaning towards 15mm to build up an impressive army. However, 25mm is still my favorite. Briefly considered 40mm but that ended quick when the Prince August Rosebach molds arrived; after many castings none came out good enough to pass my QA inspection.

I've settled on a map of Luxembourg, which I will modify to suit my campaign plans. Using this map will allow for easy edit for campaign updates on PC. The main combatants will be the Duchy of Saxe-Huack, the Kingdom of Ostenburg, and possibly the League of Bittburg (a free city-state confederation.) The first to receive attention will be Saxe-Huack then Ostenburg.

My thoughts on miniatures are; 1. Minifigs, 2. RSM, 3. Essex, 4. Battle Honors, 5. Old Glory, 6. Sash & Sabre, 7. Foundry.