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.