Russia: supply train (II)

Now, finally, the Russian ammunition wagon is finished as an addition to the two smaller carts from the former post. It contains grenades for the heavy artillery pieces and is hold in the typical, more or less old-fashioned style of the Russian army equipment.
The wagon is from Matthias-Manske, but got a modified cover and some smaller details were changed to the original model.

The convoy stops near the protecting trees in the noon..

combined set with the two other carts

during the stop, a marching infantry regiment is passing, straight ahead to the battle...

a Russian 3-pdr, a wunderful piece of Sash&Saber, the crew are Matthias-Manske figures

Silesian architecture (III): Der Alte Fritz am Gutshof

It is already the last light of the sunset when we recognize his majesty in person, der Alte Fritz and one of his adjutants stopping at this country house, in Silesia called "Gutshof". The peasants´wife and a maidservant open the door to see curiously who is approaching. Of course the dog is with them.
It is a building of the richer peasants who owned a sightly big piece of land. This we found often in the Silesian regions, where,  in general, farmers didn´t live as poor as in the Prussian territories. That´s dued to the better soil fertility, the ground is not so sabolous than in Brandenburg or Mecklenburg.
The building has the typical baroque proportion in the central block - a reminiscence of the urban architecture, found not far away in the city of Glogau and others.
I hope, the building will be useful in the next battle game!

Der Alte Fritz greets the ladies very politely and just ask about their affairs...
Alter Fritz and adjutant are from Matthias-Manske, the ladies from Peipp.

never to forget: a stork´s nest on the top of the chimney

Russia: supply train (I)

As for the Prussian army already built, now the Russians also got a supply train with grenades, powder and bred. I looked for the original colours of the Russian carriages and found in Russian sources more a brown-red for the statical parts and a dirty white for the upper parts. So, I weathered and bleached them for giving the impression of a long, hard summer campaign visible at the material.
The miniatures are from Matthias-Manske, one carriage is modified by myself with polystyrene boards. The barrel and nosebag are from Stronghold-Terrain (resin).
In the background Russian grenadiers advancing to the front.

Prussia: new 6 pdr-battery

Also the Prussian artillery undergoes a process of modernization. After taking away the old Meisterzinn-cannons with the semi-flat figures of Prince August, I ordered 3 6-pdr guns with staff at Matthias Manske and 2 3-pdr guns at Sash&Saber, painted them following the marvellous drawings of Christian Rogge (http://crogges7ywarmies.blogspot.de/).
Now, the relative strength of the Prussian artillery is equal to the Russian and the French.

On the pictures some exercises in a thundery environment - the warfare at the end of autumn...

the brave Sash&Saber guys with their 3-pdr battalion gun.

The officer is taken from the Prince August collection

Fertigmachen, bereit,....!

Matthias Manske miniatures

Russia: Regiment St. Petersburg

 

After a long break dued to professional affairs and trips I finally found time to finish the next Russian regiment; it is the Saint-Petersburg regiment. This regiment took part at the SYW, especially at the battles of Gross-Jaegersdorf and Kunersdorf.
The figures are all from Matthias Manske - I composed an advancing formation for easily moving them on the tabletop.

Thank you, Mosstrooper!

I have been kindly nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Mosstrooper http://tinsoldieringon.blogspot.de/. Thank you very much for this honour.
I now have to list 5 blogs that inspire me and that I visit often, so I would like you present the following blogs:
1. Association Les Riflemen - http://riflemens.blogspot.de/: Phil is a impressive man with an incredible imagination and rich fantasy - his pictures and documentations are colourful and seducing me always into another world. Merci, Phil!
2. Emperor vs. Elector: - http://emperor-elector.blogspot.de/ - this was the first blog I found about wargaming in the mid 18. century and inspired me deeply, especially the splendid pictures of the tabletop games they did. It evoqued in me the wish to have a big table and a paysage for gaming battles. Merci, messieurs!
3. Dreispitz - http://dreispitz.blogspot.de/ - I adore Mike for his great talent how he paints the miniatures. He is - like me - quitely engaged in job affairs and find seldom free time to care about the figures. But in this hours he creates a fantastic oeuvre. I wished he would change into 40mm range, so I could meet him to wargame... Danke, Mike!
4.  Campaigns in Germania - http://campaignsingermania.blogspot.de/ - my respect to this group of gentlemen strategists warfaring complicated and complex battles with handbooks of rules - and always smiling. 
5. Torgau Project - http://torgauproject.blogspot.de/ - Fabrizio is in my eyes an artist, I am ravished about his talent to paint such small figures - his photo shots are well chosen and give an impression flying over a battleground. Grande rispetto, Fabrizio!
6. The sharp end of the brush - http://sharpbrush.blogspot.de/ - Rob is one of the small group of 40mm-collectors like me and he does a great job with his miniatures, full of fantasy and inspriration. He takes the freedom to create own, fictive armies in a harmonic colours concept. Greetings, Rob!

Short Battle: France - Russia

Yesterday evening my neighbour and friend Robert and his son Luis were here to know more about our hobby of wargaming and wanted to play a short battle. They aren´t wargamers, but Robert is Master Sergeant in the German Bundeswehr. So it was easy to explain him our gaming rules. During the battle he presented himself very serious in manoeuvring and absolutely cruel with the ennemy...

We deployed our armies in the short sides of the terrain not to use the whole latitude of the field and placed several hedgerows imitating the East-european landscape how it is be found in Moravia, Silesia, Pommerania.
I leaded the Russians wit 4 regiments of infantry and 4 regiments of cavalry- Robert the French with 6 regiments of infantry and 3 regiments of cavalry.

Russians in the foreground, French in the background

My first attack was formed by two spearheads of cavalry to break the week parts of the ennemy´s deployment (heavy cavalry used the street, the lightblue hussars the field). The artillery prepared the movement by some hot volleys of 6 pdr-guns.

Russian cavalry attacking in spearhead formation: Archangelsk dragoons and Jelisawetski Ulans (bottom), yellow Charkowski hussars and lightblue Slobodski hussars.

Russian cavalry attack (view from above) - the French dithered, unsure what will happen. The regiment Commissaire Général did a bow (bottom left).

Then the French reaction: the Mousquetaires du Roi launched a counterattack, supported by artillery fire.

I a second step, the French closed their ranks and prepared themselfs to buffer the attack - with some success.

The Swiss regiment "Lochmann" suffered under some hits, but did not wave..

Same scene, total view: the French benefit from their superior number of infantry - and the reserves.

just a funny impression - because of the lack of good light in the basement, a little bit blurred.. 

Russian artillery firing from the background. Left side: the secret howitzer "Shuwalow" from Manske

Robert was very nervous, as the Russian Ulans broke his defending lines and circumvent the French on the left side. The French regiment Orléans could not stop them. In the next two moves, the Ulans circuit the ennemys´ lines and attack the French artillery from behind. Great shock for the French, because their general is in danger!

French counterattack on the left side. Funny is the mix of Sash and Saber figures (Auvergne, center) with some Nürnberger Meisterzinn (Royal, bottom left), Prince August (Piemont, center left) and Manske (Permski, top).

The battlefield was tattooed by fire and destructions.. on the right the Russian Manske-Grenadiers forwarded. They prepared already the hand grenades... 

Great victory for the Russians: the Ulans captured 2 24-pdr. mortars (center) and bombed the French lines from behind. Quel terreur!!

But, after nearly 2,5 hours of wargaming, the Russians gave up. The tactic with a fast cavalry attack between the French ranks was impressing, but not enough effective: Russian cavalry lost 80% of its troups by passing the 3 ranks of the French army.
The captured mortar did some hits, but not more. The French general, target of a the Ulan´s capturing command, escaped to the left side.
The French reorganized their infantry and moved on left flank forward against the weeker Russian lines. So, if we had continued the game, 1 hour later the Russians had to move back and defend the rest of the army - 4 French regiments against 1,5 Russian regiment.

As gentlemen in wargaming, the Russian general send his greets to Monsieur le French Général and withdrawed.

A nice game and a good test of the new gameboard.