WSS / GNW Saxons V

After spending some time painting Swedes and Poles it is back to the Saxons. This time Dunewald Dragoons. The regiment was previously Oertzen before changing to Dunewald in 1705. This also seems to have coincided with a change in facing colours from blue to green, though this may have occurred slightly later. The regiment saw action at the battles of Posen, Punitz and Fraustadt.

Like the last dragoons I completed the figures are all from Warrior Miniatures. The flag came from Maverick Models. With these added to my existing collection I now have enough dragoons for Klissow. Just need to add two more regiments of Cuirassiers.

I must admit August has been quite a productive month for the Saxons with four new infantry battalions and 24 squadrons of horse.

GNW Swedish Muster

Continuing on from my last post I have added another battalion to my Swedes. This time the Jonkoping regiment as once again I like the flag as well as the red facings which stand out from the other regiments. The figures are all from Dixon Miniatures.

I have noticed with the 2 latest regiments that the blue coats have come out darker. It's not much of an issue as coats faded when on the campaign. This regiment brings me up to 7 battalions with 3 more to complete.

Well after all this blue it's back to painting up the last regiment of Saxon dragoons I need. As this weekend is the Border Reiver show I will try and pick up some Blue Moon Cuirassiers from Old Glory to fish the Saxons.

GNW Swedes and Poles

After painting up more of my Saxon troops, thoughts turned to their opponents and allies. I have already got a small force of Swedes and decided it was time to finish this army. It will only be a small army of 10 battalions and approx 20 squadrons of horse and dragoons. I did make a start on these a long time ago with half of the troops finished. So I decided to add another finished battalion, this time from the Halsigne regiment, mainly because I like the flag.

Like the rest of my Swedish infantry I have tried to mix the headgear for variety and a campaign look. The figures are all from the excellent Dixon Miniatures range.

Like the Swedes I also have a small force of Poles that need to completed. They generally played a minor role in the Great Northern War, but they do add colour. I've added another 3 squadrons of Pancerni to the force, bringing them up to 12. Will need a fair few more if I ever want to refight Klissow.

The figures I used are from Essex, very nice sculpts but do suffer from the small Base syndrome. Next it will be back up more Swedes and some Saxon dragoons.

WSS/GNW Saxons IV

I've continued to make some more progress on my Saxon forces. First up is 3 squadrons of the a. d. Winckel Cuirassier regiment. They were formerly known as Tiessenhausen, then Gersdorff from 1704. They became a. d. Winckel in 1706. The regiment took part in the Poland campaign from 1703, seeing action at Pultusk in 1703, Posen in 1704 and Kalisz in 1706. It was then in the pay of the maritime  Powers from 1707 and returned to Saxon service in 1713.

The figures for this unit sees a return to Dixon Miniatures. I much preferred painting these to the Essex figures.  I do have a flag to add once I purchase some more steel wire for the flag poles.
I have also made a couple of additions to the infantry with 2 battalions from the Seiffertitz regiment. These were  raised from Militia in 1705 and were part of the Auxiliary Corps in Austrian service from 1705 - 1707. They were then broken up in 1707. I chose these as they are not in the usual red coats but grey with red cuffs. Makes them stand out in the army.

The figures for these 2 battalions are from Warrior with the command figures from Dixon. I was unable to locate any flag details for this regiment so have equipped them with the white Colonel colours which I picked up from maverick models.

By my reckoning I now have 27 Saxon infantry battalions, 18 squadrons of Dragoons, 24 squadrons of Cuirassiers and the 9 Squadrons of Household cavalry. I can support these with 3 Ansbach infantry battalions and 3 squadrons of dragoons. When I check against the OOB for Klissow I'm still about 20 squadrons short, particularly Cuirassiers.

WSS/GNW Saxons III

Progress has continued with my additional Saxon cavalry. I chose the Brandenburg-Bayreuth Dragoon regiment. It was part of the Auxiliary Corps on Austrian service from 1703 to 1704. It then took part in the Poland Campaigns from 1704. It saw action at the battles of Posen, Punitz, Fraustadt and Gadebusch before being broken up in 1717.

I painted this unit in 2 chunks of 9 figures each. I find if I paint much more than that in one go it takes me longer. The figures are all from the Warrior Miniatures range. I now have another 6 squadrons of dragoons and 3 squadrons of Cuirassiers to finish for my Saxons. After this there are a couple of infantry battalions to complete, then a repaint of the Artillery as I've since discovered the carriages were black not brown as I've painted them.

WSS/GNW Saxons II

Following on from my last post, I have made some progress on the extra mounted troops that I will require. I have also started to think of the possibilites on a re-fight of the battle of Klissow. Should have more than enough infantry, but will give me focus on completing more horse regiments.

The first regiment is 3 squadrons from the Ansbach Schmettau Dragoons. These guys entered Saxon service in 1713 before returning to Ansbach in 1717. They did fight at the battle of Prosna in 1716. I chose these as the white coats are a bit different from the red of the rest of the regiments.

The figures are all from Warrior Miniatures. I have ordered some more figures as I am thinking of increasing these to their full strength of 6 squadrons. The next regiment I have completed is some Cuirassiers. These will represent the Prinz Alexander regiment, previously Flemming. They operated in the Poland campaign from 1703 - 1706, fighting at the battles of Kalisz, Gadebusch and Sandomir. I have depicted the unit in their buff koller, which was worn under the Cuirass. It wasn't until 1707 that the red coat was officially adopted by the Cuirassier regiments, though this may just have confirmed what was being worn in practice. However the buff Koller was in use in campaign throughout Augustus's reign.

The figures for this regiment are all from Essex miniatures. I thought I'd give them a go as they are slightly cheaper then the Dixon cavalry I would normally use. They did paint up well, even though the troopers are single casting. My one gripe is the bases were so small and uneven I spent more time trying to get them level than what I did painting. Would I purchase more, probably.

Last up are some extra Brigadiers I have painted up. These though are not Saxons. One will be added to my Imperialist troops while the 2 Blue coated officers will be added to my GNW Swedes.

The 2 Swedish brigadiers are from Roundway, while the Imperialist is  a Mini-figs Cuirassier officer mounted on an Irregular miniatures horse.

WSS/GNW Saxons

After fighting the second game of my campaign against Mick. My thoughts turned to refitting my 3 armies from the victory points that I've accrued so far. One thing that became apparent is that I may be short of troops. So I decided to return to my Saxons and begin adding some more units. First up is the Wostromirsky infantry regiment of 2 battalions. The figures are a mix of Warrior and Dixon.

The regiment was part of the Auxiliary Corps in Austrian service 1702 - 1704, before returning to fight in the Poland campaign at Posen and Punitz. It also fought in the disastrous battle of Fraustadt in 1706. The regiment then went into the pay of the Maritime powers between 1707 - 1713. One of the advantages of the Saxons is that they fought in both theatres.

I'm also looking to expand the mounted arm with the Ansbach Schmetau dragoon regiment. I've also rdered some extra Cuirassiers from Essex and Dixon, which should give me another 12 squadrons. Enough to keep me painting for awhile.