Inspired - and, truth be known, prodded by a sense of having to get the thing done - I have finally completed a theatre map for my War of the Imperial Succession. Some activity leading to this war has already been reported, though rather a much longer time has elapsed since those postings. Perhaps these pictures might serve as a reminder...
 |
| Battle of Blenderheim |
 |
| Battle of Hardbitten |
 |
| A Chance Encounter |
At any rate, here is the Theatre Map
 |
| War of the Imperial Succession 1740 - |
I have to admit that, even so far enlarged it is hard to read, but on an A4 sheet the thing is easy enough to decipher. Actually my original map, which I have kept on file, extends a few hexes north and south of the map edges.
Most of the reason for the years of delay producing this thing was that I couldn't think of a way to superpose a hex grid upon the map. Finally - and rather serendipitously - I discovered how it might be done. Actually, I superposed the map onto the hex grid. I've had to alter the roads more distinctly to travel through identifiable hexes; and national borders to follow hex sides.
I don't plan to canvass the economies and socio-political structures of this world, except to state that they are similar to that of mid-18th century north-central Europe. Feudalism is still very reluctantly giving way to capitalism, and then only as convenient; serfdom very gradually to other kinds of master-servant employment arrangements; industrialism and intensive agriculture still in their early phases, but aided by population expansion beyond feudal economies to support. Conflicts between nations are still as likely to be dynastic - such as this War of the Imperial Succession - as tending towards territorial aggrandisement, and/or resource or wealth acquisition.
The Imperial dynasty is rather inclined to stand upon its rights, but at the same time have an avuncular, if remote, regard for their subjects' well being - for a given value of 'regard' and of 'well being'. In contrast, the likes of King Draco of Altmark-Uberheim, feeling perhaps a sense of claustrophobia brought on by the constraints of immovable borders amid signs leading towards sociopolitical and economic change, certainly does harbour large ambitions, not limited to the Imperial diadem itself. The Grand Duke Constantine scarcely less driven, in particular having an eye to extending his domain to the Mare Sarmaticum - the Sarmatian Sea, occasionally called the Scandic. He would like his domain to include a coastline - possibly even a sea port.
To the West, a trade rivalry exists between the Landgravate of Hessen-Rohr, and the Herzogtum von Rechburg, but it is not - at least for the moment - leading to armed conflict. This is just as well for Hessen-Rohr, which had recently to fight off an attempt by Altmark-Uberheim to draw its teeth, lest the Landgravate throw in its lot with the Empire. That cost George-Frederick a large proportion of his army.
The armies are pretty much complete.
Imperial Army
Led by such notables as the Archduke Piccolo, Graf Tympani, Baron Glockenspiel and Marshal-General Gyulai Sax, the Imperialist is the most powerful army in the region - or at least the most numerous. They are cantoned throughout the Empire, notably at Glodno, Tubingen, Ostrova in the Banat of Samovar, Lobenstein and Schnitzel itself. That dispersion is likely to prove problematic when hostilities break out. |
| Imperial Army, led by the Archduke Piccolo, in action |
Foot Units:
1st Kaiser Infantry 36 figures8th Hildburghausen Infantry 36 figures
9th Los Rios Infantry 36 figures
20th Alt Colloredo Infantry 36 figures
21st Arenburg Infantry 36 figures
27th Baden-Durlach Infantry 36 figures
37th Esterhazy Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Rot Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Blau Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Gruen Grenadiers 24 figures
1st Feldjagerkorps 19 figures
2nd Feldjagerkorps 19 figures
Klemperer Freikorps 19 figures
Total foot: 348 line, 57 light = 405 foot
23rd Birkenfeld Cuirassiers 19 figures
25th Anhalt-Zerbst Cuirassiers 19 figures
27th Baden-Durlach Infantry 36 figures
37th Esterhazy Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Rot Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Blau Infantry 36 figures
Wurzburg Gruen Grenadiers 24 figures
1st Feldjagerkorps 19 figures
2nd Feldjagerkorps 19 figures
Klemperer Freikorps 19 figures
Total foot: 348 line, 57 light = 405 foot
 |
| Imperial Infantry |
Horse Units:
21st Trauttmannsdorf Cuirassiers 19 figures23rd Birkenfeld Cuirassiers 19 figures
25th Anhalt-Zerbst Cuirassiers 19 figures
7th Khevenhuller Dragoons 19 figures
13th Battyany Dragoons 19 figures
34th St-Ignon Dragoons 15 figures (under establishment)
13th Battyany Dragoons 19 figures
34th St-Ignon Dragoons 15 figures (under establishment)
2nd Kaiser Hussars 19 figures
11th Nadasti Hussars 19 figures
17th Kalnoky Hussars 19 figures
Total horse: 57 Heavy, 53 Medium, 57 light = 167 horse
2nd Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
3rd Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
4th Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
5th (Light) Company - 10 figures, 2 light guns.
Total field artillery: 50 figures, 10 cannon
In addition there is a siege train, and I'll be adding a sapper unit with a bridging train. However, these are likely to be generic, especially the guns.
Total - less high command and staffs, of which more another time
405 foot, 167 horse, 50 artillery = 622 officers and men, and 10 cannon.
Prinz Rupprecht von Uberheim (Draco's brother)
Graf von Muller und Thurgau
Graf Rheineck, and others
2nd Kanitz Infantry 36 figures
4th Kalkreuth Infantry 36 figures
10th Mosel Infantry 36 figures
15th La Garde 44 figures
18th Prinz von Uberheim Infantry 36 figures
22nd Schulenburg Infantry 36 figures
25th Ramin Infantry 36 figures
49th Diericke Fusiliers 32 figures
Jagerkorps zu Fuss 19 figures
Schleist Freikorps 28 figures
Total Foot: 324 line, 47 light = 371 foot.
4th Schmettau Cuirassiers 19 figures
10th Gens d'Arms Carabiniers 19 figures
3rd Meinicke Dragoons 19 figures
6th Schorlemer Dragoons 19 figures
17th Kalnoky Hussars 19 figures
Total horse: 57 Heavy, 53 Medium, 57 light = 167 horse
 |
| Ulrichstein Campaign: Imperial Cavalry and artillery at the Battle of Zerbst |
Artillery:
1st Company - 10 figures, 2 howitzers2nd Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
3rd Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
4th Company - 10 figures, 2 field guns
5th (Light) Company - 10 figures, 2 light guns.
Total field artillery: 50 figures, 10 cannon
In addition there is a siege train, and I'll be adding a sapper unit with a bridging train. However, these are likely to be generic, especially the guns.
Total - less high command and staffs, of which more another time
405 foot, 167 horse, 50 artillery = 622 officers and men, and 10 cannon.
Electoral Army:
Led in person by King Draco of House Spitzensparken, seconded byPrinz Rupprecht von Uberheim (Draco's brother)
Graf von Muller und Thurgau
Graf Rheineck, and others
Foot:
1st Winterfeldt Infantry 36 figures2nd Kanitz Infantry 36 figures
4th Kalkreuth Infantry 36 figures
10th Mosel Infantry 36 figures
15th La Garde 44 figures
18th Prinz von Uberheim Infantry 36 figures
22nd Schulenburg Infantry 36 figures
25th Ramin Infantry 36 figures
49th Diericke Fusiliers 32 figures
Jagerkorps zu Fuss 19 figures
Schleist Freikorps 28 figures
Total Foot: 324 line, 47 light = 371 foot.
 |
| Altmark-Uberheim: Schleist Freikorps |
Horse:
2nd Prinz Heinrichs Cuirassiers 19 figures4th Schmettau Cuirassiers 19 figures
10th Gens d'Arms Carabiniers 19 figures
3rd Meinicke Dragoons 19 figures
6th Schorlemer Dragoons 19 figures
2nd von Zieten (Red) Hussars 19 figures
4th Puttkamer (White) Hussars 19 figures
5th von Ruesch (Black) Hussars 19 figures
Total Horse: 57 Heavy, 38 Medium, 57 Light = 152 horse
B Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
C Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
D Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
Total artillery: 40 gunners, 8 cannon
This of course discounts garrison and siege artillery and sappers, as before.
Army totals: 371 foot, 152 horse, 40 gunners = 563 officers and men with 8 cannon
4th Puttkamer (White) Hussars 19 figures
5th von Ruesch (Black) Hussars 19 figures
Total Horse: 57 Heavy, 38 Medium, 57 Light = 152 horse
 |
| Altmark-Uberheim: Meinecke Dragoons |
Artillery:
A Battery - 10 gunners, 2 howitzersB Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
C Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
D Battery - 10 gunners, 2 field guns
Total artillery: 40 gunners, 8 cannon
This of course discounts garrison and siege artillery and sappers, as before.
Army totals: 371 foot, 152 horse, 40 gunners = 563 officers and men with 8 cannon
 |
| Altmark-Uberheim's latest acquistion: a rather 'anachronistic' unit for the purported 18th century, the Gens d'Armes carabiniers. (I ran out of useful tricorne hats) |
Grand Duchy of M'yasma.
Of course, the Grand Duke has reserved for himself the rank of 'Generalissimus', but rarely takes the field himself. Already in service along the border with Ursaminor are the Generals Boroslav Boroslavitch Bychovski and Ivan Igorovitch Glupiev.Foot:
Tver Infantry 36 figures
Galicia Infantry 36 figures
Butyrski Infantry 36 figures
Podolia Infantry 36 figures
Apsheron Infantry 36 figures
Ekaterinburg Infantry 36 figures
HQ Fanagoria Grenadiers 3 figures
HQ Czartoryski Grenadiers 3 figures
Garde Jager 21 figures
To fill the ranks of the Grenadier units, grenadier companies are drawn from the line infantry.
Total foot: 216 line, 6 brigaded grenadier companies command, 21 light = 243 foot
Horse:
Chevalier Garde Cuirassiers 19 figuresMitau Dragoons 19 figures
Pavlograd Hussars 19 figures
Malakhov Cossacks 19 figures
Total horse: 19 Heavy, 19 Medium, 38 Light = 76 horse.
Artillery:
1st Company - 10 gunners, 2 guns2nd Company - 10 gunners, 2 guns
3rd Company - 10 gunners, 2 guns
Total artillery: 30 gunners, 6 cannon.
Army Totals: 243 foot, 76 horse, 30 gunners = 349 officers and men
 |
| The Grand Duke's Army, on the march |
Landgravate of Hessen-Rohr ...
The Landgrave George-Frederick himself does not take the field...
Foot:
Leibgarde Infantry 38 figures + battalion gunErbprinz Grenadiers 38 figures + battalion gun
Ewige-Blumenkraft Infantry 38 figures + battalion gun
Zeitgeist Infantry 38 figures + battalion gun
Weltschmerz Infantry 38 + battalion gun
Gesundheit Light Infantry 19 figures
Total foot: 190 line, 19 light = 199 foot + 5 battalion guns
Horse:
Reichswacht zu Pferde, 19 figures
Uhlans Schadenfreude, 19 figures
Total: 38 horse
Artillery:
1st Company - 10 gunners + 2 field guns
2nd Company - 10 gunners + 2 field guns
3rd Comapany - 5 gunners + 1 howitzer
Total: 15 gunners + 5 cannon.
Army totals: 199 foot (includes 10 battalion gunners) , 38 horse, 25 gunners = 262 officers and men.
Army of Ursaminor
Commanded by Marshal-General Lars Slaggahand, seconded by (among others) General Ulf Eriksson.
The Head of State, Princess Ursula Ursussdottir does not, as a rule, accompany the army into battle (though I do have a figure for her).
Foot:
GR1 Livgarden Infantry 28 figures
IR1 Ostergotland Infantry 28 figures
IR2 Sodermanland Infantry 28 figures
IR3 Vastmanland Infantry 28 figures
IR4 Norrbotten Infantry 28 figures
IR5 Jonkoping Infantry 28 figures
IR6 Skaraborg Infantry 31 figures (over establishment)
GB2 (HQ) Vaxholm Grenadiers 4 figures
GB3 (HQ) Norraskanska Grenadiers 4 figures
JR1 Jamtland Jager 21 figures
To fill the ranks 2nd and 3rd Grenadier battalions, the companies are drawn from the line infantry regiments.
Total foot: 207 line, 21 light = 228 foot
Horse:
CR1 Rikswacht te Paard 15 figures
DR2 Kronoberg Dragoons 15 figures
UR3 Tevastehus Uhlan 15 figures
HR4 Kopparberg Hussars 15 figures
Total horse: 60 figures
Artillery:
Scandi Company 10 figures, 2 guns
Bothnia Company 10 figures, 2 guns
Total artillery: 20 figures, 4 cannon
Total Field Army: 228 foot, 60 horse, 20 gunners = 308 officers and men, plus 4 cannon.
In addition there exists a 19-figure battalion of volunteer citizenry, the Ursaminor Militia, that might be called upon in an emergency.
 |
| Rikswacht te Paard in the service of Ursaminor |
A super read, great work, really enjoyed seeing the strength and make of of all the main players armies.
ReplyDeleteDonnie -
DeleteGlad you are enjoying this beginning. The figures are a mix of Airfix, ESCI, Italieri and Revell, with a handful of Minifigs forming regimental or army command elements. In numbers of figures, they are quite big armies; but they represent fairly small ones.
Cheers,
Ion
Excellent stuff! Although that map is a bit hard to read!
ReplyDeleteI see you have further armies to recruit: I don't know if you have the figures already, but those 28 to 38 figure regiments will take a bit of painting....it's why I opted for 8 figure foot units!
Neil
Thanks, Neil. The 'slideshow' map isn't too bad for me to read (but since my eye surgery 7 years ago I have excellent close range vision) and the full screen version from my file is a little larger.
DeleteThe armies are complete, that Gens d'Armes unit painted up this last week. A little cosmetic work still needed, but just about all the 2000+ figures have been recruited, accommodated, uniformed and assigned.
Having a whole heap of Airfix gunners going spare, they will probably fetch up as sapper/pioneer companies or battalions, if I can organise them properly.
I have to admit, though, that were I to begin anew, the 8-figure foot and 6-figure cavalry would receive a great deal of consideration!
Cheers,
Ion
Great post Ion. I do hope we'll see some of these fine regiments back on the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack -
DeleteA few have made an appearance, others have yet to see action. It has been more than ten years, I think, since the Imperial Army presented arms on the battlefield. I don't imagine, though, that the Imperial and Electoral armies will ever all appear on the battlefield at once.
Cheers,
Ion
An enjoyable read! Those armies are most impressive but that map more so!
ReplyDeleteJohn Y -
DeleteThank you! At some point I might post something about how I made up the map. In effect it is a very compressed Europe. In Eggsburg and Schnitzel, one might recognise Hamburg and Vienna...
An admirable undertaking, love the possibilities from that map.
ReplyDeleteNorm -
DeleteI was looking for plenty of strategic scope in the map. Just by the way, if I need to focus upon any particular theatre, I can crop and expand the thing for easier reading and orientation.
Cheers,
Ion
That's a really impressive map. Having all those figures ready to go is a grand thing.
ReplyDeleteWEK3
DeleteIt has taken a long, long while. The oldest units are well over 40 years old - that is how long - off and on - the project has been in the making. But in the last 5 years I have hurried along the completion of the Imperial and Landgravate armies, and added a few units to the Grand Duchy and Principality. THe Electoral infantry almost entirely completed 15 years ago (the Schleist Freikorps is a recent addition), they were wanting half their cavalry until a few months ago.
Cheers,
Ion
What a magnificent horde and I admire your dedication in the production of such lovely armies over an extended period.The map is also fairly mind blowing, well done!
ReplyDeleteI will certainly look forward to the appearance of some of these in battle. The profusion of army commanders who rarely deign to put in an appearance is very amusing. I would hope to see Princess Ursula at least once though, even just observing proceedings from afar.
Martin -
Delete'Dedication'! It would have gone a lot more quickly with a little more dedication! Mind you, there would probably have been just two armies (Imperial and Electoral), and they little more than half the size they became. I had originally 'planned' on 5 foot, 1 light infantry, 4 horse and 3 artillery companies the side! Say, about 300 figures and 6 cannon each.
I had at one time the notion of adding brigade commanders for each two units. I find that too much of a stretch, so I've come up with another scheme of high command that I'll probably relate elsewhere. At the moment, that aspect has not quite been finalised.
Meanwhile there is the small matter of the border war between M'yasma and Ursaminor to deal with...
Cheers,
Ion