Reviewing New Recruits (4) : Infantry, part 3

In this post I'll show yet more of my recently acquired vintage Minifigs 25mm 7YW/AWI figures. .I hope regular readers aren't getting too bored with this!  This is almost the last of the infantry, just two boxes to go but quite a few units so I'll just do one of the boxes now! . I'll mention 'bots' and Partizan later, but for now, let's get on with the figures. 

Box no. 8 contains units painted or labelled  as Prussians, Hessians, Brunswickers and other 'Germans', as follows: 

One battalion of  Prussians, labelled 41st Regt Wied Zu NuWied Fusiliers  :

 According to Kronoskaf Seven Years War the standard looks right, and the facings should be 'light carmine red' - these look more purple to me, but perhaps it has faded with the passage of 30 or even 40 years since painting!  The Minifigs code number on the base of the rank and file figures is AWI 53 Hesse-Kassel Regt. Fusilier Advancing  (that's according to the Minifigs 1975 catalogue, available on-line for those who might like a little more nostalgia) .   

This highlights a big feature of the whole collection, in that there are some fairly 'interesting' choices of figures being used!  Why use an AWI Hesse-Kassel figure for Prussian Seven Years War?   I can only assume that a bulk order was placed for AWI, perhaps at the start of a club project, maybe the project perhaps morphed into SYW over time ( 'mission creep' at its best..), and it seemed a shame not to use the figures?   Or perhaps there was some opportunity for discounts on a large order? Or it was just a case of 'keep it simple', ordering as small a range of different figures as possible?  I will never know, but it's ineresting to look into what figures are lurking under the paintwork of the finished units! 

Next up, labelled as Prussian 35th Regiment, Prinz Heinrich von Preußen Fusiliers:

    

These look right according to Kronoskaf , and the rank and file figures are AWI 53 Hesse-Kassell Fusilier, as above. 

Another Prussian unit - 42nd Regt Markgraf von Brandenburg-Schwedt  

  - with orange facings. And again, the basic fusilier figures are serial no. AWI 53. 

 

Now, on to various other Germanic types.  First up,  a unit labelled   Hesse-Kassel : Musketeers Von Trumbach  (8th Regt) 

von Trumbach is the name carried at the time of  the regiment's service in the AWI - in the Seven Years War it was the Mansbach regiment.  I do like the exotic drummer! That might be a specifically 'American' feature, but  with a little wargamer's license I will be happy using these for either AWI or 7YW games - as an aside, it seems that this regiment was also present at Culloden in 1746.   The rank-and-file figures have serial number  AWI 56 : Hesse-Hanau Regt - Musketeer Advancing -  from the catalogue, I can see there was no Musketeer figure for Hesse-Kassell, so I can understand the seeming eccentricity of this choice.

 This next unit are labelled  Hesse-Kassell Grenadiers von Rall  and they boast rather splendid trousers!

 I'm not sure that colourful legwear can be really accurate, but it's certainly distinctive. [Update: many thanks to Neil Patterson and Jon Freitag for confirming that they are indeed authentic. representing  'ticking' material from which new leggings were improvised, which was indeed striped, being intended for mattresses!].

This is clearly an AWI unit,  as shown on a Uniforms of the American Revolution website, but  I have not yet tried to trace whether or not they existed in the 7YW.    The serial number on the grenadier figures is  AWI 55  Hesse-Kassell Regt Grenadiers,  quite sensibly. 

Pressing on, to Brunswick : first up, Regiment Prince Ludwig 

These are unusual - it seems that they were actually a Dragoon regiment, sent to America in British employment in the AWI, but without horses, and thus obliged to serve on foot!  The figures are mostly serial number AWI 87, which the catalogue describes as 'Brunswick Dragoon' , so they are correct, it seems, if pretty unusual.      

Next,  Regiment von Riedesel :   also serial number AWI 87,  I like the colour scheme of these Brunswickers.  [ Update: my US correspondent and AWI expert Jon Freitag suggests that these look like they might actually represent von Retz regiment..]   

 and Royal Deux-Ponts regiment : even more interesting, it seems these were indeed in America, but  were in the service of France, fighting against the British!  Once again, serial no.  AWI 87. 

And finally,  three more small units which were only described to me as 'Germans'. Hmmm.. 

This first unit (above) has blue coats and yellow facings, and a possible clue is the serial number - AWI 56 Hesse Hanau Regt - Musketeer Advancing.  However,   Hesse-Hanau's contribution to the British army in America was its Erbprinz regiment  - who seem to have had red facings and buff or yellow breeches. So for the moment I am indeed chalking these up as generic 'Germans'. With a bit more research, maybe I can assign them a name - suggestions welcome!  I confess I don't have any reference books for British/Hessian units in the AWI - I clearly need to do some reading, and probably should acquire the appropriate Osprey book..    [ Update - Jon Frietag suggests these may be more likely to represent  von Riedesel regiment..many thanks, Jon ] 

Another unit, also  code AWI 56,  but this time with green coats, and clearly the work of a different painter ( and note those rather over-engineered alumium bases, which I've mentioned before). 

 I note that it seems there was a unit of Hesse-Hanau Jagers (Jäger-Corps von Creuzbourg) in Ameirca, but have not yet found any uniform details on-line. Might they have worn green coats? It seems a goodish bet.. 

And finally, yes finally, another small unit which I think are serial no. AWI 57 Hesse-Hanau Regt. Firing :     

Now those, I suspect, might represent the actual Hesse-Hanau Erbprinz regiment - or a small part of it at least.  [ Update - Jon Freitag suggests these may in fact be von Specht regiment - thanks again, Jon!]

I think that will do for now - eleven units of various sizes,  out of just one box, phew! Some of uncertain identity, but all full of period flavour and can be happily used in games, be it AWI or 7YW. There would seem to be scope for a decently sized army made  up of units from various German states (a sort of imaginary Reichsarmee perhaps?)  to oppose or be allied with my French, Prussian and/or  Austrian forces. One more box of infantry  to go, but I'll spare you that ordeal now. I hope this has been a fun,  interesting and possibly quite nostalgic read for you. It has certainly got me trawling the internet for possible IDs! 

That's enough for now except for a couple of quick points : 

(a) The bots have gone, it seems! the crazily high volume of recent pageviews dropped back to 'normal' on about 2nd October, and I see others have reported the same.     They have thoroughly messed up my viewing counts and 'top 10 views' list, but never mind.  Presumably silicon valley's brief obsession with old-school wargaming has passed - maybe they've gone on to model railways. You need to get out more, guys.. 

(b) Partizan! Or to be correct,  The Other Partizan - is on this Sunday at Newark, and I am planning to go along.  I am going with absolutely no plan of games to see or traders to patronise [ though I should clearly be  looking for an Osprey book on AWI British and Hessians!] , just winging it.  But of course it will be good, anyway. Meeting old buddy Dave 'St Cyr' so we can do our usual 'Waldorf and Stadtler' routine around the hall,   and hoping to run into one or two others - a couple of book exhanges on the cards.  Happy to chat to anyone that knows me - and if you don't know what I look like,  I am a late-middle-aged, badly-dressed, bald, white guy, so I'll be easy to tell apart from everyone else there... 

As usual, I will try to take some pictures of the games, and show them in a post on this blog sometime next week, so watch this space.. Until then keep well, eveyone.