Stocktake and the Confusing State of German States

After finishing the texturing and flocking of the bases this afternoon, I stuck the new troops' bases on magnetic strip for the Grand Boxing. I cleaned out a spare Ferrero Rocher box as the home for the Saxons. Every other contingent had their own box already. Looking a bit forlorn (7 bases in a box that can hold 21 bases*) I decanted the 4 Bavarian infantry bases and the sole Reicsharmee grenadier base from an Austrian box. This is now the 'German States Allied to Austrian/France' box.

I rooted out the various odds and sods, including the unpainted recent acquisitions and put them all together. It's easier to see what I have left and what other units I can make up.

On an administrative roll, I decided to do a stocktake of my SYW/WAS collection and update my spreadsheet. I have 11 different armies or contingents. Ranging from the Austrians at 93 bases (counting generals and artillery) and Prussians (91) down to the aforementioned Saxons, Bavarians and Reichstruppen. Others, in order of size are French (75), Russian (58), Spanish (27), Piedmontese (26), British (21), Hanoverian (18), and a siege/baggage train (17). The grand total is 438 bases, or 6638 figures give or take. Or 42 field guns, 1174 cav, 5116 inf, of which 4008 are musketeers (i.e. tricorn wearing close order infantry). 

In terms of game BMUs (brigades) this equates to:

• Cavalry: 61.5
• Infantry: 109.5
• Artillery: 21

The total number of figures is slightly above what I estimated: always a pleasing position to be in after a stocktake! Completing this job also clarified where gaps exist and therefore what I should paint the unpainted figures as.

Beyond that, there is plenty for future consideration. Armies that are not represented at all or are grossly under-represented are the Dutch (WAS), Swedes, the Reichsarmee, Britain's other German allies, and France and Austria's other German allies**. Then there are, potentially, the Italian states allied to Spain in the WAS. But even I baulk at the Portuguese, because the Guerra Fantástica was a bit too short.

* Note on the Saxons: This is probably sufficient for the whole of the infantry force in the SYW which fought with the French. These were re-formed from Saxon POWs who were impressed into the Prussian Army as whole regiments, and who later deserted en mass. Most of the cavalry who were taken as POWs were incorporated into existing Prussian cavalry regiments, so mass desertion wasn't so easy. Those that did were incorporated in Saxon foot grenadier units serving with the French. One horse regiment (the Karabiniergarde) and 3 Cheveauxlegers cavalry regiments escaped capture by the Prussians because they were based in Poland at the time of the Saxon surrender in 1756. These all served with the Austrians in the SYW. I might do these regiments later. That would be it for the SYW, but I'd need a lot more for the WAS.

** Note on the Other German Allies: Allied to the British in the SYW, as well as King George II's Hanoverian troops, were Hessen-Kassel, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Schaumberg-Lippe. On the other side, as well as the Saxon infantry, the French were seconded by the Palatinate and the Austrians by Bavaria and Württemberg. This is over-and-above the troops those states contributed to the Reichsarmee, and some Reichsarmee units embedded with the Austrians in the Silesian theatre. Confusing isn't it?

All states in the Holy Roman Empire were obliged to supply a number of troops to the Reichsarmee according to pre-set tables. Some states had additional troops, over and above the scale mandated for the Reichsarmee,  which they then hired out to the major powers. The service performed by the Hessians in British pay is quite widely known of. Less familiar are the Palatinate and Würtemberg contingents who served with the French and Austrians respectively, during the SYW. Oddly, the Bavarians and Würtembergers were paid for by the French but served with the Austrians. The level of commitment to the Franco-Austrian cause was variable to say the least.