30th Reichsarmee Template: Trooper of the Ansbach Dragoon Regiment (Franconian Circle)

Franconian Kreis-Dragoner Regiment first raised 1691. Inhaber: Markgraf von Brandenburg-Ansbach. Composition: 5 squadrons each of 2 companies, theoretical establishment a total of c.700. 21 contingents. Disbanded 1791.

Fought at Rossbach, where as part of the second line of the right wing of cavalry their performance was not entirely uncreditable as they lasted longer than the Hohenzollern and Bayreuth Cuirassiers before being routed by the Prussian envelopment. In May 1758 had a strength of 407. Still with the Reichsarmee in June 1760. Not at Freiberg 1762.

I've chosen the simplest recorded variant of this uniform, which more closely matches later near-contemporary depictions and seems more likely given the poverty-stricken nature of the Reichsarmee. Richard Knötel in his Uniformkunde shows a surprisingly complex uniform with white lace on the buttonholes and a curious emblem like a coiled snake on the shabraque. The Sturm cigarette cards figure shows a much darker blue for the facings and dots around the sinuous pattern on the edge of the shabraque.

14th and 15th Reichsarmee Templates: Grenadier and Musketeer, Infantry Regiment Baden-Durlach (Swabian Circle) - colour versions

17th Reichsarmee Template: Trooper of the Hohenzollern Cuirassier Regiment (Swabian Circle) - Colour versions

12th and 13th Reichsarmee Templates: Grenadier and Musketeer, Infantry Regiment Fürstenberg (Swabian Circle) - Colour versions

It seems impossible to add the colour images in to the previous post with only the b/w templates without making a complete mess of the formatting so I'm having to create new posts just for the coloured versions - one thing that makes one realise the limitations of a blog! Perhaps one day I'll get round to making a website for the templates and then I'll have complete freedom to use any layout I like...

29th Reichsarmee Template - Fusilier of the Kreisinfanterieregiment Württemberg (Swabian Circle)

I've shown the figure in the fusilier cap which is documented for 1748 and 1781 but which is apparently not specifically documented for the SYW. The detail is largely taken from the New York Public Library website image of a watercolour of a grenadier and "fusilier" of the regiment with the date 1759. If this is a contemporary depiction then it is indeed evidence that the fusilier cap was worn in the SYW but I am doubtful that it is contemporary, even though much of the detail is convincing.

28th Reichsarmee Template - Grenadier of the Kreisinfanterieregiment Württemberg (Swabian Circle)

First raised 1638. 1 battalion in 1757, with 10 musketeer and 2 grenadier companies; an actual total of 963, far below its theoretical complement. Made up of 6 contingents. 2 3 pounder guns were attached. Inhaber: The Duke of Württemberg.

Attached to the Reichsarmee for most of the war (up to 1762) but not at Rossbach, the regiment was rated as "adequate" by Soubise.

The mitre cap is my reconstruction based on verbal description (at Kronoskaf) and a crude but informative watercolour on the NYPL website. Presumably like other Württemberg grenadiers they would have worn a white cloth cover over the mitre cap.

I'm still considering what to do for the musketeer as the headgear at the time of the SYW is uncertain and may have been a very Prussian-style fusilier cap. Breeches were probably white in the summer, yellow in winter. There is also some dispute about the colour of the aiguillette; some sources suggest white rather than yellow.

Grenadier of Württemberg Infantry Regiment Spitznas

The grenadier template shows the uncovered mitre cap; in action all Württemberg grenadiers wore the white cloth cover on the mitre to avoid being mistaken for Prussians.

Musketeer of Württemberg Infantry Regiment Spitznas

Raised 1752 from the 2nd Battalion of the IR Prinz Louis. 2 battalions, each with 5 musketeer and 1 grenadier company; each company c.100 men for a theoretical total for the regiment of 1219 officers and men. Each battalion had a 3 pounder gun attached.

During the early part of the SYW the regiment was paid for by the French government. In 1757 it joined the Austrian army in Silesia and was at Breslau on November 22nd and Leuthen on December 5th, but escaped from Leuthen with relatively few casualties. In 1758 one battalion joined the French army and was at Lutterberg on October 10th and also in action near Lauterbach and Fulda on November 30th. From 1760 Austrian subsidies paid for the regiment and so it joined the Austrian army in Silesia once again, seeing action during the siege of Wittenberg.

Colour definitions

Now I've started to provide coloured templates, the problem of defining colours is something I'm having to tackle. It doesn't help that I don't use a properly calibrated monitor, partly because when calibrated my monitor is far too bright and gives me bad headaches so I like to keep the display fairly darkish. So I'm trying to standardise the colours I use, the basis I'm using for this being the readily accessible Wikipedia pages on colour here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors which give RGB definitions etc.. I make no claim to being 100% correct or entirely purist about this; as we know, 18th century uniform colours are nightmarishly difficult to define anyway. But it does help to have some sort of standard by which to work. Just in case anyone wants to know! :-)

27th Reichsarmee Template - Musketeer of the Infantry Regiment Effern (Electoral Rhenish Circle)

Effern was part of the contribution of the elector (Kurfürst) of the Pfalz to the Reichsarmee. First raised 1690, Effern consisted of 1 contingent, with 2 battalions (a total of 8 companies of musketeers, each company c.137 men) with 2 grenadier companies (each c.100 men). The total was therefore around 1296 men. The regiment had 2 4 pounder cannon in May 1758. From 23.5.1755-17.8.1769 the colonel was Josef, Graf von Effern. The regiment missed Rossbach as it was on detached service. It was with the Reichsarmee at the taking of Torgau in August 1759 and Maxen in November 1759, and stayed with the Reichsarmee until at least June 1760. It was certainly not at Freiberg 1762 where the Reichsarmee distinguished itself.

In his discussion of Palatinate uniforms in Pengel and Hurt's Bavaria, Saxony and Palatinate Supplement (1981) Martin Lange argues convincingly that Palatinate infantry were clothed in dark blue during the Seven Years War, apart from Effern, IR No.3, which was in a much lighter blue. When in 1777 the Palatinate troops were absorbed by Bavaria, the Palatinate infantry all switched to light blue coats like those of Effern, and in 1783 the Bavarian infantry followed suit.

The red facings come from earlier (and even some recent) published material but it seems highly likely that white facings (on the right) are more accurate. I prefer the look of the red myself but... Yellow buttons were introduced sometime between 1759-1777 but it is not known if the change took place during the SYW so I have shown them as white metal as they would have been until at least 1759.

26th Reichsarmee Template - Musketeer of the Infantry Regiment Nassau-Weilburg (Upper Rhenish Circle)

Nassau-Weilburg consisted of 2 battalions, each of 5 companies of musketeers and a company of grenadiers. The unit had 2 3 pounder cannon. The men came from 26 different contingents and Soubise rated the regiment in 1757 as "adequate". Figures in Pengel and Hurt Reichsarmee suggest that the total number of men in the regiment in 1757 was fewer than 900 but this may be a typo.. No doubt much to the regiment's pleasure it missed Rossbach, being on detached service at the time. One battalion was captured on 15.9.1759.

2 possible variants of the uniform are shown, one with yellow buttons and red/white pompoms, one with white metal buttons and blue/white pompoms. It is not at all clear which is the more likely to be correct; perhaps, indeed, they represent differences between the 2 battalions and are therefore both correct.

25th Reichsarmee Template - Musketeer of the Paderborn Infantry Regiment Mengersen (Westphalian Circle)

A regiment of a single battalion and composed of a single contingent, this Paderborn unit was rated as "adequate" by Soubise.

The lace above the cuffs seems odd without buttons but the pictorial material I could find suggests that this was the arrangement (unless someone has other material to the contrary, which I would be grateful to know about!).

Minor updates to units of the Reichsarmee

I've now added coloured versions of the Hessen-Darmstadt Kreis Infantry Regiment (Upper Rhenish Circle) and the Münster Regiments Nagel and Elberfeld (Elverfeldt) (Westphalian Circle).

Grenadier of Württemberg Infantry Regiment Roeder

Württemberg grenadiers looked so like their Prussian counterparts that they wore white cloth covers over their grenadier mitres to distinguish them from the enemy.

Musketeer of Württemberg Infantry Regiment Roeder

The Württemberg Infantry Regiment Roeder was at the centre of the position on the left flank of the Austrian army that took the brunt of the initial Prussian attack at Leuthen and lost more casualties that day than all the other Württemberg infantry battalions combined - 219 compared with "no more than 10 officers and 65 men by the end of the battle" (Duffy, Prussia's Glory, pp. 152-3) amongst the other battalions. The Württembergers and Bavarians were made scapegoats for the Austrian defeat and unfairly made to take almost all the blame for the defeat - until eventually Maria Theresa was made to realise that it was the army command that was primarily at fault, particularly her brother-in-law Prince Charles. She had to sack him in January 1758 after giving him broad hints that he should resign.

The Württemberg infantry were dressed in a very Prussian-style uniform, dark blue with different coloured facings. Regiment Roeder was raised as Füsilierregiment von Röder in 1754 and had a short life as it was disbanded in 1765. Full details of composition and service can be found at the following Kronoskaf page: http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Roeder_Infantry

Württemberg Artilleryman

24th Reichsarmee Template - Palatinate Artilleryman

Hanoverian Artillery Driver

Unit and uniform detail to follow...

Hanoverian Pontonier

Unit and uniform details to follow (if any unit details can be found...)

Hanoverian Artilleryman

Unit and uniform details to follow...

23rd Reichsarmee Template - Büchsenmeister of Upper Rhine Artillery Contingent

A büchsenmeister was effectively a senior NCO with technical expertise; the nearest English equivalent name is probably "master gunner".

More to follow on unit and uniform...

22nd Reichsarmee Template - Franconian Artilleryman

Artilleryman of the Franconian Circle contingent of the Reichsarmee.

Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg Artilleryman

Unit and uniform details to follow, eventually...

Bavarian Artilleryman

Saxon Artilleryman

Saxon artilleryman. As so often with Saxon uniforms there is some disagreement in the sources so I have gone for the simpler possibilities.