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The Situation at the End of Move Seven. . .

After much delay, both Major von Hirschbiegel and Colonel von Grundig have completed their respective moves. Here is the first of two pictures of the battlefield close to the end of Move Seven before any fire effects have been assessed. You will recall that von Hirschbiegel's forces have driven the enemy Stollenian's from Pickelhaubewicz and formed a line to the east of the village, marked by the red-coated O'Malley's Irish Grenzer, at center right of the photograph above.


Above, is a second photograph of troop positions on the field outside of Pickelhaubewicz. Here, a company of Stollenian jaeger and a slightly stronger company of musketeers oppose von Hirschbeigel''s grenzers. To the west of the village, his squadron of the 11th (Prinz Albrecht's) Hussars have rallied and await further orders, while to the south, von Finknottle's redoubtable Newts are poised to enter the houses lying on the outter edge of town, and the Grenadiere zu Pferd astride their massive black steeds have rallied. At the far left, a second company of O'Malley's Irish Grenzers approach the copse directly to their front as rapidly as possible.


And from the southwest, an independent company of Pillau-Zerbst's Wollmar-Bock Regiment, currently in the service of Zichenau, has been ordered to advance in line, anchor itself to the hill south of town (just to its right front), and act as a reserve for Major von Hirschbiegel's variegated force.


Here is a closer shot of Major von Hirschbiegel's troops just to the south of Pickelhaubewicz. Don't they look martial? Why, you can almost hear the drums, fifes, glockenspiels, and jingling johnnies! Figures here include a unit of plastic Revell 1/72 hussars, another of grenadiers in bearskin bonnets, a unit of charging Spencer Smith cavalry (which also contains a Holger Eriksson bugler and guidon bearer), and a unit of RSM95 musketeers in the firing position. While there are minor differences between the four brands of miniatures, they all work remarkably well together once painted and grouped into distinct units on the table.


Last, but not least, here is a close-up of the firing line just east of Pickelhaubewicz. A hush has fallen over this part of the battlefield, as the NCO's and officers on either side dress and steady their men. Listen carefully, and you might hear a Stollenian officer raise his voice, wave a handkerchief, and invite the Zichenauer line to fire first.

Comments

Fitz-Badger said…
Huraah! The game is afoot once again! :-)
andygamer said…
So help me, Fitz-Badger, I was going to type "the game's afoot" too. So now I'll have to settle for, the boys are back in town.
Capt Bill said…
Since the "Boys are back in town" and the "game is clearly afoot", let me just say the photos and description are very inspirational!
Conrad Kinch said…
Glad to see that you've managed to keep this going. I was afraid that it might fall apart under the weight of Christmas inertia.

As for firing, this sounds like dangerous continental nonsense to me! There should be no more than one volley and then close with the bayonet. That'll soon shift 'em!
I thought the Grenzers were that new manufacturer that Alte Fritz had sent you figures from rather than RSMs? Bavarians or something? Or were those a different unit?
Thank you, men! Glad you are enjoying the continuing adventures of Major von Grundig and Major von Hirschbiegel. The red-coated Irish Grenzers (an unusual unit of Wild Geese lost to the history books) are indeed RSM95 figures, French musketeers in the firing pose I believe. The figures purchased from Jim "Alte Fritz" Purky last summer were some of the new "old school" 30mm figures by Huzzah Miniatures in the U.K. 60+ figures, which will eventually become a unit of line infantry in the Stollenian army. As an added surprise, Jim threw in two dozen extra RSM95 French musketeers that he no longer needed, 20 of which became the light blue-coated Wolmar-Bock Regiment, currently in the employ of Zichenau.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Bluebear Jeff said…
Those larger 'battlefield' photos do a nice job of giving us an overall glimpse at the situation.

By the way, all of your scenery looks very good. The hills look surprisingly good, don't they?

So, what's going to happen once the smoke clears from the exchange of musketry?


-- Jeff
Der Alte Fritz said…
I am glad to see the return of the miniatures and wargaming on your blog. Nice looking units, nice looking pictures. Can't wait to see more.
A J said…
It's good to see battle about to be joined once more. And what a great advantage to having a permanent table set-up!
John Clements said…
Lovely stuff, Stokes, a real feel of Charge! Indeed, in the last picture of the two firing lines, the red unit on the left reminded me of that lovely vignette in the book of an Irish Brigade unit firing. They were original Wille figures but the RSMs have a very similar flavour.
Brent said…
Thanks for sharing your figures and game. It is fun to look at, and what the hobby is all about.

Brent

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