The Orders of Battle. . .

The great Steven Fry and Hugh Laurie as Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. . . some of the inspiration behind my own Irwin-Amadeus II and his unflappable manservant Hives.

An intrepid and ambitious young trooper from a squadron of Stollen's 4th Dragoons rode carefully forward under the cover of darkness last night and identified the following units that comprise Stagonia's army of vile invaders:

1st (von Kirschstein) Kuirassier -- 3 squadrons
Hockdorf Hussars -- 2 squadrons
9th (von Krinkle) Infantry -- 1 company
4th (du Lepps) Fusiliers -- 2 companies
1st (von Hirschbock) Grenadiers -- 4 companies
Umgraben Sapper Battalion -- 2 companies
Feldpaff Battery of Artillery -- 2 guns and crew

It remains a mystery who the general is in command of this most vile assemblage of men! Opposing them on the eastern side of the Saegewerkdorf battlefield are the following units from gallant Stollen's own army, which is commanded by General von Drosselmaier:

Leib (Grand Duchess Sonja's Own) Grenadiers -- 3 companies
Von Laurenz Musketeers -- 3 companies
Jaeger zu Fuss -- 2 companies
11th Engineer Battallion -- 2 companies
4th (Trakehnen) Dragoons -- 3 squadrons
Princess Charlotte's Loyal Battery of Artillery -- 2 guns and crew

As you can see, Stollen has slightly more infantry, while Stagonia has two more squadrons of cavalry, and both armies field the same number of guns. It seems, therefore, that the armies are fairly evenly matched although it might be claimed that Stollen has the homefield advantage since Stagonia has invaded the Grand Duchy. Whether this will have an appreciable effect on the outcome of the battle remains to be seen of course.

On a related note, reports have leaked from the Stollenian capital Krankenstadt, scarcely a day's march north of Saegewerkdorf, that the Grand Duke Irwin-Amadeuss II was only just dissuaded, by his faithful English manservant "Hives" no less, from donning his lobster costume and racing soutwestward to Saegewerkdorf, to lead his small army into battle. Fortunately for General von Drosselmaier and the other officers already there, this eventuality was narrowly averted by Hives' cool thinking.

Eyewitnesses report that just as the Grand Duke headed off toward his chambers, where the armoire containing the lobster costumes resides, Hives was heard to say, "Hark, M'lord! Is that the ice-cream man's bell I hear?" At which point, Irwin-Amadeus forgot all about his stated mission to inspire the men and began scrounging feverishly around the settee and matching armchair for a enough spare coins to cover the cost of a choc ice!

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Taking Stock Part II: The (As Yet) Unpainted but Planned OOB. . .

Two companies of Reichsarmee grenadiers painted back in 2017 or 2018. Minden Austrians of course. A lovely early autumn day here in the grand duchy. Bright sunshine and a light breeze with cool temperatures will make for some very pleasant late afternoon lawn mowing in a little while. But first a bit more discussion of painting plans for the future. Last time, I looked back at the various and sundry units, support troops, and civilians that I've managed to paint in the last 17 years as the Grand Duchy of Stollen project has developed. So today, let's look into the seemingly bottomless Drawer 'o' Lead to my left for a clue to the new direction. Be forewarned, it's not going to be a quick job getting everything painted and based, but there we are. The following plans are based on the pile of unpainted figures already here. Any future purchases will be limited to small things that might be needed to fill out the envisioned units (the odd few officers mounted o

Having a "No Day". . .

F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day." A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day. I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. These have stood waiting untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday a

Fitz-Badger said…

Thanks for the images, both digital and mental!
I agree with the commentse prvious post about the "look" of your setup. Terrain, tabletop, buildings, minis all have a wonderful style that tie everything together into an attractive game. Compliments to the artist! :-)

7:11 PM

Martin said…

So....the sinister Agent Hagen-Daase strikes again!

7:54 PM

SteveI said…

Aswierd as it sounds, as I read this post ther is an episode of J&W on the old T.V., an endearing classic!

1:58 AM

old-tidders said…

Forces finely balanced ? it will be an interesting engagement

-- Allan

6:56 AM

Snickering Corpses said…

I should have known you'd be a Jeeves and Wooster man!