Seven Years Wargame

The traditional arrivals once again lined up for battle. It was late in the summer of 1759 and the Prussians had consolidated their earlier gains of the year and were just about to settle down and wait for the campaigning season to end. However, the Austrian commander, Colleredo, had other plans. Before significant Prussian re-enforcements could arrive he decided to hurl his forces against the blue walls and force them to march back to Silesia being harried by hussars as they retreated.

That was the plan anyway. The Austrian troops were marshaled in depth to press against the Prussians who, for once, did not advance to meet the Austrians. The Prussian commander, Winterfelt, seemed uncertain perhaps because of his small number of units. He also tried to rely on the Austrian commands being unable to fully co-ordinate an attack due to poor command dice. As things worked out, it was a good gamble.

The Prussian cannon reduced the strength of some of their foremost units and the Prussian musketry accounted for many others when the gaps between the lines closed. The Prussians shielded their wings by good use of the woods on the table. A small creek also prevented free movement of the Austrians around the Prussian flanks.



Without the use of their superior numbers, the Austrians were given a very tough time by the Prussians. Collerado's plan did not come to fruition and the Prussians not only made firm their hold on valuable supply depots and their winter quarters (including some excellent grazing land for their horses) but also gained many recruits from the Protestant elements of a well beaten Austrian force.

Might and Reason - Austria and Prussia

The Prussians were at it again, driving deep into the heart of Austrian territory in order to cement their grip on Silesia. But they were surprised this time by the speed of Austrian movement - perhaps due to their consistent under-estimation of the quality of their command. The King was not in command and after the battle many soldiers commented that today they did not meet the "same old Austrians."

The Austrians, under the command of rejuvenated Colloredo, drove at the flank of the Prussian army but their progress was effected the a river which blocked them from their target. Every possible bridge and ford was used to quickly bring the Austrians to the same side as their enemies. However, by the time sufficient troops had been marshalled on the opposite bank the Prussians, with their usual efficiency of Winterfelt, had turned their army to face their foe.

The orders could not be withdrawn and the Austrian army ploughed into the Prussian lines. Col. Piccolomini led with his command - Hungarian musketeers, German Grenadiers and the Salm-Salm infantry regiment ... with more following. See picture.

Fighting was soon heated across the entire line. Huge cavalry clashes were opened on both flanks with hussars leading the way followed by heavier types behind. This raged on for some time.

On the Austrian right the cavalry were helped by Grenzers sniping from the woods until they were driven off by a strong infantry thrust led by the valiant Manstein.

It was unfortunate that his infantry were so outnumbered by the infantry pouring across the bridge. However, in the centre the real damage was being done by the unstoppable Blue wall ... a mixture of Kalckstein, Prinz Henri and Knobloch regiments pushed forward strongly. On the left too the strong Prussian cavalry wing had gained the upper hand over Hadik and his command.


And it was here that night fell ... much of the Austrian army withdrew across the river having fought their Prussian foes to a stand-still. Many of their infantry and cavalry unit were severely depleted from the struggle but so were the Prussians. Unless reserves could be secured quickly by both sides a battle of that size may not be fought again during this summer.

But then again the high command was eager to prove their superiority after todays drawn encounter ....

My Seven Years War Armies

I have always been inspired by wargaming in the 18th C. Ever since I saw a picture, in an introductory wargaming book by Donald Featherstone (back in my teens), of long lines of musketeers clashing and brightly uniformed cavalry sweeping across the field have I been interested in Seven Years wargaming. It just took me a very long time to get around to completing the armies i have always wanted.


It is easy to get side-tracked when you are a wargamer by other periods (all have a fascination of their own) and by games that are popular in your area of the world.

When I started painting SYW units I thought i would only paint one or two for the pure enjoyment of creating really brightly coloured figures. A friend of mine, when I proudly showed him my first finished unit, told me that I would never get to use those figures and that I was wasting my time. This may have motivated me even more to indulge my love for the period.

In the beginning I set out only to complete an Austrian army and felt certain I could find an opponent somewhere to play against. But as the units rolled out, first infantry then cavalry, I didn't really care any more and ideas of the Prussians soon followed.

My first figures my Old Glory 15mm which I was (and still am) very pleased with. But these figures were not readily available to me. When I discovered Eureka miniatures were casting SYW figures I decided to flesh out my armies using these figures. Most of the cavalry, save my dragoons, and around half of my infantry units are Eureka products. I would recommend these figures to anyone wished to collect SYW armies.


Originally I set looked on the net and found that a major set of rules for the period was "Warfare in the Age of Reason." This seemed to be quite a good rules set to me but upon playing it the rules did seem a little cumbersome in some places. I then ordered Sam Mustafa's "Might and Reason" rules and never looked back. These rules are simple to understand and work very well. The focus of the rules is on movement and command which make for very interesting games.


I also love the idea of fighting a full size battle from the SYW period. So many games tend to allow you to refight a tiny corner of a battle often completely missing the main focus of the period. Wargamers are all inspired by the great commanders of history and their tactics but so many seem content to completely miss this level of play.


With an excellent set of rules that were really enjoyable to play (and yes I have had quite a few games with my armies despite what my friend initially said) I decided to fully flesh out the two armies. The Austrian army consists of 8 units of cavalry (3 cuirassiers, 3 dragoons and 2 hussars), two cannon and 16 units of infantry (12 musketeer, 2 grenadier and 2 grenzers.) The Prussian army consists of 7 units of cavalry (3 cuirassiers, 2 dragoons and 2 hussars), two cannon and 10 infantry (2 fusiliers, 6 musketeers and 2 grenadier.) These troops produce a very good game that lasts around 3-5 hours depending on the aggressiveness of the commander/s.

I do plan to flesh out my Austrian army with one or two more units of infantry, probably from the German states within the Empire, and an additional cannon or two for each army. I have found collecting these forces to be a real pleasure and very rewarding as each new unit is painted and deployed on the battlefield.


I summation I would recommend the SYW period for other wargamers for the following reasons:

• Visual appeal - the uniforms of the period create a very appealing battlefield for wargaming and for spectators. With two banners fluttering from each infantry unit the effect is stunning.
  
• Focus on movement and maneuver - the SYW period encourages bold maneuver especially the flanking attack. Battles are not limited to frontal assaults.
  
• Command issues - good rules for the period should try to recreate the command difficulties SYW armies had in maneuvering their men. This adds challenge to the period. No general in any period of history has complete control of their men and rules need to reflect this aspect. Our divine position as wargamers towering over our troops gives the wrong impression of the power of generals.
• Variety of Different national armies involved - its not a question of being one side or the other (eg: French or not in the Napoleonic period, or German or Allied in WWII.)
  
• Depth and Colour in the Historical period - the SYW period includes several wars not just the SYW itself. Within this period national alliances were shifting and changing allowing a large number of possible combinations for players : for example, Russia can fight against and with Prussia during the SYW. Also a wide variety of heroic and incompetent characters provide interest to the historian. Individual unit histories provide great interest for the wargamer, for example the Botta Regiment of Kolin or the III Guard at Leuthen.
• And I haven't even mentioned wars in India and North America to add additional spice ...
  

Major Cecil Savage

The Seven Years War Pt#1

Early in 1757, the Prussians, under the command of Bevern, pushed their way forward through Silesia into Austria. Before he could muster all Prussian units in the area his force of 25, 000 men were approached by an Austrian force, commanded by Collerado, of roughly 36, 000 men.


Collerado blocked the further advance of Bevern's men into Austria itself by taking up position among a group of low hills and ridges that ran parallel to the road southward. Bevern could not pass on without his flank being threatened so her decided to assault the Austrians and drive them off before resuming his journey.
The resultant battle was fiercely fought with cavalry playing a large role in the battle. A young Major C. Savage served with the Seydlitz Hussars who, under the command of Manstein, rode from the left wing to emerge between the centre and right wing infantry commands. It was their charge, together with the Leibcarabinier and Jung-Krakow Dragoons, that drove off the Austrian cavalry and surged into the reserve French forces who were coming forward to menace the Prussian centre infantry under Oldenberg.



The day was decided by the combined frontal assaults of Manstein's horse and Oldenberg's infantry, including Fusiliers and III Guard Battalion, and the far left wing cavalry which rode around to threaten the Austrian rear. Special mention should go to the Austrian right wing cavalry under O'Donnel who held up the attack of the blue wall until they were driven off by Manstein's horse.