Wild Geese 2025 - Battle of Domstadtl

I was asked for some pictures of recent games, to be quite honest I've not been using the semi-flats much recently, however back in June I put on a game for the meeting of the 'Wild Geese' wargamers at our annual event in Kenilworth.

For something a little different I put on the Combat at Domstadtl, 30th June 1758, which was a raid on a HUGE wagon train - a bit of background from my briefing notes for the players.

Combat at Domstadtl, 30th June 1758

From May 20 1758, Frederick conducted the Siege of Olmütz, by late June resistance was nearing its end, just one last convoy of ammunition should have been enough to finish the siege.

On June 21, a large Prussian supply convoy set off from Troppau under heavy escort. The convoy consisted of some 4,000 wagons of which 818 transporting the vital ammunition. The convoy extended for about 32 km, with an escort in three brigades: vanguard, middle, rear-guard, with sparse pickets in between.

On June 28, Loudon attacked the convoy, however the escort managed to repulse him. To further support the convoy Zieten came from Olmütz with extra troops and Loudon was strengthened by Siskovics with an additional Austrian corps. The forces all converged on 30th June near Domstadtl. At a point where the road went through a pass and over a stream (I represented this as a bridge over a river), at this point Austrians sprang their ambush.

The best description of the battle I could find is on the Kronoskaf website - it's worth a read!

The game was played on a 12' x 6' table, so I placed the 'bridge' at Domstadtl at one end and the village of Altliebe at the other, connected by a road near the middle of the table.

I like to get the troop density about right, based on unit frontages (obviously all the other dimensions are way out). I scaled the battle based on the 3.5 Prussian battalions of infantry and a few hussars attacking Siskovics; which I represented by 3 battalions.

The units in the game are (very) approximately 75% of those present, for example there were 12 Austrian battalions in the battle, 2 grenadier, 6 infantry and 4 grenzer, which I represented with 9 battalions; 2 grenadier, 4 infantry and 3 grenzer.

The game was played with 4 players, who were sat in alternating corners, with Prussians controlling the two halves of the road, and the Austrians attacking from the south east and north west. In addition to defeating the enemy, the Austrians had to destroy as many wagons as possible, and the Prussians protect them and get as many as possible over the bridge as possible - simple.

Preparation

I had all the Austrian and Prussian troops needed (not the actual regiments, but the right types), however I was just a little short of 40mm wagons. Originally I was just going to use a few token wagons, but in the end megalomania took over and I decided to fill the whole road; so I have over 20!

The wagons themselves are 3D printed with the bodies on a filament printer and the wheels in resin. They are  Napoleonic types, but I decided they would do the job, even though they are obviously wrong, particularly the caissons - I did modify some of the later prints to look a little more in period, overall I was pleased with the result - and the players liked them..

The horses and mounted drivers are cast from the Karoliner range, some with SYW heads, although the wagons should have 4-horse teams I went for 2-horse, as I got fed up of casting horses that I would probably never use again.

The wagon driver on foot is a resin printed 'special', which Chris kindly sculpted for me, unfortunately being semi-flat his arm is a long way from the horse - and resin does not bend!

 How did it play?

We played using a modified version of 'A Gentleman's War', with the card based unit activation system replaced with a simpler one with whole army alternate moves. We played the game 3 times with games taking about 3 hours each. 

As planned the game was absolute mayhem, with units attacking each other and the wagons from all directions. I did not quite get the play balance right as the Prussians won all 3 games, but close enough to be fun.

As usual I forgot to take many photos, so the ones below are mostly pinched from Aly Morrison's blog.

Starting positions

I must paint more grenz!

Safety at last!

Prussian Cuirassiers

 After years of my nagging, Chris & PA have now moved onto the Prussian cuirassiers; sculpting is well underway so here are some preliminary screen shots.😂

Although the walking Austrian cuirassier and generic dragoon pose is nice, feedback gained from my display/participation games is that the pose of the modified 'charging' Karoliner figures is nicer.  (To be fair to Chris, the walking horse with trooper carrying the the sword on his shoulder was my idea). 

For the Prussian cuirassiers we decided to revert to a more active fast trot similar to the old HE and Karoliner cavalry - I hope we made the right decision. Currently the plan is to produce 3 moulds, and in them provide the parts to make the usual officer, musician, standard bearer and trooper. 

Trooper/Standard Bearer

This is a fine chap 'charging' at a fast trot, and being a cuirassier is mounted on a larger horse than the dragoons. He will come with a separate right sword arm, carbine and head.

The figure will also double as the standard bearer, the only real uniform difference is that the standard bearer's cross belt should be fringed but the trooper's plain - I suggested this did not warrant a separate figure/mould. and the fringe could be painted on,  As with the dragoons, a small separate arm will be provided which needs drilling to add the standard pole. 

Chris has also sculpted an outstretched arm with a pistol, but he is not sure if it will fit into this mould, so it might have to go with the officer where there is a bit more space? 

Officer

Another nice chap, again separate right arm and head - and possibly a spare pistol arm.

Trumpeter

Again a nice figure with separate right arm and head (unfortunately it is not possible to add the chords to the trumpet as they would be too fragile for the mould making process).

Austrian (& Russian) cuirassier?

As I am sure you anyone who reads this blog is aware I am not happy with the current moulds for the Austrian cuirassiers as they are WAY too big, as a result of which I don't use them and instead use converted Karoliners.

If PA were to change the uniforms on these charging figures to represent Austrian cuirassiers do you think they would sell?

What is next?

I think after the Prussian cuirassier PA will be releasing the missing British standard bearer and NCO (I have not seen these yet).

As as usual comments welcome

Hussars - painted at last!

I have finally got around to casting and painting up a couple of units of hussars. I don't know how everyone else is getting on with these moulds, but I found that they needed a lot of venting before I could get decent castings - they seem to be working fine now.

As I have said in the past I tend to be pretty easy going when it comes to interpreting uniforms, opting for things I fancy rather than strict interpretations; and I used that approach with the hussars.

Prussian Hussar Regiment No.7 - von Malachowski

In assembling the unit I made one significant change; back in 2017 (see post 20/03/2017) Aly Morrison made some heads with a mirliton streamer extended, and I used these heads on my figures. It was not possible for PA to make a head with the streamer trailing due to the pressures exerted on the master figure during manufacturing process (I did ask).

In 1743 Frederick had ordered the hussars to return their standards, however I really like my units to carry flags, so I looked around for an excuse to include one (I think I would have given them one anyway). On February 23 1758 detachments of Ruesch Hussars and Malachowski hussars captured four standards of the French Polleresky Hussards at Stöcken-Drebber and also one from Royal-Cravate Cavalerie at Düffelward on June 2 1758. For these actions, Frederick granted two of the Pollaresky Hussars standards to Malachowski Hussars - so they carry a French standard.

I gave up on trying to paint the dog-tooth edging to the saddle cloth, that amount of detail in yellow on blue was too much like hard work!

Austrian Hussar Regiment No. 10 - Palatinal

Most of the Austrian hussars wore the fur kolback, however as for the Prussians I fancied using Aly Morrison's mirliton heads, so I delved into my reference material to see if I could justify it. Kronoskaff came up trumps, according to the Bautzener Bilderhandschrift, both regiment No. 8 - Dessewffy (H 34) and No. 10 Palatinal (H 36) possibly wore black mirlitons - good enough for me. 

The Austrian officers and trumpeters would probably have worn a frock coat and tricorn, however PA decided not to include that option so the unit will have to make do with the same hussar officer as the Prussians; I did however give the officer a tricorn pinched from the Hungarian infantry. 

More Frei Korps

Just to let you know I am still here and painting.

We have been playing a lot of games with the semi-flats over the last few months, unfortunately I never remember to take photos.

Frei Korps

I have painted up a unit of 'double blues' using advancing figures so that they can fit in close order. They are a bit generic so probably do not tie in exactly with any one unit, although du Verger (Quintus Icilius) is probably closest. I must confess that as this project progresses I am tending to paint things to my fancy rather than trying to be exact.

Frei Korps did not officially carry standards, I find it difficult to believe that units would not have some sort of rallying flag, and toy soldiers I think MUST have them, so I have painted spare figures to give them a flag (I think from Frei Korps von Kleist cavalry?)

New hussars - what moulds are needed?

One of the next things on Prince August's 'to do' list are SYW hussars. There are already a number of hussars in the Rossbach range, however they do not fit in with the new figures, the Prussian one with carbine is actually quite nice, but a little small, whereas the poses in the French moulds are not to my liking.

I don't know when these will be done, however it is worth having a discussion about what is wanted, before the sculptor starts work?

Prussian Hussars

There is only likely to be one set of hussar moulds, so these will need to be able to cast figures for many nations; consider the Prussians as a starting point as I have some nice pictures. 

Within a cavalry units I generally like to have the following figures:

• Officer which is different to the troopers.
• Standard Bearer - hussars did not usually carry standards, but they look good so add one.
• Musician, in this case a trumpeter.
• Trooper.

Uniform and Equipment

In order to cover all 4 figures, one option would be to provide a mould for each, however as there will be separate heads, right arms and carbines this could be done with less moulds, so possibly allowing for more variety in horse poses. Initially just consider two main body types.

Equipped with a wide cross belt. If assembled with a sword arm and carbine hung alongside, this will act as a trooper, alternatively with a suitable arm and no carbine  he would make a standard bearer (as was done in the dragoons, which look fine).

If there is no belt, then with a suitable sword arm he could act as an officer, or alternatively a musician with an arm carrying trumpet.

Heads

For the Prussians there are two types of head required, the kolback and the mirliton, so clearly both of these need to be provided.

Horses

The saddlecloths and leatherwork on the horses of all ranks all look similar (with the 'dog tooth' edging), so the same horses could be used for troopers and command figures.

As the torsos will be attached to the horses we need a minimum of two horse/torso moulds, however for these flamboyant types it might be worth asking PA to produce 3 to add some variety?

For the hussars I think the horses should be in a dynamic pose such as a canter or even a gallop, whilst still trying to maintain some of that 'old school' feel of the old Holger Erikkson figures.

Austrian Hussars

Austrian hussars were very similar to the Prussians, but  with some significant differences.

There were no 'dogs teeth' around the saddlecloth, just a wide stripe, so to be a 'universal' figure it is necessary to change the edging detail.

The Austrian trumpeters had a very distinct uniform, they did not wear the pelisse and kolback/mirliton, instead they wore a long tailed coat and tricorn. 

The undress uniform of the officers was similar (he would make a nice mounted Hungarian officer I suspect).

Russian Hussars

The Russians were again similar but with a couple of differences compared with the Prussians.

The saddle cloth, like the Austrians, they just had the plain striped edging

Reading both Osprey MAA 271 and Kronoskaff it appears they may not have been issued with carbines, although image 1 has a suspension belt to support one, and Kronoskaff states that one source says they had them. On that basis I think I would add them, however if anyone feels strongly enough that they should not carry them, then the whole unit could be made using the officer horse/torso with no cross belt. 

In Conclusion - at last

So after all that waffle, what do I think PA should consider making - I'm not sure how they will sell these - it might be best as a multiple pack like the dragoons?

Horse/torso

All saddle cloths to have simple wide stripe on the edge which will serve Austrians and Russians and act as a guide for the Prussian 'dog tooth'.

1 x Officer/trumpeter horse/torso with no carbine cross belt. This figure can be used for all officers and most musicians. It can also be used for Russians with no carbine, but unit will have little variation.

2 (or perhaps just one) x Trooper/standard with wide carbine/standard belt to be used for troopers and standard bearers. If two poses can be done it will give more variety in the horses. 

1 x Austrian trumpeter/officer horse/torso with no carbine cross belt, this figure is specific for Austrians. (It would possibly also make a Hungarian mounted officer).

Heads

The general requirement is for kolbacks and mirlitons.

The 'Austrian' mould needs a tricorne.

Arms

All arms need to be interchangeable with a round socket to allow the angle to be changed, with:

• Sword pointing ahead in 'charge'.
• Arm bent for standard (to be drilled out)
• Trumpet
• Possibly bent arm with sword?
• Possibly arm with carbine like first picture above?

As always your comments would be appreciated - and listened to.

I do not know when PA will be doing the hussar moulds, however i would be useful to have your thoughts - particularly if you are likely to be wanting to buy the moulds.

Prussian Frei Korps

Following on from the Grenz I have painted a a small 8 man unit of 'double blues'.

The new firing infantry are nice figures, and are designed to mix in with the very first Prussian moulds. The bodies are cast in 'scrap metal' and came out reasonably well, however I used heads from the original Prussian moulds (cast in Model Metal), as I prefer the proportions of the older heads.

A rear shot, the kit is similar to the original figures, however size is inconsistent, but they look fine mixed together - the chaps will go thirsty as the water bottle is missing.

Comparison with the original Prussian infantryman (they have heads from his mold), even with the different kit size they mix fine.

On this occasion I decided to go a little down the 'imagination' route and give the troops the new hornist figure as their musician; these are skirmishing troops in my army, and the horn looks far more appropriate than a historically correct drum (and it used the brand new figure). Using similar logic they are commanded by the new staff officer. - I can see him popping up in all sorts of places. 

And finally a mix of the old and new figures.

Next I think a couple of mounted officers.

Prussian Cuirassiers - Rossbach

I thought I had better write something to let you know I am still around!

Quite understandably, Prince August have gone quiet during the pandemic and  not been able to release the new staff officer and light troops moulds I was looking forward to.

I have painted up a few more cavalry units, but they are just 'more of the same', so nothing worth discussing here. I have however recently had an attempt to make a unit of Prussian cuirassiers. Neither the old Karoliners or new SYW range have anything suitable, so decided to have a look at the old Rossbach range - and spent my hard earned pennies on the 3 Guarde du Corps moulds (trooper, officer and standard).

I was not happy that they fit in 'as cast', so did need a little work..............

As usual I swapped the heads for the Prussian infantry officer from the SYW range. The one on the Rossbach figure is not bad actually, however I decided they would match in better if I changed them.

The troopers have neither a carbine or valise, I decided I could live without the valise, but really wanted a carbine. The figure has the sword low on the right side, just where the carbine hangs. I initially thought that I was scuppered, however after a little experimentation I found that it relatively simple to cut a groove down the back of the sword using a hacksaw blade, and then slot in a slightly filed down carbine from the dragoons.

The Rossbach moulds do not include any musician, and the Karoliner and SYW do not match the style, so the best I could come up with was to cut/file away the whole right arm of an officer figure and replace with the trumpet from the SYW Austrian cuirassier. The Austrian cuirassiers are rather on the large size, so even after some filing down the trumpet arm has a bit of a 'lobster arm' effect, not brilliant but he will do (oops a bit of basing paint to clean off).

Size wise the Rossbach figures are on the small side, see comparison with the Karoliner/SYW Austrians.

I am not overly impressed with the results, and think we really need a a figure adding to the SYW range. However having invested in the moulds I will possibly do one more unit to have some units to put on the table.