The Imperial Troops of 1670.

I started this project as I was fascinated by the German campaign of Turenne against Montecuculi and later in the Alsace against Friedrich Wlhelm, Duke of Brandenburg. The Imperial collection reflects a mix of units that served in either campaign, but not both. Uniform information is sketchy and so the flags are conjectural and based on the fashion for unit identification of the time.    

Imperial Army of 1670.

3 x Generals

5 x Cuirassier

10 x Cavalry

4 x Light Horse Hussar

2 x early Dragoon

12 x Line Infantry w/pike

4 x Skirmisher

2 x Heavy Artillery

Photo one.

Right Wing cavalry consisting of Cuirassiers and Cavalry.

Photo two.

Infantry centre representing a mix of Austrian, Brandenburg, Saxon and some smaller German States.

Photo three.

Left Wing with a mix of Cuirassiers and Cavalry supported by the Light Horse Hussars. The heavy artillery is deployed to this flank.

Photo four.

A better view of the reserve formations consisting of the Archbishop’s troops, skirmishers and Dragoons.

Photo five.

An aerial view of the three plus commands.

Photo six. 

A close-up of the infantry and flags.

Photo seven. 

A close-up of the left wing cavalry. Cuirassiers are identified as those with standards and those without are cavalry types.

Photo eight. 

A close-up of the Cuirassiers and Horse of the right wing. 

This completes the Imperial collection and as I wrote yesterday, there are no immediate plans to expand these two armies for the moment. However, I found the project quite insightful,  such that I have penciled in a few new projects to explore at a later time:

1) Siege warfare as a card game to be used in conjunction with the Battle Map System. This will require my purchase of John Lynn’s book “Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715”.

2) An African Adventure. There were a number of enterprises in Africa involving several European nations during this time; Britain at Tangiers, Brandenburg in West Africa, Portugal in the Kongo to name a few. I mention Africa as I have already enough terrain features for that continent.

3) There were a number of rebellions that took place within France and the Imperial domains, the Kuruc rebellion being the most famous.

4) Way down on the list are the conflicts on the other side of the globe, namely the rise of the Qing Dynasty and its campaigns in Dzungar. The latter are fascinating as the Dzungar costumes had not changed much since the time of Genghis Khan. 

Cheers,