Regular Units of the Slavonian Empire

From top to bottom:

22nd Regiment of Horse
28th Regiment of Dragoons
1st Infantry Legion
3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 9th Infantry Legion

All regular units have Standards Guidons and Colours of the above pattern, only the facings colours and numbers change to show the different units. Like I said, Ho-hum.

Kozakim!

One aspect of Imagi-nations I really enjoy is imagining things! Those of you who have kept up with current affairs (c1700) in ONW will know that a vague, potential threat has materialised in the secretive and mysterious Slavonian Empire. The new Avtokrator, Pyotr III, is flexing his military muscles, and for some reason best known to his poor deranged self, he has ordered that his army be re-uniformed, re-equipped and reorganised. What was a motley collection of regiments has been organised into 25 legions, each legion containing 20 battalions. Obviously, such a re-orgaionsation required some sort of system in the design and allocation of colours. Such a system was devised, and is being implemented. But quite frankly, the results, apart from the Vexillium shape of infantry colours and cavalry standards, is boring. Not so, with the irregular border horse, or Kozakim. Here the various Attamans dug in their heels, re-stated their claim that they were free land-holders and would continue to fight, if they consented to do so, under their ancient banners. so, without further ado, here are the banners of the Attamans of the six Kozakim Ordos.










































Note that these images are not to scale, the long pennants of the Dan, Ostrakhan and Urak Ordos are somewhere about 20 feet in length. The other Ordo's banners are of a commendsurate size, and are normally mounted on a cart, rather than carried by a rider.

The World Expands...

Well, the pigeons are certainly fluttering in the dovecote! The enigmatic Slavonian Empire has recently had a change of ruler. The Avtokrator Mikhail has died suddenly and has been succeeded by his second son, Pyotr. What has happened to his elder brother, Aleksander, is the question on everybody's lips. Unfortunately for the peace of the eastern half of the continent, Pyotr Mikhailovitch has only the frailest grip on reality, and has declared himself Avtokrator of Pan Slavia - pretty harmless stuff you might think - but a number of Slavian statelets shelter under the umbrella of our benevolent Kaiser Leopold; in effect Pyotr's declaration is a challenge to the Empire. As if this were not enough, he has, and without any sort of historical justification, demanded that Skania cede to him her overseas territories on the south and east shores of the Baltic.

Initial reports smuggled out of Slavonia seemed to suggest that Pyotr was militarily weak, capable of fielding a maximum of 25 regiments of foot, 3 'wings' of horse and six 'wings' of dragoons, until the horrible realisation sunk in. He can in fact field 25 legions of foot - each legion consisting of 20 battalions and each 'wing' of horse and dragoons consists of 16 'pulk' or regiments! In other words, 400 battalions of foot, 48 regiments of horse and 96 regiments of dragoons; somewhere in the region of half a million regular troops - not to mention the uncounted and uncountable hordes of irregular border horse, or 'Kozakim'.

Of course, most of his army is woefully deficient in training, arms and uniforms, but even so, sheer numbers must count for something.

Fortunately, the Slavonian Empire is a vast territory, extending from the White Sea in the north to the Black and Caspian Seas in the south, and from the eastern frontier of the Kaiserreich to the Pacific Ocean and is home to many disparate peoples the majority of whom would be overjoyed to throw the yoke of Petrograd, and if these territories were to be stripped of troops, then a gambling man who staked his all on revolution could comfortably do so - what sort of odds he would get is another kettle of fish entirely. Under a ruler with some grasp of realpolitik, therefore, only a fraction of Pyotr's total armed forces could be mobilised against the West, but as already stated, his grasp on reality is somewhat tenuous. He has already antagonised the Kaiser, threatened Skania with war and has seriously armed those states of the Kaiserreich that are within striking distance of Slavonia's borders. Added to this, the Slavonian Empire has been involved in a territorial war with the Sublime Porte for years - which should have been enough aggravation for anyone, but Pyotr is, alas - Pyotr.

Welcome

His Highness, Albrecht, Margraf of Ober Nord Westfalen, welcomes the appointment of the ambassador from the Court of the Escorial, Don Lardo Baluna del Lobby y Corridor, who takes up his appointment with effect from the 1st day of July in the Year of Our Lord 1701. The Ambassador is accompanied by his niece, the Dona Melliflua.

Advance and be recognised

The Garde Regiment zu Fuss is joined by 1/Grenadier-Regiment Nr 1, the other regiment of Infanterie-Brigade Nr 1. Behind the Grenadiers (and looking remarkably like the British 95th (Rifles) Regiment, is the Garde-Schutzen-Bataillon. So, with Feld-Artilerie Batterie Nr 1 completed (see below) I just need to finish the other two Bns of Grenadiers and the Garde Uhlan Schwadron to complete the brigade! - Then on to finish Kavallerie-Brigade Nr 1, then Infanterie-Brigade Nr 2... and then... (well, you know what I mean!)

The Guards will Advance in Review Order...

... By the centre, quick march!

ONW's Garde-Regiment zu Fuss

My Other, Other Army...

Just to prove that I have not been totally idle...

I present unto you the entire army (c1813) of the Duchy of Brunsland, a neighbour of ONW.

From left to right: Front: Husaren-Regiment; Rear: Uhlan-Schwadron. Next: Front: 2 Kompagniern Gelernte Jaeger; Centre: 2 Kompagniern Schutzen; Rear: Leib-Bataillon. Next: Reitende-Artillerie Batterie. Next: From Front to Rear: Linie-Bataillone 1, 2 and 3. Next: From Front to Rear: Leichte-Bataillone 1, 2, 3. Next: Feld-Artillerie Kompagnie.

(PS. One day I WILL get the hang of this camera - promise!)

Many apologies for a long silence! But Real Life kicked in with a vengeance in March, when I had to put my mother into sheltered accommodation. This left me with a pile of administrative sorting out to do, and as a consequence, I didn't have much heart for my beloved ONW. But I am back now, with a few ideas to try out. Please keep reading, here and at the Schloss.

Organisations and Orbats

Doh!! I just realised I hadn't yet done the infantry organisation for 1701! So:

1 Gruppe = 15 soldaten + 1 Grefreiter/Obergefreiter)
1 Sektion = 2 Gruppen (1 Obergefreiter, 1 Gefreiter, 30 Soldaten)
1 Zug = 2 Sektionen = 64 soldaten + 1 Leutnant or Oberleutnant, 1 Unteroffizier = 66
1 Kompagnie = 4 Zugen = 264 + 1 Hauptmann (OC), 1 Oberleutnant (2IC), 1 Feldwebel (CSM), 1 Stabsunteroffizier (CQMS), 1 Stabsgefreiter (Coy Clerk/Asst QM), 1 Drummer.
1 Bn = 5 Kompagnieren = 1320 + 1 Oberstleutnant (CO), 1 Major (2IC), 1 Oberleutnant (Adjt), 1 Oberfeldwebel (Bn SM), 1 Feldwebel (Bn QMS), 1 Stabsgefreiter (Bn Dmr) =1326
1 Regt = 2 Bns = 2640 + 1 Oberst (CO), 1 Major (2IC), 1 Hauptfeldwebel (RSM), 1 Oberfeldwebel (RQMS), 1 Unteroffizier (Regt Dmr) = 2645.

NB: The 1st Kompagnie of each bataillon is a grenadier company, almost always detached and converged with the grenadiers of another regiment to form a Grenadier Bataillon.

All together now..."I, II, III"

Finally... All three bataillons of IR Nr 4 March ofthe painting table!