Neil Cogswell

Reprint, with editing, of an anonymous journal written by someone attached to the staff of the “Reichsarmee” during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War in North America). The Reichsarmee was a coalition of small German states, allied to France, Austria, and Russia against Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Great Britain. The book covers the campaign of 1758, when the Reichsarmee commander was Freidrich-Michael Prinz von Pflaz-Zweybrücken.

If you don’t already know about the causes, strategy, and tactics of the Seven Years War, this book is not very useful; read some background first. However, there are some insights into the ways of warfare in the period. This was the era of wars of maneuver; large armies moved around Europe trying to get in a favorable position to force an enemy to retreat by threatening sources of supply or important strategic locations. That’s well documented here; there are no great battles; instead the armies march from one camp to another to be in position to thwart the enemy – who has also just marched from one camp to another. There are a lot of “affairs of outposts”, though; a few Prussian hussars raid an advanced position, followed by a few Reichsarmee hussars returning the favor. I was struck by the dry accounts of casualties: “a few of the enemy were sabered”, which is a gentle way of explaining that a few of the enemy were slashed with swords such that they died screaming while trying to tuck their exposed entrails back into their abdomen.

I also note the status of artillery; three-pounders are the normal field piece, with a scattering of ix-pounders. By Napoleonic times 12-pounders were the standard. Did gun making improve? Horses get stronger? Mounting become more efficient and easier for the teams to pull? Roads get better? I don’t know.

A few things for military miniaturists; there are contemporary color plates illustrating the uniforms and flags of some of the units, and an appendix describing uniforms (the color of coats, cuffs, collars, lapels, tails, metalwork, waistcoat, and breeches), so if you need to paint a unit of Würtemburg Infantry (dark blue coat, yellow cuffs, collar and lapels, red tails, tin metalwork, yellow waistcoat and breeches) you can. It reminds me that in the days before radio, the only way a commander could identify which troops were which on the battlefield was to examine them through a telescope, so camouflage took second place.

Of some interest if you are already familiar with the Seven Years War; probably boring and confusing if you aren’t. Lots of footnotes, several appendices, line drawings of the various camp layouts.… (altro)