The forthcoming Siege of Vienna Scenario will pit the combined Cavalry resources of the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Ottomans, in a do or die battle...
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| The Imperial Cavalry Divisions at Vienna, the Austrian Division is on the right and the Imperial client State Division to the left |
By way of background the Siege of Vienna was entering its final stages when John III Sobieski, allied with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to deal crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire. The 1683 battle marked the final turning point in the 250-year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the Islamic Ottomans.
For its centuries-long opposition to Muslim advances, the Commonwealth would gain the name of Antemurale Christianitatis (bulwark of Christianity). Final victory for the allies was to take a further 16 years, a period known as the Great Turkish War, which would see the Turks permanently driven south of the Danube River, never again to threaten central Europe.
In Part One of these posts, I reviewed the Polish Divisions available to the players, here I will look at the Imperial Forces - again two divisions - one solely consisting of Austrians and the other made-up of a number of units from German client nations.
The Austrians
The Austrian Division consists of three Regiments of Cuirassiers and a Regiment of unarmoured Horse. The unarmoured Horse regiment consists of two squadrons which may act individually or in unison with each other.
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| Austrian Horse, with the Austrian Commander of Horse |
Similarly there are two Austrian Cuirassiers units both with two squadrons, which may act as per the Horse squadrons above. There is also a Third Austrian Cuirassier unit of just one squadron that may be used independently or may be added to one of the two Cuirassier units noted above and allow that unit to operate in unison as a three squadron regiment if so desired.
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| First Austrian Cuirassier unit with the Austrian Cuirassier Leader attached. |
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| Second Austrian Cuirassier unit, all depicted as carrying Pistols. |
Austrian Cuirassiers count as Armoured Heavy Cavalry and are thus not so quick on the table-top, they are armed with Swords and Pistols. When deployed in multi Squadron regiments they may use their weight on numbers to ad to their impact when making contact with the enemy.
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| Third Austrian Cuirassier unit, this unit may be deployed independently or it may be attached permanently to one of the other Cuirassier units to make that unit a three Squadron Regiment |
So the Austrians have a total of seven Squadrons of 6 figures each - giving a total of 42 figures, plus a Commander of Horse and a Commander of Cuirassiers.
The Germans
This German Cavalry division represents all the units supplied to fight as part of the Imperial Army, alongside the Austrians and as such it is made up of a number of different nationalities. Again these are all Cuirassiers, with one unit of regular Horse.
All the above notes about squadrons acting in unison apply here as well.
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| Saxon Cuirassiers, with their Leader, a two squadron Regiment |
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| Bavarian Cuirassiers and their National Leader |
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| Brandenburg Horse, two squadrons strong. |
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| Wuttenburg Cuirassiers, a single squadron regiment, they cannot combine with any other regiment |
Numbers wise, this division has another seven Squadrons of 6 figures each - giving 42 figures, plus four National Leaders.
With the Imperial Commander that gives a total of 91 figures.
More about their Organisation
Oh where to begin about explaining the organisation of the Imperial Army!
Lets just be kind and say it was hugely bureaucratic and inefficient! The Holy Roman Empire was dominated by the Austrians, other states were not bound to the decisions of the Emperor but generally went along with his desires but there were always exceptions and caveats to the rule.
To represent this commands to the Imperial Commander of Horse must send orders to the National Leaders, before passing these on to the units themselves. Austrian Leaders command multiple units, the Imperial Client State leaders just one
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| Commander of the Imperial Horse |
Coming Soon...
Part Three: The Ottoman Cavalry
