Topic: Battlegroup Fuchsenwald

[Konrad von Richtmark]

BATTLEGROUP FUCHSENWALD

The standing military forces of the Imperial Princes are organized into battlegroups, semi-permanent formations meant to balance the competing requirements of operational flexibility, combined arms integration and organizational constancy. Each battlegroup is commanded by a colonel commissioned directly by the Prince. A battlegroup is intended to have sufficient number and variety of forces to enable it to conduct independent operations, while having a sufficiently flexible command structure to allow for it to be temporarily combined with other battlegroups as needed. Most battlegroups have an infantry core supported by cavalry and artillery, though colonels are given wide leeway in composing their battlegroup as they see fit, and resources to carry it out.

Every battlegroup has a nominal home region it is named after, and where it is intended to be stationed when not on campaign. Battlegroups are expected to primarily recruit from their home regions, though rarer troop types tend to be recruited from elsewhere or assigned and sent by the Prince. Feudal entities that owe military service to the Prince are generally requested to provide their troops to the local battlegroup, and a particularly prominent vassal might be required to raise and maintain an entire battlegroup.

This is Battlegroup Fuchsenwald, commanded by Colonel Ernst Adlerhof, scion of the most prominent landed noble family in the region. Fuchsenwald is so named because centuries ago, it was largely a forested wilderness infested by forest goblins and best known for the silver foxes whose precious furs were harvested by roaming hunters and trappers. Since then, Fuchsenwald developed into a wealthy, populous region with much of its forests turned into farmland, but the history of the region still shapes the identity of its people.

Colonel Adlerhof prefers to organize his battlegroup around a main infantry battleline consisting of relatively small, maneuverable infantry companies in close support and capable of performing rapid, coordinated maneuvers. His preferred tactic is to used massed shooting to force the enemy to rapidly engage, then launch counterattacks into openings appearing in the enemy advance or created through shooting.

COMPOSITION OF BATTLEGROUP FUCHSENWALD

COMMAND
Commander: Colonel Ernst Adlerhof
Deputy Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Maximilian Warsteiner

LINE INFANTRY COMPANIES
Fuchsenwald Lifeguard Company: 250 infantry
Fuchsenwald 1st Halberdiers: 250 infantry
Fuchsenwald 2nd Halberdiers: 250 infantry
Fuchsenwald 1st Gunners: 150 infantry
Fuchsenwald 2nd Gunners: 150 infantry
Fuchsenwald 1st Crossbowmen: 150 infantry
Fuchsenwald 2nd Crossbowmen: 150 infantry

CAVALRY SQUADRONS
Crown of Victory Squadron: 30 griffon cavalry
Black Panther Squadron: 30 griffon cavalry
1st Fuchsenwald Reiters: 50 cavalry
2nd Fuchsenwald Reiters: 50 cavalry

SCOUTS
Fuchsenwald Poachers: 100 infantry

ARTILLERY
Katarina: Cannon, 30 crewmen
Agnes: Mortar, 30 crewmen
Nebelwerfer: Rocket Launcher, 30 crewmen
Schwefelorgel: Rocket Launcher, 30 crewmen

TOTALS
1450 infantry
160 cavalry
120 artillerymen operating 4 pieces

Total manpower strength of 1730 men.

[Konrad von Richtmark]

So, what is this about? Well, I decided it was high time that I made one of these threads too, with the army on display in an organized way, rather than half a dozen or more threads for different units. This is the army I'm currently painting and building towards being able to field. This is where the units will be presented when finally done, including things I've put off so far such as banners and magnetic basing. Also, this will be my first attempt at fluff. Now that I've finally started to settle on an army composition that I like for Empire in T9A, it's time for fluff. It is written with T9A in mind, but works eminently well for WFB as well. Some of the units shown here have already been featured elsewhere, but will be shown here too.

I have gone with a representative scale of 1 model representing 10 men. That makes my infantry units represent companies of 150 or 250 men each, which is on the low end but still entirely historical for the number of men under one banner as a single tactical maneuver element in pike and shot warfare. I've made an exception for artillery pieces and considered them to be one piece per model (that seems to give a historically appropriate ratio of artillery to army size), though I've used the 1:10 ratio for crew.

[Konrad von Richtmark]

Fuchsenwald Lifeguard Company



The Lifeguard Company is the central anchor of the infantry battleline, from where Colonel Adlerhof commands and directs it around him. More often than not, he is joined by his deputy Lieutenant Colonel Warsteiner, under whose charge the standard of the Battlegroup is. More often than not, the Lifeguard Company receives the brunt of the enemy attack, serving as an anvil while the rest of the line infantry uses its mobility to turn flanks and roll up the enemy force. On occasion though, the Lifeguard Company has instead served as the spearhead of an attack. Whichever way, most battles see the Lifeguard Company in a decisive position in the thick of the battle.

The Lifeguard Company is unusually organized in being raised through a mixture of feudal service and regular recruitment. About half of its members are knights trained and equipped at their own expense, as is typical for such units. The other half are veterans promoted from the other line infantry companies, granted double pay and equipment paid for from the warchest of the Battlegroup. While the expense of doing so is considerable, Colonel Adlerhof considers it worthwhile for the effect it has on morale throughout the line infantry. The prospect of promotion to the Lifeguard Company has at times inspired the rank and file to heroic deeds, and to stand their ground stubbornly against superior foes. For the knights of the Lifeguard Company, the presence of such veterans presses them to perform, not to be outdone by commoners who have risen through the ranks.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Those look great. The bright colors contrast with and brighten up all that armour.

[Gankom]

They look great. I love the armor.

[Castozor]

I'm really interested in reading more of your fluff and seeing more beautifully painted miniatures, but most of all "deputy Lieutenant Colonel Warsteiner" really cracked me up  .

[Xathrodox86]

Great fluff and great looking regiment! Give us more, please.

[GamesPoet]

Looks like Perry figures there!  And I like the painting, congrats!

[Konrad von Richtmark]

Indeed, it's Perry foot knights with GW swords and shields for heroic scale.

I decided I will do the Fuchsenwald Poachers next, just need to base them. They're some of my oldest figures and thus nothing special, but they build up the fluff nicely.

[Konrad von Richtmark]

Fuchsenwald Poachers



"Our ancestors did not clear this land of goblins so that the highborn could have their hounds shred foxes for fun. We should be able to hunt freely, as they did. Now, get on with it, you bastards!"
-Gallow speech of Horst Lange, sentenced to death for poaching

Poaching happens wherever hunting is legally restricted, and there is either sufficient need or opportunity to provide motivation to it despite the risk of being caught. The people of Fuchsenwald, however, have a special relationship with it. During the first two centuries of the settlement of Fuchsenwald, the region was heavily forested and sparsely populated, and wild game plentiful. Hunting was freely practiced by all social classes, and actively encouraged by the ruling nobility to maintain the martial skills of the population. Over the two subsequent centuries though, as the population increased and forest gave way to farmland, game conservation became an issue, and an ever-increasing proportion of the remaining forests became subject to hunting restrictions. At present day, hunting is almost entirely restricted to the landed nobility. A regional identity of an untamed wilderness inhabited by hardy, independent, self-sufficient frontiersmen however lives on strongly in the popular consciousness, despite centuries of development to the contrary, and hunting is regarded as part of the associated way of life. Thus, poachers enjoy a social status as romantic outlaws in Fuchsenwald even to a greater extent than elsewhere, and the most successful ones are outright folk heroes and the subjects of songs.

Most poachers that get caught are sent straight to the gallows. The more successful ones, who proved their skill by being able to keep poaching for a good while before getting caught, are given a chance to earn amnesty by serving in the Fuchsenwald Poachers penal scout company of Battlegroup Fuchsenwald. Service in the company is dangerous and for most it only acts as a delayed death sentence, but a few who not only survive but serve with distinction are discharged with honours and a lifetime hunting license on the lands of the Adlerhof family. The creation of the penal scout company was an initiative by Colonel Adlerhof himself and has been a subject of significant controversy, as many among the nobility claim that it encourages poaching. The Colonel is, however, supported in the matter by the head of House Adlerhof, his nephew Johann. The arrangement serves to provide Battlegroup Fuchsenwald with a source of high-quality yet expendable recruits. Furthermore, the respect towards tradition and public opinion regarding poaching inherent in the arrangement serves to increase the popularity of Colonel Adlerhof, an asset for his House in regional politics.

On campaign, the Poachers serve as scouts, closely operationally integrated with the Reiters, nominally in order to coordinate their scouting efforts but with the unstated secondary purpose of discouraging desertion. In battle, they usually serve as a skirmisher screen to delay and disrupt the movement of the enemy, a dangerous task at best and one that sees them used as outright sacrificial cannon fodder at worst.

[Warlord]

Clever fluff for scouts! I like it!

[GamesPoet]

Good stuff on the poachers!

[Xathrodox86]

Fantastic looking hunt... errr, poachers!