Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Battle of Reichenberg 1757

 


Today in the Seven Years War.

Battle of Reichenberg - Wikipedia

The Spanish Army of Philip V

A booklet I still have. Bought from Athena books. I miss the era of A5 booklets. 
 

Almansa 2026

 This weekend in Spain. Image Jordi Bru.




WSS scans


 Eduard Beneyto says

'They are 54mm miniatures created by scanning historical reenactors with a 3D printer. They are still a long way from handcrafted figures, but they should serve as a base for painting the Marquis of Alcantarilla's regiment'

We are approaching a time when reenactors can sell miniatures of themselves at events.

Sunday, 19 April 2026

Reveries, or memoirs upon the art of war by Field-Marshal Count Saxe. Translated from the French. 1757

 

De Saxe on music

 Does anyone know the quote from M de Saxe where he says something like 'without music troops are prone to melancholy'.  I can't find it.

Count Saxe's March (around 1760) - Fife & Drum

 JG Baroque says

Sometimes, great people of an era inspire musicians to honour them, with celebratory pieces, odes, songs and works being written and performed, sometimes in great numbers. Indeed, sometimes they even inspire people that would normally consider themselves their enemies. One such person was Maurice de Saxe, or in his native tongue, Moritz von Sachsen, a Prince of Saxony who served many years in the French army, perhaps most notably in the War of Austrian Succession. This march “Count Saxe’s March”, is from a British source, namely Thompson’s “Compleat Tutor for the Fife”, published around 1760. There is an interesting feature in the melody – at the end of each phrase of the second part, there is a cadence which resembles the ending phrases of the most common version of “the British Grenadiers”, which stems from the late 18th century.

This arrangement, with the slow 60 bpm pace of the time, captures somewhat the glory of the celebrated commander, where I have written harmonizing fife parts to the melody and drums to accompany it. The image shows Marshall de Saxe (in red), commanding the French army at the battle of Rocoux on October 11th, 1746. It was painted in 1750 by the French artist Pierre Nicolas l’Enfant.