Saxon Uhlans

a point made by my chum Pz.Ferdinand on the Ne Plus Ultra forum .  He wrote..

Eureka Saxons -  points of Interest

I have been reading the latest volume of the Journal of Horace St Paul to be published and a couple of snippets caught my eye that may be of interest to fellow purchasers of Nick Robsons Saxon range.

Firstly, there is the matter of the Saxon Uhlans. The general understanding amongst gamers appeared to be that these gentlemen stayed in Poland during the SYW altho` they definitely mustered with the Saxons during the WAS and were present in large numbers at Hohenfriedburg. However, St Paul refers to the Saxon Uhlans being involved in several skirmishes whilst part of the main Austrian army. Neil Cogswell, the editor, states two pulks, each of 800 men served. He quotes, " They belong to a separate and not numerous people living in Poland, who, in spite of being surrounded by Christians, preserve not only their customs and their manners but also their religion. They are distinguished by their courage and fidelity. They dress in the Turkish fashion and are armed with lances".- Archenholz.

Secondly, Eureka has produced a wonderful range of dismounted Saxon dragoons who can double for Austrians (or almost anyone else, for that matter- some of mine are even painted as Prussians). The question arises- apart from skirmish games, are there any use for such figures on the tabletop? On one occasion in September 1760 whilst the Prussians and Austrians were manouevring about each other, both raced for a vital hilltop on the Prussian line of march.

Oddly, the first Prussian units to get there were two regular battalions. They arrived to find the crest in the possession of ten dismounted squadrons of Austrian cavalry. I would guess these were dragoons as I can`t see large numbers of cuirassiers dismounting in the face of the enemy for any reason.Although the Austrians decided not to slug it out- the potential for such actions can clearly be seen- perhaps as the first part of a meeting engagement.

I`ll throw in a third point- one bugbear of the Saxons is their lack of light troops. The journal also lists the Freikorps von Otto of 160 men which I think was a Saxon unit, altho` possibly taken over by the Austrians at some point. I believe they were dressed in green.