BATTLE OF TURIN 1706 - Cadet (Standard-bearer) of the Piemonte Reale Cavalleria Regiment

 Following my cooperation with Kronoskaf Project WSS and my project (and unspeakable dream) to recreate all the uniforms of the Armies partecipant to the Battle of Turin in 1706 (this means also Prussians, French, Austrian, etc.) I went on with a Cadet (young noble) and Standard-bearer of the Piemonte Reale Cavalleria Regiment.

The details as usual you can find on the site Kronoskaf, with a lot of other information that are going to be collected by a bunch of people, coordinated and led by Richard.

The Piemonte Reale had as peculiarity the golden buttons. For the rest have a look on Kronoskaf.

BATTLE OF TURIN 1706 - STANDARDS OF PIEMONTE REALE CAVALLERIA & SAVOIA CAVALLERIA

 After a lonf trip - still on - in 1848 my time-machine, I went back to my other beloved period, i.e. the War of Spanish Succession. This because I am cooperating with the famous and marvellous site Krososkaf for the WSS for the Italian theather that means the Piedmontese/Savoyard Army.

In this moment we are completing the articles about the Piedmontese/Savoyard Cavalry and more specific the 2 Piedmonetese Regiment of Piemonte Reale Cavalleria and Savoia (at the epoch also written Savoja) Cavalleria, two glorious Regiments that still exist nowadays in the Italian Army.

http://kronoskaf.com/wss/index.php?title=Piemonte_Reale_Cavalleria

My last effort were the standads of these 2 Regiments, that are now published on Kronoskaf, but I also report here, specifying the genesis of them:

                                               PIEMONTE REALE CAVALLERIA 1706                                                   

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The standard of this Regiment at the epoch of the Battle of Turin (1706) had a recto with red field and a very embroided ornaments in gold all around. In the center (becase it was called "Reale" i.e. Royal) had the coat of Arms of the Duke of Savoy Vittorio Amedeo II, with a Royal Crown. On the Verso the standard had a white horse, left-oriented in white with the motto "Venustus et Audax". The white horse was present on all the cavalry Regiment of the Duchy, i.e. on the Standards of the Guadie del Corpo Regiment and of Savoia Cavalleria Regiment. It is supposed to be a recall to the pretended origin of the Savoy Family to Westfalia. (it is called "Cavallo Spaventato" i.e. scared horse"). All standards had golden fringed edges. Note that untill half of the XVIII Century there was no Colonel standard for cavalry units. This colour was hence used 1 for each of the 4 or 5 squadrons of the Regiment, held by an Officer called "Cornetta", usually a young noble cadet.

SAVOJA CAVALLERIA 1706

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The standard of this Regiment at the epoch of the Battle of Turin (1706) had a less decorated pattern with on the recto a "feared horse" like the previous regiment but right-faced, with the same meaning as above. On the verso a golden tree (sometimes also in green) with the motto "Secta et Ligata refloret" that means "the split things and the tied things reflourish"; after the Battle of Turin, due to the famous episode where a young officer of this Regiment galopped dying to the Duke to announce the victory over the French, covered in blood; when the staff of the Duke saw this cavalier they all thought he was bringing bad nesw, but the Duke said in French "Savoye, bonnes nouvelles" meaning "Savoy, good news" became the motto of this Regiment and still is nowadays; hence it was reported on the recto. 

Note that Hill in his very good book "The Army of the Duchy of Savoy 1688 -1713" represents this standard in blue, with just the tree and the coat of arms of Savoy Family. this is a mistake due to the fact that in the painting of the epoch (4 years after the battle) the Savoja Regiment's standard is clarly represented in red. Also the information about the standard dating back the very beginnign of the Regiment that it must "portare al cavallo allegro inalberato e rivolato d'argento entro scudo fiancheggiato da due stendardi con asta da torneo, senza alcun motto in fascia, sormontato da corona ducale" (Decree of Vittorio Amedeo II dating 1692 and valid during this period) (translation: "carry a happy raised and faced horse in silver, inside a  shield flanked by two standards with tournament pole, without any motto and topped with the Ducal Crown"; so it is evident that the rapresntation done by Hill is wrong in the field colour and in verso standard.

1:1 RATIO vs 10 OR MORE RATIO IN WARGAMING

 I started once with a ratio 1:20. I passed (and I thought it was a big step) to 1:10 ratio. So my battalions switched from 25 papersoldiers to 50 papersoldiers. A lot but still. One day (I remember I was in Greece with my future wife) I was arraying in the hotel's room my SYW papersoldiers, when she asked me: "why don't you switch to 1:5 ratio? and why don't you trim them totally, cutting off every single piece of paper?" It seemed to me more a provocation than a suggestion; then I started to completly trim the papersoldiers and they really look great; I started to increase the ratio to 1:5... it was a question of few months that I passed to the crazy ratio 1:1.

Well, you can reach this on large scale just with papersoldiers. I know it is in any way long to trim them, to glue them on basis and to put the magnet (see further); but the effect in comparation with the (poor, in terms of numbers) battalions you see on Internet for wargaming, is no comparation!.

I don't want to criticize the beauty of usual wargaming but when I read that you base as many figures you want on a regular basis of this fixed measurements, I think: 1) so why simply use the base without soldiers on it? faster, cheaper and same use... 2) nothing more distant from reality where the numbers of a unit varied a lot and determined very different shape and measures of the unit. Which sense has  for example to make a French Battalion of 800 men, the same as a Russian battalion of 250 men (Battle of Austerlitz, Pratzen village) the same measures?

With my papersoldiers you also have a very important pro: I don't glue tjem to the basis but I simply add a magnet, allowing me to use the basis like they were of plastic or lead, but to remove them with a simply movement of the hand.

Here I would like to provide you an example: I reproduce at 1:1 ratio the French Dragon Regiment "Dauphine" at the Battle of Turin in 1706. They fought with 3 squadrons on foot for around 270/280 men.

In the images above you can look at 1 single regiment of Dragoons. Let's see the same on a normal wargame board.

Here you have 2 battalions (i.e. around 800 men) of the same period (Battle of Blenheim 1704). It's not that one is better than the other; it's just a different way to interpretate a battle.

Here above a very beautiful picture of the battle of Blenheim, with battalions of around 16/20 figures.

Under: another example of what it means 1:1 ratio. In the pictures some (low-numbered) Russian battallions at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805); around 500 papersoldiers to represents 2 (reduced) Russian Battallions.

When I look at these men, arrayed in this way, it really gives me the atmosphere of a pitched battle; it seems to me almost to hear the noise and the voices of those men.

So the question is: what can give you more a representation of a battle at 1:1 ratio, in comparition with  a normal wargaming scaling down system? Well the answer is quite simple: it provides you the possibility to recreate in details a battle with all the particularities that made the difference; for instance:

1) if a unit is 800 men and the other 250 and both were battalions, you will recreate the difference in size, i.e. the room that the first occupies, while the second will be much reduced. Not a fix base with different values, but different  bases with different width. (so maybe you can understand how the first battallion was able to encircle the second one, otherwise impossible to understand and to reproduce in wargaming with basis with the same size).

2) having a battalion or a regiment on different squadrons or companies with - in total - around 500 men you can invent (as I did) all a different range of rules, even avoiding the use of dice. How? well for example if you have 500 men shooting at 60 meters range, you can predict with a good average the losses they provoked. And it will be much more precise than the throw of dice. 

3) the morale or the cohesion test can be done without dice; for instance at the battle of Leuthen the Wurtemburgers unit fled just seeing the advancing Prussian regiments. How to reproduce it? well I have the solution: I make it here short; summarizing,  it consists on calulating the numbers of men + number of officers/NCO/colours (called "characters"), multiply for a number; this gives you the cohesion strength. Against this cohesion strength ("forza di coesione", in Italian) there is the "shock strength" ("forza d'urto" in Italian); if the last one is bigger (2 times, 3 times or further) it gives effects on the other troop. (simplified version).

4) having so many troops, you can split a battalion even in companies and the companies in pelotons, as you wish or need (so inside a village you can split the battalion to defend every single home)

5) the visual of the battle is really as Napoleon, Federich or Eugene saw it! It means you can be the first to re-watch the battle as it was. Unique experience, I would say

6) The costs are very low: the papersoldiers are done on paper (140 mg/m2), folded and trimmed. So no need to paint it! the computer does this for you. If you are able to draw you can invent as many positions as you want and you can reproduce as many papersoldiers in the same position as you desire.

Contra

1) The only negative stuff is the dimension of the battlefield (the board); actually it should be at least 7 meters witdh, but more correctly should be 12 meters, and 4 meters deep, or better 6 meters deep, with possibility to "enter" inside it. To reproduce this hige terrain I used always paperboards. The effect is quite good, no need for painting and very cheap. The space: well I suggest an open space (indoor) or even a field outside. 

2) time: to make a wargame with 40.000 papersoldiers it will require years of costant work; I hacve people helping me to trim the papersoldiers and they work at tempo of 200 men/week; it means you can maximum have 800/1000 papersoldiers per month, i.e. 12.000 papersoldiers per year.

So whoever is interested in helping me, (I pay for it), please leave your email here; I will contact you. 

Here above: the Dragoons Dauphine Regiment split in 3 squadrons.

Here bottom: a single squadron split in 2 pelotons

As said, being in paper I stiched them to the basis with a magnet, and they hold fast.

 

Moreover, it is possible to eliminate the single man that you lose durin a battle (even just 1, by substituting a base of 3 papersoldier with a basis with 2 papersoldiers).