"AWI German / Hessian troops" Topic

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone make an Osprey-style book on German troops in the AWI? I have Mollo, general uniform book, but he leaves some holes in the German troops.

Periodically, a mob is formed to storm Osprey and demand such a book.
We are always dismissed with a sneer.

Thanks. I thought as much but it seemed too big a gap to have been left unplugged.

They get a mention in the May/Embleton Osprey on the British Army, but not a lot of detail. Unfortunately, the new "Encyclopedia" by Smith & Kiley is no better than Mollo, and has some errors in what information it does have.

I believe that Rudy Nelson, who regularly posts on here, is working on such a book(let).

Thanks SM. Between Mollo, the internet, and another book I can't presently recall the title of I can glean most of the info I need. Being lazy I'd prefer to have it all in one convenient source. Preferably with pictures so I don't need to bother with all those annoying words!

IIRC covered in The Blandford AWi book (is this the Mollo to which you refer ?) link

and in

Wargamers handbook for the AWI (Featherstone) – recently reprinted by that very nice wargame book reprint company whose name I can't quite recall right now, but they are doing an excellent service to us all.

And in this which I will now buy as it's a bit cheaper than a year ago ! link

Yes the Blandford is the one I meant by Mollo. He does indeed cover some of the units, but by no means all. I have seen the Smith/Kiley book, but it also appeared incomplete so I passed on it. I'll check out the Featherstone book though, thanks for the lead!

You could have a look at Tim Reese's Uniforms of the American Revolution CDs. Volume 2 covers the Germans pretty comprehensively.

How about this book?

link

Very little coverage and some errors (see my earlier post).

The section on German Uniforms in the Encyclopedia should be exorcised from the book. The confussion between the Hesse Kassel Erb Prinz Fusiler Regt. and the Hesse Hanau Musketeer Regt. alone set the study of German troops in the American Revolution back for decades.

Desired illustrations of uniforms has been identified. Text is ready but money is always an issue.

Why not try here
link

I've just started painting 15mm AWI, but am already awaiting with trepidation my first attempt at those Hessian "pin-stripes"! Any advice for a newcomer?

<<I've just started painting 15mm AWI, but am already awaiting with trepidation my first attempt at those Hessian "pin-stripes"! Any advice for a newcomer?>>

Yes. Unless you are doing Saratoga, don't bother.

What little primary evidence there is suggests that the Hesse Cassel troops (the largest German contingent) never wore them, retaining their long black gaiters in the field until the end of the war, with exception of the Jaegers in the South (who were given some stripey canvas material by Cornwallis after the capture of Charleston) and possibly also the von Bose regiment in 1780-81. It seems more likely than not that the Anspach-Bayreuth and Waldeck units that served alongside them did the same.

Of the other contingents, only the Brunswickers are known for certain to have adopted overalls, when all of the British and Loyalist units in Canada did so at the end of 1776 (so quite possibly the Hesse Hanau troops had them too – some of their jaegers did when serving out near the Great Lakes after Saratoga).