"Mercenary Tactics" Topic

Did the Danish, German, and Prussia soldiers who fought for Holland bring their firing and charging systems from home, or did they adopt the platoon firing and charge to contact methods of the Dutch?

– Chris

I'm hardly an expert but I would think they would keep what they were used to, trained to.

Well I've never been shy of speculation …

Some Prussian regiments were attached to the United Provinces army strength (Holland I believe) for many years leading up to and including the War of the Spanish Succession. There may very well be some records to prove this one way or the other but I imagine that if they saw how the Dutch fought (presuming it different from their own, original drill) and found it to be more effective then I feel almost certain they would have adopted it well and truly by the time of (say) Blenheim.

The Danes had served with the Maritime Allies for two successive wars, the Nine Years' War and then, shortly thereafter, the WSS. They were among the first European armies to embrace all-musket infantry. I have assumed that they adopted many of the Allies systems and give their foot and horse those attributes in our games.

As an aside, I would refrain from calling them 'mercenaries'. This gives the connotation with the likes of Mike Hoare and Blackwater (now known as Academi). A proper, yet neutral, term is 'subsidy troops', or simply 'foreign regiments in XXX's pay'.

The regimental organisation could tell something I think. The Danish regiments that entered English and Dutch pay in 1702 kept their organisation (meaning fewer but larger companies in a battalion). The Prussian regiments the entered Anglo-Dutch service at the same time were, however, re-modelled to match the English/Dutch battalion structure with 12-something companies and 70-something men each.

Next to these subsidy troops, the Dutch army employed a number of regiments that had a non-Dutch origin. Indeed, there was a regiment from originating from Prussia/Brandenburg that entered in Dutch service in 1673. This, however, was considered a regiment of the Dutch army (so not considered foreign and on another pay roll). In 1697 a regiment was raised for the Dutch army from the Brandenburg regiments in Dutch pay during the NYW.
As both regiments were Dutch regiment (despite their origins), there drill etc would be the same as for any other Dutch regiment.