"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".
Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"
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| Caponier centre covering the ditch, Carnot Wall to the right, then scarp, then glacis, then parapet far right - read on for clarity! |
- bastion - the angular structure - usually on a corner - sticking out from a curtain (see later) wall, may have a postern for access to a Carnot Wall
- curtain wall - the outer wall of a fortified structure - can also be known as a rampart
- parapet - top part of a defensive wall that provides cover for the defenders - can be crenelated (see later) - can also be known as battlement
- banquette - raised step at the bottom of the parapet for the defenders to stand on when firing over the parapet - a firing step..
- merlon - the solid part of a crenelated parapet ie. the bit between two embrasures/spaces
- moats and ditches - we know that one 😏
- Casemates or Casement - a bomb-proof chamber in a fort - used to mount guns in
- sally-port/postern - a small, secure gate in the curtain wall used for making surprise attacks or sallying out from a fortification.
- chemin de ronde - the walkway allowing defenders to patrol the tops of ramparts, protected from the outside by the battlements/parapet.
- Carnot Wall - loop-holed wall built along the ditch to allow the defenders to fire directly into the ditch
- Caponier - type of defensive structure - covered or not - loopholed, and placed to allow the defender to fire along the ditch - can be accessed via a Gallery, may have a postern for access to a Carnot Wall or Bastion
- Crenelation - regular spaces (known as embrasures) in a parapet through which the defenders can shoot while remaining in partial cover
- Gallery - a long enclosed passageway, or corridor - can be used as defensive position and as a means to move around the fort without being exposed to fire.
- Glacis - a sloped earthen bank that protects the forts vertical walls from cannon fire
- Loophole - we know that one 😏
- Place of Arms - protected area, usually near a sally port, in which small groups of men can be assembled when leaving or returning to the fort.
- Redoubt - any small fort with its own defences which is located near a larger fort.
- Scarp - the steep, inner slope of a ditch located just below the rampart of a fort. The opposite side of the ditch from the scarp is called the counter scarp.
- Tenaille - an advanced defensive-work, in front of the main defences of a fortress - used to protect the main entrances to a fort from cannon fire and direct assault.
- Faussebraye - a shot trap - similar in function to a tenaille but a part of the curtain wall rather than separate
- Terreplein - the level space on the top of the ramparts on which cannons were placed.
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| Source: Pike and Lace Wars site.. |
Another in the occasional "regiments of renown" series featuring the histories of various regiments painted in haste at the beginning of a project but which were not documented here for posterity.. so we come to Dutch cavalry regiment "Nassau Friesland" (NB. Friesland, sometimes Friedland, was one of 8 Dutch provinces at the time so the regimental name refers to both where it was raised, and the Colonel's name in this instance)
Raised in 1668 the regiment was also known as "Oranje-Friesland" after 1702 - presumably from their honorary Colonels title of that time..
Sapherson shows two Colonel's for the period we're interested in, from 1673 it was Prince Hendrik Casimir van Nassau Friesland, and from 1696, his son, Johan Willem Friso van Oranje Nassau - both these guys were the Stadtholder (the title of a provincial governor and military commander, acting as a deputy to a monarch) of Friesland..
Johan Willem is an interesting character, he was one of the (main?) claimants to the throne on the death of William III as a result of being his first cousin, in fact he was titled Prince of Orange, but he was hideously young - he was only 9 when he was given the Colonelcy of the regiment so it was clearly not an active role at the beginning.. he was only 15 when William died, and the outbreak of the war stopped any further action on his part to follow up the claim which was opposed by Prussia (and of course Louis)... John Willem died at 24 as a result of drowning on a ferry crossing.. a short but active life as he made General before he died. He commanded the Dutch infantry at the Battle of Oudenarde, the Siege of Lille, and the Battle of Malplaquet.
After Johan Willem Friso drowned on 14 July 1711, his wife Marie Louise van Hessen-Kassel became regent until their son, who became Willem IV, came of age.
Interestingly - all the current regents of Europe can trace their lineage back to him.. 😏
I can find little or no record of the regiments activities in the war - the similarly named infantry regiment (and indeed their Colonel) was most active, but these guys not quite so..
- they are listed as 2 squadrons strong in 1702 in the Allied camp in Nijmegen prior to the campaign in the Low Countries that year (and the same in 1705 and 1712)
- they are listed as "Oranje-Friesland" and 2 squadrons strong at Ramillies where they were on the left wing under Brigadier Grovestine (sometimes Grovesteyn) and 3 other Dutch cavalry regiments
- they were at the siege of Mons in 1709 (again 2 squadrons) where their Colonel (John Willem - Price of Orange) was in overall command of the Allies
- in 1712 they were under the command of a Colonel Cavendish when they were part of what would have been called a chevauchee in medieval times - Prince Eugene sent a large raiding force into France in order to pillage, "raise contributions" (😏), and bring back prisoners (for both information and ransom) - the raid was a success "[they] made great booty everywhere and burned down several villages. Afterwards, he went to the dioceses of Verdun, Toul and Messins where he also raised contributions. After his incursion, Grovesteyn [who lead the force] returned to Trarbach with 300 hostages and a lot of cattle"
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| "John William Friso (1687-1711, Prince of Orange. At half-length, slightly to the right, lookong at viewer. In armor. After an original by Lancelot Volders. Part of the collection of portrait miniatures of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam". |
These are Dixon's and painted and based by me some time pre-2006, and as I usually say probably one of the first regiments I painted - I have a curious antipathy towards flags for my cavalry units - so there isn't one, despite the luxuriousness of the example above.. 😏
References:
- Dutch Army of William III
- John William Friso - Wikipedia
- Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz - Wikipedia
- Account of the 1712 raid - you'll need to hit the translate button.. 😏
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Laters, as the young people are want to say...
An interesting and useful fort glossary. I always find your Regimental posts interesting even in periods I no longer game.
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