Almost every account of the Mollwitz campaign makes some mention of the fierce little border wars that went on between Croat irregulars and Prussian patrols, convoys and outposts. This fierce class of warriors became the bane of Frederick's existence during the First Silesian War as well as in subsequent encounters with Austria. The Prussians had no effective response to these hit and run tactics. Croat irregulars roamed freely behind Prussian lines and seemed to pop out of nowhere to swarm all over small detachments of Prussians, striking convoys, attacking patrols and raiding towns as large as Breslau with equal abandon.

At right: Trenk'scher Pandour and Carlstadter Sluiner Croat: circa 1756

This disrupted the flow of military information and intelligence gathering that was so important to a campaign. For example, Neipperg's advance towards Mollwitz was so well screened by Croat irregulars that Frederick was almost caught off guard by his presence. Important messages required the escort of several squadrons of cavalry. Frederick himself was nearly captured by a patrol of Austrian hussars at Baumgarten on February 27, 1741.

As wargamers, we tend to associate SYW era skirmish gaming with Indians, Courer de Bois and Rangers, but overlook the Croat and Prussian small wars as a source for European skirmish level game scenarios. Why not substitute Croats for Indians and Prussian convoys and patrols for British and provincial troops? I used to do this in a skirmish game that I called "Croat Terror", largely inspired by Tod Kershner and Dale Wood's "Iroquois Terror" game.

Everyone seems to enjoy playing the role of Croats in these scenarios, and in fact, at one SYW convention I had so many requests from people to enter the game, that I added way to many Croats and ended up with a stylized version of the famous Croat attack on the Prussian seige train at Domstadtl. I had lost track of the number of new Croat units that I added to the game before it commenced, and as a result, the Croats outnumbered the Prussian convoy by two or three to one! I apologized to Tim Wisner, the Prussian convoy commander, but I will never forget the look of surprise and terror that was on his face when hundreds of Croats jumped his convoy at the same time. Tim undoubtedly figured that his steady and stalwart Prussians could handle a few scurvy Croats, which made the scenario all that much better.

Any set of skirmish level rules will work, but I was most familiar with Tom Kelly's "Woodland Wars" rules (available through RSM Ltd. and the Emperor's Headquarters). Wherever the word "Indian" appears in the firing, melee and morale charts, simply substitute the word "Croat". Prussian regulars can switch places with British regulars, Austrian line infantry with French regulars, and freikorps or garrison troops fill the role of militia or provincial troops in North America. So if you enjoy skirmish gaming, but you have had your fill of scalping and playing with figures who wear dead animals on top of their heads, then give "Kleine Krieg" a try.

Did I forget to mention how colorful this game looks? The Croats are attired in a colorful spectrum of red, blue, brown, green and white uniforms with hussar lace and fez-like caps. They are fun to paint too. I used RSM, Hinchcliffe, and Front Rank Croats in my collection for more variety. Each band of Croats is comprised of twenty figures, so getting started is relatively easy. Two battalions of Prussians and twice as many Croats is really all that you need to get started. You can also add mounted hussars to both sides and paint up some dismounts for greater flexibility.

Typical scenarios might include a raid on a Prussian wagon train, a surprise attack on an outpost or border checkpoint. You could even recreate the attempt to nab Old Fritz and his escort while they are out in the countryside inspecting troops. The possibilities are endless. The attack on the Prussian convoy at Dornstadt, during the SYW, forced Frederick to abandon the seige of Olmutz in 1758. I have often thought that this would make a wonderful SYW skirmish game and hope that someone will give it a try and send us a battle report. At any rate, don't confine SYW skirmish games to North America, because you are missing out on the opportunity to have some terrific games involving those pesky, rascally Croats.

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