A Guide to the Campaign, Uniforms, and Armies of the German-Danish War of 1864 Copyright 1995, Pickelhaube Press. Tapebound softcover, 8.75 by 11.75 inches, 66 pages. Illustrated. Price: $18.00. Available from On Military Matters. As the title indicates, this is indeed a guide to a very obscure period of Nineteenth Century European conflict. And, the title does not mislead in anyway as this booklet is filled with all the pertinent information relating to this period. The Second Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864 (the first being fought in 1848) was the first war of German Unification, a period more well-known to gamners from the Franco-Prussian, and to a lesser extent, the Austro-Prussian Wars. The German-Danish War is not well known as it's two successors due partially to a lack of information, but mostly due to the prevailing thought that this war was a pushover for the Austro-Prussian forces that were arrayed against Denmark. Although the final outcome was never in doubt there are some smaller skirmishes and battles in which the Danish forces handled themselves rather well, making for some interesting scenarios on the tabletop. This guide is organized to get started in this period. First, a history of the Campaign of 1864 brings to light the reasons for the war and results of the campaign itself, describing along the way the battles between the two opposing forces, including the naval aspect of the war. The next four sections describe in detail the Danish, Prussian, Austrian, and Saxon-Hanoverian armies which took part. This includes such information as military organization (in some cases including tactics), training, and armament of all branches involved. The next four sections deal with the uniforms of the combatants (and the colors of the artillery pieces), again in great detail (including facings, button, and lace information). And before I forget, standards are discussed as well. The last section of the guide deals with orders of battle, including the conflict at sea. Although the orders of battle list the military establishments of both sides that were involved, there is one battle OB that lists the forces at Duppel. To get an idea of how much information is involved, let's talk about one unit of the Danish Army (how about the 2nd Infantry Regiment) and see what we can learn: To staff the 2nd Regiment (commanded by Lt. Colonel C.W.L. Dreyer) consisted of two battalions (800 men each), each battalion made up of four companies. In the 2nd Regiment, the 1st Battalion was formed from Companies 1, 2, 5, and 6, leaving Companies 3, 4, 7, and 8 for the 2nd Battalion. The 2nd Regiment was brigaded with the 22nd Regiment to form the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, and fought at Duppel on April 18, 1864. So what did the 2nd Regiment wear? How about a single breasted dark blue tunic; that had two rows of white metal buttons and piped in red around the fi-ont lapel edge and the upper part of the cuffs and rear turnbacks. A red patch secured by two white metal buttons was affixed on each side of the collar. The shoulder straps were red with white piping and a white regimental number. Trousers were sky blue and tucked into black leather knee boots. Headgear consisted of a dark blue low crowned cap with black leather peak and chinstrap. On the front was a red-white-red cockade. Okay, that's nice, but what about equipment? Welt, a soldier in the 2nd Regiment wore a black leather harness which was secured to a black waistbelt (which had a bras clasp). The scabbard was black with brass fittings and held the M1854 Infantry Sword. Fastened to the scabbard was the rifle bayonet. On the back left side was secured a White or gray haversack with a black leather flap. Throw in a black or brown leathered covered glass field flask and black cartridge pouches, along with the backpack (set on a wooden frame covered with black cloth and sealskin) and you have all the equipment details you could want. (actually, there are more details than this, but I think you are starting to get the point) But there's more: There is greater detail regarding NCO's, musicians, officers, cavalry, etc., as well as the wide variety of weapons used. In short, every detail a gamer could paint on a figure is included. As you can gather, I am rather pleased with this effort. I don't imagine there will be any great surge of German-Danish War ganing, but with a guide such as this, and figures being produced by Rank and File and Feudal Castings, there is enough information and figures available for anyone who does have an interest in this period. Back to MWAN #96 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1997 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com