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| Hesse-Kassel 'Musketeer', 1866 |
Notes
Personnel above are rated as "Exceptional, Good, Fair, Inadequate, or
Poor" in that order of descending quality. There are a surprising number
of troops at both poles in this particular conflict.
"Upper Command" refers to Army and Corps level officers; "Lower
Command" refers to officers from the Brigade level downward. NCOs
were always better than the rank and file, and should be rated one level
higher in small scenarios where their influence matters.
Light troops such as Jaegers and Bersaglieri always rate one category
higher than that stated, as do most Guards units; conversely, Landwehr
and Militia should rate at least one category lower - with Austrian
Landwehr giving surprisingly decent service and Prussian Landwehr not
really worth mentioning.
Austrian troops varied during the conflict depending upon their ethnicity,
but the above is a good mix for most Germanic and non-Magyar units.
Hungarian performance varied widely due to lingering bitterness
regarding the 1848-49 conflict; their cavalry was still the best in the
Austrian army. Italian regiments were an utter disgrace, and repeatedly
threw down their weapons rather than fight. Note that the entity known as
'Austria-Hungary' did not yet exist in 1866.
Italian ratings should apply predominantly to Northern Italian troops.
Southern Italian troops hated their officers and their newfound
countrymen, and gave truly awful service. The Garibaldini faired slightly
better, but only because of Garibaldi's personal influence.
Prussian cavalry were not impressive during the war, but they did
salvage themselves with great courage from time to time. Prussian
artillery was nearly always horrendous, and lessons learned had vastly
reformed the Prussian Artillery by the time of the 1870-71 war with France
As a general rule of thumb, unless specifically noted on the table, the
troops of the Federal Army could be rated equal to those of Wurttemburg.
Prussian allies (such as the forces of Lubeck and Oldenburg) were
roughly equivalent to their Prussian counterparts.
Personnel above are rated as "Exceptional, Good, Fair, Inadequate, or
Poor" in that order of descending quality. There are a surprising number
of troops at both poles in this particular conflict.
"Upper Command" refers to Army and Corps level officers; "Lower
Command" refers to officers from the Brigade level downward. NCOs
were always better than the rank and file, and should be rated one level
higher in small scenarios where their influence matters.
Light troops such as Jaegers and Bersaglieri always rate one category
higher than that stated, as do most Guards units; conversely, Landwehr
and Militia should rate at least one category lower - with Austrian
Landwehr giving surprisingly decent service and Prussian Landwehr not
really worth mentioning.
Austrian troops varied during the conflict depending upon their ethnicity,
but the above is a good mix for most Germanic and non-Magyar units.
Hungarian performance varied widely due to lingering bitterness
regarding the 1848-49 conflict; their cavalry was still the best in the
Austrian army. Italian regiments were an utter disgrace, and repeatedly
threw down their weapons rather than fight. Note that the entity known as
'Austria-Hungary' did not yet exist in 1866.
Italian ratings should apply predominantly to Northern Italian troops.
Southern Italian troops hated their officers and their newfound
countrymen, and gave truly awful service. The Garibaldini faired slightly
better, but only because of Garibaldi's personal influence.
Prussian cavalry were not impressive during the war, but they did
salvage themselves with great courage from time to time. Prussian
artillery was nearly always horrendous, and lessons learned had vastly
reformed the Prussian Artillery by the time of the 1870-71 war with France
As a general rule of thumb, unless specifically noted on the table, the
troops of the Federal Army could be rated equal to those of Wurttemburg.
Prussian allies (such as the forces of Lubeck and Oldenburg) were
roughly equivalent to their Prussian counterparts.
Austro-Prussian War Personnel, Rated
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