Gruss Gott Wurttemburg!
Its their way of saying hello!
Or so says a very nice brochure about Wurttemberg which I chanced upon today. I was looking for some amusing anecdotes about the place or perhaps some famous Wurttembergers. If there are any, they are keeping their heads down. Prosperous, industrious and very attractive. A very middle class south German state which is very difficult to take the mick out of. Honest!
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| Horse Artillery |
So why do I have a thing about Wurttembergers. They don't even seem to have any famous food? Well, once upon a time in Airfix Magazine I saw some French Napoleonic infantry painted up as Westphalians with a suggestion that gamers look at the Confederation of the Rhine for inspiration and I thought, that's a good idea. So here I am with some Wurttembergers looking for action (about 40 years on).
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| Pink's in |
They certainly had plenty of that during the Napoleonic Wars:
- 1803-06 3rd Coalition: With the French against Austria, Russia and Britain
- 1806-07 4th Coalition: With the French against Prussia, Russia and Britain
- 1809 5th Coalition: With France against Austria and Britain
- 1812-14 6th Coalition: With France against everyone and then, from 1813, with the good guys against France.
The good thing about these types of armies is that they were so small (12,000 odd for the Wurttemberg contribution to the Confederation of the Rhine) that you can get a real feel for the force within the eight unit limit set for Neil Thomas's Napoleonic armies. My list and my initial view of the paint scheme is here.
just to break a lance for good old württemberg (even though i'm not from there, i've lived there for a time, so i kind of like the place): there are quite a lot of famous württembergers: just to name a few, the poets schiller and hölderlin, the philosopher hegel, gottlieb daimler (the merc guy) & even einstein. but i certainly agree with you, a staid, serious place with quite a lot of no-nonsense people. and i won't comment the food (except the eternal german favourite of wurst).
ReplyDeleteby the way, a very nice blog, this one of yours. i quite often drop by & have a look. keep up the good work, & may your schwaben (that's how they call themselves) win many battles (for the good guys or the bad).
martin
Martin,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your very kind comments. I always knew that a fine place like Wurttemberg would be well represented by some top quality people. I really like the way they don't make a song and dance about it (unlike those Austrian types)!
I am now very attached to my "schwaben", even though they are embryonic, so I'm looking forward to getting them on the table. They, and their many victories, will be featuring on the blog in future
regards
Jay
Rommel
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel
I seem to remember reading a Württemberger joke in an article about the respectable and hardworking reputation of the folk. Something about "grandfather worked hard all his life, and now he's working hard on the mantlepiece. We had his ashes put in an hour glass".
Yes indeed, Rommel was a famous Wurttemberger. How many famous Wurttembergers can there actually be?
ReplyDeleteI like the joke, now I just need some some recipes and famous songs!
Cheers
Jay