Although fought in many parts of Europe, some of the most famous actions of the War of the Spanish Succession took place in and around Flanders, where the French faced an allied army commanded by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. The largest national contingent of this army was that of the Dutch, whose armed forces had gained much experience during the Nine Years War (1688-1697), and had established a good reputation. The Dutch cavalry played their usual role during these years, including reconnaissance and protection, but would also play a major part in several of the allied victories, notably at Ramillies (1706) and Oudenarde (1708).

These figures are dressed much like most European cavalry of the time, with a tricorn hat, coat (‘justacorps’) with deep cuffs, and long boots with a double thickness around the knee to protect that crucial area of the leg. What particularly characterises these men is that all the troopers are wearing a cuirass. As in some other European armies, the cuirass had fallen out of use in the army of the Dutch States during the Nine Years War, but in early 1707 the States ordered 10,000 new cuirasses for issue to their cavalry, following the Danish example, and by the end of August of that year most troops had received one. Since a similar move was made in the British army at the same time, it is generally assumed that this was an initiative promoted by the commander, Churchill. However, as elsewhere, the cuirass was unpopular with the men. It was heavy, hot and uncomfortable, and if you were thrown from your horse whilst wearing one, it could cause serious injury. An inspection two years later found that many cuirasses had been ‘lost’, with many excuses given as to why, so there must be some doubt as to how widespread was their use during these years. Another area of uncertainty was the manner in which they were worn. One eyewitness states the cuirass was worn outside the coat, but this was at a parade, and since the cuirasses were issued along with leather camisoles, it is likely that they were intended to be worn under the coat, in the British fashion. Since all these figures wear theirs outside of the coat, it is impossible to say to what extent these figures are typical of later-war Dutch cavalry, but on the face of it there is nothing to suggest these cannot be used as Dutch troops.

Three of the poses shown in our third row are of command figures. The first is a trumpeter, who wears no cuirass but instead has the highly decorated justacorps typical of the period, as well as more decoration on his hat and the traditional false sleeves at the back of the coat. The man to his left holds the standard, and wears breast and back plates like the men, but also a sash around the waist to denote his rank, which is further underlined by the wig that he wears. Finally the officer, with sword raised high, is dressed similarly, again include a full cuirass. Officers liked the cuirass no more than their men, and for the same reasons, although as with the rest of their costume, they were expected to purchase this item themselves, which made matters worse. After evidence that some were not doing so, and merely ‘borrowing’ one from the ranks when an inspection was made, they were instructed to have theirs made to a finer standard, with bright copper tacks, although whether this precaution actually worked is not recorded. Nevertheless, all the command figures here are correctly attired and would easily pass inspection.

Since there were no light cavalry in the States army, these figures are all armed as heavy cavalry, with a long straight sword (‘pallas’), a pair of pistols and a carbine. All these are correct and nicely done here. The carbine is suspended from a sling over the left shoulder, while the sword is held by a waistbelt, and the pistols are stowed in holsters at the front of the saddle. This is all correct and typical, but it is noticeable that no one has any form of ammunition pouch. Since this does not seem to get mentioned in the sources, its absence may reflect on the tactics used by these men (for which see below), so we cannot say that this is incorrect, although it still seems somewhat surprising for men carrying three firearms.

The horses these men ride are the same as those in some previous sets from Strelets for this period, and mostly seem to be moving forward rapidly. This presents problems when you realise that several of the men are firing their pistols, for which a moving platform is far from ideal, and the actual horse poses are sometimes not as natural as we would like, but there has been plenty worse made over the years. The bridle and saddlery all look reasonable, although we do not know why one horse pose is lacking the valise found on the rest.

To discuss the human poses is to discuss battle tactics, and here too there is debate and uncertainty. Traditionally the tactic had been to approach an enemy and fire pistols or carbines into them by ranks until they were disordered or retreated, although several more recent commanders, including Churchill, advocated the full charge with cold steel, keeping firearms for mundane tasks out of battle. As in other armies, the approach of the Dutch cavalry is uncertain now, but it would seem reasonable to guess that both tactics were at different times used, depending on the commander, the circumstances and so on. A third of the poses here are utilising their pistols, while the rest have sabres drawn, so all are in combative poses, and we pretty much liked all of them. The trumpeter is unusual in that he has slung his trumpet and is fighting with drawn sword like the men, and the man holding the standard has also drawn a pistol. This latter pose causes us some problems, since it is impossible to load a pistol on horseback with one hand, so this must at best be a one-shot affair for him. That is not to say this never happened, and it is refreshing to see command figures actually getting into the heat of the action, but this standard-bearer may be going just a little too far. Nevertheless, a good range of exciting poses.

As always, you can assess the standard of sculpting of these models from our photos, and the conclusion is that these are very much of the same standard as the rest of this range. Very nice sculpting with lots of good detail and natural poses, these figures are more of the same from Strelets and very usable as a result. The faces are nice and expressive, with most sporting a visible moustache, and the neatly queued hair is well done too, so these look great. The only problem we can see is that one figure (third in the top row) has the straps for his sword scabbard, but is missing the scabbard itself. Since the box displays the master sculpts, which include this item, it would seem that the loss was at the mould-making stage, but regardless of the reason this is a blemish. So too is the amount of flash, for here there is quite a lot in many places, which is more than we have come to expect from this manufacturer. A sharp knife will fix that of course, but it is annoying. Finally, the fit of man onto horse is variable but generally fairly good, though not all are quite as comfortable as we would like.

There are a couple of extra things to say. First, the trumpet has a banner attached, but we could not discover if this was seen on the battlefield or only on the parade ground. Second, the standard, which is mercifully plain but includes both cords and a fringe, is somewhat larger than the usual Dutch cavalry model. The sources state this was about 50 cm square, but the example in this set is 10 mm by 12 (72 cm by 86), so noticeably bigger. However banners were something that the colonel could specify, so perhaps the size too could be varied.

After the War of the Spanish Succession the Dutch again abandoned the cuirass, so as Dutch this set represents them for the period 1707 to 1713. As we have discussed, there is insufficient evidence for how often, and in what manner, the Dutch wore the cuirass, but this is to rather miss the point of this set. Strelets have said they are making a range of sets for this period which between them depict all the important troops, so this set, although labelled as Dutch, could very easily be used as Danish, Germans (including those in the pay of the Dutch) or other nationalities, and there is already a set of cavalry wearing the cuirass under the coat (British Late War Horse). Whether this set is typical of the Dutch or not, these figures introduce an important new troop type – cavalry wearing the cuirass over the coat but with a hat rather than a helmet, and as such is yet another very useful group covering this critical period in European history, which finally gives due recognition to the vital role played by the Dutch in that conflict.