28mm War of the Spanish Succession British Officer and Ensign.

Two figures from my WSS collection I used to have, the figures are Front Rank (a good company but the poses are a bit static among the infantry but easy to paint), now I used to have hundreds of the buggers but I had to sell them along with others over the years sometimes to fund something else but lately for financial reasons not really of my own making but I've accepted it and sometimes resent it but life cracks on and I always make sure I use some of the funds to buy and start something else or add to an existing period, sometimes figures get left behind as mementos like these two, interesting period of history which is half the joy of wargaming historical periods (looking stuff up). Now I mention this only because some people have said they would never sell their figures but sometimes you don't have that choice and life sometimes kicks you in the crackers. Have a good weekend, will do a movie review on Sunday.

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) was fought among several European powers, principally the Spanish loyal to Archduke Charles, the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal and the Duchy of Savoyagainst the Spanish loyal to Philip V, France and the Electorate of Bavaria over a possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbonmonarch. Such a unification would have drastically changed the European balance of power. The war was fought mostly in Europe but included Queen Anne's War inNorth America and it was marked by the military leadership of notable generals including the Duc de Villars, the Jacobite Duke of Berwick, the Duke of Marlboroughand Prince Eugene of Savoy. It resulted in the recognition of Philip as King of Spain while requiring him to renounce any claim to the French throne and to cede much of the Spanish Crown's possessions to the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, Savoy and Great Britain, partitioning the Spanish Empire in Europe.

In 1700, Charles II, the last Spanish monarch of the House of Habsburg, died without issue, bequeathing his possessions to Philip, grandson of his half-sister and KingLouis XIV of France. Philip thereby became Philip V of Spain and since he was also the younger son of the Dauphin of France, Philip was in the line of succession of the French throne. The specter of the multi-continental empire of Spain passing under the control of Louis XIV provoked a massive coalition of powers to oppose Philip's succession.

The war began slowly as Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor fought to protect theAustrian Habsburg claim to the Spanish inheritance. As Louis XIV began to expand his territories, other European nations (chiefly England, Portugal and the Dutch Republic) entered on the Holy Roman Empire's side to check French expansion.^[5]Other states joined the coalition opposing France and Spain in an attempt to acquire new territories or to protect existing dominions. Spain was itself divided over the succession and fell into a civil war.

The war was centered in Spain and West-Central Europe (especially the Low Countries), with other important fighting in Germany and Italy. Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough distinguished themselves as military commanders in the Low Countries. The war was fought not only in Europe but also the West Indies andcolonial North and South America where the conflict became known to the English colonists as Queen Anne's War. Over the course of the fighting, some 400,000 people were killed.^[6]

The war was concluded by the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714). As a result, Philip V remained King of Spain but was removed from the French line of succession, averting a union of the two kingdoms. The Austrians gained most of the Spanish territories in Italy and the Netherlands. France's hegemony over continental Europe was ended and the idea of a balance of power became a part of the international order.^[7] Philip quickly revived Spanish ambition; taking advantage of the power vacuum caused by Louis XIV's death in 1715, Philip announced he would claim the French crown if the infant Louis XV died and attempted to reclaim Spanish territory in Italy, precipitating the War of the Quadruple Alliance in 1717.