The Spanish Army of the Seven Years’ War

Spain was drawn into the Seven Years’s War by a British Declaration of War in 1762. On 12 August 1762, British regulars and American provincial troops occupied Havana and destroyed or captured nearly 20 percent of the Spanish fleet. The Spanish port of Manila was captured on 6 October 1762. When Spain invaded Portugal, Britain transferred troops from Belle Isle and successfully contained the Spanish invasion.

Spanish cavalry regiments had only two squadrons of 160 troopers each. Spanish infantry battalions had approximately 600 men, organized in 9 companies, one of which was a grenadier company. Spanish uniforms were similar in cut and appearance to French uniforms at the time. The basic coat colour was white, to distinguish Spanish from French troops. Grenadiers wore fur caps with coloured cloth bags.

The Spanish Army, 1760

• Infantry
  • 31 Infantry Regiments
  • 12 Foreign Infantry Regiments
• Cavalry
  • 19 regimientos de línea
  • 10 regimientos de dragones
  • 2 regimientos de ligera
• Artillery
• Pioneers
• Medical Services

Wargamers may use French infantry, cavalry, and artillery figures to recreate the Spanish army of the Seven Years’ War.

Seven Years’ War Miniatures