The Sailor and the Dancing Girl.

Andy Copestake’s latest, The Sailor and the Dancing Girl is exactly the kind of book that reminds me why history is far livelier than anything my school textbooks ever managed to suggest; at least the ones I was given clearly missed a few chapters.

Set in the closing years of Mughal power, the book gathers together soldiers, adventurers, political operators, mercenaries and a splendid cast of people who seem to have treated caution as a minor inconvenience. General George Thomas and Begum Somru give the story plenty of drive, while the campaigns, shifting alliances and ambitious scheming make even the most difficult modern committee meeting look calm and orderly.

One of the pleasures of the book is the range of personalities who wander, march, plot and occasionally blunder their way through its pages. It is remarkable to see European adventurers not merely turning up in India, but rising to command armies and influence local struggles for power. The military detail is another strength, giving a vivid sense of a world in which authority was constantly shifting and tomorrow’s ally might very easily become next week’s problem.

What Andy does particularly well is bring this extraordinary period to life without letting it become a dry march through dates, battles and uniforms. The people involved feel properly vivid, the narrative has more than its fair share of twists, and I found myself wondering how some of them managed to get from breakfast to supper without accidentally starting another war.

The illustrations add a great deal too: colour plates depicting various troop types, black-and-white photographs of places and surviving objects, contemporary portraits, drawings and some very useful maps of battles as well as ones of the theatre of operations. I was especially grateful for the maps, as my grasp of Northern India is not quite as confident as my knowledge of the south; in other words, they spared me more than one geographical embarrassment.

Warm, engaging and full of fascinating detail, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would happily recommend it to anyone who likes their history served with adventure, intrigue and a generous helping of wonderfully eccentric characters. Another good one Andy.

ISBN: 978-1-806722-55-6 213 pages Paperback

Another Book. Algeciras 1801.

 

Awash on Unfriendly Tides by Samuel MacAllister is a delightfully engaging slice of naval history that proves two things: the Mediterranean can be breathtakingly beautiful, and it can also be an absolutely terrible place to find yourself stranded.

MacAllister brings the Algeciras campaign vividly to life, blending solid historical research with the pace and excitement of an adventure novel. The book follows events that are dramatic enough on their own, but the author's storytelling makes them feel even more immediate. Ships creak, tempers fray, plans unravel, and readers could be left wondering how anyone in the age of sail ever made it home in one piece.

What makes the book particularly enjoyable for me at any rate is its accessibility. The narrative is presented with clarity and enthusiasm, rather than buried beneath endless dates and military minutiae. The human side of the story shines through, from determined commanders to ordinary sailors who seem to spend much of their time battling not just enemies, but weather, misfortune, and the persistent tendency of ships to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This narrative moves briskly, keeping the pages turning while still providing enough historical context to satisfy readers with a keen interest in the period. Those looking for dense academic debate may find it a little light, but readers seeking an entertaining and informative journey will be richly rewarded.

Overall, I found Awash on Unfriendly Tides to be a thoroughly enjoyable read: part military history, part sea adventure, and part cautionary tale about trusting fate, the weather, or nineteenth-century travel arrangements. It is a book that manages to educate while entertaining, which is no small feat. After all, any historical account that leaves you both better informed and quietly grateful for modern transport has done something right.

The book contains a number of original colour plates showing among other things details of the engagement in Algeciras Bay. Add to these a large number of contemporary black and white images, photographs of surviving fortifications and several diagrams showing how ships manoeuvred when not under sail, i.e. using springs and kedge anchors.

A lively, absorbing historical adventure that keeps its course steady between scholarship and storytelling, with scarcely a dull moment on deck. Number 169 in Helion’s ‘from Reason to Revolution 1721–1815’ series.

ISBN: 978-1-806720-59-0 140 pages Paperback

1672 Personalities

These are some of the new North Star 1672 command figures. I’ve only been able to finish these examples; I have the full set (minus these) ready to start on next, and I need a new camera…..

This is Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne.

Louis XIV

The dismounted versions plus an old Partizan giveaway figures of the Duke of Monmouth.

The dismounted King Louis XIV.

They are all really nice figures and I shall be tackling the rest in the coming week. 

A new regiment of Spanish horse for 1672

 Just to prove I am not dead and can still wield a brush/paint pen.....

What we have here is a generic Spanish regiment of horse. Their uniform is conjectural (ie made up) but I think lilac with red facings, grey hats and buff boots looks very striking, er ... pretty. Apart from the horses these figures were completed using paint pens which was both a challenge (the points are not exactly 'fine' but manageable, and a delight once finished in all their lilac-ness! The minis are from the wonderful North Star1672 range; 28mm of course. Flag by Maverick Models iirc.

(NB: They have neither muskets nor scabbards as in the intervening years since buying the figures I seem to have misplaced them. Who cares?)

The Founding of the Swiss Militarry System 1300–1400

 

Albert Winkler’s The Founding of the Swiss Military System, 1300–1400 is one of those history books that might look super serious on the cover— but once you get into it, it is actually a really approachable deep dive into how the early Swiss basically reinvented the idea of infantry warfare.

This is not a dry academic slog. Winkler writes like someone who genuinely enjoys explaining why a bunch of alpine farmers suddenly became Europe’s most annoying problem for mounted knights. The whole thing feels like a guided tour through four key battles, each with its own flavour; Morgarten, with its chaotic ambush energy, Laupen,  Sempach and Näfels. There is even a chapter on a subject I knew absolutely nothing about, ‘The Gugler Invasion’, where the Swiss faced the prospect of meeting the famed English longbowmen in battle when, in 1375 the latter invaded (unsuccessfully) Swiss lands before withdrawing due, among other things, to lack of shelter, provisions, the weather (it being Christmas) and several Swiss successes in a number of ambushes, raids and other small actions.

Winkler ties all of the narrative together into an account of how the Swiss Confederation was forming politically, which makes the battles feel like part of a bigger picture rather than isolated medieval dust ups. Winkler has a knack for explaining why Swiss infantry mattered without drowning you in jargon, and he is honest about the myths — the heroic stories, the patriotic retellings — and is good at separating legend from what actually happened. The pacing is quick and I never felt stuck in a swamp of footnotes.

The book is well served with a large number of contemporary black and white illustrations, a couple of photos of surviving weaponry and some useful maps. The super colour images on the front and back covers are striking in their simplicity.

If you are into medieval warfare, Swiss history, this book is great. It is compact, readable, and surprisingly lively for a study of fourteenth century battles. Plus, it gives you a solid sense of how a group of small mountain communities ended up shaping European military tactics for generations.

ISBN: 978-1-806720-66-8 119 pages Paperback

English Armies in France During the `Hundred Years' War

 English Armies in France During the Hundred Years’ War, 1337–1453 offers a detailed account of England’s military presence in France. Rather than concentrating solely on celebrated battles, Peter Hoskins examines how soldiers were recruited, how campaigns were sustained, what life was like in garrisons, and the practical experiences of men serving in the field.

The book effectively explains the systems used to assemble, provision, and support armies operating overseas. These discussions reveal the remarkably extensive organisation that underpinned England’s military achievements during the Hundred Years’ War.

Ten specially commissioned, full-page colour plates depict the range of troops found in the army, from commanders to the lowliest foot soldiers. These plates really ‘pop’, providing a superb visual guide to the army’s composition, and each is supported by its own commentary. Hidden towards the back of the book is another piece of original artwork: a French hand gunner lurking behind his pavise – what else? Finally, there are a couple of contemporary colour images taken from fifteenth-century scrolls, along with a dizzying number of black-and-white photographs of surviving and reproduction arms, armour, and weaponry. All this splendid imagery is underpinned by solid research, making the volume approachable for the general reader while retaining its value for dedicated students of medieval warfare.

I strongly recommend this book as a worthy contribution to the A Time of Knights series.

ISBN: 978-1-804519-97-4 157 Pages Paperback

A little progress as my mojo is returning….

If anyone is still checking in the tumbleweed city that has been this blog, well, times they are a changin'. Okay, slowly does it. I managed to focus on a selection of command stands and other ephemera that I unearthed from beneath the disaster area that passes for my painting station. 

So here they are.

Two shots of a new Argentine commander and two Brazillians for my War of the Triple Alliance project.

A selection of generals for my 1807–1809 Russian Napoleonic project.

A lone Napoleonic Swedish ADC

French generals June 1940. Divisional command base for the 1st DCM.

Lastly some civilian bits for my Italian Wars armies. Well, the woman doing a belly dance is maybe better placed elsewhere, but the stocks and garotte are good for my Spanish.

The camera on my phone is not its best these days but even now it can pick out the bits I missed!