A Garden Extravaganza

A mate of mine shared this at our weekly Virtual Wargames Group (aka the Zoomie Boys and Girls Gamers in our house).

Quite inspirational given it is such a long time ago. Here is the link.

https://fb.watch/wM8aVqknbL/?

A Mighty Fortress of God. The Siege of Munster 1534-1535. A Review

I have to admit that the subject of this latest book by Doug Miller is something I had never even heard of, as my focus has previously been on the wars in Italy taking place at the same time. I was looking forward to learning some new stuff, and was not to be disappointed.

A Mighty Fortress of God, the Siege of Munster 1534-1535 is one of the latest offerings in Helion’s excellent and growing series ‘from Retinue to Regiment’. 

In brief, in February 1534 Franz von Waldeck, the Catholic Bishop of Münster began a siege that would last for sixteen months. The Anabaptists holding Münster viewed it as the 'New Jerusalem',  and they resolutely resisted the bishop's forces. The Anabaptists fortified the city, and repelled numerous assaults while suffering from starvation, disease, and internal strife. Ultimately the defenders were be betrayed and the city fell.

Doug Miller brings the siege to life through the vivid accounts of contemporary witnesses and detailed historical research. We are taken on a step-by-step journey through the each aspect of the siege: the construction of earthworks, the organisation of defences, the failed attacks of 1534 to the dramatic betrayal that finally led to the collapse of the Anabaptist defence in June 1535, this account covers a key moment in Reformation-era history. The author also explores the motivations, leadership, and ideologies of both the besiegers and the besieged, offering an unparalleled and for me massive insight into the complexities of the Anabaptist movement, which was entirely new to me, and its extinction in Münster.

As ever with Helion books, we are provided with lots of specially-commissioned artwork of clothing and flags together with contemporary black and white images and photographs of surviving buildings and equipment. The numerous colour plates of troops and coats of arms are simply beautiful and are inspiring. I have to say the image of the Landsknecht longbow man came as a surprise, but the weapon’s continued use is perfectly plausible. There are some particularly useful colour maps of the area and the siege itself.

The appendices amongst other things include Bishop's Articles of War, and details of the actual costs of the siege.

This is a superb addition to the series and the author should be commended on the quality of his writing and research. As I said at the start of this review, I knew nothing of this siege but have now learnt a great deal about this fascinating episode set during the Reformation in Germany. I now even know who and what the Anabaptists were and what their beliefs were. Fascinating stuff.

ISBN 978-1-804515-55-6  141 pages soft

Frontier Soldiers of New France - a brief review

 

The late Rene Chartrand’s legacy continues with this volume covering the French army in North America. It’s full title is ‘Frontier Soldiers of New France, volume 1; Regulation, clothing arms and equipment of the colonial troops in New France 1683-1760’. This book was co-authored with fellow Canadian scholar Kevin Gelinas.

Beautifully illustrated with a huge number of contemporary and specially commissioned colour and black and white images, uniform details, and photographs of surviving arms and equipment, this volume provides a comprehensive, probably the most comprehensive to date, examination of a fascinating and colourful period of French colonial history, one so closely linked to our own. 

Every aspect of the officers and men in the colony and their uniforms, be they serving in the Compagnies tranches de La Marine, Metropolitan companies, Artillerymen and even armed constabulary units and Swiss. Indeed, I had been unaware that detached companies of Swiss infantry served in New France and Louisiana during this period. I actually found the chapter on military hairstyles particularly interesting, as it sheds some light on the prevailing customs and mentality found in the colonies, and the thought of some bewigged and powdered French officer plunging through the forests of North America while trying to maintain an appropriate hairdo and appearance is an amusing one.

The second part of the book investigates regulation weapons and equipment of officers, non-commissioned officers, infantrymen and artillerymen, and each aspect is discussed in some detail and accompanied by a significant number of photographs of surviving equipment and numerous sketches and drawings. 

Finally, the appendices cover the Irish Company, the Corps of Cavalry and the troops stationed on the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The Irish appear to have been recruited from British prisoners of war, while the cavalry were a regular company of 200 men raised specifically to counter British incursions and landings and to generally make a nuisance of themselves wherever they could, which earned them the respect of their enemies and might make for an interesting skirmish game.

This is a well researched and presented book, and the authors have had access to previously unpublished material and resources.  For those interested in colonial warfare in North America this is an invaluable reference. 

ISBN 978-1-804515-46-4. Soft covers, 269 pages.

New additions - a little bit of joy

 

Picking up the brush again….

I thought I’d try and make sense of all my 1940 Fall of France stuff, starting with the French. As ever I have far more stuff than I would ever need unless I was doing something really BIG. 

So while deciding which soft skin vehicles I actually need I was inspired by a photo I came across of an interesting camouflage scheme on a French truck.

My attempt at recreating this image is pretty average but it’ll do for now as it’s been several weeks since I had the motivation to paint anything at all. It needs tidying up a fair bit but there is a war on! My only defence is that I’ve been married for so long I’ve forgotten what a naked woman looks like.

Goodbye Seven Years War

Six big boxes containing 26 really useful boxes of figures and weighing in at 129kilos. 97,329 polystyrene blobby things to cushion the several thousand figures. 

Picked up today and on their way to my mate in Switzerland.

Battleground 2024

Yesterday we braved the elements to attend the Battleground show which is even closer to home in its new venue than in previous years. Heavy snow elsewhere in the region stopped a couple of demo games from materialising but those that were on show were, by and large, pretty good, if not especially inspiring. There was a good range of subject matter and scales, but visually my favourite was the Napoleonic naval shown immediately below.

The best bit of the day was the warm welcome and words of support Katherine (especially) and I received from the friends we encountered. It made a great deal to us both, given the horrible time we’ve been having recently. Thanks fellas.

I didn’t buy anything and came away with a £10 profit.

Never Mind the Matchlocks

The Durham club put on the battle the Sesia in the Italian Wars. This is a pretty obscure battle but oddly one that has been showcased twice in a matter of weeks by clubs at opposite ends of the country.

French and Indian Wars

Malplaquet

Rapid Fire 1940

Germany 1980 under Soviet attack.

Zulus!

 It is always a show worth a visit and hopefully the new venue will work out well.

The Winter War 1939 - exciting new movie

This looks like it’ll be an excellent piece of source material for when I get my Winter War Finns and Soviets on the table next.

https://youtu.be/bbmpWfr2uZQ?si=VGsFj6UZWIu4SBgh

Royalist Newark 1642–1646

Royalist Newark, 1642-1646. Sieges and Siege Works by Stuart B. Jennings is another one of those books that covers specific aspects of the British Civil Wars so well. Following the old adage of eating the elephant in lots of small mouthfuls, Helion’s objective is, it seems to me at any rate, to feed us manageable chunks of information about discrete elements of the wars. This makes it possible to focus on much more detail than might be found in a sweeping general history, of which we have many. I think it works really well and has done much to draw me back towards the period.

So, this is the first comprehensive study of Newark in the civil war, from the outbreak of hostilities when the town was turned into a Royalist garrison, through three sieges until its final capitulation in May 1646. Wider operations in the region are also covered where their outcomes had an impact on the town. Extracts from personal and official correspondence are used effectively to support the narrative. Of particular interest is John Twentyman’s account which forms Appendix I which is reproduced faithfully. One little anecdote refers to the unfortunate fate of the writer’s uncle who died of gangrene after stubbing his toe! Ouch.

The narrative is well supported with a large number of black and white images. Many are contemporary, others are of paintings created a century or so later, and there are lots of photos of surviving arms and armour as well as of the castle and the remarkably preserved Queen’s Sconce. There are also a number of rather nice, informative and well-drawn colour maps of the surrounding area and of the sieges and siege lines.

This is another well researched and presented title to add to the growing number of British Civil Wars titles in the Century of the Soldier series.





ISBN 978-1-804515-49-8. Soft back 173 pages.

The Army of the Manchu Empire

First of all, thanks for all your messages of support in response to my previous post about goings on at the Burrow. They mean a great deal.

On to business, I would until now, and quite wrongly, have associated the author Michael Fredholm von Essen more with European and Scandinavian history than what is covered in this book. The Army of the Manchu Empire. The Conquest Army and the Imperial Army of Qing China, 1600–1727 is No.116 in Helion’s splendid and ever expanding Century of the Soldier series.

The author takes us on a journey through the history and campaigns of the Manchu in what may well be one of the first such accounts written in English. He focuses on the rise of the Qing, their armies, tactics and integrated military system and its development throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

After an introduction to the Manchu Empire, there follow detailed chapters on the organisation of the army, uniforms, weapons, flags, standards, bravery awards and command, training, strategy and tactics. There is also a particularly interesting chapter on the uniforms and weapons of the reserves, militia and local forces. The battles and campaigns are not overlooked, and these are all described clearly, against the Ming, the Russians and the Mongols. I have an interest in the Russian expansion to the east in this period and the conflicts that were sparked off with the Chinese, and found this section really useful in adding to my admittedly limited understanding of events.

The book is full of contemporary black and white images depicting the Manchu soldiers. Some of these are from a later period but remain perfectly acceptable as they are illustrative of what troops wore in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries because much of their dress remained unchanged. There are also a good number of photos of surviving weapons, armour and clothing, and then of course there are the central colour plates. First are eight colour illustrations by Giorgio Albertini. These are simply wonderful. There follow six pages of eighteenth century colour paintings showing yet more types of soldiers, in action or on parade. Finally there are six pages of very colourful Chinese banners.

An unusual subject but one presented in an entertainingly well written and scholarly manner. I certainly enjoyed the book and am happy to give it a place in my library.

ISBN 978-1-804513-47-7 Soft covers. 252 pages.

Hiatus in the Burrow

Things are getting a little tough here in the Burrow. Katherine is still fighting her third cancer scare in two years while trying to manage a severe form of diabetes. They’re not quite mutually exclusive thank goodness. I always find the latter hard to understand as there’s more meat on a butcher’s pencil than on her. It’s genetic. ALSO her mum wants to sell our home which thankfully isn’t all hers to sell and she has moved out in a strop.

We shall get through this but it is hard. We have faith, the law and bloody mindedness and a huge amount of integrity and intellect on our side. Technically the Burrow is at risk but realistically that is an unlikely outcome. So for the next few weeks or months I don’t know if I shall be able to post any game reports or even pictures of newly painted units, but I will keep plugging away with the book reviews and perhaps other stuff as well.  Maybe pick up the paint brush too.

Thanks to all my friends for their support. It means a great deal. Without them it would be an even greater uphill struggle.

Of Kerns and Gallowglasses - ‘‘tis a wonderful book!

 

Well I won’t finish that sentence off with ‘to be sure, to be sure!’ Or my Irish great-grand parents, if they were still with us (?) would probably have something say about stereotyping people……

No. 24 of Helion’s ‘from Retinue to Regiment 1452-1618 covering the Irish armies of the sixteenth century is absolutely great. I write as someone with a limited knowledge of Irish armies between 1487 and 1587 but a good understanding of the politics of the time. I think. This interest has certainly been enough over the years to have the Elizabethan-Irish wars on my list of projects to ponder, and even work out army lists and a shopping list.

I digress. This is quite a meaty book by the standards of other Helion books in this series; 287 pages. It’s still not a massive tome but it certainly packs in an incredible amount of information (stuff) within its covers. The author Robert Gresh has produced a tremendously fun-to-read and informative book about a subject not often written about. Yes, the Tudor period, Elizabeth and Essex and all that stuff gets fair coverage but I am unaware of anything that goes any way to explained the Irish Wars, and to some extent as well, 15th and 16th century Irish society in general, from the perspective of the home team. 

I don’t know really what else to say. The illustrations are as one would expect from Helion, plentiful and appropriate to the subject, the colour plates in the centre of the book are eight pages of glorious imagery. There are some quite useful maps, especially the one showing the areas under the control of the myriad of Irish lords. It certainly helps with orienting oneself when reading the narrative. 

The chapters cover such subjects as ‘The Power of Irishmen’ to the different troops types found within a typical Irish army, be they Gallowglass, Kern, Redshanks or the light horse, to naval issues, castles, banners, even music. I particularly liked the section on the Wilde Irish Living History Group. 

This is a great addition to the series and an enjoyable and informative read. Whether this era is your ‘thing’ or not this is well worth the time spent reading it. Highly recommended and worth a space on anybody’s bookcase.

ISBN 978-1-804513-54-5      soft covers.    287 pages.

Seventeenth Century Sewing B and the Battle of Fribourg - Two book reviews

Author Laurence Spring has again demonstrated the depth of his knowledge of all things military in the early seventeenth century, with this comprehensive and scholarly study of the clothing worn by soldiers of pretty much all nations involved in the Thirty Years War and the various conflicts which together make up the British Civil Wars.

The book covers every aspect of the dress of soldiers during this period, what was worn and how and when and probably if it was issued. We are then treated to a detailed analysis of the ‘end users’ and their dress across the many and varied armies and conflicts. Examples are the British army in the 1620s-1630s, the Trained Bands, the Bishops Wars, the Irish Rebellion, the various armies involved in the Civil War, including the Scots. Further chapters cover the Danes, French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedes and Holy Roman Empire, all of whom were ahead of the game when it came to soldiers’ clothing.

The level of detail is incredible yet a little daunting unless you know what it is you are after. Not a bad thing, and overall I found the premise and subject matter of the book well presented, nearly written and well supported by a range of contemporary quotes and correspondence.

The appendices are equally interesting and varied, covering as they an eclectic subject mix; Cecil’s army in 1625, Parliamentarian and Royalist coat colours, Thirty Years’ War coat colours and more. These are presented in tabular form and easy to follow.

The book is illustrated throughout with reproductions of contemporary images which provide a bit of visual context to the main narrative which is very helpful. The tables also dotted through the book provide a similar purpose and do so well.

I guess that the readership of this book will include re-enactors, wargamers, the casual reader with an interest in the seventeenth century as well as more serious scholars, historians and researchers. As a person who would be numbered among the ‘casual’ category I must say I found the book highly informative and the choice and presentation of the subject matter to be fascinating.

ISBN 978-1-804514-44-3. 346 pages, soft cover.

When one thinks of great French generals of the seventeenth century, Turenne and the Duc d’Enghien, the future Great Conde spring instantly to mind. So, with this new book Stephane Thion presents the reader with an immersive experience as the narrative leads us up to the climactic and costly battle(s) of Fribourg in August 1644.

Briefly, the author begins by providing us with an overview of the 1644 campaign, followed by quite comprehensive descriptions of each of the main commanders, Turenne, D’Enghein and the very capable Feldmarshall Mercy. The next two chapters are especially good, as they cover in some depth the French and Bavarian armies during the campaign, complete with lists of the regiments present and their strengths where known. Obviously the two chapters covering the battles on the 3rd and 5th of August form the core of the book, and I found them very useful when trying to get an understanding of the commanders’ actions and the performance of their subordinates and soldiers. A range of quotes and snippets from contemporary correspondence liven up the narrative nicely.

The book contains an impressive number of contemporary black and white images, and the centre spread of 14 wonderful colour plates, depicting a variety of troop types and personalities taken from original water colours by renowned artist Karl Alexander Wilke, and accompanied by three pages of regimental banners, some by Wilke and others by the author.

There are several full colour and quite detailed maps depicting the battle and the manoeuvres that led the armies to meet and fight. These would be of great use to anyone wishing to retreat the battle on the wargames tabletop.

This is No. 122 in Helion’s excellent Century of the Soldier series, and if the later Thirty Years War or indeed the exploits of the main protagonists are of interest to you then this book will not disappoint. I almost wish I'd kept my 30 Years War collections.......almost.


ISBN 978-1-804515-51-8. Soft covers 120 pages

Marignano Refought

Continuing the Italian Wars theme Conrad and John were here on Friday for another refight, this time of the battle of Marignano, a contest between the French and the Swiss in the pay of the Sforza dukes of Milan. The 30,000 French were camped behind a drainage ditch that had been deepened, the bank built up and even rows of patisserie er, pavises, embedded along the top of the bank. The 15,000 or so Swiss and 200’ish Milanese men at arms did not need to attack the French as precipitously as they did and so late in the day, but the arrogance of the Swiss and the faith they had in their invincibility prevailed so attack they did. We used Pike and Shotte with my house amendments. Conrad took the Swiss while John, aided by me, had the French.

The French had a speed bump of light cavalry out in front, then behind the embankment were gendarmes, French pike and lots of French crossbowmen. Behind that line was the main body with more gendarmes, several cannon and two huge units of Landsknechts (the Back Band). The French rearguard was behind the camp and another drainage ditch, and was composed of even more gendarmes, light cavalry and Landsknechts, but these would take no part in the battle. In fact, if the French were forced to commit them (unbeknown to Conrad) it was an instant Swiss victory. 

The Swiss objective was to destroy the enemy and hold the camp at the end of the game (nightfall). Their army was made up of a unit of Milanese gendarmes, two light cannon and three humungous unis of pike, each with small units of attached arquebusiers and halberdiers in support. The pike units were big as you can see; two were 108 figures strong and the other was a mere 96 figures strong. They have much increased stamina and fighting capabilities but can be quite cumbersome. I also allow them to move a little quicker and more easily than the French.

The French cavalry screen being driven back by the Swiss.

The first real line of defence - woefully outmatched French pike and crossbows supported by gendarmes on each flank.

These huge units are rather impressive. My motto is don’t do anything by halves and take advantage of Foundry’s Xmas sale of several years ago. During lockdown actually. 

Every pike block needs a bear. 

The poor French were in for a tough fight. After first of all pushing through the light cavalry screen, the Swiss traversed the ditch without too much trouble and smashed into the enemy line. 

All three of the Swiss pike blocks cross the ditch and embankment.

The central Swiss pike block seeing off the French pikemen.

The Swiss drove the French defenders back but failed to break any of them.

John needed to buy himself some time so threw some gendarmes at the left-hand pike block. This had the desired effect of forcing the Swiss to stop and deal with the threat

The right-hand Swiss column had crossed the ditch and earthwork, destroying the French crossbowmen defending it. They had then been then charged by unit of Landsknechts and driven back over the defences. The aftermath can be seen at the top of the picture above. 

The central Swiss pike block drove off or routed the French pike units and suddenly found itself facing the French artillery and another large unit of the Black Band.

The Black Bande charged the Swiss to their front while the artillery blasted the other pike block.

John's cavalry wormed their way round the Swiss and after avoiding some arquebusiers and swordsmen charged the Swiss artillery and rode them down.

This Swiss pike block had been forced backwards over the ditch, shaken and disordered. The French gendarmes are queuing up to charge them.

Meanwhile the huge pike block in the centre was hit in the flank by another Landsknecht unit while it was still locked in combat with another one to their front.

Same event from a different angle.

By now all three of the Swiss pike blocks were shaken. In my house rules the Swiss pike blocks do not run away in rout. Instead, when they reach their army break point the whole lot turn around and march off the battlefield, daring anyone to stop them as they head off towards the nearest Alp.

The Swiss conceded defeat (not that they had any choice in the matter) and the game was suddenly over. We had managed about eight turns I think, and we had a result which more or less mirrored what happened at the real battle. We did not bother resetting the game for the next day's action as it was obvious that the French were still a very strong force to reckon with.

So, an excellent game and a good result. This is a very hard one for the Swiss and they did well, but not well enough. 

Renato et Gloriam Army Lists for the Great Northern War and War of Spanish Succession

 

Players of Renato et Gloriam will be pleased to note the publication of this book of suggested army lists for the Great Northern War and the War of the Spanish Succession. Written by Simon Hall, Simon Clarke and Alasdair Harley and published by Helion this is a welcome addition to their Helion Wargames series.

There are 25 lists for the Great Northern War and 34 for the War of the Spanish Succession. These are not just generic lists, but do each focus on specific campaigns or battles, so for example, the Russian army of Peter the Great gets seven different lists, covering amongst others, Narva, Lesnaya, and the Pruth River. As well as the more usual armies, we are also given lists for rather more exotic armies such as the Khanate of Khiva, Cossacks, the Danubian Principalities.

The lists for the War of the Spanish Succession cover all of the major and minor players, again focusing to an extent on actual campaign and battles. In fact I would struggle to think of any nationality that has been omitted. Again, we get several different versions of the French armies of Louis XIV, the Holy Roman Empire and Great Britain.

The lists themselves are presented very clearly, each over one or two pages, and come with useful contextual historical notes as well as guidance on how to navigate each list. Each of the lists appears to be well researched and based on the armies I am familiar with are a true reflection of their composition. There is also quite a detailed section on generating terrain, which form part of the Pre Battle System (PBS) used in the rules and which represent the five days leading up to a battle and to determine the terrain over which the battle takes place.

Clearly a great deal of thought has gone into producing this book and it shows in the overall presentation. If you play ReG then these will be a very satisfying addition to your arsenal.



ISBN 978-1-804515-56-3 135 pages, soft covers, large format.

Games, books and revolting little men.

I’ve not done much in the way of gaming this year as much of it has been spent away from home.  I have however been able to read and post reviews of a good number of books, mostly from Helion & Co as regular readers will be aware. 

My painting has also stalled somewhat, but I have almost finished troops for a little side project, based around the Peasants’ War. Steel Fist and Artizan produce some nice 28mm miniatures for this war.

These were done while I was away with a limited palette but I’m reasonably happy with them now they’re washed and based. Hopefully once I’ve completed the basing they will look even better….. Two more of the bigger peasant mob units to base, and another unit of handgunners. Then all I need to do are a couple of commanders, a cannon and crew and some wagons and crews. Then I shall probably sell them.

French Armies of the Thirty Years’ War

French Armies of the Thirty Years War 1618-1648 by Stephane Thion is another one of those books from Helion that pops up and elicits a whoop of joy, from me at any rate, covering as it does a period of great interest to me and many others. The French army of the period is somewhat of a mystery to me due largely to the absence of anything of substance in the English language. This new book more than serves that need in providing a comprehensive description of the French army during the period, from a small poorly trained force to a highly efficient, successful and well led army that was more than a match for its many enemies on the battlefield.

The author breaks the period down into three blocks. The first looks at the French army between 1534 and 1616, the second the years before the French entry into the Thirty Years’ War, that is, up to 1635, and the final block the war years of 1635 to 1648. The changes and improvements in the army across these blocks of time are explained clearly and helps set the scene for the chapters that follow.

We are given brief examination of the uniformity, or lack of it, found in the French army above regimental level together with the background behind the decision to limit the number of colours or ensigns carried by an infantry regiment in the field. This was a steady rather than instantaneous transformation, and there were of course exceptions to the rule (the Guards held on to more standards and each cavalry company bore their own ensign).

Much of the book is devoted to the French army on campaign between 1620 and 1648. Each of the main actions are covered and this section includes detailed orders of battle which will be particularly for wargamers wishing to recreate any of the battles of the period.

What is absolutely outstanding is the prolific use of eyewitness accounts and contemporary correspondence, which personalises the narrative, not just throughout the book, but as a discrete and engaging chapter.

One of this books main strengths are the illustrations it contains. We are presented with 14 glorious full colour pages of specially commissioned images; eight illustrating typical soldiers’ dress of the French army and six depicting many of the regimental flags carried by the army. The book also contains a significant number of black and white illustrations, many of which are contemporary images of a wide range of subjects, be they battles, soldiers’ drill movements.

This is an excellent book, clearly one that has been a well researched labour of love, and takes on a detailed subject admirably, presenting it in an easy to follow yet scholarly fashion. Highly recommended.

ISBN 978-1-804514-48-1 soft covers, 213 pages.