Another review, this time of something a bit different but no less interesting...

 

I’ll health means the best I can manage at the moment are more book reviews. The Military Organisation of Moldavia & Wallachia in the Phanariot Era, 1709–1821 is a tightly focused study that shines a light on a part of early modern military history that is often overlooked. Rather than dealing in grand campaigns, Claudiu-Ion Neagoe focuses on how these two principalities actually raised, structured, and maintained their forces under Ottoman influence. I should say from the outset that this was a topic completely new to me, and I found the book a real eye opener as well as a genuinely enjoyable read.

One of the book’s main strengths is the way it handles the hybrid nature of military organisation. The armies described are neither fully traditional nor fully modern, instead drawing on local levies, mercenary elements, and Ottoman-inspired structures. The result is a layered system that feels both practical and unstable, especially in times of crisis. This comes across clearly in the wide variety of troop types shown in the eight splendid full colour plates. The book also includes a good number of contemporary black and white illustrations, along with numerous charts and tables detailing army composition. Together, these make it much easier to grasp how the forces were organised.

Another important theme is the financial burden of warfare. The author shows how military obligations were closely tied to taxation and administration, with the Phanariot rulers often struggling to balance defence needs against economic realities. That gives the reader, or at least it gave me, a much clearer sense of why military effectiveness could be so inconsistent.

The discussion of irregular troops and militia forces is also especially engaging. These units, while not always reliable, were vital to regional defence and internal control, showing how warfare in this setting was as much about policing and authority as it was about success on the battlefield.

Overall, this is a concise but well-researched and well-presented work. The translation, too, is very well done indeed. This book may not overwhelm the reader with narrative drama, but it will reward anyone interested in the mechanics of military systems and the realities behind lesser-known European forces of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

ISBN:978-1-804518-19-9 220 pages Softcover

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.

Some quite appropriate holiday reading…….

Quintin Barry’s Suffren versus Hughes: The War in the Indian Ocean 1781-1783 covers a little known campaign which took place as an extension of the American Revolution. Britain and France fought for control the Indian Ocean, their respective squadrons fighting five major actions during the course of a two year period.

I cannot say, before reading the book, that I had much knowledge of this campaign so I was keen to add to my knowledge. Waging a naval war many thousands of miles away from home was a major achievement for both the British and the French commanders. This aside they faced different problems in their attempts to achieve the elusive decisive blow but were still able to maintain an effective presence in the waters of Indian Ocean, to the frustration of their opponents.

The author examines the background and characters of Suffren and Hughes, and offers a description of India in 1780, in particular the role of the Honourable East India Company in extending its sphere of influence over the Indian subcontinent. He also examines the far from perfect relationship between the French and Hyder Ali of Mysore and the latter’s campaign against the British. The strategic importance of the HEICs operations in India are always to the forefront, and the shadow of their influence over Hughes is never far away.

The naval actions involving these fleets are described in detail, and I was able to obtain a good understanding of how each battle developed and how final victory remained so elusive for either side. Orders of battle and some useful tactical maps, together with an abundance of contemporary references and quotations help with understanding the issues facing both commanders at each encounter. For me the most remarkable thing is that they were able sustain and maintain their respective fleets over the course of the campaign.

I really enjoyed this book, and learnt from it considerably. It is like all of Mr Barry’s books, well written, meticulously researched and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815 No.125

ISBN 978-1-804513-39-2 soft back 221 pages

This week’s book of two sieges.

The moderately nice weather outside the Burrow recently meant more sitting in the garden reading than messing about on my computer/tablet with the latest iteration of Call of Duty, and the usual production line of painting has also continued at a fair pace (to be detailed in a post later this week). I’m still recovering the blitz visited on my games room just over a week ago, and it’s amazing how the process means that (a) I unearthed lots of stuff I’d forgotten I had or had misplaced, and, (b) I have since got no idea where various other stuff is that I was working on! Spooky.

I am picking up this review in Bangalore where it a pleasant mid to high 20s having arrived almost a week ago.

One of the latest new releases in Helion’s Retinue to Regiment series is The Sieges of Rhodes, 1480 and 1522 by Jonathan Davies has jumped my reviewing queue as the subject is something I have long held an interest in, and many a summer holiday was spent in Rhodes so I could explore the utterly impressive fortifications.

Jonathan gives us an epic tale of the two sieges, where the Knights Hospitaller of St John defied all the odds, successfully thwarting the Ottoman assault in 1480 and the heroic yet doomed defence during the siege of 1522 that so impressed the Sultan that the survivors were permitted to leave, ultimately finding a new home in Malta, but that as they say is another story.


Back to the book, the author sets the scene for the sieges within the broader Mediterranean and European context, and considers the difference between the Christian and Ottoman soldiers the tactics used, mining and counter-mining operations, artillery both old and new, weapons and armour, and the innovations in siege warfare such as fire weapons which were used with devastating effect by the Hospitallers. He also asks the question of how did vastly inferior forces do so well against overwhelming numbers of Ottomans, including the dreaded Janissaries? All in all a fascinating unpicking of the sieges.

The book contains a good selection of present day and contemporary images, both colour and black and white. The maps in the book include the earliest known example of a picture of Rhodes harbour, from around 1420. Many of the photos are of surviving weapons and armour, as well as several of the frankly awesome and extensive fortifications still standing. The colour plates are completed by a number of specially commissioned paintings of the banners used by the Hospitallers.

Enthusiasts of the Knights of St John and their exploits will love this book, as will amateur historians and wargamers, especially those with an eye on a challenging modelling project. I certainly found it an interesting and informative read.

ISBN : 978-1804514511 .246 pages soft covers.





 

Armies and Wars of the French East India Companies 1661-1770 by the Late René Chartrand

I learnt yesterday that the author of this book, the universally well known and prolific author René Chartrand had passed away, which makes this review a somewhat poignant one.

Armies and Wars of the French East India Companies 1661-1770 by the late René Chartrand landed on my doormat a few weeks ago, and I had just finished reading it and had started writing this review when I heard of his passing. He was a giant among authors and historians of the 18th Century, and of France (and New France) in particular. People better placed than me will no doubt write of his life and career, so I shall focus on this wonderful book.

This is the first ever book of substance published in English or indeed French that is devoted to describing the military forces maintained by the French East India companies and their far flung trading operations. Following hard on the heals as it does of a number of other Helion books covering largely British influenced activities in India over the same period this book is a good counter balance as it completes the circle with its focus on those often overlooked or skimmed over French East India Companies.

This work is literally packed with the fruits of extensive research collated over many years, and is lavishly illustrated with a large number of colour and black and white images. There are 12 gorgeous colour plates of a number of different French soldiers, European and native, by Patrice Courcelle. Another 18 pages of colour images from a number of sources depict further uniform details and contemporary images of a range of subjects focusing on the Indian sub-continent.

The book tells the story of the development and expansion of the French East India company from its early days, through to operations in Madagascar, India and the Indian Ocean, Siam ( this episode was a new one to me), Africa, Louisiana and other diverse territories. The impact the wars in Europe had on these operations is also examined.

As well as details of the organisational structure, uniforms and weapons, not just of European infantry, but including European cavalry, artillerymen, foreign and native units, we get an insight into the lives of these soldiers, both at home and overseas.There are several interesting appendices and an extensive bibliography for those who wish to research the subject of this book further.

I found this book to be bursting with information largely new to me in such detail. It is well written, and is a most engaging and enjoyable read, where the knowledge and enthusiasm of the author for the subject clearly comes through in the writing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and it is one well worth getting if you have any interest in what it has to be said having read it, an incredibly fascinating subject. 

ISBN 978-1-804513-40-8 soft cover 319 pages.

Catching up with Book Reviews

I like to think I am pretty conscientious when I complete these book reviews. Obviously what I might like is not guaranteed to be liked by everyone but I does me objective best.

I doubt anyone reading this review will be unaware of the name Professor Christopher Duffy nor will they be ignorant of his immense impact on our understanding of the conduct of warfare during the latter days of the Old Regime in Europe. The back catalogue of his books, over 20 of them, explores a vast range of subjects covering among others the Seven Years War, siege warfare and more. Many are viewed as the definitive works on their subject matter such as those dealing with the armies of Frederick the Great and Austria during the Seven Years War.

American historian, academic and author Dr Alexander Burns has accomplished a remarkable and frankly quite wonderful feat putting this book together, by combining 16 essays by well-known authors from around the world, focussing largely but not exclusively on eighteenth-century warfare.

This book, part of Helion’s ‘from Reason to Revolution 1721-1815’ series, celebrates the research and writing of Professor Duffy, and is an excellent means of honouring his legacy. The book contains four sections; the first covers ‘background and perspectives’ looking at the eighteenth century from a global point of view and Duffy’s impressive historiographical legacy. Part two examines commanders and their armies, with a wide range of subjects, including a study of the army of Wurttemberg, the crisis facing French cavalry in the Seven Years War to the development of irregular warfare across the eighteenth century. Part three is entitled ‘Voices from the Past’ and includes an analysis of previously unavailable contemporary accounts and letters, while the final part includes chapters on archaeological research among others, this being my favourite.


Every one of the 16 chapters make excellent reading in their own right, being well written, full of detail and, if warfare in eighteenth century is your ‘thing’, invaluable additions to honour Professor Duffy’s legacy.

ISBN 978-1-915070-38-8 Hardback 339 pages

Kesselsdorf 1745 - A review

From Reason to Revolution no. 117 is ‘Kesselsdorf, 1745. Decision in the Fight for Silesia’ by Alexander Querengasser. As the author states, this is not one of the great or widely known battles of the age of Frederick the Great, indeed what makes it interesting to me is that Frederick was not present and enemy were almost all Saxons, accompanied by a small force of Austrian troops.

The armies and leaders of both Prussia and Saxony are clearly outlined so my understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both was reinforced, and to anyone new to the period this information will provide a useful starting point. We then move on to the campaign itself, under the redoubtable Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau and the moves leading to the battle itself.

A good 25 percent of the book is devoted to an account of the battle, so as can be expected, it is dealt with in detail and we get a blow by blow description of events as they unfolded on the field of battle. This is certainly the most informative account of the battle I have ever come across, and this alone makes the book an invaluable and interesting source of research be it by historians, the ‘interested’ lay reader or many a wargamer of the mid-eighteenth century wars in Europe. That the battle and its importance (the outcome led directly and almost immediately to the Peace of Dresden) was sidelined in favour of the overall political ramifications of the successful Prussian campaign, and perhaps because Frederick was not there, is a shame but this book will go a long way to bringing it to the forefront where it belongs.

As with all similar Helion titles, this book is lavishly illustrated with eight pages of specially commissioned colour plates by non other than Patrice Courcelle. They are as one would rightly expect gorgeous. There are also a good number of largely contemporary black and white illustrations and a number of handy maps of the strategic situation as well as of the battle itself.

So, an excellent well written account, one useful to a wide readership whatever their background or interest.

ISBN 978-1-804511-88-6. 190 pages, soft cover.

Eighteenth Century Interlude, but No String Quartet.

This week’s game was a long overdue eighteenth century game using Honours of War set in the fictitious (obviously) world of the War of the Electrical Malapropismistic Accession - sorry. The Anglo/Hanoverian/Brunswick army of the Paralitic League (hereafter referred to as the Allies) were holding a coastal town, we never did decide where, but it was by the sea, but had been ejected from the surrounding outer works by a combined French and Spanish army of the Bourbon Confection the previous evening. Non-English readers might not ‘get’ these apparent wrong word choices.

Conrad, Dave and Jim played the attacking French and Spanish while Paul, Nigel and Neil were the Allies.  The Allies had to recapture the three redoubts and avoid being cut off from the town. The French and Spanish needed to retain the redoubts and try and cut the Allies off from the town. None of us had played Honours of War for quite some time but we got back into the swing of things very quickly. 

The battlefield from the sea. The Allies are on the left with the Brunswick brigade closest to the beach (even then, the Germans were keen to get the sun loungers first!). The Spanish are facing the Brunswickers with the main body of French foot opposite the English and Hanoverian brigades in the centre. Both armies deployed their horse on the far flank in what was a very cramped part of the battlefield. 

The Brunswick brigade advances towards the Spanish.

The Spanish arrived in March columns in an attempt to cover some ground before deploying in line.

IR von Behr of the Brunswick brigade.

Brunswick hussars and Hanoverian dragoons on the Allied left.

The ‘English’ brigade in the centre. HM 43rd Highlanders, as they were then, lead the way with HM 12th and 51st beyond them and Hanoverian artillery on the hill. Behind the guns are HM 20th.

More Brunswick infantry, IRs von Zastrow and von Imhoff. The fourth Brunswick battalion in the brigade the Leib-Battalion, is out of shot the left amd the fifth, the combined grenadiers is to the right, again not in shot.

The opposing cavalry close the distance between their squadrons. And therein lies a question; ‘ why did both commanders deploy their respective and not inconsiderable numbers of Horse, squeeze them  into the narrowest part of the battlefield?’ If I’d been the French my cavalry would have been by the seashore ready to threaten and perhaps take the town. If I’d been the Allies I might have considered placing all my Horse in the centre. But I was neither….

The two bodies of cavalry collide, with several squadrons being forced back on each side.

A closer view of the cavalry action.

Meanwhile, in the centre, things were about to get noisy, after a false start that is when Paul threw a ‘1’ when trying to get his dependable brigadier to move. The Hanoverians kept pace with the English, their jäger creeping through the wood in the distance. HM 43rd had gone into the closest wood, being the only regular battalion I permitted to operate in woods closest to the big earthwork. 

Dave ordered his French infantry forward to ensure they kept the enemy off the redoubt. The Gardes Lorraine wearing yellow coats lead the charge. Royal Italian holds the redoubt.

A turn or so later the French attackers have lost two battalions and the Royal Italian now finds itself in the front line. The Garde Francais are just in shot to their right.

Back on the French left, the Brunswick advance had been halted and was being pummelled by the Spanish artillery, which had already blasted the combined grenadier battalion of Brunswick infantry to kingdom come.

The Brunswick brigade is now being forced back by some aggressive Spanish infantry supported by the 12-pdrs in the foreground. One Spanish battalion was destroyed but the Brunswick brigade had lost two battalions and was taking heavy losses.

By now it was clear the battle was coming to an end. The cavalry of both armies had practically exhausted each other, but there were only three battered French squadrons remaining against at least five allied ones, several of which were fresh. This was not good given that there had been an 11 to 9 advantage in favour of the much better French. 

In the centre the more numerous French held the main redoubt but had taken a hammering from the English and Hanoverian musketry, loosing a good half a dozen battalions destroyed or forced out of the line. They had suffered quite a bit from the jägers shooting at their densely packed battalions from the wood. The jägers were classed as ‘inferior’ but their steady fire pecking away at the French flanks added much to the woe of the French, who were unable or unwilling to counter their fire until it was too late to do much about it.

As you will already have read, the Spanish on the left were pushing the Brunswick brigade back, but the French right had gone and the centre was about to collapse. The French still held or denied the enemy all three of the earthworks and were threatening the town, but their losses had been astronomical so if the Allies had continued the French would have been completely overwhelmed. It was clearly an Allied victory.

What a cracker of a game. Everyone was happy with the outcome and I’ve given myself a much needed and long overdue 18th century boost. 

The Potato War

The Potato War. Discuss. This new book in Helion’s ‘from Reason to Revolution’ series delves into what to many readers is a conflict that may have passed them by, or they may have heard of it by what it was called by contemporaries, that is, the aforementioned ‘Potato War’, so named as the troops spent more time trying to find food and other provisions rather than actually fighting the enemy.

What makes this short war of particular interest is that it was Frederick the Great’s last war and arguably marked the beginning of the decline of the famed Prussian army of the preceding years of the eighteenth century.

The author begins with introducing his approach to writing about the war, whereby he aims to give a balanced account of the capabilities of the Prussian army. His analysis of the road to war, the armies involved and of taking a fresh view of the organisation capabilities of the Prussian military machine is clearly presented. He also provides a good account of the armies of the Austro-Hungarians and Saxons. For a war largely devoid of battles the chapter covering the war itself is full of detail regarding troop movements and what actual combat there was largely restricted to the ‘Klein Krieg’ of skirmishes (at which the Austrians excelled) and the occasional bombardment.

The book is illustrated with many contemporary black and white images, some of which are new to me, and eight striking colour plates showing some of the uniforms of the troops involved. These are really good, and I particularly like the last one depicting a Saxon jäger in a very unusual hat.

There are also three appendices, which will be of particular interest to war gamers looking for something a little different as they provide very detailed orders of battle of the Imperial and Royal Austrian army and the allied Prussian and Saxon forces. The final appendix gives a breakdown of the composition of the Prussian army in 1778, and it might be interesting perhaps to compare this with the Prussians at the close of the Seven Year’s War.

This is a well written and researched book, using many primary German language sources supported by a wide range of secondary sources. As a fascinating and rare English language account of a little known war, it should be of great interest to anyone attracted to the campaigns and life of Frederick the Great.

 

Battling it out in Piedmont.

A sunny Saturday brought Conrad,Paul,  Nigel, John the Red, Shaun and Dave together at the Burrow for a game based incredibly loosely (ok, nothing much in common actually) on the battle of Assietta in Piedmont during the War of the Austrian Succession.  The similarities such as they were ended there, as this was hopefully going to be a little less one sided than the real battle. We used BP2 with a few house rules and lots of confusion. Big game, therefore while not always ideal Black Powder work best imho.

Conrad, Paul and Shaun played the combined Bourbon armies of France and Spain against Nigel, Dave and John as the Pragmatic Alliance army of Austria and in this case Modena, the latter standing in as I have no Piedmontese. Both armies were fighting for control of the road and the pass it ran through. The Pragmatic army started with their artillery emplaced in a redoubt and some smaller earthworks on their side of the pass supported only by some Grenzers hiding in the woods, Austrian grenadiers, some hussars and the Modena contingent. Further brigades would or could arrive during the game so the pressure was on the Bourbons to move quickly in overwhelming force before the enemy were reinforced. The twist in the plot was that the more successful the Bourbons, the quicker the Pragmatist reinforcements would arrive, and vice versa. The Modena and Spanish line were all classed as ‘untested’ and almost all the Bourbon horse were downgraded slightly to represent an issue around getting and keeping alive enough decent mounts. It would also give the opposing cavalry a chance as they were outnumbered 2:1 even when all the main Austrian cavalry commands (all good dragoon regiments) arrived.

I took loads of photos so I hope the course of the battle will be made clear.

Sunshine in Piedmont casting its light across the battlefield. Bourbons on the left.

The Bourbon right consisted of French and Spanish horse and six battalions of mostly dodgy Spanish infantry.

A slightly sunny view of the Bourbon right.

The Bourbon centre under Conrad consisted of a mere dozen or so French battalions, including a battalion of Gardes Francais, some Swiss and two battalions of Irish. 

My two regiments of Spanish horse. These were painted some time ago by my mate Vladimir of Old Guard Painting Services in Kyiv 🇺🇦 Old Guard Painters

Austrian hussars on their extreme right wing, facing seven regiments of French cavalry.

Shaun commanded on the Bourbon left. He was expecting three brigades of cavalry but after Paul took two for the other wing he was left with just two. (Ok, a typo on the order of battle didn’t help). However, his command did include two squadrons each of the Cuirassiers du Roi and the Carabiners du Roi, both excellent regiments.

John arrived late to find he was the Duke of Modena in command of his Guard battalion and Guard cavalry regiment and four ‘untested’ infantry battalions. On the upside they’re all a very pretty little army.

Conrad’s infantry advance en masse, a stirring sight.

The French attacking battalions were taking a hammering from the Austrian artillery.

The Irish of Bulkley’s regiment made it right up the mouths of the cannon.

Buckley was supported by another Irish battalion, the regiment Rooth, and the French Royal Italien regiment. Bulkley was soon to break under the pressure.

Modena line infantry holding the Pragmatic left.

The Gardes Lorraine soon took their turn at getting a hammering from the Austrian guns after the Gardes Francais were forced to pull back.

Over at the church of Our Lady of Biscotti St Beluga the Pragmatist the choirboys gave an impromptu concert supported by the  nuns’ cheerleader team!

Conrad made a bold move with his recovered Gardes Francais and swung round and closed to point blank range of the Austrian grenadiers. He did this on an initiative move which allowed him to fire (we use a different sequence of play as all agree it works better - Move CinC, Initiative Moves, Firing, Commanded Moves, Melee, End of Turn).  Another French unit moved up into close range of the Austrian cannon but predictably the French musket fire was largely ineffective.

With the end of the two Irish battalions the Royal Italien found themselves in the front rank. They were blasted by canister from this gun and one in the redoubt and driven off. 

Over on the flank Paul was hesitant about committing his cavalry in the face of steady infantry, even if they were from Modena. The Spanish infantry had advanced on the village and the gap beyond it but were harassed all the way by a battalion in the village, the Grenz in the wood and by a Modena battalion posted to cover the gap. Some of the Spanish foot were classed as untested so their stamina was randomised the first time they took losses, and two of these battalions received poor dice scores resulting in reduced stamina of '2'. During this advance two Spanish battalions were destroyed.

The view from behind the Pragmatic centre. Conrad's attacks were getting nowhere.

Paul then launched his cavalry against the Modena infantry as they had obligingly moved up the the low rise where they could shoot the Bourbon horsemen. Suffice to say the dice gods were clearly Pragmatists and Paul's first wave was destroyed or forced to retreat.

Modena's finest driving off the Bourbons.

The Spanish commander.

More French were attacking in the centre, advancing through a storm of shot.

The Bourbon horse then repeated their charge against the Modena troops. This time one battalion was destroyed and another forced to retreat.

The victorious Bourbon cavalry halted in the face of four Austrian dragoon  regiments which had been supporting the Modena infantry. The opposing horsemen did clash but the result was inconclusive other than for breaking a brigade of French horse.

On the other flank things were very confusing, and I have to be honest and say I lost track of exactly what went on. Suffice to say, the French horsemen slowly advanced, driving the Austrian hussars before them. 

After a failed attempt to hit the Austrians on the hill in the flank, four of Shaun's horse units were disordered by charging across the river, and although they overran some artillery and damaged two Austrian battalions they were forced to retire. This was a good thing as it transpired.

The French cavalry didn't know whether they were coming or going!

Conrad's big attack fizzled out as one brigade was broken and the other perilously close

 to suffering the same fate.

More reinforcements arrived to bolster the Pragmatic army and Shaun's cavalry had to turn to face a new threat to their rear.

The Austrian infantry formed an angle against the riverbank.

A retreating French infantry brigade.

The remnants of the beaten and withdrawing Bourbon centre from the Pragmatic perspective.

The Bourbons were unlucky that they were not able to make best use of their artillery for much of the battle as they were unable to hit their targets due to the French infantry who were up close and personal with the Austrians. 

So, with their main attack defeated and their wings not making much headway this was a clear Pragmatic victory. The Bourbons were very unlucky with their dice as the plan was a sound one. It might have worked if they had managed to get their underused artillery to soften up the Pragmatic centre. If....? Oh well.

This was a super game and it was certainly full of spectacle and action. If the Bourbons had been able to win decisively on even one flank and got their guns into action sooner to soften up the enemy centre I reckon the result would have been very different. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. 

All the figures and terrain are mine, mostly painted by me, and are 28mm miniatures from a variety of sources, notably Cran Tara, Front Rank, Black Hussar, Ebor and Elite. The eagle-eyed will perhaps wonder at the mix of manufactures on the Bourbon side. I got a fabulous deal with Ebor for their WSS French. There’s not much difference in their dress between 1715 and say, the War of the Polish Succession of the 1730’s to the War of the Austrian Succession. The other manufacturers were add ins as the collection grew, mainly as I like the look of the figures. My toys anyhow.