Another quiet week, but finished with a quick change of gear ........basing frenzy time!!!!

In my world completing a wargames  unit is not unlike waiting for a bus; nothing, then several come along together! Same with my production line approach, as routinely I end up with two or three new units finished at more or less the same time. It also helps when my mate Barry comes up trumps and sends me a boxful of newly painted Late Roman figures (or whatever is next in the production line) for me to base up. 

I am in the middle of some commanders, light infantry, more cavalry of all types, and some bolt throwers. A fair chunk left to do though but there’s no rush.

On the war gaming front, I’ve taken part in a couple of enjoyable virtual ACW ironclad and 1/72 plastic WSS games over the past couple of weeks and I still attend the weekly Zoom meeting of the Worldwide Virtual Wargames Group when I can.

I really must host a game next weekend.

Austrian Cavalry of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815 - Another book review

In the absence of any gaming here at the Burrow and a slow down in painting (or at least completing) figures I've been able to review yet another offering from Helion and Co.

A great deal has been written about the subject of the book, and I have a fair bit of it myself. However authors Enrico Acerbi and Andras K Molnar are to be commended on an excellent and thorough ‘refresh’ of the subject, using many new and previously unpublished non-English language sources in this impressive, new and weighty publication from Helion and Co, the latest in their successful ‘Reason to Revolution’ series, (Number 60 no less). Again, Helion and series editor Andrew Bamford should also be commended for stepping out of the box with another excellent and well researched book authored by non-native English speakers, which is not without its risks.

The Austrian army was in a state of almost constant warfare against the French throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. For all its perceived lack of success on the battlefield and the poor performance of many of its leaders, the army was actually a well trained and disciplined force. This was especially true of its large mounted arm, regarded, respected and feared as among the best, if not the best, in Europe.

I like the straightforward and direct approach adopted by Helion in almost all their publications. The book begins with an introduction to the Kaiserlich und Koniglich (K und K) army at the start of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and takes us through a brief history of Austria’s involvement in the ongoing fight against the French. It then gets into the nitty-gritty of the subject and the rest of the book is a detailed exploration of Austrian cavalry, the different types, (for example Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Chevau-Leger, Uhlans and Hussars), beginning with its organisation, tactics, recruitment and training (of men and their mounts) and the glittering array of uniforms. The latter section is especially well detailed, and, as well as covering regular regiments includes many of the Freikorps units raised at times throughout the wars.  The information presented is for the most part neatly tabulated and all is easy to follow.

We are then given a detailed regimental history for each cavalry regiment, including their Colonel ‘proprietors’ and their commanding officers, as well as where they were recruited, stationed in peacetime and the campaigns and battles they were involved in. 

The book is illustrated throughout with many contemporary black and white images, but the central colour plates by Bruno Mugnai are, as one would expect from such a talented artist, gorgeous. For lovers of lists and tables, the one appendix is a comprehensive and interesting list of the names of Austrian army and general staff officers and the appointments they held. 

For anyone interested in the Austrian army of the period, and especially the cavalry, this is should be as welcome an addition to their library as it is to my groaning bookcases. 

Italy, Piedmont and War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1712: A Review

Here’s another review I promised to do as soon as I had read the book. No 63 in Helion’s Century of the Soldier series is another of those books that I don’t need but just had to have and find a space for on the shelves. I’ve got collections of Piedmontese troops for the last quarter of the 17thC as well as for the French Revolutionary Wars so an area of interest and potential expense for sure.

 ‘Italy, Piedmont, and the War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1712’ by Cairo Paoletti does what its says on the cover and does it well. The best thing about this book is that it covers one of the secondary but strategically critical areas where the war was fought; one that seems to have been overlooked by English-speaking authors until now. This was a theatre where the Allies, Britain included, sank vast amounts of money and resources into, and it is a story well told. 

The book follows the well-tried and tested Helion format, and takes the reader through the 11 years of the war covered by the book, starting when Piedmont supported the French, then from 1703, when they switched allegiance to join the opposition until the cessation of hostilities. If you are after detail then you won’t be disappointed.

As ever the book is lavishly illustrated with a large number of contemporary black and white pictures as well as 16 central pages of specially commissioned colour paintings showing the dress of not only Piedmontese troops but those of the Papacy, Parma and Tuscany, and details of the flags carried, all by well-known artist Bruno Mugnai. Furthermore there are some useful maps and the uniform guide chart is helpful as it shows the coat and facing colours for each Piedmontese regiment of infantry. Personally my favourite colour plates are those showing the dress of soldiers from Parma, Tuscany and the Papal States.

In summary, this is a well researched and richly detailed and illustrated study of the Piedmontese army and the campaigns in Italy. Helion often have a titanic task translating and editing work from non-English speakers but this book was certainly a most enjoyable read, and as such I can recommended it highly.

“Cannon Played from the Great Fort” A review

I promised to review this and two more new Helion books in an earlier post. Here is the first. 

I like to keep count of the number of books Helion have published in their various series; in this case ‘The Century of the Soldier’ and this book is No. 64. “Cannon Played from the Great Fort” yet again fills a gap in the readily accessible information and knowledge we have on the tragedy that was the English Civil War. The major battles of Marsdon Moor, Naseby, Edgehill and the like have been done to the proverbial death but little, to my understanding at least, has been written about the numerous sieges which took place.

This book focuses just on sieges the undertaken in the Severn Valley, of which there were many, great and small. After an introduction into the science and practice of siege warfare during the mid-17th century there are chapters on each of the years 1643, 1645 and 1646 (there were no siege operations in the region during 1644). The conduct of the sieges of Bristol (1643 & 1644), Gloucester (1643), Shrewsbury (1645) and Worcester (1646) are each described in great detail, supported by contemporary correspondence and records. These chapters do a splendid job building up to the penultimate one which is a well-reasoned analysis of Royalist sieges versus Parliamentarian ones. I will leave the reader to judge which if any side outperformed the other; suffice to say it makes excellent reading. Finally the conclusion contains interesting sections on the overall strategy, and the key technological and intellectual defensive and offensive tactics that were developed and used during the war in the Severn Valley.

To conclude, this is yet another triumph for Helion and author Richard Israel. The subject has clearly been researched deeply and the book is well written and easy to read. Illustrated throughout with 30  photographs of the surviving fortifications, key buildings and landscapes as they are today, 13 reproductions of contemporary drawings and 10 really useful maps, all of which help our understanding of the period and the sieges under analysis. An excellent addition to the series.

It’s all gone quiet at this end. What’s yours doing?

I’ve not hosted a game for what seems like ages but it’s only been seven days. Feels much longer. I was hors de combat for all of last week. Back related stuff and a trapped nerve in my hip meant I couldn’t stand up straight and/or walk until a day or so ago. Obviously I didn’t get to paint anything either which is frustrating as I set myself little weekly goals and last week’s was a wipe out😫. 

However I did get to play in a live Skype game hosted on Conrad’s dining room table with players from Sunderland, Durham, Teesside and Merseyside. It was a Marlburian game using Conrad’s 1/72 scale collection of Strelets, Zvezda and the rest. The Allies defeated a superior French army. We used Honours of War without any amendments other than the application of common sense as and when necessary.

The new Strelets WSS range are really nice. Way back before the Great Confinement began several of us had decided to put together forces for the WSS in 1/72 scale plastic. I was wary of treading too close to the dark side that is plastic 1/72 but offered to do a number of Brandenburg units. A year later and this is all I’ve got finished. I found them really hard to paint, or maybe I was just overthinking the process. In the end I decided to put each battalion or squadron on a single 160mm wide base, so stuck them down, sprayed them blue and picked out the detail as I saw fit. As these units will demonstrate, I’m not the worlds greatest painter, but I enjoy it and these days can churn out perfectly satisfactory 28mm figures, but it’s taken a year to finish these plastics! Ah well, just another nine battalions, twenty squadrons and some guns and command and I’ll be done, by 2031 at the present rate!

The Late Romans are coming together slowly. I’ve done quite a few myself, with several more units on the go, but I was lucky enough to pick up some painted Late Romans off eBay. They all needed rebasing and needed a few extra figures for most units to bring them up to the strengths I’ve decided upon for the armies.  All units are on the same frontage bases. No reason other than having done a few now it looks good. Storage will be easier too. My mate ‘super painter’ Barry finished another batch of figures for me last week. I now have five new units of Late Roman infantry and two final battalions of green-coated Canadian Militia also arrived yesterday all of which need to be based up (by me). I’ve got quite a few figures in the basing queue already but these will jump to the head of the line.  Two Late Roman armies may sound over ambitious but it’s a worthy idea. 

Photos will follow in due course. 

More goodies from Helion

                                           

I was fortunate to receive these books last week from the generous gents at Helion. I’ve not finished any of them yet but once I’ve done so will post my reviews here. I’m reading the Piedmont book at the moment and  it’s full of useful stuff for anyone considering building a Piedmontese  army for the War of the Spanish Succession. (Like I am no less....)

A freebie lecture on siege mentality in the English Civil Wars

 

Free Public Lecture – 24th February 4pm - Fear played a large part in siege warfare and was one of the key effects of ordnance bombardment on a settlement. This presentation will look at the physical and psychological damage inflicted by the ordnance on urban sites in the English Civil Wars.

In the 17th century gunpowder artillery had become a new aspect of warfare, supporting the previous methods of breaking a siege by storm or undermining its defences. While similar in style and effect to previous mechanical artillery, the nature of these devices meant that they could be used at an increased rate, and to greater affect.

The presentation will introduce 17th century siege warfare and its place in the English Civil War, how artillery brought about the surrender of the settlements.

email k.critchell@chester.ac.uk to receive a FREE link to the Microsoft Teams site

Dr Sam Chadwick is a visiting lecturer at the University of Chester. He specialises in the English Civil Wars, siege warfare and “the crowd”, any time the lower classes get uppity and try and throw off their shackles. He is currently writing a book for Helion & Company on the significance of artillery in the sieges of the English Civil Wars.

Why not gen up on the background by getting a copy of our new book on siege warfare in the Civil War period?

Click on the link to found out more

http://helion.co.uk/.../cannon-played-from-the-great-fort...