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