Armies of the Italian States, 1660-1690, part 1

One of the more prolific of authors, Bruno Mugnai has recently seen the publication of the sixth volume in his superb series covering the ‘Wars and Soldiers in the Reign of Louis XIV’ with the ‘Armies of the Italian States, 1660-1690, Part One’. As is frequently the case, in my opinion at least, this book series just keeps getting better and better with the arrival of each new volume, and this one is no exception.

Starting with some quite detailed discussion on the geopolitical background of the Italian peninsula, this volume covers just about everything one might wish to know about the armies of Savoy-Piedmont and the Venetian Republic and her allies, such as the Papal States, the Order of St John and Tuscany. We are introduced to a detailed explanation of different troop types, recruitment methods, training, weapons and equipment, dress/uniform, organisation and leadership. There is even a diagram which serves to explain the chain of command of the Savoy-Piedmont army. As noted earlier there a wealth of background information covering the ever changing political situation, the numerous military operations of these two powers and their relationships with their often more powerful neighbours makes fascinating reading and gives some useful context. 

The author is also an accomplished artist, and there are eight pages of gorgeous specially commissioned colour paintings that take pride of place in the centre of the book, depicting a wide range of dress, uniforms and troop types. The Venetian ‘Oltramarine’ troops illustrated look especially interesting. There are also a large number of contemporary black and white images, and both these and the colour plates are each accompanied by a detailed and very helpful commentary.

As an admirer of Bruno’s work I wholeheartedly recommend this book as it is a valuable addition to the series, whether for general historical and military research purposes or for wargamers searching for something by way of a different sort of project. I await Part 2 with a high degree of impatience.

ISBN 978-1-915113-57-3 Soft cover, 232 pages.

Russians Update. Not the progress I had hoped for but……it’s still progress

Well, six weeks in I had been planning to have rather more of this Russian force at the point I wanted them at, ie ready for a little highlighting and varnish then basing. I brought two regiments of Russian infantry, six battalions of 32 figures (24 musketeers and 8 grenadiers), and two half-batteries of artillery, minus the actual cannon.

Musketeers but off the top of my head I can’t remember which regiment they are destined to be.

Grenadiers

Should get these finished before we come home.

The shambles that is my temporary painting station.

Well I have failed 😞. There is only one battalion ready, plus two of the three grenadier companies of the regiment (one per battalion). I will more than likely get the other two battalions of the first regiment finished and all the others have had their greatcoats speed painted (still not wholly convinced as I like contrast paints better I think). You never know I may well get them pretty much along the road to completion as they’re very simple figures to paint and the greatcoats make them even simpler; collars, shoulder straps, cross belts, faces and various applications of black.

So it may be a bit longer before these boys take on the valiant/dastardly (delete as applicable) Swedes, let alone any Frenchies.

An interesting anecdote, or not? I very occasionally have used a painting service in Kiev, and keep in touch quite regularly, so given the current circumstances and to support them in their time of need I sent about a hundred figures to Vladimir to have painted. I mentioned that I had lots of Russians needing painting but thought it might be a bit insensitive, so they were sent loads of Steel Fist peasants. Not a problem I was told “as those Russians are history and we’ve been accepting commissions of Russian figures throughout the war” or words to that effect. I imagine many more present day Russians will join their forbears before this madness stops and Putin goes.

Onwards to Omdurman

Onwards to Omdurman, the Anglo-Egyptian Campaign to Reconquer the Sudan, 1896-1898by Keith Surridge is No.26 and a most worthy addition in Helion’s ‘From Musket to Maxim 1815-1914’ series. This book was published earlier this year and it has been inexcusably sitting on my to-do pile of books to review for some time. Well, having now got around to reading it I am very happy to report that this is a fascinating account of the campaign that culminated in the iconic battle of Omdurman in the Sudan following on from the shock of General Gordon’s no less iconic death at the fall of Khartoum over a decade earlier.

The author provides detailed information on the background to the conflict and the relationship between Britain, Egypt and theSudan. The chapter covering the Mahdist state that emerged following the conquest of Sudan provided for me an insight into the demographic, geographical and geopolitical issues. The chapter covering the British led Egyptian army is no less interesting in describing the recruitment, training and armament of this much maligned force.

The meat of the book are the chapters covering the advance to Khartoum up the Nile, and each of the encounters with the Mahdists on the way, from Dongola through to Atbara, Kereri and Omdurman. Each of these is examined in detail, supported by helpful maps of the battlefields depicting the terrain, dispositions and troop movements. There is also a nice postscript as the author then examines the final stages of the campaign culminating a year later in the battle of Um Dibaykrat, the death of the Khalifa and the famous Fashoda Incident which almost sparked off a war between Britain and France.

I found the discussion and narrative covering the British utilisation of the ultimate in Victorian technology to pursue their goals by far the most interesting. This was not just about magazine rifles, machines guns and modern artillery but also about the use of the telegraph to ease communication difficulties caused by the vastness of the territory being campaigned over, but also rail and river transport, supported prefabricated gunboats, to more quickly move troops and vital supplies.

The book contains a large number of contemporary black and white images together with a central block of 14 full page and largely colour illustrations, some contemporary and others especially commissioned from renowned artist Peter Dennis.

This is a well written and researched, with contemporary published and unpublished material and interestingly tries to see the campaign from the perspective of the Mahdists through the use of published sources where available also from intelligence reports from British officers and spies and informants in the Sudan. I enjoyed this book and can recommend it to anyone interested in British campaigns of the late Victorian era.


ISBN 978-1-915070-51-7 Softback, 155 pages

Dragoons and Dragoon Operations in the British Civil Wars 1638-1653

‘Dragoons and Dragoon Operations in the British Civil Wars, 1638-1653’ by Andrew Abram is one of offerings from Helion in their Century of the Soldier series. It is also number 99 in the series and to be honest it of the doesn’t seem two minutes since the first book in this prolific series appeared in print. Apologies for yet another book review but I’m still away from home so no games or even painting to report upon just yet but back home on 15 August and that’s where I’m staying until next year!

The book’s sub title could very well be along the lines of ‘everything you ever wanted to know about dragoons but didn’t ask’. This quite weighty book provides the reader with a comprehensive description of every aspect of what being a dragoon meant and entailed in the British Civil Wars. They were said to be ‘jacks of all trades’ but in truth many units were masters of many, such as combined arms tactics and specialist operations.

The first half or thereabouts of the book provides us with a comprehensive description of the origins and roles of dragoons, tactics ( including the aforementioned specialist operations, their organisation, pay and other benefits, clothing, equipment, standards and everything to do with horses, their care and feeding and horse harness. I found the latter area of discussion provided an especially interesting insight given the importance of horses to their role on the battlefield and on campaign.

The second half investigates the dragoons in action, with the Oxford army, that of the Earl of Essex, the Eastern Association and the New Model Army. These provide a detailed understanding of their role and operations. There were some very good units, often recruited from veterans of Continental warfare, and very many poorly led ones, especially in the early days of the wars.

The book is well written and an engaging read, and furthermore is really interesting, insofar that I lost myself in it for several hours when reading it for this review. The narrative is supported by a wide range of illustrations and several tables. Some are contemporary images, others photographs of present-day historic locations that feature in the text.

I am not aware, and stand to be corrected, of any other authors who have written such a detailed account of this rather overlooked subject; traditional views often hold dragoons in some level of contempt when compared to the more dashing cavalrymen, but it’s all very ‘apples and pears’. Prince Rupert among many commanders understood and utilised their unique skills both on and off the battlefield, and having read this book I am now much more appreciative of the importance dragoons played in the Civil Wars. This is yet another book worthy of a place on my groaning bookshelves.

ISBN 978-1-804511-95-4. 334 pages, softback

The Campaign in Poland 1806-1807

The rate at which Helion are publishing books covering the period between 1805 and 1807 is such that anyone with an interest in the efforts of the Russian army during these years will probably feel like the proverbial kid in a sweet shop there is so much on offer!

Following hard on the heels of ‘Tsar Alexander’s Second War with Napoleon 1806-1807’ by Alexander Ivanovich Mikhailovsky-Dailevsky, we now have ‘Confronting Napoleon. Levin von Bennigsen’s Memoir of the Campaign in Poland, 1806-1807. Volume 1, Pultusk to Eylau’.

The book starts with an interesting series of discussions on the geopolitical situation in Europe, particularly with relevance to Russia and her relationships with her neighbours such as Sweden, the Ottomans, Prussia, Austria, France and England.

This is all useful scene setting before we are launched into a very informative narrative of the campaign, which is ideal for those readers with limited understanding of this complex campaign, but no less so given the source material for anyone with a greater depth of knowledge. The course of the campaign through the wilds of Poland in winter is particularly interesting, written as it is from the perspective of Benningson in his memoirs, where he describes the logistical nightmare of campaigning in Poland, and the operational challenges faced by a far from unified Russian command. Of course everything comes to a conclusion (for this volume at least) with the confusing bloodbath that was the battle of Eylau, which is described in detail.

The book contains a number of useful maps, both of the theatre of war and of some of the individual battles, together with a number of contemporary black and white illustrations. Do not overlook the numerous and detailed footnotes as they provide some fascinating supporting information, as does the inclusion of Marshal Ney’s captured correspondence.

This book is a must for anyone interested in this campaign, and this is a tremendous first volume. I eagerly await volume 2.

The down side of all these books on the years from 1805-1807 is that my plans for a Russo-Swedish War 1808-1809 project have been expanded, as I am going to end up with far more Russians than required for that little war, but I WILL have enough for these campaigns as well. All I need is to find someone with enough French to fight them. Get painting guys!



ISBN 978-1-915070-44-9. Softback, 230 pages.

Early Napoleonic Russians on Holiday and The Great Game

By which I mean I am on holiday again, not my Napoleonic Russians heading off to their summer dachas, or worse still invading the Raj via the North West Frontier, but you knew what I meant…..

So, I’ve brought some figures to paint this trip, in the shape of a couple of regiments of Russian infantry, totaling six battalions of 32 minis each, plus two half batteries of artillery. They’re all Casting Room Miniatures (CRM) in greatcoats so painting them ought not to be a big chore (famous last words no doubt). I’ve brought some ‘speed paints’ with me to do the greatcoats, gaiters and shakos and the rest will be done in acrylic. Not sure still how speedy they are in practice, and the figures still don’t paint themselves!

In the past week I’ve decided rather unhelpfully to re-organise my Russian line infantry into regiments of three battalions, each of 32 figures. Having spent the last three years getting the miniatures together for this project whenever CRM had a sale, restructuring the army is a bit silly but it should work out. So rather than the original organisation of two battalions of 24 per regiment we now have three of 32. Eight miniatures from each battalion are grenadiers while the rest are musketeers so other than there being an extra battalion for each regiment not much has changed. My two jager regiments will now need expanding slightly and my lone grenadier regiment will need another battalion. 

Having decided to add yet another Russian army to my collection (already I have Russians for the SYW, FRW and Crimean War) with the main objective of gaming the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809 I've decided it'd be nice to be able to use these Russians to fight the French between 1805 and 1808.  A dastardly Russian trick however was to change uniform regulations between the end of the campaign in Poland and the start of the war against Sweden. I shall however adopt a flexible approach, by which I mean I will do what I like as I like the early jäger uniforms and busk it with the shoulder straps and collars on the grenadiers and musketeers.

Katherine’s birthday party this evening so I doubt I’ll make any progress with the Russian hoards today.

Forthcoming Helion Conferences

 These are coming up later this year and are usually well worth a day out if you can get there.