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English battery at Walcourt 1689 |
The interruption to posts on the blog has been the direct consequence of a six day trip which began with SALUTE 2015 and ended when I returned from the battlefields of Belgium on Friday night. After the show Bob, Gerry and I headed off to the Cockpit of Europe for a fairly intensive four day driving and walking tour.
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French guns being hauled into position at Walcourt 1689 |
We visited Ieper, Passchendaele, Oudenaarde, Ligny, Quatre Bras, Wavre and of course Waterloo which we went to three times over three days. That trip will feature in various forms over the next few weeks as we hear from my travelling companions about their own reflections.
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Governor Walley's Massachusetts artillery at Quebec 1690 |
So, excuses out of the way let's turn to the third in the series of Action posts from the 1690s, this one featuring the guns. Although artillery of the period was not the dominant power it was to become after 1800 it did provide shock value and play an important part in several battles.
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More French guns in Flanders 1693 |
The fact that several prominent commanders such as St Ruhe and The Duke of Berwick were killed by cannon shot serves to illustrate that it could literally be a battle winner.
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A solitary Rebel light gun at the Battle of Scrag End 1685 |
The Warfare Miniatures guns have been a wonderful investment. Not only have we sold loads, the also feature in the 1672 Range from North Star and the Ebor range too.
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Ginkel's guns commence the Battle of Aughrim 1691 |
Four sizes from a light, double trailed Galloper to a monster battering piece provide a good range for those wishing to model artillery of the period. The most ubiquitous of all is the Field Gun which can be seen in some of the shots here.
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WLOA18 Warfare Miniatures Positional gun |