The League of Augsburg
Texel ships Part II - returning to Aladdin's Cave
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| Texel Roads from Den Helder - Texel on the horizon - its a massive anchorage |
The area south east of Texel known as the Texel Roads was a massive anchorage for military and merchant vessels throughout the Age of Sail. The kinds of things brought up from frequent salvage dives speaks volumes about Dutch naval heritage. If the French were the Baddies on land the English were definitely the Baddies at...
Tales from the Road: Futa Pass, Tuscany: German Cemetery
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| A nice antidote to the intensity of Salute! |
A much anticipated trip to Tuscany brought some unexpected but very enjoyable hobby related activity. Mrs H had booked us into a hotel near Mugello, north of Florence. It lies on a road between the now under-restoration home castle of the Medicis and the famous high pass at Futa where the Gothic Line was cracked by the Americans in 1944.
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| The largest German... |
Wandering Around Ireland, Part VI
Clarence Harrison - After deciding no one was going to attempt to follow in the steps of the Dutch Guard and cross the river, we climbed back up onto the road. Walking north we climbed a steep rise and then turned east to walk the area where the Williamite forces advanced. The area was enclosed in a cattle fence, though luckily there were no livestock present that day.
I thought this was a cool bit...
I thought this was a cool bit...
New pdf set : A Wargamer's guide to the Williamite Army at Aughrim
Clarence has made some super contributions on artwork and we've updated certain information in light of continuing research and focus.
The contents follow this pattern:
A01. Modelling the Williamite Army and its senior officers
A02. The...
Wandering Around Ireland, Part V
Clarence Harrison - A conversation I had via Messenger last week...
"Are you ever going to finish blogging about your Ireland trip?"
"What? Didn't I finish it? That was a year ago..."
"Didn't you go the Boyne?"
"Son of a..."
So, yes. Roughly one year ago I took a trip to Scotland to play some games with toy soldiers and then on a boy's adventure outing to Ireland (you can find the other installments he...
"Are you ever going to finish blogging about your Ireland trip?"
"What? Didn't I finish it? That was a year ago..."
"Didn't you go the Boyne?"
"Son of a..."
So, yes. Roughly one year ago I took a trip to Scotland to play some games with toy soldiers and then on a boy's adventure outing to Ireland (you can find the other installments he...
Poltava part 2 - the terrain
Jon and Diane used artificial grass for the terrain and the manual paint job was very effective. The playing surface is very robust and would take a fair bit of punishment if unfortunate enough to experience it.
The table was twenty feet by six and the paints used were I understand, commercial emulsions. The paint job was completed by running the mats over a wallpapering table.
The redoubts are...
Feature- Russian Commanders
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| Shermetev, Menshikov, Repnin |
From existing paintings it is difficult to definitively decide exactly how a particular historical figure looked. Statuesque and heroic or pox faced and pot bellied? Hardly the latter considering the sitter usually commissioned the artwork and nobody wants to look ugly in a 17th or 18th century version of the modern pouting selfie!
We chose three colourful characters...
A Fascinating detour Part 2 - Brielle
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| Gateway in Brielle's inner defensive ramparts |
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| Panel beyond the outer works explaining Brielle's position and history |
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| The moat between out ramparts and the Molenbolwerk - can you see its cannon? |
Whilst in Den Haag Toggy spotted an article about the fortress town of Brielle and its capture by the Sea Beggars during the Eighty Years War. Do you know anything about this? he asked. Nope was the unhelpful...
Guest post: On the trail of the Jacobite War in Ireland Part 3 - The Fort
Friend of the blog Peter A shares his some of his Irish campaign experiences from Kinsale 1690....
The Fort – Kinsale
Kinsale at 7.30am on a Sunday morning. Clear, bright, cold. Sun rising over the remains of the old James Fort. The harbour still and quiet – waiting for the day.
That peace – an enchanted moment – the sea and the shape of the hills is a view untouched for a thousand years – any modern...
Guest post: The Williamite Wars in Ireland - Part 2 - The River
Friend of the blog Peter A - wanderings in ancient Ireland – part two
It is along road from Kinsale to Limerick. But much harder on foot or on horseback than by car. The first tough haul is the twisty, tortuous undulating road up to Cork – that caused Marlborough’s men so much trouble in bringing his heavy artillery down to take part in the siege of Charles Fort, Kinsale.
Once beyond Cork, we head...
Wandering Around Ireland, Part III
Clarence Harrison - The next day of our trip took us to lots of different sites!
Before leaving Enniskillen, we stopped at Enniskillen Castle and just had a walk around the outside. On March 11th 1689, Gustavus Hamilton formally declared Enniskillen for William of Orange. A day later, James II landed at Kinsale seeking to win, with victory in Ireland, the springboard for an assault on England....
Before leaving Enniskillen, we stopped at Enniskillen Castle and just had a walk around the outside. On March 11th 1689, Gustavus Hamilton formally declared Enniskillen for William of Orange. A day later, James II landed at Kinsale seeking to win, with victory in Ireland, the springboard for an assault on England....
Book Review - Behind the Walls - Nicola Pierce
Behind the Walls - a novel about the Siege of Derry 1689
I don't normally do book reviews on the blog although I have occasionally written some for the trade press in the past.
I thought I'd make an exception for this book which I picked up in the Visitors Centre at The Boyne last month for a couple of reasons; It is about a subject in which I have a deep and abiding interest and not often written...