The League of Augsburg
GNW Russian Horse Grenadier squadron
These chaps have been languishing on my painting table for some time. Finished but un-photographed. They are the first completed squadron of a large Horse Grenadier Regiment for a Petrine Russian Army.
The Horse Grenadiers were grenadier companies drawn from dragoon regiments and consolidated into discrete regiments. New Grenadier companies were recruited as back fill in the existing dragoon...
One to one wargaming: expanding the idea
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| Three 48 man companies of musketeers from the garrison of Derry. A company of Mountjoy's Regt at the centre. |
I was very pleased that the first post on this subject was popular and that visitors were stimulated to consider the implications of frontages, deployment, fire methodologies and movement around the battlefield and its table top imitation.
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| A battalion of Jacobite Foot based for Beneath the... |
One to one wargaming: A visual study in British company deployment 1685-1698
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| Company six deep |
I have been planning this particular post for about three years. Why has it taken so long? I needed to get a run at it. I am fascinated by the compromises necessary in wargaming particularly in relation to scales. Vertical scale distortion, ground scale distortion and finally the challenges in representing the depth of formations relative to their width. This last one has always...
Focusing on Sedgemoor Part 2 - The Royal Army
Rather than focusing on a history of the Royal Army I have chosen to feature several of the wargaming units built up and in some cases, let go over the years. All were based for Beneath the Lily Banners and several have been in involved in over 100 wargames over the years.
The Royal Army fielded at Sedgemoor in 1685 was modest in size but when compared to its opponents, infinitely more professional...
The Royal Army fielded at Sedgemoor in 1685 was modest in size but when compared to its opponents, infinitely more professional...
Focusing on Sedgemoor Part 1
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| Royal cavalry approach a hostile Somerset hamlet - the villagers are assembling on the Green |
The Battle of Sedgemoor, July 6 1685 stimulates a variety of responses when discussed amongst wargamers. I almost added - and the wider population but realized how unlikely such an occurrence might be! Who actually knows much about it? (or cares!)
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| Those infamous 'Lambs' Kirke's Tangier veterans used for... |
Janissary Ortas 1530 - 1720
Janissary dress and equipment changed little from the mid 16th to the mid 18th century. The units featured here could easily be from The First Battle of Mohacs in 1526, part of the all conquering armies of the 1500s or, from the forces who fought at the Relief of Vienna 1683, Second Battle of Mohacs 1687, Battle of Zenta 1697 and Pruth River Campaign 1710-1711 .
Most of the work was done as a...
Ottoman Commanders
I have always enjoyed building Command vignettes. These three are the very first Ottoman types and utilize models from packs OT01, OT05 and OT06. The rank of the officers is non specific although two have standards whilst the central base features two full dress Janissaries - a senior officer and his bodyguard.
I don't often use purple in my wargaming units but fancied doing a small personal banner...
Ottoman Banners - Table top bling bling!
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| Part of one of my own painted units |
Well, this is somewhat of a bling post but I just enjoyed myself so much doing these flags that I thought I would share. I decided that any Ottoman unit I got the chance to paint and/or base was going to get one of my old style linen flags.
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| The Terry's Chocolate Orange Orta - The men listen intently to their Bolouk! |
Once I started it was hard to stop! Sometimes...
Warfare and WSS by stealth
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| A very large Malplaquet game I organized and ran about 10 years ago - spots the Minifigs! |
The War of the Spanish Succession (WSS) may appear to have been some sort of enormous elephant in the room for Warfare Miniatures but not so. Rather than being a conflict which I have no interest in, the Nine Years War is a conflict when has voraciously consumed my interest leaving little time for anything...
Story of a show game 4 - Forces : The Imperialists
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| This was a hoot! 1693 and riding roughshod over the French but it's 20 years on.. can the Turk be vanquished too? |
I very much enjoyed the German Grand National 1693 game which we ran at Tactica and elsewhere in the first half of 2018. The competition between four German ally states against a common enemy was colourful and fun and even spawned an X rated version which I think was called the W hores?...
Story of a show game 2 - The scenario
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| The Panzer Division will watch from the sidelines whilst the infantry slug it out |
The scenario for CRISIS 2018 is called Brahms & Liszt. It is set in 1713 on the south-eastern frontier or, north-western if you are Turkish! This is twenty years after our previous show effort of 2018 at TACTICA which also involved Imperial forces racing to over run the French in the German Grand National 1693.
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| Prussia... |
Story of a show-game 1 - the trade off
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| LoA North American Chapter - Clarence did ALL the work for this one at Historicon 2016 |
Being a Team of two, you have to make decisions which are inevitably a compromise. I have captained some productive groups since starting on the Event Trail around 1992. Sometimes we were two, occasionally three, many times and for several years, I flew solo.
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| Don't be 'leg-ist' please! |
I don't envy larger groups...