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Join the League of Augsburg

July 21, 2013, 9:11 pm
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Please, Sir! I just need a few more days to finish the blog post!
Clarence Harrison - The blog is off to a great start and we have lots of great articles coming up, but in the spirit of alliance that was the League of Augsburg, we would like to invite you to participate! We are now accepting submissions for guest authors to add articles of their own. This could be a snippet of history, an article on painting or collecting models, building terrain, a scenario or after action report, a FEATURED REGIMENT, info on uniforms, flags, or equipment, or simply some nice photos of models or units.

Unfortunately as this is mainly a labor of love on our part, we can't provide compensation other than the promotion of your personal blogs or other projects you may be involved in.

This is awesome! How do I get involved?
Send a brief outline of your submission to loasubmissions@gmail.com to make sure we don't already have a similar article on the schedule (the same subject of a Featured Regiment for example). I just don't want someone putting lots of effort into a project only to find out we can't use it. If you have an epic idea along the lines of one of Barry's series, we can publish the piece in installments. Don't panic if you don't hear back right away... I will try to check the email account every day, but I might not always be able to respond the same day.

I'd like to submit an article, but I don't have photos.
No problem... We probably do. We borrow from each other already and we can most likely find something to go with your idea, create maps, etc. Just mention that when you send your outline.

Do I have to use BLB, Donnybrook, or Warfare Miniatures?
Not at all. Obviously Beneath the Lily Banners and Donnybrook are our chosen rules, but if you run games with Black Powder, 1644, or something else it's fine to include references to them. Likewise we have an interest in promoting Warfare Miniatures, but our own collections and articles feature models from other manufacturers. The only restriction on submissions is that the period fall within the late 17th/early 18th century... If you have any doubts we will sort them out in the outline process.

Once the outline is approved, will I have a deadline?
No. We don't work to deadlines and neither do you. Assuming we approve the outline, I will make a note of the submission, but your article will not be scheduled for the rotation until it's finished... No pressure from this end.

I'm not a great writer.
Yeah, neither am I. Submit a photo spread and we'll work out the text to go with it. Articles may be subject to editing as well, though anything major will be discussed with the author first. 

So that's it! If you simply want to submit a one off article or a more ambitious series of posts, your efforts will be welcome. We want the LoA blog to grow into a resource for the period, both for history and wargaming, and having the help of the community will go a long way toward achieving that goal (and won't have to just listen to us spout off all the time).

Thanks!
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In the Shadows of History: Battle of Newtown, 31st July 1689. Part Two - A scenario from the Jacobite War in Ireland

July 23, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Historical Background
Barry Hilton - In March 1689 James II landed in Ireland to continue the long struggle to regain his lost throne. There was no Williamite field army on the island but of course several Protestant enclaves had already crystallised as points of resistance. Derry is by far the most well known of these in modern times. It was laid siege by an enthusiastic but ill equipped Jacobite Army one month after the Stuart King landed and was to remain so for over three months. By 28th July 1689 the situation was critical and if the siege had continued the city would most probably have fallen within a matter of days.  This would have provided an enormous fillip to the cause of James II but as it turned out, the morale boost fell to the Williamites as the city was re-supplied on July 28th and the siege lifted finally on the 31st. In summary, much military activity was going on at sea and on land across the north of Ireland in the summer of 1689. It was undertaken by several sub commands of both sides who were working theoretically in concert but often in practice were not.

Jacobite Foot retreat towards Newtown
Another important location of Williamite resistance was the town of Enniskillenin CountyFermanagh. The garrison here quickly formed into regiments and began actively mounting raids on the Jacobite lines of communication. The Jacobite general Justin McCarthy the newly promoted Viscount Montcashel was sent by the Earl of Tyrconnel with a small ‘flying camp’(sic) consisting of four thousands of horse, foot and dragoons (some sources say 5,000) to capture Crum Castle about 16 miles from Enniskillen. The reduction of the castle would have made the taking of Enniskillen easier but Montcashel found his command wanting in terms of artillery and the position of the castle made it difficult to capture. After some bloody frontal assaults and close quarter fighting he gave up and headed north-west in the direction of Enniskillen.

The Jacobite plans were known to the enemy probably through espionage and treachery and the garrison of Enniskillen had already sallied forth under the competent English officers Wolseley and Berry to attack their potential besiegers. It is thought this Williamite force numbered some three thousands of foot and horse and so initially was inferior in size to that of Montcashel.  On the march, the bulk of Montcashel’s horse and dragoons were operating as a vanguard under Brigadier Anthony Hamilton. Hamilton’s command was until recently independent and had just amalgamated with that of Montcashel. Both leading elements unexpectedly collided on the road at a place called Lisnaskea (some sources say Hamilton was lured into an ambush following an initial success) and began to engage. Montcashel with the main body of Jacobites was still some way distant. Hamilton after a brief fight gave an order which he later maintained was ‘wheel left’ but which was delivered by Captain Lavallin as ‘to the left about’. The former order would have resulted in the Jacobite horse retiring upon their main body, the actual order resulted in the cavalry turning tail and leaving the field with the brigadier! This military blunder resulted in the hapless Montcashel now finding himself outnumbered and having to take rapid measures to avert disaster. The Jacobites retired through Newtown burning it to deny cover to their pursuers. The distance between Lisnaskea and Newtown is between five and six miles. Assuming that the main Jacobite body was between the two settlements at the time of the cavalry clash is fairly safe as subsequently Montcashel is described as retreating through the latter. Just how far behind his cavalry vanguard he was, is impossible to determine. The retreat may however have taken a couple of hours. Neither the time of day nor prevailing weather is mentioned specifically in any of the accounts.

The men of Enniskillen advance to victory!
Montcashel then apparently took position on some high ground to the south of the village. One source describes him placing his body of troops on a pass(sic) which traversed a morass. On one flank beyond the morass lay a wooded area although which flank is not clear. He placed two or three light guns across the road blocking the causeway and braced the guns with a troop of Horse behind. On either flank he placed his Foot. His force was now perhaps composed of 2,500 – 2,900 men (sources say that after his cavalry was chased off Jacobite numbers were inferior to the Protestant forces).   The Williamites came on, taking some casualties but halted on the far side of the morass.  One source says Wolseley sent forward his horse, forced the causeway, captured the guns and compelled the Jacobites to flee after a single hasty volley. Another says he sent some of his infantry around the Jacobite flank and through the woods. These appeared unexpectedly, and the shock caused the Jacobite force to turn tail and run. Yet another says that infantry crossed the morass, took out the guns thus allowing the cavalry to cross by the causeway. John Kinross in his book makes no mention of Lisnaskea and has Hamilton’s dragoons driving Berryand the Protestant vanguard back on Wolseley. The Jacobites take up position but the Protestants attack first with infantry, killing the gunners and at this point the Jacobite dragoons turn tail and flee leaving Montcashel to pick up the pieces. Despite this title being quite obviously a specialist study of the campaigns of 1689-91 the description of the action at Newton seems the least well researched and is at odds with almost every other source. What is not in dispute is that Montcashel was wounded and captured. Afterwards both Brigadier Hamilton and Captain Lavallin (the officer who had transmitted the order to the vanguard) were brought to trial. The brigadier was acquitted but the captain was put to death still protesting that he had delivered the order exactly as requested. One source states casualties on both sides were light. Whilst another puts Protestant loses at 70 killed and wounded and the Jacobites at 1,400 (equating to as many as 50% of the total combatants) lost in a bloody pursuit along with all drums and colours!

As a footnote, I discovered that the settlement of Newtownbutler was until the year 1715 known simply as Newtown. The butler was added after Theophilus Butler was created Baron of the area in 1715. The battle should therefore be known as the battle of Newtown.

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Apostle Equipped Infantry

July 24, 2013, 10:28 pm
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The apostle equipped infantry from Warfare Miniatures are now available in three different types of battalion pack variant:

  1. At the Ready - 3 different types of models each with the possibility of 8 head variants + sergeants, officers, drummer and pilkemen
  2. Firing Line- 5 different types of models each with the possibility of 8 head variants + sergeants, officers, drummer and pilkemen
  3. Under Pressure- 3 different types of models each with the possibility of 8 head variants + sergeants, officers, casualty with drum and pikemen
The photo above is a battalion of Scots Militia 'Under Pressure'. The unit was painted by Barry Hilton and sports flags from Quindia Studios.
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FEATURED REGIMENT: Den Kongelige Livgarde til Fods

July 25, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Clarence Harrison - The Danish Royal Life Guards or Den Kongelige Livgarde til Fods is the first unit of Warfare Miniatures I painted when I kicked off my 1690 project in December 2011 and it is still one of my favorites from the collection. Sadly, NONE of my units have yet seen action on the field, but I intend to record their battle honors when they do!

The Danish Foot Guards regiment was raised in 1658 as the personal guard for King Frederick III during a time of political upheaval in Denmark. War with Sweden revealed the aristocratic rule of the hereditary landowners to be incompetent and corrupt. Kings could not take the throne without signing a charter agreeing to limited sovereign power. The defense of Copenhagen required more authority be granted to the king - and lessened the power of the aristocracy. The defeat of Sweden gave Frederick III the full support of his citizens and led to the restoration of the hereditary monarchy in 1660. The elite Foot Guard, loyal only to the king, ensured that none of Frederick III's political enemies thought to oppose the new absolute power of the throne.

August 15, 1689 King Charles V signed a treaty with King William III to provide 7000 Danish troops to the Grand Alliance. They took an oath of loyalty to William III and would serve for the remainder of the war unless Denmark was attacked, in which case the Danish units would return home (and any aggressor would also be an enemy of the Netherlands and England). They fought in every major battle in Ireland and Flanders, normally in the front lines where the action was most fierce. The colonel of the Royal Life Guards, Ferdinand Wilhelm Herzog zu Wurttemberg-Neustadt (remember him?) was chosen by King Charles V to lead the Danish expeditionary force in Ireland.

In Kjeld Hald Galster's book Danish Troops in the Williamite Army in Ireland, he always refers to the regiment as the Royal Life Guard. This made me curious so I looked at the official website for the modern version of regiment and in the history section it shows this:

1658-1684  Kongens Livregiment/Regiment de Garde til Fods
1684-1867  Den Kongelige Livgarde til Fods

Most of the sources we've had until recently always referred to the regiment Garden til Fods at the Battle of the Boyne, but it looks like Mr Galaster's title is the correct one for Ireland and the rest of the Nine Year War. One of the most fun things about this period is continually finding out new information on these armies (Mr Galaster's brief description of the Battle of the Boyne also has a slightly different brigade structure than I've seen elsewhere for the first line of Williamites to ford the river so I look forward to digging into that)!


The Battle of the Boyne was the game Barry and I put on at Historicon 2010 (seen above - models painted by Barry Hilton) and the Royal Life Guards were one of the units on the table. I have since learned that the flag seen in this photo would have been carried in Flanders, but not in Ireland since the Order of the Elephant emblem depicted on the flag was not established until 1693... Again, the stuff we learn...

Here is my finished unit, sporting the official Quindia Studios version of the earlier flag (thanks, Dan Schorr). This is the version carried in the Skanian Wars and we are not certain it would have still been in use in 1690, but it seems a good guess. The 1693 versions of the Danish flags will be available from Warfare Miniatures later this year...


The coats were painted with Foundry Boneyard A and highlighted with Foundry Boneyard B. The cuffs, waistcoat, and breeches were painted with Vallejo Red (70926), Flat Red (70957), and final highlights of Scarlet (817). I should point out that the grenadiers probably did not have fur caps in Ireland. It would be more accurate to field them in cloth caps or simply floppy hats like the rest of the unit... Something else I learned after the fact, but they look cool so I'm keeping 'em now! Of course they are based for Beneath the Lily Banners!

While they have yet to take the field (I am furiously trying to build up enough models for a game), I will record their actions on the table in the same way Barry has.

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Paint your Wagon

July 28, 2013, 9:30 pm
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David O'Brien - It has never ceased to amaze me how few war gamers actually use limbers, caissons, wagons etc; in their war games.  Their excuses have usually been:-

1                     I don’t have time to paint these models. 

I can understand if you are just starting out on a new army.  I used to feel like this until I started painting my Napoleonic Russian army and quickly started getting bored painting unit after unit which all looked the same so to break up the monotony I started working on a limber or caisson or supply wagon vignette and thoroughly enjoyed working on these so what started out as a chore I started to treat myself once I had finished a new regiment.

2                     I can’t afford to buy these models.

 Again I can understand if they were short of money  but when you look at their armies there are brigade after brigade of troops and battery after battery of artillery. At this stage in their army’s production they probably can’t afford to buy all the models they would need to match their army but if they had followed my example above they would have covered the situation.

3                     I don’t like to use them because they take up too much space.

This is the one excuse I hear most of the time and if you are fighting with large armies on a small table they will take up a lot of space but this is what happened in real life and if you want to try your best to create historical problems that military commanders faced then you really need to have these models in your force.  I even had to take extreme measures in a game with a friend when he removed all the limbers and caisson that I had bought and painted from my army that he was using, because they were getting in his way. You should have seen the look on his face in the next game move when I informed him when he wanted to fire his artillery he couldn’t because all their ammunition had been taken off the battlefield. He quickly got my reasons and we are still friends all these years later.

Is there a way to still use these models without the huge expense and lots of painting?, there is if you war game using Donnybrook rules written by Clarence Harrison.  These rules are written for small skirmish level actions in the period 1660 to 1740’s and the most a faction can have is one artillery piece. Every artillery piece needs a limber to allow it to move and a small wagon to carry the powder and shot as well as all the tools needed to fire the gun.

Apart from using these models for manning your gun are there any other uses for these models?
The answer has to be yes, as these games are all skirmish actions and scenario driven your limbered gun model could now be an objective marker which has to be defended by one side and captured by the other side.
Likewise a number of wagons could represent a convoy that needs to be escorted through enemy territory or could be carrying contraband goods if your force are a Smuggler faction which needs to escape the clutches of the Excise faction.
Your wagon can even become a character in your force as Outlaw and Rapparee factions can have a ‘Fence’  which carries gun powder and any troops from the faction can reload if within 3” of the fence without waiting for the reload card to come up.

I’m sure you can come up with many other scenario ideas that would allow you to use your models in many other games. All the limbers, guns and wagons used in these photos are all from the lovely range from Warfare Miniatures but other companies such Dixon Miniatures, Front Rank, Wargames Foundry and many others all produce a variety of models that would fit in nicely with your games.
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In the Shadows of History: Battle of Newtown, 31st July 1689. Part Three

July 30, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Scenario Construction
The scenario offers some excellent wargaming potential. The troops on both sides will be overwhelmingly classed as inexperienced. The force sizes are small and the battlefield is not typical.
I have created a basic scenario with three additional options. All are listed below;

  1. The battle fought as per history
  2. The return of the routed Jacobite Horse later in the battle
  3. The battle fought with both forces at full strength from the outset
  4. The cavalry clash fought separately and having an influence on the troops available for the subsequent main engagement.
Jacobite Foot attacking (unit now somewhere in Oklahoma!)
To provide additional variety, the scenario can be played either as a regimental sized action or as a company level engagement. I use Beneath the Lily Banners for both levels of game but 1644 is a rule set which also suits the game type well. Any rules which you are comfortable with will fit but I strongly recommend you follow the scenario specific guidelines later in the article to prevent a very quick and one sided experience. If BLB is used at regimental level then the game will be rather small and over in a couple of hours. The rules however allow small actions like this to be fought at company level. In this case the game would be quite large and may take four to five hours. I have listed the orbats for both scales of game. These can be adapted for any rule set you prefer.

Figure to Man Ratios
Beneath the Lily Banners uses a 1:35 figure to man ratio at regimental level. In the rules I suggest an alternative of 1:5 for company level actions but for this scenario I would recommend 1:10be taken as the norm. This is mainly due to historical evidence pointing towards oversized troops, squadrons and regiments being present at the battle. It thus makes the rule mechanisms easy to transpose. In the larger scale action a 6 figure cavalry squadron would equate to 210 men. This ties in nicely with Sapherson’s estimate of largish dragoon troops numbering 60-70 all ranks. Three troops being the standard subdivision of a squadron at this time makes the arithmetic quite neat. At the company level the 6 figure wargaming cavalry squadron would be the equivalent of 60 men which is close to the oversize troop structure mentioned in sources.

Foot regiments in BLB are normally composed of three 6 figure stands. In the large action figure to man ratio this would equate to 630 men – considerably lower than the 920 man regiments we are assuming to be present at Newtown but typical of field  battalion strengths throughout the Wars of 1688-1697. One way round this is to ignore the anomaly! A second is to give the Jacobites all five foot regiments named in the website orbat source I mention at the end of the section on Notes on the Jacobite Force later in the article.  Another way would be to form two twelve man (two 2 x 6 figure stands) commanded shot units and attach them to the Jacobite army. This takes care of the cumulative 870 ‘surplus headcount’ across the three large foot regiments. The Protestant Army I have dealt with differently as I believe enough corroborative evidence exists to allow them three foot regiments of average strength for the period and theatre. In gaming terms that means three BLB infantry battalions each of three 6 figure stands, the central stand being armed with pike.

With regard to infantry strengths in the company level scenario, an infantry company was composed in theory of 70 men. In Ireland at that time between one in six and one in two men could have a pike dependent on how well or poorly equipped the unit was.  Using the 1:10figure to man ratio previously suggested infantry companies would muster a meagre 7 figures. Not only would this be very brittle and difficult to manage in gaming terms but it would look unattractive on the table. I recommend the following solution. Combine the companies in each battalion into sub divisions of three companies. Each subdivision of three companies will be represented by three figure bases each of six figures. The companies can be assumed to have massed their pikes in the centre and placed a wing of shot either side in the standard way a pike and shot unit would deploy. Four of these subdivisions would make a regiment and can operate semi independently on the table. The final ‘company’ should be musket armed (one six figure stand) and be attached to the Colonel or operate independently. Effectively a battalion of figures under the normal BLB organisation becomes three companies for the company level game. The orbat is laid out using this logic. With 1644 the units can simply be constructed using the appropriate number of figures.

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Warfare Miniatures Venture into The Great Northern War

August 1, 2013, 5:57 am
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Ostergotland Regiment painted about 1995
Barry Hilton - Like many of the followers of this blog and members on Fighting Talk, I have a long standing interest in the Great Northern War. It started back in 1992 pretty much in parallel with my fascination with the League of Augsburg period. My first games were played with 32mm semi flats moulded from roofing lead and painted in toy soldier fashion by an old friend. Nonetheless refighting Poltava, Klisow, Fraustadt, Gemauerthof, Holowczyn and Lesnaya with these big toys is a lasting memory. I wanted a more aesthetic look to my own collection and so bought what was available in 28mm at the time, converted and scraped together a half decent Swedish Army much of which I still have. Alas, it was never complete and our combined efforts at the Russians were half hearted to say the least. As time went by my interest was diverted elsewhere with occasional stimuli from Musketeer and Reiver but neither range really hooked me in.


So, now we are in 2013 and I have at my disposal the means and the enthusiasm to create a bespoke and extensive range of Great Northern War figures. Thus far some very important groundwork has been completed namely, the creation of a large number of body dollies from which an almost limitless range of models can be sculpted. What has limited our productivity to date has not been money, only time. We have been heavily committed to getting Warfare Miniatures established as a brand with a clear identity which meant focussing on creating core troop types in reasonably generic uniforms .



Having been initially tempted by the Kickstarter concept I took a step back from that realising that such a wide public subscription idea would probably be unnecessary. Several Fighting Talk members have expressed an interest in contributing finance to get the project moving with varying levels of benefit reciprocated based on contribution. I am glad I did not agree to take some of the money so enthusiastically offered in the beginning as a variety of business and other demands have prevented the progress I would have hoped to have made by this time. The receipt of the money would have created a moral obligation which I would not have found motivating in the slightest. A good shout, to use the parlance.


Many peripheral elements are falling into place in front of the main figure production piece. We have a fine range of wagons, siege equipment and guns now. We are working on civilians and engineering types. Cavalry which will do well for Danes, Brandenburgers, early Swedes, Saxons and Imperialists are already available. Many of the available command models from Cuirassier codes WLOA37a-56b will do very well for brigadiers and senior commanders excluding personalities.

We did a test cavalry sculpt which although I was reasonably happy with was not quite there. It gave us a much clearer idea of the way to go. As the wonderfully hot summer of '13 unfolds, Clibinarium and I are preparing for a big Autumn push forward. We'll start with some further test sculpts of Swedish infantry and from there we'll engage with all of you who have be patient enough to stay in touch and engaged with the venture.






To further emphasise our commitment we are about 2 weeks away from releasing all of the Swedish infantry flags for Poltava. These have been beautifully crafted by Clarence with invaluable help from Tacitus our 'Swede on the spot' in Stockholm who has made visits to the army museum and help cross reference high quality source material to make sure we get it as right as is feasible.


Others who have been valuable contributors to our store of high quality knowledge include Dan Schorr and P. Norberg with his unique thread on Fighting Talk. Please feel free to fire anything at me relating to the topic that you wish. I get things done even though sometimes it takes a little longer than the theory suggests, so eyes front, backs straight, stomachs in and chests out! We're coming!

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FEATURED REGIMENT: Prinds Georgs Regiment - Danish Infantry

August 1, 2013, 9:30 pm
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As they appeared in my collection before disbandment 2009

Barry Hilton - I was originally attracted to paint this regiment because they had unusual orange facings. Well in 1992 when I first discovered the joys of the period that was pretty unusual! For some reason I and the gang got into habit of calling them Prinds Jorgen’s which is not I think correct. No idea where that came from. They are a unit which people seem unable to make their minds up about the uniform colour. Sapherson has them in pale green faced orange till 1701 with officers in reversed coats and in grey faced orange thereafter with officers in red faced orange. I have seen several other descriptions. They served in Ireland as subsidy troops for the Dutch and also served in Flanders. They were active during the War of the Spanish Succession. According to various sources their flags also changed. I have fielded them both with different standards over the years. The Danes were an early adopter of 'all musket' battalions. In Ireland in 1690 the Danish infantry carried no pikes. In BLB, the firepower advantages of such battalions are clear although they are vulnerable in melee especially against Horse opponents.


Another iteration with green facings by Pat Connor

They first appeared in my collection when I painted them in 1992. Painted using my preferred black undercoat method of the time the got spruced up and lost their blue neck cloths when I redid the original Mackay's along with about 6 other early collection battalions in the late 90's. This smartening process involved making the colours more vivid than the originals.
 As Prinds Jorgen they fought 60 recorded actions achieving three distinctions. Their average battle losses were 21%. They took two enemy colours; those of the Swedish regiment Bjornbergs during a GNW game and those of the Larequi Cuirassiers. Their own colours were lost six times. Their Finest Hour came in a refight of Ramillies 1706 which was staged for the Kirriemuir Wargames Club back in about 1995. They engaged and captured the colours of Spanish Cuirassiers (Larequi) in only the second such incident I've seen in nearly 100 games. Their Darkest Hour was losing their colours to Irish Cavalry whilst trying to cross the Boyne 1690. Colonel's colour is actually the English coat of arms on Orange representing William III.

Slightly ignominious end to their career as Danish infantry came when I needed French troops for some photo shoots during the creation of Beneath the Lily Banners 2nd Edition. I changed their facing colours from orange to red and pressed them into French service. They can be seen in BLB2 on p32 and in the example game at the end as Regiment La Chartre. Never mind, Bob Talbot has reborn the tradition with his Prinds Georgs Warfare Miniatures battalion in green face orange. Also shown are some painted examples one being yet another incarnation in grey faced green. Take your pick.. the Danes of Prinds Georg!

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Hard Talk? Interview with Dan Faulconbridge UK Editor of Wargames Illustrated, July 2013

August 4, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Dan at WI HQ in Nottingham
Barry Hilton - I know Dan Faulconbridge pretty well, from a professional perspective at least. As a contributor to Wargames Illustrated for over 15 years I have first-hand experience of his involvement with the magazine from initially assisting Duncan Macfarlane to assuming an increasingly prominent role and post Battlefront buy-out, running the UK end of the show. For those who remember Duncan’s charming if somewhat casual style of editing and proprietorship, things have definitely moved on. The bogeyman stories about an unsuspecting wargaming public being swept away in a tsunami of Battlefront marketing and WI becoming a Flames of War in-house mag have never really materialized (but more of that later). WI has become increasingly professional in the positive sense. Physically it has evolved in something even bigger and more colourful than in its youthful state despite always in my opinion, setting the benchmark for which other publications needed to shoot. Much of that change has been driven by the quiet Mr Faulconbridge. Dan is a polite and generally understated individual but has the focus, energy and manner to get things done.

The epic EDITION 300
Without being too nostalgic, I look back on the days when DM was at the helm with great affection. Duncan’s unique, erudite but slightly Columbo-esque approach to running the magazine was fun to be part of and some truly landmark content was produced during that golden era.  The world and wargaming has alas moved on. Wargames Illustrated was and is of its time and the approach being taken now seems to fit well with the hobby and the world outside.

I am used to sending copy in the direction of Nottingham but with the arrival of our blog decided to reverse the tractor beam and extract information from WI UK HQ. Dan was pleased to have an opportunity to communicate with the market beyond the commonly trod editorial pathways normally available to him. So here is the output of my Skype interview with him at 0830 of a weekday morning. At least one of us hadn’t even combed his hair!

What are the macro trends in the hobby for us to access the kind of output that WI and its contemporaries offer? 
DF: I see big changes. Co Mag (publishers) say magazine sales are declining by about 5% per annum across the board. You only have to look around you on a bus or train these days, most people are looking at screens not paper. Anyone involved in magazine production need to be making big decisions now. It has already started. Games Workshop has very much embraced the change by not only producing digital content but upgrading their printed product. White Dwarf is a fantastic example of what can be achieved. The possibilities are exciting both from a production and consumer perspective. Digital offers the possibility of 360 degree ‘spinner’ pictures, video content illustrating rules concepts and battle reports. We can conduct interviews on video with rules writers, authors and gamers. The flexibility made available by digital content is enormous.
So would you stop offering a printed product?
DF: We are absolutely committed to the printed form of Wargames Illustrated but that can co-exist with a digital version offering a very compelling combination. We’ll never stop printing the mag. People are facing some really practical challenges with hard copy too. Storing 300+ issues of a magazine takes a lot of space. Computer based copy is far easier to manage. We are committed to exploring the digital media option and how that can add real value for our readers.
How does the magazine decide on the balance between period focus when it comes to content?DF: The magazine is contributor led. We have to wait for the submission of content which creates an article pool. From this we try and hit the big periods every month but that is not always possible if we don’t get the right quality of pieces. Which sometimes happens.
The big periods?
DF: Yes , Napoleonic and World War II largely. Of course our themed content is far more directed. We commission those pieces directly. 

Who decides on the themes?
DF: We do, myself and Dave Taylor our US Editor and of course John Paul Brisigotti in New Zealand who is Editor in Chief. He devolves a lot of autonomy to both Dave and I.

How much do you worry about the demographic of thehobby?
DF: White, middle class and over 50? Well maybe over 40! It is what it is.  We’re not trying to change it. We need to cater for our audience and that is what we try to do. It is the most important thing.


You’ve just been to Historicon. What did you perceive as the differences (if any) between the US and the UK approach to the hobby?
DF (laughs) Well, there is a lot more whooping and hollering at Historicon that at Newark (Notts)! Basically it’s the same people on every level except you see more families at US shows. They seem to cater better for kids particularly. Of course you see kids involved in participation games at UK shows but I saw much more ‘child focused’ involvement in the US. A good example this year was a Lego wargame which the kids really loved. I think American families make a go of the conventions. Dad goes for the full four day emersion whilst Mum and the kids pop in and out via the shops and other activities. That’s different.

What can we learn from that?
DF: Hmmm.  Don’t know how that would transfer. We don’t do the 4 day experience here do we? I got a call recently from a well-known terrain maker in the UK who told me some kids at his local school were making the transition from 40K to Historical and he asked me what I could do to encourage that. The best I could think of was to send some back issues of the mag to encourage the young ‘uns along the way!

Where do you think the biggest leverage is to move the hobby forward and keep it healthy?
DF: Duncan Macfarlane is a wise man. I was talking to him recently and he pointed out that one of the biggest bottlenecks in the hobby is painting figures. It takes a long time, it puts kids off and is a real entry-level challenge. The effort required to jump the hurdle is often too much. To that extent Army Painter as a product has been a huge innovation. It produces acceptable level figures for minimal effort. In addition, pre-cut mdf buildings have also been a good innovation. They are not to everyone’s taste but they do get a table dressed quickly and are more than acceptable. I also think what people like North Star are doing these days is a great idea. Packaging figures and rule sets together to produce a ready to use game is a great leap forward. It is making entry into a period very easy.


Has there been anything you expected me to ask you about that I didn’t?
DF: Yeah! The Battlefront connection, I thought you’d focus on that!

Why? I thought it was pretty straightforward. They own the magazine, there is Flames of War content, so what? Do you want to talk about it?
DF: Yes I do. I thought people would want to know about the proportion of FoW content and what the policy has been.

OK, let’s talk about that then! What’s the story? 
DF: Battlefront bought the magazine from Duncan about four years ago. They employed me as the UK Editor as I was already here. Then they employed Dave Taylor (ex White Dwarf) as the US Editor. There was never any intention of turning Wargames Illustrated into an in house magazine for Battlefront/Flames of War, their website was already doing that job very well. Clearly there is a significant page count devoted to Flames of War content but we increased the overall page count by an equivalent number thus balancing the whole thing out again. The idea was to gain new readers for WI via the FoW players and at the same time encourage them to look at other periods. We didn’t stop featuring other WWII gaming systems and figures.  Overall the plan was about increasing magazine sales and broadening the hobby catchment.

It is obviously a subject that touches some sensitivities
DF: Yes, but Battlefront illustrate the hobby very well. Their scenarios, historical background pieces and content cover their chosen period perfectly and that is totally in tune with Wargames Illustrated and what it aims to achieve.

Dan, how was it for you?
DF: (Laughs) I’ll wait to read it on the blog! Seriously, it was good. I am very proud of what we do here at the mag and what we have achieved. It is also important to connect with the actual and potential readership and put our point of view. I have found being interviewed interesting and would like to do it more.

Thanks Dan
DF: Thank you

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LoA at Claymore

August 5, 2013, 7:30 am
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The League of Augsburg put on a demo of Aughrim at Claymore last weekend...
David O'Brien, Bob 'Toggy' Talbot, and Barry Hilton. Photo by Jim Duncan.

See more pics at Jim Duncan Wargamer and Dave's Toy Box!
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In the Shadows of History: Battle of Newtown, 31st July 1689. Part Four

August 6, 2013, 9:15 pm
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Note on Unit Strengths, Composition and Orders of Battle.
The Orders of Battle are somewhat conjectural and are my own work. I have been able to discover only one source of names for the regiments present at the battle which although useful, threw up several anomalies which make its provenance somewhat questionable.  When in doubt, I chose to base units on typical compositions of forces in the field during the conflict. For the company level scenario I have cut the Protestant foot regiments down to 10 companies each to keep the ratio of troops proportional to the Jacobite units. An alternative was to reduce the number of figures per company which is easy to do if your collection is singly based or you re-fight the battle using 1644. If you have a multi based collection like my own and are using a rule system which shoots by  ‘firing groups’ like Beneath the Lily Banners, then to keep the firing groups (of 6 in this case) intact it is easier to remove a number of entire groups to keep the ratios right and the rule mechanisms working. A final alternative would be to deploy all of the companies but treat each base of figures as representing 4 or 5 figures to begin with regardless of how many actual figures are on the stand. This way attrition will remove firing groups at a quicker rate.

It is likely that most troops of both armies dressed like these Warfare Miniatures
Notes on the Jacobites
Sapherson states that Montcashel’s force consisted of a dragoon regiment, some horse and three regiments of foot – about 5,000 men. He also states that in the initial contact of the two vanguards Berry scattered thirteen troops of dragoons under Hamilton. This is curious and potentially contradictory in itself. Elsewhere in the organisation section of his book Sapherson lists as part of the Jacobite Army six dragoon regiments and mentions two others. On paper they should have either six or eight troops each, although one has 11 troop captains listed in its roster. Another is cited as having twelve troops present at the Boyne. He concludes that units may have fielded more than their established number of troops. All of this is logical but the battle evidence offered goes beyond even these potential estimates of over strength units.

 One could deduce that there were actually less than thirteen troops ‘scattered’ at Lisnaskea (and that someone somewhere over time has exaggerated the Jacobite strength) or, that there was one regiment which had at least thirteen troops (possible but not probable) or, that there was more than one dragoon regiment represented in Montcashel’s force or, that some of the mounted troops in the engagement where in fact Horse and not dragoons. Working from official establishments of the time a troop of dragoons would at full strength be roughly 60-70 officers and men. Thirteen troops could then field 780-910 men, possibly more if a lot of volunteers were available. Sapherson concludes that some Jacobite dragoon regiments may have fielded as many as 800 men each in the early stages of the war. These numbers should not be dismissed but must be treated with caution as figures presented in the same book for Williamite dragoon regiments in the same period of the conflict produce average troop strengths of 56 all ranks and 403 all ranks in a regiment.

Before dealing with the Horse the infantry deserve some scrutiny. The Irish regiments of James were built on the English model; thirteen companies each of 60 to 70 men plus a regimental staff giving on paper between 790 - 920men per regiment. If Montcashel had three regiments of this size, that makes between 2,370 and 2,760 foot. It is possible that the regiments were bigger if the oversize dragoon regiments can be taken as an indicator of Jacobite enthusiasm for the cause but actual strengths listed for identified units elsewhere in the book rarely if ever reach these levels. The average for battalions in the field is between 600 and 650 far less than my minimum stated  theoretical  establishment figure of 790 above .

If we add together the dragoon total of 910 with the foot total of 2,760 we get 3,760. There were some light guns which with crews, wagons and transports may have amounted to 100 men maximum. This force is described by one source as a ‘Flying camp’ the implication being that it was travelling light. If we assume little in the way of wains and hangers on, that leaves us either 240 Horse if the approximate 4,000 figure is to be believed or 1,240 Horse if the 5,000 is accepted. I prefer to go with the lower strength for the Jacobites for two reasons. Firstly, winners write history and it would be in the interests of any cause to create the impression that their own smaller force defeated a vastly superior enemy. Secondly, if the Jacobites did in fact have 910 dragoons and roughly 1,200 horse then up 50% of their force would appear to have been mounted. Even by the norms of the period, where cavalry were much more numerous, this figure seems high.

I offer this analysis not as a study in pedantry but to allow gamers to draw their own conclusions about the composition of Montcashel’s force whilst still offering my own OoB for those disinclined to reach for calculator and reference book.

I have chosen to give Montcashel a regiment of Horse and use as justification the fact that Horse and Dragoons are cited in every source and that Sapherson’s indefinable ‘some horse’ could be anything from a troop to a regiment.

The only source I could find which actually named the Jacobite regiments present was a website http://mackays1626.com/Site/Dumbartons166085-677.htmlbelonging to a Jacobite re enactment group based in Virginia. They have a detailed order of battle for the armies of both sides in Ireland during the period 1688-91. Not only are the regiments listed but also the engagements known for each unit. This is very useful but creates more problems for those who like clarity. The site lists the following Jacobite foot regiments as being present at Newtown: Viscount Montcashel’s, Fielding’s, O’Bryan’s, Richard Butler’s and Dillon’s. What is curious about this is the site also states that all of these regiments entered French service on April 18th 1689. The Battle of Newtown took place on July 31st 1689. It is possible that the regiments stayed together in Irelandfor months after being officially transferred but this seems rather anomalous. Students of the period will recognise that these five named regiments are those promised by King James II as the nucleus of an Irish Brigade for the French Army in exchange for the French units that Louis XIV sent to Ireland to strengthen the Jacobite army. They are the core of the body which has passed into folklore as the ‘Wild Geese’. The orbat listed is extensive and covers the entire Jacobite army in a 30 month period of campaigning but nowhere does it mention any dragoon or horse regiments present at Newtown thus directly contradicting Sapherson’s assertion of force composition stated earlier. For these reasons and because of the emphasis placed by all accounts on the prominence of cavalry during the entire battle I dismissed this orbat from a Jacobite perspective for my own gaming but have included it in the orbats section for those looking for an alternative. As a final note if all five foot regiments were present and in the numbers prescribed by regulations, the total would be somewhere in the range 3,950 to 4,550. Add to that 13 troops of dragoons and we are getting nearer 6,000 men excluding any horse and artillery present. As a short footnote to the above paragraph the link included seems to no longer be live. Perhaps you can find these chaps in the web at a new address. I didn't try alas!

Civilian clothes were likely to predominate in both armies although the Jacobites were reckoned to have at least some red coated men. Distinguishing friend from foe may have been down to the simple field signs of a green sprig for Williamites and a scrap of white paper or cloth for Jacobites. This unit is drawn from Dixon Miniatures Sedgemoor range. In both shots of this post I have perhaps been too generous by providing the soldiers with bayonets!
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The Battle of Aughrim 1691

August 7, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Aughrim 1691, Williamites on the left Jacobites on the right

This is the game that the League of Augsburg put on at Claymore, the annual show of the South East Scotland Wargames club on Saturday 3rd August. All the figures are from Warfare Miniatures painted by Barry, Bob, Gerry and myself, terrain by Barry and buildings and graveyard by me. The game represents the central portion of the battlefield.

Williamite Left Flank

Williamite Centre

Williamite Right Flank

Jacobite Centre

Jacobite Right Flank

The next outing by the League of Augsburg will be at Partizan II, at Kelham Hall near Newark, Nottinghamshire on Sunday 1st September so pop along and see us there for a chat.

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Donnybrook Scenarios

August 8, 2013, 9:30 am
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David O'Brien - This photograph was taken during a photo session at Barry Hilton's a few months back and is the starting point for one of my Donnybrook scenarios, Saving the Slaves which I just fought a couple of weeks back, you can see a report of the game on my own blog, Dave's Toy Box.

The slaves waiting to be rescued, I bought these figures a few years ago
 and I think they are produced by Eureka Miniatures in Australia.

The second scenario we fought last week was Foraging for Food and again you can see more pics and a report on my blog. http://davestoybox.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/forage-for-food.html
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FEATURED REGIMENT: De La Melonière

August 8, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Clarence Harrison - After reaching England in 1689, King William III established three regiments of Huguenots drawn from exiled French serving among his other battalions. These regiments were commanded by well known and experienced soldiers Pierre Massue (Comte de La Caillemotte), Francois du Cambon, and Isaac de La Melonière. Colonel De La Melonière was a former Lt. Colonel of the Anjou regiment of France. Though the core of these new units were French their numbers were supplemented with Swiss, Fleming, and German Protestants (and a number of Catholics as it turned out, six of whom were later hanged as Jacobite spies).

There is frustratingly little information on the uniforms and flags of the Huguenot regiments. Most sources seem to agree that they wore grey coats. There is a painting by Jan Wyck that shows a Huguenot regiment through the mists of battle in the background that contains small touches of medium blue where we might expect to see turnbacks. If one regiment wore blue facings, it is possible that all three did - the French practice at the time was to use red facings unless the colonel paid for something different. It is also possible that the turnbacks were simply the same color as the coat and that is why history makes no mention of the colors. For De La Melonière's regiment I have chosen the later option. These coats, trousers and turnbacks of these models were painted with Wargames Foundry British Gun Grey 108A-C. Might be a little dark, but I like the grim look it gives them. I will probably use blue for the facings of one of the other regiments...

There is some debate about the color of sash worn by the officers. Again we have no information, but rather than seeing this as an impediment, look at it as a chance to employ artistic license! You could paint the Huguenots with orange sashes since they fought for William. Equally you could field them in red sashes since they were raised after Willaim claimed the throne of England. Finally you could make them more unique and paint white sashes, the traditional color worn by Huguenot officers in earlier wars. In the end I chose red for practical reasons - with a flag swap I can field the unit as an unknown English, Irish, Dutch, or French battalion!

I want to point our a couple of conversions in the unit. At this time, there are no Warfare Miniatures grenadiers loitering around, featuring instead action poses advancing, shooting, throwing grenades, etc. I wanted a couple of models as the ready to match the rest of the unit so I set out to create some. These were simple head swaps and then I added a grenade pouch sculpted from putty. I also added a hatchet to the guy in the front with another tiny amount of putty and a piece of wire (hmmm... the ax doesn't really show up in the photo because I painted the handle black - probably worth going back and making it brown!).


The second conversion was equally simple. I filed the details from the scabbard of a sword to make it appear as an unsheathed blade. The I trimmed a tiny amount from the hand of an ensign model for a perfect fit to the hilt. I could have just as easily swapped an arm from one of the cavalry models, but I need all of my spares at the moment for the Huguenot horse (coming soon)!
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My Blenheim Project - Getting Started

August 9, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Ray King - I joined the Fighting Talk Forum in February 2008 and already had in mind a Marlburian project. After reading about the famous victory at Blenheim on the 13th August 1704, decided I would build a collection of all the British regiments at this battle.

With the help of Barry Hilton and many other forum members I built a general picture of the WSS period. Next came the decision of which figures to use, which resulted in me choosing Front Rank miniatures for a number of reasons. The main reason was because they covered all the troop types I would need. The other reasons were that they were practically flash free, good clear castings and with a number of poses and heads looking in different directions.

I next looked for a historic OOB (Order of Battle) for Blenheim and purchased Iain Stanford’s book Marlborough Goes To War which not only had a map of the battle and it’s key points, but also a detailed list of every regiment present, both for Allied forces and the French & Bavarian forces.
Diorama of the Battle of Blenheim in Höchstädt, Germany
Photograph by J. Williams. (July 16, 2006)
used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

For uniform and flag information, I purchased all eleven Robert Hall colour plates from the Pike & Shot Society, seven of which covered the infantry regiments and four of the Horse & Dragoon regiments. For the regiments not covered by the plates, I managed to get help from Iain Stanford.

The Battle of Blenheim 1704
Rebel Redcoat. (March 19, 2012)
used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

I also started a Blenheim OOB thread on the Fighting Talk Forum and bombarded Barry with question after question on everything from grenades and breeds of horses to regimental grades and so on...

Editor - Ray King is the first of what we hope will be many guest authors on the League of Augsburg blog. This was a useful look at how to go about building your collection. Part two of the series will start a series of pictorials that will depict every unit in the collection (so far) - it will will be an invaluable resource for those wishing to paint any of the British regiments from the Marlborough led campaign!

As Ray mentioned the the Fighting Talk Forum, I wanted to point out that it is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in wargaming the period. Besides lots of people who have been gaming in the period for years (decades in some case... yikes) there are published authors and historians who visit from time to time. It is likely that if you ask a question someone there will know the answer!
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Search

King William's War

August 11, 2013, 9:30 pm
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David O'Brien - Following on from my previous article, Paint your Wagon here is a scenario that shows wagons not only in action but taking the prime spot in the action.

This action takes place somewhere in North America in the 1680's and pits English armed frontiersmen and soldiers facing off against native Americans. The English forces have been off raiding French settlements and two wagon loads of booty are being carted back to their own territory, unfortunately the natives can spot an easy target when it comes within reach.
The map above shows the type of terrain the game is fought on and the table size is a 4x4. The English forces enter from point A and have to get the wagons off at either point B or C to win the game, the natives have to raid the wagons to get a victory

English Force commanded by me
Hero.
3 x 8 drilled soldiers with an officer and two sergeants attached to these units
2 x wagons, the 2 wheeled wagon has 2 crew and the 4 wheeled wagons has 4 crew
12 recruit class militia with an officer attached
There was also a small recruit force of civilians guarding the village but they would only fight if the natives attacked them, they could not leave the settlement and could not shoot in support of my men.


Native Force commanded by Bob Talbot
Chief Togee
4 veteran warriors with Great Warrior attached
3 x 8 drilled warrior units with a shaman and 2 weapon masters attached
12 recruit class young warriors with a Fearless One attached

These were just the forces we used but if you have enough figures then feel free to use more drilled warriors or if you're feeling rash why not try five units of young warriors.

We diced for where the natives had to set up and they ended up in the positions marked on the map, they had to be at least 12" away from the road and away from the clearing around the settlement. Every unit, each wagon and each character had its own card for movement as well as a reload and end of move card. The English militia unit would only appear after the third move and needed a 10+ on 2d6 to arrive with an extra point being added each turn, once they arrived they were diced to see if they would arrive at B or C.

The game started well for the English as the first native warband 1 unsuccessfully attacked the first units onto the table and were in turn counter attacked and destroyed by two drilled English units.

 
Meanwhile the native warband unit 2 moved across the road and joined the young braves and veteran to block exit point B which had been my preferred exit point so I changed my plan and headed for point C. I had thought this would have been a good decision as the majority of natives were now around point B and when my militia arrived at that point I thought I could use them as a sacrificial unit to tie up as many natives as I could. Unfortunately things started to unravel as either the wagon cards didn't come out or wagon 2 would come up but it couldn't move past wagon 1 and as I couldn't leave the wagons undefended it also slowed up my infantry units. Who came up with this stupid scenario in the first place??? The militia didn't perform there job very well either as after taking out 2 of the veteran natives and the great warrior in the first round of combat they failed to hit anyone in the second round of combat and promptly failed their morale test, especially with the War Whoop going on in the forest around them. Even worse was that it now released the natives to move back to cut off the road to exit C.

As my troops slowly plodded on to exit point C the natives started to close in from both sides and fierce hand to hand combat and fire fights erupted up and down the road with many deaths on both sides and many warriors went to the happy hunting grounds in the clouds.


The crew of wagon 1 had been wiped out by this time and the wagon captured by the natives but quickly recaptured by the English and just as quickly lost again. By this point in the game the natives only had warband 3 surviving and the English only had half of drilled unit 3 left and both wagons had not lost their crews and the natives were closing in. It was now turn 17 and as I was about to move my last troops in to save the wagons they went down in a hail of arrows and below shows the final outcome of what was a fun filled game with the final outcome in the balance until that final move.


There are a few variations that can be added to the game and we used the first one in our playtest.

1. The Young Warriors have to test every move to see if they stick to the plan to capture the wagon or get distracted and decide to attack the homestead instead. I would suggest they have to pass a morale test to carry on against the wagons. If you wanted you could even have all the natives troops having to make this test but I would suggest that if they pass the test in the first move they can then act as they want for the rest of the game.

2. I would recommend that you only use one card for the wagons and that both wagons get to move when the card comes up, this would stop some of the delays in our game where the rear wagon couldn't move because the card for wagon 1 hadn't come up.

3. Another option if you have the models is to use three wagons which would be worth 10, 20 and 30 victory points, these should be marked down before the game starts and only the English player knows which wagon carries which points.

4. The usual rule for testing for the end of the game when a force loses 50% of its troops was not used in our game as we wanted to concentrate on the wagons but feel free to use it in your games if you wish.

5. We had originally decided to have a time limit of 15 moves on this game but as the lead wagon had only managed to move 6" by the beginning of turn 5 we decided to drop the idea but if you use the option of one card allowing all the wagons to move then perhaps a time limit before darkness falls would add even more excitement to the action.

As usual, if anyone tries fighting this scenario I hope you enjoy it as much as we did and I would love to hear how you got on and any other ideas that you might have added to the scenario.
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BLB1 Playsheet

August 12, 2013, 9:30 pm
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The first edition of Beneath the Lily Banners has long been out of print, but it is still for sale as a PDF. Most of the core rules are the same and it's a great way to try BLB at a reduced price. Something that has not been available on PDF was the Quick Play Sheet... until now!


 We'll see about making the QRS for BLB2 available as well...

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In the Shadows of History: Battle of Newtown, 31st July 1689. Part Five

August 13, 2013, 9:30 pm
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The Williamite Force
Even less is known about the Williamite troops as Newtown if the majority of sources are considered. It is likely that they were mostly Enniskillen men as the town was a centre of Protestant resistance or at least that they were local to the CountyFermanagh area. It is unlikely that they were uniformed as the regiments were recently raised as part of armed resistance and the area was subject to Jacobite focus and troop movements. A mention later in Sapherson’s book of Inniskilling men being extremely reluctant to swap their red coats taken from the Jacobites for new grey ones from Englandsuggests a policy of acquisition through combat as opposed to supply and provisioning from the authorities or government. These garments were captured early in the war and the quantity was sufficient to clothe two companies who served in Zachariah Tiffin’s Regiment. It is extremely probable that they were in fact captured during the action at Newtown. Tiffin’s date of appointment as colonel of the regiment is 20th June 1689, roughly one month before the battle. His regiment was raised in Enniskillen and made up of local men who later fought at the Boyne and Namurin 1695. They marched into history as the 27th of Foot ‘The Inniskillings’. Other web histories stated that in 1689 the town raised foot and dragoons but no mention is made of Horse. I have crossed referenced several sources but could find no further detail. If Tiffin’s regiment conformed to the norm they would have accounted for 920 men or roughly one third of Wolseley’s force. 

Dragoons are mentioned and in the clash at Lisnaskea mounted men under Berry chased off Hamilton’s dragoons or horse. There is also mention in at least one source of the Protestants using their cavalry to cross the causeway after the Jacobite guns had been cleared by the infantry moving through the bog.  It is possible but not likely that a smaller force of dragoons or horse may have been able to chase away nearly 1,000 Jacobite dragoons as Lisnaskea. Again here I am using logic and probability to deduce as opposed to fact and I would concede that stranger things have happened but it is more likely that the forces were evenly matched. If the Protestant units were raised in line with regulation then two regiments may have met Hamilton’s thirteen troops. I have decided to make these one each of horse and dragoons each having 6 troops or two squadrons. This leaves us with roughly 1,000 unaccounted for troops. The easiest solution is to provide Wolseley with another large regiment of foot.

Again I have left the data from the re enactors website till last. They state that the following Williamite units were at Newtown; Wolseley’s Horse, Wynne’s Dragoons, Gustavus Hamilton’s, Zachariah Tiffin’s & Colonel Lloyd’s regiments of Foot. This actually tallies a lot closer with what I have discovered by crossing referring other sources. The men are all stated to be Enniskilleners and at typical strengths for the war in Ireland the totals would be around 900 of Horse and dragoons and 2,100-2,200 foot making the 3,000 estimates stated elsewhere believable.  My recommendation is that gamers go with this orbat which allows for typically sized regiments and not with the less numerous larger sized regimental theory of the previous paragraph.

The troops ratings for both sides are arbitrary but reflect the fact that the conflict had not long started, most of the Protestant regiments were less than one month old and that the efforts of both sides had exhibited amateurism both at leadership and company level. The Jacobite Horse are widely accepted to have been disciplined, brave and formidable in relative terms. I have listed the Beneath the Lily Banners morale classes and suggest that if BLB is used to play the game at regimental level, players make sure each foot regiment has a central stand of pikemen and is only allowed to fire muskets with two stands of figures.



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Evolution of Warfare Miniatures Gardes Francaises Models

August 14, 2013, 9:30 pm
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These pikemen are being production moulded now

Barry Hilton - Clibinarium and I have discussed the final look of the Gardes Francaises at length and although we were both delighted with the pikemen, we were not totally comfortable with the musketeers. Clibinarium himself will post about the evolution of the musketeer sculpts soon but this brief note is here to let you know that they have been redesigned and will appear shortly on the blog. They will have more options than the first sculpts thus offering significant variety between multi battalion forces. The Gardes had six battalions.

The other good news is that the command pack is also designed but some further detailing work is underway. Here is a teaser shot to keep everyone going.

This also means that I'll have to speak very nicely to Mr Harrison as we would like to release the flags with the figures! Clarence, are you reading this?

More soon..

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FEATURED REGIMENT: Gardes Francaises. King Louis's Battle Winners

August 15, 2013, 9:30 pm
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Gardes Francaises - Veterans of 30 battles

Barry Hilton - I fell in love with the idea of the French Foot Guards the first time I saw them on a friend's wargames table in 1992. The figures were the very ones I used for my own regiment seen above; Dixons Sedgemoor infantry sculpted by Mark Copplestone. These characterful models are of course quite wrong for the royal Frenchmen in many areas; coat decoration, hats, equipment orientation and such like however, there was nothing else available at the time and they just looked great! My friend at the time had two battalions, gloss varnished but glorious and I wanted some. The figure on the far left of the front rank is the very first Grand Alliance period figure I ever painted and I still have him(and them). My regiment pictured had a tart up in the mid 90s when I solidified the painting style a little and was more definite with colours such as black and blue.

Of course, Warfare Miniatures are about to release our very own Gardes Francaises sculpted specifically for the glorious period between 1689 and 1697 when they swept all before them.

Why would you want such troops in your army? Well that seems almost a stupid question but not really. The Gardes Francaises were not held in reserve and for show. They were a key battlefield asset which often featured prominently in the attack. With six powerful battalions they provided Louis XIV's marshals with a sledgehammer with which to break down the enemy's door. At Neerwinden in 1693 they did just that, facilitating a great victory. Pikemen with armour, musketeers with dashing, ribbon and feather festooned attire the Garde of this period are even more attractive than Napoleon's famous Garde Imperiale.
 
My Gardes Francaises were painted in 1992. They have fought 30 actions and achieved two distinctions. Their average battle losses are 18%. They have captured the colours of Kirke's Lambs. Regrettably their own colours were lost once. Finest Hour: Engaging and bayonet charging Kirke's 'Lambs' at Neerhespen 1693. This was a scenario soon to be featured on the blog concerning the French pursuit(which never happened) after the great victory at Neerwinden.

Darkest Hour: Routing and losing their colours during the worst French collapse I've seen, a refight of Fontenoy placed in the Grand Alliance period- ugh! It is my plan to retire these fine fellows shortly to be replaced with a new battalion of Warfare Miniatures Gardes Francaises.


When Clarence and I were first putting together ideas for Beneath the Lily Banners I wanted the cover to illustrate the coup de grace delivered by the Gardes at Neerwinden. We then had a case of life imitating art imitating life. Clarence designed the cover from my idea of what I imagined the fighting around Laer may have looked like. From his cover art I then modelled a diorama of the cover! Here is the cover of BLB1 (now only available in PDF):

This chap is a minor conversion I did on a Front Rank model for the diorama:


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