Seven Years War at Terezin

Here's a cool video of the event in the Czech Republic set to some tidy Folkrock.

A Bit Of A Departure...

In a bit of a departure from our usual fare here on "Wars of Louis Quatorze", I hope our readers will indulge me a slight diversion. Both Ralphus and I are major fans of the 1950's to 60's Chicago Blues genre, and this past week we lost a legend.

Hubert Sumlin is a name that many, if not most, outside of the Blues world do not know. However, read any in-depth interview or biography of the guitarists that you may be more familiar with and you will often find Hubert's name mentioned. He has been named as a major influence by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and many, many others. His signature guitar riffs have been "borrowed" by guitar players from James Burton and Steve Cropper in the late 50's to all of those named above in the late 60's and early 70's, and are still being "borrowed" by many of today's top guitarists. Hubert attained his fame as a guitarist playing alongside the legendary Howlin' Wolf until Wolf's death in 1976. He did periodically get "fired" by Wolf after a blow-up, and played with Muddy Waters for a brief time. He also did session work at Chess Records and has recorded with many of the pioneers of "Modern Blues" as well as with a multitude of members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I won't try and do Hubert's entire biography here, it has already been done on many other sites, even the Wikipedia version is pretty good. Hubert was born in the Mississippi Delta on November 16, 1931 and passed away this past Sunday, December 4, 2011, at the age of 80. He will be missed by many in the music, and specifically the Blues, community. I will miss him. I was fortunate enough to see the Howlin' Wolf Band in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in 1970 and again in New Orleans in about 1972. I was also fortunate to see Hubert at Eric Clapton's first Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas in 2004, and he could still play with the best, and did. Anyone out there who has seen the DVD's of any of Eric's 3 Crossroads Festivals, or the DVD "10 Days on the Road" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Double Trouble, will have seen Hubert play. His distinctive finger-picking style and infectious smile always stand out on the stage.


RIP Hubert, you will be missed and remembered by many. I thank our readers for their indulgence, and will now return you to regular programming.

Bill

Guerreros y Batallas

Series of Osprey type books dealing with Spanish subjects. List here

WARFARE MINIATURES League of Augsburg 28mm metal figures

I am really impressed by these late 17th century figures. The poses are excellent and they ooze period feel. Check them out - list of available figures here

Very Good Russian Miltary History Site

For those readers of "Wars of Louis Quatorze" who might have an interest in Russian military history, this is an excellent web site. Called "From Rus to Peter", it covers the span of Russian military history from roughly 900 AD to 1725 AD.

The site (written in English) has pull-down tabs covering biographies of famous leaders, battles of the era, specific tabs on the Army and the navy, Politics, and the General History as well as Military History. Some very good articles with accompanying charts, maps, illustrations and photography. The illustrations are Osprey-style and the photos are of modern-day reenactments. Overall, very nicely done, and a good "thumbnail" source (at worst) for a bit of Russian information.

Bill

Photos of Frederick the Great era reenactors

Gallery of images here.

Project SYW

This is an invaluable resource on the web on the subject - check it out, if you have an interest.

Prussian musket

This musket - a 1740 flintlock is now available as a cheap import repro so if you have been waiting for something like that now's your chance.

Austrian flintlocks

From the Regiment Wied website is this useful image of Austrian arms.

Prussian step

Prussian infantry in the time of Frederick the Great on parade in Potsdam. A clip from the East German 1962 film "Minna von Barnhelm".
Eagle-eyed readers will note that I have had this clip on this blog already but I thought it might be worth having a look at the step the soldiers are marching in - is it a reasonable approximation of the 'lock step'? I think it's a modern version but I still think it comes close.
Incidentally there's news of a forthcoming book on the armies of the Seven Years War on my Flintlock and Tomahawk blog.

More Morier

This is the British 14th Dragoons.

An engagement between French troops and a detachment of the 'Free Company' 1755-65

Curious image by Morier here

Bannalist and Pandour, 'Freikorps Trenck' c.1748

By David Morier

Prisoners of War

Martin Psenicka found this lovely engraving - never seen it before - sort of on the same theme as Hogarth's Roast Beef of Old England

Austrian drill manual

Thanks to a Czech friend I managed to get hold of a digital copy of this work. It's excellent. Definitely someone should reprint it. Thanks Guys...

Grenadiers, Infantry Regiments 'Hirzel', 'Constant'? and 'Stuerler'?

Anyone identify the nationality of these troops in the Morier archive? Are they Dutch?

Morier paintings

Collection of paintings of the era of the War of Austrian Succession. Here.

Hanoverian army

Overview here. Following the theme of Frederick's allies

Braunschweig-Lüneburg Grenadier a cheval

c.1760

Frederick the Great's Allies Osprey

Always worth celebrating - an Osprey on a subject you like - even more worth celebrating when they have someone good at the rudder - this one has all the hallmarks of a good 18thc read - Stuart Reid and Gerry Embleton and son Sam are involved with this one...worth a look I'd say. Review here

More Terezin

I picked this SYW clip as it shows a bird's eye view of things - rather like the painting below.

Battle of Rossbach 1757

This SYW battle took place today in 1757. A decisive victory for the Prussians. Did an image search and came up with this fine picture. Wiki on the battle here

More from Terezin fortress

Check out the SYW scene in Czech republic and environs. Inspirational - I want to live there and take part!

Trophies of War

From the Vienna army museum these are Prussian items captured at the battle of Kunersdorf.

Austro-Hungarian grenadiers by Morier c1748

More stuff on the Seven Years War on my Flintlock and Tomahawk blog.

More Austrian drill pictures

From a little earlier - 1717. More here . The caption reads

Drill book for the Imperial infantry regiment commanded by Col. George Count Browne de Camus, 1717. Drawings show soldiers and officers in black-and-white uniforms, the colours of the Browne arms, carrying out various moves. Forming a barrier. See 17-01-02/57-60

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Seven Years War uniforms

This classic old school Blandford Press book by Mollo and McGregor is up on the Armchair General site. A useful introduction to the period even after all these years.

Austrian manual of arms for the Seven Years War period

One of my mates from the States is looking for the drill manual for the Austrian army - these are a few of the plates sent by my pal Boris - anyone have the whole work?

Theresienstadt 2011

Recent event depicting the Seven Years War in the Czech Republic. This is an interesting little film - puts you right in the action - watch out for the Austrian Cuirassiers - impressive.

Kexholm 1710

Some great photos of the GNW event here

Great Northern War video

Video by Sergey Minchenkov & Mikhail Goidin. Showing the people and activities in the GNW world.

ECW stained glass

Go here to see an interesting blog piece on the soldiers of the ECW captured on stained glass.

Marche du Roy accompagné des ses gardes passant sur le pont neuf et allant au Palais

Thanks to an Anonymous poster this is a great image by Huchtenburg of French soldiers etc

A Visit to Neuf-Breisach

My wife and I took a trip to Europe this summer, the first time for both of us. Most of our time was spent in Germany, and amongt other sightseeing excursions, we took a Rhine River cruise.  Near the end of the cruise, the ship docked at Breisach.  Rather than take the guided tour with the other passengers to visit a cuckoo clock factory in the Black Forest, we struck out on our own, taking a cab from the German side across the river into Alsace, France.  Neuf-Breisach is not far from the Rhine, about 10 minutes drive.

The fortress town of Neuf-Breisach was built according to plans drawn up by Vauban and built as a replacement in lieu of French occupation of Breisach itself, which was ceded to the Empire by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697.  Completed in 1701, this is one of the best-preserved examples of Vauban fortifications in existence.

It's not a bad idea to begin your tour at the tourism office located adjacent to the Place d'Armes (town square).  There's no guarantee you'll get fluent English-speaking assistance, but I was able to get by tolerably well in my rusty high school French.  This map gives a good overview of the place, with an outlined walking tour around the ramparts and the town itself.

Unfortunately, we were somewhat pressed for time and I was only able to take a partial circuit of the fortress walls.  I was also unable to take in the Vauban museum due to the time contraints.  Although not large (occupying half of the Porte de Belfort gate house), no doubt this is also well worth exploring.  As you make your way around the ditch, there are plaques explaining various aspects of the fortifications.

One thing to keep in mind, this is not a museum setting such as Fort Ticonderoga or Louisbourg. It's a living town, zoned residential or commercial, seamlessly incorporating the old and new in the way of the Europeans.  Nor is it a particularly scenic town, retaining a rather stark, martial aspect. We visited on a Saturday morning, with a farmer's market in progress at the Place d'Armes.  My wife found this rotisserie chicken truck a more impressive feat of French ingenuity than the works of Vauban.

All in all, we (or perhaps more accurately, I) really enjoyed the visit.  One could easily spend the better part of a day there, exploring all aspects of this beautifully preserved fortress.   Breisach itself on the German side is well worth a visit as well, which also features a walking tour of what remains of the fortifications, with a most impressive gate.

Anyone identify this image?

This lovely image I can't identify - looks a bit like Morier's style or that sort of era...anyone know?

Battle of Klissow 1702

This battle from the GNW and was a Swedish victory was fought today in 1702.

GNW event at Peter and Paul fortress

Some great photos here of a recent Great Northern War event.
Image from this page

Barry Lyndon armies

This blog has a good project - recreating the forces in the Kubrick classic with Minden miniatures. Gale's regiment of foot are first off the mark.

Virtual Museum of the WSS

Excellent site on the Iberian peninsula's aspect of the war of Spanish Succession here

Warfare Miniatures and BLB2

Check out this blog for images and so forth of a new (to me) range of 28s for the late 17th century. On the same blog is the new artwork for Beneath the Lily Banners 2nd edition so fill yer boots.

The landing of the Duke of Monmouth 1685

Today (June 11th) is the day Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis to begin his rebellion in the West Country. Image from Look and Learn. The Monmouth Rebellion was the last popular uprising in England and Sedgemoor the last pitched battle on English soil. Unless you live in Preston...

Late 17th century further reading

I've had a request from a blog reader for a book list. Covering the 50 year period of Louis XIV and Charles II - so in general the late 17thc early 18th. What books would you recommend? My first thought was John Lynn's 'Wars of Louis XIV' but covering military, politics and so on what would be of use? Maybe I would suggest David Chandler's Art of War in the Age of Marborough..what else?

New 1/72 figures for the late 17th century

Uwe has got some nice masters for the late 1600s. Check them out here
Also check out on the same page a 1/72 game of Blenheim.

Marma 2011

Photos from last weekend's event at Marma for the Great Northern War period. It's great to see the reenactors out in the woods skirmishing for their own enjoyment. See more images here and here

Warlord Games TYW

I like the look and the style of these 28mm figures covering the early phases of the Thirty Years War. For some obtuse reason I have always found the 30 Years War more interesting than the English Civil War. Don't know why. Probably to do with familiarity breeding contempt. Small Image: Memmingen Cuirassiers.