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Vintage 20 Mil Wars of Louis Quatorze

 This new range for the 1660s and 70s are great figures. There is cavalry and artillery planned. They are all based on Les Higgins' original ECW figures to keep that vintage feel. I like them. Not convinced of the need for musket rest figures but then that's just me. Over at Vintage 20mil you'll find the email contact should you want to order some of the 26 poses created or order some of their extensive Marlburian 20 millimetre figures.

John Manners Marquess of Granby

Someone not really that famous now but who was a popular national figure in the Seven Years War was this man the Marquess of Granby.There are still a great number of Public Houses named after him around Britain. He famously charged at Warburg without his hat and wig (which blew off) coining the phrase to 'go at something bald headed'.

Falcata Minatures

Uwe on his History in 1/72 was giving a run down of figures for his Rocroi diorama and mentioned these figures. They look great, Website here.
Oh - on further study this company may have ceased trading - maybe you know?

Albertina-Handschrift 1762

SYW Austro=Hungarian uniforms here

Bückeburg carabiniers

This SYW unit was one of the more bizarrely accoutred for the time with cuirasses and a capeline type helmet with a fur crest. Project SYW page

Gmundener Prachtwerk 1761

Here for Hanoverian uniforms

Königstein Fortress

By Canaletto 1756-8. Wiki on the Saxon Bastille here.

Saxon troops at the battle of Minden

 Most people ignore the Saxons in the SYW - they all surrendered early on so why bother? However there was a new contingent under the French and fighting at Minden. Here's what Kronoskaf SYW Project says about the order of battle.

Saxon Division under comte de Lusace
assisted by comte de Solms
N.B.: out of the Saxon division, one battalion
was not present on the field that day but
we do not know which one

• Second Saxon Brigade
  • Kurprinzessin (2 bns)
  • Prinz Sachsen-Gotha (1 bn)
  • Prinz Anton (1 bn)
  • Graf Brühl (1 bn)
  • Rochow Fusiliers (1 bn)
• First Saxon Brigade
  • Fürst Lubomirsky (1 bn)
  • Prinz Clemenz (1 bn)
  • Prinz Joseph (1 bn)
  • Prinz Friedrich August (2 bns)
  • Prinz Xaver (2 bns)
  • Prinz Karl Maximilian (1 bn)

Franco Saudelli

Seydlitz Hussar trooper. Copyright: Franco Saudelli - Excelletn work these. If you wish to see more go here

Private of Prinz Maximilian Infantry in 1756. Copyright: Franco Saudelli
Images from the Kronoskaf Seven Years War Project.

Saxon Friedrich August Regiment

Generally the Saxon contingent at Minden get overlooked. SYW project on the regiment.I like this artwork - it's by Franco Saudelli. A quick look on the Kronoskaf SYW project has more of his work. See above  -Copyright: Franco Saudelli

The 12th (Suffolk Regiment) at the Battle of Minden. 1st August 1759 by Brian Palmer.

Print from here

Grenadiers de France

This unit was present at Minden - 4 battalions of them. Unit background in the SYW here

More Lord High Admiral's Regiment

Grenadier, musketeer, and officer of the new Duke of Albany's or Lord High Admiral's Maritime Regiment of Foot, set up by order of king Charles II.

Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment 1665

By Rob Chapman - from the Anglo-Dutch war.

L'heroine mousquetaire

Go here to read this 1724 French language novel. Found by Boris from Russia.

Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia • © BBC (full documentary)

Hour long film by the BBC on Frederick the Great. If you know the story well then this is not the film for you but it serves as a decent introduction to the man.

Rocroy 2013

They've got some nice graphics for the battle next year. Facebook page

Leuthen 1757

Today's snow swept battle anniversary is Frederick's great victory at Leuthen. Wiki

Battle of Lund 1676

Took place today - wiki here. 
Uniform images from an article on the battle here  par Frédéric Fourreau

Scanian war wiki

Musket and arquebus

Ranks in Louis XIV's army

Rocroi 1643 by Ugo Pinson

See more of this work here

Rocroi Book

Although its only in Spanish this book looks worth getting. Looks like the Spanish had scraps of red cloth to distinguish them. Anyone have this book?

Jérémie de Billon, Les Principes de l'Art militaire, 1633

Here

Le mareschal de bataille (1647)

 A useful book on the French army of the 40s is this one. Not sure if there's a cheap reprint available?

Participants for Rocroi 2013

Here. Quite a good number of contingents from the UK. Excellent.

Image Arcabucero de un Tercio - Rocroi, 1643 - Francisco Rueda Sagaseta. From here

Minden 1759 in 2014

Facebook page for the event in Germany.

Seven Years War book

More details here
'William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, Britain’s war leader, stated that ‘America was won in Germany.’ How could Prussian successes on the continent of Europe have sounded the death knell for New France and Spanish ambitions in North America? Armies of the Seven Years War explains the connection and the outcomes of all the complex alliances that led to the ‘first world war’.'

Diorama of Rocroi 1643

Over at Uwe's History in 1/72 they have picked the subject of their big diorama for 2013. Rocroi. Excellent stuff.

Narva 2012

Photo album by Alex Goss of recent events at Narva fortress.

Spanish troops

"Troops at the Siege of Aire Sur La Lys, 1658 ". Snayers, Peeter

Rocroi 1643

Webpage for the event in May 2013 here. Facebook page here.There seems to be interest in attending this from the UK - there was quite a contingent at Grolle earlier this year. Be good to see some ECW people doing continental events - maybe get them using musket rests? Rocroi wiki

English Civil War Artillery

 Mortar at Basing House and guns at Edegehill from the Osprey

English Civil War Artillery 1642-51

Memoirs of a Cavalier Daniel Defoe

Or -
 A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. From the Years 1632 to 1648. Written threescore years ago, by an English gentleman, who served first in the army of Gustavus Adolphus, the Glorious King of Sweden, till his death, and after that in the Royal Army of King Charles the First, from the beginning of the Rebellion to the end of the War.

This is Defoe's fictionalized history of the war taken from accounts from a number of sources. Read it here

Cavalier wiki 

OK I just realised I have already posted on this subject before on this blog here but it is worth checking out for the comment on the sources Defoe used for his tale.

Pikemen by Angus McBride

Early war study from the ever popular artist.

We Be Soldiers Three

A fine song to sing beside the campfire at your local ECW or TYW event.

WEe be Souldiers three' was published by - and probably written by - collector and composer Thomas Ravenscroft, in his 'Deuteromelia' (1609). The French line, "pardona moy je vous an pree" (original spelling) means "pardon me, I pray you" or "pardon me, I beg you". The images in the video are from Ravenscroft's book.

Back and breast with tassets

 Some examples of these which were the ideal for pikemen in the early Civil War. The Royalists were less well accoutered. Top two images from the Tower Armouries and the bottom one from the NAM, Apparently Holland was the hub for the arms trade at the time and thousands of sets of arms came in compared to the mere hundreds made by British armourers.