Tuesday 30 April 2019

More Ralph Mitchard Marlburians

I drew these quite a long time ago when the 300th was raging around 2004.
Brandenburg Prussian grenadier

British soldier 1704

French infantry

1700s



Brandenburg-Prussians 1704

Bavarian cuirassiers


Recruiting for Marlborough's army

1704 Redcoat by Ralph Mitchard
By Ralph Mitchard. An article  I wrote a few years ago
I thought it might be interesting to look at life in the army of the time to arrive at a better understanding.
The initial form of recruitment was voluntary enlistment, but the unpopular image of military life ensured that the flow of able-bodied men was never enough for a major war. Another category of recruit was the contents of the gaols; thieves and debtors - male and female - who were impressed as 
  The main presence of the military in England during the War of Spanish Succession was the recruiting party who usually were a group of trusted NCOs sent back during the winter months to replace those lost during the previous summer's campaigning. True volunteers were hard to find and those that were motivated by higher ideals were usually found in the cavalry. The military commitment meant that the army rose from 18,000 in 1702 to 70,000 in 1708-09.
Regiments were in competition for recruits so rival recruiting parties roamed the countryside looking to lure men into the ranks. A bounty of 40 shillings (two pounds) was paid to recruits, which encouraged the activities of bounty jumpers who would receive the bounty from one regiment before escaping sometimes from the continent in order to reenlist with another regiment. As the need for recruits rose then more desperate measures were followed including the abuse of the naval press for land service. Finally a series of Recruiting or Impressment acts were passed (1703-4) (called 'Pressing Acts') which allowed justices of the peace to 'raise and levy such Able-bodied Man as have not any lawful calling or employment or visible means for their maintenance livelihood to serve as soldiers'. The abuse of this system meant that many people were impressed because of political disputes with the judicial powers and subsequently there were riots when locals banded together to rescue people who had been impressed wrongfully. The following verses tell us a lot about the hard-sell that was performed on the rural population, combined with the sumptuous clothes and free drink that were on offer it would have been hard to turn down.
The Recruiting Officer - a comedy
by George Farquhar
Act 1 Scene 1
The Market-Place
Drummer beats the 'Grenadier March'
Enter SERGEANT KITE followed by the MOB
KITE (Making a speech)
If any gentlemen, soldiers or others, have a mind to serve Her Majesty, and pull down the French king; if any prentices have severe masters, any children have undutiful parents; if any servants have too little wages, or any husband too much wife; let them repair to the noble Sergeant Kite, at the Sign of the Raven, in this good town of Shrewsbury, and they shall receive present relief and entertainment. - Gentlemen, I don't beat my drums here to ensnare and inveigle any man; for you must know, gentlemen, that I am a man of honour. . .
from the New Mermaids edition 1977

The Recruiting officer 1706

Wiki 
George FARQUHAR  himself a recruiting officer, and possibly gathered all the materials for this play on the very spot where he has placed his scene—Shrewsbury. He has dedicated the piece "to all friends round the Wrekin," and has thanked the inhabitants of the town for that cheerful hospitality, which made, he adds, "the recruiting service, to some men the greatest fatigue on earth, to me the greatest pleasure in the world."
Full play audio online
Have posted about this famous play before but I found the above image so I thought it worth posting again.   See ebook 

Thursday 25 April 2019

Robinson Crusoe's 300th anniversary

So today 300 years ago this famous novel was published. Wiki

Almansa 1707

Today's anniversary - uniform studies here
and here

Talon and Claw Great Northern War supplement

Go here to read more about this BLB publication. 

Wednesday 24 April 2019

HaT 1/72 Austrians are out


Been a long wait. Hopefully the 1/32 ones wont be far behind. See them on Plastic Soldier Review

Tuesday 23 April 2019

Happy St George's Day

The 36th (Flemings) at Fort George. English enough for you? 

Monday 22 April 2019

Kenau 2014

IMDB While she fights a heroic battle against the Spanish besieger with her female army, Kenau, driven by hate and sorrow of the execution of her youngest daughter, is threatened to also lose her eldest daughter, because her fear and pain are covered by her stubborn closeness.

I haven't seen this movie but it looks interesting. Set in the 80 Years War. Wiki on the person
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenau_Simonsdochter_Hasselaer

Friday 19 April 2019

Siege of Cambrai 1677

The Siege of Cambrai took place from 20 March to 19 April 1677 during the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War; then part of the Spanish Netherlands, it was invested by a French army under the duc de Luxembourg. Siege operations were supervised by the military engineer Vauban; Louis XIV was present and nominally in command but he played little part in operations.

Tuesday 16 April 2019

Culloden (1964)

Can you believe it? Been doing this blog for ten years and more and I haven't posted the Watkin's BBC documentary on Culloden.  I saw this when it came out. 

Culloden 1746

Today's anniversary is that sad battle in Scotland. Wiki

Monday 15 April 2019

Sunday 14 April 2019

Fighting for Liberty

Helion have engaged Steve Carter to create the definitive book on the Monmouth Rebellion. Out next year. In the meantime Steve is tweeting his adventures and his research with the hashtag #‎FightingForLiberty. Today he is visiting Norton St Philip and has posted a pic of the Royal positions find it @warwalks

Thursday 11 April 2019

French drummer

Tambour des Cent-Suisses de la Maison du roi. École française. Milieu du XVIIIe siècle. Huile sur toile. ChĂ¢teau de Versailles.
OK since posting I am not sure what this represents - here are matching paintings in situ

Khurasan Miniatures 15mm French infantry

If you want to refight the battle of Cassel then you might want these excellent new releases from Khurasan
Facebook page

Cassel 1677

The Battle of Cassel, sometimes called the Battle of Peene, took place on 11 April, 1677, during the Franco-Dutch War, near Cassel, in modern France. A French army under the overall command of the duc de Luxembourg defeated a combined Dutch-Spanish force under William of Orange.
Cassel was a French victory that ensured the capture of key strongpoints in modern French Flanders, but failed to force the Dutch out of the war, which continued until the August 1678 Treaties of Nijmegen

Wednesday 10 April 2019

Watteau's soldiers

There is a book based on this - here - I haven't bought it yet but it is lovely stuff
I have just ordered it - I'll let you know what it's like. Have you got it?




A couple of N Guerard pics


To celebrate coming out of winter quarters. 

Tuesday 9 April 2019

Happy birthday to the Duke of Monmouth

Jan Wyck. In the uniform of the King's Troop of Lifeguards according to Anna Keay in her new biography.
April 9 is the day we raise a glass to salute James Scott. Unless of course you support the other side.

Monday 8 April 2019

Sunday 7 April 2019

Charles XI’s War: The Scanian War between Sweden and Denmark, 1675-1679 (Century of the Soldier)



By Michael Fredholm von Essen.
I have for a long time wanted a comprehensive English language book on the Scanian war (fought between Denmark and Sweden in the 1670s) and finally one has come out and I am not disappointed one bit. It covers all the major battles and sieges and also the naval campaigns and the many instances of irregular warfare that occurred. Tactics are examined as this was a period of change and the improvements that occurred laid the groundwork for Sweden's army in that other icy epic the Great Northern War. Colour plates  by Sergey Shamenkov are well executed and capture the nuances of the era perfectly. Flags are also depicted.
    If you are interested in the 17th century or the pike and shot era you will probably enjoy this book. Well illustrated with engravings and tapestries there are plenty of orders of battles to satisfy the wargamer. In short another must-have from Helion. 

Day of the Siege Official Trailer (2014) - F. Murray Abraham Epic Movie HD

Siege of Vienna - missed this when it came out  Might be rubbish. 

Friday 5 April 2019

1/32 Seven Years War

Found these for sale on ebay - they're HaT Prussians (Action) painted as Austrians. Here

Thursday 4 April 2019

RĂ©giment de Bretagne, Ancien RĂ©gime

New French group. Facebook page here 
Read the history of the regiment in English here at Kronoskaf

Notre groupe a pour but de reconstituer le rĂ©giment Breton durant la guerre de 7ans, en voici un rapide aperçut historique Ă  travers quelques dates ... 
Fusiller du RĂ©giment de Bretagne sous Louis XV durant la guerre de 7 ans

Exercices militaire du maniement des armes sous Louis XV
Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen, nĂ© le 17 aoĂ»t 1720 Ă  Valenciennes, et mort le 4 janvier 1778 Ă  Bruxelles, est un peintre et graveur français surtout connu par la très grande quantitĂ© de dessins et de compositions qu’il a rĂ©alisĂ©s pour les Ă©diteurs de son temps.

Wednesday 3 April 2019

Prince Rupert and the Battle of Birmingham

Prince Rupert shown attacking "Brimidgham", from the Parliamentarian pamphlet A True Relation of Prince Ruperts Barbarous Cruelty against the Towne of Brumingham
The Battle of Camp Hill (or the Battle of Birmingham) took place in and around Camp Hill, during the First English Civil War, on Easter Monday, 3 April 1643, when a company of Parliamentarians from the Lichfield garrison with the support of some of the local townsmen, in all about 300 men, attempted to stop a detachment of Royalists, of about 1,200 cavalry and 200 foot men, under the command of Prince Rupert from passing through the unfortified parliamentary town of Birmingham.

Tuesday 2 April 2019

Monday 1 April 2019

The army of August the Strong in the Great Northern War


Thought I would post this again as it's a useful book and goes well with the other GNW books you might have.  Art Sascha Lunyakov

Pike and Shot enthusiasts in Australia

This is impressive - here's what they had to say. Grolle is the big 17thc weekend in Holland. 
'Company Batavia and Company of the Cross drill weekend in Jugiong NSW Australia đŸ‡¦đŸ‡º Some of us will be attending Grolle. It’s a long way but we know it’s certainly worth it. Stay tuned for more photos after our first national event in April'
the photos were taken by Bill Lincoln who is a member of Compagnie Batavia. Thanks to Mark Lee.