The League of Augsburg

Looking across Øresund

I have finished refighting the Battle of Øresund, 28th October 1658. It was the largest Mad for War game I have played to date so let's get the stats out of the way first:

Table size: 6 x 4 feet

Playing time: 18 turns (6 hours of battle time) played over three days in multiple sessions.

Scale :1/1200

Model to ship ratio: 1: 2 

Number of models used: 50

Total Swedish fleet points:...

The fleets approach looking from the northwest

..every day and every night... In the words of Glasgow's own Frankie Miller Be good to yourself

I promised myself a northern waters game last Christmas, it was going to be Öland but that never took place because the lurgy got me and it nearly did it again this year, however... this hobby of ours is a powerful stimulus. So, sick a bed, I planned this...

I always enjoyed the Churchill quotes describing General Neil Ritchie of the 8th Army as an 'embarrassment of Ritchies'. Helion is creating an embarrassment of riches with their relentless release of source material for the 17th century, much of it plumb in the centre of my interest crosshairs.Two recent releases New Worlds, Old Wars, The Anglo-American Indian Wars 1607-1678 by David Childs and Th...

This is a great scenario to play and getting the historical feel was relatively easy with Donnybrook at Sea. I have always found Blackbeard an interesting character as his pantomime persona is at odds with his thoughtful approach to piracy and his victims. 

The Pirates

He seems to have given thought to persuasion, been reluctant to kill unnecessarily and a lot more cerebral than many of his more...

Irish defences south of Athlone Castle and the bridge

Having spent time walking many of the battlefields of the Irish wars I am constantly gaining a better understanding of the actions that took place. The recent Promenades Travel Jacobite Wars tour gave me a chance to do some more sniffing around.

The Castle and bridge in 1691

Being based in Athlone allowed considerable time to explore this small...

Sense the scale of this epic!

Devotion to the cause is the mark of the 17th century gamer. It doesn't come at any higher level than Jean de Dieu Labedoyere's (aka Ian C) game modelling the epic 21 years siege of Iraklion (Heraklio), Crete between 1648 and 1669.

Close in naval support

I am told it was perhaps seven years in the making. My game and this tour de force were side by side at The Other...

Christians approach through the narrows

With the anniversary of this enormous sea battle occurring yesterday, I thought I would fight a little game to mirror the setting and the ships. This is a 1/1200 scale game using Ark Royal Miniatures and a few Langton Christian ships. 

The Ottomans are holding a strong defensive position

I used Mad for Warcombining the galleys and square rigged rules sections...

Field guns at Oldbridge

We packed a helluva lot into four and a half days visiting Oldbridge, Donore, Duleek, Athlone, Aughrim, Portumna, Nena and Limerick. We spent long enjoyable days walking the fields, forts, castles and sites of the campaigns of 1690 and 1691 in Leinster, Connaught and Munster.

Sean O' Brogain's artwork in the cafe at Oldbridge

We had an outstanding group of friendly, curious...

We've recently begun a campaign recreating the adventures of the itinerant Royalist Fleet on the West African coast in 1652. Under Prinz Ruprecht von der Pfalz known more commonly in Engish as Rupert of the Rhine, a small battered squadron 'privateered' between the Islas Cabo Verde and The Gambia for some weeks. 

Campaign Map

I have manipulated a few facts but nothing too outrageous. We have...

Tomorrow sees a return to Claymore for me. Last time I was there was three years ago and I was lucky enough to win the Best Display game with a land based Ottoman Wars effort in 28mm. This time I am significantly downscaling in line with my green-policy of getting rid of the German tank of a car and opting for a quiet little Nipponese hybrid with much less space inside. 

Having downscaled the...

Let me begin by saying that wargamers and figure painters should have no complaints about this book. It is the most lavishly illustrated guide to the Swedish Army of the GNW period yet produced. My immediate response to a quick flick from front to back was extremely positive. The type face is larger than usual for recent Helion offers which makes the pages look less intimidating. The author is...

The bonus ball of a recent few wonderful days on Skye was the chance to visit Glenshiel battlefield on the inbound leg of the trip. I decided to do a little scrambling and ended up grabbing enough footge to make a wargames focused video of the battle. 

It falls just within my normal scope of interest with a 1719 date. Regardless of the period, it is a fascinating military encounter and unique in...