Victory Without Quarter Mission Creep

 

There are words for it. “Mission Creep” for the military and “Project Drift” for civic ventures. That tells us it is something humans do. So it is no surprise to find that I’m painting Scots units when I intended to major in English ones.

It could be worse. I have five English Regiments of Foot done and three squadrons of Horse. Also I have done a One Man and His Dog by way of command. 

Here he is.

 

He (Rupert of the Palatinate) is a Frei Korps 15mm miniature bought just before the Deluge. Next White Coats with red flags, yellow flags and white flags.

All Matchlock 15mm, or nearly so.

Note each company (base if you like, stand even) has its own flag. I feel this is period feel stuff and I like the look of it. 

Apparently standard practice was colours front on encountering the enemy for the first time. Then colours to the rear before the fighting began. I need to credit the fellow gamer and blogger who made these fine flags. Investigation will follow.

Let’s horse around starting with Cuirassiers with a black flag.

 

Next red flag horse. It is too small to see but the flag ridicules a notorious cuckold on the opposing side.

The blue flag boys have a nice white heraldic device. They are also getting a second squadron.

All the Horse are Matchlock 15mm.

A moments pause for the Dead. These are important as a tracking device in Victory Without Quarter. Many more of these to come.

Caledonia here we come. First the Strathbogie Regiment. The flags are from the magnificent Project Auldearn.

Some Highlanders from QRF as was. The great thing about Highlanders is by substituting flags they can represent any Clan Host. Below we see QRF, original FK15 and Peter Pig. Mix and match.

 

Now the latest Cards. Sealant has yet to be applied. I'm waiting until I have the set.

I am enjoying this project a great deal. Bigly in fact. I’m enjoying it bigly and you cannot say better than that.

A “Victory Without Quarter” Story

 

A long time ago I read books about the ECW and of course the non "E" Civil Wars . I even bought the odd edition of ECW Notes and Queries. Of real knowledge of the ECW I had not so much. The last stand of the Whitecoats, the massacre of the  women and children,mistaken for Irish. Fierce Cornish Regiments made an impression. 

Battles at Corbridge and Newburn too. The Scots put a gun in the Church tower there. That puzzled me until I learned of Frame guns. Two centuries ago quarrying in Millfield nearby disturbed a mass grave of the Scots dead slain at Newburn.  A Scots victory.  The English slain would have been buried on the other side of the River Tyne.

Little vignettes of courage and desperation. That’s about it.

All the same I downloaded and printed Clarence Harrison’s Victory Without Quarter rules for the period. It looked good and looked even better when the rules for Highlanders appeared. I’m currently interested in English Battles. Though an attempt at recreating Dunbar has real appeal. 

Regular Readers know I’m much given to the League of Augsburg style of gaming and Clarence is a key collaborator of Barry Hilton. I happily knew what I was in for.

I had very few painted figures, English that is. I do have Covenanters, Highlanders and Irish in good supply. Where were my English to come from? For some years I have been collecting Matchlock figures from eBay. The idea was a future 30 Years War Project. I must have saved a fortune. Also the figures obtained were cast when the moulds were young.

Today I counted. I have 10 regiments  (18 figures each) of Foot and 8 (12 figures, 2 squadrons each) of Horse.  It looks as though we are in business.

Now I have to paint them. Looking at the cast on flag poles of the standard bearers I can see this is going to be a little flag project. Fine, 3 flags a unit then. 

I also need to make some cards in order to play the game. I will show them here as they are done done. Unit Cards require painted figures as the front image. Naturally, it will take a while to complete the set. When that is done I will spray the whole deck with sealant. That's ink jet print sealant. There are, I have learned, sealants galore. They may not all be for the likes of us.

Oh, and casualty markers too. Ditto.

Anyhow, we are off and you see my progress on the page. Having sat in King Charlie's Chair (not the current Charlie) I'm beginning with the Marquis of Newcastle's White Coats- a Brigade no less.

Shakos and Bayonets 1798 -The United Men

 

We had an earlier look at the United Irishmen and suggested some Shakos and Bayonets unit statistics. Today we can look at our units to date. 

For convenience I'm using a blanket set of statistics. In reality after the first few victories even those initially too timid to Rise turned up for duty. Such men would not be trained as the United Irishmen were. Something for later I think. 

Above, four units of pike men each with a scattering of muskets. I do wish I had bought another four cavalry men. Ah well.

Our first two units with their officers. The mounted fellows might be the Irish Republicans returned from France. They were ardent revolutionaries and mostly Protestant. The rank and file except in Ulster were mainly Catholic. The "People of No Property" as Wolfe Tone said. The combination of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter accounts for their designation as the United Irishmen. This is the period when green becomes the Irish national colour. It had appeared earlier of course in the flags of the the Confederation of Kilkenny. This time it envisaged no foreign allegiance.  As the song has it " I joined the United Men to fight for the Green."

Our second two units. I had thought to provide one unit with a Father Murphy figure by way of period flavour. In keeping with the instruction of the Catholic Hierarchy Father Murphy evinced no sympathy for the Revolutionaries. That changed when the Yeomanry burned down his chapel. With the heather blazing he called his parish to arms. One to ponder.

I think I can manage to put together another 12 figure unit of Pike Men. A more singular unit is the men of Shelmalier with their long barrel guns. Their function is clear they operated as skirmishing marksmen. Obtaining suitable figures is beyond me. I'm substituting these musket armed lads from Chariot and Lancashire Games archive range. True 15mm and excellent.

Of course the above unit only vaguely resembles the actual men of Shelmalier. No long barrel guns. The Revolutionary Phrygian/Liberty caps are not attested in Ireland so far as I know. 

The French Revolutionaries seem to have adopted it as it was worn by by Roman Freedmen. A sartorial "Slave No More" if you like. British cartoonists of the period loved the image of a monkey faced man in a Liberty Cap as visual shorthand for the United Men. So that is a sort of period connection. Likewise the striped trousers could only have been obtained from French allies.

The figures themselves are very nice. Two from Chariot and three from Lancashire Games Archive Vendee range. 

That's it. I'm grateful to Ian Kay at Irregular Miniatures for making the '98 Range above.  I'm frustrated by John at Khurasan for not releasing his '98 Range below. 

John let us see the first 15mm samples. 

A species of cruelty really.

The 70e Demi-Brigade Ireland 1798- Shakos and Bayonets

Above  are the three battalions of the 70e Demi-Brigade and their Chasseurs and Grenadiers. Let us have a look in detail.

 

The Chasseurs from Minifigs. I intend adding an officer and another 6 figures including a drummer. It makes for variation. Nice figures all the same as can be said for all of Minifigs French Revolution Range.

The 1^st Battalion. Minifigs and Chariot. I’d like to think someone will put the Chariot French Revolution range back into production. Who doesn’t want a Parisian Mob?

The 2^nd Battalion, once again Minifigs and Chariot 15mm.

The 3^rd Battalion, the same combination of figures as Battalions 1 and 2. I see I have used the same officer for two battalions. Best see all three again with the correct command.

The combined Grenadiers all from Minifigs. Here we have variation galore. 

Once more I will add another 6 figures.

Now for supports. General Humbert had a small cavalry force with him comprised of Hussars and Chasseurs a Cheval. I had a bunch of Irregular Miniatures Crimean Light Dragoons surplus to requirement. The reason being the were sculpted wearing a Mirliton. An error. Even Homer nodded as the Ancients were wont to say.

Anyhow, here they are re-purposed for Ireland 1798. A campaign look and I think they will do. I’m glad to have found a use for them.

They need a General Humbert and an artillery piece and they are done. Additionally I'm adding 4 Chasseurs a Cheval for colour. Chrome if you like, the real work is done.

Next on this project we will see the United Irishmen. Mostly from Irregular Miniatures with a few Chariot mixed in. They are all done save for 6 Shelmalier Skirmishers. For those I'm using Lancashire Games Archive Range Vendeans with muskets.

Then more work begins. I need to paint Militia and Yeomanry infantry for the British. Then British Regular infantry. Flags will be a challenge for the Militia and Yeomanry infantry. Luckily the cavalry and the Highlanders are done.

A question looms in my mind. Should I re-purpose all of my French Revolutionary British for Shakos and Bayonets? If so the Austrians and Prussians will surely follow. A First World dilemma in an age of chaos.

Compagnies Franches de la Marine-Muskets and Tomahawks

 

Muskets and Tomahawks V2 Redcoats and Tomahawks has an interesting feature. a side comprised of the same troop type enjoys certain advantages. 

It so happens that I have sufficient Compagnies Franches de la Marine figures to enjoy this. I should say this is not by design. I was never that gamey. More it is the consequence yet another Ebay bargain. I got a lot for a good price. Matchlock Miniatures no less.

Anyhow, here is the haul. The eagle eyed among you will probably spot a couple of Minifigs and a Blue Moon.

Units 1 and 2 with their officer.

Unit 3 and 4 and their officer. I have all 4 units in Skirmish Order as befits the Scout Trait they enjoy. Should I wish they could deploy in Close Order. Yes indeed, I have a suitable movement tray.

Matchlock offers some officers for the Compagnies Franches de la Marine. I have these above and below. 

All in all a formidable force for a French and Indian Wars game of Muskets and Tomahawks. Of course this level of concentration of Compagnies Franches de la Marine was seldom seen. Mostly they would be in smaller numbers supporting Canadian Militia and/or Indian allies.

Ascherson Miniatures Longhouses above. I have another two. You might note the different colours of bark panel as new replaced old. What I need is a stockade in the Indian style like in the film Black Robe. I will have to make one with wooden cocktail sticks. Khurasan make something very suitable in one of their Japanese ranges. Alas shipping and taxes preclude that option.

I'm continuing to experiment with the multi-bases. I'm starting to get them looking right.

Kepis and Bayonets- Italian Wars of Independence

 

Pleasingly Old Glory figures for this period match nicely with those of QRF. Today  we have Piedmont troops and Garabaldini. Let's start with the cavalry, Lancers from Old Glory.

Piedmont Regular infantry. These were an ebay bargain, sort of. There were equal numbers of command and private soldiers. I hadn't noticed. Good castings mind you.

Still, scope for expansion.  They are from Old Glory.

QRF Bersaglieri above and the two pics below. Good troops that can skirmish and form line.

They fit perfectly with Old Glory 15mm.

Next, my penultimate unit of Redshirts.

I need to work on the multi-bases to get a satisfactory look. They are new to me. All part of the fun. They are from Warbases who enjoy a justified good reputation.

Not much left to do for these chaps. A gun and crew, the command figures and the final unit of Redshirts.  Then we will have a parade. On the other side I await the Papal Zouaves from Blue Moon. Happily there is a lot of manufacturer compatibility with this project.

Back to the French and Indian Wars next week. I'm putting the finishing touches to my Compagnies Franches de la Marine today.