A bit about Gonzalo- Great Italian Wars

 

People have expressed interest in my forthcoming Gonzalo rules for the Great Italian Wars so  I thought I should say more about it.

I want to reflect the difficulties Commanders faced. Troops didn’t always do what Generals wanted. This was as much from over enthusiasm as reluctance.  The General’s art then, was about working with what they had.  You made your plan and got on with it.

Heroism at every level was real enough.  Notable Captains regularly got killed and ordinary soldiers could demonstrate indisputable courage. Both could also decide, that on balance, they would rather not.

For me, a card driven system reflects this best.

My other interest was in what troops could and couldn’t do.  The Italian Wars were the forcing house of military innovation.  The old met the new and gunpowder showed that it could be triumphant.  

I'm interested in how to reflect tactical nuance.  We have already considered the pike and how it was used by the various combatants.  Soon, I want to look at the heavy cavalry. 

There is much to consider.  The habit of the Spanish nobility of spearing French destriers rather than Frenchmen.  The elan of the so able French Gendarmes. What of their supporting cavalry? They skirmished and sometimes dismounted as missile units. They then took their place behind the line, tasked with ensuring the enemy wounded or unhorsed rapidly joined the slain. Can we reflect that?

The unit at the head of the page is a Scots one in French service. They might find themselves seconding Bérault Stuart and his gendarmes.  Bérault, Seigneur d'Aubigny was a Scots noble man whose family had long been in the service of France.  I have another Scots unit in the wings too.

I've increasingly become interested in painting actual units rather than generic representations.  A joy of the hobby without doubt. On the other hand the mounted arquebusiers above could happily serve with any army of The Great Italian Wars.  

You also see my penultimate unit of Stradiots- two with maces I made.  The mace was a great weapon for walloping better armoured fellows.  The trick was to quickly batter helmeted heads silly and concuss the foe. That was easier done with a lighter, handier weapon like the mace. 

There is still a lot of painting to be done. Progress has been made all the same. Soon, I should have enough units finished to try a small Franco -Spanish game with Gonzalo.  Once I have a couple of units of Gendarmes and two pieces of artillery done I'll give it a go.

The two Helion Italian Wars books are proving a mine of new information. Not least in terms of flags and banners.  We could really do with more of these for the period.  I'm hoping some of the talented chaps out there who make them might expand their ranges.

More soon.