The Nine Years War in Ireland -Reading The Cards

 

I like card powered games. Mostly the cards represent individuals, units, actions or events. Turn a card and an individual or a unit does something or an event happens. What sort of events happened on Nine Years War battlefields in Ireland?

Weather certainly happened.

On one occasion the rival Armies simply marched past each other because the rain made fighting impossible.

At the Moyry Pass the fog was so dense that the English shot their own men returning from reconnaissance. Twelve men out of thirty were lost.

What about the volatility of Black Powder? Yes, notoriously so. At the Battle of the Yellow Ford. Scores were wounded or killed when a powder cart went up. The card, above right, shows an English officer's drawing of that event. 

Lucky shots? Yes, Sir Henry Bagenal and Hugh Maguire of Fermanagh both fell to lucky shots. Many more too, not all of them fatal. Call it disrupted command in either case.

Military Madness has its place too. Situations where inherent military probability was simply ignored in pursuit of glory. Consider Sir Henry Cosby going over the trench at the Battle of the Yellow Ford. Or perhaps the charge of the Irish cavalry at Kinsale.

Running out of ammunition was also a problem in Ireland. Not so much the bullets but the powder. English accounts are replete with officers complaints that units had “burned off” all of their gunpowder. 

At Clontibret O’Neill’s shot burnt off all theirs too. How happy then when re-supply appeared.

Looting stopping play? Yes, we can add that. It is how the English Army escaped at the Ford of the Biscuits.

Ambush? Most certainly, we can add ambushes to our list. The Pass of Plumes comes to mind.  Below, you can see my latest completed units. 

Exceptional Training? It can be observed with the naked eye  and it pays off too. As the English Officer noted “Rory Og O’ More’s soldiers were the best men of war in the kingdom.”

I’m making some cards for my Nine Years War in Ireland game. You can see some of them on this page. 

The officer cards are starred to indicate varying command abilities. I imagine I'll be doing quite a few of these as I paint the figures. On that, Khurasan do a very nice 15mm Mountjoy. He will be a 3 Star Commander of course.

These cards are very rough and ready. I needed something quick for play testing. Once the full card deck is done I'll post it here.

I'm minded when I first started playing Piquet, and its siblings, of the plethora of custom cards available. Some of them quite lovely in terms of artwork. The bulk of which were produced by individual enthusiasts.

Next on this one we will see a play test.

More Hellenistic Units

 

A look at the cavalry this time and some light troops too. All for Civitates Bellantes. Above Forged in Battle Thessalians. Below Old Glory Xystophoroi.

Essex Companions from the days of single pose. It just about works with the officer variants.

Below, Antigonid Companion Cavalry from Gladiator. An interesting evolution here. No more Xyston, instead spear, javelins and shield.  A different style of fighting less impact, more protection and a bit of missilery. Tarantine cavalry are usually credited as the inspiration although they were all skirmishers. The new look was pretty much identical to Celtic cavalry in role and equipment when you think about it.

These fellows could be Tarantines. No armour, javelins and shields. Once more from Gladiator. As you can see I have opted for single bases for skirmishing cavalry.

"Asiatic" horse archers who might be Persians, Bactrians Scythians or some such.

Now, to some light infantry.

Forged in Battle Agranians. Often deemed to be skirmishers. That's not the whole story. Alexander used then for shock and storm. I decided upon " Javelin Men" under Civitates Bellantes. That means they can skirmish or close fight.

True veterans below. Bought from Belfast in the days of brittle metal. Frei Korps 15 Cretan Archers. Amazing that they have survived.

Bought at Border Reiver I think. Xyston  Macedonian Archers, a bit bigger than most.

Shall we see another unit of Phalangites? This one is in trousers although you probably cannot see it. QRF figures from their old Frei Korps range.

Any phalanx needs flank guards. Here are two unit of Thureophoroi. 

Figures from Gladiator. If you happen to know who currently owns the Gladiator Ranges do drop a comment.

A mixed group of Thracians with figures from Frei Korps 15 and Donnington. 

That's it for the moment.

A Hellenistic Miscellany

 

Regular Readers might remember that I reviewed Simon McDowall's Civitates Bellantes rules for the Classical Period here.  Those of a certain age might also recall an influential magazine article on matters Macedonian. 

It said that if you owned 48 phalangite figures you could do any Macedonian or Successor Army. The trick was to add smaller units as required. Some of the smaller units (Cretans) would do for any army. Others (Indians) might give unique flavour. Dizzy days of Diadochi diversion indeed. 

Very sound as a concept. It works too. Except I never managed to get past sporadic bouts of purchasing and painting. Until now. I have the figures, I have the rules. Time to begin.

I decided to take the Civitates Bellantes basing suggestions to heart. Therefore, my pikemen would be 8 to a base in two ranks. I like the look of this. 

By way of comparison Roman legions are 6 to a base. Thureophoroi or formed archers 5 to a base. True skirmishers 2 to a base. Roman Velites 3 to a base.

This project will cover a fair spread of geography and history. Persia to Cisalpine Gaul and Spain too. Eventually it will include the Punic Wars and Mithridates.

 Here are some pic’s of a range of manufacturers phalanx offerings. All 15mm as usual.

Old Glory

These are their Macedonian Phalangites. I find the shields a bit big. If I was buying from them now I’d go for the Argyraspides pike men. All the same these are OK. You do need to drill the hands but the figures can take it. No breakages. Added Steel pike.

Frei Korp 15

Currently in the Wars in terms of availability. That said I think Geoff will sort it out and we can hope for a triumphant return. These are the original Macedonian Pike men. A mixture of helmets and slight pose variation. Open hands permit gluing a plastic brush bristle pike in place. I like these figures, lots of detail. True 15mm.There is a Seleucid pike pack too with trousers. You will also see newer figures with cast on pike. I don't have any.

Ancient and Modern

Ever Donnington to me. These are very good. Open hands permit gluing a steel pike in place. Bare metal to bare metal will prevent losing pikes. Detail is good as is figure variation. I think 5 variants are available. The same for the trousered Seleucids.

Is that it? No, lots more to come in terms of units and then on to specific Armies. 

Boxer Rising-The Price of Tea

“Not for all the tea in China” was an expression when I was a child. Also, “As far back as the Chinese.” These were Victorian echoes and they are gone now. All the tea in China indicated colossal wealth. As far back etc indicated the lack of modernity in China. Gone are the days.

In the 19^th Century the British working poor were greatly immiserated. Only one thing brought any comfort. It was tea. Tea was great, it soothed the masses and didn’t inflame or excite them. Gin had been tried previously and hadn’t worked at all.

The Poor had a discerning taste in tea. We are told they would not accept inferior product. A small price to pay you might think for peace of mind of the Rulers. Alas, it was not so.

The Chinese would only sell tea for Silver. This is where the seeds of the Boxer Rising take root.  We must tell the tale if we are to understand the Righteous, Harmonious Fists and the like.

The British didn’t have sufficient silver to sustain the trade. Suspending the trade was unthinkable. The Poor were pacified give or take Transportation and Starvation. They might, denied tea, revolt. Something had to be done.

With some skill and a great deal bribery the British managed to smuggle tea plants out of China to India. All very well but it would take time for production to meet need.

Bengal Opium looked like an option. Enjoying opium was a well-known international recreation. The Chinese Government was well aware of its dangers. Consequently while a senior Mandarin might puff away a peasant farmer couldn’t, save as a pain killer or a rare treat. Importing Opium into the Celestial Empire was forbidden.

The British needed to flood China with cheap opium to break the Tea for Silver paradigm. This they did in a series of wars. The French joined in and the victors got inventive. The Chinese would pay for the cost of the British and French military actions. Also, territorial concessions would be made. Free Trade including opium would replace Chinese Regulations. 

The destruction to Chinese society was truly immense. Should you ever have lived or worked in an area with a serious drug problem you will understand precisely what happened.

At the top of Chinese society sat the Manchu providing Emperor and aristocracy. Below sat the Han Chinese and various minorities.  It was from the Han that the Boxers arose. The last great conflict to wrack China had been the Tai Ping. Mainly a non Han enterprise.

By the time of the Rising China’s predators had multiplied and the future looked bleak. As is the way of things the cost of paying off the predators fell increasingly on the common folk.

Enter the Boxers. 

Boxer Rising-The Imperialist Powers

 

Old Glory Russian Dragoons and Cossacks above and below. These are the Ussuri Regiment. Ussuri started off as Cossacks and transformed to Dragoons. Here we have both incarnations. The Ussuri Cossacks are two men light. Did I ever have them? Don't know. Can I find them? Not so far. I need to find a solution.

Obviously, if you know TMWWBK that is, these will be rated as Regular Cavalry and Irregular Cavalry with Modern Carbine respectively. The latter for variety.

Russian Sailors. I'm fielding these as Irregulars with Modern Rifles. Once again I'm missing a figure. This time it is the Russian Officer. I'm using the Campaign Dress excuse by way of justification.

Western Regular Infantry and good quality at that. Italian Bersiglieri who will be Regulars, Modern Rifle and Veteran. Expensive in TMWWBK but formidable.

Russian Regular Infantry, these ones are from Blue Moon. Bigger than the OG ones but workably so.

German Regular Infantry from OG. The Chinese building in the background is a work in progress. 

Many more to come. Including a couple of units from Frontier miniatures. These I bought with some Falcon Imperial Chinese for the Tai Ping Wars. My main reason for the purchase. The "Falcons" are incredibly difficult to find and long out of production.

You might have noticed I've forgone the usual historical context. I will get to it. I like to aim for an objective view and in this case it was eluding me. Inspiration came in the form of a cup of tea. Appropriately enough. That's for another time. Then we will see the rest of my Western Troops. That's a clue. I don't own any Japanese. Yet.

If I had some Japanese I could do the Russo-Japanese War in big skirmish/small battle. Maybe.

Back To China

 

Above Imperial Guardsmen old style. From Old Glory 15mm. As is everything else you will see today.

Long ago I had a big box of Boxers. China don’t you know, and the Century of Shame. I didn’t do much with them. Mainly because I didn’t know if I was big battles or recreating 55 Days in Peking.  I did a fair bit of painting and that was it. An abandoned project.

TMWWBK has worked its magic. Behold the Kansu Braves. Originally raised as a provincial unit the Kansu lads were formidable. That was not unusual in China. Provincial troops often proved to have the edge over the centrally raised professionals. Often this was because they were defending their home province. Better motivation at a guess. Less prone to the vices of the Big City too.

Anyhow, the Kansu, mainly Moslem, were used to supress a Moslem Rebellion. Then they were called to the Capital to shore up the Dowager Empress. Once there they were enlisted into the Rear Guard of the Imperial Army. This meant pay, rations, training and Mauser rifles. 

European sources often called the Kansu Irregulars. Possibly because they didn’t know about their absorption into the Regular Army or maybe because they were newly arrived to Beijing.

How to rate them for TMWWBK? I’m going for Irregulars with modern rifles. if you have a better idea let me know.

Another Imperial unit here. Old style once more. I'm not sure how these fellows were armed. The actual figures have modern rifles but surely that is not the decider. If you happen to know do let me know.

Two of the new Imperial units here. These troops were Western trained and equipped, well motivated too. As you can see by the basing they are Regulars who can form close order and volley.

That's it for the moment. There will be more. Jingals and Tiger Men.  Mongols too. 

The Nine Years War in Ireland-Cavalry

Above, Fiach McHugh O'Byrne under his banner courtesy of David at Not By Appointment.  No doubt that's The Children of the Gael with him. Off to Carlow likely, as the song has it.

As far as I can deduce there were 5 types of cavalry in the Nine Years war in Ireland. Kick the time line back a bit and we might argue 7. Albeit, two of them were remarkably similar. Let’s do them first.

The Gentry of Gaelic Ireland and those of the English Border Riding Families came from a similar Clan Culture and fought in a similar fashion. 

They fought mounted, they skirmished and on opportunity charged home. Essentially, they were the archetypal raiders. Note the St. George's crosses, required to distinguish the English from the Irish. They must have looked pretty similar.

Stepping up a bit the Irish nobility fought in a similar fashion but with more armour. Mostly mail, but steel plate was about now and then. 

Never the complete set though apart from the Great Lords.  When Maguire of Fermanagh and O’Neill of Tyrone clashed, lances shattered on steel plate.

Likewise O’Neill’s armour saved him at Clontibret. His equally well protected opponent wasn’t so lucky, despatched with a dagger to the groin. In an effort to cope with the better armoured English Demi Lancers pistols were issued. To a favoured minority only.

All the same something was changing. There is evidence of Irish cavalry meeting English cavalry head on without hesitation. Hugh Dubh and his compatriots met Sir Henry Docwra and his at the charge. An Irish victory with Sir Henry Docwra laid up for over a month. Henry got off lucky, Hugh Dubh was over 60 when he struck the blow. A younger Hugh and Henry's rest would have been permanent.

When Maguire’s and St. Leger’s troop's fought both sides charged. That one was a draw. Both leaders dying subsequently of their wounds. Maguire of Petronel double shot and St. Leger of a spear head lodged in his forehead.

At Kinsale the Irish cavalry charged and got beat by an English counter charge. A decisive English victory.

To sum up it appears that the Irish “Mail Clads” were expected to engage closely when needed. The mounted gentry stuck to traditional methods.

The English too were rethinking their cavalry. Demi-Lancers were gradually being replaced by Petronels. I have read that the Demi-Lancers were deemed too slow compared to the Irish cavalry. 

I had thought there was only one occasion when English Demi-Lancers refused to charge, that being under Cosby at the Curlews. Dr Jim O'Neill identifies another, under Moses Hill at Aldfreck.  More resolute was Sir Griffin Markham who charged "Where no cavalry previously ever thought to " across badly broken ground. Griffin's charge failed but it saved the English Army at the Curlews.

The eponymous Petronels were lighter armoured than the Demi-Lancers The rider abandoned the lance relying on his sword for close work. With his steel back and breast and helmet he was still better armoured than the Irish Mail Clads. Presumably he could move faster than the Demi-Lancers too. If pelted with javelins he could shoot back.

A closer look at Fiach Mc Hugh above. Note his armour, good quality. Figures from Khurasan.

For our Nine Years War game to work we must capture all of the forgoing for our rules.  No small challenge.