Most of my figures for the Thirty Years War are from Essex Miniatures. This was because they had the best at the time I started to collect. But there are some newer, and great, ranges available now in 18mm (e.g. Khurasan Miniatures, Testudo, Totentanz Miniatures, and Blue Moon Manufacturing). So I thought I’d revisit the figures available for the Thirty Years War and English Civil War.
Thirty Years War
In 1617 the fiercely Catholic, Ferdinand of Styria, was elected by the Bohemian Estates to become the Crown Prince of Bohemia and the heir to the throne. In May 1618 a group of Bohemian Protestants in Prague seized Ferdinand’s representatives and threw them out of the palace window. This event started the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years’ War. The conflict soon spread across the Holy Roman Empire, and then the whole of Europe, involving Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, and a number of other countries. The war ended in 1648 with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, part of the wider Peace of Westphalia.
States of the Holy Roman Empire
As I was working on the Timeline for the Thirty Years War I was musing on the major features for a campaign. The Holy Roman Empire comprised a vast multitude of more or less minor states. Representing them all in a campaign is probably unnecessary. I’m thinking about a Mapless Campaign so about 100 territories is about right. The question is, which 100. My initial thoughts are to represent only the most significant; this might be because the state/area was:
Holy Roman Empire (HRE) Board Game
Mark McLaughlin designed a game of the Thirty Years War called “Holy Roman Empire” or HRE for short. I’ve never played it but I do have a copy. It looks a good basis for a miniatures campaign so I’ve summarised some of the features which I think make it interesting. I found the material on Board Game Geek: Holy Roman Empire useful when looking at the game.
Mapless Holy Roman Empire Campaign
The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) board game by Mark McLaughlin has elements, including a great map, which make it a good basis for a miniatures campaign. A Mapless Campaign is simple to run and encourages on-going participation by the players. This is my stab at combining the two.
Swedish Brigade of the Thirty Years War
In the field the Swedes used squadrons (battalions) and brigades (Brzenzinski, 1995). Brigades would have 3 or 4 squadrons.
Painting Guide for the Thirty Years War
I have revamped, and split up, my painting guides for the Thirty Years War.
Protagonists in the Thirty Years War
The 80 Years War (1568-1648) overlapped the 30 Years War (1618-1648) and some protagonists, notably the Spanish and Dutch, fought in both.
Orders of Battle in the Thirty Years War
The 80 Years War (1568-1648) overlapped the 30 Years War (1618-1648). The main protagonists of the Dutch Revolt, Spanish and Dutch, are covered in the Organisation in the Eighty Years War. Other nations (Swedes, French, Imperialist, etc) are covered here.
Firearms of the Thirty Years War
The Spanish were still using the Arquebus in the 30 Years War. DBR annoyed me for several reasons but the fixed ratios of musket to arquebus and the relatively ineffectiveness of the arquebus were two of them, particularly because the Spanish came out badly in this formula. As a result I wanted to find out what the difference was and why the Spanish may have retained the arquebus longer than others (if, in fact, they did).
Coloured Infantry Brigades and Regiments of the 30 Years War
The Swedes, Dutch, Danes and Germans of the Thirty Years War all had uniformed infantry units. Some brigades and regiments also had colour names. Sometimes there two things were related.
Renaissance Battlefield Tactics
I’m not happy with the various renaissance wargaming rules I’ve seen so I thought I’d type up some thoughts about how battlefield tactics. Applies to Italian Wars, Eighty Years War / Dutch Revolt, and Thirty Years War. I’m not sure where it will lead but we’ll see …