Phalanx at St Helens

We had a great day out at the Phalanx show on Saturday.  As I mentioned in my previous post, Steve, Bob and I (aided and abetted by several members of the Gentlemen Pensioners), were putting on a 'Renaissance Rampant' game on behalf of the Lance & Longbow Society.  There were several positive comments from passing members of the public and we even persuaded someone to join us to roll some dice.  Here are a few photos of the game.

The Imperial troops form up before leaving their camp

The Janissaries and Sipahi of the Porte begin their advance

 

The Azab infantry drive off the Hungarian cavalry

Battle is joined between the trench lines

The Gendarmes attack the janissary archers

Not far from us the Mailed Fist group had a Thirty Years War game

 Liverpool Wargames Association had an ECW game

 

Nearby the All Independent 54mm Wargames Club also had an ECW game 

Something a little different from Tiger Miniatures, who showcased their Dragon and Peacock Wars range with a Sino - Burmese Wars game set in the mid 18th century.

 The Ribble Warriors had a 'Blood and Plunder' naval game with pirates

The Furness Warlords also had a naval game, this one set on the Great Lakes.

The Spartans did a great job organising the show and their efforts were rewarded with a good turn out from clubs, traders and the public.

Many thanks to them and also Andy, Bob, David, John, Peter, Steve and Will for helping with the game.  Also Dave and Lynne for providing much needed tea and coffee.

Phalanx preliminaries

The 2022 Phalanx Wargames Show (link ) is only a week away and Steve, Bob and I are busy getting our game ready for the event.  Once again we will be representing the Lance & Longbow Society and our game this year will be based on the relief of the Siege of Buda in 1541.  The inspiration for the game came from Oliver Green's Camisado blog especially the photographs of his excellent collection.  He and Stuart Mulligan have extended the Dan Mersey Lion Rampant rules, (published by Osprey), into the Renaissance period and very kindly supplied us with a copy of their rules and army lists.

Buda is held by Hungarian, Moldovian and Wallachian troops loyal to the Sultan and an Imperial army, also containing some Hungarian troops, led by General Roggendorf, has been besieging it.,  Sultan Suleiman 1 is leading an army to raise the siege and has  reached Buda before the Imperialists can form up their forces away from the  siege works and camp.

The Ottoman forces arrive before the Imperialists can move away from their camp

The Imperialist infantry still forming up

 

The view from the walls of Buda

So, is you are attending the Phalanx show please feel free to drop by, have a chat and perhaps roll a few dice with us.  We will be adjacent to Dave Lanchester books.

A Grand Day Out: Partizan 2022

 On Sunday, Steve and I ventured over the Pennines to the Partizan show at Newark.  It was c11am when we arrived and it was plain from the number of vehicles already parked that many other wargamers had converged on the venue.   Once inside we saw that the organisers had again produced a show with a high standard of games on display and also provided a wide range of traders.  What follows are photos of a selection of games; it concentrates on my main areas of interest but games from other periods which were worthy of inclusion.

First, a showstopper of a game which my photos do not really do justice to, the game the late Ian Smith would have brought to Partizan, put on by his friends as a tribute to him.  A YouTube can be found here

 

Close by was this Great Northern Wars game by the Derby Wargames Society, which portrayed the Battle of the River Pruth, a significant defeat for the Russian army led by Peter the Great.

Views of the Russian camp

 

The Ottoman forces

Barry Hilton had three mini 17th century naval games set in the Second Anglo-Dutch War and I was particularly taken by the lovely model of the Medway. Unfortunately the roof lights reflected off the varnished river. 

 The Immortals put on the battle of Morlaix, 1342 which used a new type of table matting based on a material usually used for lining hanging baskets.  It gave a distinctive texture to the display, also distinctive was the basing of the archers .

Simon Miller put on a game based on the Battle of Roundway Down and used an inclined table.

Steve Jones put on The Battle of Freeman's Farm from the AWI.

One of the great features of the Partizan show is the Participation Zone where visitors can try out all sorts of games.  Steve and I tried "Never mind the Boathooks" which is a version of the popular "Never mind the Billhooks" rules for medieval naval warfare, produced by Andy Callan.  The rules give a fun game with plenty of incident.

An inspiring day with the added attraction of meeting up with friends from all over the country.  There were many other games on offer and I am sure that you can find large numbers of photos on other blog reports.

A pause

A few weeks ago I read the most recent post on Norm's Battlefield and Warriors blog and it set me thinking.  I looked back on my last six months posts and then compared them with ones from a couple of years back.  The exercise was instructive.  It seemed that my more recent efforts lacked the enthusiasm and inventiveness exhibited in earlier posts, it could be that it is a hangover from Covid and lockdown, or that I have 'writer's block'; whatever the reason I think it best that I take a break from posting for a time.

I am grateful to those of you who have dropped by over the years to take a look at the various games I have been involved in  and especially those visitors who have left comments.  One of the great strengths of this hobby is the unfailing generosity and support the participants offer each other.  It is my intention to recharge the batteries over the next few months and hopefully return to the blog and continue the adventures of Sir Victor Meldrew, Graf von Grommit, the Duc de Merlot and other assorted characters.

Thank you for your interest and encouragement over the years and I hope to be back before too long

A Short Break in the Highlands

 We have just returned from a short holiday in the Scottish Highlands.  One of the places we visited was Fort William and there we found the West Highland Museum, which is well worth a visit.  It is a small, independent museum that has displays covering archaeology, natural history, social and military history and even mountain rescue.  On the day we visited I was having some problems with my usual camera, so I had to use the basic camera on our Amazon Fire; therefore I apologise for the quality of the photographs.

This hand gun caught my eye.  I did ask the attendant if it had had a frame to hold it, similar to a medieval hand gun, but he didn't know.  In any event it looked a dangerous weapon, both to the person aimed at and the user.

A slightly larger powder weapon; a twin-barreled leather gun, which the accompanying information card says dates from the first half of the 17th century, (the wooden frame is modern).  The maker is thought to be James Wemyss (1610?-1667) who was master gunner of England under Charles I, but changed his allegiance to parliament and was captured at Cropredy Bridge in 1644. [Further information can be found in the Dictionary of National Biography].

An 18th century pipe banner for MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart.  Donald MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart fought for the Jacobite cause in the 1745 rebellion and was captured.  He was executed at Carlisle in 1746.

A poignant reminder of the uncertain times in which we live; this Hiroshima Plaque, presented to Fort William in 1968 used to be in a Peace Cairn on the Parade in Fort William.  Unfortunately it was damaged some years later.  Although repaired, a replica was replaced in the Peace Cairn and the original was taken into the care of the Highland Council.  When they moved premises the original plaque was presented to the museum. Further information can be found here