These two batallions are from the Reuss-Greitz infantry regiment (Nr. 55), in Rosenberg's Corps during the battle of Eggmühl in 1809.
The miniatures in the batallions are plastic Perry miniatures while the skirmish screen is from Piano Wargames, in metal. The units are 32 men per batallion, on 4 bases of 60mm width.
Some more Burgundians for the collection. Here are two units of longbowen, probably English in Burgundian service. Once again the miniatures are from the Perry plastic box set, 20 men per unit on 200x50mm.
One unit is stationary and shooting, while the other is marching, some of the men with their bows still in their covers. In the marching unit I tried to create an impression of slight disorder, some of the men discussing and arguing, looking at each other, pointing in different directions. The idea was to represent the confusion created by the unexpected arrival of the Swiss, be it in Grandson or in Murten, where the Burgundians were caught unaware and struggled to find the right response.
Another cavalry unit for the Swiss-Burgundian wars, this time Swiss mounted crossbowmen. It is hard to determine exactly how the Swiss used cavalry in the period. The focus is very much on the infantry in the written sources, as the civic structures making up the Old Swiss Confederation very much placed a premium on the infantry made up of citizens and people from subject or allied regions (Burger, Untertanen, zugewandte Orte), rather than valuing an aristocratic heavy cavalry like the Burgundians, for whom the knightly cavalry was the gold standard (the little value placed on the infantry, despite its alleged importance in the Burgundian order of battle, might help explain its lack of cohesion in the field - it is hard to find motivation to stand and die when your lord thinks you inferior and of little value). On the other hand, the Schilling chronicle show a number of cavalrymen in the Swiss armies, including mounted crossbowmen, which are often heavily armoured and charging alongside what looks like men-at-arms. Puzzling.
For this unit, I have decided to stick with the more commonly seen type of Swiss mounted crossbowmen in the wargaming community, as a force of light cavalry mainly used for reconnaissance or to watch the flanks of the main body.
The figures are all by Perry Miniatures, in plastic. There are ten of them, on four 50x75mm bases. The flag is hand-painted, representing a Fribourg "Schützenfahne", the flag for a company of crossbows.
I added a greenstuff "bend" to the banner bearer, inspired by the illustration of a Unterwalden banner bearer in "Historische Waffen und Rüstungen" by Liliane and Fred Funcken, which is a beautiful book full of valuable illustrations and details about medieval arms and armour.
Burgundian men-at-arms
This is the first unit of ordonnance men-at-arms for the Swiss Burgundian Wars. The figures are Perry Miniatures plastics from the Men-at-arms box set.
The unit is ten men strong, on three 75x50mm bases. The flags are both downloads from the Krigspil website, accessible through the Web Archive. The miniatures are mostly straight out of the box, with a couple of small modifications to make them look more Burgundian, like two crosses of St. Andrew made of Green Stuff or the addition of a plume to one of the helmets.
The unit has a flag showing the ducal arms of Burgundy on the right, and the ordonnance flag of St. John on the left (seen from the front). The latter is found in the Altes Zeughaus in Solothurn (http://sammlungmaz.so.ch/eMuseumPlus;jsessionid=4453CE796F72AA8BCCA967814B5B4B57.node1?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.inline.lightbox.t2.collection_lightbox.$TspTitleLink.link&sp=13&sp=Sexhibition&sp=SfieldValue&sp=0&sp=0&sp=3&sp=SdetailView&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=T&sp=0&sp=Slightbox_2x3&sp=0&sp=F&sp=Scollection&sp=l6385) and is well worth a visit if you ever are in the region. The knight with the mace in the center bears the arms of Guillaume de Vaudray, a noble from the Franche-Comté.
On one end of the unit, we find a more Italian looking man-at-arms, with a barbute and a mazzochio, perhaps a mercenary in the service of the Duke of Burgundy. The man-at-arms on the other end of the unit is mounted on a horse wearing a metal caparison with the rear half painted in Burgundian heraldic devices, as can be seen in certain illustrations of the Schilling chronicle (that only half the barding is painted is purely conjectural on my part, it looked better that way).
With this first post, I am happy to welcome you all here. This blog is aimed at gathering my miniature painting efforts and share them with you, dear reader. In the past I have often drawn inspiration from other blogs and now I will try to give some of that back.
My miniature interests are the late 15th century, more precisely the Swiss-Burgundian wars, and the Napoleonic period, focusing on the 1809 campaign against Austria. Further period include the 1798 invasion of Switzerland by the French and some distractions in the Lord of the Rings' Middle Earth. I am a painter first, and only rarely put figures on the table, which is why I vastly prefer 28mm miniatures.
These two batallions are from the Reuss-Greitz infantry regiment (Nr. 55), in Rosenberg's Corps during the battle of Eggmühl in 1809. ...
