Seeking advice on the late 16th century

[Patrice]

There are size differences between miniature ranges, the Foundry sailors are bigger than most others but I must say that when we play with mixed groups I don't find it as shocking as I would in other periods, perhaps because differences in equipment production seems realistic in this case(?)


https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=120567.msg1511087#msg1511087

I must also mention this young lady from Bad Squiddo Games, sold as a vampire hunter and a bit too tall but her clothing fits well in the context and fighting noblewomen were not unheard of in this time:

[traveller]

Thanks Traveller. Are there any good sites or books in English that you would recommend? I must admit this conflict in particular has piqued my interest.

Unfortunately this conflict is not much covered in English language but the reading list in Wikipedia can give you some directions. I have pushed Osprey to do something on this war but nothing yet. However, if you want to get an overview of the war there are a number of youtube videos and also some podcasts that can give some insights. You should google search for both "Nordic" and "Northern" Seven Years War. The war was a long slugger-match of sieges, raids and a few bigger battles. The biggest battle was at Axtorna in Oct 20 1565, where some 12000 Swedes, incl German and Scottish mercenary cavalry was defeated by a 8000 strong Danish army of mainly German mercenaries. Daniel Staberg at the Perfect Captain has a scenario in English:

http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/axtorna.html

Here are some other links:

https://play.acast.com/s/thehistoryofdenmark/episode-18-the-nordic-seven-years-war
https://www.electricscotland.com/history/sweden/16-1.htm
http://axtorna1565.se/english.html

A few images that show the dress fashion of the period:









TAG and Old Glory has perfect figures for the landsknechts in pluderhosen:
https://theassaultgroup.co.uk/product/late-landsknechts-in-pluderhosen-with-pike-at-45/
https://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/proddetail.asp?prod=WRR-10

Some images for the somewhat later 1598-1599 Swedish CIvil War also including, German, Scottish, Hungarian and Polish troops:

[Mr.J]

Brilliant thanks so much for the images and info. Just listening to the above link and feeling inspired.

[traveller]

If you like the North European theater there are several generic troop types that you can use in Scandinavia, Baltics, Germany, The Low countries and England:

Landsknecht foot
German Reiters
English/Scottish Foot and Horse
Generic infantry in knee length trousers and a doublet or breastplate

Several of the Foundry Seadogs would also fit to the ”general” appearance of the 1550-1600+ period. For Sweden and Northern Europe you have contineous war for the whole period:
Great Russian War 1554-1557
Northern Seven Years War 1563-1570
First Polish War 1563-1568
Russian 25-year War 1570-1595
Swedish Civil War/Sigismund War 1598-1599
Second Polish War 1600-1629
De La Gardie campaign 1609-1610
Ingermanland War 1610-1617
Kalmar War 1611-1613

Are you looking at Skirmish games or bigger games?

[Mr.J]

Hi Traveller

Thanks for coming back to me again, and with another helpful post.

I’d likely be looking at a ruleset like Pikeman’s Lament, so larger scale skirmish with 6-12 figure units.

I’m beginning to see the merits of this period in that a lot of the troop types are pretty generic and saw action in many of the conflicts.

I’ll likely focus on a unit of of Scottish pike first as they seem to get around and can be used in Elizabethan conflicts or as mercenaries elsewhere.

[traveller]

Pikemans Lament should be a good choice. Some good info here on the Scots:

http://home.mysoul.com.au/graemecook/Renaissance/12_Scots.htm


The Scottish Colonel Archibald Ruthven commanded  a big unit of Scottish Mercenary Foot in the service of Sweden in the 1570s. I can really recommend this book if you want to study the Scots in more detail:



Looking forward to see your progress on this project! 

[Mr.J]

Figures ordered!

[whiskey priest]

Only just noticed this thread but the advce given so far has been spot on. I thought I'd add my tuppence worth anyway. The French Wars of Religion often gets overlooked but involved all sorts of low level warfare as well as the big set pices battles it's known for, it's well worth researching as a lot of the troops yu can use for the Dutch revolt can be used in France. Another small conflict that is worth investigating is the Cologne War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_War

I'll leave with a link to the relevant stuff on my blog https://theleadpile.blogspot.com/search/label/Dutch%20Revolt
and a pretty picture of my seadogs

[Mr.J]

More amazing inspiration thanks!

[Friends of General Haig]

That’s a superb looking unit! 👍