Spanish Infantry Regiment "Guadalajara", 1808

The fourth and last of my Spanish Line regiments composed of Miniaturas Dos de Mayo figures steps off (there will be quite a few to come from other manufacturers!).

Red is certainly the dominant impression of this regiment, whose origins date back to 1657; the buttons are white metal

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The dynamic officer is a high point of the Regimiento de Infanteria de Linea Guadalajara!

Note the red epaulets of the sergeant; in the Spanish army, the NCO epauletes were in the facing color in the 1805 uniforms. 

The white piping on the red collars is c;early seen here. Flags coming soon!

Once again, a variety of encumbrances carried by the soldiers make the figures especially interesting.

Here is the full "Division" of 4 Regiments.

On parade, awaiting their standards, which will bestowed upon them shortly, with suitable pomp!

Most Americans will think of Guadalajara in Mexico first, but it is also both a city and province of Spain, in the la Mancha region. While Gudalajara itself  not a major tourist attraction, the Palacio del Infantada, constructed in the 15th century by the Mendoza family, who held the title of Duke of Infantada, is a marvel of ornate stonework. I found this statue rather interesting, poised outside the facade of the Palacio. 

Detail of the stonewoprk in the Courtyard of the Lions; the palace itself holds a museum devoted to Guadalajara. 

Spanish Infantry Regiment "Reina", 1808

The next Spanish line infantry regiment  completed is  Regimiento de Infanteria de Linea "Reina" - the Queen's regiment. It was first raised in 1537, along with three other regiments, and stands second in seniority only to Regimiento "Rey" - the King's regiment. 

While all of the other Spanish Line regiments have the drummers dressed in the King's Livery (dark blue coats with red facings piped in white - see the earlioer regiments Valencia and Burgos), uin this one regiment, the drummers wore the Queen's Livery instead - red coats faced dark blue, piped in white. 

In 1805, this regiment had Violet facings with silver buttons. I used Delta Ceramcoat "Pansy" for the facing color. One nice thing about white uniforms - the other colors painted over the white really pop!

Once again, these are Miniaturos Dos de Mayo figures from Spain. They had an introductory order for these figures in the Spring of 2014, and I ordered enough for 4 units of 18, 72 figures in all, at a cost of  62 Euros on 3/25/14, about $88, not a bad deal. The shipping was added when the figures were ready to ship on 5/14/14, another 23.5 Euros or about $33 - overseas shipping is a bear! Still not a bad total price even with the high shipping cost. 

I received the figures about June 14, 2014, so not too bad for overseas ordering. Unfortunately, the guys made a mistake with the order and left out about 1/3 of the figures. I got a prom[pt response and they offered to send out the missing figures without additional shipping costs. Time passed, and no more figures arrived. Evidently they were sent August 4th, 2014,  but still hadn't arrived by the end of October.  Evidently, the Spanish postal service is notoriously inept (? corrupt), and another order shipped that day had also failed to arrive, so they again offered to send out a (second) replacement package free of cost to me. 

I didn't push overly hard about the order as I didn't need the figures any time soon, and was a bit familiar with what "mañana"(tomorrow) *really* means in Spanish culture (no offense to my Spanish friends). Still when the 2nd replacement package hadn't arrived by February I contacted them again. The missing 22 figures finally arrived on 3/25/2015... a year and a day after they were first ordered! That is certainly my ball time record for completion of an order!  In defense of the company, they responded promptly to my emails each time, and I wasn't at all aggressive about prodding them. They certainly lost money on the deal, sadly. The name of the company comes from the date of the revolt against French rule, which began in Madrid on May 2, 1808, and was to continue in one frm or another until the French were expelled from Spain in 1814. 

"El dos de Mayo en Madrid", an oil painting by Francisco Goya, which is located in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The charge of the Mamelukes. Evidently the populace saw the Mamelukes as Moors, further inflaming an already volatile situation. 

Monument to the Heroes of the 2nd of May, Madrid.

(Picture from Wikipedia)

Spanish Infantry Regiment "Burgos", 1808

A long overdue post for the second Spanish Line Regiment I painted...

This is Regimiento de Infanteria Burgos, first raised in 1694.  These are 25/28mm Miniaturas Dos de Mayo figures. 

I used Craftsmart "Shamrock Green' for the (1805) facing color, which appears on the cuffs and lapels, and on the piping of the collars and turnbacks. The buttons are yellow metal for this regiment. 

In 1791 the regiment was wearing the same pattern of facings and buttons, except in Violet instead of Green. 

That was then superseded by the short lived, universal  Medium Blue coats and Black facings of 1802, as it was for all Line regiments, before the re-introduction of regimental distinctions with the 1805 regulations. 

I bow have my Adolfo Ramos flags in hand, but need to add them to the regiments already completed, such as this one. 

Burgos was the original, historic capitol of Castile. Indeed, the Spanish language itself is said to have originated nearby. El Cid, hero of the Reconquista, was born nearby and educated in the city. Pictured above is the monument to El Cid, located in Burgos (picture from Wikimedia commons). 

Lessie's Moor: Battle of the Three Ninnies, Act 3

And now, the conclusion of the battle of Wills over the fate of Borsetshire...

Situation at the end of the Borsetshire Cavalry Ballet; Prince Phillip and company are on the flank of the Borchester trained band, whilst Elliot's Regiment of Horse, wearing white coats has overrun Prince Gustavus' blue coated regiment. Meanwhile, Colonel Perks regiment of shirkers has finally reached the hedgerows. 

Prince Phillip and his Lifeguard have been hacking away at the Borchester City Trained Band; they are close to breaking. The Ambridge black coats are content to watch and cheer on the Prince. 

In the Centre, the green coated Borchester City Auxilliaries have finally dispatched the hon Frederick's Horse, suffering minimal losses in the process; all that is left is Colonel Josh Archer, henceforth nicknamed "The Lonely Bull", who rode off to find some more cavalry to kill  lead. 

"I say, Two against One, and one of them attacking from the flank?  Not very sporting of you upstart chaps, is it?" complains Colonel Tregorran. 

Back on the opposite flank, the Borchester City Trained Band has formed Hedgehog, perhaps a bit late. Prince Phillip and his men continue to charge the bristling formation. "In for a penny, in for a pound, right my good man?" observed the Prince. Meanwhile, Elliot's Horse have turned around, and now threaten the flank of Colonel Perk's shaky blue coats. 

Meanwhile, the Borsetshire Trained Bands (who are once again, surprisingly actually trained)  repeatedly assailed the exposed flank of the yellow coated Penny Hassett Trained Bands. Each time, however, the dense underbrush of the Copse caused their pikes to become entangled in all manner of vines, and little damagewais done. 

Seeing the success of the Prince and his Lifeguards breathed inspiration into Prince Edward's regiment of Horse, as the bowled over the Parliamentary Horse of Alderman Grundy. Grundy himself is seen nearby with Horrobion's regiment. 

The collapse of the second regiment of Roundhead cavalry on their left flank  left the field looking like this... not too promising for the rebels!

Not to be outdone, the Horse on the opposite side of the battlefield also play Borsetshire Bingo, leaving flanks exposed, well, almost everywhere!

"Hah, 'tis not soley the King's men that can do the Flankin' Foxtrot!" ejaculates Grundy.

Eagle's eye view of Lessie's Moor at this critical juncture. 

Sir Robin Fairbrother's Horse have swept aside the opposing Cavaliers of Tregorran. Their captain will later become famous not for his feats of arms, but for his pen. Inspired by the events of the civil war, he created a romantic tale in which the whiny scions of House Tregorran attempts to regain control of a Bakery that they were brutally evicted from , titled "A Game of Scones"

Whimper is coming!

Back on the Royalist Right, Prince Edward's Horse deftly moved out of danger and into the Parliamentary Rear. At the same time, Prince Phillips first swept away the remains of the Borchester city regiment, and then his blown but still rowdy Lifeguards launches 2 charges into the revealed flank of the Borsetshire Regiment, throwing it into the utmost Disorder. "It seems you've been Royally Pricked", cackled the adolescent Prince!

However, the Roundheads retaliated on the opposite side of the field, Sir Robin's Horse neatly pirouetting onto and through the flank of  Lord Pargetter's Lifeguard. Their full Cuirassier armor seemed to offer but little added protection from such things. 

Desperately trying to even the score, Captain General Grundy directed Horrobion's Horse, which moves to the Rear of that of Sir Edward. While the painting of this action that would later hang in Borchester Town Hall depicted him bravely leading from the front, this correspondent has it on the best authority that the eminent gentleman was stationed quite safely rearward. Meanwhile, Elliot's regiment of Horse sounded the recall and rode into the flank of blue coated Perks regiment. 

Low on ammunition and having suffered heavy losses already, Sir Barrymore directs his commanded shotte to shelter in the comparative safety of Loxley-Barrett  Manor. 

Holding out tenaciously, the Borsetshire Trained Band formed hedgehog to hold off further princely imprecations.

Carping the diem, as it were, Prince Edward's Horse saw an opening behind the Hedgehog and gaily pranced into the flank of the Parliamentary Gunnes  situated on Lessie's Lookout. The gunners simply dissolved without even a pretense of resistance. "Point, Game, and Match, my good man!"  

And so it was; the remaining Parliamentary troops lost heart and made their way to safety (or not) as best they could. The forces of the King scored a narrow but solid victory, giving them the upper hand in Borsetshire at the outset of the the late Civil War. Surely we have yet to hear the last from the Grundys, Fairbrothers, and their kin, though, methinks!

   We at the Borsetshire Bull hope that you have enjoyed this series, whether you be for King or Parliament. Should you find yourself having need, might we suggest another of our sponsor's wares, Prince Phillip's Phantastic Phirming Phials. Just look for the manly black and brown tin, with the happy face of the Prince on it, encircled with the motto "Put the jangle back in your jigglestick!"

-Reginald Soggybottom, Journalist extraordinaire

*****************************************************************************

   Time to push the Archers, Grundys, and Reggie off the stage for a bit for some wargames talk. In reviewing the account, we almost certainly made some mistakes with the pursuit process, including which direction the pursuers go, and what stops a pursuit and maybe an error or two with troops in an enemy zone of control (in the box directly to the front of another unit), but c'est la guerre! John had only played TtS! once before, and Barry only a few times, and I was the only one with an actual copy of the K&P rules... and they still managed to defeat me, LOL! Actually, I had miscounted my morale points (victory medals) , which I only realized when I was counting the casualties the day after the battle, and on the very next Parliamentary phase, I reduced them to zero in turn, so the game was very close. 

   We really enjoyed the scenario and the game. The many adjustments to the rules from the earlier version really enhanced the experience and period "feel" (down, Prince Phillip!), although bringing it to about the limit of workable complexity for this style of game. I have some feedback yet to give to Simon and Andrew about the rules, but it is all minor stuff. I have been looking for a set of ECW rules that I really liked for over 40 years, and these.... do it for me! Coupled with a simple campaign system, they would really be dynamite! Obviously, I am already a big fan of the TtS! system to begin with, so take that into account. It seems that many of the changes in K&P may work their way into the second edition of To the Strongest, and I think that will only further improve an already outstanding set of rules. Bravo!

Lessie's Moor: Battle of the Three Ninnies, Act 2

Welcome back, dear readers, as the curtain rises on Act II of our narrative. We trust you enjoyed your ale! In case you missed them, you may wish to  peruse the Background and Act I   prior to proceeding.

Well, the action re-commenced with a dramatic moment indeed, as the pistol packing Cavaliers of  The Honorable Frederick's regiment of Horse, with the gallant Colonel Josh Archer at their side,  trampled under the purple coats of Alderman Grundy's own Foote. It seems the finery of their raiment was not matched my their fighting spirit! Seeing their collapse, the nearby Parliamnetarian units shrugged off their concerns and were unaffected. 

Colonel Archer's entreaties notwithstanding, the men of Frederick's of Horseywood pursued the shattered remnants of Grundy's Foote, only to run into the solid but raw and untried ranks of the Borchester City Auxiliaries, some of whom wielded rusty Bills from another century! 

On the far Royalist Left, the commanded shot under Captain Heathcliffe moved into position to fire on to the flank of sir Robin Fairbrother's Horse. The men were well supplied with ammunition for this task.

Off on the Royalist Right, Sir Nigel belatedly recalled the heretofore neglected men of Colonel Perk's regiment of Foote. Of course, he had partly *tried* to forget them, the men being composed of the dregs of Borsetshire society... untried,  ill trained and worse armed, and with few muskets among them. Leaving the comparative safety of their hedgerow position, the men grudgingly moved forward to keep the Roundhead cavalry honest.

Back over on the Roundhead Right, the demise of D'Arcy's doomed Dragoons was soon  accomplished. Their collapse unmasked the flank of  the redcoated Lord Stoke's commanded shot. With Colonel Rex not even trying to restrain them, the pursuing Horse of his brother Toby's regiment slammed into the hapless shotte. "We'll *enjoy* this!", exclaimed the riders, as they scatted the shotte in red ruin. Well, alright, they were already wearing red, but allow for some poetic license, eh Guv?

Frederick's bull headed pursuit into the Borchester City Auxiliaries was beaten off, somewhat to the surprise of their captain, the Right Hon. Tomdick Harry. In the farground, it can be seen that the battle of attrition between the Foote in the center is gradually going the royalist way, the ranks of the  Roundheads falling into ever increasing Disorder!

Captain General Grundy managed to maneuver his Cavalry to shore up his vulnerable left flank.

Two regiments of indifferent "Dutch" style "trotters" opposed to  two regiments of well trained "Swedish" "gallopers"and one hot headed (and hot blooded) Prince?  What could go wrong? 

In the Roundhead center, another performance of the "Shuffle off to Borchester" brought the Borsetshire Trained Bands (who were, amazing enough, in fact actually *trained*) in to a most satisfying position on the flank of the Penny Hassett (un)Trained Bands sheltering in the Elves' Copse. 

Situation on the Roundhead right, near Loxley-Barret manor. 

Prince Phillip, in a moment of military genius (at least for an arrogant 16 year old!) dashed forward Prince Edward's Horse to stabilize his own flank.

Overview of the rest of the battlefield; Sir Nigel's small troop of Cuirassiers pulled back to provide some obstacle to the rampaging Parliamentarian horse. 

Over by Loxley-Barrett Manor, Sir Barrymore Heathcliffe ordered volley after volley of long distance fire into the exposed flank of Sir Robins, Horse! Sir Barrymore swore as his men ran very low on ammunition, and the cursed Roundheads seemed little worse for the wear!

In the Centre, Colonel Sterling, himself hardly a Ninny, pulled back his battered and and outflanked regiment. This unmasked the Parliamentary guns, such as they were. To everyone's surprise, not the least surprised being the gunners, the whitecoats of Colonel Aldrige's regiment had enough for this day, and break! In the process, the brigade's commander, Colonel David Archer was hit! Barclay, his trusted servant, was quick to inspect the injury "It's just a Flesh Wound, Milord!"

The cavalry melee swirls, as Grundy used his superior numbers to get in a flank attack on Prince Edward's Horse. 

More of the "Borchester Shuffle" stabilized the Roundhead Center... for the moment, at least.

The badly battered Roundhead center attempted to rally under the shelter of the gunnes, but the men were too weary to have much luck restoring order to their ranks 

Situation in the Centre from the Royalist vantage point; the repeated charges by Frederick's Horse have ground them down, with surprisingly little impact on the Borchester City Auxiliaries.  

Of on the Royalist right, Prince Phillip at last ordered the charge! His gorge having risen (along with certain royal nether parts at the thought of enjoying some post-victory vixens after the battle, although the gentlemen readers will perhaps recall how little it takes for those parts to rise at age 16 anyway), he and his men plowed right through Bellamy's regiment of Horse!

Titchner's Dragoon's, hit in the flank, were the next to be swept away by the hard-charging Prince and his Lifeguard!

Continuing across the fields of Borsetshire, the Prince and company reach the flank of the Borchester City regiment, their horses well and truly blown!

    On that thrilling note, dear readers, we must once again leave affairs in Borsetshire lay for a bit. Let me entreat you to take advantage of the services of another of our sponsors, Grundy and Company, Esquires, "Barristers to the Bors". Remember their slogan "Where there's a Will, there's inveigh!"

- Reginald Soggybottom, your journalist-at-large.