Saturday, October 9, 2021

Renaissance Reconnaissance, Part 6 - Box #10; Gendarmes and Stradiots


Gendarmes, especially French ones, are one of the key troop types we tend to associate with the Great Italian Wars. It seems almost every manufacturer who does figures for this era has Gendarmes!  


The bulk of mine are by Essex, with a few Old Glory seen here as well. Also in this box are a number of mounted commanders.  


Stradiots were light cavalry of ill repute during the era. Typically mercenaries, originally from Albania, they were usually armed with Javelins, although light lances were used at times. Like all Light cavalry, they were more useful for scouting, raids, and harassing enemy supply lines than on the battlefield. Never the less, they appear in a great many actions! Mine are by Old Glory and Essex.


Box total:  18 EHC Gendarmes, 27 LC/MC Stradiots, 6 mounted commanders. 

18 comments:

  1. Lovely stuff! I really like the old glory stradiots, I also like the Essex gendarmes!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Ian. The Essex Gendarmes are a bit static, but I like them too! I rather like the Essex Stradiots, which wear the earlier costume depicted in Gush's book.

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  2. Impressive array of horseflesh, Peter!

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    1. Thanks, Jon. Despite the focus on the infantry (Landsknechts, Swiss, Spanish, etc), Cavalry was a very major player in the era, so there's usually plenty in evidence on the tabletop!

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  3. Glad you like them, Steve. You can't really get the full effect of the figures in these "in-box" shots, but it is facilitating the census process!

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  4. Lovely stuff Peter. I can recall renaissance gaming really only took off for us in the 80s with 15mm figures, but I have fond memories of it and the George Gush rules.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence. Like the ECW, we struggled to find rules that we liked, so I wound up writing my own (2nd edition, Piquet Band of Brothers), with considerable help from Joe, my coauthor Ken Baggaley, Ken Blackley, and quite a few others.

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  5. Another colourful bunch from a colourful period

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    1. It is a very striking period on the tabletop for sure!

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  6. Splendid and colorful cavalry Peter!

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