We Are Not Worthy - Gaze On in Wonder

There are certain wargamer blogs that do this that leave me speechless, and one is Stuart Milligan's Army Royal.  Stuart has been working on Henry VIII's campaign in Northern France in 1513.  He uses many of the same figures as I use for my Italian Wars figures but painted, converted and sculpted to an extremely high level.

The link leads to a recent battle report using Stuart's collection, Simon's collection from Je Lay Empires, the Perrys and other major league painters.  Just go and get lost for a while.

More Shameless Pimping In Hopes of Free Swag

Jonathon over at Palouse Wargaming Journal had been entertaining the blogosphere for 5 years and is having a prize draw.  Go checkout his blog, lots of good stuff.  Plus he games a lot of periods that I am interested in, including some I've just never got around to.

AAR Teaser - Early Photos from Italian Wars Game

This Friday Curt and I ran an Italian Wars game.  Rumour ha it that a full AAR will appear over at Curt's blog.  Curt is like Matthew Brady and likes to reposition the dead to get the best post battle photographs, and kept my units hostage to achieve this aim after the action was over.

The action featured a sally during a siege.  The besiegers had finished an artillery position and had a Great gonne ready to start shooting.  The defenders undertook a night march destroy the position before the attacker's reinforcements could show up.

I took some photos during the action and I figured I get these posted before the Ministry of Truth erases them from public memory.  Curt and I provided all the figures.  His are the ones that look like they should be in the Uffizi, mine are the ones that look they have been given a DIY restoration by a well intentioned old lady.

Defenders advance on Curt's artillery emplacement.

Getting closer....

From ground level (and apparently on a slant)

Pikemen approach while the artillery men sleep.  Gun is a repurposed WFB plastic kit.

Defenders field French pike (in the works) and Italian mounted crossbows behind.  The besiegers arrive with Spanish swordsmen and dinettes.

Both sides had units arrive in drips and drabs but more are coming on table.  Gendarmes front and centre here, while the infantry face off in the works.

The crossbows have dismounted and work on deconstruction begins.

Some of the units making the sally got lost, being delayed and/or showing up at the wrong entry point.  In the background, Italian swordsmen showed up in the corner instead of  next to the field as intended.  Fortunately they rolled a good activation roll and advanced three moves.

The infantry slog was epic and went on several turns.  In the end both units were exhausted and eliminated simultaneously.

Cavalry melee upcoming.  Papal gendarmes in the foreground face French "archers" (medium cavalry) and Italian men-at -arms.  

Curt brings forth Swiss and Landschneckt pike from the besiegers' camp.

The juggernauts on the march!

End of the cavalry melee.  The Papal gendarmes forced the Archers back but were hit hard by the Italians and become shaken.  Curt's vintage first gen WFB castle in the background.