Wallenstein infantry regiment

This week I was inspired to continue my Thirty Years' War project by painting up an Imperial battalion. This unit represents the Wallenstein infantry regiment, approximately 1000 men strong, at the battle of Lützen 1632. Each of the 10mm models represents some 10-15 men.

I struggled somewhat with how to represent this formation, getting far too bogged down with minutiae concerning the "footprint" such a unit would actually make. That's part of the problem of doing too much research. However, I am quite pleased with the end result, which sacrifices some historical accuracy to achieve the right visual effect.

The miniatures are based on 30x20 mm stands, which allows me to reconfigure them in various formations and for different gaming systems. The bases are made of steel, so I'll use a magnetized movement tray if I ever get the chance to play a game. I chose to separate the officers, ensigns and drummers from the main body of the unit so that I could set the models in different tactical formations. Also, this reflects the look of contemporary woodcuts, as shown below.

Contemporary depiction of infantry arrayed in "German composite style"

The regimental colours are loosely represented on the clothing of the colonel and drummer

Unit manoeuvring towards the enemy

Unit preparing to engage the enemy

Unit arrayed in "hedgehog"