Today marks the 383rd anniversary of the battle of Lützen and the death of two of the great commanders of the Thirty Years' War: Gustav II Adolf and the Count of Pappenheim. I used this as an excuse to paint up some Swedish infantry.
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| The Swedish brigade in "marching order" with ensigns and commanders up front |
The unit represents the Swedish Brigade - the only infantry unit at Lützen composed of only native Swedes (including Finns). The pikemen are in the traditional wedge formation with sleeves of shot on either side and a reserve of shot in the middle. I added two light artillery pieces to represent the brigade's regimental guns. The Swedish formation had the advantage of versatility and a larger amount of firepower than Imperial infantry formations had. However, the formation was somewhat complex, and required a fair amount of drill to work.
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| Contemporary woodcut of a Swedish brigade (subject to artistic licence) |
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| A drawing from a tactical manual of the period (musketeers in blue) - this brigade has a fourth squadron in reserve |
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| The unit in "battle order", with the command now safely behind the firing line |
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| Brigade in "hedgehog" to repel cavalry |
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| Swedish brigade facing off against an Imperial tercio |
Great looking miniatures!!!
ReplyDeleteNättiä jälkeä kyllä! 10mm figuilla alkaa saada kyllä aika hyvää massan tuntua tuohon mukaan.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. Painting 10mm is quite gratifying, as it's quick to paint up "massed" units, yet they're still sufficiently large for individuals to be detailed and visible from afar. These TYW models can easily be used to represent other units/nationalities just by changing the flags.
ReplyDeleteNice blocks of infantry and nice paint job too! Especially liked the flags!
ReplyDelete