Just by accident we saw an old report by Wargames Illustrated of Crisis 2016 in which The Dortmund Amateurs' WW2 game was portrayed and our table of the Guelders-Habsburg Wars around 1500.
To end our blog year we present the youtube link:
Have a great and healthy 2022 and have great wargames in coming year
Alde Garde
Peter and Jan
In the painting que of Jan two units of LoA miniatures became ready.
The Du Roi dragoons and the La Marck infantry, the last one in their striking yellow uniforms, were finished. Some pictures underneath.
The French army now consist of two dragoon regiments (Du Roi and La Reine) and three dismounted ones (the dismounted versions of Du Roi and La Reine plus the d'Asfeldt dragoons).
These are the first pictures of Peters' foot units set during the early decades of the 80 Years War in the Low Countries (Netherlands).
All the
figures are from the Assault Group’s Long War range and is the first range that
made me finally start my 80 Years War Project.
They are
all wonderful sculpts and also typical for the early period (1560’s and
1570’s), of which besides the invaluable Hoogenberg drawings not so much
temporary picture evidence has survived.
All figures are based to suit the Pikeman’s Lament ruleset. And viewing the pictures it seems they still need a layer of matt varnish.
The first 3 pictures underneath show a group of (irregular) Sea Beggars with various arms and a unit of the first regular Orangist militia.
The next 2
pictures show German mercenary troops in typical Pluderhosen or very baggy
trousers.
They fought on both sides during the war. Especially the command figures are great.
Then of
course the adversaries to the Dutch units: Spanish troops.
Again
beautiful sculpts and once more splendid command figures.
Artillery
was in its early stages of becoming a bit more standardized.
The crew are again from TAG’s Tudor range and the horse team and driver are good old Dixon’s.
We are anxiously waiting for the cavalry and Artillery from TAG to come.
Next time we’ll post some pics of cavalry from other ranges that Peter has painted up to now for this period.
Well, most of the figures were already painted but never on the blog so now, here they are.
I think you could see them as an advance guard of the Austrian army circa 1793.
The brigade consists of
- a light infantry component (Tyrolan Jägers and the Slavonisch-Croatisches Freikorps),
- a line infantry component consisting of the 1st and 2nd battalion of the Wenzel Kaunitz Regiment and the grenadier battalion Bardodetzky (combined out of the 2nd, 32nd and 34th line regiments),
- the Karaiczay Cheveau Leger regiment and
- a battery of field artillery
Figures are mostly by Eureka miniatures; the Freikorps and artillery is by Wargames Foundry.
Jan thought about making the first castle tower of the Kessel castle (called Keverberg) in the south-easter part of the Netherlands were we live of which a picture is underneath of around 1100.
As only parts of the lowest part of the tower was found no one knows for sure how it really looked and by a second glance it looks a little bit dull. So he looked further for some more examples of early castles/donjons or something else. These were found:
Motte Lütjenburg in Germany
Bachritterburg Germany 
Herne Germany
reconstruction motte Eindhoven 
This is the first part as the tower will become part of some sort of a motte and bailey casttle but that will be part two.
Maybe a strange title, but many people don't known, that in the Netherlands there is really a pyramid.
Of course not an Egyptian one but a more recent French one.
"A French one?" you may ask. And yes, indeed a French one; build in 1804. So what is the story? We will tell you.
In 1804 a French/Batavian army was concentrated in the middle of the Batavian Republic near the small city of Zeist. Its commander was general Auguste Frédéric louis Viesse de marmont (1774-1852) who had served with napoleon Bonaparte in Toulon, Egypt and Italy.
The army was ment to take part in a planned invasion of England and training took place in a new erected camp in the neighbourhood of Zeist.
But as training was finished and the troops got bored, Marmont had the great idea to let the troops build a pyramid as he had seen in the Egyprian campaign. So work started on September 10th and was finished on October 7th 1804 or in 28 days.
Underneath a print of the pyramid in 1804
The pyramid itself had a base of 43,60 m x 43,60 m en the top measured 6,20 m x 6,20 m. On it was placed a woorden obelisk with a height of 13m.
As the pyramid itself is 19,20 m (or 40 steps of 48 cm each) the total height is appr. 34,10 m.
The pyramid was made of sand with on the outside turf
The drawing underneath (from 1805) stated a height of 36m.
There were memorial tablets on each side of the pyramid with information of napoleon's victories, about Marmont and about the troops who build the pyramid. These stone tablets arrived in march 1805.
In April 1805 Mamont bought the ground on which the pyramid was built and erected 3 houses to be used by some old soldiers to guard the pyramid which can been in the picture underneath of 1807. they lived there for some 10 years.
In Oktober 1805, the pyramid was officially named Mont Marmont or Marmont Mountain.
But of course against the will of Marmont who must have been very angry, in 1806 the new Dutch King Louis Napoleon renamed the pyramid after the great 1805 victory of his brother Napoleon: the Pyramide of Austerlitz.
The village nearby which arised out of the settlement of traders around the military camp was also called Austerlitz and exists (as does the pyramid itself) until today.
So what happened to the pyramid until today?
In 1806 the wooden obelisk on top leaned over, was later corrected but in 1808 was torn down.
In the following years the weather influenced the mount a great deal which is shown on the picture of 1866.
In fact, for almost 90 years nothing happened and the mount shrunk to around 20m until some remains of the tablets were found and the owner of the land (who's family had bought the ground from Marmont in 1816) got the idea of restore the mount.
So in 1894 a new obelisk, now in stone, was erected on the pyramid which gave the pyramid a new appearance as can be seen on a picture of 1905.
After that in various years work had to be done to repair the damage of the weather (rain) on the pyramid and to keep the woods away from the mount as these close in on the mount as can be seen on picture of 2001.
Again a great restauration took place, woods were cleared around the mount, the turf again received the steps as of a real pyramide and a picture how it looks after restauration in 2008
and its surroundings from above:
Some pictures when we visited it in 2021. The last 4 pictures are from the restored tablets.
At last, something new in our "on tour" category; a visit to the Modelling expo in Rosmalen. Normally in Goes (well, the last 25 years) but due to corona it now was at this venue. Sadly no wargaming but a lot of different modelling catagories; see the pictures underneath for an impression.
I had forgotten my camera so the pictures were taken with mobile phone; not the best quality I am afraid.
Building your own wooden transport!
Marc with his painting demo with kids; after two days he was exhausted
A break with Martin of Miniatuurwereld.com