After securing Sicily Garibaldi reorganised his mass of volunteer units into a series of Divisiones.
Divisione Turr
Divisione Cosenz
Divisione Medici
Divisione Bixio
The soldiers shown here are from the Divisione Bixio which comprised two brigades.
classic “redshirts”, one soldier has obtained some piedmont/sardinian trousers, one has summer dress whites with small white gaiters while the third appears to have some liberated Neapolitan dark blue trousers on!
An officer is in the illustration (G) shown in the Osprey Men at Arms book 520. I have already mentioned what an excellent book this is, with a wealth of detail in black white alongside text overflowing with wargamers ideas for painting units.
The Officer on the Osprey 520 cover – centre figure – is from Divisione Bixio. Credit to Lucky Toys for animating their sculpts. Compare with the Hat Bologna Volunteers in this background shot of them.
In 2020 my wargames hobby plan started with a plan and actually stayed mainly on track with just a few unexpected deviations.
So the Plan was NitS (Normans in the South). The main deviation was to Normans in the North – well actually Norsemen posing as Danes fighting Anglo Saxons. I painted, played games (ok solo ones), read copiously and tested some rules. My wargaming always includes painting figures, playing wargames, reading about the subject of history as well as the wargame and testing out rulesets.
a favorite image from 2020 – the shieldwalls collide
So the main deviations still relate to which plan I am doing. And a plan is normally related to a period in time.
2020 was definitely dark age territory.
I painted up 1/72 plastics, based impetus style as 80mm x 60mm elements. The Strelets multiposed figure boxes work very well. The reissue of their Normans after 8 or so years was also a great help.
Coupled with Neil Thomas’s, Ancient & Medieval Warfare (AMW) or One Hour Wargames (OHW) Rules requiring only 8 or 6 elements per army meant I had some easy gaming options.
And more crazy, I bought a book to learn anglo saxon – now gathering dust, yet I did write a poem about Aethelflaed on this site.
Crikey wargames is dangerous stuff!
Well Plan A 2020 was looking good to become Plan A 2021 – until I read an article in Lone Warrior about some “mid 19th century warfare” (very catchy period name). By then it was late November so you could argue Plan A 2020 – job done. I mean I should already have Plan A 2021 in the can? Well I did.
Plan A 2021 would see a return to NitS (Normans in the South).
A few of my Normans in the South that did get off the Painting Table in 2020
Wargames Plan A – never survives contact with …………………………. ……………………………………………………………….. another interesting article.
So for completely unexplainable reasons, as I read Brian Camerons article, my mind wandered towards 19th century bearskins, kepis, long trousers, rolled greatcoats, lances, sabres and rifles.
The Renaissance Troll post I read about Napoleonic “imagi”nations put the final nail in the NitS coffin.
The 2021 plan A did not include the dark ages or NitS. Sorry folks – I am sure they will make a comeback.
So for Norber the Wargaming Erratic – Plan A 2021 is
Wargame Rules
Wargame using “19th Century European Warfare rules” by Neil Thomas
Wargame using “Table Top Battles” by Mike Smith maybe with his grid system
Wargame using “Piquet Field of Battle 1700-1900” by Brent Oman
Wargame using “Practical Wargaming” by Charles Wesencraft
Wargame Army Periods
Post Napoleonic 1815 – 1830
Monarchists & Revolutionaries 1830 – 1849
French resurrection & Prussian hegemony 1850 – 1866
Austro-Hungary and the Ottomans demise 1866 – 1877
Wargame Figures
Hat 1/72
Strelets 1/72
Waterloo 1815 1/72
Maybe Warrior Miniatures 25mm metals
I wrote this in January but since then have been busy posting about doing things. And yes Plan A 2021 is all about the 19th century.
A recent VTW1815 game using Neil Thomas rules and an eclectic mix of figures – is that the “shade” of Napoleon or his Doppelganger?
More posts coming on the Vienna Treaty Wars or VTW as I abbreviate it.
Mike Hobbs is someone I encountered listening to Meeples and Miniatures.
His death is a shock even though I never met him or corresponded with him.
He was a key member of the podcast team that introduced me to serial wargaming podcasts.
And the one that I think is most signficiant was the mental health podcast He and Neil Shuck ran together. That was a great contribution by two very open and honest people, discussing very real issues of mental health and how it affects people in such a damaging way.
Above all they managed to convey optimism around a subject that can seem so negative.
Neil Shuck’s words are worth reading. Thank you Neil Shuck and
Brigata Milano was part of Division Turr being formed before crossing from Sicily to the mainland. The figures have good animation I think.
The Bersaglieri wore a green uniform with red facings. This chap has lost his feathers courtesy of lucky toys casting!The soldier on the right sports a cloak and pointy hat so probably came on the boat from Uruguay or has copied those that did. The soldiers wore white uniforms with red facings.
The bugler has a kepi – all the rage at this time (1859/60). He has acquired some Piedmontese uniform trousers.
I have again used the fine words and black and white pictures of osprey MAA 520 Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848-1870 pt2.
You can find out more on the Garibaldini troops Garibaldi took to Sicily with him and those that followed on in my recent postings.
Finally you may notice the easter egg style basing!
My current preoccuption with european wars in the post Napoleonic era have been fuelled by some book buying.
the most recent arrival – this old book is interesting because the illustrations are highly selective. The text explains why – to support a narrative concerning the evolution of uniforms rather than trying to show what each country chose.Lucy Riall is a very well respected modern author and focuses on the themes of what the Risorgimento means and to whom.This is a great dip in book full of easily accessed facts and provides the framework of what can be a confusing time in Italy.This book has lots of anecdotes which I plan to use in my imaginations campaigns.Having already devoured the South German War by the same author I have just started this book. The small actions around the lakes just cry out for a skirmish ruleset.Old but still full of useful information and given only limited interest today, means a dearth of current publications on 19th century Italy, these booklets are very worthwhile.I have a feeling this ruleset may being hooking up with Michael Embree’s Radestky Marches book for a skirmish or two.A quite unexpected catch. I really like the Funcken style and this book delivers it in spades. Lucky for me it is right on the dates and although it ends just before Crimea it does cover the crucial 1848 revolutionary year.Another recent acquisition – I like the grid rule set and it comes with handy campaign and solo rules all integrated as you desire. It even has naval rules. actually it does modern, fantasy and sci fi as well – not that I need them for my VTW – Vienna Tratey Wars
So my period is called the Vienna Treaty Wars and the era roughly covers 1815 to 1871.
Currently I have been painting quite well although right now a campaign beckons. I never thought I would be doing anything post napoleonic – thank you again Mr Renaissance Troll!
This figure shows one of Garibaldi’s Guides who were mounted (when they had horses!).
I have shown this officer in the uniform they landed in Sicily with and wore until the fall of Palermo.
They then switched to an all grey uniform. One wonders if the bright uniforms marked them out for the enemy sharpshooters? Although with an army of red shirts that might have been less of a problem?
The Holy Roman Empire ended by Napoleonic War recovered enough in the guise of the Austrian Empire to be at the top table with the other Victors – Russia, Prussia and Great Britain.
In 1815 the Vienna Congress led to a treaty where the 4 great powers attempted to create a balance of power in Europe to end major wars while also dismantling concepts of liberty and freedom.
By 1848 a reinvigorated Austria routed the Piedmontese liberation of Lombardy while France ended the short lived Roman Republic on behalf of the Pope.
So my wars of the italian unification project actually fits better into what I am calling the Vienna Treaty Wars. shortened to VTW with 5 key dates appended, they will make good categories on my blog.
VTW1815 – heralds the regression back to 18th century values
VTW1830 – sees the first significant european rebellions especially in France
VTW1848 – sees mass revolution break out across Europe
VTW1859 – the French (now an Empire again) end Austrian interest in much of Italy
These are my Piedmontese Line Infantry. They compliment the Bersaglieri which I posted earlier this year.
They also compliment the first unit in this Wars of the Italian Unification (WotIU) project which I completed. However in one respect they don’t – height. Some of these figures are 26mm tall so verge on the 28mm club!
That first unit was Hat ACW union troops so “kepi” men. I reckon that by 1860 Piedmontese troops would still be seen in frock style coats while sporting kepi’s.
The current offering here is soldiers wearing the small shako with a greatcoat. They also have short gaiters with baggy trousers. The french style is clear.
The figures are by Lucky Toys.
I just made up two sprues from the lucky toys sets – you get four in each set. And I took King Victor Emmanuel II from the Garibaldi redshirt set.
The Plastic Soldier Review gave them a muted response being very unhappy with the moulds – lack of undercut or some things like the shakoes struggling to even look remotely correct.
I have previously posted the Bersaglieri.
Verdict – these figures don’t look much on the sprue and the Plastic Soldier Review is unfavourable. Yet they painted up ok and the animation is some of the best in the world of 1/72 plastics. My one objection is that they are big and tall so fail to fit in with my strelets/hat figures.
Still I might just build some skirmisher units with them.
Well this week temperatures will hit 23 degrees centigrade so although Easter promises just a mere 7 degrees, nature has declared spring is sprung.
so this is a farewell to winter 2020 which threw up some late snow amongst other things plus a sustained cold period which is always good for curtailing the sort of mischevious insects which eat my gardening efforts.
This year the “wolf moon” was brilliant! We don’t have sparrows – we have sparrowhawks
That last photo – it could be a pigeon but it is definitely a sparrowhawk – I posted a previous intermission shot of it with spread wings. Over our heads it once managed an amazing “stall turn” literally turning in position – chasing a blue tit – the blue tit still got away though.
The Wargaming Erratic 