Marshal de Créquy : French Thirty Years War Command Base

Hello guys,

Today I would like to share a new command base for my French army of the Thirty Years' War, featuring Marshal Charles de Créquy and a dismounted French elite cavalryman, a guardsman.

Both miniatures are my own creations, using Meshy.ai, based on historical illustrations. For Marshal de Créquy, I used a contemporary engraving as my main reference, while the dismounted cavalryman was inspired by an illustration from Helion's book on the Battle of Rocroi.

The idea was to create a small command vignette representing one of the most important French commanders of the war in northern Italy.

A little history: Marshal de Créquy (1578–1638)

Charles de Blanchefort, Duke of Lesdiguières and Marshal of France, was an experienced French commander whose military career began during the reign of Henry IV. He served in several campaigns in Savoy and Piedmont, became Marshal of France in 1621 and inherited the title of Duke of Lesdiguières in 1626.

During the Franco-Spanish War, Créquy commanded French forces in northern Italy, operating alongside the army of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, against the Spanish troops defending the Duchy of Milan.

His most famous engagement was the Battle of Tornavento, fought on 22 June 1636, against the Spanish army commanded by the Marquis of Leganés. The battle was a particularly bloody and exhausting encounter, with both armies suffering heavy casualties. Although the French and Savoyards retained the battlefield, the fighting failed to produce a decisive strategic result.

Créquy continued campaigning against the Spanish in 1637,  defending Asti and fighting at Mombaldone.

His military career came to an abrupt end on 17 March 1638, when he was killed by a cannonball while reconnoitring the Spanish siege of Breme, in Lombardy, which eventually fell to the Spanish, as well as Vercelli, in Savoy. His death deprived the French army of one of its most experienced commanders on the Italian front.

For this miniature, I wanted to recreate the appearance of this veteran marshal as faithfully as possible, using his period portrait rather than a generic seventeenth-century officer.

                                                        Inspiration for the dismounted cavalryman.

I hope you like this latest addition to my French army!

Historical references:

- Luca Stefano Cristini & Giuseppe Pogliani, *La battaglia di Tornavento del 1636 e la guerra dei 30 anni in Italia*. Soldiershop Publishing, 2011.

- Memoriales y cartas del Conde Duque de Olivares, CEEH, for the Italian campaigns and Créquy's death at Breme.

- Helion & Company, The Battle of Rocroi, for the dismounted French cavalryman.

Régiment Lyonnais – Part IV: At Last, the Regiment is Complete!

Hi guys, 

At last, the Régiment de Lyonnais is complete!

It has taken me considerably longer than expected to finish this regiment. I first started working on it back in 2022, returned to it earlier this year, and now the last six musketeers have finally joined their comrades.

For this final base I only needed to paint three new figures, all of them from 1898 Miniatures. Together with three previously finished musketeers they form the last six-man base and, more importantly, bring the whole regiment to completion.

The Régiment de Lyonnais received its provincial title and the privilege of carrying the white colonel's flag on 15 September 1635. From then until the Peace of the Pyrenees it saw almost continuous active service, particularly against the armies of the Spanish Monarchy in Italy and Catalonia. These two fronts are common in my games :) 

Its first major campaigns took place in northern Italy. In 1636 Lyonnais fought at Valenza dek Po, Candia, Palestro and Sartirana, and particularly distinguished itself at Buffalora on 23 June, where it helped drive Spanish troops back across the Ticino. The following year it took part in the defence of Asti and the fighting at Mombaldone, while in 1638 it was employed in the relief operations around Breme and Vercelli.

The campaign of 1639 was particularly hard fought. Lyonnais fought against the forces of the Marquis of Leganés, helped relieve Casale and took part in the fighting on the road to Chieri. During the struggle for Turin the regiment suffered very heavy casualties, including the death of its mestre de camp, the Marquis d'Alincourt.

In 1641 the regiment was transferred to Catalonia, beginning another extremely active period of its history. It fought at Valls, Salou and Constantí, participated in the siege of Tarragona and the fighting around Tamarit and Almenar. In 1642 it captured Monzón and fought again at Valls, Tamarit and Lérida.

The Catalan campaigns nearly destroyed the regiment. During the 1644 operations around Lérida, Lyonnais suffered such severe losses that after the fighting only 25 officers and 439 soldiers remained under its colours. Nevertheless, the survivors continued fighting, and in 1645 the regiment took part in the siege of Roses.

In 1646 Lyonnais was sent once again to Italy, this time taking part in the expedition to Tuscany. It fought at Orbetello and participated in the sieges of Piombino and Porto Longone on Elba, before spending the following years in garrison at Piombino.

After a brief return to France during the Fronde, Lyonnais was back with the Army of Italy in 1653. It fought at La Roquette that year, served at Pinerolo in 1654, took part in the relief of Bercello and the siege of Pavia in 1655, and fought at Valenza in 1656. The following year it participated in the unsuccessful siege of Alessandria.

Its last major operation of the Franco-Spanish War came in 1658 at the siege of Mortara, where the regiment lost its major, Monsieur de Monceau.

The Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 finally brought more than two decades of campaigning against Spain to an end.

So this seems a particularly fitting point at which to finish my own Régiment de Lyonnais. From Buffalora and Turin to Tarragona, Lérida, Roses, Orbetello, Pavia and Mortara, the historical regiment had accumulated an extraordinary record of service by the time the war finally ended.

And, after four posts and rather more years than I originally intended, my  28mm Lyonnais is finished.

I used Fountry triads, and Vallejo paints, then Ultra matt varnish brushed on the miniatures.

I hope you like it!