Tercio Viejo de Holanda in Seneffe 1674

 Hello guys,

After this summer holydays I finished a full unit for my Spanish army of Flanders during the second half of XVII c. the Tercio Departamental de Holanda, also known as the Tercio Viejo de Holanda.

I wanted this unit mainly for the Franco-Dutch War, and particularly for Seneffe in 1674, one of the  bloody battles of the period. This tercio is particularly attractive for wargaming because its service during the 1670s can be followed through several of the major campaigns fought by the Army of Flanders.

For the figures I have used North Star's 1672 range, with a few conversions and two self-sculpted pikemen. They were painted using a mixture of Vallejo and Foundry paints, as usual.

 Tercio Viejo de Holanda

The Tercio Departamental de Holanda was one of the veteran Spanish infantry formations serving in the Low Countries. Bruno Mugnai lists it as EI-8, Departamental de Holanda or Viejo de Hollanda, in his book "Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV Volume 4" giving 1580 as the date of its origin. Much later, after all the wars and reorganisations of the seventeenth century, its lineage ended up in the Zamora Regiment in 1715.

As with many old Spanish units, its name changed over its long existence, and it was normally known by either the territory in which it served or the name of its commanding officer.

For the period that interests me most, Mugnai gives the following succession of commanders:

Juan Pacheco Osorio de Cerralvo – 1654

Pedro de Zavala y Laezeta – 1660

Luis Zúñiga y Carrillo – 1663

Juan Domingo Méndez de Haro y Sotomayor, Count of Monterrey – 1666

Diego Gómez de Espinosa – 1672

Rodrigo Tello – 1672

Ordóñez de Lara – 1677

Juan Caro – around 1679

Joseph de Moncada y Aragón – 1682

By the time of Franco Dutch War, the Army of Flanders was smaller from the army of the great Spanish victories of the previous century. Nevertheless, veteran Spanish tercios remained in service and continued to take part in some very hard fighting against Louis XIV's armies.

Tercio Viejo de Holanda was at Naarden in 1673, followed in 1674 by Seneffe and Oudenaarde. It subsequently appears at Bouchain in 1676, Cassel in 1677 and Ypres in 1678. It was still serving in Flanders afterwards and is recorded at Brussels in 1685.

So in miniature this is a very useful unit. I can field it in several different actions of the Franco-Dutch War rather than tying it to a single battle.

But the main reason I wanted to paint it was Seneffe.

The Spanish contribution from the Army of Flanders was substantial, although heavily weighted towards mounted troops. According to the figures quoted by Mugnai, the Army of Flanders contributed around 6,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry to the allied army.

An Austrian print of the battle reproduced by Mugnai is particularly interesting. In the final phase of the fighting, the Hispanic troops can be seen deployed with infantry and cavalry alternating in the battle line. And among that infantry were men of the unit represented here.

Mugnai specifically states that companies of the Tercio Viejo de Holanda participated at Seneffe.

I think the word companies is important. I have not found evidence that allows me to claim that the complete tercio fought at Seneffe as a single tactical formation. What can safely be said is that companies belonging to it were present.

Now the flag...

A Spanish infantry flag captured during the battle is recorded in Les Triomphes de Louis XIV. It is an extremely simple design: a white field bearing a red Burgundian Cross. Mugnai notes that some scholars have suggested that such simple two-colour flags may have belonged to veteran infantry units. He then specifically mentions the presence of companies of the Viejo de Holanda at Seneffe.

Elsewhere he adds an important word of caution. Although simple flags have been associated with the old veteran tercios, the Seneffe example could also have been a colonel's colour. More importantly, there is no surviving evidence that allows it to be attributed to a particular tercio.

So it is tempting to associate this flag with the Viejo de Holanda, but can not be 100% sure.

The flag I eventually chose for the unit needs a little explanation.

I could have used the simple white flag with the red Burgundian Cross recorded at Seneffe. It would certainly have made sense visually, and its possible association with veteran infantry is very tempting.

Instead, I decided to use a more elaborate Spanish colour connected with another battle in which the Viejo de Holanda fought: Cassel, 11 April 1677.

The design I used is a reconstruction based on the description of Spanish colours captured by the French at Cassel. It has a white field with the traditional red Cross of Burgundy, accompanied in each of the four quarters by the crowned cipher of Charles II. I should make clear that I am not claiming this to be the documented flag of the Tercio Viejo de Holanda

What we do know is that Spanish flags of this type were recorded among the trophies of Cassel, and we also know independently that the Viejo de Holanda fought at Cassel in 1677 with another Tercio, so...that was enough for me.

For a miniature unit I wanted something historically plausible but also a little more colourful than the  austere Seneffe flag. The crowned ciphers of Charles II surrounding the Burgundian Cross immediately identify the unit visually with the Spanish Monarchy of this period.

Thank God we know the uniform :) for 1671, only three years before Seneffe, the information collected by Mugnai describes the private soldiers of the Viejo de Holanda as wearing a grey coat with red facings.By the 1680s this had evolved into a grey-white coat, again with red facings. Drummers wore blue coats with red facings.

For the figures I used North Star's 1672 range. I made several conversions to to add a little variety to the unit, and there are also two self-sculpted pikemen mixed in with the North Star figures. For instance, the officer and flag bearer are artillery men with head swaps/feathers, partizan, and shoulder ribbons added. Also a French pikemen was used, with another head and plastic arms with pike from Warlord Games ECW/TYW range.

The paints are a mixture of Vallejo and Foundry. This time, for the basic appearance I followed the documented 1671 description quite closely: grey coats and red facings, while allowing some variation in the shades of grey,  3 tones in the same unit. I prefer this slightly irregular appearance for the period rather than making every man look identical.

I hope you like this unit !

Playing wargames during summer holidays? Yes, "The Wars of Sun King 1648-1713" and custom counters

 Hello guys,

I'm spending a few weeks at the beach at the moment, which is great, but there is one problem: I can't bring all my miniatures, terrain and everything else with me. So I needed something a little more practical to get my wargaming fix and ended up buying "The Wars of the Sun King" a boardgame by Serious Historical Games, designed to play, with a single set of rules, the five conflicts led by France under the reign of Louis XIV and the great rebellion called “La fronde”.

 https://serioushistoricalgames.com/product/the-wars-of-louis-xiv-sun-king-1648-1713/

I've started with the War of Devolution scenario, mainly because it is one of the conflicts that interests me most from the period, and the easiest/fastest to play. I've played it several times now and I have to say I'm enjoying it quite a lot. The rules have, for me, just about the right level of complexity. There are enough decisions to make it interesting, but once you understand the basic mechanics the game moves quite quickly and doesn't become a headache.

Most of the time I've been playing solo, basically playing both sides against myself! It may sound a bit strange but it works perfectly well with this sort of game. I've also played it with another person and enjoyed it that way too.

Something I particularly liked is that, at least in the War of Devolution scenario, the result tends to be more or less what you would expect from the real campaign. Of course things can go differently (otherwise there wouldn't be much point in playing it), but France has the advantages you would expect and the general feeling of the conflict seems right. So far I'm quite happy with it.

The counters are nice too, although I have one small complaint. Some (in the case of Spanish at least) of them look to me a little too much like troops from the War of the Spanish Succession, rather than the earlier wars of Louis XIV. Nothing terrible, but once I noticed it I couldn't really unsee it.

And of course this meant I had to start messing around with the counters...

I've made my own versions of several of them, replacing the artwork with, mostly, illustrations by Bruno Mugnai, from several books I own. Bruno is my favourite illustrator for this period. They are obviously only for my own personal use. At the moment they're just digital counters, but when I get back home after the holidays I plan to print them on proper cardboard and use them with the game.

Cavalry for League of Augsburg War period.

Proper general for early wars, instead of the generic Spanish general in tricorn

The game uses "elite" units but very very few, and for instance, no Dutch elite or Spanish, so I fixed that with this counter of Guardia Chamberga in 1673.

1678 infantry counter

1665-70' infantry counter

Proper War of Devolution Spanish infantry counter

1672 infantry counter

 The game is French and, unsurprisingly, very French-centred. I don't really have a problem with that considering the subject of the game, although sometimes I think it goes a little too far and some of the other nations don't get quite the same attention. There are also a few omissions that I found a bit strange, especially when it comes to some troops and personalities from the other armies, but nothing serious, this is not a super complex game like others in the market.

So while redoing the counters I've added some of those missing units and commanders as well. Nothing particularly ambitious and I'm certainly not trying to redesign the game. I just wanted the other armies to have a little more personality and, where possible, look a bit closer to the troops that actually fought in these earlier campaigns.

Anyway, it has turned out to be a pretty good solution for wargaming while I'm away from home. I'm enjoying the game, the War of Devolution scenario has been a very good starting point , next scenario I want to play with, will be Franco Dutch War. 

I hope you like this little update with boardgames instead of miniature games!

Cheers

Battle of Seneffe 1674 Command base: Death of Marqués de Asentar

Hi guys

This time I bring you a special topic, my first miniature sculpted by the AI, using Meshy.ai , I tried to replicate a wonderful illustration of a Desperta Ferro magazine about the last tercios, from 1660 to the reform of 1704.

The aim was to make a command base for my Spanish army of Flanders in the bloody battle of Seneffe in 1674.

 the original illustration is fantastic, I really wanted to have a similar last stand command base in my collection, and as nobody produces a similar miniature, and I have no sculpting skills, I resorted to a new (for me) method, Meshy, although it is not free, I think it worth the price.

This part is translation by me  from Spanish Magazine Desperta Ferro:

At the death of Pedro de Acuña y Meneses, Marquis of Assentar, in the Battle of Seneffe, the Spanish soldiers present there, following the example of the fallen commander, fought so fiercely against the French that they became known as the “Sacrificed of Seneffe.”

Assentar began his military career under Philip IV in 1640 and had to flee to Castile. He commanded the regiments of Spain (1655–1659) and Lombardy (1659–1662). He took part in the victory of Valenciennes (1656), the campaign of Mardyck (1657), and the sieges of Novara (1662–1665) and Ceuta (1665–1672). With the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War, he was appointed Maestre de Campo of the Army of Flanders. As commander of the Army of the Low Countries and second in commando of the Count of Monterrey, governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

 An  Imperial contingent joined the combined Dutch-Spanish army in the summer of 1674, adding strength to the troops of William III of Orange.

At first, the French army under the Prince of Condé launched a surprise attack against the troops of William III, while the Allies marched between Nivelles and Mons in an attempt to outflank the French position at Trivières. The battle soon became bloody and fierce: 62,000 Allied soldiers clashed against 44,200 French troops.

The allied army marched through a vast wooded area full of ravines, which caused the Marquis to show a fatalistic mood, he said to an officer, "If we succeed today it would be a miracle, but I do not blame myself, because I am doing my job and those in command of the combined army do not listen my advice...  for I know my end is near, and no one shall deprive me of the glory of what is to come..."

Suddenly, the thunder of the cannon and the musketry announced the battle, A Dutch officer came in hurry announcing that all the rearguard of the army was collpasing and some fleeing. The Marquis had advanced too far and was now being pursued by the French. "We saw all of Valdemont’s cavalry came rushing back in flight, and the confusion with which they returned threw most of our rearguard into panic."

 The chronicler Félix de Lucio Espinosa y Malo relates what happened next:

“Seeing this disaster, the Marquis of Assentar ordered five or six large infantry battalions and one squadron of cavalry to halt. Drawing his sword, he encouraged the men, who had been pushed back so rapidly, although they had gained some time, their line started to collapse under French pressure. Even though the Marquis of Assentar was grievously wounded, 7 times,  he fought with such boldness and extraordinary courage that he finally gave his life, despite receiving assistance for the many wounds he had suffered.”

The French, after driving the Spaniards from the village of Saint-Nicolas and finding the Marquis’s body in their possession after the battle, returned it to the Spanish camp. The fighting finished in a bloody draw, where both sides claimed "victory", it had caused some fourteen thousand casualties between the two armies, and contemporary accounts describe the battle as one of the bloodiest slaughters ever seen in Europe for many years.

 The base diorama itseld was 3d printed in resin, and the miniature is not perfect, there aresome mistakes in an officer hand, shoes, the horse head is missing... but with some touches here and there, I fixed most of them and painted it in the usual way of Vallejo and Foundry triads.

I hope you like it!

Cheers

More Civilians, Militias and Miquelets or XVII c. guerrilla mountain skirmishers. Part II

Hello guys,

following the first part: 

https://spanishleadpainting.blogspot.com/2025/12/coming-back-to-siege-of-gerona-1684.html

I have painted six new miniatures for this 17th century civilians and militia reinforcements for my 30 Years War project but also my late XVII c. projects like 1672, and siege of Gerona 1684.

For this, I used three miniatures from Bloody Miniatures, which I absolutely love. These are the first ones I’ve painted from a couple of dozen I own, and I’m very happy with the result. The idea is to use them as armed civilians or musketeers for the Thirty Years War.

I also converted an artilleryman from North Star 1672 to represent a night watchman, adding a plastic lantern or oil lamp.

Another miniature is a second friar (I painted another in December) from Perry Miniatures, originally from their Carlist Wars range and armed with a blunderbuss. However, it works perfectly well as a 17th-century friar.

Finally, this is a miguelete/miquelet, wearing the typical Catalan cap, the barretina. On his feet he wears alpargatas, traditional Spanish peasant footwear that has been used for centuries. The miniature was originally a guerrilla fighter from Perry Miniatures’ Napoleonic range, but I removed the anachronistic elements and replaced the sabre-armed hand with a metal, Northstar 1672 17th century musket. I also added a plastic Thirty Years War powder flask from a Warlord Games set.

For painting I used Foundry paints triads (Dark African flesh, Buff, Rawhide, Spearshaft, Forest Green) and Vallejo Model Color.  For  matt varnish I use Ultra matt from Greenstuff world which I recommend.

I also painted a small trench made of resin

I will add more of these, because I want a full second Miquelet unit using these Perry Guerrillas converted, as well as Bloody Miniatures.

Again all the unit so far.

Coming back to the siege of Gerona 1684: Paisanos or citizens

Miniatures for a XVIIc. besieged city

Hi guys, 

When we recreate the defenders of Girona (or whatever besieged city in this period) on the tabletop, we are not representing a formal army so much as an entire community under arms. The men who held the city’s walls in the 17th century were merchants and craftsmen, hunters and farmers, friars and servants; citizens united by the simple fact that the enemy was at their doorstep. This makes a siege a wonderfully rich setting for miniatures and full of character.

Of course, the following categories are common to most territories of Europe in general, and the Hispanic Monarchy in particular during most of XVII c.

These are the categories I have found.

1) Urban Militias: Girona’s Armed Citizens

The urban militia was composed of the city’s own neighbours: artisans, guild officers, shopkeepers, notaries, apprentices, and even a few minor nobles who commanded small companies. They were civilians, not professional soldiers, serving under Governor Francisco de Taberner with one motivation above all—the defence of their city and their families.

Their equipment reflected this civilian nature. Many carried old matchlock muskets or shotguns; others relied on short pikes, halberds, or arquebuses. Uniforms were rare. Most defenders wore their work clothes or a simple doublet, sometimes with a red cross sewn on the chest to mark their allegiance. Despite their lack of formality, they played a crucial tactical role. They garrisoned the walls, towers, and gates; manned guard posts day and night; supported the artillery by carrying powder, sand, and shot; repaired damaged parapets after bombardments; and rushed to extinguish fires in the aftermath of French shells.

Jurats, civilian authorities in Valencia, mid XVII c. very similar to those present at Gerona

Urban militia in Antwerp, 1670'

                                                            Same Urban militia in Antwerp.

Contemporary testimonies show the determination of these defenders. One chronicler wrote:

“The city, though small in neighbours and with walls not very strong, found itself encouraged by the courage of its inhabitants.”

Another account describes their resilience under bombardment:

“Some neighbours died, and several roofs and warehouses burned; but the spirit of all was so constant that no one showed fear or discouragement.”

2) Rural Militias, Migueletes and Somatén

Beyond the city walls operated a very different kind of force. The rural militias—migueletes and somatenes—were made up of mountain folk from the Ampurdán, Sant Daniel, Amer, Hostalric and the surrounding valleys. These were former soldiers, hunters and labourers, accustomed to the rugged landscape and skilled with firearms. They were officially recognised as auxiliaries by the viceroy but operated with considerable independence under local chiefs and minor lords.

Girona could mobilise several hundred men in the countryside, while within the city itself up to 600 or 800 men could be deemed fit for arms, with around 300 more available in emergencies. The municipality carried out censuses prior to expected attacks—in 1637, 1667, 1675, and 1684—to determine who could serve. Even the cathedral chapter, the bishop, and the religious orders contributed armed companies during the worst sieges.

The migueletes and somatenes excelled in irregular warfare. They ambushed French convoys, destroyed baggage trains, cut communications, and fired from natural cover before vanishing into the hills. A contemporary account states:

“The migueletes and somatenes of the mountains caused constant losses to the French detachments, taking baggage and prisoners every day.”

Their clothing was equally distinctive and ideal for miniature painters: brown or grey woollen coats, linen shirts, red sashes, barretinas, and sturdy shoes or espadrilles. They often carried long flintlock escopetas, knives, and small leather pouches. Another source gives a vivid image of their appearance:

“The migueletes from Amer and Hostalric arrived wearing brown or grey clothing, low hats, red sashes, and a leather cartridge-box over the shoulder; armed with musket or blunderbuss. Some wore short checkered mountain capes.” I painted several Migueletes a few years ago, featured in this post: 

https://spanishleadpainting.blogspot.com/search/label/Miquelets?updated-max=2021-01-09T12:18:00%2B01:00&max-results=20&start=2&by-date=false

Some of them were led by D. Josep de Trinchería, and later during the 9 Years War, by his son, D.Blas de Trinchería.

A detailed description of D. Josep de Trinchería has survived until today:

"He wears his hair long, following the custom of the time, and a waxed mustache curled upward in keeping with the family portrait. A mid-thigh coat (the habit), with open sleeves revealing the shirt beneath, trimmed along the edges and seams. It is buttoned at the front. Around his waist he carries a belt serving the dual purpose of ornament and support for his weapons. Draped over his left shoulder is a cape which, in the fashion of the era, wraps around his right hand, with which he holds the French-style hat (chapeau). He wears tight-fitting breeches of the same cloth, fastened with ribbons, and tall boots with gaiters. The boots include the gaiter that holds the spur used when riding on horseback.

He is armed with a cup-hilt sword hanging from a leather strap, a flintlock of three palmos and another shorter one, along with its corresponding pouch for stones and bullets, as well as a flask with a measure for carrying gunpowder."

                                                                D.Josep de Trinchería 

"Angelets de la terra" /Migueletes guerrilla fighters

3) Clergy and Non-Combatants

The city’s defence was not limited to armed men. Secular priests and members of the mendicant orders—Dominicans, Franciscans, Capuchins—were present on the walls, tending the wounded and encouraging the defenders. Women, servants, children and the elderly played essential roles as well, carrying water, soil and stones for the artillery and helping repair damage after bombardments. Public prayers and religious processions were organised to keep morale high.

A contemporary testimony describes their presence vividly:

“The friars of the mendicant orders assisted on the walls, encouraging the people with the word of God and aiding the wounded.”

4) Civic Officers and Command Figures

At the top of Girona’s civic defence stood the "Jurat en Cap" and the colonel of the militia. They added a rare note of splendour amid the city’s improvised forces. One account describes them as wearing crimson coats trimmed with gold during public ceremonies, and donning light cuirasses or breastplates over their doublets in battle. Their swords, it says, had gilt hilts with shell-shaped guards:

“The chief jurat and the colonel of the militia of Girona wore crimson coats with golden braid in public acts, and in combat covered themselves with a light cuirass or breastplate over the doublet. Their sword had a gilded hilt with a shell-shaped guard.”

Painting Girona’s defenders offers an extraordinary palette of textures and personalities—ragged walls, improvised weapons, bright red sashes, guild banners, mountain cloaks, friars with bandages, servants rushing powder barrels. 

In future posts I will prepare siege workers and engineers for 30 Years War and also late XVII c.

                               "Perry Miniatures" Priest and "Anno Domini 1666" Night Watch.

The miniatures I am using for these chaps are: 

-Priests : Perry miniatures 28mm Napoleonic/Carlists wars Spanish priest, I bought several of these, but I will only use those whose attire fit in XVII c. in classic friar appearance. 

-Miquelets or Miguelets, I have already several of these, but I want another company of these skirmishers, I really like Front Rank Monmouth rebels with some conversions, I will also use the new Perry Napoleonic guerrilla fighter sprue in plastic, for pieces and headgear like the Catalan cap, the barretina, mixed with Front Rank or  Northstar 1672 bodies.

-For civilians and urban militias I am using several miniatures from Anno Domini 1666 miniatures, a Polish company of great quality, also Bloody Miniatures 28mm ECW and TYW figures are stunning, and some of them are suitable for later periods, specially civilians.

I hope you like it!

Cheers