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

Spanish tercios flags of 30 Years War in Italy

 Hello guys,

This summer I am reading a fantastic book about Thirty Years War in northern Italy: 

"Milán a sangre y fuego" the campaigns of Marquis de Leganés in 1635-1640 in north Italy.

https://www.sndeditores.com/libro/milan-a-sangre-y-fuego_193675/

this is the abstract of the book, tanslated into English :

The military history of the Spanish Army that served in the Duchy of Milan remains one of the great overlooked chapters of Spanish history, perhaps overshadowed by the better-known Army of Flanders, though it was no less remarkable. The campaigns described in this volume brought both General the Marquis of Leganés and his army to prominence. Not only did they successfully defend the state entrusted to them, but they also seized large portions of enemy territory after defeating opposing forces in pitched battles and capturing their strongholds.

Confronted by France's long-standing hostility toward the House of Austria, the ambitions of Savoy, the enmity of Venice, the duplicitous intervention of the Pope and his nuncios, the wavering attitude of Genoa, and the betrayal of Parma, Leganés proved capable of meeting every challenge. He carried the war into the heart of enemy lands and, for four years, tied down substantial enemy forces that would have been of decisive importance had they been deployed in Flanders.

The Marquis's innovative strategy, combined with the excellent performance of the Army of Milan under his command, achieved remarkable victories against some of France's finest generals. Yet the jealousy of his rivals at court, the blatant double-dealing of the Princes of Savoy, and above all the inability of the Royal Treasury to sustain a prolonged war effort ultimately diminished the impact of this extraordinary of successes.

Turin was not the grave of the Marquis of Leganés's career. Despite the downfall of his patron, the Count-Duke of Olivares, he continued to render distinguished service to the Spanish Crown, earning a well-deserved place among the finest generals of the House of Austria."

While reading the book, I almost inmediately decided to wargame that theater of operations, as I have both, TYW French and Spanish armies painted in 28mm,  I want to paint a Savoyard unit and maybe some leaders...

With Meshy, I tried to replicate a 28mm miniature of Marquis de Leganés, I will print in resin when I come back home from vacation, I am really excited with this side project.

Also, thank God, we know at least 2 flags carried by some of the best Spanish units of that time; Tercio Viejo de la Mar de Nápoles, and Tercio de Lombardía, both present in most of the battles of that period in Northern Italy, like :   The relief of Valenza del Po, battle of Tornavento 1636,  the sieges of Vercelli, Breme, Torino... etc etc etc.

here are the flags I have made with Chatgpt + primary sources

                                            Flag of Tercio de Lombardía

                                            Flag of Tercio de la Mar de Nápoles

I hope you like this little summer update

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

30 Years War Commander base: Catalan/French Josep Margarit

 Hi guys,

I have just finished a command base for my TYW French army in the Pyrinees/Catalan front. 

As I normally play with  Warlord's Pike & Shotte rules, I need several command bases for the different "battalias" in the games, so I was (and I am!) short of commanders for my armies in the 30 Years War period. 

I wanted a commander who could be a generic general, but also I wanted to paint a miniature based on a real historical character.

So I opted for a Catalan who revolted against the Hispanic crown in 1640, Josep Margarit.

Josep Margarit was the main military commander of the Franco-Catalan forces during the Reapers' War (a War inside the 30 Years War). In January 1641, his actions prevented the Hispanic Crown from supplying its troops during the siege of Barcelona, contributing decisively to the victory at the Battle of Montjuïc.

He later led the defense of Camp de Tarragona, commanding the miquelets, and played a key role in multiple engagements that year: Valls, Cambrils , Constantí (freeing 400 prisoners), and fighting in Montmeló, Vilafranca del Penedès, and La Granada. Some historians attribute his effectiveness to experience in banditry and guerrilla warfare.

In September 1641, he joined a diplomatic mission that secured cooperation with Louis XIII.

Margarit’s military successes made him a prime target for the Hispanic Crown. In 1642, he blocked Castilian troops under Pedro de Aragón from crossing Catalonia to aid forces in Roussillon. He later led the recovery of the Val d’Aran (1643), organized grain supplies for Catalan troops in Lleida (1646), and became the leading figure in the resistance during the siege of Barcelona (1651–52), refusing to abandon the plague-stricken city. 

After its capitulation, he continued leading military raids (Ponts, Solsona, Cardona, Ribelles, Cadaqués, La Seu d’Urgell) in an attempt to regain control of Catalonia. The Treaty of the Pyrenees 1659 ultimately ended his hopes of defeating the Hispanic Crown.

 

I chose a miniature that had that kind of  strange moustache,  long hair and that black hat similar to those worn by priests. Also the figure had to be in armor, and wear a white sash.

As you can imagine, a I had to make some conversion, I cut a plastic head from one of the commanders of the plastic sprue of Warlord's TYW/ECW captains, and the body of a metal commander from 1898 miniatures.

The other guy in the base is an officer from The Assault Group's TYW range. I painted them using some Foundry Triads , which I love for this period:  Buff Leather , Dark African Flesh, Rawhide...  I personally use a lot these 3 triad for boots, buffcoats, gloves etc.

the  cloth armband in the officer's arm is black , which was the color (along with French white) of the Catalan units in French service or fighting the Spanish.

I hope you like it !

Cheers