Rebellion in Flandres

At the turn of the 14^th century, in response to French taxation and general disruption of trade, Flanders rose in revolt. Ghent, Brugge and Ypres formed a coalition army and crossed the frontier into Artois.

The game

Each command was double the standard 12 elements making this an interesting historical match. The French used the IV/64 list to meet the Flemish IV/57b, bringing a large number of mounted knights to battle the Flemish pike.

 

Battle one

In centre of the French deployment were the knights in two lines. To either flank, were the Genoese crossbowmen supported by spearmen. The Flemings, forming three blocks of pike, deployed these in echelon with artillery and crossbowmen on the left facing the French centre.

Moving in echelon, the Flemish pike and White hoods mauled the French left while. French knights struck the central Flemish block, but could make little impression on it nor the supporting troops. Suffering severe losses, the French retreated from the field (8-4).

Battle two

A lesson learned; French knights were deployed on the flanks as well as the centre. In response, the Flemish pike blocks were now deployed in line.

The battle that followed demonstrated the effective firepower of the artillery and crossbowmen to eviscerate the French centre in three bounds and together with the losses to the French left flank guaranteed a decisive victory for the coalition (10-3+Hd).

 

Battle three

Departing from the usual deployment, the French placed its spearmen and Genoese crossbowmen in centre with the knights positioned to both flanks and forming a central reserve. The Flemish responded by deploying a contiguous line with artillery and white hoods on the right.

The change in deployment enabled the French to engage the entire Flemish line simultaneously. The battle was hotly contested, and though brief, lasting four turns, resulted in a French narrow victory, 8-7.

Overview

In the first two battle, French deployment followed more or less historical lines, cavalry placed in a dominant position, in centre with crossbowmen placed to each flank. After two humiliations later, a change was needed. The change proved fortuitous as the French held sufficient knights in reserve to maintain pressure along the Flemish line. 

A new hamlet

The older hamlet is still in use, but more appropriate for a Dark Age setting. Yesterday, I began constructing a hamlet suitable for a later period to include the Seven Years War. 

Construction followed the same process as the watermill, with four structures covering a 30mm x 40mm base and to have a height exceeding that of the Dark Age models.

Being larger, this meant timber framing and thatching could be better defined.

The walls were covered with a thin coat of Administratum Grey, thatching and timber framing was done with thin coats of Baneblade Brown, doors, Mournfang Brown and windows, Lothern Blue.

Thoroughly dried, thin coats of Abaddon Black were applied to the timber framing, doors, windows and thatching, outlining the painted surfaces.

A day later.

A medieval watermill

The painting of miniatures for the early Hundred Years War project is complete, now on to the construction new terrain features for this period. One item, the watermill, has remained on the back burner for years, and after a few weeks of wrestling with its construction, here are photos and a brief text of the process. 

Construction

Materials used are the same as those for other buildings made; dense foam board, 1.2mm triplex for bases, Milliput (superfine white), an old needle for scoring and heavy grade paper for the wheel.

Step 1

Two mills were planned, each differing in architecture. Sketches were made to determine the size of the wheel in relation to the building, a reminder to the reader, structures are smaller than 15mm scale and fit our DBA games.

Step 2

Cut and shape dense foam board (pink); length, 45-50mm, width,30mm, height, 40mm. The structures were glued to a 1.2mm thick triplex base.

Step 3

Two sides of the walls were covered with Milliput superfine white and score supports, windows, doors and stone work with an old needle. The superfine white needed a full day to cure, but when hard, continue covering the structure. In two steps, you have avoided the unnecessary corrections, elimination of finger prints or misshaping of walls.

Step 4

The early style watermill will have a thatched roof and this will be the last step. The second mill will have a tiled roof, to be added after the building is painted. (See Late Medieval Building post of 24 May 2024)   

Step 5

From illustrations, waterwheels varied in size and after a number of sketches a wheel with a diameter of 22mm seemed right. A mockup was sketched with spokes to serve as a guide during its construction.  

Step 6

Construction paper is cut in 4mm wide strips to be shaped for the wheel and blades.

Begin curling one strip to serve as the wheel and glue.

Two lengths, a few millimeters longer than the diameter will make a cross.

Fixing the cross to the wheel, cut sections from each and dovetail the pieces together.

Seal the joints with white glue.

Step 7

Cut the strips in lengths that will radiate from the center and beyond the wheel.

Sections are cut to dovetail the “spoke” to the wheel.

Seal the joints with white glue.

Step 8

Joining the wheel to the building proved another puzzle, as the part of the wheel should appear submerged in the water. That part should become flush with the water surface, this meant trimming the blades and flatten that portion making contact with the water surface. This will be painted to match the water.

Final step

Two combination river and rough ground pieces were made for the placement of the watermill. The larger piece can accommodate some greenery and trees.

Finished

Earlier medieval model

Later period