Children of the Mist

 I have slipped out of my chronological reread of Nigel Tranter's novels with this one, which is based on the story of the MacGregors in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. We are back to James I & VI, a Tranter favourite that borders on obsession. The description 'Children of the Mist' either comes from their ability to disappear into the mountains or their persecution; either way, it was a later invention.

This is almost a century before the most famous MacGregor, Rob Roy. The chief in this period was Alastair MacGregor, who became the clan chief after his father was murdered by the Campbells in 1570. The Campbells wanted the MacGregor lands and were behind most of the schemes to persecute them. The saying, 'never trust a Campbell,' is a reference to the infamous Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, but it could easily have been the title of this book.

Tranter invents a whole range of efforts that Alastair makes to counter the Campbell influence with the King and the Privy Council. In practice, the MacGregors relied on their fighting skills and remote lands to fight off the Campbells and their allies. This included the Battle of Glen Fruin (1603), where the Colquhouns were driven into the Moss of Auchingaich, where their cavalry was useless, and over 200 were killed. 

In April 1603, the King issued an edict proclaiming the name MacGregor 'altogidder abolisheed'. This meant that anyone who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death, and allowed bounty hunters to kill MacGregors. In a final effort to plead his case with the King, he was tricked into capture by the Campbell chief, who promised safe passage. In 1604, Alastair MacGregor and eleven of his chieftains were hanged at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh. The prescription was not lifted until 1774, and MacGregors took many different names to avoid further persecution.

It is a grim story, told well by Tranter, whose mother had one of the many names the MacGregors took. If your name is Campbell, this is one novel to avoid😁.

Some of my early-period Highlanders, taking on lowland infantry.

The Cretan War 1645-1671

 I have an article in the new edition of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy (138), on the Cretan War 1645-1671. It provides an overview of the lengthy conflict between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, which extended far beyond Crete, to the Balkans and the Dardanelles. It also includes some suggestions for refighting the war on the tabletop and a scenario using Pikeman's Lament. This post expands on the article.

In 1645, the Ottomans launched a large invasion of Crete, quickly capturing most of the island except for the heavily fortified capital, Candia. This began a long and brutal struggle marked by sieges, naval battles, and shifting alliances in Europe. The war ultimately ended with the Ottomans conquering Crete, marking one of Venice’s most significant territorial losses.

The most comprehensive book on the conflict is The Cretan War, 1645-1671, by Bruno Mugnai (Helion, 2018). This has all you need, including colour plates. His book on the Ottoman Empire (Helion, 2020) provides a deeper examination of the Ottoman armed forces, complemented by Ottoman Warfare 1500-1700 by Rhoads Murphey (UCL Press, 1999). For the Ottoman navy, there is The Sultan’s Fleet by Christine Isom-Verhaaren (I.B.Taurus, 2022). For a broader look at Venice, John Julius Norwich’s Venice, The Greatness and the Fall (Allen Lane, 1981), is a great read.

The best-known action of the war is the Siege of Candia, the second-longest siege in history. This is a period map I found in the British Library.

And the harbour on my last visit. There is a small museum inside. 

I suggest two ways of replicating this on the tabletop. Either using the board game, Fire and Stone, designed for the Siege of Vienna, but I have used it for most sieges of this period. Hat tip to the Istanbul wargames club for flagging this clever game.

The other is a sortie, of which there were many. There wasn't space in the magazine to do a second scenario, but we have played a couple of games using Pikeman's Lament. 

We also played the raid scenario in the magazine again.

The naval struggle was a key element of the war. The Venetians intercepted Ottoman supply lines and challenged the Ottoman fleet in the Dardanelles. I use Black Seas and the warlord models for this.

A wargamer with an interest in this period is likely to have an Ottoman army. The infantry core was provided by the Janissaries, supplemented by Azabs and other provincial infantry. Cavalry mainly came from the Sipahi, although many fought on foot during the sieges. For the siege of Candia, vast numbers of Topçu artillerymen and Laginçi miners were deployed, with around 60,000 of them becoming casualties during the last three years of the siege.

Venice treated its army and navy as a single military force, with the Capitano Generale da Mar (Sea Captain General) directing both naval and field operations. In times of peace, most of the army was deployed in garrisons. During the Cretan War, the army consisted of mainland Italians; the Oltramontani, German, Swiss, Dutch and later French units; and the Oltramarini, recruited from Venetian subjects along the Adriatic coast. Compared to the Ottomans, the numbers were not large, with the Candia garrison ranging between 3,000 and 5,000 men. In 1645, Venetian troops resembled other armies of the period, so figures from the Thirty Years' War and even the English Civil War would be suitable. More than 80% would be musketeers, and the balance would be pikemen. The cavalry consisted of cuirassiers and light cavalry, many of the latter recruited from Venetian territories in Albania. Later in the war, European regiments reflected the military dress of Louis XIV’s wars in Europe. This means that many wargamers will not have to paint entirely new units to refight the Cretan War.

The Cretan War really has it all—sieges, skirmishes, small battles and naval actions, right across the eastern Mediterranean. Venice did manage a modest comeback in the Morean War (1684-1699), briefly occupying Athens, although they wrecked the Parthenon in the process. However, the loss of its trade routes to the Levant and the opening of new routes via the Cape and the Americas undermined Venice's economic base. The Ottomans arguably reached their peak during the Siege of Vienna in 1683. However, they would remain a major power for more than two centuries.

The Lion of the North

 A long train trip to Everton on Saturday for the football required some light reading. Not just because watching Fulham away at the moment is pretty grim! My choice was the third and latest in Griff Hosker's English Mercenary series. I enjoyed the first two, so this purchase was a no-brainer.

As the title implies, we have now reached the main 1632 campaign of the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus. In the last book, his victory at Breitenfeld in September 1631 gave Gustavus control over much of northern and central Germany. The 1632 campaign began well, with the trapping and defeat of Tilly at Rain in April. However, Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein established himself at Fürth, threatening to cut his lines of communication to the north. On 3 September, an assault on the Imperial camp outside the town was bloodily repulsed, and the Protestant army withdrew. Wallenstein moved north to Leipzig with the intention of spending the winter there. 

The Swedes learned that Pappenheim's corps of 5,800 men had been sent to Halle, which gave Gustavus a numerical superiority. He decided to attack, and the armies met at Lutzen. In a confused battle, the Swedish forces suffered heavier casualties, but Wallenstein was forced to withdraw. However, the Lion of the North was killed when he was separated from his battle line. 

Our hero is Colonel James Bretherton, who commands a regiment and later a brigade of light horse. A good choice by the author, as this means he is involved in all the main actions, but many more minor skirmishes as well. The book begins with our hero on leave back home in Teeside, embarking on a few adventures that I suspect may serve as a warm-up for his involvement in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in later books. I had the pleasure of meeting the author at the Battleground wargames show in Teeside a couple of years ago, so I assume his hero's home base is no coincidence.

There are plenty of subplots involving dastardly treachery, but I won't spoil the story. All you really need to know is that this is a quick and pacy read from a very good storyteller. Recommended reading. 

In one of the skirmishes, they clash with Imperial Croats. You just knew I would find a Balkan connection!

My Croats of the period in 28mm.

The Siege of Vienna 1529 - The Drawing of the Dark

 This book is a twist on the traditional historical novel, focusing on the Siege of Vienna in 1529. Tim Powers gives a fantasy spin on the story and creates a very readable one. A friend pointed me to his work when I did my usual Balkan anniversary post on social media.

After the Battle of Mohacs in 1526, Suleiman the Lawgiver was consolidating the conquest of Hungary. In September 1529, relatively too late in the campaign season, he arrived at Vienna. The sources are divided on his real intentions, but he arrived with over 100,000 tired men who had trudged through the autumn rain and mud to get there. Roughly 15,000–20,000 Austrian, German, and Spanish soldiers under Count Niklas von Salm defended the city. Despite repeated assaults, the defenders held firm. Poor weather, disease, and supply shortages weakened the Ottoman army, and Suleiman ordered a retreat on 14 October.

In this book, the author's main character is an Irish mercenary who is recruited in Venice to look after a pub attached to a famous brewery. They brew a legendary ale, which is nearly ready to drink. The employer owns the pub, but is also a sorcerer supporting the King of the West, against the King of the East, whose sorcerer is Ibrahim, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. There is a complex fantasy world that I won't spoil if you haven't read the book, but our hero is drawn into both this magical battle and the real one.

The 1529 siege is less well known than the more famous 1683 one, probably because the Ottomans were not as serious about it. The defenders were an interesting mix of troops, including Landsknechts, and there was no relieving army. However, Sulieman's artillery was bogged down in the mud and therefore had to rely on lighter guns and infantry assaults. 

If you're not a fan of fantasy, the book may irritate you. However, I enjoyed it as a clever blend of both genres.

Sieges are challenging to do on the tabletop, but Fire and Stone (Capstone Games), based on the 1683 siege, does an excellent job. The various sorties and skirmishes are very suitable for games of Pikeman's Lament.

Captain of Horse

 This is the second book in Griff Hosker's English mercenary series. The first book covered the opening campaigns of the Thirty Years' War. In this book, our hero, Captain James Bretherton, is recruited by Gustavus Adolphus to lead a unit of light horse during the initial actions of the Swedish phase of the wars. 

The unit is ill-disciplined because it has been abandoned by its original commander. The soldiers are mainly from England, although there were also Scottish, Danish, and Swedish troops. He organises them because they are used as scouts for the army's advance into Germany. 

Gustavus landed in Pomerania in June 1630 with nearly 18,000 Swedish troops, supplemented by mercenaries. However, very few of the German princes rallied to the Protestant cause, and he was heavily outnumbered by Tilly's Imperial forces. French funding enabled him to recruit additional mercenaries and properly equip his army. Gustavus used this army to win a couple of defensive victories and then a significant victory at Breitenfeld in September 1631. 

This battle forms the core of this book, and Bretherton's horse plays a key role. There are plenty of subplots involving espionage, sieges and skirmishes with Imperial troops. I won't spoil the plot, but this is all written in Hosker's fast-paced style, with plenty of action. The unit is fictitious, although not untypical of the army, and otherwise he keeps pretty close to the history. 

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one in the series, which has just been published. I must dust down my armies of the period for some tabletop action.

Imperial Cuirassiers play a big part in the story. They should have red sashes, but I use mine for ECW as well.

What If America had been Ottoman?

 An article in Türkiye Today inspired a bit of what-if wargame fun. In 1484, a few years before Columbus's famous journey to America in 1492, he approached the Ottoman court after being turned down by the Portuguese. He presented his petition to Sultan Bayezid II, asking for ships to sail westward and discover new lands in the sultan's name. Sadly, the sultan was preoccupied with internal and external challenges, not least a challenge from his brother Cem. 

OpenAI depiction of the meeting. I doubt he would have got to eyeball the sultan!

But what if he decided to help Columbus? This could have led to the Ottoman colonisation of North America and possibly Central and South America as well. Think of all the countries that speak Spanish today, instead of communicating in Turkish.

British colonists from Elizabeth onwards might have faced attacks from Ottoman garrisons. Think Border Wars with Jannisaries!

Forget the American War of Independence, because there would be more Turkish settlers, as the Ottomans did in some of their Mediterranean and Balkan conquests. They may also have decided to add Canada to the Ottoman Empire, a new War of 1812. Here we have Canadian militia facing Janissaries and Levend infantry.

European migration would have been difficult to stop, and the Ottomans were generally relaxed about it, as long as the migrants were loyal to the state. The Millet system would have been interesting in North America. However, rebellions would be inevitable as nationalism grew in the 19th century. Here we have Nizam and Redif troops attacking a rebel position.

Of course, the problem with counterfactual history is that it breaks down one or more stages after the event. But for fun, we could delve into WW1, and so on. I am tempted to dust down my South American Wars of Liberation figures for a revolt against the Ottoman Empire in South America.

Horse and Pistol

 This novel by Griff Hosker was my outward-bound reading on my recent trip to Moldova. It is set in the reign of James I & VI, so it fits in well with my recent Tranter novels. It is the first in a new series titled "English Mercenary."

This is a period that is little covered, just at the outbreak of the Thirty Years War, rather than the later, better-known, Swedish phase. Our hero is James Bretherton, the son of a minor landowner, who squanders his Hugenot French wife's fortune, leaving James in need of a new career. He decides to join a mercenary band that is recruiting for the European wars. The king supported the Protestant cause but not to the extent of committing significant forces. 

Bretherton serves initially in the Netherlands under Prince Maurice. The band was sent on the ill-fated Bohemian campaign, being destroyed by Tilly at the Battle of White Mountain in November 1620.  Our hero and a friend manage to escape the battlefield. Frederick V of the Palatinate is James I's son-in-law, but that only brought limited support. His army was forced to abandon the Palatinate as well, fleeing to the Dutch.

Our hero acts as an envoy to the court of James, and there are various sub-plots involving Spanish espionage in London. He finally returns to England, somewhat richer, and no doubt ready for the next book in the series.

Griff Hosker has developed some strong characters for the series, and the book has a very Bernard Cornwell feel to it. Plenty of action on and off the battlefield as well as political intrigue. The fighting style of the pike and shot period is well-researched, and the mostly small-scale skirmishing offers Pikeman's Lament scenarios. I really enjoyed this and will undoubtedly read the next one. 

One of my 28mm foot units of the period.

The Wisest Fool

 The latest in my rereading of Nigel Tranter's novels covers James the Sixth from his accession to the English throne as James the First after the death of Elizabeth. 

Tranter typically narrates the story using someone close to the action. He chose George Heriot, the King's Jeweller and money-lender, in this book. Heriot is an interesting character in his own right. He was the court goldsmith to the Queen, Anne of Denmark, and the king himself. He became very wealthy from this position and more prosperous by lending this money back to the king and the rest of his court. He moved to London along with the court in 1603, at the time of the Union of Crowns, and remained in London until he died in 1624. He is chiefly remembered today as the founder of George Heriot's School, a large public school in Edinburgh. His name has also been given to Heriot-Watt University, several streets and a pub, the Jinglin' Geordie, after his nickname. I walk past (I know, hard to believe!) the pub on my way back to the station from research trips to the National Library. 

James was not the universal choice as Elizabeth's successor, and he must have been a bit of a shock to the English court. There were a couple of early plots to unseat him, including one involving Sir Walter Raleigh. The most famous is Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, which Tranter covers in detail and is probably the best chapter in the book. 

James had less luck with his plan to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law rather than simply a personal union of the crowns. The English Parliament was strongly opposed, which didn't go well with James, who believed in the divine right of kings to rule—something that would get his successor into more serious difficulties. Parliament also kept him short of cash, so he started a range of financial schemes, including the plantation of Protestants in Ulster. Heriot was the man who helped organise at least some of these schemes.

This is not a Bernard Cornwell-style action story. James was firmly against wars, primarily because of the cost. He championed peace in Europe and ended the long Anglo–Spanish War, and a peace treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1604. Despite the lack of military action, this is an interesting tale of court life under a strange but quite effective monarch. The Wisest Fool in Christendom is an appropriate title.

The Golden Throne: The Curse of a King.

I complained to one of our local councillors about the ageing stock in our local library the other week. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find Christopher de Bellaigue's new book about the later reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (Lawgiver) on the shelves and snapped it up as my library pick this month.

Despite having several books on the arguably greatest Ottoman sultan on my book shelves, I might have bought this given the excellent reviews. 

Suleiman ruled from 1520 to 1566, the longest reign of any Ottoman sultan. In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver because he reorganised the Ottoman legal system, codifying secular and religious laws into a comprehensive legal code. He earned the title 'the Magnificent' in Europe mainly due to his military conquests. Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire reached its territorial peak, stretching from Hungary to the Persian Gulf and North Africa to the Caucasus. These included major victories at Belgrade (1521), Rhodes (1522) and Mohács (1526). His navy also dominated the Mediterranean under the leadership of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha.

This is not a conventional narrative history. It is told more as a novel or a play, with the narrative darting about the empire, bringing in the key players in the story. These include his most famous consort, Hurrem (also known as Roxelana) and her rival Mahidevran. His sons, who in the Ottoman tradition would compete for his throne, and the various officials, including Grand Vizier, Lufti Pasha, Barbarossa and Sinan the architect. External influences are not ignored. These include the French King Francis I, who was loosely allied to the Ottomans in competition with Charles V of Spain. Looking eastwards, the Iranians were led by Tahmasp, Shah of Iran.

The author doesn't just stick to the personalities. The governance of the empire is explained, including the tax on boys (devshirme) to recruit into government service and the Janissaries. I knew Jews and Armenians were exempt, but also exempt were tall boys who were not taken because they were known to be stupid and anyone who was conceited or full of himself. That would probably have excluded me on both counts! I am curious why boys who knew Turkish or had been to Istanbul weren't eligible. The book is full of snippets like this, so there is something, even for those who think they have read all there is to know on this subject. I had read Luther's entertaining take on the Ottomans: 'The Turks are to be endured like floods, forest fires, plagues and famine, all sent by God to try his people.'

I hadn't realised that Sinan, the architect of many fine buildings I have visited, including the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne and the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul, started as a military engineer in the Janissaries. His bridge over the Prut in 1538 was his breakthrough. Having recently driven down and studied the campaigns along this river in modern-day Romania, you can appreciate the importance of this achievement when so many others failed.

Overall, I'm afraid I didn't like the style. It jumped around too much, and the narrative didn't flow. I appreciate that it may draw others into the period, and that's a good thing. In the West, Suleiman's contemporaries, like Francis and Henry VIII, are better known, without this fascinating sultan's achievements. 

I was playtesting Simon Miller's new variant of his To the Strongest rules, Lust for Glory, at the club yesterday. So my Janissaries were getting a good workout against Peter the Great's Russians. A threat Suleiman didn't face.

Past Master

 This is the third in Nigel Tranter's Master of Gray Trilogy. Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland.

The story moves on to the later stages of James VI's rule in Scotland before he gained the English throne. Patrick, you may recall, had yet again been banished, but he devises a new way of getting back into James' good books by uncovering a Catholic plot to unseat him. Tranter goes for the line that Patrick inspired the rebellion, only to undermine it. 

The best part of the book is the fighting on the western seaboard and Ireland when the McDonalds went off to support Irish rebels. Tranter always describes this part of Scotland very well.

There was one last apparent internal attempt to kill James in August 1600, when he was apparently assaulted by Alexander Ruthven at Gowrie House, the seat of the Ruthvens. Ruthven was run through by James's page, John Ramsay, and the Earl of Gowrie was killed in the ensuing fracas; there were few surviving witnesses. Given James's history with the Ruthvens and the fact that he owed them a great deal of money, his account of the circumstances was not universally believed.

The book ends with Elizabeth's death when she finally names James as her successor. Sadly for Patrick, James decides he has yet again had enough of him and that there would be suitable rogues in London to replace him. This must have been a blow as succession was Patrick's main policy aim. We know that Patrick became the 6th Lord Gray on his father's death in 1609, three years before he died in 1612.

While this is not the most exciting period of Scottish history, the story is excellent, with plenty of plots and turns to keep the reader engaged.

I picked up some 28mm figures suitable for the period, perhaps a little earlier, at the bring and buy at Hammerhead. They will undoubtedly work for games of Border Wars.

Balkan Wars

 Balkan Wars is a mighty tome by James Tracy, with a matching price tag (£70). It examines the long 16th-century conflicts between the Ottomans, Habsburgs, and Venetians in the Balkans. Even I baulked at the price until it arrived as a Christmas present.

The 15th century was the period when the Ottomans swept across the Balkans, occupying modern Greece, Bulgaria, large parts of Bosnia and Serbia, and capturing Constantinople. The 16th century started with further conquest based on the destruction of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary following the battle of Mohacs in 1526. This not only pushed the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire against the Austrian Habsburgs and the Venetians in Dalmatia, but it also consolidated the Ottoman administration of the Balkans for centuries to come. Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia (modern Romania) were organised as vassal states. Progress was limited for the rest of the 16th century until the boundaries largely stabilised after the Long Turkish War ended in 1606. 

This is the big picture that James Tracy breaks down into a narrative history of the individual conflicts and a study of how the armies were financed and recruited. This is often portrayed as a clash of Christendom against Islam. However, Tracy points out that this is a simplistic conclusion given the era's changing nature of religious belief. Many Habsburg regions became Protestant, and the Ottomans were often drawn back to their eastern borders to fight their own heretics in Persia. Language, trade and cultural ties were more important than shifting religious affinities.

The Ottomans had the best of the century primarily because they could mobilise greater warfighting resources on the front line. Bosnia provided the core of Ottoman manpower, supplemented by armies from across the empire during major wars. The small war was almost constant. Akinci raiders would spread across the border into Croatia, devastating the countryside, followed by the armies that could engage in battles and capture fortresses. The Sultan could direct the resources necessary to deliver his strategy.

The Habsburgs had less centralised control, relying on the nobility to play its part, which it did not consistently deliver. Subsidies from the Holy Roman Empire were increasingly crucial in paying for the troops that garrisoned the forts along the shifting border. Only when the border stabilised did the Military Border and the Grenzer become the institution that it became in the following centuries. It was government by consultation, which was inevitably slow to respond to events.

 The Venetians wanted Dalmatian ports as stopping points for their ships in peaceful trade and war. They were always conflicted between the need to develop positive trade relations with the Ottomans and the pressure on their territory. The land around the ports was often abandoned, making it difficult to sustain them without support from Venice. They often facilitated the uskok raiders until they became more of a nuisance than a benefit by the end of the century.

The author breaks down the story into bite-sized chunks, making this long book readable. It reminds me of John Fine's magnificent two-volume history of the medieval Balkans in style. It is thoroughly researched and is the most comprehensive study of the period. Other books cover individual combatants, but this book pulls it all together. It is as well it is robustly bound because it will be regularly coming off my shelves.

Croats in Habsburg service

And the Ottoman Sipahi on the other side of the border.

The Courtesan - Master of Gray trilogy

 It is not an obvious book title for a military historian, but this is the second in Nigel Tranter's Master of Gray trilogy. A brief reminder that Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland. The courtesan is his illegitimate offspring, Mary, a fictional character who, in this book, takes over from Patrick's brother David in telling the story.

At the conclusion of the last book, Patrick is banished from Scotland. However, he makes a comeback with intelligence about the Spanish Armada. Needless to say, the arch-plotter plays both outcomes, although we should remember that few thought England would survive the Spanish invasion. 

He then engages in various plots, playing off the Catholic and Protestant factions. James marries Anne of Denmark and then indulges in an obsession with witchcraft in Scotland. This is historically correct, as James VI was personally involved in the witch trials in the 1590s, which were a result of his belief that he was the victim of witchcraft. He published a book about witch-hunting called Daemonologie. Around 2,500 people were executed during the witch trials. The execution rate in Scotland was five times the average European rate per capita.

Patrick's plots eventually become too much for his daughter Mary after he goes against the Duke of Lennox. She eventually becomes Lennox's lover, hence the title. She exposes his treasonous correspondence with Queen Elizabeth, and he is forced to flee. But as ever, he will return.

If you are looking for Bernard Cornwell-style action, this book is not for you. This was a rare period of peace between the two countries, as James was Elizabeth's apparent heir, even if she did not acknowledge him. There were internal revolts, so skirmishes were the order of the day. Border Wars is ideal. However, it is a fast-paced story with plenty of twists, even if largely fictional.

Lord and Master - Master of Gray Trilogy

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter re-reading project is set during James VI's reign, although we have now moved into his adult reign. The story is told through the life of Patrick, Master of Gray, and this is the first of a trilogy. He obviously intrigued Tranter.

The book is narrated by Patrick's half-brother, David, who is portrayed as a very different character. I am unsure if Tranter made him up, as I can't find a reference to him, but he may have been missed as an illegitimate offspring. 

Patrick, Master of Gray (1559–1612), was a Scottish nobleman and politician who played a notable, though often controversial, role during the reign of James VI of Scotland. Known for his political cunning and shifting allegiances, Gray was deeply involved in the intrigues and power struggles that defined late 16th-century Scotland. He was born into the influential Gray family and became Master of Gray, a title that referred to the heir to the chief of the Gray family. 

Gray emerged after Mary’s forced abdication and subsequent imprisonment by Queen Elizabeth. Initially a supporter of Mary, his loyalties shifted as he sought to secure his position and favour with her son, James VI. He became an important courtier and diplomat during James VI's reign. 

Tranter adapts the history somewhat (this is fiction). For example, he went to Glasgow, not St Andrews University, which is important in later volumes. He was entrusted with missions abroad, including to England, and Tranter captures his duplicity well. His trips to France are interesting, as this is the French War of Religion period. Most infamously, he is believed to have betrayed Mary, Queen of Scots, during her imprisonment in England, which Tranter takes as fact. Gray, ostensibly sent to plead for Mary’s life in 1586, reportedly advised Elizabeth I to execute her, aligning his interests with those of James VI and Elizabeth. According to Tranter, this was his undoing when Patrick was declared a traitor and sentenced to death, only to be rescued by his half-brother's intervention. He was undoubtedly jailed and later banished from Scotland, but the Tranter version is a better read. Some of the Master of Gray's papers were published in 1835 and can be read here, but they are not easy to read.

Patrick was a politician and not a soldier, so this is not an action read. However, he offered to join Philip Sidney at Vlissingen (Flushing) in April 1586, fighting against the Spanish with 2,000 or more Scottish recruits. Something Tranter chooses to ignore. He does get into a few fights, although how anyone fought in that Tudor dress is beyond me! 

This volume ends with his banishment, but he will return.

A Rage of Regents

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project covers the period after the Battle of Langside in 1568 when Mary Queen of Scots fled to England, and Scotland was ruled by regents for the young James the Sixth.

In classic Tranter fashion, the story is told through the eyes of a Lanarkshire laird's son, John Carmichael. On the wrong side at the Battle of Langside, his father decides to marry him off to the sister of the Earl of Morton, one of the regency council led by Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray.

He gets dragged into various special missions for Morton and develops a close relationship with the young Earl of Angus, head of the Red Douglases. When Moray is assassinated, Morton eventually grabs the regency, and John ends up on further missions, including a trip to Queen Elizabeth's court in London. He was also appointed Warden of the Middle March, as most of the hereditary holders of those positions fled the country after Langside. 

Morton was arguably the most effective of James's regents, but he made enemies. He fell from favour when Frenchman Esmé Stewart, first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley, arrived in Scotland and quickly became a favourite of James.  James I was proclaimed an adult ruler in a ceremony of Entry to Edinburgh on 19 October 1579. Morton was executed on 2 June 1581, belatedly charged with complicity in Darnley's murder.

In military terms, this was a relatively quiet period. There was some skirmishing over the border but no major battles. There were a few revolts, but they never amounted to much in terms of battles.

This is Border Wars territory for wargamers, with plenty of potential scenarios for small-scale clashes, for which the rules work so well. There are even models for the Queen's emissaries that fit in well with the missions John was sent on.

The Queen's Grace

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter project also covers the rule of Mary Queen of Scots. However, this is one of Tranter's earlier novels (1953) that covers a specific part of the period: the conflict with the Gordons in northeast Scotland.

The story is told through the eyes of a minor Gordon laird, Patrick MacRuary Gordon, Laird of Balruary in Glen Livet. Glen Livet is a scenic spot to this day, although it is probably better known for Glenlivet whisky. The Gordons are a predominately Catholic clan led by the Earl of Huntly (Cock o' the North). Still, Patrick's father was a noted protestant, making him a suitable go-between with the Queen and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation led by her half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Mar. Called 'The Bastard' by just about everyone.

Glen Livet

The Protestant Lords were spoiling for a fight with the Gordons, who were generally willing to oblige. James Stewart was also anxious to secure his Earldom of Moray, which abuts the Gordon territories. The Gordons were a strange mix of Highland and Lowland, creating division compounded by differences in strategy between the two sons. Mary was also in a difficult position as a Catholic Queen who would generally have looked to the Gordons for support.

Moray brings a large lowland army north on a royal progress to Aberdeen and Inverness. Patrick gains the Queen's confidence and gets involved in all the main events. This all ends badly at the Battle of Corrichie, fought on the slopes of the Hill of Fare in Aberdeenshire on 28 October 1562. Clan Chattan abandoned Huntly, and the new-fangled pike and shot tactics defeated the Gordon charge. Huntly died of a heart attack on the battlefield, and his son John was captured and executed. The older son was not at the battle and was spared by Mary's intervention, and she later restored his titles. The Gordon story lived on, and they will play an important part in future events.

Gordon Horse, of a slightly later period

Warden of the Queen's March

 This is the latest in my Nigel Tranter reread project. It covers the period when Mary Queen of Scots was the Queen Regnant, Scotland's first and only female ruler. The story is told through the eyes of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst, a loyal supporter of the Queen and Border laird in the Middle March.

Mary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542, although in practice only from her return to Scotland in 1561 until her forced abdication in 1567.

Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 after her first husband, King Francis II of France, died. This marked a turbulent period in her rule, as she sought to maintain Catholic traditions in a Protestant-majority kingdom. In 1565, she married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The marriage deteriorated due to Darnley's behaviour and political ambitions. Darnley was murdered in 1567, a crime that implicated Mary's third husband, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, whom she married shortly afterwards. This led to widespread scandal and rebellion. Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son, James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). After escaping and losing the Battle of Langside in 1568, she fled to England, seeking protection from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, but was instead imprisoned. This is where the book ends, but Mary's story then became part of the history of England and didn't end well!

Thomas Kerr was a historical figure, even though Tranter had made him a little closer to the Queen and events than he may have been. With notable historical hindsight, he advised against many of her worst mistakes, not least her choice of husbands! While there was relative peace with England (Mary was in the line of succession to the English throne), there were several rebellions. The Protestant Lords effectively ruled Scotland, and when Mary deviated too far from their position, they had the military power to depose her. Her final poor decision was fleeing to England when, despite the defeat at Langside, her cause was far from lost. The Marian Civil War continued anyway, but that is another story in which Thomas Kerr played a significant role.

Langside is a suburb of Glasgow today, and there is a large monument to the battle.

There is also a rare Balkan link in this book. Tranter has Thomas Kerr travelling to Dubrovnik, seeking medical aid from the Knights of St Lazarus for the Queen, who may have thought she had leprosy. She didn't, although she probably did suffer from a range of illnesses, including  Gastric ulceration, Porphyria, and Anorexia nervosa.

Langside is a complex but interesting battle, which I should have a go at on the tabletop.

 

Colkitto!

 This is a somewhat obscure tome written by Kevin Byrne, which I picked up in a secondhand bookshop. It celebrates Clan Donald of Colonsay, 1570-1647. It is less obscure when I explain that the most famous clan member during this period was Alasdair MacCholla, the commander of Montrose's Irish Brigade, the best units in his army during the high point of his campaign during the Civil Wars.

 Colonsay is a small island (8 miles by 3 miles) west of Islay and Jura. I have never been, although there is a daily ferry (two and half hours) from Oban in the summer and a weekly flight in a light aircraft.

This book focuses on the period before that campaign and gives a fascinating insight into island clan warfare. Despite its remote position, the island was fought over many times, often as part of a broader struggle between Clan MacDonald, the former Lords of the Isles, and the growing influence of the Campbells. As the leader of Clan Campbell, the Duke of Argyll used his influence in government to promote the conflict as a national one, subduing rebels.

The battles usually involved reasonably small numbers of clansmen, although Spanish and English mercenaries appeared in some of the early clashes. The last full-scale clan battle was fought on 5 August 1598 at Traigh Ghruineart (Loch Gruinart Strand) on nearby Islay. However, most actions were relatively small and over more minor matters than national security. On 11 January 1616, one Duncan MacDougall had designs on the Prior of Oransay's daughter (priests often had families in this period). When rebuffed, he decided to gather his pals and sail over to ravish her. His plans came to nought when they discovered her remote village was also home to several hundred heavily armed rebels!

Many other such actions are described in detail before we get to the Civil Wars period. This includes the campaigns in Ireland, which preceded the better-known mainland campaign. Colonsay was laid waste during these campaigns, increasing the animosity between Alasdair MacCholla and the Campbells. This resulted in Montrose losing his best units at vital times. The feud with the Campbells was always more important than the Royalist cause.

After the disaster at Philiphaugh in 1646, Alasdair continued the fight in the islands. His father was treacherously captured and executed, although Argyll was to join him not long after during the Restoration. Alastair was murdered during the fighting in Ireland.

Outwith the Tourist Information Office on Colonsay, I doubt this book has a great circulation. However, it filled some gaps in my knowledge of the period and helped my Civil Wars project. Pikeman's Lament looks like the best set of rules for the small battles described in this book.

My 15mm Highland Clansmen of the period.

The Marchman

 The latest in my Nigel Tranter reread tells the story of Sir John Maxwell, Warden of the West March, during the middle of the 16th century. Tranter was based in eastern Scotland and wrote less about the West, so this is an unusual subject for him.

The West, Middle, and East Marches were on each side of the Anglo-Scottish border. The Maxwells were usually the Wardens of the West March, based in Caerlaverock Castle. The wardens of the Marches on either side of the border were entrusted with the difficult task of keeping the peace and punishing wrongdoers. 

Caerlaverock has a very distinctive design.

John Maxwell was the second son, so he would not usually have become the Warden. However, he married well into the Herries family (Deputy Wardens), and his older brother was less militarily inclined and died early, leaving only a child. This was a period of considerable conflict and weak rule in Scotland.

The period covered is similar to Tranter's book Rough Wooing, but it examines events from the West. You can read the history in my review of that book. Still, Maxwell was at most of the battles, including the victory at Ancrum Moor and the defeat at Pinkie. He was typically at the head of his border mosstroopers, some of the most effective cavalry in the Scots army of the period.

Maxwell was a strong supporter of the Crown against several noble factions that controlled the country without a monarch. It was also a time of religious fervour, with the reformation in full swing. Although inclined to support religious reform, he still supported Mary Queen of Scots when she returned to Scotland. The book ends before the later period of Mary's reign and abdication. So, it doesn't cover the Battle of Langside, in which Maxwell commanded Mary's cavalry and protected her afterwards.

National events punctuate the book, which is mainly focused on the duties of a March Warden. If you are interested in the Border Reivers, then this is a good read. I have been playing some of the more significant battles recently in 15mm, using DBA Renaissance, and for the typical border skirmishing, you can't beat Border Wars.