Boots On The Ground: What Maps can never tell you

For me, there is something uniquely fascinating about standing on the ground where history happened. As tabletop wargamers, many of us spend years reading campaign histories, studying maps, painting armies and recreating battles on the tabletop, but how often do we stop and think about what those battlefields actually looked and felt like in real life?

In this latest video, I revisit the Bosworth Battlefield while on a short trip to Leicester with my wife, and the experience led me to an interesting realisation about battlefield visits, historical interpretation and understanding terrain. I first walked Bosworth several years ago during a freezing February trip, and returning in springtime completely changed how I saw the landscape. Features I thought I could identify before (low-lying marshy areas and subtle rises in the terrain) had seemingly vanished beneath tall crops and dense vegetation. The battlefield itself had not changed, but my ability to read the land certainly had.

That discovery sparked a wider discussion about why historical wargamers visit battlefield sites in the first place. Are we trying to understand the topography and tactical challenges faced by commanders? Are we searching for atmosphere and emotional connection? Or are we simply trying to immerse ourselves more deeply in the history that inspires our games and collections? This week's video explores the long tradition of battlefield tourism, dating back to Frederick the Great encouraging officers to walk historic battlefields as part of their military education. Even today, standing on the real ground can offer insights that no book, map or scenario supplement can fully provide. Distances feel different, hills look steeper, lines of sight become clearer, and terrain features that seem insignificant on paper suddenly make perfect tactical sense.

At the same time, battlefield visits come with problems and limitations. Landscapes evolve over centuries due to farming, urbanisation, river changes and climate. Archaeological discoveries can shift accepted interpretations of where battles actually took place. Emotional attachment to a location can also cloud objective analysis, making it harder to critically evaluate popular narratives or accepted history. From a wargaming perspective, though, these visits remain incredibly valuable. Seeing real buildings, roads, fields and terrain layouts can inspire more authentic tabletop battlefields and scenarios. The video also touches on how modern games and terrain makers increasingly recreate historical locations based on surviving structures and photographs, helping bring battlefields to life on the tabletop.

Ultimately, this is a friendly hobby discussion about history, battlefield walks, terrain interpretation, and how we, as wargamers, connect with the past. If you enjoy historical tabletop gaming, miniature painting, military history or simply thoughtful discussions about the hobby, I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation. And as always, I’d love to hear about your own battlefield visits and favourite historical sites in the comments.

Bosworth Photo-book: A Quick Look

A quick look at a relatively inexpensive way to keep a record of your games or your collections. 

 

Wars of the Roses Camps and Medieval Building

Another entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and once again I am revisiting an old project to complete a few bits and bobs. This week I went all Medieval revisiting my Wars of the Roses project from last year. This Merchants House is a relatively new acquisition and was sent to me by 6MilPhil and was part of his recent Medieval Village Kickstarter. He sent me a whole set for review last year and I have painted most of the buildings now, apart from this one. So I decided it was time to pull my finger out and get it done. 

I have also been trying to clear up a few more little bits from my Wars of the Roses project and these items have been sitting around neglected for far too long. The Tents are from Leven Miniatures and as I have come to expect from this company are reasonably priced and the resin is nice to work with. I had painted a much more colourful set last year but I really didn’t like them so I bought two more sets and went instead with this much simpler colour scheme of off-white canvas with coloured trim.

Mapping the Battle: Successful Wargames Cartography

Fitting a historical battle onto a standard 6x4 games table may mean squeezing or morphing reality to make the terrain fit. But how far can you change things before it stops being historical and becomes a work of fantasy?

Bosworth Armies in 6mm

My 6mm Lancastrian and Yorkist Armies for the Battle of Bosworth, 22nd August 1485. Richard III's army is slightly larger but Henry Tudor has more experienced continental troops in his army.

 

Lord Grey and Sir William Catesby - Yorkist infantry at Bosworth 1485

When the Analogue Hobbies Challenge came to an end in mid-March I knew my painting mojo would drop off a cliff. I had a load of little administrative-type projects that had backed up and I had a few books that 'needed' to be read after the frantic effort of painting for three months. However, I also knew I was close to completing my Order of Battle for Bosworth - even though I added a few more units at the last minute. So I have been trying to get some painting done, despite all the distractions that inevitably compete for time. All of which is the long-winded way of saying, I have completed some new Yorkist companies for my Bosworth project! 

First, we have the Retinue/Billmen and Archers of Sir William Catesby of Ashby St Legers. Catesby was a councilor to Richard III and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was captured at the Battle of Bosworth and subsequently executed at Leicester three days later. This wasn't only about punishing Richard's supporters because Henry Tudor, now Henry VII, also confiscated Catesby's estates, including Ashby St Ledgers (although this was later restored to Sir William's eldest son George). Interestingly a descendent of the family, Robert Catesby, was central to the Gunpowder Plot some 120 years later.

Next, we have Sir Henry Grey, 7th Lord Grey of Codnor with his Retinue/Billmen and Archers. Sir Henry was initially a Lancastrian but switched allegiance to Edward IV. He maintained his loyalty under Richard III and even managed to retain royal favor with the new king Henry VII. Sir Henry is best known as Lord Deputy of Ireland, a role in which he was a notable failure. The most interesting fact I have found with regard to Grey is that he was keenly interested in alchemy, and obtained a licence from the King for the transmutation of metals, on the condition that he must inform the Crown if he succeeded in producing gold. Needless to say, he failed in that endeavor too. 

I have also been working on some little side projects, namely buildings for this period. I have decided to represent towns, villages, and churches in 2mm so they are in keeping with the ground scale I have in mind. (A typical infantry base has 12 figures on it representing about 150 men, so a double base company is about 300 infantry.)  If I used 6mm scale buildings a village would be just one or two houses and I wanted a village to look like a village with multiple buildings, hence my decision to use 2mm models. I have used some medieval buildings from Brigade Models but I also bought a different range from Irregular. Crucially I wanted a windmill to represent Dadlington Windmill which played a part in the retreat and rout of the Yorkist forces following their defeat. 

I'm waiting for my final order from Baccuss 6mm (the fourth time I have sent a 'final' order 😆) which will hopefully mean I have all the figures I need to complete Northumberland's command. Historically they didn't engage with the enemy at Bosworth, but I still need these troops painted...just in case history gets changed on the tabletop. 

Bosworth Battlefield Tour

Just a brief follow on from Sunday's video where I discussed my recent trip to explore the Bosworth Battlefield site. I mentioned that I had a car tour planned out because I would never be able to walk the whole site. If you are interested in replicating my little tour of the site I have attached a copy of my route and itinerary. 

For clarity of why I took this route, it's worth reading this tour with my plan of the layout of the battle based on current evidence. 

It should go without saying to be respectful of the countryside and those that live and work in it. I found spaces to pull over so I didn't block access roads and footpaths, but there are some locations (such as Fen Lane itself) where there is no safe place to stop. If you are able to pull over and leave your vehicle please keep to the footpaths. The best advice remains "leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photographs". 

Hope that's helpful. 😃

Lay of the Land

I recently visited the site of the Battle of Bosworth and explored the nearby Heritage Centre and some of the surrounding villages. Walking the landscape, combined with modern OS maps gave a very clear impression of why the battle took place where modern archeological evidence suggests it took place.

The French at Bosworth: Philibert de Chandee & Bernard Stuart

This isn’t the end. It may well be my last entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, but my quest to paint both sides for the Battle of Bosworth is by no means over. Indeed, after a weekend away visiting the Battlefield (and buying more books) I have added to my OOB and I have even more to paint!! But first, this week's entry is the ‘French’ contingent in Henry's army under the command of Philibert de Chandee.

De Chandee of Brittany was in command of the French mercenaries in Richard's army and played a significant part in the battle. These were experienced soldiers, fighting in a continental style that had not yet been incorporated into the English army of Richard III. Chandee was Knighted by Henry on landing in Milford Haven. It was these experienced troops, many of whom were Pikemen, who turned the fight. In some sources the long pikes of these troops stopped Norfolks Vanguard from moving forward, enabling Oxford to outflank the king's line. Alternatively, it was the bodyguard tactics of the pikes that saved Henry from Richard's final cavalry charge. Whatever the truth, it must have been significant because de Chandee was made Earl of Bath by Henry after the Battle. I have modeled these units with Crossbowmen rather than bowmen and as such, these are skirmish units of fewer men. Chandee himself commands Foot Knights/Men at Arms and Pikemen.

Next, we have Sir Bernard Stuart. As his name suggests he was a scot and in his role as Lord of Aubingy he was an ambassador between Tudor's allies in Scotland and the French court. He commanded Scottish troops who had been based in France and in my OOB he fights in De Chandee’s Battle. He fought many more battles for the King of France and King James IV made him a member of the Order of St Michael. He died in 1508 in his homeland of Scotland, aged fifty-six.

Up to this point, I was within sight of completing both armies. However, I was very aware that the army I had for Richard was not big enough and so I would have to add some extra units to give them the numerical advantage they had over Henry. I have just had a very interesting weekend away visiting the Battlefield of Bosworth, including the excellent visitor center on Ambion Hill. I also visited the Richard III center in Leicester and between them learned a lot of new stuff and came home with an armful of new books. One of these, Nobles and Knights Profiles by Bob Pritchard has been very useful and I have already amended my OOB to beef up the King's army. I have several more weeks of painting ahead of me, long after the Challenge has ended, but safe in the knowledge that the majority of the work has now been completed.

My Revised Order of Battle for Bosworth. The units indicated in yellow are yet to be painted but as you can see, the majority of the project is completed. 

Incidentally, I hit my Points Target easily last week. It's not my highest result for a Challenge, but I knew I had a busy few months at the start of the year and if I had set a higher target I surely would have failed. As it is I consider 700pts plus to be a very respectable total, and I've got the majority of my Bosworth project completed into the bargain.

I will get everything out in the next few days and take a big group photo of what I have completed. Then with the Challenge wrapped up the next challenge for me is to keep the momentum going and get those last units completed. I want to have a game on the table by August for the anniversary of the battle and I need to start playtesting the rules and I have some terrain to build. 

Norfolk's Battle at Bosworth

The first half of this week's entry missed the posting deadline last week by just a few hours. I hadn’t quite sorted the flags out and didn’t want to rush the job, so I reluctantly decided to delay posting by a week. On the plus side, it means you get a double helping of 6mm War of the Roses this week!

With Richard II’s independent command of mounted knights completed it's now time to move on to the main fighting contingent of his army. Sir John Howard, the Duke of Norfolk commanded the Vanguard and was in the thick of the fighting right up until he was killed. The loss of the commander would probably have been fatal in armies with better command and control, but in the press of men, how many would realise their leader had fallen? As with other commanders I have based the Duke of Norfolk on his own base with a Standard Bearer. He also brings some foot knights/Men at Arms and Archers to the fight clad in his livery.

Accompanying the Duke in this week's submission is his son, Sir Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey. He commands a company of Retinue/Billmen and a company of Archers. Thomas was wounded at Bosworth and imprisoned in the Tower of London for three years. However, he was released in 1489, and his title of Earl of Surrey was restored. He appears to have been loyal to Henry VII and in 1487 was sent north to put down a rebellion in Yorkshire. He remained Henry's lieutenant until 1489 when he accompanied the king to France. In 1501 he was made Lord High Treasurer, effectively entering Henry’s inner circle. He remained loyal to Henry’s son, Henry VIII, and enjoyed significant military success in the king's service in Scotland well into what would be considered extreme old age by the standards of the day.

After falling a little behind last week, this week I have caught up and got quite a bit done. So today I have the infantry of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Lord Zouch, plus three artillery bases and two hand gunner companies. First, we have Sir George Talbot, the Eldest son of John Talbot, 3rd of Shrewsbury. He was Knight of the Bath to Richard III and fight with him at Bosworth, where he was captured. However, he must have been able to retain favor and switched sides as he fought with Henry VII at the Battle of Stoke Field two years later.

Sir John de la Zouch, Lord Zouch was a Yorkist nobleman and politician loyal to Richard III, under whose command he fought at the Battle of Bosworth. He had grown in political power under Richard, mainly because his family's influence in Northamptonshire was of value to the King. Defeat at Bosworth resulted in him suffering attainder and forfeiture of his property, but he was eventually restored to royal favor in the Tudor court, due partly to a marriage connection to the new King's mother.

There are three Artillery pieces. These were typically companies - mercenaries in effect - who were paid to ply their expertise for one side or another.

Lastly, I have two small skirmish companies of Handgunners. Again these are dangerous weapons, relatively new to the battlefield and, at close range, quite deadly. Sharp-eyed viewers will notice there are fewer figures on these bases than the hand gunners I did for the Lancastrians. There’s no cunning research behind this, I just didn’t have enough figures to put 8 on a base as before! That being said, the Test of Resolve rules are figure agnostic, so a bit of variation is fine so long as the bases remain the same size.

I've got a lot completed now and the end is definitely in sight. Now I will start looking at Sir Robert Brackenbury's command. 

Wargame for Free

How can we wargame for free in a time of austerity and the rising cost of living? Today's video discusses a few simple steps to continue the hobby we love when money is tight and the hobby budget is being squeezed.

Poynings, Guildford, Talbot & Savage

Thanks to a very understanding wife, I have got a lot painted in the Challenge thus far. But I couldn’t avoid work forever and now that I'm back I expect painting time will be curtailed. That being said, I'm happy with what I have got done so far. This week I present the troops of Poynings, Guildford, Talbot & Savage.

First, we have the troops of Sir Edward Poynings of Southwark. In my army list, he has a unit of pikemen and a unit of archers. It's likely that many of the pikemen that accompanied Henry’s army to England were French and other mercenaries (that depends on the source material and the scholar interpreting them of course). For the purposes of my OOB, I have assigned the to Poynings and they were his red livery. Sir Edward had been amongst those nobles who rebelled against Richard III in 1483 and after their defeat, he had fled to join Henry in exile.

Next, we have Sir Richard Guildford of Halden. As with Poynings, I have assigned him a unit of pike and a unit of archers. I made an educated guess as to the livery for his troops, partly based on his personal banner but also on the fact I wanted to do halved livery (yellow and black). I wasn’t sure how well it would come out but I’m pretty happy with the effect.

The last two units are small skirmish cavalry units under Sir Gilbert Talbot and Sir John Savage. Some of the accounts I have read suggest these were placed on the flanks of Oxford's army when it attacked Norfolk's troops. Various rules treat such light cavalry differently so it's hard to judge how effective they would be but as with all the other variables for this battle, it's something I can experiment with. Any suggestions for research material on how light cavalry was used in this period would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, I thought I would snap a picture of everything I have completed thus far. This is a little under a quarter of the total project…so I have my work cut out for me! 

Incidentally, thank you to everyone who has left nice comments on my submissions thus far. It is greatly appreciated and keeps me motivated. However, I must correct a misconception…the painting really isn’t that great. Seriously, 6mm is a doddle to paint simply because you don’t have to be that careful or detailed with the painting. My method is to block paint all the main areas and then ink the whole model to add shadows and define one bit of kit from another (the micro equivalent of blacklining a figure). Close up they look terrible…but they look perfectly fine in the 3ft test. I have been putting extra effort into the basing and the flags and these two latter stages - far more than the painting - are what make these look ok at arm's length.

A Trio of Earls: Richmond, Pembroke & Oxford

My second entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is a trio of rebel Earls and their accompanying troops for my Lancastrian army at Bosworth. 

First and foremost, we have Henry Tudor, The Earl of Richmond. Henry had been exiled to France for several years, but now, with the support of the French King, he was making his play for the crown. This was a risky move that would likely see him either crowned King or dead (one way or another). Richard has been modeled with a slightly larger command stand of three mounted figures and bears Henry’s Standard in green and white with a prominent red dragon. He is supported on the battlefield by a company of Mounted Household Knights. This company carries his banner as Earl of Richmond which is also mirrored on the caparison (the cloth covering) on Henry’s mount.

Next, we have Henry’s Uncle, Jasper Tudor, at one time the Earl of Pembroke. He continued to use this title in exile until it was restored to him by his Nephew Henry upon his ascension to the throne. He is represented here as part of another company of Mounted Household Knights. The banner I have used is very similar to that of the Earl of Richmond.

Finally, I have Sir John de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. He commanded the main portion of the Army and the inexperienced Henry was wise enough to leave command in the hands of the much more experienced soldier. Oxford, as a Battle Commander, has a command base that is slightly smaller than Henry’s. He is accompanied by a company of Foot Household/Men-at-arms, a Company of Retinue/Billmen, and a Company of Archers.

As before I have made all the standards and banners myself using artwork scanned from various sources, mostly the excellent Heraldic Banners guides by the Lance and Longbow Society. I hadn’t quite anticipated how much extra work is required to make flags this small. Painting the white edges and ensuring they are varnished properly before adding to the bases seems to be taking ages, but hopefully, I’ll be able to pick up the pace a little with practice. Despite the extra work, I’m more convinced than ever that it's worth it for the final touch on a base of figures.

Next on my desk will be more contingents from Oxford’s command which I want to complete before moving on to the Stanleys and their armies. Having completed the first few companies I am more convinced than ever that I’m not going to complete the whole project by Challenge end. Thus far, the painting portion of making these bases is only half the job, in terms of time commitment. I don’t want to skimp on this element and I would rather take my time and do the best job I can on these than rush just to get stuff completed. I still estimate that I will have about two-thirds or more of the project completed by the end of the challenge and hopefully the momentum I have built up by that stage will see the project ‘completed’ by summer... I hope! Otherwise, this may have to be a double-challenge project!!

The Wars of the Roses: Bosworth Project begins

The 13th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge started last week and I have started my 6mm Wars of the Roses / Bosworth project. Due to some shenanigans with a delayed parcel delivery I wasn't able to start with Henry Tudor as planned. Instead, I picked a couple of his supporters and their troops. 

Sir Rhys ap Thomas and Sir John Wells 

I have been thinking about this project pretty much since the end of the last Challenge in March, and hopefully, the planning and considerable preparation will pay off over the next three months. There is a huge amount to do and in all honesty, I don’t think I will get everything finished by Challenge end. These first few units have taken a lot longer to complete than I thought. However, If I can get at least half the project finished, I will be happy (and hit my personal points target).

I’m planning on using the Test of Resolve rules for this period so each ‘company’ consists of two bases presented in-line for deep units like billmen, or abrest for wide units like archers. So here we have a unit of Retinue Billmen and a unit of Archers for each nobleman. I have compiled a detailed order of battle for the Lancastrians and Yorkists at Bosworth and when I have finished I will have 38 Noblemen represented on the table with over 125 individual bases of troops…each with their own flag! I decided early on that I was going to use fewer figures on each base to allow for better base dressing with turf and grass etc but to compensate I would have a flag on every base. I may come to regret this decision because that's a lot of extra work…but I think the end result will look awesome and I can’t wait to see it all completed and arrayed on the tabletop.

So today I present the troops of Sir Rhys ap Thomas and Sir John Wells who fought on the Lancastrian side at Bosworth. The former was a Welsh lord who committed his troops to Henry’s cause, but only after the latter had marched nearly all the way through Wales. Maybe he was sizing up the young Tudor and trying to make up his mind? It's claimed that Rhys ap Thomas dealt the fatal blow that killed Richard III but didn't want to take credit for it because he didn't want to be known as a regicide. This claim is hotly debated and given the paucity of reliable evidence I take it with a pinch of salt. Chalk it down as a possibility rather than a probability. 

That's enough of me waffling on, I need to get back to my paint desk. I have 117 more bases of troops and flags to be getting on with!