30 Years War

[steve_pickstock]

I was asked a couple of days ago, if I could provide some images illustrating a body of shot firing in salvo for a magazine article.
The idea of salvo (or salvoe - sometimes pronounced 'salvee', which was an English affectation, which still lingers in the language occasionally - part of a cart wheel rim is called a feloe, but it's pronounced fellee), came from the Swedes and the Dutch who realised that firing big blocks of shot in - for example 10 ranks deep - was pointless because some of the guys never actually fired. Even six ranks deep wasn't much better. Far better, they reckoned for everyone to fire at once, and get every round down range at the same time.
Hence salvo firing. The files of men opened up to the left, the second rank fired past the left shoulder of the man in front and the third rank took a half step to the left and fired past the shoulder of the two guys in front. (the only man not to move was the guy at front right - the right-hand marker - he always stayed where he was and everybody moved in relation to him).

I considered using the 28mm figures I did a couple of years ago but they wanted as many figures as they could and the only way I could do that was using my decades old Revell 30YW figures.
Yeah - not good. While on the whole they're not in bad nick for their age, I did intend to do some work on them, and it just got pushed nack.

Anyway here are the pics.
They're not good, the figures need more work than I thought they did, some of the round bases have warped and they move very easy on the flocked paper (hence the guy aiming at the officer), my bench is sagging, and generally things did not turn out how I wanted them.














So I need to work on these figures as I want to use them in the 1625 Musketeers against Cthulhu game, so more on these as and when I have it.

[PaulRPetri]

Very cool Steve!

I still would not want to be that front guy... Just saying!!

[steve_pickstock]

Very cool Steve!

I still would not want to be that front guy... Just saying!!

He probably couldn't anything even at that distance!

[Santi Pérez]

...Anyway here are the pics.
They're not good, the figures need more work than I thought they did, some of the round bases have warped and they move very easy on the flocked paper (hence the guy aiming at the officer), my bench is sagging, and generally things did not turn out how I wanted them...

How often do things work out just as well as we had planned, Steve? Very few, actually, hahaha.

The important thing is that, in my humble opinion, the figures don't look bad at all, maybe you could embellish the bases a bit more and give the figures a matt finish (although the latter is a totally personal opinion). Maybe my positive opinion is due to my lifelong admiration for Revell's Thirty Years War figures.

Santi.

[steve_pickstock]

How often do things work out just as well as we had planned, Steve? Very few, actually, hahaha.

The important thing is that, in my humble opinion, the figures don't look bad at all, maybe you could embellish the bases a bit more and give the figures a matt finish (although the latter is a totally personal opinion). Maybe my positive opinion is due to my lifelong admiration for Revell's Thirty Years War figures.

Santi.

Oh I agree completely - on all counts.
The figures - taken pretty much - with some amendments from Jacob deGheyn's Wapenhandlingen van roers, musquetten ende spiessen (1607) in English it was "The Exercise of Armes", though I'm inclined to say that the sculptor went with the 1619 edition. They're solid, Well sculpted, accurate and the pose count is decent enough. They can be used for the ECW but their clothing is a bit old fashioned.
the first job will be the matt varnish. I'm sure the main reason they've lasted as well as they have is the varnish but that was then, this is now so they all need a coat of matt
The bases need some weight to them, so they'll get some ready-mixed filler, and then greened up as usual.

[C M Dodson]

Interesting stuff and they do look like the contemporary prints of the time.

Firing by files seems to have been the progression over the years so that there was always a reserve of primed muskets in the event of an emergency.

My Civil War research suggests that a ‘free for all’ soon overtook attempts on fire control.

Interesting too, the rapid expenditure of ammunition would allow individuals to slope off in ‘search of more’.

Best wishes,

Chris

[steve_pickstock]

Interesting stuff and they do look like the contemporary prints of the time.

Firing by files seems to have been the progression over the years so that there was always a reserve of primed muskets in the event of an emergency.

My Civil War research suggests that a ‘free for all’ soon overtook attempts on fire control.

Interesting too, the rapid expenditure of ammunition would allow individuals to slope off in ‘search of more’.

Best wishes,

Chris

Salvoes are great for the first firing of the engagement. Everybody is loaded, and you get 'shock and awe'. Even with twenty or so muskets firing it's quite impressive. It's even better it you get a brigade or tercio firing - all the shot units from the brigade together going 'FOOM!' at the same time.

But for engagement purposes I prefer firing by ranks, in what they called 'intraduction' and 'extraduction'. You've got more control over it - the timing etc, the guys get more time to make ready and it's a great tactical tool.

Basically the front rank only fires, and having fired retires to the rear of the shot body to make ready for the next shot - it doesn't blow through your powder as quick as salvoes firing (normally musketeers get issued enough powder for 20 or so shots). You don't have to be metronomic about it - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. You can build pauses into so no one gets rushed and everybody gets time to make ready safely (which is a major consideration).

With Intraduction - you approach the enemy body as you fire, so the front rank, having fired and retired, are replaced by the second rank and they either step up to the same place or move up further towards the enemy. The other ranks move up behind them.

I have actually seen this done with a body in a lane, advancing, firing as they move down the lane, six files wide, by forty ranks deep (as opposed to a more normal formation six ranks deep by forty files wide). That was exceptional but it was a hell of a thing to see.

With extraduction, once the front rank has moved to the rear, no one moves up and the second rank just present upon the enemy and fire, and basically you retreat firing.

If your guys know what they're doing, then you can keep a nice rate of fire that discourages the enemy and looks great for the crowd.