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 Battle of Quatre Bras 1815

 Last weekend, I was playing a multiplayer game of the Battle of Quatre Bras at the Veterans Hub in Glasgow. We essentially followed the scenario outlined in the Black Powder: Albion Triumphant supplement. The game was played on a 12' x 8' table, which enabled more approach moves, though it posed a few challenges in reaching the units around the centre of the table where the key actions were fought. The terrain base was a printout from a map drawn using Inkarnate.

The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815. It was an early clash in the Hundred Days Campaign in which Wellington’s Anglo-Allied forces held a crucial crossroads against repeated attacks by Marshal Ney’s French army. Though the Allies were initially outnumbered and pushed back, steady reinforcements allowed them to stabilise the line and prevent the French from seizing the position. The battle ended without a decisive tactical victory. Still, Wellington’s successful defence kept his army intact and able to retreat in coordination with the Prussians, making Quatre Bras a key prelude to the Battle of Waterloo two days later.

This was the initial setup, with Bylant's Dutch-Belgian Brigade holding the crossroads, including a small Dutch militia battalion at the Germioncourt farm in the foreground.

This peaceful scene was soon ended when Ney arrived with Bachelu, Foy, and Pire's Divisions. Picton's Division starts to come on the Allied base line.

I was playing Jerome Bonaparte, and my division arrived on the next turn (bottom right). We agreed, most unhistorically, that I would force my way through the woods and advance on the Allied right flank. Given the Allied reinforcements, a flank attack wasn't going to succeed, but it should drag Allied units from reinforcing the crossroads. The problem was that there was no cavalry, and you couldn't take the guns through the woods. 

The Dutch militia didn't run away from Germioncourt farm and held on for most of the game. They also held up two batteries of guns that were sorely needed elsewhere.

The French were in dire need of competent military police to clear the many roadblocks, as finding space to deploy the divisions became challenging. Too many troops ended up in the woods fighting an inconclusive skirmish. However, significant forces managed to fight through the first Allied line and engage in a grim battle of attrition over the crossroads and the Allied left flank.

The arrival of the French cavalry stretched the Allied line even further.

Jerome's Division got through the woods and made a bold advance, aggressively taking on the Allied line. Sadly, the dice gods abandoned me at this stage (or instead, they switched allegiance), and the attacks were repulsed. However, they kept Alten's Division busy and a chunk of the Brunswickers.

By the end of Day 2, both sides had reached the crossroads, and on the victory points, it was a narrow Allied victory. The French were running out of steam, so pretty much as the historical battle went. 

We used Black Powder with some house rules, which the Veterans Hub uses. In Glasgow, we don't use the disordered rule (hit on a D6), as it slows the game and, as happened to me several times, French columns end up disorganised without losing a casualty. Otherwise, it worked well, and a good time was had by all. 

Korean War - US forces

I got interested in the Korean War when researching the Turkish units that fought there for my books on the Cyprus conflict. Two new Ospreys focus on US forces, and while I probably won't expand by tabletop forces in this direction (famous last words), the Turks were largely equipped from US stocks.

The first is MAA 561, which examines the US Army and US Marine Corps in Korea.

This is really a book for modellers, as it goes into great detail about the uniforms worn by the army and marines. I am doing this in 10mm, so the differences between the army and the Marines are almost irrelevant. When they arrived in Korea, most were equipped in WW2 uniforms, the standard herringbone twill. Cold-weather attire soon became vital, particularly the iconic caps and pile liners, although, as before, these were mainly WW2 issue. Later, the heavy-lined parka was issued. Insignia and specialist equipment are also covered.

The Turks converted from British equipment. They welcomed the US helmet as an improvement on the Brodie rim that made grenade throwing a risky business. However, they were less impressed by the boots, which took too long to lace up in emergencies.

As you would expect, there are plenty of photos and excellent colour plates. Sadly, no Corporal Klinger or Radar lookalikes!

I haven't yet considered the naval aspects of the Korean war, but Corbin Williamson's US Seventh Fleet, Korea 1950-53, has it all. 

At the end of WW2, the Seventh Fleet in the Pacific had over 200 ships and was still involved in post-war operations, including the war in China. As North Korea didn't have much of a navy, the Seventh Fleet was mainly engaged in shore bombardment and air combat, primarily using its Essex-class carriers. The huge Iowa-class battleships were brought out of reserve to add naval firepower. 70,000 naval personnel (excluding marines) served in the fleet by 1951.

The author covers all the primary ship classes and the aircraft that flew off the carriers. This information is widely published, so I found the chapter on command and control more interesting. The task force organisation is covered in detail, as is liaison with other UN member nations that contributed naval forces, including the Royal Navy. A fleet of this size required extensive shore facilities in Japan and replenishment at sea.

North Korea did have MTBs and other small boats. The combat operations chapter covers their attempts to attack UN ships and the threat posed by shore batteries. The North Koreans also made extensive use of mines, which kept the US minesweepers busy. Other than that, operations were mainly bombardment and amphibious landings.

I can't see much in the way of tabletop operations here, although naval and air bombardment have to be factored into land battles. I also play Blood Red Skies for the Korean air war. It is still an interesting read, well illustrated and plenty of data for the naval buffs.

My Turkish brigade facing North Korean and Chinese troops. Yes it can be hilly in Korea!

Russia and the Golden Horde

 This is Charles Halperin's study of the Mongol impact on medieval Russian History. When I was researching my latest book, which includes the Russian colonisation of the steppe, the background reading suggested that this long relationship with the Mongols and then the Tatars had a greater impact on Russian society than traditional Russian historiography implied. I was therefore happy to spot this 1987 book in a secondhand bookshop.

Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the northeastern Slavic principalities (future Russia) were under the political dominance of the Golden Horde, a western division of the Mongol Empire established by Batu Khan. The Golden Horde did not rule Russia directly; instead, they appointed local princes and collected tribute. Frequent Mongol military campaigns shaped Russian military organisation, fortification patterns, governance, and trade and administration. The Horde fragmented in the 14th–15th centuries, and Dmitry Donskoy’s victory at the Battle of Kulikovo (1380) weakened Mongol authority. Ivan III’s stand at the Ugra River (1480) ended tribute obligation, and is seen as the end of Mongol domination.

The author starts with a narrative of the Mongol conquest and how they managed the principalities that would become Russia. He argues that they didn't instigate direct rule as they did in China and Persia because Russia had little to offer them. Patriotic historians overplayed the role of princes who resisted, while the vast majority collaborated. This is a pattern we see in other parts of Eastern Europe as well. This shouldn't be a surprise, as the Slavic states had been trading, intermarrying and allying themselves with the steppe tribes for centuries before the Mongols arrived. 

Medieval historians, when faced with defeat by non-Christian foes, could choose to accept that the Christian god was not omnipotent, unthinkable for most, or accept that it was God's will, punishing them. Russian historians did neither; they just ignored them. Although the author identifies many examples in Russian histories where they displayed more knowledge than they cared to admit.

They later blamed the Mongols for Russia's backwardness, though there is little evidence to support that claim. Absolutism arose from domestic considerations, drawing more from Byzantium than the Mongols. Plenty of Tatar blood entered the Russian aristocracy through marriage, possibly as high as 20 per cent. Many Russian names have Tatar provenance. 

The author concludes that Russia's ideology of silence means the historical record must be interpreted with great care. Russia in this period did not live in splendid isolation; they were profoundly influenced by its Mongol overlords and near neighbours. This book succeeds in raising that curtain.

Some of my 28mm Mongols

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.

Romanian Campaign 1916-18

This booklet is a reprint by the Naval and Military Press of Major-General Kirke's 1924 article in the Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. They are discounting WW1 books by 25% this weekend. You would rarely get away with writing such a long article in a journal today! Somewhat embarrassingly, when I started to read it, it seemed familiar. No, I wasn't around in 1924, but I do have a 1997 reprint by Pallas Armata. This imprint was a labour of love by Gareth Simon who brought many of these fascinating articles back into circulation.

This booklet is valuable because very little has been written about these campaigns. Michael Barrett wrote a decent book on the 1916 campaign, and even Kirke's article ends before the final battles of the war, including the Romanian defensive victory at Mărăști.

Romania remained neutral until 1916, when it joined the war on the side of the Entente. They launched an offensive into Transylvania which was initially successful until Germany counterattacked under Field Marshal August von Mackensen and General Erich von Falkenhayn, halting the Romanian advance. Mackensen then led a joint German-Bulgarian-Ottoman army from the south in September 1916, invading Dobruja (southeastern Romania). Meanwhile, Falkenhayn’s forces attacked from Transylvania into Wallachia. The Romanian army, poorly equipped and lacking coordination, suffered heavy defeats. Bucharest fell on December 6, 1916.

This is where the article ends, but it includes a detailed description of the tough fighting the Carpathian Mountains, with decent maps. He also gives a balanced analysis of both sides and the challenges they faced. The Romanians had not learned the lessons from the early stages of the war and were short of modern equipment and crucially ammunition. Attacking Transylvania made sense politically, but strategically it stretched the Romanian army too far. The Russians continually advised them to shorten their lines.

In 1917, with Russian help, Romania rebuilt its army and fought heroically in the battles of Mărăști (July & August 1917) and Oituz (August 1917). These victories stopped the Central Powers’ advance and restored morale. The Russian revolution left Romania without Russian support and they were forced to sign an armistice. They rejoined the war in November 1918.

I visited the fine memorial and museum at Mărăști earlier this year.

I have German, Austrian and Russian figures for these campaigns. However, I don't know anyone who does Romanians, with their distinctive cap. You could probably get away with French troops in smaller scales as they also used the Adrian helmet. There are Romanian WW2 figures with a cap, which are not far out. This needs a bit more research.

Russian 28mm figures from my collection.

Targe 25

 Targe is a club open day run by the Kirriemuir club. Around a dozen participation games from clubs around Scotland are squeezed into the club rooms with Dave Thomas as the sole trader. There is also a large bring-and-buy stall that stretches around one end of the room. There were plenty of players, and several members of the public popped in to see what was happening. Hopefully, the club gets some new members. I certainly spoke to a couple of guys who were thinking of returning to the hobby.

I took the latest iteration of GDWS Russo-Ottoman Wars games, specifically The Battle of Kinburn (1787). Games are limited to 6' x 4' tables, so this smaller battle was appropriate, rather than the big battle games we ran at Carronade and Claymore. We are playtesting Simon Miller's Lust for Glory rules, and they have received a good response from players, who like the speed and simplicity. Two young lads played out the battle in the afternoon and picked it up quickly, having only played a couple of games of To The Strongest. In fact, they were quickly reminding me of the rules! The game went pretty historically, with the Ottomans holding off Russian attacks until the cavalry reinforcements arrived.

Running a game meant I didn't have time to play any others, but there were some excellent ones. The advantage of this format is that they were all games that you could play at home. While I love a big show game, it can put off newcomers who think you have to collect hundreds of figures to wargame.

The Storming of the Heights of Dargai, Afghanistan, 1897, was voted the best game. 

Border Wars is an excellent participation game, especially when you have a lovely tower house.

SPIT did a North Africa WW2 game with a variant of Bolt Action

Another Border Wars game. The scenery here gives a challenging fight.

SESWC have some nerve doing a Balkan Wars game😂😂. Using BBB. 

Cunning Caledonians trying to sneak by Roman watchtowers.

A fun game of Halfling Jousting

What a Tanker is a good, quick participation game at a show like this

As always, thanks to Dale and the club for all the work they put in. It is a trek for me, but always worth the effort.