Edinburgh Castle

I had a work meeting close to Edinburgh Castle yesterday and realised I hadn't looked around for years. A grand way to spend your lunchtime, before the summer tourists arrive in massive numbers!

Apart from the castle itself, there are no fewer than three military museums inside. The Royal Scots, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and the National War Museum.

This view from a gun battery shows just how dominant a site the castle is.

I recently reviewed a new book on Sir Ralph Abercromby. Many of the photos in the book come from the museum.

And sticking to the Napoleonic theme, the museums are home to a number of original paintings you will recognise from prints etc. Like this one of Waterloo.

Ensign Ewart of Waterloo fame is buried outside the castle.

And this is the original standard he captured.

The castle is also home to the National War Memorial for the 1914-18 War. Each regiment has a section inside, which reminds us how many extra battalions were recruited during wartime.

And this exhibit is a reminder that warfare didn't end in 1918. This Caucasian dagger comes from a deployment to Georgia between December 1918 and April 1919.

Possibly the oldest soldier ever to serve in the British Army. Sargeant William Hiseland was 89 years old at the Battle of Malplaquet.

This standard was taken by the Japanese in 1942 and turned up in a Singapore junk shop in 1949.

Finally, this banner was flown by the 23rd New Zealand infantry battalion at Galatos on Crete in 1941. I was in that very village only last week. 

If you are in Edinburgh, the castle and its museums are certainly worth a visit.

For God and Kaiser

My holiday poolside reading was Richard Bassett's book on the Imperial Austrian Army, 'For God and Kaiser'.

This substantial tome (nearly 600 pages) has been sitting on my reading shelves for some time. I was a bit nervous about selecting it for a holiday read. Would it be too dense and hard work for a holiday? I needn't have worried, this book is both magisterial and readable - not always a combination in my experience.

He might have subtitled the book, 'The Habsburg Army', because in essence throughout its long history that is what it was. The boundaries of the Habsburg lands shifted, but the army's role was always to support the dynasty.

The author starts in the 17th century with the 30 Years War. On the 5th June 1619, Archduke Ferdinand was rescued from Protestant noblemen in the Hofburg by Imperial Cuirassiers - an element of the army that was to be one of its strongest elements for several centuries. We then have a mix of narrative history with an analysis of the various reforms. Through the Seven Years War, the Napoleonic period and into the later 19th century. The story ends with WW1 and the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This is a sympathetic history of the armed forces. In most periods they started badly but got better - not dissimilar to the British army of the times. We remember the Seven Years War for the Prussian Army and Frederick's triumphs, but the Austrian reforms left them in a stronger position by the end of the war. Archduke Charles was one of the best generals of the Napoleonic wars, who had the misfortune to come up against Napoleon at his best.

The author picks out a number of similar consistent themes. Despite its early years, and the Habsburg Catholicism, the army was largely indifferent to religious belief. Anti-Semitism was a penal offence under Franz-Joseph and Jewish officers were a common feature in many regiments.

Military strategy was often cautious. No general wanted to hazard annihilation - the army always had to be able to fight another day. This meant few gambles were taken and Austrian armies often failed to pursue defeated enemies. Between 1620 and 1918 it won more than 350 victories, a number far greater than its defeats.

I really enjoyed this book, improved by the Cretan sun. If you want to understand the big picture of the Imperial Austrian armies, you could do no better than this book.

I can probably field just about every Austrian army on the tabletop. They were almost always a key player in the Balkans. Here are just a few examples.

Imperial Cuirassiers from the start of the story

Croat horse - the Military Frontier was an important source of soldiers

Dragoons in their traditional role

Foot regiment during Eugene's wars in the Balkans

1848 Honved

19C Jager

Early WW1 Hussars

WW1 infantry

Carronade 2019

Today was the annual Falkirk wargame show, Carronade. As usual, well organised by the Falkirk Club in a good venue.

There was a good range of traders, and as our participation game was quieter than usual, I was able to spend more time making my wallet lighter. I picked up the new version of Blitzkrieg Commander and some much-reduced copies of Strategy and Tactics with a Balkan theme. The flea market generated some purchases, including some nice French Napoleonic Dragoons and some 20mm modern armour. Plus paint, bases etc.

Our participation game was Breakout from Zara, Italians invading Yugoslavia in 1939. The array of unusual weaponry entertained many guessing what they were!

The supply depot objective for the Italians to capture.

There were plenty of games, display and participation. Here are some of those that caught my eye.

Thanks again to Falkirk for a good day out and promoting the hobby so well.

Minoans and more

Yesterday's trip across Crete took us to the Palace of Knossos, the centre of the Minoan civilisation.

This is the number one attraction in Crete for good reason. The site is remarkable, although the reconstructions by the British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans are controversial. My own view is that they add to our understanding of the site, even if they are in places speculative.

Next stop was the Archeological Museum, which has many artefacts from Knossos and other Minoan palaces. Some, like this Bull are truly amazing.

Here a few of the weapon collections.

A short way across town is the Historical Museum, which starts after antiquity. Quite a lot on the Byzantine period, for which we don't have a lot of written sources. The WW2 section has plenty of information, well presented, but not many exhibits. The best section is the Venetian period and the siege of Candia, the Venetian name for Heraklion and the island as a whole. I hadn't appreciated how big the old city was until I saw this relief map in the museum.

There is a good room on the various revolts against Ottoman rule.

The one post WW2 exhibit I did like was this bell, converted from a bomb. The island wasn't short of metal after WW2!

Finally, the Venetian Sea Fortress down at old harbour. This has been extensively renovated, with a museum inside.

These are what is left of the galley sheds.

They have a few cannonballs left over from the siege!

 

For more on the epic siege of Candia, I would recommend Bruno Mugnai's book 'The Cretan War, 1615-7', published by Helion.