Desperta ferro!

Volume 3: Defiant Principality

2012-01-04T12:20:00.002+01:00

A War of the Spanish Succession miniatures campaign

As announced some days ago before Christmas, the revised 1^st edition of our Desperta Ferro! Series third booklet is already available for free download. This has been christianized as Defiant Principality - War of the Spanish Succession miniatures campaign and can already be downloaded from this particular page.

As noted in a just published announcement on TMP, this campaign ruleset has been built on the experience at our own Defiant Principality 18^th Century Imagi-Nation setting, which is actually run under these rules. Of course, running this game as we are doing, inside a larger community such as Emperor vs Elector, furnishes to us a much wider range of gaming possibilities than those strictly derived from a 2-players wargaming campaign --such as diplomacy, unexpected events, proxy gaming and parallel RPG experiences, none of which can be adequately reflected on the ruleset. Nevertheless, the actual gaming experience itself allows us some confidence on this WSS campaign usefulness as a rules hard core for building anyone's own campaigning settings, depending on his/her own purposes.

We authors wish you have the most fun at reading and using it --not less than ourselves!

El Caganer

2011-12-23T18:23:00.006+01:00

Most likely few among you have ever heard about the caganer, a beloved figure present in every Catalan home at this Christmas time --albeit discreetly hidden behind a bush, in a corner of the Nativity scene.

The origin of such tradition went lost long ago, but it seems to have existed since at least 18^th or late 17^th century, during the Baroque period. About its real meaning, only guessings can be made, although some folklorists have ventured to linmk it to ancient Pagan fertility believings. For those unaware of such eschatological tradition, here you are this funny sketch from BBC: TV sketch.

If ever happening to visit Barcelona by Christmas time, do not forget to visit the traditional Saint Lucia Fair (Fira de Santa Llúcia), an improvised market plentiful with hundreds of stands selling all sorts of figures, diorama and dollhouse pieces for your Nativity scene (=pessebre), Christmas trees and wreaths, artcrafts and... thousands of caganers!!

And believe me, you are by no means famous enough, if you haven't yet a caganer sculpted after your own. Here you are a few examples:


Pope Benedict XVI	Queen Elizabeth & Prince of Wales

Shakira & Piqué	Darth Vader

...and Merry Christmas to you all!

Volume 3 available as preview

2011-12-18T01:18:00.001+01:00

As promised some weeks ago, I have already available for download a new volume of my Desperta Ferro! wargaming guides series. The new release consists of a complete campaign ruleset for a specific episode of the War of the Spanish Succession --the most emotive one to us Catalans, the 1713-1714 campaign for the definite subjugation of Catalonia.

Closely following a style inherited from our volume no. 1, Catalonia Stands Alone, this new release has been assigned the no. 3 in our series, and given the name of Defiant Principality: War of the Spanish Succession miniatures campaign. Just as its name suggests, the booklet consists of a complete set of rules comprehensive of scouting, movement, battle settings and siege rules, as well as civilian population inter-actions, complete ORBATs for all sides involved (Spanish, French, Catalans and Imperials), weather, diplomatical random events, scouting, supply lines and attrition --all this, in a couple dozens of pages. The game is carried on a hexed map representing the Principality of Catalonia --plus the County of Roussillon, held by France since 1659.

Although heavily masked by literary narration and proxy-gamed RPGs, this ruleset is the real engine behind the 18^th Century Imagi-Nation story carried by Jordi Prado and myself at what-if-catalonia.blogspot.com since over a year ago, so it has enjoyed a reasonably long testing time! For sure, there are still lots of features to be fully developed, or intentionally left open by us, in order not to hamper too much our own gaming experience with too rigid or extensive regulations. And we believe that many other gamers will also thank those open gaps, allowing each one his/her own development on the matter.

Please note this releasing of today isn't the ultimate one yet. We'd love this booklet to be considered by you readers as a draft, and be used just as it. That is, downloading it just for a first inspection and feedback --i.e. eventual amendments, contributions and/or criticisms. After all the comments are collected, discussed and put together, we would re-release the booklet --this time as a definite, "closed" version. Hopefully, on the first week of 2012.

Please accept my most sincere apologies for eventual errors at writing the booklet, and wish you at least enjoy it at reading! Click here to download it.

A cancelled item and new releases

2011-12-07T18:52:00.003+01:00

Some of you might notice that one of my three already published booklets is no longer available from this website. As I commented some time before, I felt quite insatisfied with no. 3 booklet, Urn of Honour / Urna de l'Honor, a combination of scenario and uniformology volume with a prioritary focus on Two Crowns' units involved in the September 11^th, 1714 final assault on Barcelona. So insatisfied I got with it that have finally decided to cancel it officially as a downloadable resource, after some undecision time.

The dropped volume contents will be split into several booklets instead. The first one will be devoted to the 1713-1714 campaign Infantry of Philip V, and will be assigned no. 4 of my series, as already explained a few days ago. I'm working hard on it right now, so that I expect to be able to offer a downloadable sample/draft to you very soon, with the aim to let you evaluate it and make suggestions and/or criticisms before it is completed. Eventual future releases in this splitting plan would consist of 2 further booklets, one on WSS Spanish Horse and the other on Catalan Coronela Militiae, the bright and colourful uniforms of which are for sure worth a booklet on its own. However, such are not to be worked at a short-short term. I'd like better to release no. 4 before, and receive convenient feedbacks on it.

And meanwhile, what am I going to do with the dropped no. 3? Well... er... I've decided to re-assign that series number to a further new booklet I have nearly finished. I know that re-using a dropped reference number is quite an odd, non-recommendable decision for a publishing company, but... what the h..k! I'm not any serious publisher, so that... In the end, the new no. 3 booklet will consist of a complete set of WSS campaign rules, focusing on the 1713-1714 campaign for the subjugation of Catalonia. Besides of the ruleset itself, it will comprehend appropriate army lists, events and weather tables, even a humble table of naval encounters too. There is a trick behind such a fast upcoming release, of course: those are the rules currently used for the 18th century Imagi-Nation I'm running right now. After one year and a half of playing, I believe they're tested enough to make them publicly accessable. Nevertheless, it will be first released as a draft too, so that anyone can make suggestions or criticisms of his/her own.

Both booklets will be released in English language --or something willingly similar :S

What I am working on

2011-11-26T23:57:00.004+01:00

After some time of indecision, I've finally started working out a new booklet on the War of the Spanish Succession Peninsular armies, following the general lines drawn at Catalonia Stands Alone: 1713-1714 the Catalans' War.

This time, my new booklet is going to deal with the opposite side Army: that one of Philip d'Anjou during the final 1713-1714 campaign for the subjugation of Catalonia. This is not to be any kind of work on the matter for, in that campaign, Spain massed up to 62 Infantry regiments into a territory with a population of about 500,000-750,000 inhabitants depending on sources --that is, nearly 50% the total force of the Spanish Army in Europe is to be portrayed in this booklet... Quite a reliable statistical sample, I'd say!

As in previous works, the booklet itself will consist of a number of individual plates, each one devoted to one of those 62 regiments, including information about uniforms and flags prior to the outbreak of war (where appliable), as well as after 1707 and 1728 reforms --this last performed after the definite peace with the Empire is signed. As usual, each plate will contain a painting guide related to the uniforms worn during the 1713-1714 campaign, as well as any supplementary piece of information I'm capable to gather about each individual unit.

A bibliographical chapter is to be included too, of course --which is to my opinion far more valuable than my own work, for these are in fact my primary sources, and can also be yours own. Contrary to what some of you might have believed about me, I am by no means a History researcher, or even anything remotely similar --just a wargaming aficionado with some drawing skills and patience at compiling data. For this very same reason, my work does not pretend to replace any of the excellent, professional booklets already existing on this subject, such as those of J. Hinds and C. A. Sapherson for instance. My only aim is to match all these works by gathering their data altogether, and filling eventual gaps and/or contradictions among those.

In the end, I'm pretty sure some of you readers are true experts in Philip V's Spanish Army, far more experienced in this subject than I really am. I'd love to share the pieces of information you've been able to gather by your own, and set them in this new booklet with appropriate credits.

I cannot ensure you when I'll have this new free booklet ready for releasing. Some of you are already aware of my current unemployment situation, so please be patient with me, because there will certainly be other issues worrying me in a next future, and not everyday I'm going to feel energetic enough to keep on with this job... My wish would be having it ready in some months' time. How many? I couldn't say. Let's pray my country does not fall into a long lasting depression in the next future.

Yet another Spanish flag

2011-11-13T22:54:00.003+01:00

Following some conversations with Sir William the Aged with respect to Spanish military flags by the end of Charles II era --more specifically, those flown at the battle of Marsaglia (1693)--, I suddenly met an unexpected finding while browsing the Internet in search for some additional information on the matter.

Such finding is the flag you can see at the image left, allegedly belonging to the veteran Tercio de Saboya. That design was hosted in a webpage related to Facebook with no further explanations attached, thus making impossible to guess whether the flag was simply someone's invention or it was some kind of a serious stuff otherwise. Well, the fact is that such webpage is actually related to an Italian re-enactment group, the so-called Tercio de Saboya Associazione Storico Culturale. As their name is unequivocally suggesting, this Italian society is devoted to re-enacting that historical Spanish military Tercio, as a remembrance of its involvement in the 30 Years War Italian campaigns. Their website shows precisely the flag design we were guessing about, and it seems to be strongly backed by the bibliography they've relied on. This way, thanks to them, we can now attest with some certainty this was the distintctive flag of that Tercio around 1636 --most likely, a Captain or Company flag. It is far more uncertain whether this unit still was flying such flag by the first years of Philip V. Please note that I've drawn the flag as square or nearly square, as it should already be by the end of 17^th Century, while the Italian website displays it as rectangular.

Following the general target of my prior works, which is no other than collecting the most information possible about Spanish armies in the War of the Spanish Succession, I've worked out a likely design for that unit's flags since 1707, after Philip V reformations and according to his own Ordnances on that matter --thoroughly discussed here lately. These prescribed the background colours of each regiment's Battalion Flags to be the same colour the province/town giving its name to the unit. In this case, it is the Duchy of Savoy, whose coat of arms since medieval times is shown at the image right.

As most of you already know, this consists of a white cross on a red field; this last should be the background colour of the Regimiento de Saboya according to the already mentioned Ordnances. This way we should be able to deduce for it a flag displaying a red saltire on red again, as in the case of Regimiento de Castilla. As explained some time ago, such apparently odd combination of colours isn't that unlikely, because we know that Spanish Colonel flags had been that colour before.

After the 1728 Ordnance, discussed in our previous article, Battalion flags of this regiment would now show a red Burgundy Cross on white, with the Arms of Savoy at the corners. This pattern would last without any significant changes until 1843, when it was to be replaced by the red-yellow-red flag. My suggested design can be happily confirmed through the Spanish vexillological website Banderas Militares of Sergio Camero, which shows an actual flag belonging to the 3^rd Battalion of the regiment between 1840 and 1845. It is currently preserved at the Spanish Military Museum (Madrid).

Philip V's Spanish Flags (7 and last)

2011-10-29T00:08:00.002+02:00

The flag patterns explained so far remained without major changes until 1728, when Philip V issued a new Ordnance specifying the following:

"...En cada batallón de nuestras tropas habrá tres banderas de once pies de alto, de a doce pulgadas cada asta de ellas con regatón y moharra. La Coronela será blanca con el escudo de nuestras armas reales y las demás blancas con la Cruz de Borgoña, y en una y otras se podrán poner en la extremidad de las esquinas las armas de los reinos y provincias de donde tengan el nombre, o las divisas particulares que hubiesen tenido o usado, según su antigüedad..."

That is, "...Each battalion of our troops is to have three flags eleven feet high, twelve inches each pole uncluding ferrule and spearhead. Colonel Flag will be white with the coat of our Royal Arms and the other, white with the Cross of Burgundy. At the corners of each one it will be shown the arms of the kingdom or province the Regiment is taking the name from, or particular devices due to custom and seniority..."

This latest Ordnance, published little after the definite peace with the Empire and Charles VI resignation of the Spanish crown, comes to complete the way towards a substitution of the traditional Cross of Burgundy device on Colonel Flags that king Philip V initiated two decades ago. Through that Ordnance, Crosses of Burgundy are relegated to the secondary role of being displayed at Battalion flags only.

Such pattern would last without any significant changes until 1843, when the red-yellow-red colours replaced the royal arms in their role of Colonel Flag. Naturally that some minor changes were done during this lapse of time, most of the times consisting of the re-adaption of arms to the liveries of successive new kings. This way, we could easily trace the evolution of the regimental flags reviewed so far in the following way:

Philip V's Spanish Flags (6)

2011-10-19T23:15:00.000+02:00

If you don't mind, allow me a further musing on this Battalion Flags issue, always following the hypothesis formulated in my 4^th and 5^th articles on the matter. We have so far dealt with the 1707-1728 Battalion Flags of two Bourbon Spanish regiments, only one of which (Aragón) is actually known by a sample, while the other one (Castilla) was deduced on the basis of the former alongside with Philip V 1707 Ordnances. Let's take another of the Spanish senior regiments now, with the aim of testing our hypothesis on design and pieces arrangement in the flag.

Our experimental subject of today is the unit known as Regimiento de Sicilia, previously called Tercio Fijo de Sicilia since 1596. In spite of its name, this was by no means Sicilian but a Spanish metropolitan unit, where both officers and rank & file were Kingdom of Castile subjects, so that the new Ordnances ought to fully affect it. I have been unable so far to learn this unit flags prior to 1707, but still we can try to re-construct their 1707 Battalion Flag according the above mentioned Ordnances along with our own design hypothesis -such was our target, in fact.

Between 1282 and 1815 the Coat of Arms of Sicily was this one you can see above at right. It shows the arms of Aragon (House of Barcelona) and the Empire (House of Hohenstaufen) combined in a party per saltire divided field. There are 2 background colours then, yellow for the Aragon quarters and white for the Hohenstaufen ones. It seems reasonable to guess that, with only 2 colours, there was no need to divide the flag fly into 8 triangles as in the case of Regimiento de Aragón, but into just 4 squares instead. Such arrangement matches to the division by the quarter pattern the French manufacturers of these flags would usually follow for their own country's regiments .

At first, I felt tempted to arrange the colours in an alternate way, resulting in a design much closer to that one of Regimiento de Aragón (as you can see in the first design at the image right), but I've finally thought it should be dropped down, due to believing it an unnecessarily complicated-to-manufacture pattern. The second design would certainly be at least as easy to manufacture as the chosen one; however, I believe it to be quite unlikely too, for the perhaps naif reason that I've never seen such a design for a Burgundian Cross Spanish flag before... Anyway, I believed it appropriate to attest in the article these two alternate possibilities.

In the end, I am fairly persuaded that, with some effort and time, we'd be able to extract a great number of Spanish Battalion flags by this method. Worth to be held in mind, for eventual future works...

Philip V's Spanish Flags (5)

2011-10-08T23:59:00.001+02:00

Following the reasonings of my former post, let's take the Regimiento de Castilla for instance. Prior to Philip V's reformations, when still organized as a Tercio, this veteran infantry unit was known as the Tercio de los Morados Viejos (that is, Old Purples), a name granted in 1693. By these times, Spanish Infantry units still flew several flags besides of the Colonel's colour, one for each company --this is why these were called Banderas Capitanas, or Captain Flags. Well, the fact is that Captain Flags of Old Purples are known, and were as shown at the left: a regular Burgundy Cross on a yellow field.

After Philip V's reformations during 1706-1707, the unit was renamed as Castile Infantry Regiment and, as discussed before, was assigned Batalion flags replacing the former Company ones, following the pattern already explained --consisting of a plain Burgundy Cross on a background coloured according to the Coat of Arms of the province giving its name to the Regiment.

Following my hypothesis, we should only find out the Coat of Arms of Castile province by the start of 18^th century, and then we should know the corresponding flag background. This is quite a simple case, for the Arms of Castile haven't changed since late 12^th century, showing a golden castle with blue gate and windows on a red field --as depicted in the image right.

According to the pattern described in King Philip's ordnances and shown in the ever reproduced Regimiento de Aragón flag, we then would assign a plain red background to the Battalion Flag of Regimiento de Castilla, besides of placing this province Coat of Arms on the cross center. Notice the cross arms have been depicted as deprived of any knots, just as in their already known Aragonese counter-part. Albeit admittedly a little odd combination, red over red shouldn't be considered as unlikely as you might believe at a first sight. During the Thirty Years War, Spanish Infantry Colonel Flags were red over red. Not to mention the ever present white over white of French Colonel Flags...

As commented, this one seems a quite simple, forward example. Not so easy are to be other reconstructions --always having in mind we actually have one single real example to build our hypotheses on...

Philip V's Spanish Flags (4)

2011-09-29T23:42:00.001+02:00

In our three first posts under the title above, we have been reviewing so far the Colonel flags of Philip V's infantry during WSS. Let's also get into some discussion on their regimental, or Battalion flags. In a surprisingly sharp contrast to other periods in the history of Spain, not only there is apparently preserved no one physical remnant of such flags, but even a discouragingly scarce amount of factual data is recorded about them. "Well, it's not that different from Charles III's Austro-Catalan army", you might say. For sure I could agree with you, but... if History is written by winners, as it is commonly said, we therefore might perhaps admit as likely a loose of information on the losers, but... on the winners too?

As a matter of fact, we are compelled to start our discussion on Bourbon Spain's Battalion flags on the very same basis than in the case of the Austro-Catalans: that is, just from the Ordnances published by Philip V in 1706 -those already discussed around Colonel Flags, cf. this previous post. According to all sources requested, along with ordering the old Tercios to be renamed Regiments along with establishing new organization and uniforms, the king also gave to each one the name of a province or town and ordered their respective Coats of Arms to be sewn on the Battalion flags. A later decree from February 1707 expanded that concept in the following terms:

“...y las otras banderas serán de tafetán, de los colores principales que tuvieren las armas de la provincia o ciudad del nombre que yo señalo al Regimiento, en el cual siempre que tenga más de un batallón, las banderas de los demás batallones que tuviere serán de esta forma...”

That is, “...the rest of flags [besides of the Colonel one] will be of taffeta, in the main colors of the [Coat of] Arms of the province or town whose name has been assigned to the Regiment by me. In which, provided it had more than one battalion, the flags of those other battalions will conform to that design...”

Therefore, it can be deduced that a generic pattern of Bourbon-Spanish Battalion flags would consist of a Burgundy Cross on a varying background whose colours would match those of the sewn Coat of Arms of the province or town giving its name to the Regiment. Their dimensions were approximately square (2.1 x 2.28 m, as the French ones). For as the new Ordnance was generalistic as well as complemented with other changes in units names, composition and organization, we may presume all the regiments existing prior to that date were affected.

Only one such flags is known, commonly shown and commented by vexillologists and media of Spain [Sergio Camero, Luis Sorando or the Spanish Ministry of Defence, for instance], usually in the form of the very same drawing reproduced everywhere (that one you can see at right), which I don't know what it is based on. This flag allegedly corresponds to the Regiment of Aragon, a unit formed in 1711 after this pro-Charles kingdom had been definitely annexed to Castile after Brihuega-Villaviciosa. It shows a red plain saltire on a multi-coloured background formed in accordance to the French Drapeaux d'Ordonnance triangled pattern.

In this flag is especially striking the peculiar shape of the Burgundy Cross, which is flat -i. e. deprived of the characteristic knots distributed all along the cross arms; my guess is that such peculiarity may be due to a misinterpretation by its French manufacturers, for it is agreed that the new Spanish Battalion flags were mass produced in France and taken to the central depot in Madrid, where they would have been distributed; we can also deduce that such oddity was likely shared with all the rest of Battalion flags manufactured at that time.

Another oddity, this one perhaps due to an error by the author of the drawing above, is that the background shows 4 white triangles, other 2 blue and 2 red. Such background colours obviously mismatch those of the Coat of Arms depicted in the flag; according to it, as well as Philip V's Ordnances, those triangles should be alternately blue and yellow, 4 and 4... if such were the Arms actually flown.

Otherwise, the Aragonese re-enacting group Aetas Rationis, who are in the charge of re-constructing the above mentioned Regiment, are flying a quite different version of the flag -that one you can see at left. In this one, red has been replaced by gold -a deep yellow, so that the colours alternance in the flag are now blue, white, yellow.

I strongly support such version of that particular flag, because that one does match with the Coat of Arms of Aragon -as you can see by the image next. This one was the Arms most common version by 17-18^th centuries, as depicted in 1630 at the Salón de los Reinos, Buen Retiro Palace (Madrid) -and it shows exactly the same pattern of background colours: blue, white and yellow. Taking this as an evidence, it could be possible to re-construct WSS Bourbon-Spanish Battalion flags by finding out the Coats of Arms' current-by-that-time version of each province or town giving their names to Philip V's Regiments...

Not the simplest job in world, I'd say.

Philip V's Spanish Flags (3)

2011-09-19T23:51:00.001+02:00

Of course that, besides of modifying his infantry's Colonel Flags, Philip V did also substantially re-design their Battalion, or Regimental ones. Those changes were by far even more drastical, straightly inspired by their French counterparts. However, prior to entering into discussion on them, let me deal before with some attribution errors quite common in popular English language bibliography on the matter.

For instance, it is quite common to see the flag at left quoted as if belonging to the "Fijo de Ceuta" Infantry Regiment in times of War of the Spanish Succession ("The Spanish Army of Philip V", J. Hinds, Brokaw Ed.). Nevertheless, the renowned Spanish vexillologist Luis Sorando long since convincingly demonstrated, in his book "Banderas, estandartes y trofeos del Museo del Ejército" published by the Spanish Ministry of Defence, that such flag not only was quite later -actually dating back to the 1830s-, but also that it had nothing to do with military flags, for it was initially intended just for being flown at the "Alarde" festival of Yecla town (Murcia region). However, it is true that it was later used with military purposes during the Carlist Wars.

It is also quite puzzling the attribution of this other flag at right (seemingly kept in Italy) to the Royal Catalan Guards of Archduke Charles ("Die Regimenter König Carl III - Die Habsburg-Spanische Armée 1704-1713", A. Kühn author & publisher), thus surprisingly ignoring all the most relevant data on this matter:

Charles III's own Ordnances published in Barcelona 1706, widely quoted and commented in my booklet Catalonia Stands Alone;
Testimony of the contemporary Austro-Catalan military and chronicler Francesc Castellví (Montblanc 1682 - Vienna 1757), who explicitly described the flag of that Catalan elite unit in the terms I explained here;
Last, but not least, the design of the flag itself, which is unequivocally no other than a Colonel Flag of Philip V's Infantry, fully matching with the Bourbon pretendant's own Ordnances -except for the superposition of a two-headed eagle with the cyphers of Archduke Charles as Holy Emperor -reason for it can't be earlier than 1711.

Herr A. Kühn's attribution in this particular case is plainly unlikely. In my humble opinion, it makes much wider sense to suppose this was the Colonel Flag of a Philip V's regiment surrendered to Charles III in Italy not earlier than 1711 and later re-used, either by that same unit or any other regiment it was assigned to.

Philip V's Spanish Flags (2)

2011-09-09T00:44:00.001+02:00

In spite of the preliminary pattern changes explained in my previous post, Philip V did not go further beyond in these reforms at first, so that at the very earliest stages of the war for succession Colonel Flags of non-guard Infantry regiments remained the same -a red Burgundy Cross on a plain white field, as shown before.

It was after the defection of the Crown of Aragon States in 1705, siding with the Grand Alliance and by this becoming the platform for Archduke Charles to build a Spanish Army of his own, that Philip V finally took the decision of substantially changing Colonel and Battalion flags patterns, along with several organizational and dressing features else of his Infantry. through a completely new Ordnance -which coincidentally was to be published almost simultaneously with that ordered by the now King Charles III in Barcelona, as explained in my 1^st booklet, Catalonia Stands Alone.

Under these new regulations dated March 1706, Philip V decreed the addition of two lions and two castles in alternate angles around the Burgundy Cross, as shown in the photo at right -which is often reproduced in specialized works of Spain; this seems to correspond to a surviving copy which is kept in a place totally unknown to me. The following year, this design was slightly improved and standardized in the following terms:

“...y es mi voluntad que cada cuerpo traiga la bandera Coronela blanca, con la Cruz de Borgoña, según estilo de mis tropas a que he mandado añadir dos castillos y dos leones, repartidos en los cuatro blancos, y cuatro coronas que cierran las puntas en las aspas...”

Roughly, “...and it is my will that every unit displays a Colonel white flag with the Burgundy Cross according to my troops style (=pattern?), which I have ordered to be added two lions and two castles, distributed in the four white [fields], as well as four Crowns enclosing each of cross tops“.

Such final design fully corresponds to the middle-late period of war, extending through the Triple Alliance War till the end of hostilities with the now Emperor Charles VI in 1720. Worth to be noted the undoubtedly intentional symbolism behind this new Colonel Flag: by the introduction of castles and lions, heraldic device of the Kingdom of Castile both, king Philip explicitly appreciated the loyalty of that particular Nation toward his cause, as well as appealed to Castilian patriotism in defence of the Crown against Catalan and foreign aggression.

Should be noted here the considerable variability that can be observed regarding the location, orientation and color of the above mentioned heraldic pieces (castles and lions), as can be seen by comparing the two images shown next.

Further, extensive changes were adopted later in 1728, after peace with Emperor Charles -as it will be shown in a next posting soon.

Philip V's Spanish Flags (1)

2011-09-06T23:36:00.000+02:00

As usual in most armies of that period, Spanish Infantry units used to fly two different kinds of flags, respectively called Bandera Coronela (=Colonel Flag) and Bandera Simple, o Batallona (=Simple, or later Battalion's Flag). A Spanish Colonel Flag was in fact the same kind of device as a King's Colour in English terminology. It was flown on behalf of the King and the Nation, usually in the nearby of the unit's commander position in the field. Likely due to that symbolism, each regiment had only one Colonel Flag, and all of them shared a common pattern -or such was the King's wish, at least...

Before the outbreak of the war for Succession, the latest ordnances about Spanish Colonel Flags must be traced back to 1695, still during Charles II Habsburg times. According to the reputed Spanish vexillologist Sergio Camero, Colonel Flags prescribed in these ordnances had to be white with a red Burgundy Cross. Such is the pattern followed by the flag captured by Dutch troops in 1703 at Eckernen, as described by James Hinds in his booklet The Spanish Army of Philip V. That 1695 ordnance does not explicitly forbid the use of other decorative motifs such as flaming edges, and in fact some cases are known.

In assuming the crown of Spain (*), Philip V endeavoured a drastic reform of the Army that included substantial modification of regimental ordnance flags. Following the trend of French absolutism, since early Philip V started gradually relegating the traditional Burgundy Cross device to a secondary role. This would henceforth remain in a subordinate position behind the personal Coat of Arms of the King, whose person thus became the real national symbol of the country, following the absolutist logics of identificating the Nation with the Monarch.

The first step in this direction was taken in 1702, at the time of creating the Regimiento de Guardias Valonas, or Walloon Guards Regiment, in Flanders. This new elite unit was designed a particular Colonel Flag fully illustrating the above mentioned new trend. This historical Regiment would keep such pattern of flag with little variations until its dissolution in 1820.

Shortly after, in 1703 was created the other main body of Philip V's foot guard, the Regimiento de Guardias Españolas, or Spanish Guards Regiment. With the likely aim of ingratiating himself with the military establishment of the kingdom whose crown had just assumed, Philip V agreed to assigned to this new unit a Colonel Flag fully according to their tastes, in accordance to the proposal he was made:

“...que haviendo de ser la vandera de la Comp.ª Coronela diversa de las otras se haze forzoso mande S. Magd. como gusta sea, pues siendo este Regimto. de Guardias Españolas y no la cruz de Borgoña la insignia de Castilla. Yo sería de dictamen, que la vandera de la Comp.ª Coronela o fuesse morada, que es color de Castilla con un castillo enmedio y flores de lis en el campo, o fuesse blanca con todas las armas del rey pintadas como traen los vajeles de S. Mgd.“

That is, more or less, “...Having to be the Colonel Flag different from the other ones, as this Regiment of Guards is to be composed by Spanish subjects, and the Burgundy Cross is by no means a Castile's own device, it would be recommended the Colonel Flag to be a purple field -for this is the colour of Castile-, with a heraldic castle in the middle and lilies in the field, or to be plain white with the full Royal Coat of Arms, just as it is currently displayed in the ensigns of His Majesty's vessels“.

(*) We'd better say "crowns of The Spains" --as the country was actually known by then. As plural, because it was by no means a unified kingdom yet, but a collection of nominally independent states, only kept together by the King's figure.

Future plans

2011-08-24T00:00:00.002+02:00

Very few news can be explained here recently, in terms of military history research of Catalonia -or even Spain! Or is that my radar antennas has got severely damaged lately... Yes there was a significant novelty, this year 2011: the long expected release of La Coronela de Barcelona book, which was deserved some lines a few posts ago (you can read it here). I've already got this book and have it in my next readings list. As soon as I can thoroughly read it, I'll start extracting the most relevant pieces of info for you -under form of a new booklet... But it must wait still a bit, because I'm now reading Beneath the Lily Banners ruleset -and it has some easy-to-understand priority, given the dramatic events at the 18th century Imagi-Nation I'm currently running...

I have yet to start updating details of King Philip V's Infantry regiments, whose preliminary list was also published in this blogsite some weeks ago (as it can be read at the link above), although this will likely take me a little while. All the literature on the matter I have got so far are the well-known booklets Armies of Spain 1701-1715 by C. A. Sapherson and The Spanish Army of Philip V by J. Hinds. I'm needed of Spanish literature on the matter, but I've only been able to get La Guerra de Sucesión Española by Ruben S. Abad so far, published in a Osprey-like style by Almena Ediciones. Given this book's features as well as my own needings, it results to be plainly insufficient so that I'm still in search of a Spanish uniformologic book that finally allows me to match the preliminary data collected so far.

There is currently another issue -this one, quite more concerning to me: as some of you already know, I am currently unemployed. After a whole month taking advantage of the summer break to reflect a bit over it all, I believe to have definitely decided the path to follow from now on: creating a new miniature company of my own. I've already done the preliminary feasibility study (although it should outlined still better) and a general idea of what should it be like. For the moment I can only tell you in advance that my aim is to set up a miniatures manufacturing company whose main focus will be The Catalans' Wars. Most likely it will start dealing with some Spanish Civil War uncommon items, although my intention is to immerse later myself in other critical periods of Catalonia's military history, such as Middle Age, War of the Spanish Succession, Napoleon's Years and the colonial expeditions of General Prim (Maximilian Adventure and so).

I'm aware that raising a new company from zero will be far from easy. Even more in the Spanish Peninsula where wargaming hobby is no more than an embryo. Meanwhile, I'm likely launching a transition period during which I'll be working as a professional miniatures painter on commission, as well as selling kits and figures on eBay. It will not be easy, I know, but I'm actually willing to give it a try. Amidst this complex context, I do not know what is to happen with Desperta Ferro! Publishing and the humble booklets I've been publishing under this label so far. Nevertheless, I'd love to keep it in the future as a free, non-profit activity -as the product of my devotion for this hobby, my small country and its glorious history that it is.

A short vacation

2011-07-23T23:15:00.001+02:00

Just a lightning note for eventual readers: I'll be on holidays for 8 days, from July 25^th to August 1^st. No more than a week, but... what a so-long-desired and expected-in-advance week! My lovely wife and I are going to enjoy it at a lost valley in Pyrenees range.

I'm likely taking some advantage of this circumstance to calmly think about my future plans, after having been finally fired from the job I've been working in for the last 25 years...

Don't worry even a bit my friends, I do already have great plans ;)

Some news, and a warning

2011-06-27T00:05:00.004+02:00

Apologies for a so long silence, as well as for the lack of any news regarding my own researchings. Truth is that I've had to temporarily put some of my works aside, in spite that a few scholar and/or bibliographical news have arosen lately -fewer than expected last year, however.

1) On the bibliography side, the main news is a new hardcover book by Prof. F. Xavier Hernández and Francesc Riart, published by Dalmau Editor as usual, which is devoted to the Coronela (or citizen Militia) of Barcelona City between 1705 and 1714. It is plenty of lavishly coloured uniform plates giving an unbelievable range of variety for one single regiment. Have in mind that in this peculiar unit -funded and manpowered by local professional Guilds- uniforms were different for each company, because trial was in hands of each Guild... and the Coronela had up to 6 battalions!! So you can imagine what kind of treasure can this book be, published in the very same style as their previous work, The Army of Catalonia 1713-1714 (unfortunately published in Catalan only). I purchased an issue of it by Christmas' time, but have had little time so far to organize its contents and publish an English language booklet with them.

2) On the side of my own works, I've been from time to time classifying my available sources about Philip d'Anjou's Army, in such a way that I can now offer to you one of the results of it. This is a complete listing of all Bourbon Spanish Infantry Regiments after the 1714 inspection, presumably just after the submission of Catalonia. Listing includes name and number of each regiment, their Colonel by 1714, eventual later changes suffered, and a uniform colour schema for all those I've been able to gather any info about. A likely next step would be matching this listing with the 1713 Spanish order of battle according to Nafziger collection, as well as the accountings of units withdrawn from Flanders and Sicily between 1713 and 1714, in order to obtain the most complete possible view on the Army of Philip V.

Such Philip V Infantry Listing can be freely downloaded from this link, as a ZIP-compressed PDF file.

3) A third issue to be noted is about an acid comment from a Spanish reader to one of my latest threads, who intentionally discredited a friendly website I quoted, that one of the Virtual Museum of WSS, or Museu Virtual de la Guerra de Successió in Catalan. I can ensure that, after fifteen years of surfing and leaving my works on the Net, I've literally get bored about the ceaseless intrusions of every kind of SHIPs (Spanish Homeland Integrity Preservers) you can imagine: boring military-with-nothing-better-to-do, dreadful old-style nationalists, disturbing pseudo-democratic new-style-nationalists and similar species of Quixote-like knights of the Ever Holy Unity. Plainly catalanophobic guys, I'd simply say. During all these years of enjoying the Net, I've happened to find lots of their websites, but have ever thought about disturbing them or intruding into their works. I've simply ignored them, a faithful follower of the "live and let it live" rule as I am. Why the hell then they continually persist in their redemptory Croisade?

I first felt tempted at entering a likely neverending arguing with him, but I felt so bored in advance by such prospective that I've finally given up. I afterwards thought about opening a thread about it at this blog, but this is not the aim of such website, so that I will also renounce to it. In the end, I've finally chosen to publicly admit this poster's complaints and consequently publish this formal warning:

NOTICE TO ALL EVENTUAL READERS:

This blog is written by a Catalan individual and deals with Catalan History in periods that may enter conflict with the Official History of Spain. Therefore, this blog and all other Catalan-made blogs linked from this site should be considered as suspicious of intentionally falsifying History (the Real One) to their seditious profit. No matter some of those websites have been written by scholars, and/or supervised under authority of a University, because it is a Catalonian University, not less suspicious than individuals. Even more revealing is the fact that some of such websites do also enjoy support from the Catalan Government, the most suspicious of all in spite of being a fully democratic institution -because it's a Catalonian institution. All that might be stated by all them must be merely considered as propaganda and a Collection of Deliberate Lies. You all are warned.

¿Estáis contentos ahora?

God Save Catalonia! now downloadable

2011-05-07T20:19:00.003+02:00

The efforts of the chief author of God Save Catalonia! book, Xavier Rubio, have at last come in a happy end, as he has just let me know. This outstanding book on the British intervention in Catalonia between 1705 and 1711 can be finally downloaded in PDF format, in Shakespeare's language. I have just given it a try, and it works!

Anyone interested in having the book in his own hard-disk library should follow the following steps: First of all, registering at issuu.com. It's a quite fast process, having into account that you must wait to be sent a confimation e-mail to your given address for your Issuu profile to become active. This usually takes no longer than a few seconds.

Well, let's suppose you're already an Issuu user. According to the directions given to me by Xavier Rubio, now you should click on "My Folders" link (up right) and, once there, create a new folder. Afterwards, you'd be able to "Search" the book by its title ("God Save Catalonia"). Get into the book's own webpage. Done? OK. Please look at the icons just below the book's frontpage: the rightmost one of them is "Download". Well, that's all...

According to my own experience, it might be unnecessary to create the new folder as explained before, because such action was intended for loading the selected book into that folder first -so that the downloading operation would have to be done from that folder... But it seems that such intermediate step is dispensable, for I've downloaded it straightly from the book's own webpage.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-05-04T19:36:00.009+02:00

I'm honoured to acknowledge you all that my humble blog has been nominated for a Stylish Blogger Award. I know little about such award, although it seems to work as a chain, because there are four rules attached to the award itself:

Thank and link back to the person giving you the award
Share seven things about yourself
Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award
Contact these bloggers and let them know about the nomination.

Let's fulfill such rules then:

1. My most sincere gratefulness to Dr. Fabrizio Davi' (torgauproject .blogspot.com) and Jiminho (syldavianchronicle.blogspot.com), both of whom have separately entitled me for this nomination!

2. Seven things about me:

The town I'm living in is a small village, not larger than 750 inhabitants; its name is Les Cabanyes, and it's sorrounded everywhere by a luxurious landscape, a vineyards ocean: such is Penedès county!
My lovely wife and I share an uninterrupted tradition, since we fell in love nearly three decades ago: every friday evening we share an entire bottle of cava (Catalan version of champagne) by dinner. Table isn't left until bottle is empty :)
I humbly believe myself as a Catalan patriot, old-style Republican, and try to behave as a true freethinker -with limited success, I must admit.
Only 50 years old, and growing younger every day! :D
My main passion is miniature painting -sometimes, I recall myself playing with them! Secondly, travelling. I enjoy planning my own routes. And books too, nearly any kind of book -although interest in novel has displaced any other kind of readings as I've been growing older.
TV? puagh!
My wife uses to say I'm like a parrott. This is because, when at travel, she often catches me attentively listening at the table behind ours (even when I badly understand their language), just to guess which language they're speaking, to stablish parallelisms with a similar known language and try to understand it, or to memorize and apply their particular singsongs and idioms.

"God Save Catalonia" in English!

2011-03-02T00:11:00.002+01:00

I'm persuaded that few people would give any credit from a very start to the assertion that, during the War of Spanish Succession, English/British Infantry in the Peninsula might have been uniformed in a colour different to red. More specifically, in blue. However, as unlikely as you might judge it, this is precisely one of the most striking results obtained by recent investigations of a group of researchers, under the DIDPATRI label of Barcelona University, on the English/British military intervention in the Iberian Peninsula and the Principality of Catalonia.

Indeed, DIDPATRI researchers have obtained undeniable evidence that Lord Donegal's Infantry Regiment, for example, were dressed in a blue uniform -at least for some of their stay in Catalonia. Upon their arrival in Portugal around 1704, the unit was wearing red coats (as expectable) with orange facings. However, when two years later this regiment took part in the defense of Barcelona during the 1706 Franco-Spanish siege --in which Lord Donegal himself was died, being replaced by Brigadier General Richard Gorges-- Donegal's men wore a blue uniform with orange facings, as shown by DIDPATRI researchers in their book God Save Catalonia! England's intervention in Catalonia during the War of the Spanish Succession.

International fans will be glad to be acknowledged that this book, which was originally published in Catalan language as a 144 pages paperback booklet, has just been released in English version --which shares the former one's very same format and illustrations, except for that it has been digitally published --and can be obtained for free!. English version of God Save Catalonia! can be found this location of the issuu.com website.

I only regret that none of its versions gives us any information on those regiments Colours, standards or guidons. Therefore, I'd be happy to be acknowledged on how to find such information. Or, if you have it available, please let us know here, so that anyone interested in this period can read it. Thanks!

Starting a new year...

2011-01-04T20:38:00.005+01:00

It has been a long while since my last posting at this blog, and I must admit this to have much to do with my own personal circumstances during the past year of 2010. Some of the plans previously traced some months ago have gone literally watered down with time. In a few words, the projected translations of my already published booklets are plainly stopped. It may sound disappointing to some of you, who probably expected having the Urna de l'Honor booklet translated into English in a short time. However, the fact is that I'm not fully satisfied with that work, because it was aimed too much at working as a background to my own September 11^th 1714 gaming project. Therefore, it is quite likely I'll be following no more such way, so definitely leaving untranslated that booklet nº 3.

This way, I'll be free to redirect my current work on Philip d'Anjou's Franco-Spanish army into a more novel line, offering to you some substantially new data that goes beyond already published works. I've managed to gather a quite thoroughful information on Philip d'Anjou's army OOB at the end of the 1713-1714 campaign for the subjugation of Catalonia, regarding all the 127 Infantry Regiments held by Spain. It's now time for me to match these data with other well-known works, such as C. A. Sapherson's and J. Hinds' booklets, or the prestigious Nafziger Collection; as well as completing it with all the Cavalry and Dragoons data I can collect -not too much so far...

Quite disappointingly to me, I've been unable so far to get acknowledged on further data on Charles Habsburg's Austro-Catalan army; little scholar progress has been achieved in this particular matter lately, so that we'll have to resign ourselves by now with just my booklet nº 1 or the scarce, fragmentary -and sometimes erroneous- pieces of info shown in Sapherson's or Kühn's works. However, our knowledge on the WSS Peninsular theatre has been widened laterly, thanks to the publication of Xavier Rubio's book God Save Catalonia. It deals with uniforms, equipment and some history of about 40 British Infantry and 10 Cavalry/Dragoons Regiments. It's worth to point the book content is partially reflected on their website www.guerradesuccessio.cat -where you'll find better uniform plates than in the book itself, which shows the very same ones, although undergoing a quite worse pagemaking job-; not only this, but it also deals with some additional, revealing pieces of research, such as a comprehensive lecture on the huge British financial effort in Catalonia -quite higher than in Portugal- and pieces of text drawn from reports by Lord Peterborough and Lord Stanhope, or even from the memories of a lesser rank British military in Catalonia. I was tempted to start a booklet of my own in English language showing a transcription of all these Regiments' data, but it seems unnecessary, as the author explained to me an English language version of the book had already been done, which would be uploaded to the website above for free download in a not long time.

While looking forward that announced translation, let me acknowledge you of some amazing pieces of news regarding the British Army in Catalonia, which I guess you'll be glad to know... not today, but in a few days' time (I promise!).

God Save Catalonia!

2010-09-08T23:39:00.002+02:00

We have just been acknowledged by his author, Xavier Rubio, about the upcoming release of a new book on the War of Spanish Succession, under the name of God Save Catalonia!. It consists of a thoroughly lecture on the British military intervention in the Peninsula from multiple prospectives (organization, military, economics, etc.), in order to bring new knowledge to their operations in that particular theatre of war between 1701 and 1711. The driving idea of the book, which has taken several years to their authors, deals with the effect of the so-called English Betrayal, whose data and myth have greatly masked to contemporary Catalan Historians the huge war effort performed by Britain in our country for nearly a decade.

The book itself contains a full listing of the British units deployed in the Peninsula (all those existing so far being quite incomplete), statistics of nationalities and ages of enlisted men, an analysis on the British view on the conflict, and, last but not least, a study on the economic costs of the above mentioned war effort. In the authors' opinion, this latter demonstrates that the Allied defeat of Almansa (1707) was not decisive for the final outcome of the war -as evidenced by the later chain of Allied victories started at Almenar and Saragossa-Monte Torrero, which lead to the (brief) liberation of Aragon and ultimately to the 2nd Allied occupation of Madrid in 1710.

According to the given news, the book is also to come completed with colour plates on uniforms and equipment. The official release event is to be held at Barcelona next Saturday, September 11th, at 18:00. Edited by the Catalan publisher Llibres de Matrícula, this one is to be their third volume devoted to the Pensinsular theatre of that war, after Talamanca 1714 - Archaeology of a battle and Almenar 1710 - An English victory in Catalonia.

More news to follow, I guess. It seems compulsory to get an issue of it, don't you believe?

Are we dreaming? ...Yes, of EVERYTHING

2010-07-10T13:05:00.002+02:00

Barcelona, July 10th 2010, 18:00

They shall not stop us

Austro-Catalan Naval Ensigns

2010-06-15T23:57:00.005+02:00

It might be worth going back to the image of my latest post -a black-and-white etching showing a vessel, the same one at this article very start. As it can be seen for the picture at left, that image has been taken from a propaganda brochure printed in Catalonia in 1705 to celebrate the Allied fleet arrival to Barcelona shores, so that it reveals to be a potentially key piece of information on the flags and ensigns carried by Austro-Catalan warships. The image depicts a 3-masts, apparently 2-decked, galleon-like ship with a flag on top of both fore and main masts, as well as a third, bigger one at the stern -which is the so-called ensign.

It is worth to be noted that the ensign reproduced there is undoubtedly a St. Andrew's or Burgundian Cross, and this becomes quite revealing. In spite of the Burgundian Cross flag is usually taken as a genuine, all-life Spanish device, continously used until its replacement by the contemporary red-yellow one, it must be pointed that by the War of Spanish Succession times burgundian crosses were no longer in use as Spanish Armada ensigns.

It is known that no later than 1670 Charles II Habsburg had burgundian cross ensigns replaced by a completely different flag design, consisting of a white flag embroidered in red, with the Royal Arms at the center. When Philip V Bourbon took the reigns of Spain in 1700, he followed that same basic pattern, except that the Royal Arms were now placed closer to the staff, and the red trim was removed. This later design remained unchanged until 1746 (see the linked article showing some contemporary drawings of Spanish battleships). So that it seems quite clear that Two Crowns' Spanish ships never flew the Burgundian Cross as an Ensign -although it shouldn't be plainly discarded they still were used as jacks.

Therefore, according to the brochure above, it is legitimate to guess that the Austro-Catalan side had restored the Burgundian Cross to its former dignity as Ensign, using it as the main flag of their warships. We might also guess that it would be decided not only with the aim of having them distinguished from the Bourbon ships, but also as a crucial propaganda feature. The flag at the mainmast top of our ship is unequivocally the red-yellow stripped flag of the Crown of Aragon, intentionally placed at its second highest rank emplacement to denote the Nation the ship belonged to. As for the third flag, that one placed at the foremast top, its real usage and meaning is still completely unknown to me -although its design is highly meaningful, for it combines the Burgundian Cross and the Aragon stripes.

It should be noted that, in case our hypothesis are confirmed by further proofs, its eventual validity should be restricted to the 1705-1711 period, before Archduke Charles' coronation as Holy Emperor -for it seems quite likely that Austro-Catalan flags might reflect somehow their sovereign's status change since 1711.

Austro-Catalan Warships

2010-05-29T18:19:00.004+02:00

I've been long intrigued by the reasons for the relative impunity enjoyed by the Catalans during most of the 1713-1714 campaign to keep their harbours open and active, so that a number of convoys from the Balearic Islands actually reached in Barcelona, bringing to them supplies, weapons and even fresh reinforcements. The Catalans even managed to form a battalion in Catalonia and have it transferred in to Majorca, to reinforce the Imperial garrison in that island! Such facts do not match with our perception of the Catalan opponent -the Spain of Philip V-, which was supposed to be a naval power and therefore should have been able to block the Balearic Sea since the campaign very start, or even to take Majorca and definitely cut communications and supplies between Catalonia and the Empire. An attempt of it was made in 1713, when the Marquis of Ordoño was dispatched in command of a 400 men battalion to take control of the island, with the single escort of two galleys. Not necessary to specify what degree of success achieved Ordoño expedition.

There are likely two key factors to explain such an odd situation. The first one, that by these times the Spanish fleet was in a really bad shape, or massively employed to secure the Atlantic routes -for, at the end of war, Spain was close to financial collapse and was dramatically needed for American gold convoys to arrive. I have little information on this subject yet, although contemporary Catalan Historians strongly support such thesis.

The second factor is much more intriguing in itself and exciting to me, as you will probably understand. Several academic sources confirm that Catalonian Authorities gathered in 1713 an improvised fleet to face the Spanish Armada -an admittedly quite small one, although quite effective as stated by Historic facts. As far as I know, that fleet was composed by:

Sant Francesc de Paula - A 28 guns ship of unknown type -likely a brigantine, for it was hired from a local trader. The ship was upgunned to 38 or 40 cannons -depending on the sources. Her captain was Josep Tauler.

Nostra Senyora de la Mercè & Santa Eulàlia - A 24 guns ship of unknown type. It was purchased to Genoa, and afterwards upgunned to 34 or 36 cannons -again, depending on the sources. Her captain was Miquel Vaquer.

Santa Madrona - A formerly French 36 guns frigate, that had been captured. It was put under command of Capt. Josep Capó.

Sant Josep, also called Sant Josepet - A 20 guns armed transport, hired to an Eivissa/Ibiza clergyman.

Besides of these above, the 1713-1714 Catalan Navy sailed other 6 frigates and 9 brigantines, either purchased or hired, as well as up to 50 tartanes de guerra -this term presumably referring to armed barks, or small transports.

As seen, I can show little information in this subject yet -so that any additional piece of information might be highly appreciated. Sources of the article: 11setembre1714.org and Museu Virtual de la Guerra de Successió.

A disturbing issue

2010-05-19T23:35:00.007+02:00

We were recently acknowledged about the creation of a new commercial publishing firm in Spanish language, that will be devoted to Ancient and Medieval times Military History, under leadership of the well-known hobbyist Javier Gómez (better known at TMP by his nickname El Mercenario). After having taken a glance both at their website (www.despertaferro-ediciones.com) and their weblog (despertaferro-ediciones.com/blog), as well as their free, promotional 0-issue, we should consider it as fully good and happy news, if it had been given a different name as trade mark. However, I've got literally shocked for some days after learning that such new publishing brand has been named Desperta Ferro Ediciones, as maybe some will already know thanks to this TMP piece of news. In other words, the new firm has been given a name which is fully concurrent with my own current home publishing adventure, Desperta Ferro! Edicions (or Desperta Ferro! Publishing as I use to refer to in English).

Unfortunately, I had relied too much in the Creative Commons license granted to my PDF booklets, in whose respective Foreword chapters my "brand" name was usually mentioned, and negliged to officially register it as a trade mark. So that, strictly speaking, my home publishing adventure should no longer be known by its current name -for it belongs to a commercial firm from now on.

Having contacted Desperta Ferro Ediciones staff, they have expressed their regretting for such an unfortunate coincidence, and even have explicitly authorised me to keep using the name and this weblog URL. However, I believe it better to cease using Desperta Ferro! Edicions for designating my PDF wargaming guides collection. Sadly, I feel it's my moral duty to have it changed by a different name -an admittedly so slight change as I can. It also seems that I'll have no other chance than spending some money else, this time to register that new name.

For sure that any suggestion you'd kindly let me know would be warmly appreciated.

Delay in new releases

2010-04-22T15:57:00.007+02:00

It’s my duty to announce that the English language version our latest booklet, Urn of Honour, which was initially expected for tomorrow, April 23rd, has to be delayed to a still uncertain date within this year.

As some of you maybe remember by the thread above, I released first a Catalan language preliminary version of the booklet, due to domestic reasons –albeit with the promise of translating it into English as soon as I could. However, two main factors have prevented me from fulfilling that promise in due time.

First of all, I must admit that my own expectations of time availability to do this job were too optimistic, and now I realize I’ll need a longer while to complete translation. That simple, sadly.

Secondly, a recent talk with the University of Barcelona DIDPATRI young researcher Xavier Rubio has revealed to me that a new book of Prof. Xavier Hernàndez on the WSS Catalan Army is about to be released, and seems to be scheduled by next September. This new book is to deal with the “Coronela” urban militiae system –a subject that clearly overlaps with that of my own booklet, and seems to be scheduled by next September.

This new book will for sure deepen our knowledge on this para-military organization –which was key to the Catalan war effort– far beyond our to-day notions on it; therefore, I’ve thought it advisable to stop my booklet release until Prof. Hernàndez work is published, so that we can know to what extent are our premises to be modified. From a strictly pragmatic point of view, I would be irresponsible if publishing now a booklet while knowing in advance that I'd be forced to revise and correct it in a few months -moreover, if keeping in mind the time availability difficulties alluded to.

On the other hand, given the volume already achieved by Urn of Honour booklet, and depending on the amount of new informations learnt from Prof. Hernàndez’s book, I even might become inspired to split the booklet into two... Anyway, while awaiting the release of that book, I'm not going to stay inactive -but let me keep some silence about this, by now.

Every cloud has a silver lining, as commonly said.

What-if-land (4 and last)

2010-04-20T19:01:00.003+02:00

OK, it's been decided, Alea Iacta Est. I am going to create a new blog, to host a future 1713-1714 campaign and afterwards, depending of the campaign results, to watch our What-if-Nation birth (or fate) and develop its eventual daily life. This new weblog has been given the name of Defiant Principality and will be hosted at what-if-catalonia.blogspot.com. The blog itself has already been created, although it has no contents yet. Gradually, I'll be posting there my notes, ideas and plans for managing the campaign -so that I'm no more going to bother anyone with eventually undesired posts in this Desperta Ferro! weblog, which was meant to host support stuff and news strictly related to my guide booklets, and shouldn't derive into such diverging purposes.

What-if-land (3)

2010-04-17T00:38:00.004+02:00

After reading the encouraging responses received to my What-if-land (1) and (2) threads, I’ve felt deeply tempted to continue my speculations on the creation of a brand new 18^th Century Imagi-nation, more or less based on an episode in my own country History. However, I believe now that it would be far better to keep such impulses still in hold, keeping my ideas to silently flow for a while, so that they are given the appropriate priority among my projects –but no more than strictly necessary.

The cause for this decision is that I already have some other projects in hands, which are in progress at this time, such as the September 11th, 1714 Project of recreating the final urban battle for Barcelona –the one that eventually put WSS in the Peninsula to an end. A second initiative I’ve got on its way is an overall re-modelation of the oldest miniature armies in my collection: mainly, my beloved 15mm Classical Greek Army –the one I started wargaming with, some 20 years ago, but also my 15mm ACW Confederates and 20mm SCW (both sides). Besides, I’m still in the job of building and digitalizing a pictures collection of all of my armies –albeit this task can be hold in background, so that it may be growing simultaneuosly with any other project I would carry. And, last but not least, the wargaming guides series hosted in this weblog.

Starting today further moves on the What-if-land direction might hamper seriously anyone of these projects. If I tried to carry all of these initiatives altogether, sure that several of them will have to be dropped off sooner or later -and I wouldn't like it to happen, by no means.

However, we maybe might to set up a few first steps in this exciting project. For example, what name should be given to our brand new What-if-nation? I must admit to be tempted by "What-if-land", but it seems too direct and simple. "Ucronia" maybe? -Too much used, we might localize a number of blogs identified by variations of this name. And what about "Ítaca"? This one has no meaning for a non-Catalan, a part from identifying by it a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. However, this is a strongly meaningful name for any Catalan, derived from the song Viatge a Ítaca by Lluís Llach on a poem of Constantinos Kavafis. Mmmmm... too much lyrics?

Er... and "Icària"? -Isn't it too evoking of utopies?

What-if-land (2)

2010-04-12T00:39:00.006+02:00

At present, my plan mainstream for an eventual What-if Nation, as explained a few days ago, would go around developing two main ideas:

First, the 1713-1714 military campaign in Catalonia should be re-fought, in order to see whether our What-if-land succeeds or not in its desperate fight against the Two Crowns (a capital letters what-if, I’d say!). Obviously, such a first step would be not only critical to any eventual continuation of our imagined adventure, but it also represents an exciting, hard challenge in its own.

This major plan presents several issues to be solved concerning the military campaign itself, such as supply lines mechanics, fortresses role or population behaviour. Few battles involving more than 3,000-5,000 men per side would be expected, so that a number of engagements might actually be resolved using some black powder era skirmish or low-level tactical rules.

Not only the above subjects should be studied, but hazardous events critical to the campaign should also be defined and regulated too. For example:
- Direct involvement of France since Spring 1714. What if it wouldn’t happen, or if it happened later? Which factors would regulate this to happen, and when?
- Death of Queen Anne and coronation of King George. What if it all happened, let's say, one month before?
  
  -It has been learnt that the British new King’s will was to favour a diplomatic compromise concerning Catalonia –even to force it, as proved by the orders He shipped to Minorca's Governor (John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll?) in Summer 1714, in the sense of relieving the blockade Barcelona was suffering at that time; these orders arrived in Maó/Mahon just a few days after the Catalan capitulation, however.
- I've been acknowledged that the English garrison of Minorca was of some 8 battalions in 1711, although probably it was a lesser number in 1714. What if King George's orders had arrived in time? Would have Lord Campbell risked enterprising a land action to join forces with the hinterland Catalan Army under Lord Desvalls (Marquis of Poal), that in August 1714 was fighting its way towards the Barcelona besiegers lines? -or would he only have committed himself in freeing Barcelona's harbour from the French blockade?

Secondly, after completing the campaign, if What-if-ish independence was gained (and only if such happened), we should have our hands free to get our brand new country involved in as many adventures and conflicts as we desired and could!!

My main concern here is uncertainty if such a What-if Nation might be inserted in the 18th century Europe Imagi-nations world (or any other existing alternate world), and whether it was advisable or not -for we should have in mind that such a real What-if-land wouldn't fit in the average profile of "Emperor vs Elector" Nations, which are entirely fictitious. Should we properly mask that What-if-land's identity?

However, such matter is strongly conditioned, by now, to the real chances of designing and conducting the above mentioned independence campaign, so that maybe better not to get worried by this so soon... [to be continued... maybe]

What-if-land (1)

2010-04-08T22:58:00.006+02:00

After having tracked for some time the Imagi-nations' fictitious 18th century world -either by reading about them thanks to their constellation of blogs, or by following news and opinions at The Miniatures Page website-, I’ve started feeling tempted to get myself involved in such an exciting adventure too.

True that it’s still too early to publicly expose such feelings, because I’ve already got involved in some other gaming projects that are to keep me busy enough for the following months, so that I would easily have no spare time enough to develop my Imagi-nation concept in an appropriate manner. In fact, I have only a vague draft of it in my mind so far. However, I’ve thought it better to take a first step on this matter and to let you know it, albeit conscious this is quite vague still, hoping that your opinions and advice will help me better defining that project or, inversely, tempering eventual immoderate enthusiasms.

In fact, I’m thinking of a What-if-nation more than of a proper Imagi-nation, as outlined in this TMP thread; that is, instead of imagining a non-existing country more or less inspired in a real one, I would speculate about what would have happened to a real country if certain circumstances would have applied in a given time, allowing it to gain liberty from his real metropolis and become an independent nation.

To be precise, my latest readings about War of Spanish Succession have made me realise how close was my own country, Catalonia, to achieve success in that war -even in its later 1713-1714 stage, when all the odds seemed to have turned against it. So close it was, that the converging occurrence of just a few factors would explain an unexpected aftermath of war -in the Peninsula theatre, I mean. Some of these factors are only due to hazard, so that my what-if scenario should force these in some way; but others would only depend on the drama main roles’ strategic skills -and there is room enough for any dedicated wargamer...

At this stage, you can easily deduce that my plan was to set up a Catalan What-if-nation, in order to watch (and game) its evolution through the Modern Era. [to be continued... maybe]

My first Mountain Fusiliers painted

2010-04-06T20:12:00.002+02:00

Last Sunday, I already started painting a first batch of those beatiful Miquelets received from Eureka Miniatures. I haven't finished them yet, but am so enthusiastic with the results so far that couldn't resist the temptation to show them to you, so that I've taken a couple of pictures with them still on the workbench. Please click on each picture to see it enlarged. First photo shows a frontal view of the entire range, with a Dixon mini at their right as the unit standard bearer to emphasize size differences; pease note that Dixon mini base has been added some 1.5mm supplementary width. My second picture shows a rear view of these same miniatures, to let you appreciate their equipment high detail level. True, Mountain Fusiliers regiments carried no flags; however, I've thought it convenient to satisfy my unit colonel's vanity (and mine own!) with a cavalry-sized standard. Aren't they lovely?

Eureka Miniatures' Miquelets!!

2010-04-05T00:26:00.002+02:00

Last week, we were delivered the very first batch of 15mm WSS Austro-Catalan Mountain Fusiliers (=Miquelets) produced by the well-known australian manufacturer Eureka Miniatures within their 300 Club pre-orders program. As you will appreciate by the attached photos showing a handful of these miniatures already primed and ready to be painted, Eureka's sculptor Mike Broadbent has done an excellent and accurate job with these figures, which have been represented in lively, active poses and show a high historical fidelity. Within the 15mm scale ranges, Eureka's Miquelets fall into the taller ones' side, so that they seem to me fully compatible with those of Rounday pr even Minifigs; although not so with those of, let's say, Dixon or Essex, which are not less than 2mm smaller. I shall have a first batch of Eureka's Miquelets painted in a few days, and I'll then show to you how do they look like once brought to life. I must say that those miniatures are simply splendid, among the finest ever painted in this scale. No doubt.

Building Barcelona: first steps

2010-03-29T15:49:00.002+02:00

Despite our silence of the past few weeks, our September 11th, 1714 Project paciently goes on, albeit with some direction changes. The main one is that we are no longer using plastic 20mm figures, but metal 15mm instead, which are to be based on 2.5 x 2.5cm stands. Such a change has been motivated by the poor quality of stuff BUM's Succession War figures are made of, which makes them unacceptably fragile and therefore not viable for our purposes. No doubt that using 15mm figures will prove a bit more expensive to us, but this option offers a much more quiet and safe handling for eventual players -and us! Soon we'll be showing you a first batch of them, for there is a group of 20 armed civilians almost finished. Moreover, the Project-devoted section in our club's website is already showing some photos of scenario stuff, basically consisting of a section of the Muralla de Migdia (=Southern Walls), Baluard de Llevant (=Eastern Bastion) and Convent de Santa Clara (=Saint Claire Convent). All these elements have been made by assembling foam card pieces approximately 3mm thick, glued with white glue and covered with sheets of adhesive, commercial textured paper, or by PC manipulation of architectural papercraft models They are not completely finished yet, but they already offer a promising aspect, isn't it?

First scenery trials

2010-03-08T23:11:00.002+01:00

This weekend I’ve been starting my first serious attempts at building urban terrain for our projected September 11th 1714 scenario. I thought it best to start job by the city walls, because their final perimeter will be conditioning areas, sizes and heights of all of the terrain pieces enclosed within them: buildings, streets, barricades, and all that... Besides, there is a quite more pragmatic consideration to have in mind: as wall sections tend to be quite uniform, mostly straight and with little –if any– particular features, working on them first will be my best training experience for the rest.

As I've lately learnt, by the 18th century Barcelona city walls hadn’t been thoroughly reformed as a whole yet. True that some of their sections had been adapted during the Separation War (1640-1659) with the addition of low-profiled, wedge-shaped bastions, built in brick for an easy and fast reconstruction, thus following that period trends. However, during the War of Spanish Succession, a considerable part of Barcelona defences were still of Medieval origin (see the pictures of a still surviving section, located close by the Crown of Aragon Royal Shipyards: salillas.net/castellscatalans/murallaBCN.htm. Note that only the 3 first pictures of this website correspond to the Medieval walls, for the rest of photos are of the Roman wall sections).

So that I’ve started first with a relatively long, straight wall section, a regular parallelepiped in fact, measuring 19.5cm long, 5.5cm wide and 5cm high at walkway level –6.5cm high up to battlements. As you can easily figure out, I've built it by assembling together six pieces of 0.3mm foam card –plus a seventh one, placed in the middle for additional strength. The kind of glue used for assembling is that one called cola blanca or cola de fuster in my native language –that is, white, or carpenters' glue if literally translated. Sorry I don't know its English name!

The set has been completed by fixing onto its surfaces a stone textured adhesive paper, purchased to the Québecois eBay trader scaleplanet, as well as the pavers on the walkway. Model is to be finished up yet, by filling gaps with a little putty and spray varnishing the whole, but you can see its nearly final appearance in the pictures attached to the post. In fact, these pictures were taken yesterday, and in the meanwhile putty has already been applied, so that this wall only needs a little painting and varnishing job. Today I've been designing a first "Vauban style" bastion, which I expect to have finished during this week. I'll be showing it to you as soon as I have it completed.

Booklet translations, on their way

2010-02-24T20:23:00.005+01:00

At the time of releasing our booklet no. 3, Urna de l'Honor / Urn of Honour, which had been published first in Catalan language, I promised an English language version to follow it in a not too short time. Besides, translations have been also asked for the rest of our booklets: to be precise, several sources have been recently asking (and working for) a Spanish language version of no. 2, Struggle for Stalingrad - September 1942, and last but not least, some gamers from Barcelona who feel uneasy with English language have been asking to my gaming buddies for a Catalan language versión of booklet no. 1, Catalonia Stands Alone - The Catalans' War. So that I've thought it would be better to set up a global translations schedule:

1) By last November, the English language Spanish magazine Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy worked out with us an updated version of Struggle for Stalingrad, to be published by them in their issue no. 50. So that I judged it good to take advantage of such a re-edition to produce a Catalan and a Spanish version of it, too; all of them are finally available for download from the following URLs:
English language version: df2_Struggle_for_Stalingrad.zip
Spanish language version: df2_Struggle_for_Stalingrad(esp).zip
Catalan language version: df2_Struggle_for_Stalingrad(cat).zip

2) From this point on, I'll be starting soon working on the English language version of Urna de l'Honor / Urn of Honour, which I still expect to release by Saint George's Day.

3) Next, it will be translated the booklet Catalonia Stands Alone from English to Catalan language , taking advantage from its recent 2nd edition release, so that the booklet's Catalan version will be fully updated -just as their English counterpart.

Hope this satisfies our patient readers!

More 15mm Mountain Fusiliers' photos

2010-02-11T16:12:00.010+01:00

I've been kindly delivered by Mr. Nic Robson some pictures else, showing the Eureka Miniatures projected 15mm Mountain Fusiliers not only from a frontal perspective, but also from the back, so that you can appretiate the amount of details on them: bags, water pumpkins, and their curious way of wearing their coats.

Besides, in the images below you can see two characters not shown in former pictures: an officer and a horn-blower. As for the officer, he is dressed and equipped roughly same way as his soldiers, armed with a musket too. His only special feature seems to be his sword or sabre. About the horn blower, please notice that his instrument is not any horn, but a seashell instead -an authentic feature, inherited from the Middle Age Almughavars. Worth to repare too in the particular shape of some musket butts -such as those of the musician and the officer. This kind of butt is authentic too, and it corresponds to a Catalan manufactured musket -most likely, with a Miquelet lock.

15mm Mountain Fusiliers: we've got them!

2010-02-10T20:25:00.002+01:00

Maybe some of you will recall our post of 4 June 2009, where we shortly reviewed a few different miniatures designing projects, all of them related to Austro-Catalan troops in the War of the Spanish Succession. One of the most significant among these was that one of the well-known Australian company Eureka Miniatures, consisting namely in carrying out a complete Mountain Fusiliers (Miquelets) range in 15mm metal (compatible with popular ranges such as those of Dixon, Essex, Minifigs or Roundway). This project was part of the Eureka's custom designing and pre-order program known as 300club, where the requested miniatures were sent into production line if a total of 10 applicants requested a total of 600 figures jointly.

Well, as you can easily guess by the photos accompanying this article, the projected 15mm Miquelets are going steadily into production in a short time, so that they'll become a real choice for your armies by March (maybe earlier). At least, these are the news received today from Nic Robson, manager of Eureka, who has kindly attached us some photos of Mike Broadbent's greens. By clicking on each photo, you'll be able to verify Mike Broadbent's accuracy in reproducing most of the known features of these particular, specialist troopers so widely used by Charles III Habsburg: long untied hair under their tricorne hats or forage caps, coats characteristically hanging from a shoulder, wide and old-fashioned-looking trousers, gaiters partially bent below the knees, belly cartridge boxes, etc.

This is a magnificent work, in our humble oppinion, plenty of detail and realism. No doubt this will become a valuable addition to our WSS Imperial or Austro-Catalan armies. So valuable that it is really hard to believe that no manufacturer had ever before designed such a characteristic troop type -which was in fact the core nucleus of the Spanish Army of Charles III Habsburg, along with the excellent Catalan and Aragonese Cavalry, far over the Line Infantry battalions, most of which had no significant role until late war. They could be formed either in regular battalions (over a dozen of these were raised until 1713), or in skirmishing, guerrilla-type irregular militiae.

In fact, such kind of specialist troop was so successful in their role that soon the Two Crowns' armies included some number of Mountain Fusiliers units too -although in a lesser quantity. In the end, some number of Miquelets battalions are a real, historical must for anyone fielding a Peninsula theater WSS Army.

If interested in adding your own Miquelets pre-order to the Eureka's 300Club submission too, you can follow this link.

A new, exciting resource

2010-02-04T00:35:00.004+01:00

In has been recently created a new website on the War of Spanish Succession, under the suggestive name of Museu Virtual de la Guerra de Successió -that is, "Virtual Museum of the War of [Spanish] Succession". This brilliant website is due to the impulse of the Bosch Gimpera Foundation and the DIDPATRI Research Unit -both belonging to Barcelona University-, and is focused on compiling all the newly unveiled historical information about this conflict, which has been so willingly obscured in the Peninsula.

I've just started to explore the website itself, and have to say it is revealing as an exceptionally complete resource for wargamers and History lovers in general, plentiful of comprehensively explained descriptions, full colour graphics, maps ans schemas related to the development of war in the Spanish theatre -and more specifically in Catalonia. As I have learnt in the site legal notice, all contents are loosely protected by a Creative Commons license, unless otherwise stated in specifical illustrations or text.

It is divided into five major chapters: El Conflicte (="the War"), Les Batalles (="Battles"), Els exèrcits (="Armies"), Els Recursos (="Resources"), El Patrimoni (="Heritage"). Each one is in turn divided into different minor chapters, such as "the War" one, with 3 articles labelled as "Introduction", "England and the war" and "Chronology".

Some of these chapters will no doubt catch in surprise some fellow wargamers visiting the site, such as the "Armies" chapter, subdivided into such suggesting titles as "Military Organization", "Characters", "Fighters" or "Fortifications". One such surprises -at least to me- was to learn there that Catalan Infantry closely followed the English deployment tactics into 3 lines, for example. A similar surprise was to see that not only the Catalan Army regiments were listed and detailed there (BTW, using my own drawings!), but also the English/British regiments in Catalonia too -with excellent graphics designed by Francesc Riart.

Unfortunately for international wargamers, the website is entirely written in Catalan language solely, with no English translations anywhere. It is completely unknown to me if the Virtual Museum creators have already planned making it accessible to foreign readers, although I believe to have been told that an English language publication might be in preparation on the English involvement in the war. Wish all this to be real in a not too long term!

Museu Virtual de la Guerra de Successió site: www.guerradesuccessio.cat

Urn of Honour / Urna de l'Honor

2010-01-14T23:32:00.004+01:00

Click here to download it.

In his work Histoire Militaire du regne de Louis le Grand, the French military and chronicler Charles Sévin marquis of Quincy wrote "On peut dire des Barcelonnois qu'il n'y a guere eu d'exemples d'une defense si opiniâtre, & que des troupes reglées qui en auroient fait une pareille, auroient acquis une gloire immortelle. Mais des peuples révoltez contre leur Souverain ne méritent pas le nom de braves: leur valeur n'est qu'une fureur aveugle, & une coupable désespoir, digne des plus rigoureux châtiments". A real verdict that has inevitably conditioned, with all sorts of stereotypes, later historical interpretations of the 1713-1714 military campaign in Catalonia and siege of Barcelona.

Far from such stereotypes and determined to rescue for the miniature wargaming hobby one of the most exciting and epic periods in our history, we've finally succeeded in publishing a new booklet on the War of Spanish Succession in the Peninsula, following the trend started in late 2008 with our first guide, Catalonia Stands Alone. This time, our new booklet is taking the September 11th, 1714 assault on Barcelona city defences as a pretext to compile and revise the organization, uniformology and vexillology of the main Infantry, Dragoons and Artillery units belonging to the Two Crowns' army straightly involved in the fierce urban battle happened that fateful day.

Following a style tightly similar to that of our first booklet, this new release includes an introduction to the historical context and a chapter specifically intended to giving wargamers some ideas to gaming such an inusual, rarely chaotic, bloody and desperate fighting inside such a populated town. Along with it, an initial OOB is given for both forces, which is easily adaptable to the readers' choice gaming system preferences, followed by a collection of individual plates devoted to all of the Two Crowns' regiments involved in the battle, as well as some supplementary informations on Catalan minor units not dealed with in our first booklet.

Urna de l'Honor / Urn of Honour is a 49 pages electronic booklet in PDF format, fully illustrated with 46 uniform pictures and 53 images of Colonel's, Battalion's and institutional flags, besides of 2 maps, 8 ancient prints and even some photos -including a few of painted miniature soldiers. Jointly with the booklet, there is also a second PDF file containing four DIN A4 sheets of 2-sided flags to be used in your armies, pre-scaled in 3 different sizes --that makes a total of 7 flag pages!

Due to its close relationship with the September 11th, 1714 Project of our own club, this time our new booklet has been first published in Catalan language, in order to satisfy local demand. However, it won't be forgotten publishing it later in English too, although it will not happen before St. George's Day --my most sincere apologies for this, but I haven't spare time enough for all! Anyway, any those of you with some knowledge on Spanish, French or even Italian language shouldn't have too much trouble in understanding this booklet's contents more or less; in the end, Catalan is a Romanesque language too, quite balanced in influences and relationships with all of those...

Urna de l'Honor / Urn of Honour is available for download at no cost, entirely for free. Click here to download the zipped file containing the booklet along with the flagsheets.

News at last!

2010-01-05T17:45:00.004+01:00

These have been calm days, as it could seem for the lack of posts... However, beyond the apparent inactivity in my blog I've been quite busy in fact, as I'm going to explain in few words. On one hand, I'm painting a number of miniatures for our 11 September 1714 Project. Some of them have already been posted at my own painting blog: latest entries include both a Catalan and a French Generals, Catalan infantry and a cannon; other photos are to come soon.

On the other hand, I've nearly finished a new uniform guide on the War of Spanish Succession in the Peninsula theatre, that will be entitled Urn of Honour - Barcelona, 11th September 1714 as a subtitle. This new, third booklet is to resume topics and format of our 1st guide, so that will consist mainly of a uniformologic and vexillologic compendium, this time devoted to the Two Crowns' regiments straightly involved in the final battle for Barcelona -although it will include too some additional info on Catalan units not dealed with before -mostly independent volunteer companies, but also a few regular lesser units. It will include a wide bibliographic section too, and four (yes, 4!) flagsheets in an improved format and fitted in up to 3 different sizes (25mm, 20mm and 15mm).

I planned to have this new booklet finished before New Year's day, but I've experienced some unexpected delays (having had to revise some concepts), that will prevent me to release it before mid-January. However, as I explained some weeks ago in a previous post, this new booklet will be released first in Catalan language, not in English, for it is needed to satisfy domestic demand (my own game club mates!). Nevertheless, it will later be released in English too (I've scheduled this by St. George's Day).

In the meanwhile, maybe some would like to know that I've also set up a 2nd Edition of booklet nº 1, Catalonia Stands Alone - 1713-1714: The Catalans' War. This new edition will include a new Infantry Regiment, additional info on Mountain Fusiliers and high rank commanders, and some amendments related to the Majorca island garrison; besides, the attached flagsheets have been improved, in a way similar to those explained above, so that they will appear in 3 different sizes too. This revised booklet is already complete, and I'm just waiting the end of Christmas holidays to announce it.

Another painting trial

2009-12-23T19:36:00.005+01:00

A few weeks ago, I started a thread on TMP showing some examples of work with Zvezda and BUM 18th Century miniatures, posted at my own painting blog. I was then asked to post some pictures else, in order to allow readers to get a better idea on both producers' miniatures size and compare them. After some work, I've been finally able to post there another set of photos, which I guess will help in such comparison. In next weeks, I'll be posting too some pictures showing BUM and Strelets figures alongside, as well as a complete unit entirely built with BUM minis...

...but it won't be before Christmas, for sure! :)

Happy Christmas to you all -and a better year than this last one...

First temptative steps

2009-12-13T19:55:00.009+01:00

As explained some weeks ago, it was taken at my gaming club the decision to build a grand-format scenario depicting the Two Crowns' final assault on Barcelona and the heavy street fighting happened that fateful day of September 11th, 1714. We are still on the very first steps of this project, aimed at providing ourselves with some playtesting stuff. This concerns not just the figures number, size and decoration, but also to the proportions, sizes and materials of the scenery elements to be used.

Our plans include to build a first batch of units of both sides (let's say, some 2-3 battalions or 10-15 stands for each side, including infantry, artillery and characters). As a number of decisions associated to them are still to be taken, we're mounting them on cardboard provisional bases, which are just the minimum size necessary to fit the miniatures and no else. You can see the (still unfinished) results at images above, depicting a stand of mounted "Seguici de prohoms" (=Outstanding men retinue) -who acted as an escort to the Santa Eulàlia Flag of Barcelona. These are 1/72nd scale plastic miniatures; cavalrymen are made by BUM, while horses are from a Swedish Cavalry set of Zvezda.

Another set of miniatures already finished is a French Battalion belonging to the Quércy Regiment, built using Zvezda and BUM figures; if you would like to take a glance on them, they've been reviewed at my own painting blog. Sorry that website is only in Catalan language; however, you can try the Google Translate insert -but don't expect any great results! In a few days, I'll be posting there a couple of Catalan units too.

Simultaneously, I'm starting to assemble some building prototypes using conventional cardboard and paper, taking as a basis the original boardgame map, ampliated to 2,20 x 1,20 m. You can see one of these buildings at the picture next. They will lack any decoration job, for their only purpose is to add some volumetric proportions to our playtestings, and by this to be able to take some conclusions on the definitive scenery itself.

Last but not least, we've also started collecting cut-out paper models, like this one shown at the pictures close by, corresponding to a model of the splendid "Seu Vella" (=Old See) Cathedral of Lleida city (maybe better known by foreigners through its Spanish name, Lérida). Of course, we'll not be reproducing that superb cathedral as if it was a Barcelonian one, but this excellent model will for sure provide us with some useful textures and elements for our future scenography. In the next months, we'll be hunting some papers models like this --sure that the Barcelona Museu d'Història de la Ciutat or the National Museu d'Història de Catalunya will have plenty of such kind of stuff!!

Catalan High Rank Commanders

2009-12-01T20:34:00.004+01:00

According to Prof. Xavier Hernàndez & Francesc Riart, authors of the excellent book Els Exèrcits de Catalunya 1713-1714, high rank commanders of the 1713-1714 Catalan Army were dressed in red coats ans vests with golden embroidery linings on cuffs, pockets and likely all long the coat sides. A yellow sash was worn around the waist as a sign of rank, and their hat edge was trimmed with red feathers. Known portraits show them wearing high black boots, but it is likely that their stockings were also red. Such was the uniform of General Moragues, for example, as stated by Hernàndez & Riart.

However, we have learnt that clothing of the Supreme Commander of the Catalan Army, General Villarroel, might differ from the general pattern above --at least on some specific circumstances. In their book, Hernàndez & Riart give details of one of the uniforms he used to wear, which consisted of a blue coat with golden embroidery, red vests and blue stockings under his high boots. You can easily notice these are same colours as the Nostra Senyora de la Concepció Infantry Regiment --the unit he was Honorary Colonel of (see our Catalonia Stands Alone booklet, page 8). However, we shouldn’t completely discard that General Villarroel also had a conventional red uniform for use in events where his General en Xefe rank was to be shown.

Prof. Xavier Hernàndez & Francesc Riart also suggest a white coat for General Basset, instead of a red one as expectable. Joan B. Basset was the high commander of the Artillery Regiment and the Engineers Corps. As far as I know by now, Hernàndez & Riart have no evidences to support this hypothesis, but it sounds reasonable that one of the 3 diferent uniforms had by Basset could be a white dress as Artillery commander, besides of the conventional red one distinguishing him as a General.

About Catalan field commanders, after compiling Hernàndez & Riart informations it seems that Colonels used to wear one of two different patterns: on one hand, some seem to have dressed in the same colours than the troops they commanded --like General Villarroel himself; or Colonel Sebastià Dalmau, who was the commander of La Fe Cavalry Regiment (Catalonia Stands Alone, page 17) and wore a red coat with green cuffs and silvered linings instead of golden. On the other hand, other officers apparently used red coats with silvered buttons and/or embroidery; such is the case of Lieutenant Colonel Josep Ortiz, commander of the St. Vicent Ferrer Mountain Fusiliers Regiment, or the Barcelona City Majors Manuel Flix and Rafael de Casanova as commanders of the Coronela urban militia regiment.

New booklet on WSS, soon

2009-11-27T23:21:00.007+01:00

I'm happy to let you know to have already started work on a new Desperta ferro! wargaming guide, once again devoted to the War of Spanish Succession in the Peninsula theatre, so that we'll be back to the original target of our projected collection -Catalonia at war. Inversely to our former booklet Catalonia Stands Alone, which additionally included some small format fighting or skirmishing ideas, as well as a relatively small battle scenario, this time we're planning to center the new booklet in a big battle tabletop, no other than the final assault in Barcelona city by Marshall Berwick's forces, on September 11, 1714. Maybe surprisingly for some wargamers, our scenario is inspired in an existing board wargame on this subject, and will follow its area-based philosophy. The new guide will not only explain the scenario itself along with the game basic mechanics, but will take it as a background to compile and review the Two Crowns forces involved in it, in a comprehensive and schematic way closely similar to that used in Catalonia Stands Alone, comprising some basic info on each regiment, as well as uniform descriptions, painting suggestions on the Vallejo colours palette, and Colonel and Battalion flags.

It is planned to release a slightly shorter version of this new booklet in Catalan language first -for my gaming mates' use, for they actually are waiting for it!, expectedly within Christmas' time. Besides, a complete, English language version is also due for a little later. I couldn't ensure you when it will be finally released, but it is my aim to publish it by Saint George's Day -April 23, 2010. It will consist of not less than 40 pages -likely closer to 50-, including a short historic introduction to the battle, basic description of the game mechanics (along with the battle map, of course!), likely variations and (perhaps, only perhaps) a 'what-if' variant, detailed initial OOBs for both sides, French Army general notes and involved units listing, Bourbon-Spanish Army overall review, Colonel and Battalion flags discussion, involved regiments listing, and lastly some notes on the Catalan units that were present at this battle but are not listed in Catalonia Stands Alone.

I have attached to this thread a booklet's preview in a zipped PDF-format file you can download from this link. Please note that it has been deliberately shortened with respect to the real draft, because you will likely miss some amount of pages; also, you'll see it is currently written in Catalan language, so that you'll likely have some trouble to obtain acceptable text translations. You'd be warned too that its current title ("assalt a Barcelona") is far from being definitive. However, graphics and already written text are fully consolidated and will probably suffer no changes with respect to final version.

I'd be glad you would take a look at this preview, judge it and let me know all your criticisms and suggestions -or even unexpected help! ...and please spread the word! As told before, you can download the booklet's preview from here.

11 September 1714 Project

2009-11-10T22:23:00.008+01:00

A few weeks ago, it was taken at my gaming club a significant decision -as announced on our website, The Catalan Wargames Resource-, that will likely have us quite busy for some months. Following the initiative of the Barcelonian gamer Jordi Roca, who created some time ago a three-dimensional version of Circus Maximus -a well-known chariot racing boardgame- to be set up at public gaming events, conventions, tournaments and so, in order to attract the attention of novice aficionados and let it be played by them, we have also decided to build a somehow similar display with that very same aim in our minds: to let it be played by convention visitors and this way to help spread interest on our hobby.

Our participative game is to be based on Siege 11 September 1714, a board-based wargame dealing with the dramatic final assault to Barcelona -that eventually put to an end the War of Spanish Succession in the Peninsula. Such a wargame has the advantage of being ruled by quite light, easy-to-learn mechanics, so that it becomes suitable for gamers with little knowledge of more elaborate wargames, but simultaneosly is flexible enough to allow subtle tactics and strategies that make it attractive for experienced wargamers too.

We've by now started studying the best way to transport the game into a three-dimension version -a display that should include the north-eastern section of the city walls, as well as a considerable portion of the city itself. There are lots of issues to be studied and solved: scenographic materials, miniatures and layout scale, eventual changes to the original ruleset if needed, storing and transportation solutions, and so. If consciously worked and built, it might be an impressive display, for we have estimated that it will cover a 2,40 x 1,20 m tabletop, full of Vauban-style and earlier fortifications and civil buildings!

In the original boardgame, troops are represented by counters representing one company each. Every 5 counters represent a battalion, and some French regiments may have up to 3 battalions in battle. We've chosen to preserve such scaling by converting counters into FoW-sized miniature stands, holding each one up to 3 miniature soldiers and leaving room enough for the unit name and strength added to the rear. So that we'll have to paint some 330 infantrymen, over 100 grenadiers, about 14 cavalrymen, 4 guns and 3 generals -just for the Two Crowns' side! Besides, there will be a lesser number of Catalan defenders, among regular infantrymen, militiae, mountain fusiliers, gunners and noble cavalry! After some calculation, we've agreed to use 1/72nd scale (=20mm) plastic miniatures, which are clearly cheaper than the 15mm metal ones, and are not so inclined to serious damage when accidented by an inexperienced gamer. For French infantry, we'll be likely using the Zvezda excellent Northern Wars' Russian Infantry and Artillery; for their cavalry, Zvezda's Swedish Dragoons; while for Catalans and Spaniards we'll take advantage of the BUM's recently released War of Spanish Succession range. Our stock of miniatures can be completed with some Strelets' Artillery and, for Barcelonian armed civilians, some elements of Hät's Napoleonic Spanish Guerrillas and Orion's Pirates.

Here's where Desperta ferro! Edicions enters into action again: In connection with this significant initiative of my gaming buddies, I've been working out a new publication, which will consist of a complete painting guide on the Two Crown's forces involved in the 11 September 1714 battle, covering all those French and Spanish regiments straightly involved in the assault. Following the guidelines of my first booklet -Catalonia Stands Alone, it will also deal with Colonel and Ordnance flags, as well as starting OOBs & deployment for both armies and a Bibliographic section. I'm still uncertain whether it might be included there an abstracts of the original game ruleset, targets and event cards too. As far as I know, the game ruleset has been published only in Catalan language version, and there might be some legal issues preventing me to translate and publish it by my own -even as a free download. So that it still remains just as a possibility to be consulted. As you may understand, this new booklet will be published first in Catalan language, for it has been intended as a practical painting guide for my gaming mates; however, I'd be happy to publish an English language version alongside with the former one, or a little later at most.

Royal Catalan Guards flags (2)

2009-10-30T17:36:00.002+01:00

As told in my last post here, there was an important misinterpretation on a key paragraph of F. Castellví's Memoirs -that one concerning the detailed description of Royal Catalan Guards flags in 1705-1713.

The precise Castellví's Memories paragraph transcription is as follows: El segundo [regimiento] fue el que mandó formar el emperador ocupada Barcelona en noviembre de 1705 para su guardia y le nombró "Regimiento de Reales Guardias Catalanas". Tenía en sus banderas las armas reales de España y al centro del escudo las de Austria y lema que decía: "Donec Perficiam" con la imagen de la Puríssima Concepción a la otra parte.

This can be translated into English as The second [Regiment] was created under Emperor orders after the occupation of Barcelona in November 1705, and was named "Royal Catalan Guards". Their flags showed the Royal Coat of Arms of Spain [on one side] with the arms of Austria at its center (?), along with the motto "Donec Perficiam" ("Until Prevailing"?). At the other side, it showed an image of Virgin Mary [see images below].

Again, F. Castellví only describes the flags' main figures, without any mention to their background colour, eventual Burgundian crosses, double-headed eagles or flaming borders, although none of them can be plainly discarded -for some might likely have been a default device -so that the author considered unnecessary to emphasize such details, for these were the usual ones. There is no reference to eventual differences between Colonel and Battalion flags either, so that we are tempted to suppose them to have been identical. In the end, this re-interpreted text allows a quite familiar design to arise, radically different from the first one we had drawn some days ago:

I must admit to have experienced a relief after this revealing, for my first recreation of this Regiment's flags had resulted in a design that was highly contradictory with the hypothesis formulated in our Catalonia Stands Alone booklet. Moreover, beyond confirming them, this new re-interpretation strongly suggests that Royal Catalan Guards flags design was likely in the basis of the standard Infantry Colonel Flag defined in the 1706 Ordnances of Charles' III Habsburg.

Caught in error

2009-10-29T15:26:00.003+01:00

I've just been alerted to be there a misinterpretation on the www.11setembre1714.org transcription of F. Castellví's text describing the Royal Catalan Guards flags. I've been told it was a somewhat confusing paragraph, that led to a couple of key errors in translation. As a consequence, my own interpretation on this Regiment flag is to change drastically -as drastically as the paragraph itself. As soon as I have a little spare time, I'll be posting an adequately corrected description, as well as its corresponding graphic interpretation.

Royal Catalan Guards, 1705-1713

2009-10-26T00:42:00.004+01:00

To carry with Charles Habsburg' royal bodyguard duties, it was designed at first to create two regiments, infantry and cavalry, under the name of Royal Catalan Guards. Following this decision, by November 1705 it was raised a full infantry regiment formed by 10 fusiliers and 1 grenadiers companies, all of whose officers were rural Catalan noblemen, collectively known as Vigatans for being most of them natural to Vic town.

However, war needings soon forced the unit to extend activity far beyond their original bodyguard mission, so that in fact they operated as an elite infantry regiment, so becoming involved in most of the most significative fightings all through the war: 1706 defence of Barcelona and campaign of Aragon, 1707 first occupation of Madrid, 1708 defence of Catalonian borders, 1709 relief of Balaguer, 1710 battles of Almenar, Saragossa and Brihuega-Villaviciosa, as well as second occupation of Madrid. The regiment was formally evacuated from Catalonia on July 1713 along with the rest of Allied forces, although in fact most officers and troops chose to stay and defend their homeland. The Diputació General, or Catalan Goverment, then formed with them the 1713-1714 Nostra Senyora del Roser Regiment (cf. our booklet Catalonia Stands Alone).

According to the contemporary Catalan Military and Historian Francesc de Castellví, Royal Catalan Guards were dressed in yellow uniforms, for this was the House of Habsburg device colour. Moreover, it has been revealed that in 1706 they were provided by the Kingdom of England with 500 yellow coats with blue facings. However, the young Historian X. Rubio seems to suggest in his book Almenar 1710 that, by this time, facings were red. According to this, we might assume Royal Catalan Guards uniform as follows:

Coat: yellow
Facings: blue (later red?)
Waistcoat: blue?
Trousers: yellow?
Stockings: yellow?
Buttons: golden?
Hat border: white?
Cockade: yellow?

As already revealed at our booklet Catalonia Stands Alone for a later stage of war, no Austro-Catalan regiment flags description known contains any reference to double-headed eagles or Burgundian crosses, and such is the case of Royal Catalan Guards too. The description transcribed by www.11setembre1714.org states their flags showed at the anverse, the arms of the various Hispanic Kingdoms, with the Arms of Austria at its centre; in our oppinion, this central device would likely be the personal coat of arms of Charles Habsburg (not any double-headed eagle as Kühn and other sources use to state, for eagle was by then exclusive to Leopold as Emperor of Germany). Otherwise, we find it likely that the flag carried a red Burgundian cross as a background, in spite of not being mentioned there, for this had been the most genuine Spanish military device since Charles I times. At the obverse, the flag showed a Virgin Mary image over the motto "Donec Perficiam" ("Until Prevailing"?). You can see next our interpretation of such description:

Ahumada Regiment, 1704-1713

2009-10-21T23:41:00.007+02:00

Although it was in the Crown of Aragon where Archduke Charles found a strongest support to his claims for the thrones of Spain, the first Spanish military unit under his service was built by a Castilian high rank aristocrat, commanded by Castilian noblemen and filled mainly by Castilian conscripts. This unit was formally established with 560 men in June 1703, on exile in Lisbon, on the initiative of Juan Tomás Enríquez de Cabrera, Duke of Río Seco, Count of Melgar, comissioned Admiral of Castile. Therefore, the unit was initially named after him, Tercio del Almirante de Castilla. The new Tercio was granted its flags in 1704 and was renamed as Regimiento de Ahumada on next year, after the death of Enríquez de Cabrera.

Under its new commander, Ahumada Regiment fought all through the war in Valencia, Aragon, the 1710 campaign to Madrid, and Catalonia, until its evacuation from the Peninsula in 1713. Since then, Ahumada Regiment entered Imperial service, being a little afterwards rebuilt along with other evacuated units, resulting in the Imperial Infantry Regiment n. 44, Ahumada. It was disbanded in 1724 and joined to the I. I. R. n. 50, Alcaudete.

It is still uncertain its 1704-1713 uniform but, according Kühn & Hall, by 1716 it was as follows:

Coat: pearl grey
Facings: red
Waistcoat: red
Trousers: pearl grey
Stockings: pearl grey (maybe red)
Buttons: silvered or white
Hat border: white
Cartridge box: black

Image above left is a speculative extrapolation back from these data, in order to show how might this Regiment uniform be during the 1704-1713 period.

As for Ahumada Colonel flag, nothing is actually known but it can be infered that it would likely show a red Burgundy cross on a plain white field, as prescribed since 1685 during Charles II reign (see image at right). About Battalion flags, these are described -according to www.11setembre1714.org- as follows: Obverse: the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Castile over the Latin motto "Pro Lege, Patria et Rege" (For Law, Homeland, and King). Reverse: Santiago, or Saint James of Compostela, again over a Latin motto "Sanctus Jacobus Hispaniae Patronus". Beneath, Enriquez de Cabrera's own coat of arms. Likely these were changed in 1705 by those of the new Colonel, Count of Ahumada. No more details are known, but we can suppose them to have shown these figures and mottos on a Burgundy cross, too. Unlike Colonel's, Battalion flags might have had a background other than white -likely yellow, white and/or red, for these three were the Enríquez de Cabrera's Coat of Arms main colours. It can't be discarded to have had a flames pattern combining some or all of them, too. Images below are a speculative reconstruction based on the given description.

Talamanca 1714: Archaeology of a battle

2009-09-29T23:23:00.004+02:00

Our wargaming fellow, young Historian Xavier Rubio has let us know to be a new book on the War of Spanish Succession about to be released shortly. Its title will be Talamanca 1714: arqueologia d'una batalla (as stated in this post title) and will be devoted to the very last ranged battle of this conflict in the Peninsula theatre, which happened just a couple of weeks before the capitulation of Barcelona city to the Two Crowns' forces under Marshall Berwick. Paradoxically enough, this battle ended with a clear Catalan victory. This new book has been written by Prof. F. Xavier Hernàndez & Xavier Rubio himself, and is to be published by Llibres de Matricula, a local publisher from Calafell town as the number 2 of their Catalan military issues collection Camp de Mart. This publisher's collection first book was related to an ill-known battle of War of Spanish Succession too: Almenar 1710: victòria anglesa a Catalunya (=an English victory in Catalonia). Just as its predecessor, this new book will be lavishly illustrated by Francesc Riart, with hi-tech cartography generated by the authors themselves, and a detailed approach to the archaeological research on the battlefield made by the Universitary teams lead by the authors. Here you are a couple of cartography samples: 1 and 2.

Xavier Rubio has took advantage to anticipate us another cool news in the short/medium term, consisting of another book else, this one devoted to the English intervention in Catalonia during WSS including units listings, primary sources for every battle described, or an achademic discussion on the so-called by Catalan Historiography "English betrayal".

WSS Catalan Army, in production at last!

2009-09-24T23:49:00.002+02:00

Just as noticed, on September 8th it was held the worldwide presentation of the 1000 series of Barcelona Universal Models (BUM), a new collection of 1:72nd scale plastic miniatures related to the War of the Spanish Succession, with the 1713-1714 Catalan Army in a starring role into it. Complete series will consist in not less than 10 different boxes, respectively devoted to Austro-Catalan Infantry, Cavalry & Artillery as well as their Two Crowns' counterparts, and a couple of scenery boxes for urban-fighting diorama building. Unexpectedly, we were also presented two additional, "surprise" sub-ranges to follow shortly: Two Crowns' Infantry for Almansa 1707, and Anglo-Allied Cavalry for Almenar 1710.

Although invited by BUM's Management as a representative of The Catalan Wargames Resource, I didn't go in there with the aim of writing any chronicle on the event, so that I didn't take any care on carrying my photo camera, so I've had to wait until other chronicles were finished before publishing my own report. Plain and simple, it was a remarkable and emotive event, for our long-lived dreams of watching a Catalan Armies miniatures series finally launched had been accomplished at last!

In the event, we had the pleasure to listen at the speeches of Prof. Agustí Alcoberro, Director of the Museu d'Història de Catalunya -where the event was held- and Prof. F. Xavier Hernàndez of Barcelona University, author of such remarkable books as the Història Militar de Catalunya collection, Els Exèrcits de Catalunya 1713-1714 and the English language book History of Catalonia; there were also present the young Historian Xavier Rubio -a good friend of us and author of Almenar 1710, victòria anglesa a Catalunya- and the Manager of BUM, Mr. F. German Domingo. Their speeches were lively illustrated by a couple of members of the Miquelets de Catalunya Reenactment Society, who came conveniently dressed as an officer and a soldier of the 1705-1714 Diputació General Infantry Regiment.

BUM Management have recently posted on their website a wide video-photographic report on the event, so that, instead of trying to produce my own, imperfect chronicle, I should better recommend you to take a look at it!

Spotting the greens!

2009-06-20T19:47:00.003+02:00

We have recently known that the production of a new 1:72nd scale (=20mm) range of plastic miniatures related to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1715) is about to start. This new series will be have a special mention to the Catalan involvement, in a war that was to be the last one in History where Catalan-Aragonese troops would fight under their own flags. Not least important, it will be the first time that WSS Spanish and Catalan troops will be produced in this scale.

We have had the chance to interview German Domingo, owner of Barcelona Universal Models (BUM), who has not only agreed to give us some details about the main features of this exciting project of this Catalan brand, but to furnish us with some pictures of the upcoming range greens as well.

We are glad to let you know too that we've arrived to an agreement with Mr. German Domingo to include our booklet Catalonia Stands Alone / 1713-1714: the Catalans' War in their boxed sets as a free CD. According to the spirit of the Creative Commons license of the booklet, this agreement has not involved any payment to the author, and permission is given to BUM for distributing the booklet in their WSS boxes whereas the CD is explicitly included as a free gift -with prohibition to sell or trade it.

Please read here our complete chronicle on the event (apologies for eventual errors in text, we've written it hurriedly in our excitement!).

Austro-Catalan troops on the workbench

2009-06-04T18:11:00.005+02:00

Up to date, there are 3 different miniature manufacturers having in hand a project for designing Austro-Catalan troops of the War of the Spanish Succession. The most advanced of all is the well-known Australian maker Eureka Miniatures, which has already the reference 300CLUBHM13 under its 300 Club pre-orders program. By this project there would be produced 15mm metal Catalan Mountain Fusiliers (or Miquelets). For a 300 Club project to come into production, it should meet a numbers of 10 customers requesting for a total of 600 figures. In spite that Eureka website still shows for it an initial status of "1+", some weeks ago I was confirmed by the sales manager of Eureka, Mr. Nic Robson, the current status of 300CLUBHM13 to be 3 customers, with a total of 150 figures. So it would be needed 7 volunteers else to ensure an Eureka's final agreement to put these 15mm Miquelets into production.

A similar project was also presented by us to the US maker Wargames Factory, which also has a pre-orders program called Liberty and Union League. These would be 28mm hard plastic Catalan Mountain Fusiliers. They haven't inserted into the Liberty and Union League requests list, although it is expected to appear there sooner or later, for we were recently sent a message in previous acceptance.

Finally, there is a third project, long awaited for, heralded by Barcelona Universal Models (BUM). This well-known Catalan plastic models maker is mainly known for re-issuing or even copying other brands' products -with somewhat controversial honesty criteria. However, they have launched a few series of their own in a quite good quality, such as their 5000 series on the Spanish Civil War, or 17th century French Musketeers -this one, under their filial brand GerMan Miniatures. BUM has had scheduled for a long time a whole series on the War of the Spanish Succession and the 1713-1714 Siege of Barcelona, to be produced in soft plastic at 1:72 scale (= 20mm), that would include the Catalan city defenders as well as Two Crowns' troops under Philip d'Anjou. Their online catalog already includes two references belonging to this range, but we must admit not to know by know if these two references are already available for sale or if they're still in production.

As you can see, there is a lot of upcoming news about this fascinating topic, which in all three cases would include Austro-Catalan troops. All what is needed is a little effort and join us in either project: This is for sure a unique opportunity we shouldn't miss!

Struggle for Stalingrad

2009-05-31T23:32:00.003+02:00

Click here to download it.

When, in September of 2008, we published our first PDF booklet entitled Catalonia Stands Alone - 1713-1714: the Catalans' War, we expressed our aim that, far from being an isolated initiative, that booklet might become the first of a whole collection of wargaming guides devoted to the wars of the Catalans.

Soon afterwards, we started collecting information on the Hispanic armies of Charles of Habsburg and Philip d'Anjou during the War of the Spanish Succession, for our intention was to further explore this period and unveil some of its numerous shortcomings.

But destiny has given us an unexpected turn, after our local gaming club started planning a wargaming campaign focused on the 1942 German offensive against Stalingrad, to be played following the Flames of War ruleset. Given the scarce precedents in this area, we worked out a campaign of our own (based on some boardgames and the Firestorm campaign system of Battlefront Miniatures Ltd). After submitting this initiative to The Miniatures Page Message Boards, we understood that it would be a great goal to re-edit our campaign in English language too --and to do so under the wide, protective umbrella of this home-publishing label, Desperta Ferro! Wargaming Guides series.

Finally, we are proud to let you know that Struggle for Stalingrad - September 1942 is ready and available for free, while its original, Catalan language version will still be available from our club's website, www.wargames.cat.

It's true that Struggle for Stalingrad - September 1942 falls quite far away from our initial purpose, which was no other than unveiling the Catalan involvement into the main conflicts in History. However, we believe that such a work helps to reinforce credit on another major feature of our home-publishing label: making worldwide available materials produced by players, aimed at players. We wish you enjoy this booklet extensively!

Struggle for Stalingrad - September 1942 is available for download at no cost, entirely for free. Click here to download the zipped file containing the booklet along with the mapsheets and counters.

The "Joseph Marco" Mountain Fusiliers Company

2009-04-22T18:51:00.001+02:00

It has just been created a new historical re-enactment group in Valencia focused on the War of Spanish Succession (1705-1714). It has been formed as a part of the Valencian Napoleonic Association with the support of the Fencing Hall James I The Conqueror, and it is devoted to re-enacting the Valencian Mountain Fusiliers Company (or Miquelets) named after its Captain, Joseph Marco aka "El Penjadet", who was one of the most faithful captains under General Joan B. Basset in the War of Spanish Succession (1705-1714). The Partida de Miquelets de Joseph Marco is one of the few Catalan-Aragonese military units that served all through the war, since its outbreak in the Peninsula up to its very end: they were already present in the military uprising of Valencia, the Battle of Xiva in 1706, the siege of Xàtiva in 1707 or the reconquest of Castell de Guadalest (1708). Even in the last stages of war (1713-1714), when nearly all was already lost and an isolated Catalonia hurried to a defence at all costs, Joseph Marco's unit contributed decisively to the defence of Barcelona face to Philip d'Anjou's forces, on behalf of the Liberties of the Kingdom of Valencia and the Principality of Catalonia.

According to the History website www.11setembre1714.org, the new historical recreation group will take part in the 202 centennial of the Battle of Almansa (25 April 1707), along with its partner association in Catalonia, Miquelets de Catalunya. There were actually no Catalan-Aragonese troops in that battle, so that both groups will be re-enacting the Portuguese troops in the Allied Army.

The Coat of Arms of King Charles III Habsburg

2009-04-11T20:04:00.000+02:00

In the page 16 of our booklet Catalonia Stands Alone / 1713-1714: The Catalans' War, we showed as Archduke Charles' own a quite unusual Coat of Arms (picture 1) not corresponding to any of those stated by other sources, so that it is likely that some readers might guess where did I have taken the image from -or even might be doubtful on the reliability of our design.

It is true that the coat of arms most usually associated to Charles Habsburg is that one depicted in picture 2, as shown in Wikimedia Commons. This design belongs to the Projet Blasons of the French language version of Wikipedia and is based on the descriptions of the well-known Héraldique Européenne website. We don't know the ultimate sources of such a design, but we must emphasize that in our oppinion it doesn't match with the iconography traditionally used by the Habsburg Spanish branch kings since 1580 under Philip II, that was kept with almost no changes until the death of Charles II in 1700. Note that a similar basic design was later re-taken by Philip d'Anjou himself, with just the minimal changes needed to reflect the dynasty change he incarned. In the end, it seems more likely to us that the design described in Projet Blasons was intended for its use inside Austria and the Empire -not for Spain.

Otherwise, the iconographic samples known by us consist essentially of coins minted in Barcelona or Valencia during the War of Spanish Succession, and these always show us an Archduke Charles device as King which is exactly that same full Coat of Arms formerly used by his predecessors (picture 3).

Nevertheless, if the Coat of Arms we assigned to King Charles III (picture 1) is clearly closer to the samples above, it is also true that it doesn't match completely with them, for it shows a slightly different arrangement of its main heraldic devices, with the arms of Hungary between those of Aragon and Sicily, for example. Another unusual features in our design are the arms of Navarre and Naples -never shown before by the Spanish Habsburgs' standard Coat of Arms. As a matter of fact, our design is inspired by a polychrome relief kept in the Museum of the Virgin of Lluc Sanctuary in Northern Majorca (picture below), which stands as the only preserved grand format depiction of the Archduke Charles' Coat of Arms all around the Crown of Aragon States -and even in whole Spain. Unlike the arms shown at coins -that might have been re-cast unaltered since Philip IV or Charles II times-, we believe this relic to be a precious, trustworthy representation of the real Coat of Arms of Charles as King of Aragon and Castile, unless further unveilings make it wiser to change our minds.

Mountain Fusiliers in 15mm

2009-02-09T18:30:00.001+01:00

The Australian manufacturer Eureka Miniatures has just accepted our proposal to include the War of the Spanish Succession catalan Mountain Fusiliers (Miquelets) in their 300 Club pre-orders program. This consists recording and accumulating in a special 'pre-order' catalogue the requests sent by customers for their desired miniatures and hopefully turn them into economically viable projects. As soon as it is reached the number of 10 applicants with a total set of 600 miniatures requested, the new range is put into production and joins Eureka's general catalogue. Under this very same program, Eureka Miniatures produced last year some formidable 15mm Medieval Almughavars (which, for some reason still unknown to us, are not yet as "in production" but still in the pre-orders list -But we ensure you that they are in production, for some of us are already painting them and are fantastic!). Again with the Miquelets, our submission has already received the code 300CLUBHM13. Typically, Eureka will make a production proposal consisting of officer, hornist, maybe flagbearer too, and soldiers in 4 to 8 different poses. To add yourself to pre-order, you must be a registered Eureka website user (if you weren't a customer yet) and then make your request for figures at this page.

Flags of the Regiment de Mallorca

2009-02-08T00:29:00.000+01:00

In our booklet Catalonia Stands Alone / 1713-1714: The Catalans' War, we devoted a special section to the Infantry Regiment of Majorca which included an hypothetical drawing of its Regimental flag. Having by then no other straight sources, we drew a design following the general schema fixed by Charles III Hapsburg in his 1706 Ordnances, so that it showed at the observe the generally accepted Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Majorca -which is basically the same design adopted by the Autonomous Commonwealth of the Balearic Islands in 1984 (Llei de l'escut de la Comunitat Autònoma de les Illes Balears, BOCAIB n. 20, 10 de desembre de 1984).

We had assumed that the modern Balearic Coat of Arms had remained unchanged along centuries, but to our surprise, we have recently had access to a wide study that calls into question the actual age of this symbol, which actually seems to have been a Bourbon invention. The information available to us on this matter is a work by the phyllologist Gabriel Bibiloni, a Balearic Islands University professor who has sought for the origin of this device. According to his researching, the first known document showing such arms is a XVIIth century map of the Dutch cartographers Willem Janszoon Blaeu & sons, which was first published in 1635. Until 1785, no other samples of such a coat of arms are known with the exception of several other XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries maps, all of them foreign made and most likely reproducing the original Blaeu map -arms included.

However, Prof. Bibiloni shows in his work that the modern Balearic Coat of Arms, with a blue band crossing over the yellow-red Aragon bars, does not appear anywhere in the Balearic iconography of XVIth to XVIIIth centuries. It is never shown on any stone engraving, stained glass, painting, book or flag. In all known cases, the arms actually represented are those of the Kings of Aragon, just as used in Catalonia, Valencia and Roussillon.

As quoted by Prof. Bibiloni, the XIXth century Majorcan historian Joaquim M. Bover states that «...cuando en 1682 fue creado el Regimiento de infantería de Mallorca, tomó también el uso de las armas de Aragón; pero el de Provinciales del mismo nombre erigido en 1762, añadió, no sabemos con qué fundamento, una banda azul de derecha a izquierda sobre las barras de gules» (book Historia de Mallorca, Dameto 1841, volume II, page 784). That is, «... when in 1682 it was created the Infantry Regiment of Majorca, it also adopted the Arms of Aragon, but the Provincial Regiment taking this same name in 1762 was added, we do not know what reason for, a blue band from right to left on the red bars». Later in that page, Bover says emphatically that «la banda azul sobre las barras, ni es distintivo autorizado, ni admitido en heráldica», that is, «the blue band on the red bars is not any authorized or accepted device in [catalan-aragonese] heraldry».

In his study, Prof. Bibiloni does not determine at what time the National Coat of Arms was replaced by the current one, but after the numerous existing graphic documentation it can be deduced that its adoption took place de facto during mid-XVIIIth century -that is, under the Bourbons. So we must deduce that, in time of Charles III Hapsburg, the Kingdom of Majorca wore the same Coat of Arms than the Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia, as it corresponds to a member State of the Crown of Aragon. Therefore, we should better re-draw our (still hypothetical) Regimental flag of the Majorca IR as follows:

Following this schema, this unit Colonel Flag would be the same as that of other 1713-1714 Catalan Regiments.

Periodical updates

2008-09-27T13:36:00.000+02:00

In my oppinion, it is quite unlikely that any new edition of the booklet Catalonia Stands Alone / 1713-1714: the Catalans’ War is needed at a short-term. First of all, due to that Military Heritage and Battlefield Archaeology are quite young disciplines here in Catalonia, so that we hardly could expect a high amount of new unveilings in short time from the University teams currently at work on these disciplines. And secondly, because most of the booklet's informations and assertions can be considered firm enough not to have to re-build them in function of the current researchings results; at most, we expect and hope to be able to fill existing gaps, such as real Colonel flags, uniform details and so.

However, it is true that we’ve had to label some part of our assertions in the booklet as "speculative", due to the lack of info enough on the subject --and I ensure you that I'd love to erase such kind of labels. It is also true that little pieces of information might appear in the meanwhile, and it would be unfair not to let eventual readers know the way in that further researchings or readings are modifying (or consolidating) our knowledge on that ever-amazing period. In the end, I've thought that it would be a good idea to use this blog features and capabilities for editing periodical updates to the WSS Austro-Catalan Armies dossier, until the amount of new informations or amendments makes it advisable to edit a 2nd edition of the booklet itself.

Catalonia Stands Alone

2008-08-22T18:17:00.001+02:00

Click here to download it.

In 1713, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands abandoned the coalition giving support to the Archduke Charles of Habsburg in his war against Phillip d'Anjou for the crown of Spain, and signed the Treaty of Utrecht with France to finish their mutual hostilities. Caught in a risky strategic situation, the by then Holy Emperor Charles VI feels forced to evacuate the Imperial troops from the Iberian Peninsula, so leaving his main supporters there --the Catalans-- hopelessly alone face to the joint Armies of Phillip d'Anjou and Louis XIV. Far from getting scared, the Catalans organize their own army and defiantly raise it on the warpath. No doubt this is one of the most thrilling, epic and dramatic periods in the whole history of the Catalans and the Crown of Aragon, which commoted deeply the contemporary European society, besides of having marked forever the spirit of Catalonia. However, such an episode has been always ignored --if not deliberately silenced-- by everybody, even by the Catalans themselves.

Finally, after several months of intense work, discussing and revisions, we have already a date for the definite publication of the first Wargaming Guide entirely devoted to the Catalan armies: Catalonia Stands Alone handles in detail the organization, uniformology and vexillology of the main Infantry, Cuirassiers, Dragoons, Artillery and Mountain Rifles regiments belonging to the army that defended Catalonia during the last stage of the War of the Spanish Succession; it will include an introduction to the historical context and a chapter specifically destined to orientating wargamers to organize their own scenarios, or to replay some of the most spectacular fightings of that campaign. Finally, a 3 pages bibliographical section should allow readers to increase further their knowledge about the Catalan involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Catalonia Stands Alone is a 44 pages electronic booklet in PDF format, fully illustrated with 24 colour sheets dedicated to each of the 1713-1714 Catalan regiments, with 32 uniform illustrations, 16 detail parts and 31 images of Colonel's, Regimental and institutional flags, besides of 4 maps, 7 images of ancient prints and even some photos. Jointly with the booklet, there also are three DIN A4 sheets of 2-sided flags to be used in your armies. These flagsheets are in GIF format.

Catalonia Stands Alone is available for download at no cost, entirely for free. Click here to download the zipped file containing the booklet along with the flagsheets.