FoG2 Medieval: Florence versus the Papal States

 I can't believe it's been two years since I posted here. There are a number of reasons for my absence, including some health issues and a general lack of interest in posting (though not gaming) during the past two years. It may be that this marks a return to semi-regular posting. Certainly, I have an interest in talking to the void about history and gaming that I haven't had in some time. No promises, but it's probably worth checking back occasionally.

One thing that has happened in the past couple of years is that my interest in gaming has shifted towards miniatures gaming over board games. I still play board games, but my ability to create any sort of scenario I want to explore using minis has a lot of appeal. I'm less interested in the painting and collecting aspects of the hobby. Hence, I've ended up with several armies of plexiglass minis from Wofun Games, all 18mm. When I want to play solo, I've found the Field of Glory games to be a great substitute. They look like minis games, the rules are pretty decent for the period covered, and one can throw together a custom battle with about half-a-dozen mouse clicks. The custom battles cover 75%-80% of what I want to play, and the editor allows me to quickly build more specific scenarios when I want to.

I'm particularly interested in the armies of the late Renaissance right now. Today's FoG 2 Medieval battle was a custom battle pitting the forces of Florence versus the Papal States sometime in the last 20 or so years of the 15th century. Having recently played a number of games set in the Wars of the Roses or the Hundred Years War as the English, I leaned toward a heavy selection of missile troops during army setup.

Florence versus the Papal States

Shooting Blanks at St. Quentin

The 1st Band of the French Companies has nearly cleared the island. Imperial forces are on the move.

I learned something very important today about the JTS Musket & Pike engine that I didn't know. It took several hours of playing the St. Quentin scenario. I've never run into it in other scenarios and never suspected it was there.

St. Quentin 1557 - JTS Renaissance

Montmorency's French relief army moving to force the passage into the city while English and Imperial forces begin to move toward the French flanks

I've been reading Sir John Fortescue's A History of the British Army - Volume I (1066-1713). The section on the evolution of Renaissance armies after the introduction of gunpowder I found particularly fascinating.

Pike & Shot Reading List I

My recent posts on the Early Modern era and associated games have lead to some requests for book titles on the period. Since I've read pretty extensively on the subject recently, I have a pretty good list. Recognizing that not everyone wants to dive into this the way I have, I've pulled together what I think are some good introductory titles.

The Renaissance Art of War

My current obsession is warfare during the Renaissance, specifically the 16th and 17th centuries. In particular I've been focused lately on the Italian Wars, though I've also been gaming some of the English-Scots battles and some of the fights in France during the first half of the 16th century.

The French arrive to relieve the siege of St. Quentin