Holy Roman Empire Mercenaries & General

Today I present some additions to my late medieval army of the Holy Roman Empire (although it was neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire, as Voltaire stated^^). I will primarily use them for the big battles of Swordpoint. All the models have been acquired on eBay and are of very good quality with no re-painting necessary.

First up is my general from the house of Habsburg. The heraldry is a beautiful brush work, althought is seems to be fictional, at least I could not find any fitting reference by now. Therefore, I have not decided which historical personality he should represent, but will rather use him as a stand-in for the actual commanders of several historical battles.

I especially like the scenic arrangement of the squire holding the actual warhorse, while the general is riding his travel steed. The pose of the trumpeter/herold is also very appealing.

Next we have some mercenary crossbowmen with pavises, perfectly based for Swordpoint as Open Order with 3 figures per 40mm square base. The are probably from France or Savoy, as both used the "White Cross on Red Ground"-heraldry pattern, and will see service with the Holy Roman Empire, the Burgundians or even some Italian City State.

The miniatures all come from the excellent Perry Plastics Box "European Mercenaries 1450-1500" and are quite beautifully painted. It is a good representation of the historical use of pavises, as the soldiers turned theirs backs towards the enemy while reloading to gain protection from the pavises on their back.

Having light armour and pavises, these crossbowmen form an excellent missile fire base, which can hold a position and draw attention away from the other units while supporting them with a hail of well placed crossbow bolts.

Last, but not least, here are some more crossbowmen, mixed with three handgonners. As they are based individually, I will use them for Swordpoint as well as for Lion Rampant. These are all metal figures and were painted by my new painter Mike Warters from Yorkshire.

As they wear no kind of recognisable uniform and are clad in more old-fashioned equipment (at least for the late 15th century, that is), they will serve as local militia or peaseant levies for the Holy Roman Empire or the Swiss, maybe even taking part in my planned army for the German Peasants' Revolt of 1525.

That's it for now. More posts may be coming soon in the next couple of days. Till next time!