Friday 20 June 2014

Landsknecht Pike Block – Italian Wars


A forest of pikes and a sea of lace.

Following the lead of last weeks post, I return yet again to the time of lace-clad Renaissance warriors with a second row of landsknechts, completing my first pike block. Each Landsknecht pike block for my Italian Wars collection will be winged with a set of 3-base arquebus units, building on the Spanish firepower heritage of the imperial army at the time of Charles V. 

The second row.
Any willing Doppelsoldners? Come on now...

In order to familiarize with the subject standing on my painting table, I set out to investigate the origins of the Landsknechts. The word Landsknecht perhaps unsurprisingly originates from German, and can be translated roughly into knight or servant of the land. The term landsknecht is first used in the late 15th century to describe the elite mercenary infantry tradition developing at the time. They were initially an imitation of the Swiss in terms of tactics, but the later influence of the Spanish military innovations, would prove vital in establishing the landsknecht’s edge over their much feared mountain-men adversaries.

Second line, shot from the back.
The hardly visible 40*120mm plexiglass tray is from Oshiro Modelterrian.

The Landsknechts were chiefly drafted from the regions of Swabia (Southwest Germany), Alsace, Flanders and the Rhineland, but the phenomenon became a key part of European military culture and thus many more nationalities were represented in their ranks.

The father of the fatherless. 
Georg Von Frundberg.

The great iconic leader of the Habsburg landsknecht was Georg Von Frundsberg (1473 – 1528). He came from a South-German family of long knightly heritage serving under the Holy Roman Emperors. With a stern character true to the codes of his noble birth, he would become the all-embracing father of these “fatherless” mercenary children. 

A view of the complete pike block from the back.
Again it's set in a tray from Oshiro, but now in a 80*120mm frame.

Von Frundsberg would serve under both Maximilian I and Charles V in their wars on the Swiss and later the French. A true father to his flock, Von Frundsberg would on occasions, and without request from the Emperor, sell off personal belongings such as silverware and even his wife’s jewellery to create money to pay his devoted landsknechts.

The innovative Spanish Tercio would enjoy more than a century of battlefield dominance,
eventually outdating in the middle of the 17th Century.

The initial weapons and tactics were, as previously mentioned derived from the aggressive Swiss use of massed pike. However the Landsknechts would refine it and make it their own. The Imperial army’s quick tactical adaption to the late Renaissance influence of more efficient firepower from artillery and the arquebus, would put them at a distinctive advantage. One that even the gallant metal plated French Gendarmes or stern Swiss pikes forests couldn’t break. This would signal a shift in military paradigm; the time of the Tercios had come.

Thank you very much for reading!


30 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Stephen, it's a very pleasing period to paint!

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  2. Excellent work! The colours are superb.

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    1. Cheers, much appreciated. Colors are Foundry as usual, but I'm experimenting in multilayers and thinned up colors to smoothen edges, happy you liked the result.

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  3. Outstanding paint work, a superb start to your Landsknecht and Italian wars Soren. I have had a pile of Landsknechts to paint for sometime and you are giving me all the motivation to make a start on them!

    Great commentary on Von Frundberg too, from what I have learned of him he seemed a very tough fearless chap .

    Chris

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    1. Thanks Chris, would be so cool to see some landsknecht from your hand! Feels good to have the first block down and to be on track with this project. The period is really growing on me too. The rivalry of Francis I and Charles V and the colorful armies of the time is all quite enough to fuel inspiration for a large collection. I'm really just lurking about now waiting for Pro Gloria to release their plastic landsknechts and projected Gendarmes :0)

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  4. That's wonderful piece of work you have done!!

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you very much Christopher! It was certainly a bigger mouthful than my normal black powder units of 12-16 minis. Plus to avoid any uniformity in the ranks, each figure was painted individually - averaging 2-3 minis per day.
      So, your kind words are much appreciated!

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  5. Awesome brushwork yet again! Beautiful colours. The unit looks great together and a battleline of that quality will be spectacular.
    A minor thing is that I belive the shoulder "wings" you painted white on one of the rear rankers is really a part of the leather vest or jerkin often worn by landsknechts. Those jerkins very often covered the shoulder and sometimes also the front of the thighs. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=82175&objectId=1433878&partId=1
    Its hard to tell though without holding the miniature. And great painting regardless.
    /Mattias

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    1. You are very kind Mattias, and thanks for sharing the useful info on the leather vest.
      On taking a closer look at the miniature, I'd say you were right.
      As you know, I'm joining forces with Jonas and Micke on this collection, so I'm just as eager to see the finished battle line as you are. It's bound to be an impressive sight! Did you see that allmoge clash Micke posted?

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  6. Wonderful looking troops - a tribute to a colorful period.

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    1. Thanks Dean, it's a period fast becoming one of my favorites. Much to do with the quality of the figures too - Pro Gloria really is a joy to paint.

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  7. Lovely looking figures, I like the standard bearers armour. Pro Gloria actually do a Frundsberg figure if you were thinking of including him in the ranks?

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    1. Thank you for the kind words Oli, and - YES I see that now, under the command range in their webshop. Will definitely have to get this blister and integrate him into a landsknecht unit! He should be leading from front rank with the doppelsoldners :0)

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  8. Absolutely superb! Great use of colours in there on this most eye-catching (and I don't mean on the actual pike points!) of units.

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    1. Thanks Jason - as I mentioned above, the unit was painted doing each figure individually. So after spending unusually long time working on this pike block, your kind words are very welcome!

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  9. Stunning work! The colors are vibrant and superbly executed. You tempt me...

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    1. Well well Jonathan, I can do nothing but recommend a headlong plunge :0) Even for a devoted 19th century collector like me, this was just too appealing. And the history on the Italian Wars offers so much material to nerd about in!

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  10. Just when I start to think nothing is quite as beautiful as Napoleonics in 28mm, I see this, Landsknechts at their best! A fest for the eyes.

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    1. I'm following your lead here Monty! I've got a towering lead pile of Napoleonic 1812 accusing me of negligence, but my eyes are currently blinded by Renaissance pomp and lace. Thanks for your kind comment!

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    2. It is so cool to be able to follow your group project. I got to look at Jonas' work this morning and Michael's Allmoge too. All are spectacular to look at and done in different styles.

      I just realized you kept the black base intact for shadows. It makes for a dramatic contrast with the bright colors. I know it was a bitch to paint so neatly because I tried and failed to do this with my samurai. It's such a great effect I do want to try it again in the future. Thanks for the inspiration.

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    3. Thanks Monty, I know the guys appreciate the online feed back too! It's been very useful to the momentum in my projects to do the blogging (Michael actually got me into that), and as you can imagine, it's really a privilege and also a further driving force to be in a club with guys like Jonas and Michael. I've really developed my painting and the hobby in general since joining this Stockholm based club - a lot of good people there. I used to base with white for many years, mainly to get the colors bright, but changed to black for about 7 years ago, inspired by the possibilities with the Foundry paint system and the painting guide in their "Napoleon" rule book. From then on, it's really been a continuos refinement to find the right combinations of colors, washes and brushes. It can sometimes be a painful experience to pick up minis painted just a few years ago, as the style and tools used has changed so rapidly. One can become quite self flagellant :0) Love the Samurai, and have a bunch of Perry minis for this period. Jonathan's project in 15mm, Michael's terrain and now your mention of this has sparked some inspiration too! /cheers, Søren

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  11. Truly a fantastic job.
    I like these colors and details

    But do you know who smashed Tércio, their superiority on the battlefield
    and where this happened

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    1. Thanks Maximex, really appreciate the comment and visit!
      I'd say the tactical dominance of the Tercio died out somewhere between Breitenfeld and Rocroi - when the innovations of smaller mobile units combined with lighter artillery left the large Tercio too static and vulnerable. So, to a large extend, I'd say it was linked with Swedish/French doctrine refinement as they faced the Holy Roman Empire during the 30 Years War. It's not without reason that Napoleon held Gustavus Adolphus as one of his favorite military innovators. What would you say?

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  12. Impressive Sören !!!

    You realy got the pace up for this project !

    Best regards Michael

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    1. Thanks Micke, well I'd need to mobilize quite a few of these pike blocks to match your Allmoge force, what an impressive photo series you posted! Perfect for a Älvsborg 1502 scenario!

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  13. Simply stunning Søren! I'm really at lost for words so I'll just refer you back to my comment to your first post. :)

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    1. Well, you're kind to say - I'm looking forward to the planned Italian Wars painting session and project chit chat!

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  14. Really lovely brushwork!!

    Nice and vibrant as they should be.

    Darrell.

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  15. Thanks Bedford, really appreciate your visit and comment!

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