From KristoferD: Baptism of Fire (66 points)

Hello again dear enjoyers of painting challenges and curiosities in miniature,

This is a special week because when you're reading this my Swedish force have most likely experienced their baptism of fire. I have managed to complete the last parts of a legal Swedish Field Task Force for By Fire and Sword. First up, the final officer stand.

The Swedish officers of the Deluge were a mix of noblemen and professionals. Many of them were both. The higher ranks would have had extensive experience from the Thirty Years War, including the king himself, Charles X Gustavus

The Swedish population of the 17th century was quite small compared to other regional powers. During the period of the Swedish Empire the constant wars became quite impopular among the nobility who were expected to send their sons to serve as officers. While some gained great success and riches, a lot of them undoubtedly lost their lives in foreign wars far from home. Thus put a strain on the not too numerous noble families back home. I believe this served to build an opinion on the homefront to further a more cautious foreign policy. After the humiliating defeat in the Great Northern War the doves of the "Caps" party, Mössorna, must have had a lot of good arguments against costly wars. Their hawkish opposition, the "Hats" or Hattarna seem to have had less influence given that the era is referred to as the Age of Liberty in Swedish history. Despite a few wars it was a mostly peaceful period with progress in civil rights and parliamentary reform. The Age of Liberty ended with a coup d'état led by the king Gustav III who was quite the character, in the literal sense, but we're over a century after the Deluge now so I'm getting off topic. Perhaps I'll cover the 18th century in the next challenge? We shall see.

Back to the heyday of the Swedish Empire. The final piece that was missing from my little collection is some dragoons.

17th century dragoons were mounted infantry. They were thus often equipped and organised as infantry, though these models are in fact wearing riding boots like the cavalry of their contemporaries. This is however historically correct to my understanding as the military fashion changed towards the latter part of the period.

Dragoons could and would be used in rough ground with the advantage of becoming less vulnerable to enemy cavalry. This is something I tried to incorporate in my basing to make them stand out a little extra on the table. However, I limited myself to some shrubs as I believe a lot of the campaigns in the Deluge were fought over open country.

Sorry about the lack of focus on the last picture. It's a challenge to not hold the camera too close to the miniatures. In any case, thanks for reading and following along. I hope to bring great news of victory next week.

As for the points:
12 * 4 = 48 points for the 15mm cavalry
9 * 2 = 18 points for the 15mm infantry
Coming to a total of 66 points. 

Kristofer, your 17th Century project keeps on flabbergasting me with it's steadfast quality and your inventiveness regarding sabot-bases. What a great idea to place the mounted- and dismounted figures on the same base but changing the front rank to show what formation they are in! Awesome stuff indeed!

 Cheers Sander