by BenF - Curtgeld; Count Kristofer Osváth de Thorna, gentleman at large (40 points)

From the letters and diaries of the Marquis de Montchevreuil, Grand Écuyer to His Highness The King of France, French Flanders, 1688

I first met the Count near the hamlet of Oestveld, while a local blacksmith saw to my horse. His accent and manners set him apart from all that is familiar. He claims to have come from the east, and yet while I have traveled much of the land hereabout in the service of our glorious King, I must confess to ignorance of his origins. His laconic manner and terribly scarred visage, despite his cover of powder, speak of hard service in the wars which have so recently beset the lands to the east. However, his dress is somber and bereft of that ornamentation which is so oft associated with the courts of the east.

From the moment he arrived in the camp, rumours have surrounded the mysterious Count Kristofer Osváth de Thorna. Some say he has travelled in the lands of the King of Tartary, providing counsel and strategy on military affairs to the barbaric horsemen who dwell there. The braggadocio Conte di Fortunato claims that, over a fine claret, the Count confided of his service with the Streletsi guard of enfeebled Tsar Ivan V of Muscovy. Baron Hans von Kroneberg claims he is a scoundrel, and that the Count was known to have served the Prince of Transylvania, leading a band of mountain brigands in barbaric small wars against the Ottoman Vizier.

What is clear is that his eminence the Duc de Luxembourg has taken him into service as a trusted advisor and confidante. It is my opinion that we do well to keep such men as the Count Osváth de Thorna in our employ, if only to deprive the enemy of their use.

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For this entry, my Curtgeld, I've shamelessly created a story set in Sidney Roundwood's fictional Flemish city of Laarden’s campaigns against Louis XIV in 1688 and 1689.  Perhaps it will come as no surprise to hear that this figure has been painted up as the prize for Sid for this challenge. Back in 2018, I visited Rich Clarke and Sid, and was treated to a great game, over half my weight in lager, and a great day with some chums I'd not seen for a few years. As an antipodean, it's not that often that I get over to the UK, so this entry will have to suffice as a thankyou till I can get a chance to buy a few Vino Collapsos or Cooking Lagers to repay Sid (and Rich) in kind.

The figure is one of the excellent Paul Hicks sculpts done for Ebor miniatures, from their GNW kickstarter a few years back. Hopefully his overly modern tricorne and tight cut tunic will not be too much of a shock to the world of Laarden.

Now that the bushfires are out, we've had a 'mini-cyclone' a week or so ago, which resulted in a few trees down, some flooding, and a power outage. Here's hoping that things are back to the normal Australian hot and humid February, so that I can get some more entries posted. Next up will be some 20mm WW2 Figures.

So far as points go, I believe this will bag me 35, 5 for the figure and 30 for the special entry.
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By Paul: 
I love this entry, especially the thought, creativity and story behind it.
Take 40 points good Sir!

PS Glad you are safe amongst the chaos of fire, flood, cyclones and pestilence that our country is enduring of late

From SidneyR: Don Fernando de Torrescusa, Marques de Girona (49 Points)

I hope you’ve all had a great Christmas, and are enjoying the holidays. I certainly have, although it’s been pretty frantic with visits to relatives, visits from relatives, a late near-Christmas Eve finish to work, spending time with the family… and so on. All events which seem to be planned precisely to prevent any time at all sitting at the painting table! That being said, I didn’t have great ambitions for the Christmas holidays - I’ve been there so many times before - great, elaborate plans and then achieving very little!! So this year, I thought for the Christmas holidays I’d just attempt to make a start, and a small start at that, on my Challenge contribution.

Let me explain a little about the figures below:

In the Autumn of 1688, the Lords of the Free City of Laarden, positioned between Brugge and Antwerpen on the Flemish coast, sent an emissary to the Spanish Court at El Escorial, just outside Madrid. The small party of Laarden plenipotentiaries, drawn from the five great noble houses of Laarden, had been given the task of seeking military support and financial assistance for their city’s expected involvement in a new conflict which almost everyone in the Spanish Netherlands was anticipating would start with the commencement of the 1689 campaigning season. While the Laarden plenipotentiaries were proud of their city’s independence in the turmoils of the frequent wars in the region between France, Spain and The Dutch Republic, they were pragmatic enough to realise that an alliance with the Spain was likely to be critical in securing their city’s survival in any future conflict.

Ever magnanimous, and sensing an opportunity to forge a profitable alliance with an important Flemish city, Count Oropesa, one of the leading advisors to the sickly King Carlos II recommended the immediate despatch of a Spanish military envoy to Laarden. 

Don Fernando de Torrescusa, Marquess de Girona, a veteran of numerous battles against the French, was selected for the mission. Don Fernando, although elderly and recently retired to his Castilian estates, was considered by his beloved Tercios as being a “soldier’s soldier”, as well as being a skilled diplomat. He was therefore a promising choice to negotiate the recruitment of a force of Spanish and Hapsberg allies to complement Laarden’s own militia and other Flemish and Walloon regiments gathering at the city itself during the winter months.

For our purposes, Don Fernando’s greatest legacy is perhaps his journal, which appears to have been written by him between December 1688 and March 1689. Commencing with details of his journey from the heart of the Empire to Laarden, his journal goes on to describe his experiences in Laarden in recruiting troops, skirmishing with outlying French patrols and preparing the Laarden forces in winter quarters for the campaigning season of 1689.

Extracts from Don Fernando’s journal will be irregularly appearing on the Roundwood’s World blog in the next couple of months. But for now, here is Don Fernando, cantering over the Flemish dunes with a small detachment of supporters drawn (perhaps) from one or more of the Flemish or Spanish regiments slowly assembling in Laarden. More optimistically, those with good eyesight can see the commencement (in 2mm) of Don Fernando’s forces, comprising a regiment of caracoling Spanish Horse, a battery of bronze barrelled Spanish artillery, two detachments of trayne guards and a 2mm version of Don Fernando himself and his personal baggage landing on a snow-bound Flemish coastline. 

The 2mm figures are from Irregular Miniatures. The large scale version of Don Fernando and his compatriots are Dixon Miniatures and Wargames Foundry (with a fair bit of conversion), with the reluctant baggage pony being from Midian Miniatures.

(45 points - depending on the 2mm scoring!)

I was wondering if we would see more from your wonderful Free City of Laarden project this Challenge and I'm happy to say that's the case. I just never get tired of looking at your work Sidney and this post is no exception.

The 28mm miniatures are wonderfully painted and as always tell an interesting tale both in terms of the backstory and the palette used. What I really like is the 2mm stands though. So much detail at such a small scale! I'm seriously tempted to try this period at this scale and it's you and Curt who are the chief reasons for that being the case.

By my reckoning that's 49 points to kick off your Challenge. More Laarden please!

Cheers,Millsy