By Stuart B. Jennings

From the start of the sixteenth century there begins to appear in the records reports of fevers that were affecting armies moving across Europe or undertaking sieges.  How it arrived in Europe is unclear, but it may have possibly been brought into the continent from Asia by Ottoman armies advancing into Europe.   The main symptoms of this fever were fever, stupor, headaches, and red pustules over all the body.  To contemporaries the disease was given various names but most of these labels reflected either armies, sieges, or geographical regions of conflict.  Names given to the fever when it appeared included camp fever, siege fever, Hungarian disease, famine fever Swedish disease.  Today, medical authorities tend to identify these various labels as referring to the disease typhus.

Just as perplexing to contemporary commentators was the fact that the fever wasn’t just confined to armies it could also appear amongst civilians living in the towns or cities that were being besieged.  Once it appeared, it could, and often did, go on to kill by the thousands.

What is typhus and how is it caught?

Typhus is a bacterial disease that causes fever, headaches, rash, chills, body aches, coughs, digestive issues and growing confusion in the patient as the infection develops.  Symptoms usually develop over a period of one to two weeks.  Typhus was generally seen in populations living in unsanitary crowded conditions often associated with war and natural disasters.  Mortality rates in this period, prior to the development of antibiotics, ranged from ten to forty percent depending on other factors such as famine, population density and the presence of an epidemic of human body lice.  Typhus infections were rarely fatal to children less than 10 years of age but in individuals over the age of 50, mortality rates can be as high as 60 per cent.  The reason why children were more resilient to typhus is still unclear to modern physicians.

Modern medicine has identified several forms of typhus.   These include murine typhus, epidemic typus, scrub typhus and cat flea typhus, but the evidence from this period overwhelmingly suggests that the fever experienced in armies and cities was epidemic typus.

Epidemic typhus is caused by the organism Rickettsia Prowazekii that tend to be found in human body lice.  Not all lice contained this bacterium, which led to the apparent random appearance of the fever at some sieges but not in others.  The organism was unknown in the Americas and was first encountered by American troops in World War II.  Infected lice spread the bacteria as they feed on the blood of their host and the lice usually die within ten to twelve days of them acquiring the bacteria.  The bacteria is not transmitted to their eggs but is able to survive for months in the dust of their faeces, which is why the fever can persist if people are unable to change and wash their clothes.  Both the lice and the organism thrive in temperatures of 29 Celsius, which they find conveniently in the seams and folds of clothing that are rarely changed.  Ironically many of the outbreaks of typus in Europe occurred in the late summer but in England they were most common in the colder months of late autumn and early spring.  Why this was the case is explored below

Typhus and the English Civil War

During the period of intense fighting and large field armies (1642-46) it has been estimated that typhus may have been one of the major cause of death for soldiers.  From the end of 1645 through to the end of 1647, plague became a more insidious killer of both civilians and returning soldiers.

In 1643 the symptoms and pattern of deaths that had a significant impact on the Earl of Essex’s army at Reading strongly suggests an outbreak of typhus amongst the troops.  A year later Sir William Waller’s successful siege of royalist Chichester was followed by another outbreak of typhus.  Again, at the end of 1643 during the siege of Arundel Castle another episode of typhus coupled with a lack of supplies caused the royalist to surrender the castle.  According to the royalist governor Joseph Bampfield  ‘sickness and causalities’ had reduced his garrison from 800 men to less than ‘200 effectives’. In autumn 1644, an outbreak of typhus occurred in the town of Tiverton, Devon, which up to that date had been untouched by the civil war.  It claimed 443 lives, a significant portion of the town’s population.  Many other cities and towns probably also experienced outbreaks of typhus but parish registers are often fragmentary for the period of the civil war making identification extremely difficult.

One town that experienced three siege and three outbreaks of typus is Newark on Trent in the county of Nottinghamshire.  The survival of a complete set of Corporation minutes, parish registers and churchwardens accounts enables us to see how typhus could affect civilian populations during a time of siege.

Typhus in Newark on Trent

Newark was a major royalist for the period of the first civil war and over the conflict it was to experience three sieges (1643, 1644 and 1645-46).  Situated as it was at the junction of the Great North Road and the Fosse Way by the last bridge over the River Trent before the Humber Estuary, Newark was always going to be a town that saw considerable military action.

Typhus tends to thrive in situations of unsanitary overcrowding, malnutrition and exceptionally cold weather.  Newark was to encounter these conditions over the course of the war.  A market town of an estimated population of between 2,000 to 2,400 in 1640, the establishment of a Royalist garrison of around 2,000 men in the town was to double its population almost overnight.  On several occasions, such as the arrival of Queen Henrietta Maria, Prince Rupert and King Charles I, on separate occasions, it was to see its population treble and even quadruple.  Just as catastrophic for the town was the creation of extensive siege defences around the medieval town, with buildings lying beyond these being demolished and their residents having to move into the town.  The castle itself, having been transformed into a more comfortable residence, could only accommodate around 120 soldiers and most of the stone cellars and stores were used for the storage of arms and perishable food rather than billeting.  The rest of the garrison were therefore ‘quartered’ in the homes of the town’s citizens, thus adding to the towns’s overcrowding.

The winters in the mid 1640s were some of the harshest in the seventeenth century with 1644 and 1645 witnessing large chunks of ice flowing down the River Trent past the town.  Each of Newark’s sieges started in the winter months, when the extreme cold and limited access to firewood meant that many had to wear whatever. clothes they had just to stay warm.  This coupled with poor quality provisions and overcrowding made Newark an ideal candidate for typhus.

The town’s parish registers wee meticulously kept over the civil war, though burials of soldiers were only recorded if they were of s high status or local men.  Thus only 28 officers and four local soldiers are entered over the five-year period.  This is a ridiculously low figure for a town that witnessed considerable military action.  Where most of the military casualties were buried still remains unknown.  The table below therefore can only be applied to the civil population.   Yet as most soldiers lived within the town it is inconceivable that they were not caught up in the three outbreaks of typhus and in the final outbreak of plague between 1645-1646.  The winter months were usually a time of high infant mortality but apart from 1646 when plague was in the town (which affects both young and old without distinction), infant deaths remain considerably lower than adults.    

By the time that the town surrendered in May 1646, on the King’s direct order, it appears that approximately 15 percent of the population had succumbed to typhus.  There is no reason why we should assume that the garrison soldiers, though not recorded in the registers, faired any better.  This figure was only matched with the outbreak of plague in the town between the end of 1645 through to the autumn of 1646. The observation of Lady Fanshawe living in Oxford over the same period could equally apply to Newark and probably many other besieged towns:

            At the windows the sad spectacle of war, sometimes plague, sometimes sickness of other kinds, by reason of so many people packed together.

Soldiers, either in field armies or at garrisons, as well as civilians alike could easily fall victim to typhus, as the example of Newark clearly shows.  Only with the availability of antibiotics from the middle of the twentieth century, was the scourge of typhus finally diminished.

Further Reading

Stuart B. Jennings, ‘These Uncertain Tymes’: Newark and the Civilian Experience of the Civil wars, 1640-1660 (Nottingham: Nottinghamshire County Council, 2009).

Stuart B. Jennings, Royalist Newark, Newark 1642-1646: Sieges and Siege Works (Warwick: Helion & Company, 2024). 

By Nigel Emsen

Over the October 2024 half-term break, I caught up with Andy Paine, one of Bismarck’s Wars play testers, for a game. We decided to do a half-size game and use only one division for each. We also decided to play something different and do a fictitious meeting engagement battle. This allows us to use the game to prove the mechanics of the rules for this after-action report.

Background:

It was early autumn in 1870, and we find the French-led division under General Laveaucoupet from Frossard’s 2nd Corps pushing northwards towards the fictitious, strategic rail junction of La Courneuve in the forest of Sainte-Anne. Prussian scouts had spotted this movement the previous day. The Prussians detached the Brandenburger 5th Infantry Division, under the command of Generalleutnant Ferdinand von Stülpnagel, from Generalleutnant Constantin von Alvensleben 3rd Army Corps to counter the French attack.

Prussian Forces:

1. Divisional Staff base (Stülpnagel)
   a. Four batteries of the Brandenburg Field-artillery Regiment, No. 3 (4foot artillery bases)
   b. Breakpoint: 2 artillery bases remaining
   
2. 9th Brigade
   a. Brigade general base (Doering)
   b. Detached from division support: Brandenburg Jäger Battalion, No. 3 (Jager/Light infantry base)
   c. Leib-Grenadier Regiment (1st Brandenburg), No. 8 (3 Grenadier bases – Robust)
   d. 5th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment, No. 48 (1x Fusilier/Light, 2x Musketeer/Line bases)
   e. Breakpoint: 3 bases (infantry) remaining
   
3. 10th Brigade
   a. Brigade general base (Schwerin)
   b. Detached from division support: 12th Brandenburg Dragoon Regiment, No. 12 (Light cavalry base)
   c. 2nd Brandenburg Grenadier Regiment, No. 12 (3 Grenadier bases – Robust)
   d. 6th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment, No. 52 (1x Fusilier/Light, 2x Musketeer/Line bases)
   e. Breakpoint: 3 (infantry/cavalry) bases remaining
   
4. Total deployment groups: 3
   
5. All armed with Needle Guns for this game

French Forces:

1. Divisional staff base (Verge)
   1st Division Artillery:
   2 Foot Artillery batteries (2x foot artillery bases)
   1 Mitrailleuse battery (1x Mitrailleuse artillery base)
   Breakpoint: 1 artillery base remaining
   
2. 1st Brigade:
   Brigade general base (Doens)
   2nd Line Infantry Regiment (3-Line bases)
   63rd Line Infantry Regiment (3-line bases)
   10th Chasseur Battalion (1 Light base)
   Breakpoint: 3 infantry bases remaining
   
3. 2nd Brigade:
   Brigade general base (Michelet)
   24th Line Infantry Regiment (3 Line bases)
   40th Line Infantry Regiment (3 Line bases)
   Breakpoint: 2 infantry bases remaining
   
4. Cavalry Brigade – Detached from Cavalry Division: Gen. Marmier
   Brigade general base (Valabregue)
   4th Chasseur Regiment (Light cavalry base)
   5th Chasseur Regiment (Light cavalry base)
   Horse battery (1 horse battery base)
   Breakpoint: 1 Cavalry base remaining
   
5. Total deployment groups: 4

All armed with Chassepot rifles for this game.

Deployment

Table used was 6ft x 4ft using 6” grids.

Game

Andy (French) and I (Prussian) deployed our forces and then decided to roll off for the first turn to decide the attacker. The 12th Brandenburg Dragoon very quickly identified that the French were only a short distance away, and Stülpnagel’s forces quickly broke camp, advancing along the road which ran through the Sainte-Anne Forest.

Stülpnagel formed a grand battery and opened fire on the infantry emerging in the Prussian right to negligible effect. (The morale test roll, needing a 6+ on a D10, was successful. This was the first time this artillery concentration had been used with these rules and has resulted in a revision of Artillery morale giving it more depth) The remainder of the division did an advanced contact action down the road, using the forest as cover.

Valabregue leads his cavalry brigade through the open cultivated terrain on the French right. The Prussians just visible in the early morning haze.

A couple of turns into the game, we find the French with artillery and Chassepot rifle fire have suppressed (yellow tokens) the two lead battalions of the Schwerin brigade. In Bismarck’s Wars, casualties and attrition are managed through a unit’s morale. There is no figure removal or recording of casualties’ clutter on the table. The rules track the current willingness of the unit to continue. All units start the game as Steady. The morale ladder is Robust, Steady, Suppressed Wavering and finally Broken (removed from the table). Robust is reserved for the most resilient units.

The red Jack shows the French (red suites) were able to activate two deployment groups. The French are used as the baseline in the rules, so the Prussians can activate more deployment groups on lower-value cards. This is how we have represented the mission-focused doctrine and General staff training. We wanted to keep the rules as a game for multi players and solo players the inspiration the TV programme “Time Commanders.” this will allow a command team on a large table giving the flexibility that the authors are aiming to achieve. Deployment groups are infantry/cavalry brigades or other units under the direct command of divisional or corps generals/staff.

We have now progressed efficiently through a number of turns. Both forces are in contact, just outside of two grids. In the rules, if a unit finishes more than two grids/hexes away from enemy forces, it can make what is commonly called wargaming a march move. We define this as an Advance to Contact move. Once a unit finishes within the two-grid zone, all move is assumed to be more cautious and responsive to enemy actions. We call this type of movement in the rules advance tactically. The rules try to keep non-culture in a narrative context to help immerse the player in the period.

Because of the Chassepots range, the Prussians deployed the Fusilier battalion in skirmish order. This is represented in the picture by a disk placed in front of the unit. In Bismarck’s Wars, skirmish order extends the range by one grid but with the trade-off of fewer shooting dice. It is also worth noting that if a grid contains a single infantry battalion, and they are testing morale caused by shooting, then that test is advantageous. This represents the battalion optimising the immediate terrain for the engagement without being concerned with friendly fire and arcs of fire being blocked.

In the centre, two remaining line battalions were previously advanced to the adjacent grid to charge in a subsequent activation. All cavalry or infantry charges can only be from an adjacent grid. Defensive fire is covered by the target being activated previously and completed a long-range shooting action. This means the players, when making decisions on which brigade to activate, will need to, on occasion, make hard choices based on incomplete information. In the example in the picture, the Chasseur battalion defending the terrain must be activated and then shoot at the Prussian Battalion. If successful, the lead Prussian battalion could be suppressed if they failed the morale check. This, in turn, means it cannot charge. However, a second battalion could charge once it has swapped places with the suppressed battalion. You may have noticed the rules force the players to manage the battle space.

Units must undergo a charge test to engage in combat. However, failing this test does not result in negative morale effects, but it does mean the unit cannot take further action for that turn. If the charge is successful, the target must take a quick test to see if they remain steady or even drop down the ladder. Wavering units automatically break when charged, underscoring the importance of each charge test and the weight of the decisions players make.

All close combat, where enemy units are in the same grid, is resolved at the end of the turn once all other actions are completed.

Due to a run on the Prussian cards drawn, Andy played his Joker, allowing him to interrupt the flow. This meant he could become the phasing player with the option to active 100% of his army. With the crack of Chassepot rifles and the unleashing of the French 12pdrs, The Prussian brigade led by Doering broke and fled due to reaching the brigade’s breakpoint. This meant Prussians could not hold La Courneuve. We stopped for the day and left for “Tea and Medals,” as they say.

This blog post gives you an insight into the rules and mechanics and shows you can play narrative games involving players across the spectrum from group play to solo.

By Peter W. Hills

Unlike most of the books on this site, mine is not is not a military history book but does include references to my military experience and the fact that four owners of my car were RAF pilots during the Second World War which was part of the reason visiting close “sensitive” bases in Zimbabwe. My navigator and diarist was active during the Rhodesian bush war in all operational areas fortunately surviving two landmine blasts.

Tracing My African Routes recounts the captivating story of a 1,509 mile journey around Zimbabwe and Zambia in a 1929 Morris Minor that was originally exported to Umtali (Mutare), Zimbabwe. The final objective was to place the car in same spot where it was abandoned in 1954 in the then British Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia. The team of four elderly men undertaking this audacious adventure, despite potholes and huge trucks promoted the Cecily’s Fund, a charity to help educate Aids orphans in Zambia.

The first part of the book covers the restoration over 22 years in two countries to Concours status. It also describes the research and discovery of the past 10 owners and some of their history. The Morris was exported from Cowley/Oxford in England to Umtali (Mutare) in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The first owner was a tea farmer. The car then changed owners several times including four RAF personnel under training during the Second World War and was finally driven 530 miles to Kitwe in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) where it was abandoned in the nearby jungle in 1954.

Returning the car to South Africa in 2019 Peter faced multiple challenges: the Covid pandemic, a coup, famine, and a failed crankshaft just 18 days before the departure date in 2023. Planning involved assembling a team and handling the logistics of travelling through independent African countries much changed since Peter’s youth. All these are a testament to Peter’s determination at age 79 to fulfil a long-held dream of tracing the Morris Minor’s African routes culminating in a drive across the Victoria Falls Bridge.

The tour also replicates some of Alan Gilg’s 1933 Morris Minor journey from Liverpool to Cape Town some 90 years later. As well as offering a rich pictorial representation of their trip through the amazing countryside of Zimbabwe and Zambia the book covers the iconic sites and elements of the colonial period. Peter and his navigator and diarist Graham Pringle are Queen Scouts who lived parallel lives in the North and South of Rhodesia and were both conscripted to the same regiment.

Tracing My African Routes also includes a 12-part technical guide on the maintenance and overhauling not only of the Morris Minor but also applicable to many vintage vehicles of that era. It is hoped future custodians of these precious cars will find the guides helpful.

Click to register your interest in Tracing My African Routes Out and Back to Africa in a 1929 Morris Minor here.

In military history, certain conflicts resonate not only for their tactical and strategic intricacies but also for the wider geopolitical upheavals they engendered. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 is one such conflict, marking the twilight of the Ottoman Empire as a dominant force and shaping the European balance of power in ways that would echo through the early 20th century. Quintin Barry’s War in the East: A Military History of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78 offers a long-overdue English-language examination of this critical yet underexplored war.

The Fifth Russo-Turkish Clash

Barry opens by contextualising the war as the fifth 19th-century clash between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Despite the efforts of other Great Powers to prevent hostilities, the brutal repression of the Bulgarian uprising by the Ottoman Empire and the pan-Slavic aspirations of Russia made war inevitable. The campaigns that followed unfolded across two theatres—Europe, where the Balkans became the main battleground, and Asia, where the Caucasus witnessed intense fighting.

Key Campaigns and Battles

The book delves into the intricacies of the campaigns, from the crossing of the Danube by Russian forces to General Gourko’s daring yet ultimately delayed operations in the Balkans. A standout is Barry’s analysis of the Siege of Plevna, where the tenacious defence by Osman Pasha stalled the Russian advance and underscored the evolving nature of warfare. In Asia, battles like Zevin and the storming of Kars revealed the strategic missteps and resilience of both sides.

Barry’s narrative doesn’t merely recount events—it probes the “what ifs” of military decision-making, dissecting instances where outcomes could have drastically shifted with better leadership or coordination. His evaluation of military innovations, such as the use of modern artillery and fortifications, places these campaigns within the broader evolution of warfare.

Diplomacy and the Great Powers

While War in the East is primarily a military history, it does not shy away from the war’s diplomatic repercussions. The Treaty of San Stefano, which initially imposed harsh terms on the Ottoman Empire, and its subsequent moderation at the Congress of Berlin highlight the balancing act of European powers. Barry expertly captures the underlying motives of Britain, Austria-Hungary, and others in shaping a settlement that postponed but could not prevent the eventual disintegration of the Ottoman state.

Richly Illustrated and Meticulously Researched

Barry’s work is enriched by a wealth of illustrations, from contemporary maps and battle diagrams to reproductions of paintings by artists like Vereshchagin. The inclusion of orders of battle and logistical data offers an invaluable resource for military historians. His use of primary sources and his skill in synthesising them into a compelling narrative make this book an authoritative reference.

A Timely Reissue

This new edition of War in the East is more than a reprint; it is a revival of interest in a conflict that has often been overshadowed in English-language historiography. For specialists in military history, the book provides not only a detailed account of the Russo-Turkish War but also a lens through which to examine the enduring tensions of empire, nationalism, and the Great Power politics of the 19th century.

Whether your interest lies in battlefield tactics, diplomatic intrigue, or the broader sweep of European history, Barry’s War in the East stands as a vital addition to any military historian’s library. Helion & Company has once again brought a gem of scholarship to a wider audience.

By Robert Griffith

The From Reason to Revolution Siege Warfare in the Long Eighteenth Century conference was held at Derby Museum on Saturday, 2 November. The drizzle outside did not dampen the enthusiasm of either the speakers or the attendees.

Held in the magnificent former city library, now part of the museum, the event featured an eclectic mix of topics. Noted Napoleonic historian Gareth Glover kicked things off with a fascinating talk on the 1814 Siege of Ragusa, or Dubrovnik as it is now known. Many of you will have seen the fortifications there as the backdrop to The Game of Thrones, but the British and Austrian forces had no dragons to help them take the city from the French.

Next up was Gavin Daly, dialling in all the way from Tasmania to discuss British troops’ experience of urban warfare at Seringapatam (1799) and Buenos Aires (1807). Expert medical historian Martin Howard then discussed the medical aspects of a Napoleonic siege and how the Allied and French medical services coped with both casualties and the sick.

Mark Thompson then spoke about the planning for the third siege of Badajoz in 1812 and dispelled some of the myths of Wellington being a master logistician. David Flintham tackled a subject a little closer to home with his look at Scottish fortifications in the first half of the eighteenth century, many of which played a part in the Jacobite rebellions.

The attendees were then treated to talks about two very different sieges of the Dutch town of Bergen-op-Zoom. John Harris tackled the 1747 siege, and Andrew Bamford the one in 1814.

Josh Provan then ended the day with a very entertaining talk on Native American participation in sieges throughout the long eighteenth century, including an exciting tale of a stick and ball game being used as cover for an assault on a fort.

The Fortress Study Group generously supported the event. Mark Thompson will be editing the conference proceedings, which will be published in early 2026.

Pictures courtesy of John Provan and Ryan Diamond.

By John & Natasha Sennett

We never expected to write a book about living in a war. Natasha was mainly helping with translating articles into English for the Ukrainian PR Army in early 2022. I was helping with some editing and copywriting. My original writing was of the kind of having your life flash before your eyes about the summers of my youth in Cape May Point, New Jersey. Russian forces seemed to be getting closer by the day and we were basically waiting for our turn to die. We planned on going out with a fight as Natasha describes in one of her chapters of this first book in the series.

A good deal of the content for most of the series written by me was originally published on the Medium platform as individual essays. These pieces were written as they happened for the most part. Nobody really read them although I gained a few very loyal readers. I eventually just took most of them down as trying to pay attention to how your articles are doing online while there is active fighting and missile attacks was just not worth it. Distractions come in many forms in this social media, sensationalist news era of ours. However, being distracted while living in a war can easily cost you your life.

Eventually, I only really paid attention to Helion Author, Tom Cooper’s analysis and that of a few trusted Ukrainian sources. We really needed to know the tactical situation above all else. Andy Simms of the British Army Review has asked me to address in this in a longer article which I will do in the coming weeks. Writing about what was happening allowed me to process the invasion as it progressed, and I guess maybe you could call it therapeutic. This part of our story will not appear until Book Three.

Kyiv has a long history of chroniclers. That would be Kyivan Rus to be exact. St. Nestor the Chronicler (1056-1114) is the most famous of them. Natasha and I are both Orthodox Christians like St. Nestor and maybe we are following that tradition but with a bit more of a personal touch. Tradition is a very big part of life here in Ukraine.

Natasha didn’t set about writing her parts of the book until late 2023. She had read my sections and decided she wanted to tell her side of the story. This was long before we had made any contact with Helion. Natasha found that writing about her side of the experience was important. She had grown up in Belarus, been a Soviet Young Pioneer as a girl traveling to Odessa and Crimea as a Camp Counselor and spent her early youthful summers at her grandparents’ place in the Vinnytsia Region of Ukraine. Natasha had lived and come into her own at the Jersey Shore, become a US citizen and felt she could best bridge the gap from her roots and later knowledge of everything Americana. She does it very well, but I am biased.

This first book captures the hope we still had in that first year as we were expecting some progress in the counteroffensive planned for spring 2023. By now, you know how that went. Book Two gets a bit darker as reality sinks in and my writing in most of that is chronological while Natasha’s is more reflective. Book Three is currently in progress and the darkest of them all so far. That’s inevitable in this third year rolling soon into Year Four. Natasha and I hope that our writing gives you a unique insight into what it’s like to live through this war.

By Douglas Miller

Some years ago a mate of mine suggested I read ‘Q’, a historical novel by a group of Italian Marxist historians who went by the name ‘Luther Blissett’. The book spans some 30 years from the first half of the sixteenth century and follows the journey of an Anabaptist radical pursued by ‘Q’ (short for “Qoèlet”), a spy for the Roman Catholic Church cardinal Giovanni Pietro Carafa. The story begins in Frankenhausen, the town where some 8,000 peasants under the leadership of the radical reformist cleric Thomas Müntzer were massacred by the combined armies of the German princes in May 1525. Our main character escapes and pitches up some 10 years later in the north German city of Münster which had become a safe haven for believers in adult baptism and collective ownership, before being pursued across Europe to Venice where the climax of the story is played out.

Already interested in the German military history of the period – I had undertaken some superficial research into the Landsknechts back in the 70’s and then the German Peasants’ War in the Noughties, – ‘Q’ inspired me to dig a bit deeper into the decisive battle at Frankenhausen which I self-published back in 2017. Then, encouraged by Helion, I undertook a deeper examination of the inner workings of the Princes’ Landsknecht forces, specifically in The Army of the Swabian League 1525. This was followed by a more detailed treatment of The German Peasants’ War 1524-26 in which Frankenhausen was but one of the numerous battles which took place.

Impressed by the historical research underpinning ‘Q’, I felt drawn to the second part of the story which focused on the siege of Münster. The existence of insider eye-witness accounts, since translated into English by Christopher Mackay, provided me with an opportunity to round things off somewhat with an account of how a siege during this period might have looked. Fortunately, excellent groundwork had been undertaken by the eminent German historian Karl Heinz Kirchhoff and a visit to the city helped me put together a proposal for A Mighty Fortress of God: the Siege of Munster 1534-5. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed digging into what was a singularly remarkable act of defiance which lasted some 16 months.

By Kevin Gélinas

Frontier Soldiers of New France is a ground breaking study that offers an in-depth exploration of the military material culture of French colonial troops in North America. We hope that it stands as one of the most authoritative references on the regulation uniforms, weapons, and equipment used by the soldiers who defended New France. The late René Chartrand and I, in collaboration with Michel Pétard, revisited long-held assumptions, rigorously re-examined sources, and applied meticulous fact-checking to every detail. Our research integrates newly uncovered archival material, previously unseen artifacts, and rare pieces from private and museum collections.

Despite a significant gap in French military and commercial colonial records from 1753 to 1760 –caused by the repatriation of key documents for François Bigot’s trial in France – we unearthed valuable documentation from overlooked sources. Our collaborative effort has led, we think, to one of the most accurate reconstructions of New France’s military material culture ever produced. We hope that this comprehensive study serves as an authoritative, visually stunning, and thoroughly researched resource for scholars, archaeologists, and history enthusiasts alike. Volume 1 provides a detailed examination of military life in France’s North American colonies, making it an indispensable tool for anyone studying this period.

A key feature of Frontier Soldiers of New France is its exceptional visual richness. We invested considerable time selecting period illustrations, engravings, plates, and paintings, along with never-before-seen artifacts from private and museum collections. These historical visuals are complemented by newly commissioned artwork from renowned illustrators Michel Pétard and the late Francis Back, vividly bringing to life the soldiers who served France in North America. This blend of historical and contemporary imagery creates a rich and unique visual record of the era.

The Content of the Book

The first part of the book, authored by René Chartrand, re-examines the uniforms worn by various ranks and units:

• Governors, Generals, and Staff Officers: Showcasing the distinct uniforms of high-ranking officials.
• Compagnies franches de la Marine: Detailing the evolution of these colonial troops from 1683 to 1769.
• Metropolitan Compagnies, Colours, and the Swiss: Exploring European influences on colonial uniforms.
• Artillery: Covering the specialized uniforms of artillery units.
• Armed Constabulary Units and Non-Combatant Personnel: Examining the attire of support and police forces.

The appendices by René Chartrand provide further insight into specialized units:

• Irish Company 1756–1757
• Corps of Cavalry, 1759–1760
• Compagnie franche de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1763–1793

A unique chapter, Military Hairstyles, written by Francis Back, explores the grooming standards of soldiers during this period.

The second part, authored by me, Kevin Gélinas, thoroughly examines the weapons and equipment used by these troops:

• Colonial Officers’ Swords, Spontoons, and Gorgets: Symbols of authority and tradition.
• Colonial Sergeants: Focused on their unique weapons like the halberd.
• Colonial Soldiers’ Equipment: Detailed descriptions of muskets, swords, cartridge boxes, powder flasks, and haversacks.
• Canonniers-Bombardiers and Royal-Artillerie: Covering the specialised artillery gear and weaponry.

This study offers an unparalleled look at the material culture of New France’s military, serving as a comprehensive resource for those seeking to understand the regulation uniforms and equipment of the colonial soldiers who served in the North American wilderness.