London, Palma de Mallorca.

Today's post introduces my next blog article. Before diving into the main topic, I’d like to reflect on my summer vacation and my visit to Mallorca. This time, I want to highlight two locations in Palma de Mallorca.

The first is the Church of St. Francis. It is one of the city's larger churches, yet it draws a smaller crowd than the main cathedral. Beyond its impressive Baroque interior, a notable painting located in the ambulatory—behind the high altar—deserves special attention. Miquel Bestard (1592–1633) likely painted it. Beneath the depiction of the Immaculate Conception, you can see a panoramic view of Palma featuring its distinctive buildings. The scene may illustrate the 1285 invasion of Mallorca by Alfonso III of Aragon's fleet.

For more details about the painting, check the gallery on my Flickr page using the link below. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Renaissance-era naval battles in the Mediterranean.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720336109391/

The second location is the Pueblo Español, established in 1967. It provides a glimpse of all that Spain has to offer. I highly recommend it, especially for those who enjoy creating landscapes and have limited time to see all of Spain.

Last Sunday, the Other Partisan show took place in Newark. Unfortunately, there are no convenient train connections between Edinburgh and Newark on Sundays. As a result, I decided to take a few days off work, travel to London with my father first, and head to the show from there. This turned out to be an excellent decision.

My father had been to London only once and had seen only a small part of the city, so I wanted to show him more. He has a keen interest in genealogy and is enthusiastically building our family tree. However, we still have some gaps in our knowledge, so we decided to try to fill them during our visit to the Sikorski Institute in London. The Institute houses an invaluable archive focused on the Polish Armed Forces in the West, where both my grandfather and a distant uncle served. We submitted a request for information, and I might share the results of our inquiry with you later.

37mm tank gun Bofors wz. 37 from the 7TP tank.

Ułan officer's cap, Duchy of Warsaw, 1806–1814.

Guard Lancer-Chevau-léger czapka from the Napoleonic era.

18th-century Husaria helmet.

Husaria breastplate (17th century).

Standards of the 2nd Uhlan Regiment: on the left is one from the Polish-Russian War of 1830–31, while on the right is one from the Hungarian Uprising of 1848–49.

After speaking with an archivist, I decided to revisit the Sikorski Museum. Unfortunately, one of the museum's most important exhibits—the flag raised over the captured monastery at Monte Cassino on May 18, 1944—is currently undergoing conservation. I had the privilege of seeing this flag during my first visit years ago. This time I was the only visitor. This allowed me to explore the museum at my leisure, guided by Mr Marek, the museum guide. He is the son of Polish émigrés who settled in Great Britain after World War II. Mr Marek took me through various areas of the museum and let me examine several exhibits up close.  The place is worth visiting; guides lead tours in Polish and English. You can view the full gallery on my Flickr page.

Various lances utilised by the Polish Army from 1918 to 1939 surprised me with their light weight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720336104120/

Our next stop was the National Maritime Museum. It was my first time exploring this exhibition, which highlights the Royal Navy's history from its inception to its peak as the world's most powerful naval force and the expansion of the British Empire. The museum also features many fascinating ship models, including a massive model of HMS King George V. As all wargamers would say, I'd enjoy playing with that model, too!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720336134179/

Our last stop was the British Museum. Beyond the general exhibits, we also saw the Bayeux Tapestry. I photographed the entire Assyrian collection, which might mark the beginning of a new project, although I'm not entirely sure yet. The tapestry itself made a huge impression on me; the hours spent queuing and the hassle of buying tickets were well worth it. It provided me with a wealth of new inspiration. Unfortunately, photography of the tapestry isn’t allowed, so you’ll have to go to London, or to France when it returns from its loan, to see it for yourselves.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720336104820/

On Sunday, we travelled from London to Newark to see The Other Partisan show; however, I will share more about that in the next post.

BY FIRE AND SWORD: Wojnicz, 3.10.1655.

This year, I have focused my painting efforts on miniatures for the By Fire and Sword game, although we haven't actually played it for quite a while. To change that, I proposed a scenario set during the Swedish Deluge, specifically the Battle of Wojnicz on October 3, 1655. I relied heavily on Michał Paradowski's Against the Deluge, published by Helion, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this phase of the Polish-Swedish wars.

SCENARIO: Bartek Żynda
UMPIRING: Bartek Żynda

SCENERY: Michael Schneider, Bartek Żynda, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Bartek Żynda

1. Forces.

SWEDES

(Bartek)

King Charles Gustav (4 orders)

2 x Lt. Colonel (3 orders)

1 x Major (2 orders)

1 x Armoured Mercenary Reiters (S, Veterans)

2 x Armoured Mercenary Reiters (S)

4 x Mercenary Reiters (M, Veterans)

2 x Mercenary Reiters (M)

1 x Dragoons (S)

1 x Dragooned Musketeers (M)

POLISH-LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALTH

(Alasdair, David, Jimmy, Mike)

Field Hetman Lanckoroński (3 orders)

Colonel (3 orders)

2 x Rotamaster (2 orders)

1 x Husaria (M)

2 x Pancerni (S)

8 x Cossack Style Cavalry (M)

1 x Volunteers (S)

1 x Wallachian Cavalry (S)

1 x Polish Dragoons (S)

2. The Game.

Before we dive into the actual gameplay, let's take a moment to discuss the events leading up to this battle. Starting in 1648, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became embroiled in a perpetual war after the Cossack uprising led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Neighbouring powers began to intervene in the civil conflict with the Cossacks. When Khmelnytsky sought support at Pereyaslav and placed himself under the protection of the Muscovite ruler, Russia entered the fray. Muscovite forces devastated Lithuania in 1654, and a Swedish invasion in 1655 soon followed, bringing the Commonwealth to the brink of collapse.

Swedish forces advanced through the territory, pushing Crown troops from north to south and engaging in several minor skirmishes along the way. By late September, the Swedish army had reached Kraków and laid siege to the city, defended by Stefan Czarniecki. Meanwhile, the disheartened Polish king retreated to his estates in Silesia. However, the Crown army—still intact—was gathering near Tarnów to march to Kraków's aid. Aware of this, Charles Gustav left part of his army at Kraków and set out with the rest, primarily cavalry, to confront the Polish forces. He engaged them northwest of Wojnicz, near the Dunajec River.

Jimmy commanded the Polish forces in this game, overseeing dragoons, Wallachians, and volunteers in the camp under his direct control. Alasdair led the right flank with one unit of Pancerni and three units of cossack-style cavalry. David held the centre with the Husaria and one unit of cossack-style cavalry, while Mike commanded the left flank with the remaining forces. I took command of the Swedes, influenced by the surprises the Swedes had in store for the Poles during this battle. I divided my forces into two groups, similar to the strategy used in the actual battle.

The situation started with mutual accusations and counter-accusations from both sides. As the overall commander, Jimmy issued guidelines to his subordinates, who then relayed orders to their respective units. I adopted a concept from the first edition: any order that didn't align with the guidelines required a supplemental order. The game was planned for six turns, with the primary objectives being the Polish camp and the ford across the Dunajec River.

Mike advanced on my left flank, where I had set up a Swedish-style ambush with dragoons and musketeers hidden in a small ravine. Interestingly, that ravine is now called "Swedish Ravine" and is home to a small housing development. I learned this while outlining the battlefield on Google Maps. Musket fire stopped the Polish units' charge, but it did not destroy them; subsequent Swedish charges did.

We found ourselves caught in an endless series of close-quarters battles between the two sides. Some of these encounters may have been resolved incorrectly—partly because we hadn't played with these rules in a long time, and also because I had prepared a game that was too large for a Thursday evening. Given its scale, I really should have scheduled it for a Sunday.

In the end, the Swedes inflicted greater losses on the Polish team and emerged victorious; however, we completed only three turns, and both sides still retained all their cards.

In reality, the Polish forces were defeated and fled the battlefield. In the days that followed, many commanders of the Crown army began defecting to the Swedish king in large numbers; before long, almost the entire Crown army had abandoned the Polish monarch. Kraków surrendered, and Stefan Czarniecki retreated to join the king in Silesia. Although the war seemed to be ending, it was only the beginning. Swedish plundering incited uprisings, and the following year the Crown army returned to support the Polish king. The war dragged on for several more years, devastating the Commonwealth and ultimately paving the way for its collapse in the late 18th century. This conflict continued until the Peace of Oliwa was concluded in 1660.

To conclude, I recommend a flyover of the battlefield:

3. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/631841809210352

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720335988674

SONG ABOUT THE GAME:

https://suno.com/s/KuKUmzGSygiz1en3