Italy's Honour and Liberty : A Wargames Guide to the Italian Wars

Features colorful battles with pike blocks, gunpowder, and flamboyant uniforms, offering a dynamic and visually spectacular period for wargaming.

You could sum up the Italian Wars of 1494 - 1559 in one word and that is 'colorful'. This guide to wargaming the period helps you bring that spectacle to the table top. Everything you need is here to begin recreating battles in this exciting time in history.

The period saw the end of the dominance over battlefield of the heavily armored mounted men at arms and the use of huge seemingly unstoppable pike blocks containing thousands of soldiers. Foot soldiers fought with pike, polearm, sword and on occasion the fearsome zweihander. Ranged warfare saw the crossbow fall out of favor and the development and increased use of gunpowder. No single arm was dominant, careful use of the combined qualities of the various troop types was therefore essential for victory.

Dress for the soldiers of the time was very flamboyant consisting of bright clothing of many different colors and hats adorned with large feather plumes. Huge flags, in great numbers flew above each of the units which made a spectacular sight on the battlefield. When you transfer this to the tabletop these characteristics produce one of the most visual and instantly recognizable periods of history in the wargaming hobby.

The book begins with a brief historical overview of the Italian Wars before moving on to look at the different troop types in the conflict and how they are represented on the table. The author, with a little help from some friends will then guide you through building and painting your forces. Then with the troops mustered its time to get them on the table and roll some dice, included is a guide to refighting the first battle of the wars Fornovo along with some fictitious scenarios.

So why not put on a pair of stripey trousers, a flouncy shirt and a feathered hat and start gaming The Italian Wars today?

Ken is probably better known as The Yarkshire Gamer and for the blog and YouTube Channel of the same name. The author has been Wargaming for over 40 years and is a former Professional Painter. Very much an exponent of “Big Battle” gaming he has a large number of collections of figures from most periods of History. He began gaming the Italian Wars in the mid 1980s with the George Gush rules and has recently graduated to 28mm figures, his Papal Army won the Challengers Choice Prize in the Analogue Hobbies Winter Paint Challenge in 2019.