Vienna 1683 - In the vineyards

Historical Background

In the year 1683 the Ottomans started their second attempt to conquer Vienna, the seat of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the door to further conquest in Europe. It was a major effort with a huge army (170.000 men at the start of the campaign) - too much for the Emporer, who left the City before the Ottomans arrived. After an epic two months siege an allied relief army (Imperial and Polish troops) reached the outskirts of Vienna and in the final battle the Ottomans were decisively beaten and had to retreat the way they had come.

The moment depicted is when the Poles rush down from the hills on the western side of Vienna and the Ottomans (Jannisaries) try to stop them in no matter what environment - even in the vineyards, where place and visibility is very limited.


The diorama

The figures are from Zvezda (Poles) and Orion (Ottomans). For reaching the interaction between the figures some conversions had to made and also the Poles had to be trimmed additionally to reach the desired appearance (originally they were Russian streltsi). Uniforms were not very developed in this period, so each figure has its own colours or colour variations.

Vineyards look a little different then today, the method of cultivation changed over the years - in fact it only changed after the second world war from low to high culture. The vine grapes are made of wire, glue, paint and some foliage from Noch. The grapes itself out of wire, curry powder and a some paint.

Photos (click to enlarge)

Video (Youtube)

Sources

John Stoye - Die Türken vor Wien
Simon Millar - Vienna 1683 (Osprey Campaign 191)
Richard Brezezinski - Polish armies 1569-1696 Part 1 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 184)
Richard Brezezinski - Polish armies 1569-1969 Part 2 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 188)
David Nicolle - Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 140)
David Nicolle - The Janissaries (Osprey Warrior 58)

Grenadier Guards marching through Windsor (1960s)

by Michael Schwab

For the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle the new guard comes up from Victoria Barracks, led by the Corps of Drums.

The guard is commanded by a junior officer, who is flanked by two lance-corporals, with a sergeant right behind them and a colour-sergeant in the rear (who occasionally gives orders like „change arms“ [ie from one shoulder to the other]).

The drummers are full-scale soldiers with combat roles, here led by a drum-sergeant (not a drum-major).

The figures are from the old (1960!) Airfix sets of Foot Guards. The sculpting is poor by modern standards, of course. But those little fellows have their own charm and once painted up they look quite convincing. Purists only will recognize that the rifle carried today (the SA-80) is much shorter than the Lee-Enfield on the figures and that the guardsmen are in slow march (because the right arm is not at a full swing due to the left leg being in front), which never occurs on the way from the barracks to the Castle and back.

Photos (click to enlarge):

Gaugamela 331 BC - The chariot

Historical background

In the year 334 BC Alexander III of Macedonia (later called "the Great") started the invasion of the Persian Empire. After victories in the battles the Granicus and Issus he faced the whole might of Persia in the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. The odds were completely against him as the Persian army outnumbered him greatly (exact numbers vary: Macedonian army ca. 50.000, Persian army: 90 - 120.000, in ancient sources even 250.000 up to 1.000.000). With superior tactics of his phalanx and his cavalry he outmanouvred the Persians and put them to flight with only slight losses to his own army. The results of this battle were enormous - the Persian king Darius III was killed by his own men and Alexander was in full control of the whole Persian empire.

The moment depicted is the attack of one of the feared scythed Persian chariots. A few Greek cavalrymen try to disable the crew and stop it. The chariots which reached the Macedon lines were soon put out of action, as the phalanx opened their close formation to let them pass simply through and light troops finished them finally off.


The diorama

The challenge for this diorama was the fact that information on the appearance of Persian chariots are scarce, especially on colouring, so it is only best guess. The figures are all from Zvezda, with only minor trimming had to be done. Groundwork is made of coffee powder, paint, some moss from the garden and a little bit of marjoram. The Persians cleared the anticipated path of the chariots in the days before the battle, so that no obstacles can interfere with the attack (large stones and bushwork was removed and uneven ground was flattened), so all the ground on the diorama is quite flat and with only few vegetation.


Photos (click to enlarge)

Video (YouTube)

Sources

John Warry - Alexander 334-323 BC (Osprey Campaign 7)
Michael Thompson - Granicus 334 BC (Osprey Campaign 182)
Jack Cassin-Scott - The Greek and Persian wars (Osprey Men-at-Arms 69)
Nicholas Sekunda - The Persian army (Osprey Elite 42)
Nick Sekunda - The army of Alexander the Great (Osprey Men-at-Arms 148)
Waldemar Heckel/Ryan Jones  -Macedonian warrior (Osprey Warrior 103)
Nicholas Sekunda - Macedonian armies after Alexander  (Osprey Men-at-Arms 477)
Christopher Webber - The Thracians (Osprey Men-at-Arms 360)
Nic Fields - Tarentine Horseman of Magna Craecia (Osprey Warrior 130)
Simon Anglim/Phyllis Jestice/Bob Rice/Scott Rusch/John Serrati - Fighting techniqes of the ancient           World 3000 BC - 500 AD
Paolo Cau - Die 100 größten Schlachten

Eastern Front 1942

Historical background

In 1942 the German army stood deep in Soviet territory. The Soviet army was only able to stop the German advance but a massive built up in the hinterlands was soon to turn the scales in Russia's favour.

For securing the lines of communications the German army used to some extent Russian cossack volunteers. They were very effective and the units were recruited from anti-communists which survived the purges by Stalin and wanted revenge.

The moment depicted in the diorama is one cossack unit on patrol looking for the enemy or partisan fighters.


The diorama

The figures are from Revell. Only minor modifications had to be done. The uniform represents the classic German cavalry uniform with a little traditional cossack touch. The well is simply made of wood and a little wire. The cornfield is a little bit complex and is made of reed (H0-scale from an unknown manufacturer), spices, tape, glue and paint - a tricky business but I like the result.


Photos (click to enlarge)

Video (YouTube)

Sources

Carlos C. Jurado - Foreign Volunteers of the Wehrmacht 1941-1945 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 147)
Jeffrey T. Fowler - Axis cavalry in world war II (Osprey Men-at-Arms 361)