HOME | DD

FritzVicari — In the cold, cold Netherlands, February 1624 by-nc-sa

Published: 2013-11-02 16:04:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 7702; Favourites: 132; Downloads: 63
Redirect to original
Description ENGLISH (based on M. Diaz Gavier, Breda 1625, Ignacio and Ivan Lotario Lopez, The Spanish Tercios, 1536-1704):


Winter, early 1624. 

The scene of our tragedy moves to the war-torn Netherlands.

The war, which had begun before any of our characters was even born, had started again after twelve years of truce, in 1621. Spain spent incredible amounts of money and energy against an enemy which, despite the Habsburg's might, a naval embargo and a continuous pressure, seemed to be undefeatable. 


The winter of 1623-24 was an exceptionally cold one: rivers and marshes had frozen, transforming the unreliable terrain of the Low Lands in a perfect road to march upon. The spaniards, under the command of Lucas Cairo, governor of Lingen, launched a triple offensive in the area of Groningen, capturing the town and burning to the ground several villages, including Windschoten, Schlochteren, Heiligerlee, Noordbroek and Schemda thus condemning, in fact, the population to die by the hardships of winter. Still, the offensive only gained modest results. 


When the sun of spring melted the ice and the snow, an offensive on the Brabant would have been launched...


ITALIANO (basato su M. Diaz Gavier, Breda 1625, Ignacio e Ivan Lotario Lopez, The Spanish Tercios, 1536-1704):


Inverno, prime settimane del 1624.

La scena della nostra tragedia si sposta nei Paesi Bassi devastati dalla guerra.

Una guerra che era iniziata prima ancora che un qualunque nostro personaggio fosse nato, era ricominciata dopo dodici anni di tregua nel 1621. La Spagna gettava energie materiali e monetarie incredibili nella guerra contro un nemico il quale, nonostante la potenza degli Asburgo, un embargo navale e una pressione militare continua, sembrava invincibile.


L'inverno del 1623-24 fu eccezionalmente freddo: i fiumi e le paludi ghiacciarono, trasformando le inaffidabili pianure dei Paesi Bassi in solide strade. Gli spagnoli, agli ordini del governatore di Lingen, Lucas Cairo, lanciarono una tripla offensiva nell'area di Groninga, catturando la città e bruciando vari centri abitati nel circondario, inclusi Windschoten, Schlochteren, Heiligerlee, Noordbroek e Schemda, condannando così la popolazione a una morte quasi certa nei rigori dell'inverno. Ma l'offensiva ottenne solo risultati modesti.


Ma per quando il sole della primavera avesse sciolto i ghiacci e le nevi, una nuova offensiva sarebbe stata messa in atto contro il Brabante...

Related content
Comments: 16

MayJoiner [2019-11-05 20:11:08 +0000 UTC]

mount and blade, awesome sketch!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

minvydaaas [2016-07-18 17:42:32 +0000 UTC]

That first halberd is beautiful. I love these type of weapons that are almost ceremonial by looks, but are very effective in battle.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FritzVicari In reply to minvydaaas [2016-08-07 20:17:30 +0000 UTC]

In the early modern era, so still before uniforms and standardizations, weapons such as halberds and partisans were generally recognizable features of NCOs and Officers, if I remember correctly so it's no wonder they look so beautiful since they were also a "status symble" somehow.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Pandaren-Chaplain [2013-11-09 17:16:22 +0000 UTC]

Remember captain Alatriste! 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FritzVicari In reply to Pandaren-Chaplain [2013-11-09 17:20:25 +0000 UTC]

Hell yeah! I'm reading "El Sol of Breda" once again to gain additional inspiration

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Roger-Raven [2013-11-07 20:02:47 +0000 UTC]

At first sight I thought it was the miracle of Empel. Good work.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

somebodyoranybody [2013-11-02 22:53:01 +0000 UTC]

great perspective! And drawing so many people without them looking weird is hard! Really well done!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FritzVicari In reply to somebodyoranybody [2013-11-03 00:21:21 +0000 UTC]

Hey, thank you very much!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

BillyAustria [2013-11-02 16:49:24 +0000 UTC]

Once again, I keep looking at the person's facial expressions. I love them!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FritzVicari In reply to BillyAustria [2013-11-02 18:14:13 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much, man! I appreciate that!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

CapturedJoe [2013-11-02 16:30:41 +0000 UTC]

The Spaniards hated the Netherlands; for  them, Flanders was a cold, wet hell where the population was hostile and (for a big part) Protestant.

Ironically, some centuries later Dutch troops served with Napoleon's troops in Spain, and they hated it; for them, Spain was a hot, dry hell where the Catholic population was hostile.


Amazing work, as always.

👍: 1 ⏩: 2

FritzVicari In reply to CapturedJoe [2013-11-02 16:38:56 +0000 UTC]

...and thank you, of course!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

FritzVicari In reply to CapturedJoe [2013-11-02 16:38:13 +0000 UTC]

You know, I had written something like that - Netherlands being the Spaniards' cold Vietnam or something like that, but in the end I edited it  

No wonder the spaniards hated the place, it was a meatgrinder were thousands of them were sent to die - with very little results (if not spanish bankruptcy). I guess the Spaniards would have not believed, back then, what would have happened in their country during the reign of L'Empereur.


By the way, out of curiosity, which part of the Netherlands are you from?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

CapturedJoe In reply to FritzVicari [2013-11-02 16:44:34 +0000 UTC]

I'm from Noord-Holland (North Holland), the province in which Amsterdam lies.


BTW, the village I live in has seen some fighting during the Russo+Brittish invasion of 1799, as part of the battle of Castricum.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Schweinebeine [2013-11-02 16:11:33 +0000 UTC]

i read a book about breda, in the series of 'El Capitán Alatriste', some people said they were the best soldiers out there... and the worst paid

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

FritzVicari In reply to Schweinebeine [2013-11-02 16:25:48 +0000 UTC]

I've read the first five books of the saga, I liked them a lot, especially "El Sol de Breda", which I guess is what we are talking about. I liked that book a lot: page by page you can see Perez Reverte's experience a war corrispondent...and his love for history. The Siege of Breda will be the subject of the next series of drawing and I will (partly) rely of Perez-Reverte.  


Anyway, the spanish tercios were surely some of the most feared, disciplined and proud warriors of their time, with a legendary history that was born more than a century earlier. The pay was sometimes low, or even absent (causing mutinies on several occasions) due to the excessive expenses of Olivares' policies back home. But it was a common problem is the armies of the period. Anyway, Thirty Years' War marked the twilight of the Spanish Tercios, being their tactics made obsolete by the dutch military reforms (and the Swedish imitation and application of the same). 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0