Chipping away

'Things Ottoman' are leading my hobby interests in periods 'other than Napoleonic'.

Following on from reading Alan Palmer's book on the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire, I recently obtained a copy of Bruno Mugnai's marvellous The Armies of the Ottoman Empire 1645–1718. I'll review this book in full in a future post, but for now, suffice to say that it is  excellent and if you have any interest in this period, buy it!

First figures for my Ottoman army in the pipeline: Deli cavalry from Orion

More in the pipeline: sipahi ulùfely (Orion) in foreground with Beck infantry regiment (Mars) and Sobieski's Poles (also Mars) behind them.

This book is perfect for my expanding interest in the Ottoman Empire, which has gone backwards from initially considering a Napoleonic Ottoman army, to including their part in the Great Northern War (Russo-Ottoman War of 1710–11), then back further to the Great Turkish War (1683–1699). This has expanded further to include the Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664), Polish-Tartar War (1666–1671), Polish-Ottoman War (1672–1676), Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) and out to the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) & Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)—which meld well with early Napoleonic. An Ottoman army of the 17th and early 18th centuries is a 'good value' proposition, requiring but a few different units for the Napoleonic Mamluk/Ottoman version!

I am also getting close to having a go at 'something First World War', after taking the initial plunge into the period late last year.

Some of the First World War figures that are nearly completed.