This page last modified: 19 January 2002
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| Some of my "Plaustrella". They are scratch-built from card and wire, except for the wheels which are commercially produced white-metal, and the edge planks, which are plasticard. | Milan used a red cross on a white field as its badge in this period. So did Genoa, and many other city-states, so I can use these models for armies other than from Milan without problem. |
Such plaustrella were used by the Milanese in June 1169 against Frederick Barbarossa near San Romano. An anonymous Milanese source in the "Gesta Federici I imperatoris in Lombardia" describes them as shielded carts surrounded by scythes, 100 in number and built by one Guintelmo. They were deployed in front of the Milanese army (which included 200 knights from allied Piacenza), and when the Milanese advanced, the Emperor declined to engage, and retired his troops to Bareggio (information courtesy of Matteo Martegani of the DBM-list).
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| The figures are by Mirliton, an Italian company that mostly does 25mm figures but also produces 13th and 15th century Italian ranges in 15mm. I really like them. They are much the same size as Essex (except their horses are a decent size, not enormous juggernauts) and each pack has several variants. The 13th century range is however noticeably larger than the 15th century range. | Some of the carts are mounted two to a base - in fact one per half base. This means I can use the half-bases for DBA, but more importantly, gives some visual variety, and means that I can spin 'half' of the model around when the WWg is contacted to flank or rear so that some are 'fighting' the enemy. The ones mounted at an angle can also use as the corner pieces for medieval TF wagon-laagers, such as in the Medieval German list - the Archbishopric of Trier used the same red cross on a white field. |