Anyway, Chris and I met up with Norbert, our Viennese contact, on the Saturday, and we visited the Army Museum to begin our tour. This in housed in the Vienna Garrison, built after the 1848 revolution just outside the city, an it was in those days, since the revolutionaries had managed to sieze the armoury in the city, and the government didn't want a repeat performance. It was sited so it's artillery could bombard the city if required. The old armoury in the city is now the Fire Brigade headquarters. We tried sneaking in to have a look round on Sunday but couldn't find an open door. As well an housing the Army Museum the Garrison buildings also contain some Army offices and a number of private flats, converted from the original buildings.

The Museum building has a central hall with two wings of two floors. One top floor houses the 16th, 17th and 18th century exhibits, the other the Napoleonic and 19th century. This was closed for refurbishment (and had been for two years, according to Norbert). one ground floor wing contained the 20th century and the other was given over to the Austrian navy, with a few aeroplanes thrown in. We naturally started with the 16th and 17th centuries. The hall between the two wings has lists of officer casualties carved into its pillars, starting with the Thirty Years War. A number of recognisable names among the sea of unknowns.

The domed coiling has four painted panels of the great Austro-Imperial victories of the 17th century: Lutzen, St. Gotthard, Zenta and Turin. Fortunately for my credibility I know about them all. Some may wonder about Lutzen being an Imperial victory, but we English- speakers tend to be more familiar with the Swedish/Dutch accounts of the Thirty Years War. The Austrian and German speakers have a different view. No doubt the French and Spanish have their own viewpoint, since their thirty years was a different thirty to everyone else.

The displays start with early weapons and armour. There is a display of "hackbuts" arquebuses and muskets, showing their development. The earliest hackbuts are just lumps of metal attached to lumps of wood: A roughly shaped stock with a long iron tube nailed to it. It is easy to - -- why a clubed musket was more popular than a sword, though as they progress they become more refined. There is a lot of chain-mail mixed in with the plate armour, though it tends to disappear by the aid-17th century. I was admiring some halberds and armour hanging on a rack when it was pointed out to me that the rack was a stand of pikes. Norbert pointed out that a lot of the sets of armour were made up of odd bits and pieces and were not original sets, and a lot were incorrectly dated. (He in a history student specializing in the early 16th and early 17th centuries, and doubles as a guide in one of the local castles.) This has happened with the Littlecote House collection, recently purchased by the Tower (of London) Armouries. I've been to a couple of lectures by one of the curators there (who is also a wargamer and ECK re-enactor) who carried out a survey of the arms and armour at Littlecote. There are only about 2 genuine ECH sets of armour there, the rest dates from the Commonwealth period and later.

I had to adjust my viewing to take in the coiling as well since there were flags suspended from the roof as well as more painted panels. There was a "panzerstecher" sword, which was nothing like the image I had in my mind of a two-handed landsknecht sword. This was a cavalryman's sword five feet or more in length, with a triangular cross- section, and very thin along it's entire length; it seemed no more than half an inch in diameter at it's widest. The butt of the hilt was leveled off at a 45 degree angle, so that the rider could brace it against his leg (I assume an armoured leg) and hold it straight out as if it were a lance. The force of the impact would drive it through an armoured target. The length was to enable it to reach beyond the horse, the thin cross-section to make it invisible to the target.

There were a number of paintings of 30YW scenes that I had never come across before. One painter, I think his name was Pieter Sniet, was the "official" war artist for the Montecuculi family. He'd go along to the battles and make sketches, then go home and paint them up. There is a painting by his of Lutzen, where I believe the elder of the two well known Montecuculi's was killed. His nephew in the more famous Raimondo Montecuculi, victor of St Gotthard (over the Turks) and vanquisher of marshal Turenne. This painting, showing the battle from the Imperialist side, depicts the Imperial deployment in a radically different light to the traditional one, which shows the Imperialists in tercio formations.

There is a sketch by Wallenstein of his planned dispositions, with the infantry in small battalions interspersed with horse regiments. A more detailed version of this drawn by one of the participating generals is on display next to the painting, as is wallenstain's famous dispatch to Pappenheim, stained with Papenheim's blood from his death- wound.

The painting follows this view of the imperial deployment, showing the infantry battalions In the Dutch system of as central pike block with two wings of musketeers on the flanks. The horse units have four cornets each, which if accurate, indicate four troops of horse in each unit. The Sweden are deployed in the Swedish Brigade formation. The two well known engravings of the battle are also displayed next to the painting. They don't agree With each other, let alone with the painting, and (from memory) tpn't agree on the Swedish Brigade deployment.

(A word form our sponsor: Wallenstein's sketch the dispatch, and one of the engravings are among the illustrations in my reprint of Mitchell's Life of Wallenstein, currently at the printer. c370pp in four volumes. Arquebusier #106 should contain both engravings and Montecuculi's am account of the battle of St. Gotthard.)

Norbert in going to try and get permission to photograph these paintings for so to reprint. They should prove informative and contentious.

There is a display of contemporary engravings of the battles and sieges of the 30YW, taken, I think, from the Theatrum Europeum something-or-other of the later 17th century. There is a similar display for the Turkish wars of the later 17th century. These are the sources of most of the well-known contemporary battle illustrations of the period.

There is a memorial to Prince Eugene (or Eugen, as Norbert insisted) of Savoy, undoubtedly Austria's greatest general. There is a wall covered in flags and banners from his victories. The famous painting of the breaking of the Siege of Vienna in 1683 is on display, the only painting fenced off to stop you getting too close. Since it is a big painting this does not hinder you too much. The other paintings you can stand with your nose against if you want to. There is a lot of glare from the lights and you may have to crouch if you are 6 feet or taller. Chris had this problem.

I can't recall such about the 18th century section, flags and uniforms are all that spring to mind. No paintings that I can remember.

The twentieth century section (WW1, & 2) has lots of uniforms and weapons, and an artillery display. Lots of big and little guns, arailway-mounted artillery piece, one of the cupolas from the Belgian fortress at Antwerp, with a shell-hole in it. The shell didn't penetrate, but the hole looks as if it was made with a laser beam: the metal looks as if it has melted, with a pattern as if there were several layers melting at different times. There is a big crack in the cupola on the other side. There are a number of bits of armour on display showing the effect of artillery shells. Very impressive. The pre-20th century artillery are housed in open-sided galleries outside the main building. They were closed, though you could look through the railings.

There was a Panzergarden outside the restaurant but the exhibits were covered in snow. Chris and Norbert recognised a Centurion and something Tigerish. I know little about modern equipment.

The naval gallery was impressive. The battle of Lissa in 1866 is probably the only Austrian naval engagement most people will have heard of. There in a street named after Tegetov in Vienna (the admiral who Commanded at Lissa). I spotted this on my way to the museum, and so was able to stay one step ahead of everybody, since this had triggered my memory. Austria had a large dreadnought fleet, although it didn't do much in WWI. After the war their bit of the Adriatic was given back to Italy or Yugoslavia, or both. Their sailing fleet seemed to have got about a bit, though I can't remember reading about it. They fought a few engagements in the Napoleonic wars, and I think they fought the Danes in the mid-19th century. There was an early submarine on display, and a few early aircraft. A corner of the gallery was given over to the airforce.

This museum is well worth a visit, especially with a camera and a few dozen rolls of film. I hope to return with these supplies later in the year.

I also visited the Kunsthistorichauseum, (or something along those lines) which is the art-history museum. It is a cross between the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Not a great deal of particularly military items, but the Italian and Spanish galleries were closed for refurbishment, and these might have had some interesting exhibits.

We didn't venture outside Vienna, as we originally intended, due to the weather conditions (blizzards had just ended). Prices were high compared with England, most things seeming to be about a third higher. Souvenir T-shirts in the art museum were the equivalent of about £ 17. Avalon Hill games were a third higher than in England, and we pay double the US price. German books and games were cheaper to buy in England. The sooner Austria gives up neutrality and joint the EEC the better. Food was reasonably priced, in comparison with everything else.

I will look further into our banking system and moving dollars about and let you know when I sent the 1066 masters. I think the charge for US dollar cheques is £ 6. Cash might be a cheaper way, if it is safe to send it (with insurance): about £ 2 commission charge. The Arquebusier reprints I will try and sort out after I've sent 1066. I hope the Vasey reviews I sent last time help you fill out the next SAGA. Cliff Castle, who wrote* one of the pieces you want said he had written to you for a sample SAGA and was going to subscribe. You may want to write to him direct about it an well. He is a regional organiser for the U.S. Pike and Shot Federation, whoever they may be. It may be worth following up on them.

Charles Vasey has just drafted we into helping organise a boardgame convention in London in the autumn. He should have a number of his game-kits published by then -- the long-awaited FLOWERS OF THE FOREST on Flodden, a four-player BRITTANIA-style game on the ancient near-east called CHARIOT LORDS, and maybe another one or two using the Flodden system, HASTINGS, which he's started work on, and FORNOVO, for which we are trying to find a map of the battlefield to work out the ground scales. He's also working on converting DBA into a boardgame system. He's done some playtesting on this and found a few flaws. We've found a game kit for a boardgame on the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, THE MERMAID AND THE UNICORN, published by a firm in Scotland (who do a number of other titles, amongst which is one on BANNOCKBURN). I've asked Charles to write to them and see if we can buy 500 copies to distribute to members with the last issue of Arquebusier for the current membership year. The kit retails for 11.95 so we should be able to got a reasonable price for 500 copies, I would think. It consists of four A3 sheets of heavy paper, folded to make an A4 booklet (a bit bigger than SAGA, you foreigners seen to use a slightly smaller paper size to us Europeans), one of which is the cover, with the game map on the back, one contains the rules, and the other two contain the playing cards; and pieces which have to be cut out. Each player moves around Scotland trying to recruit the local nobles to his faction, increasing his prestige, until he can caico hold of Mary, who novas about fairly randomly, and try to gain control of her and/or marry her, using said prestige and a die-roll on a charisma table. You also try to gain troop units, which help if someone else objects to you trying to gain control of Mary while they are married to her. There are lots of event and action cards, and the game in fast-moving and fun. For 11.95, who could complain?

(A word from our sponsor: I'll have two books on this period out soon: Life of Kirkaldy of Grange, which covers the Scots wars of Religion, and a bit of the French ones as well, and a history of the Battle of Langside, 1568, where Kirkaldy and moray defeated Mary and from whence ihe fled to England, never to be seen again.)

The next two Arquebusiers are supposed to be posted out this week by the printer. They've been delayed by the printer being ill, and as it's a one-man concern for all intents and purposes, when he stops, everything stops. They've taken twice as long as usual to print an well since they're both sixty-four pages long.

Paul Szuscikiewicz would like to reprint your 7th edition introductory article in Slingshot, and is looking forward to corresponding with you. You should have no trouble arranging a SAGA/Slingshot exchange with him. Phil Barker has no objections to us reprinting the set of suggestions for upgrading 7th edition to include the early Renaissance period I sent you. I'll be printing them in the next Arquebusier #106). Paul tells me that I'm about 10th in the SoA championship table or 1990 on the strength of two victories over him using 7th. I must make more of an effort this year to play figure games.

The Vienna trip was planned to coincide with a friend of mine working here. We met up with a Viennese wargamer I met over here during the summer. He met another friend of mine manning a Pike and Shot Society tend at a Scottish wargame convention and was invited to stay with him n Hastings when he'd finished touring Scotland, which is where I met him. He invited both of us to visit Vienna, and we planned to arrive he ease tine an the other friend was working there. We asked a fourth friend along as well, but he had to go to Turin that weekend for his employer. As we were all Pike & Shot committee members, we considered calling a committee meeting there, but that fell through as the chap no started all this by being in Scotland at the right time ended up stuck there for six months on a contract, so he couldn't make it.

Anyway, more news next time (and hopefully soon)