Black Band at Bicocca
I am considering running the Battle of Bicocca (1522) at Historicon in Lancaster, PA in July 2020 as part of the Wargaming Association of Metropolitan Philadelphia. In looking through my troops and trying to work out which I was missing, I noticed that, in addition to needing more Swiss (I always seem to need more Swiss) I would need to paint some Black Bands of Giovanni figures.
At Bicocca there were around 3,300 men from the Black Bands according to some of the references that I have. I have found very little in the way of the composition of this group at the battle, so that gives me some latitude on how to represent them.
Composition of the Black Band
At a scale of 50:1, I would need around 70 figures. From the book “The Black Bands of Giovanni” by Maurizio Arfaioli, the ratio of pike to arquebusiers in the foot troops in 1527-1528 can be found. This book gives a figure of between 55-75% arquebusiers and the rest pike men or men with “arms corte”. Although the information in the book is for a period five years later, this ratio is a very good starting place for the infantry.
For the cavalry, I plan to have a couple of units of mounted shot as these seem to be part of the black band. Mr Arfaioli also discussed the presence of light horse called alla borgognona (Burgundian) lancer. He goes on to describe these units as more medium type cavalry with a lance, corselet and burgonet. The SteelFist archers seem perfect for these troops.
So the final composition that I am looking to paint for my Black Band is:
- 24 pike and men with pole arms.
- 32 arquebusiers
- 16 mounted shot
- 8 medium cavalry with lance, corselet and burgonet
Total 80 figures – slightly more than the 70 that I was originally looking for, but still around the right number. I also think that the mix gives a really balanced force for one of the players to command. I will also need a command stand.
Painting the Black Band
The first units that I have painted (completed over Christmas) are the mounted shot armed with a mixture of crossbow and arquebuses. I used figures from The Assault Group for these units; I stayed away from the firing poses as I remain to be persuaded as to whether these units fired from the saddle or dismounted. The flags are the rather splendid devil flags from Pete’s Flags.
On the colors of the unit, I wanted to make them a little different from the brightly colored troops in my armies. However, I did not want them in all black as some sort of parody of the Black Band. What I settled for was a theme of dark grey and dark burgundy colors with leather and cloth garments mixed in. The horse furniture I kept very simple with leather colors. I was very pleased with how they turned out, with the black devil flags with gold trim, I think that they make a very obvious unit on the table without being too bright. They look a mean bunch.
The foot troops from The Assault Group should arrive later this month, so I should be able to paint up the rest of the Black Band by the end of February. In the meantime, back to painting Swiss!