Soldiers & Ghosts by J. E. Lendon is a psychological review of why the ancient solder fought and how he approached his fighting.  The book is in two sections:  Ancient Greece and Rome.  While I enjoyed reading both sections, I find the Roman portion a bit more enlightening and well documented.   The coverage of the Greeks reads more like mythology than history.

The soldiers of Greece are described as heavily influenced (almost dominated) by the legacy of the Iliad.  The super competitive warriors of Greek attempt to display their bravery by their commitment to stand their place in the citizen phalanx. By testing their resolve in the ordered warfare of the phalanx battle, each warrior publicly attempts to live up to their mythical ancestors.

The soldiers of Rome are subject to two conflicting requirements:   virtus or martial courage and disciplina or unit discipline.  The Roman soldier was every bit as aggressive and reckless as his Celtic opponent, virtus demanded that each man demonstrate his willingness to fight.  At the same time, army leaders imposed disciplina – the requirement to work as a team.  Often harsh punishments were used to keep the soldiers in their place and working for the benefit of the unit.  Ironically, the same centurions responsible for disciplina are found at the front of the charge expressing their virtus.

Of note for early Republic fans – the Roman section opens with an in depth review of the maniple system and how the Romans came be be ordered in that system.

The Military indebtedness of early Rome to Etruia by E. S. McCartney is a linguistically review early Roman practice dating to 1916.  In summary, the author attributes most things Roman to the Etruscans.  Reading between the lines, Rome appears as an Etruscan city gone rogue rather than an independent Latin state.  I have no idea how valid these ideas are – I would think an additional 100 years of research would produce better results.  At a minimum, the 40 pages of this document do provide a primer of terms and concepts from the early Republic which games should fine useful.

Notes:  document page number

pg 125:  Romans rejected the use of the bow and arrow, however the Etruscans continued in its use for much longer.

pg126:  Romans originally used a square shield.  The dual lobed ancile shield may have been ceremonial only.

pg 129:  Axe – used by Oscans during the Punic wars.  Etruscans used long after sword and spear were common.

pg 139:  Etruscans equipped with Bronze shields and heavy, metal tipped spears.  600 BC

pg 159:  Eagle, Wolf, Minotaur, Boar and Horse standards in use by the Romans before the time of Marius.  With Marius come the primacy of the Eagle.  Etruscans may have introduced the animal standards to the Romans, a figure from 600 BC is shown with a Bull standard.

pg 160:  Cavalry – mounted infantry rather than full fledged horse back fighters.

pg 162:  Chariot – status symbol of the King (600 BC).    Transport to the battle?  Driven during the battle?

Etruscan spearmen from Gorgon.  The figure line is set for 500 BC, but these figures will be incorporated into my Republic Roman army as Auxiliaries for the Punic wars.

Painting Notes:

Skin tone – tried for dark Mediterranean look using GW Graveyard Earth as the base, then working up with standard  Sand Brown and Ivory (both Vallejo).

Shields – based with Vallejo Cam. Medium Brown, wet blended with GW Kommando Khaki and Ivory.

Armor – GW Shining Gold.  Not the new fangled yellow gold, but the old hex bottle green gold.  Waited 10 years to find a use for this color – finally found what the color belongs on.

Bases – Americana Desert Sand rims.  Sand inked GW Brown, then given a mix of Graveyard Earth and Folk Art English Mustard.

An old model which finally received its paint job.

Adepticon 2010 is rolling out a strong line up of hobby seminars.  Top of the line instructor are available to help take your hobby skills to the next level.  Be sure to register early, the most popular seminars sell out early.

The Hirst Arts terrain seminar will be returning.  I always have fun teaching this class – the seminar is all hands on and very approachable.  Rest asured, I am no Golden Demon winner – working with Hirst molds is a skill anyone can learn.

A re-do on the Etruscan Captain picture, the face should actually be visiable this time.  Also posted are pics of the 2nd class spear men from Gorgon.  The figures are easy to prep, with just a bit of drilling needed to open the spear hand.  A few of the figure angles are a bit odd, with one leaning way back and one leaning far forward.  I know some folks like action in their figures, but I could do with smaller angles.

After musing on using the Etruscans in the WAB Ancient Greek List, I’m having a second thought.  Instead (or additionally), I may them under the Republican Roman list as Italian forces fighting in the Roman manipular style.  Not 100% how to pull that off, but its an idea I’m kicking around.

Republican Rome Army Project – Wargames Factory birthed a thousand Roman armies from their $9.99 sale.  I picked up 3 boxes – 150 Romans should be more than enough for any project.  The army list below will be used as an opposition force to my Carthage army.  Its not 100% legal, lacking a 2nd Hastatus unit, but its primarily intended to be used on the demo table.  If I should chose to play the army, I’ll convert the Italian Spearmen into Hastatus to meet the army list requirments.

Military Tribune, Sword and light Armor, 69pts
#16 Hastatus, Full command, 144pts
#16 Princeps, Full command, Pilum and light armor, 176pts
#16 Princeps, Full command, Pilum and light armor, 176pts
#12 Triarius, Full Command, light armor, 180pts
#10 Velite, 70pts
#12 Italian Spearmen, Full Command, 99 pts
#8 Cretan Archers, 80pts

Armor Options:

• Mail armour – first used by wealthy citizens, then in general distribution after 123BC when furnished at public expense
• Pectorale – 22.5 cm square bronze chest plate.  Inexpensive armor option, pre-dating mail.
• Muscle cuirass – archeological evidence of use into the 1st century BC.
• None – light gear increasingly worn by Hastati in the years following the Marian reforms 105BC.

Plume vs. Feathers:  various sources are giving contradictory information about head gear.  A reference to the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus indicates Republican soldures wearing plumes from the time of the Punic Wars up to the time of Ceasar.

Cavalry:  Polybuis notes that the cavalry were armed in his day in ‘Greek fashion’ (i.e. with linen corslets, strong circular shields and long spears), but he observes that perhaps up to 190BC they had lacked body armour & carried only a short thrusting spear and a light shield.

Colors: Crests could be white, red or black. Tunics could be white, sand or red. Shields red or white.

Time Line:

• Servian Constitution – 580-530BC.  Established the 5 class system and introduces Hoplite style of warfare.
• Maniples Reform – 390-340BC.  Wars with Gauls and Samites motivate a change from phalanax to Maniple sub-units.
• Marian Reforms – 105BC.  End of the Maniple system.  Standardized equipment for all members of the legion.

Resources:

Republican Roman Army 200-104BC by Nicholas Sekunda, Osprey Publishing

The Making of the Roman Army by Lawrence Keppie

Chronicle of the Roman Republic by Philip Matyszak

Colour Guide Republican Romans by Michael Farnworth

Figures are WarGames Factory Romans combined with Numidians.  Metal shields from Gorgon, wire spears from On Military Matters.

Velite

Triarius

Hastatus

Etruscan Captain from Gorgon Miniatures.  For now, the figure will play as a command character in my Carthagian army.  Perhapes the figure will one day have a full Etruscan army to lead.

Etruscan Captain

Gorgon Miniatures released their new line of Etruscan figures.  I was lucky enough to pick up a few blisters this weekend & plan to work various figures into my Carthaginian and Roman armies.  But what about playing the Etruscans on their own – who are the Etruscans and how do the figures translate to a WAB army?

The Etruscans were a group of city states in northwestern Italy who existed as an independent culture from 900 BC through 100 BC.  They are most famous for being the original rulers of Rome.  The final king was over thrown in 509BC, leading to the legendary attack on Rome by Lars Porsena.  Little is known about the military structure of the Etruscans other than that they were strongly influenced by the Greeks and, in turn, influenced the Romans.

Weaponry:  Swords were rare.  Spear and axe (used as both a battle axe and for throwing) were the most common weapon.  Archery was practiced & bows are commonly found in Etruscan tombs.

Armor:  Bronze cuirasses of Greek influence.  Shields commonly round, but rectangular also used.

Organization:  The main body of the army was arranged as Hoplites in the phalanx formation.  Light infantry, unarmored and armed with spears, attack from a distance & attempt to provoke the enemy.  Cavalry were used for skirmishing and to peruse routing infantry.  Chariots have been found in Etruscan tombs, but it is not known if these were used as transports or fighting platforms.

Army List: The Ancient Greek list from the WAB 1.5 rule book can be used to create an Etruscan army list.  By selectively choosing units, a conservative representation of the Etruscan army may be fielded and stay “tournament legal”.

• Etruscan Hoplite played as Hoplite Phalanx
• Etruscan light infantry played as Peltast with javelin & shield.
• Archers played as upgraded skirmishers.
• Skirmishing Etruscan cavalry played as Light Greek Cavalry with upgrade to Thessaly/Thrace cavalry available.

What about the “fun stuff”?

• The Etruscan Chariot was used more for racing than for fighting.  While it’s most likely that the racing chariot descended from a military weapon, it is unlikely that the Etruscans continued its military application in the time period of the heavily armored hoplite.  Citizens able to afford a chariot would instead be in the phalanx.
• The Etruscan Axe was largely a ceremonial weapon by the time of the phalanx (Connolly).  In addition, neither a battle axe nor a throwing axe is compatible with the hoplite fighting style.  If the axe must be included, Thracian Peltast rules can be used with halberds standing in for the battle axe, and skirmishers can have the standard javelin play as the throwing axe.

Sources:

Rome and her Enemies, a complication of Osprey titles.

Greece and Rome at War by Peter Connolly

A discussion on building an Etruscan list for Field of Glory.

Catalog of the Etruscan Gallery by Jean MacIntosh Turfa.   Notes:  See page 29, Chariot racing.

The first 1000 points of my Punic Wars army is painted and ready to play. Basing is a simple coat of paint, with sand & grass coming at some future time.  Paint plan is  super simple – block colors as a base, a wood stain dip followed by touch ups in the same base color.  The army list is still a work in progress & has under taken a few changes from my first posts.  The Gallic light cavalry are gone, done in twice by Macedonian spears in as many games by the warband rule.  In their place are more skirmishers and a third Gallic warband.

Miniature Design Studios is hosting their second Design Challenge.   Send MDS an email at info@miniaturedesignstudio.co.uk with your idea of what miniatures they should create.  Sounds  like they are looking for both figure ideas and a bit of motivation.  One entry will be picked at random – then MDS has 21 days to produce the figures and get them into their web cart -or- give you a £25.00 credit.

Here are the rules of the challenge:

The scale will be 28mm
The troop type must be rank and file infantry
The subject must be either Biblical, Ancient or Dark Age (we don’t sell WW2!)
The figure will be designed in three variant poses (To be agreed)
Only one entry per person (I will check!)
All entries must reach MDS via email by 12.00pm, Friday 9th October 2009

My entry to them is for Hannibal’s Veterans.

The Veterans of Hannibal’s 2nd Punic war should be a rag-tag band of killers who spent a decade marching up and down Italy.  Isolated and cut off from the home land, the army was forced to “resupply” in the field.  Other companies produce Veterans who are cookie cutter copies of each other.  Instead – I want to see 1 African, 1 Celt and 1 Iberian in looted Roman mail each with a unique helmet and shield.  Figures are armed with long spears and swords at the belt.  Spears are held upright & figures should rank cleanly on a 20×20 base.

Extra credit – make the heads on a separate sprue for additional figure variations.

I base this vision of the Veteran units on a paragraph from The Fall of Carthage by Adrian Goldsworthy which describes Hannibal’s warriors as a diverse and ill-provisioned group.  Any other credible sources out there?