I was thinking about a revised DBA army list covering Early Visigothic, Early Vandal and Suevi so thought I’d better do a bit of research. So on a rainy sunday I browsed through Simon MacDowall’s book on the Germanic Warrior at the end of the Western Roman Empire. As usual I couldn’t help taking a few notes.
Ancient Warfare
Macedonians, Romans, Celts and all that. I have chosen to end the period with the sack of Rome (476 AD). Sub-categories: Rise of Rome, Fall of Rome.
Egyptian versus Sea Peoples – A Big Base DBA Battle Report
Chris Harrod and I took my new Biblical armies for a spin using Big Base DBA. Chris was New Kingdom Egyptian and I took the Sea Peoples.
What DBA Troop Type are New Kingdom Egyptian and Hittite Close Fighters?
What DBA Troop Type are New Kingdom Egyptian Close Fighters and Hittite Empire Spearmen? Not what DBA v2.2 says. This seems another example, like Viking versus Saxon, where two armies had the same types of troops and DBA classifies them differently.
Steven’s Sea Peoples for Big Base DBA
DBA I/28 Sea Peoples is the first army I’ve completed as part of my Sea Peoples Project for Big Base DBA.
Wargaming the Battle of Zama
I’m interested in refighting the Battle of Zama. This is quite a popular focus for historical scenarios so I thought I’d have a look at what other people have done before collating my own thoughts. By chance, Zama was the theme of the Society of Ancients Battle Day in 2010. Not surprisingly the Battle Day, and Zama, got a lot of coverage in the Slingshot, the society journal, over the next few months. I’ve used those accounts to explore some key questions about how to refight the battle.
DBA Armies for the Sea Peoples, New Kingdom Egyptians and Hittite Empire
I picked up three biblical period armies from Silurian Wargames Limited: Sea Peoples, Hittite Empire and New Kingdom Egyptian. Here are few shots that Martin from Silurian sent me.
DBA I/24 Hittite Empire 1380BC-1180BC
The Hittite Empire covered central Anatolia and extended into the Levant. The Empire is covered by the DBA army list I/24 Hittite Empire 1380BC-1180BC. This post is part of my series on Troop Identities in DBA Army Lists.
DBA I/22 New Kingdom Egyptian 1543BC-1069BC
The New Kingdom of Egypt spanned the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties. The army is covered by the DBA army list I/22 New Kingdom Egyptian 1543BC-1069BC. This post is part of my series on Troop Identities in DBA Army Lists.
DBA I/28 Sea Peoples 1208BC-1176BC
The Sea Peoples Confederation burst upon the eastern Mediterranean in the late 13th century BC. For 50 years they had a major impact, contributing to the collapse of both the Hittite Empire and the Mycenaean culture. They also had a good go at Egypt – several goes actually. The confederation’s armies are represented by the DBA army list I/28 Sea Peoples 1208BC-1176BC. This post is part of my series on Troop Identities in DBA Army Lists.
Sea Peoples Wargaming Project
I’ve been thinking about a chariot period project for a while and have been toying with the idea of something about the Sea Peoples. Then I saw three armies painted by Silurian Wargames Limited: Sea Peoples, Hittite Empire and New Kingdom Egyptian. I couldn’t resist. So yet another project starts.
Romans versus Iberian – Two Big Base DBA Battle Reports
Chris Harrod and I played two games of Big Base DBA set in the Roman conquest of Iberia. So Polybian Roman with Spanish allies against an Iberian army with Celtiberian mercenaries. In the first game, as the Spanish defender, I fielded my newly painted Built-up-Area (BUA). Quite pretty it is too – but it does pose quite a lot of challenges for both sides. We liked the first game so much we played the game a second time but swapped sides.
Steven’s Ancient Spanish for Big Base DBA
I’ve been rebasing my Rise of Rome armies for Big Base DBA. The first off the re-flocking table are the Ancient Spanish. 14 big bases of Iberian glory.
Did the Carthaginians introduce the oval shield into Spain?
Conventional wargaming wisdom is that Ancient Spanish light infantry carried a small buckler (Caetrata) and heavy infantry carried a large oval shield (Scutum) (see for example Head, 1982). The implication is that this division was always true. There was a similar division in the cavalry although the change to large shields was about the time of Hannibal.
Duncan Head at the 2010 Society of Ancients Battle Day offered some evidence to suggest the Carthaginians introduced the oval shield into their part of Spain – the Iberian part. He suggest this was deliberate Barcid policy to increase the proportion of heavy troops in their armies.
Pity Those Ancient Spanish in DBA – The Army Points Say It All
I’ve always felt the 12 element army size of DBA doesn’t give balanced games. Some folks have come up with points systems to deal with this. I thought I’d tally the points total for a few armies to see how they compare under a couple of the points systems. I’ve focussed on the Macedonian and Punic Wars and not too surprisingly the Ancient Spanish are the poor relatives.