The Return of the Aztecs

 

           http://junkyardplanet.blogspot.com/2021/04/mesoamerican-dba-part-2-aztecs.html
               Superbly painted 1/72 figures - also a posting of his Mayas on the site.
 

On Monday Chris returned the remaining Aztecs saying that realistically he was never going to paint them.  The current DBM list is also pretty awful so I was not surprised.  

So what to do with all this dross...well...back to basics.  I originally selected figures for a DBA Aztec army (4.63) then looked at which additional elements I would need to morph into the other 'Americas' armies.  This approach at least restricted the number of figures that I would need to paint.  The down side is that I only have one basic army.  

Given the additional figures I can now expand the Tarascans(4.19) and the  Mixtec/Zapotecs(4.53) to full DBA size.  

Next I need to look at 'The Roads Not Travelled'.  I'm trying to avoid the stereotypical 3Ax/3Bw combination in the process.

3.41a - Proto-Toltec or Proto-Aztec - a mass of 3Ax
3.41b - Chichimec or Pueblo Culture - substitutes 3Bw for the Ax - I have 16 old Minifigs with long spear and shield - unfortunately the Chichimecs did not use shields (and they looked more suitable for a Red Indian morph).
4.70 - Chanca or Canari - a mass of 3Pk - can only find reference to a few shields and of the Inca type.
4.71a - Chimu Imperial - a reasonable mix
4.71b - Coastal Peruvian - very little is known about this civilisation (so the list is speculative at best)
4.72 - Amazonian - 3Bw
4.84a - Araucanians - Pk & Bw - again no shields in use.
4.84b - Other Mapuche - 3Ax & 3Bw  

                           Toltec warrior from the Codex  Magllabechiano (in the public domain)

3.59 - Toltec - possibly the second most unsubtle army (African Vandals are at No.1) - all 4Bd - certainly have enough suitable figures.  Regrettably,  it looks like my best option though!


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Monday 26th July 2021 - Wrenthorpe - DBM

Early Achaemenid Persians v Mycenaens

For once I was aggressive threatening the enemy right flank.  Making progress when stumps were pulled.  Given more time I think that we would have won.

In Search of....The Tibetans

 

                                                         Khurasan - Tibetan SHC (cataphracts)

A bit of a departure from my normal 'In Search of' postings.  This time it's all about the minnies rather than the history...but I'm getting ahead of myself.  

Rewind the clock to last week when I received some Naismith Tibetan HC via Ebay.  Previous research had shown me that both Naismith and Roundway had gone to the great minnie graveyard (along with Kennington and most of Asgard).  So which other manufacturers produce suitable figures for a DBA army?  This is what my current research found:

(a)  Essex Miniatures

TA11 - T'ang Chinese: Tibetan SHC
TA11a - T'ang Chinese: Tibetan EHC
TA12 - T'ang Chinese: Tibetan Heavy/Medium Cavalry
TA13 - T'ang Chinese: Nepalese Archer

NB These are not in the normal listing (Tang & Sui) so input the codes directly into the search window.

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(b) Irregular Miniatures

V65 - Tibetan SHC
V66 - Tibetan HC
V67 - Tibetan Medium/Light cavalry
V68 - Tibetan cavalry officer
V69 - Tibetan cavalry standard bearer
V70 - Tibetan infantryman
V71 - Nepalese infantry archer

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(c)  Khurasan Miniatures

KM400 - Tibetan Armoured Cavalry on Armoured Horses
KM401 - Tibetan Nomad Horse Archers (Tuyuhun), Bow
KM402 - Tibetan King and Standardbearer, on Armoured Horses, Plus Two Armoured Cavalry
KM403 - Tibetan General and Standardbearer, on Armoured Horses, Plus Two Armoured Cavalry
KM404 - Tibetan Dismounted Cataphracts, Long Spears
KM405 - Tibetan Dismounted King, Standardbearer and Two Dismounted Armoured Cavalry, Long Spears
KM406 - Tibetan Dismounted General (Depicted as a Normal Dismounted Armoured Cavalryman with Longspear), Standardbearer and Two Dismounted Armoured Cavalry, Long Spears
KM407 - Tibetan Garrison Infantry Spearmen
KM408 - Tibetan Garrison Infantry Archers

Excellent figures but the postage doubles the cost.
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(d)  Magister Militum

TIB1 - Tibetan Armoured cavalry
TIB2 - Tibetan or Nepalese cavalry
TIB3 - Nomad Cavalry with bow
TIB4 - Tibetan bowman
TIB5 - Javelinmen with shields
TIB6 - Irregular Khambra Noble Cavalry

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Looking at the DBA v3.0 army list (3.15) building all the options is not...well an option!  

Total number = 103

1 x Kn(g); 1 x Sp(g); 35 Kn, 35 Sp, 12 Nepalese Cv; 4 Garrison Sp; 6 Nomad horse archers; 2 Mountain tribal archers; 3 Nepalese swordsmen; 2 Nepalese archers & 3 Nomad Cv.

Clearly this is an army that needs to be approximated then fielded on a trial basis.  I will not be purchasing new troops until I find out exactly what I need for an effective army.

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Saturday 17th July 2021 - Gt.Houghton

'Blind General' with Hordes:

4.81 Inca Imperial v 3.18 Breton  4:2 win
The first win for the Incas (using Hd rather than fast pikes).

4.81 Inca Imperial v 2.45 Spartacus  1:5 loss
The victory went to their heads.

4.19c Tlaxcalan v 4.85 Burgundians  2:4 loss
IT looked promising at one stage but then a hole developed in my line.

1.6a Early Bedouin v 1.12 Sumerian Successor   4:3 win
Another close scrap.

Far too hot today -  but cooler in Ian's cellar.

In Fellahin We Trust

 

 

Saturday 9th July 2021 - Gt. Houghton

Persian horsemen spotted enemy on the horizon. They rushed back to the nearest, small, town to tell the local headman.  Despite the ensuing panic a motley group of 'volunteers' was rounded up to face the invading Ottomans.

Qajar Persian Army List (scratch force)

1 x Persian Armoured cavalry (gen) – lance, bow – LC(f)
2 x Persian LC, bow, fanatical – LC(f) @ 1 ap                    2
1 x Mercenary cavalry – bow or jezzails - LC @ 1 ap        1
1 x Camelry, bow – MI(is) @ 1 ap                                      1
2 x Regular ‘new’ infantry, muskets - Ms @ 1 ap               2
2 x Regular ‘new’ infantry, muskets, militia @ 0.5 ap        1           
2 x Medium gun – 3 crew, militia @ 0.5 ap                        1
2 x Skirmishers, bow, militia – Sk(M)(is) @ 0.5 ap           1
2 x Irregular warriors, matchlocks - Wb(is) @ 0.5 ap        1
2 x Zamberek Camels, light gun, militia – MI(M)(lg) @ 0.5 ap    1           
2 x Irregular bowmen - Ms(M)(is) @ 0.5 ap                      1
---                                                                                        ---
19                                                                                        12 ap

NB:  This list is based on the figures I could find at the time (and manage to shoe-horn into  suitable classifications).  Think of the irregular bowmen as the 'Dad's Army' contribution.

DBN (Eastern) - this time Ian had the Ottomans (list as per the rules).  

I put some of my low quality troops on the hill and awaited the onslaught of the fellahin.  On they came and even managed to reach the hill but 5 out of 6 died.  Unfortunately the follow-up troops were much more effective.

On my left I pushed skirmishers and warband through the wood.  The psiloi fell to enemy musketry but the warband were made of stronger stuff.  

In the centre my troops were decimated by the enemy cannon whereas my gunners were blaming each other for the damp powder.

Ian was happy with the 'fighting fellahin'.  The result was a 7:1 win for the Ottoman raiders.

More work needs to be done on the Qajar (and Georgian) DBN armies.  We experimented with some new classifications:
(is) = Inferior Shooters - those with bows, jezzails, xbow, matchlocks, etc - a -1 when shooting
(lg) = Light Guns - specifically zamurek camels - 4" range
(MI) = Mounted Infantry - 3" movement - can move and fire
(f) = fanatic - treat as Mamelukes

DBA v3.0
 

1.34a Later Hebrew v 1.6b Early Bedouin - 4:3 win
 

3.18 Breton v 3.52 West Frankish - 1:5 loss

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Seems like Galley (naval) warfare might be next.  Meanwhile I'm still looking for a simple Pre-Dreadnought rules set - ho hum!

In the Doldrums

 As I have been crook for the past week there has been no wargaming activity to report.  No DBA or DBM.  

However....I realised  that I hadn't recorded the results of the previous week's games.  So here we go!

Saturday  26th June - Gt.Houghton - DBA  (Collision Course where marked)

3.51 Bagratid Armenian v 3.76 Konstantinian Byzantine (CC) - 4:1 win - BA is a well-balanced army.

4.22 Islamic Persian v 4.69 Albanian (CC) - 4:1 loss - awful movement dice at the start meant that I couldn't develop my pieces before the enemy was on me.

4.43c Later Hungarian v 4.65 Wallachian (CC) - 4:0 loss - I never got into this fight.

4.83a Wars of the Roses v 4.82a French Ordonnance - 4:1 win - solid blades and bow are pretty hard to beat
 

Monday  28th June - Wrenthorpe - DBM

Samurai v Later T'ang Chinese - I  threw a one for my allied command at the first round.  It was on observation watch from then on.  The result was never in doubt..

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Been watching TA & Co using the 'Blind General' variant.  Looks interesting but not to be used in conjunction with CC.