As promised, this post provides an amalgamated review of the Hittite Army completed this week. The twelve units (BMUs) for either Impetvs or To the Strongest! came in far ahead of schedule. While I allowed myself a leisurely pace of twelve BMUs for 2020 or on average one per month, this project was started and completed in almost exactly three months.
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| 12 BMU Hittite Army |
3 x heavy chariots2 x light chariots2 x heavy infantry with spear2 x bowmen3 x light infantry with javelin
The army is a mix of Newline Designs and Wargames Foundry figures. Of interest is that the Wargames Foundry chariots are the smaller two-crew chariots on right of the battle line and the Newline Designs chariots are the larger and heavier three-crew carts deployed on the left.
3 x light chariots1 x heavy infantry with spear2 x bowmen
A quick rummage through the bins and count suggests I could also field,
2 x light chariots1 x heavy infantry with spear2 x light infantry with javelin
With no gaming beyond a little bit of solo board wargaming, painting has occupied my hobby time. Given this focus, units are stacking up at the photo booth. Next time, two skirmisher stands for the 28mm Peninsular War project as I clean up a few loose ends.
Now that is a nice looking army! Are the plaques on the rear of the bases for the unit stats? Cheers Greg
ReplyDeleteThank you, Greg! Yes, the cleats on the trailing edge are for affixing unit stats.
DeleteIt is a while since I did any research on the Hittites (I wrote the revised army list for Armati 2 many years ago). I'm not convinced by the heavy/light chariot idea. It's great from a wargaming point of view as it makes the army different from the Egyptians, but the evidence from Hittite records is that they used lightweight, bow armed chariots. The idea of "shock" chariots is probably false, and based on the self glorifying Ramesside temple reliefs. The three man chariots at Kadesh are more likely to be a two man chariot with a chariot runner hanging off the back.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I don’t have many ancients army lists, but I just checked my Sword and Spear lists from Great Escape Games. They just have ‘bow armed’ chariots (no mention of light or otherwise) and then in the lists from 13th Century BC they allow something termed a ‘heavy chariot’ which is not bow armed - but they don’t give a source.
DeleteThat would put ‘Vs’ the New Kingdom (the period that interests me) as an army with heavy Ch. Presumably heavy chariots would have been about (Somewhere) for their imagery to appear in stone.
The "heavy" imagery is from the Egyptian wall carvings of Kadesh. Those carvings are propaganda pieces and they are telling a story that Pharoah wants to tell, - which is mainly about him. The best discussion of the issues for wargamers is in the Society of Ancients publication "Call it Qids", which has a Kadesh board game and a detailed background article.
DeleteNorm,
DeleteI checked "Impetvs" and "To the Strongest!." While Basic Impetvs lists light chariots for the Hittite empire (both early and Neo), the army list offers an option for fielding heavy chariots. Full Impetvs offers similar choices. TtS! offers heavy Hittite chariots armed with lance too.
Is this simply a convenience for wargamers to add interest and variety to a wargames' army? I guess the player gets to decide.
Trebian, good to see that you conducted the research for the Hittites for Armati 2. Note in my post that I primarily differentiate the Foundry from Newline chariots as lighter and heavier due to the size differences of the models.
DeleteOf course, Ramseses was a propagandist but who was not? The construction and employment of the Hittite chariot is still up for debate, I think. Fields in "Bronze Age War Chariots" and Stillman in "Armies of the Ancient Near East" claim chariots were fielded armed with bow or thrusting spear.
From my limited readings, the style of chariot and weapon used may have been dependent upon the region of the Hittite empire from which it originated and its battlefield role. Some Hittite chariots had the axle in the middle (heavier), others at the back (lighter). What is your source of the Hittite three-man chariot actually being a two-man cart with one hangers' on? Ramseses said Hittite chariots had "three men to a span all acting in unison." Perhaps propaganda but for what purpose?
Fields says early chariots were two-man and bow-armed but a third, spear-armed crew was added by time of Kadesh.
I think the answer about Hittite chariot construction and usage is, "it depends" upon many factors including time period being modeled.
Trebian, since you have Slingshot, check out Daniel McLauglin's counter-arguments to the two-man bow-armed chariot (Hittite Chariots (211/49, Daniel McLaughlin).
DeleteNow you're asking! That list was written 2001-2, (so I haven't read Field) and, as the saying goes "I've been to sleep since then", and rather lost interest in the period. I suspect that the Geocities/Yahoo discussion group exchanges are long lost in the mists of time. My bibliography would be in that SOA publication, as that's the man I borrowed the books from. The three man chariot discussion does become a bit speculative, as only the Egyptian source refers to it, so it is a case of trying to work out what part of Hittite practice they think they're describing, as they Hittites don't train people to fight from three man chariots with spears. As you say, it might be one of their subject/allied peoples. The history of this argument in wargaming circles goes back decades.
DeleteHowever, that doesn't detract from it being a nice looking army, and without the heavy chariots it ends up looking like an Egyptian clone.
I don't have that copy of Slingshot. I think I remember the article being published...it didn't go down well in our group as it was then!
DeleteGlad you like the look of the Army, Graham! It would be great fun to be a part of group in which wargames' articles sparked such animated debates.
DeleteAt that time our group included two SOA past or present Presidents, two other SOA one time committee members, and me. It was a knowledgeable and argumentative group.
DeleteThanks both for answers, something that I must delve into. :-)
DeleteGraham, sounds like a good group!
DeleteNorm, you are welcome but this may have been more information than bargained for!
DeleteYour Hittite army is an impressive sight! The chariots are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jack!
DeleteLooking good, Jonathan. There is nothing more satisfying than a completed project on the table and ahead of schedule to boot!
ReplyDeleteCompleted AND ahead of schedule provides a satisfying sensation. Thank you!
DeleteVery impressive Jonathan and great to see them all together. Are the blank rectangles on the backs of the bases for labels?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them! Yes, the raised cleat on the trailing edge is for a label.
DeleteWow, they look fantastic all together!!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Ray!
DeleteThat’s a mighty horde of biblical proportions! Looks great.
ReplyDeleteBiblical proportions, indeed! I think, more to come. Thanks for the visit, Peter!
DeleteThat is a very nice Hittite parade and the unified effect of the bases is superb.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Norm!
DeleteExcellent looking gathering. They are splendid.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLooking fantastic Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLooking good Jonathan only a 50% stretch target ? Surely you can push further 😂 Only joking by the time I write this you will probably have two more units done anyway. The army looks great now we need to see them in action
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt! A stretch goal of 50% seems reasonable and attainable. It would be very easy if I was not always distracted by other projects.
DeleteYou have my tendencies pegged...unit #13 is finished.
This is an impressive force when displayed together on the table Jonathan. Given your recent rate of production, I predict the 50% increase will be completed well ahead of schedule!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith! Seeing units cross the photo booth one unit at a time tends to make me lose the focus on what has accumulated. At some point in the remainder of 2020, I may be forced to revise my revision. In software development, the motto was to "estimate early and often" to mitigate the possibility for surprises.
DeleteThat is an impressive gathering of work in three months. The effect of the 12 bases together increases on the visual impact of this army on the table. Impetus basing really benefitted from this and I do sometimes regret rebasing to 60mm fronts for other systems.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Ross
These dozen stands came together quickly, for sure. Impetvs and TtS! basing looks good to my eye. Arrayed for battle, the battle line with these large stands is a formidable sight.
DeleteI somehow feel that 5 chariots is cheating. Lol. Kidding.
ReplyDeleteIt’s an impressive army. Both in the number of BMUs and how fast you got it table ready. It’s an accomplishment. Well done! I hope these crazy times end so that we all can get back to playing with our toys. You deserve a game with your new army. 😀
Thanks, Stew! Always happy to have your support and encouragement. Some day, we will return to the gaming table.
DeleteA real pleasure to watch...and to play with I imagine...Superb!
ReplyDeleteMerci, Phil!
DeleteGreat to see, good to get the troops on parade at the end of a project.
ReplyDeleteYes, a parade at the end of a project is a good thing to assess what has been accomplished. Is this the end? I don’t think so.
DeleteThat's a very nice army. I would not say impressive in numbers, but built up with a very obvious love for detail. The landscape in the background very well fit with the army.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andre! How many figures in an army would be an impressive number?
DeleteI don't know. From a HoW-perspective this army is looking like 2 brigades.
DeleteBut I had the Impression painting antique armies myself that a lot of thought is needed to chose the colours as you can't just rely on uniform plates.
what's your secret to getting so many comments on all of your blog posts (excluding your replies to comments)? I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 comments on my blog posts
ReplyDeleteHi Jim. There is no secret but I do have hunches.
DeleteI know that Jonathan is just more Interesting than me! Although a spirited debate on two vs three man Hittite chariots will up the interest factor no end
ReplyDeletePeter! Very funny! What could be more riveting than a discussion of lifetime computations between actuaries?
DeleteLovely work Jonathan, and it is great to see the finished army assembled. Given your stocktaking then, will that be another six units, or eleven?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence! It is pleasing to have the core dozen units finished. I think another six is a reasonable goal by year-end.
DeleteThey look great, Jon! Do you have opponents for them?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Scott! Well, Jake has Egyptians and I have Assyrians that could face them in early or late periods. It will be good to return to FtF gaming one day.
DeleteExcellent, glad to see the full force posted, very nice! Good idea too to add even more to it. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark! Like you, it is tough NOT adding to a project, right?
DeleteThe Hittites look great en masse, Jon, and I am quite sure you needed little prodding from me to resolve to expand them further... especially having abundant lead on hand already! :-)
ReplyDeleteNice work regardless, and inspiring me to make re-basing William's Hittite collection acquired last year my August vacation project!
Much appreciated, Peter! Little prodding to expand is exactly right. I rarely need prodding to paint.
DeleteI look forward to following your tackling of Hittite rebasing. Not one of your favorite tasks, I know, but think of the time saved my not having to paint them too.
Oh wow! That’s one heck of an army Jonathan, well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike!
DeleteSplendid Hittites in record time! Sorry for the delayed comment!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks! Never too late for an encouraging comment, Iain!
DeleteSo these will face what typical opponent? Babylonians? Egyptians? Too early for Romans, right? Not really know that much about the Hittites in all honesty.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, they are a lovely sight on the game table. Those chariots really do look impressive!
Hi Dai. They can face Egyptians, Assyrians, other Hittites, Anatolians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Israelites, Hebrews, Chaldeans, Elamites, you name it!
DeleteGlad you like this little collection, Dai, and appreciate you stopping by!
Very impressive army! It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tony!
Delete