Sunday 23 July 2023

Second Cohors Lusitanii completed - posted by Russell Briant, 23 July 2023

Second Cohors Lusitanii completed. Have changed my mind on how to arm Sertorius’s regular Lusitanian auxilia and give them large shields instead of caetra round shields.
Sertorius trained the Lusitanians to fight in the Roman fashion and to my mind the Roman fashion started with a large scuta.
My round shield troops will instead become Celtiberians. Most of Angus McBride illustrations of Celtiberians have them with caetra. Good enough for me.
Need to paint another five long shield Lusitanii and eight to ten Celtiberians.
Thirty three Caetrati.
Four or so Balearic slingers.
Fifty or some such cavalry.
Some flaming oxen
Some baggage.
And I’m done!
(Reminds me of a Richie Benaud comment … so and so has fallen just 97 runs short of his century)
2025 seems a possible target for deploying these.

Thank all the Iberian Bull gods I’m enjoying painting these Victrix figures…. 

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  • Phil Malthus
    Great work (and have to agree about the Roman fashion needing large shields).
    Flaming Oxen? is this like the Roman Flaming Pigs ?
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    • 17h
    • Russell Briant
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      Phil Malthus yes. An expendable. The only reference I have found was a battle against the Carthaginians which spooked the Punic elephants and then routed the army and in the resulting chaos Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal’s dad) was killed.
      This source (need to refind- Livy?) said the Spanish tied torches to the horns of their herd of fighting bulls and stampeded them at their enemy.
      So bulls not oxen and no wagons….
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      • 4h
      • Phil Malthus
        Russell Briant Livy? ah you wont lack for moonshine there
        Pretty addition to the army 😃
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        • 2h
      • Russell Briant
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        Source for fighting bulls is Diodorus. The Wikipedia article on Hardrubal says it was oxen carts, so open for players interpretation.
        “According to accounts, the Carthaginians attempted to employ their formidable war elephants in the battle. However, Orissus had forewarned his forces about this and devised a strategy. He concealed a herd of fighting bulls with torches affixed to their antlers behind his army. When the elephants charged, the Oretani warriors ignited the torches and set the bulls upon them. The Punic elephants were frightened, resulting in chaos among their ranks and the burning of their camp. Historians differ in their interpretations of this event. While Diodorus Siculus supports the account as related, Polybius and Appian provide less detail and emphasize Orissus's victory through deception. Frontinus and Zonaras suggest the use of loaded chariots carrying burning branches instead of torches on the bulls' horns.”




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