Here are some Etruscan axemen and Roman leves that I've just finished painting. We've got an Etruscan versus Camillan Roman game lined up at the club tomorrow, so the Roman leves will see action then but not the axemen. The axemen are mainly Agema Miniatures figures with a single Aventine Miniatures standard bearer, that is a Volsci figure with the boar standard. The leves are all Victrix Miniatures.
According to Gabriele Esposito in his book Armies of Ancient Italy 753-218 BC the axemen formed part of the fourth class along with skirmishers, as there was no fifth class in Etruscan armies, according to the sources. Speaking of the axemen he says: 'the latter were a real peculiarity of the Etruscans: equipped with double-edged axes, they had a very precise tactical function on the battlefield, the breaking of the shield wall of the enemy phalanxes by using their two-handed weapons' (p.124.).
Great work as always sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal.
Deleteinteresting reading about the Etruscan Axemen Mike, damaging shields or disrupting formation with powerful blows can be damaging but facing phalanxes (Greek-style hoplite formations) were very dense and resilient and perhaps couldn't really breach the shieldwall?...oh.. great painting in figures too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, yes I’m not too sure how effective and widely used they were among the Etruscans.
DeleteLovely work and very interesting read about the axemen, knew nothing about them at all, I fear it might have been a short carrer though!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie, it would have been very short against fully armoured hoplites!
Delete