I finally got my Dacians on the table against their mortal enemy, the Romans [insert "boo" and/or "hiss" here]. I painted them specifically to counter the many Roman armies I face in our Field of Glory group. Now comes the test-will the Dacians beat the Romans and become my new favorites? Or will they suffer the fate of my other "barbarian" armies and get stomped? No pressure boys, win or go to eBay!
My friend Mark brought his Romans down for the test. Setup saw a village (by Lurkio) split his deployment in two. The Roman army is mostly drilled superior troops in armor, small but tough as boots! Being average and unarmored for the most part, the Dacians were nearly twice as numerous as the Romans. This was a classic Roman quality versus Dacian quantity match-up.
Dacians have a couple of good plays in their army. The first is their Sarmatian cavalry, some of the best in this era. The second is their superior falxmen, wielding two-handed swords. In melee, the falx neutralizes the Roman armor bonus and their superior rating means falxmen can stand toe to toe in combat.
My left wing was made up of falxmen and Sarmatians. My right wing was rubbish javelinmen supported by archers. Sarmatians lurked on the right wing too, looking for an opportunity to bolster or get stuck in.
Mark let my barbarians come to him as he looked for opportunities to get my army out of alignment. I sent both wings straight at the Romans. Mark was concerned about my column of skirmishers heading for his camp so he moved to cut them off. The skirmishers responded by veering into the village, where their movement was reduced.
A fierce charge by my falxmen locked up our lines and I threw both of my generals in front. With overlaps, superior falxmen and leaders, the Dacians bled out the Roman Lanciarii and auxillary. The Roman cavalry withdrew in the face of my Sarmatians, javelins and falxmen. Soon, it was just the legionnaires staring down my bloodied falxmen. Roman cries of "Put on a shirt!" and "No shirts, no service!" could be heard up and down their line. My falxmen yelled back "You're luck we're wearing pants!" and "You should see the Galatians behind us!"
On my right flank, I advanced at full speed. The birds were singing, and my Dacians too. We had twice as many warriors as the Romans. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything! Fighting a legion straight up is tough. Fighting a legion backed by archers turned out to be impossible for my lads. My Dacian javelinmen didn't just lose in impact, they lost in spectacular fashion. In Field of Glory, combat is generally a grind with units slowly cycling down to broken. I suffered a double drop in morale in impact. I lost the ensuing melee and both units routed in a single turn! All was not lost. By running, I managed to get a nice shot of the Dacian shieldwork as they ran back towards me. Well done, that!
Insult to injury, Mark skillfully used his skirmisher to drag my Sarmatian cavalry into rough terrain and out of the game. Well played by Mark and poorly played by me.
Back to the left flank, a unit of falxmen charged and defeated the Roman cavalry in a straight up fight. This time it was Mark who suffered a double drop in morale and the loss of his cavalry cleared out the only unit supporting his legion's right flank. My falxmen charged into the legion, shedding bases in impact. Both sides locked up in a multiturn melee that went on and on. And on.
Just as the legion got the upper hand by routing half my falxmen, the Sarmatians got in a flank charge that broke the legion. I then sacked the Roman fortified camp with a roll of 6. With that, the Romans hit their break point and retired from the field. Victory Dacia!
It was a close run thing. My right flank crumbled in one turn and my archers were going to get rolled by Mark's fresh legion. My camp was completely undefended with the collapse of my right flank. Another turn and the Romans would've had the win. The Sarmatian charge saved the day for the Dacians. I must remember to hold my javelinmen back in future games as they're simply too brittle to go toe to toe. Maybe I'll put them on a hill, in a fort or hide them away for the game. The falxmen are as tough as I'd hoped. They're down to the Romans in the impact phase but fight even in melee. With numbers and a general up front, they look like a match for the legionnaires.
To celebrate my rare victory over Roma, here's Peter Murphy's paean to Dacian falxmen, "Cuts you Up."
I'm painting up a Dacian army for our next Field of Glory (FoG) campaign. Me falling for another lost cause is a bit predictable. "Barbarian" armies fare poorly in FoG but that doesn't stop me from falling in love with a new one every year. I loved the story of Sertorius in Hispania so I painted Lusitanians. I loved the stories of the Celts and painted 3 Gallic armies to prove it. While most of the Dacian's story is lost to time, what's left is riveting. That's how I knew that it was true love! Let's hope it's a love that lasts.
I'm using Old Glory figs for my Dacians. OG doesn't post pictures of all their ranges on their website so I was reluctant to put an order in. Out of the box, I was pleased to see the Dacians are one of their better lines. The figures are well sculpted with lots of variety.
Dacian Falxmen: Dacians can field up to 24 bases of falxmen in FoG so I painted up all 24. The downside is that they're unprotected Medium foot. The upside is they're cheap as chips for superior foot with a heavy weapon. If they survive the impact phase with legionaries, they'll be even in subsequent rounds of melee. Watch the face of your Roman opponent as you trade bases and he remembers falxmen cost 7 points a base and legionaries cost 14!
The falxmen were primed with Army Painter Brown Leather followed by block painting in an earthy and tight palette. Vallejo's sienna wash went over the base coat. Vallejo's wash is currently my favorite as it goes on thick and stays put. The last step is applying highlights. For shirtless fellows, I used 2 rounds of highlights on the skin as it did make them pop.
So about that backstory, the Dacians were a collection of up to 15 tribes in what is now Romania. Located in and around the Carpathian mountains, they possessed abundant mines and resources, including hordes of gold. In the lectures "Rome and the Barbarians," the Dacians are described as skilled stonemasons, metal-smiths and miners. All 3 skills were crucial in their wars against the Romans. Their kingdom lasted from 82 BC until the Roman conquest in 106 AD.
The story goes hot when King Decebalus assumes the throne and unites the tribes. Cassius Dio described him as "a man shrew in his understanding of warfare" who "judged well when to attack and chose the right moment to retreat." His raids across the Danube and into the Roman province of Moesia culminated in the Roman Governor Oppius Sabinus being killed in the field.
Emperor Domitian and his Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Cornelius Fuscus, traveled to Moesia to put things right. Fuscus drove the Dacians back across the Danube and followed them through the Iron Gates. At the First Battle of Tapae, he was ambushed along with Legio V Alaudae. The legion was annihilated and Fuscus killed. The Dacian king received his name Decebalus after this battle, meaning as strong (or brave) as ten men.
Domitian launched a second expedition in 88 AD. According to Dio, the Dacians slew a great number of Romans while suffering serious losses themselves. Facing multiple threats, Domitian offered terms that were stunningly generous. Decebalus became a client king of Rome with a stipend of 8 million sesterces per year. He was also provided Roman engineers, craftsmen, and war machines. Decebalus used the Roman stipend and engineers to build new defensive fortifications in the mountains and to reinforce existing ones.Clever man, that Decebalus, as the Romans wouldn't let him rest after such generous terms.
I love the many choices we have in our fine hobby. Baueda helped me across the finish line with my least favorite part of painting a new army; the camp. Once I saw the Spartan Sacred Enclosure, I put in an order right away.
The kit is based on a dokana, preserved on a Spartan tombstone. I'm looking at my Osprey "The Spartan Army," page 55 and its spot on. What the spider and two snakes mean is beyond me. They do look bad ass, which matches the Spartans well. Painted in red, the enclosure matches the theme color for the Spartan army as well.
I should mention that I used Army Painter brown primer for the whole Spartan army, including the camp. Brown is a great base for all the bronze armor and with a good wash, its a great base for flesh as well.
The cavalry for the Spartan army is not impressive at all. They're average, undrilled and armed only with light spears. These fellows will be of limited use:
1) Put them in a single rank and delay on a wing, or
2) Provide rear support to my hoplites, giving supported units a +1 on morale checks.
Over the weekend, my friend Brandt met me at Fantasy Flight for beers and a game. He ran Late Republican Romans, which are one of the toughest armies in period. The key for the Spartans is to survive the Roman impact phase without dropping morale. Brandt won up and down the line when his legions went in but I diced out of 3 of my 4 morale tests. From there, the game swung my way. I killed 2 of his 3 generals, including Caesar. Brandt claimed it was merely a flesh wound but whatever the truth, his Inspired Commander could inspire no more.
The Spartans were falling all over themselves in their eagerness to get stuck in.
On the last turn, the Spartan citizens anchoring my right flank got charged in the rear. They dropped a morale level from the charge but won the impact phase against very long odds. My blazing dice had our FoG group shaking their heads. I shook my head too when I busted another legion and broke the Roman army. I can't remember the last time I beat the Romans. King Leonidas would be pleased, I think. I know I am!
Painting an army for Field of Glory can be a bit of a slog as the figure requirement are fairly substantial in 15mm. Also, you want some options to keep the army interesting to run. With the Spartan hoplites painted, it was time for the whistles and bells. Cretan Archers: In Field of Glory, these sharp eyed mercenaries are rated as Superior and reroll 1s. If you're going to be the best mercenary bowmen on the field, you should try to look the part.
Javelinmen/Peltasts: These skirmishers are useful as filler or to challenge for terrain that I can't send my Spartan hoplites into. Yes, they can shoot but it's generally not that effective.
Thracian Medium Foot: The Thracians give me one nonskirmish foot unit that can operate in bad terrain. That's a lot of responsibility! I painted them in a Thureophoroi style so they can pull double duty and serve on my other ancients lists. I really should have used a fleshwash over the white on these fellows instead of an earthwash. Ah well...
Commanders: In Field of Glory, a Spartan army can only field 3 commanders. If I run a Spartans with allies list, I can field a 4th General for the allied troops. I did sneak in a single Xyston figure to this Old Glory lineup. He's the fellow with a helmet under his arm, reminding me of how nice Xyston figs are.
For the Spartan project, I've been painting to the superb Great Courses "Pelopponesian War." It's 36 half hour lectures led by the distinguished Professor Kenneth Harl at Tulane. One of the great things about my audible membership is that an 18 hour Course counts as 1 book. I just realized they also have Donald Kagan's superb "The Peloponnesian War" so that's in my cart and ready to go. If there is a quiz show centered on the Pelopponesian War, I'll soon be ready for it!
"All the Greeks know what is right to do, but only the Spartans do it." Plutarch
When painting a Spartan army, the thorniest question you'll face is whether to paint them with lambda shields or without. There was a time when every Spartan chose his shield design. This was superseded
by a policy where all Spartan shields bore the Greek letter L (lambda) for Lacedaemon. The Lexicon of Photius said Cleon was not the only Athenian terror struck when he saw the lambdas gleaming. From this, we conclude the Spartans were using lambda shields at the battle of Amphipolis in 422 BC. It's possible the lambda came into earlier use as other Greek city-states were using common shield designs well before that date. Mantineians bore the trident of Poseidon by the mid 5th century.
Messenians bore the letter M, Thebans the club and so on.
Common shield designs may have started when
states began providing the hoplite kit. If so, the lambda may
have been first used by helots outfitted by the Spartans. From there, usage may have spread to the rest of the army. Common shield designs fit neatly into a narrative that shield bearers are not individual citizen but servants of the state. And as Photius records, such was the Spartan reputation that enemies fled at the mere sight of their lambdas. I greatly enjoy the freedom to paint in the broad space between what we know and our best guess. For my Classical Spartans, everyone gets the lambda.
I got these in a blind trade and out of the box, I wasn't thrilled with the Old Glory poses. Once I ranked them up, I saw they were sculpted to fit 4 figures per 15mm deep base. I painted 32 bases with bronze shields, 8 in black shields and 8 in red. Once I saw how good black shields looked, I wished I'd painted more!
The mix of brass, black and red shields will help identify in game which units are Spartan citizens and which are the not quite as good perioikoi, free non-citizens who lived and served in the Spartan army.
I can't wait to finish and field the Spartans in our next Field of Glory campaign. My Galatian and Gallic armies are 0 wins and 2 losses in the current campaign. A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools but I clearly need a bigger hammer. Here's hoping the Spartans are it.
