Enyalios!

DBx Bases: 38 + 7
15mm Spears: 95
DBA Corps: 1
Saga Points: 5

(I’ve removed the targets since I’ve added so many elements to my projections that I can’t keep up with what the targets are anymore. But the posts below should give you an idea of what I am aiming for).

Peltasts – the light infantry of Classical Greek armies. Looking back over the term, its interesting, because the role and name seemed to vary over time, with the Greeks, Macedonians, Persians, and even the medieval Byzantines using the term to refer a variety of troop types. The name of the troop came from the Pelte, a crescent-shaped shield made of wicker wood and/or leather that the infantry type would be distinguished by.

Best I can find, the style of combat – a lightly armoured infantryman who would skirmish, using javelins to harass the enemy and guard the flanks of the main Phalnax – originated in Thrace, where it was the standard combat style of the tribesmen in the area. Over time, the Greeks hired Thracian mercenaries to provide troops of this type, and eventually adopted it for some of the poorer soldiers in their state armies. Peltasts were also one of the main mercenary types hired in the Classical era, which kind of makes sense, since a poor man can probably scrounge together enough money to buy a shield, dagger, and a few javelins, maybe a helmet, and hey, he gets hired for a battle that he can most likely run away from if things go bad!

In most wargames, javelins are short ranged missile weapons – in SAGA, they actually have a dual purpose, being a ranged weapon that the troops can throw for free after moving, and as a one-time melee buff when they charge into combat. In DBx, most Peltasts and similarly-equipped troops are the basis for the Auxillia troop type – lighter than Blades or Spears, but better suited for attacking in terrain, flank guarding etc., and don’t really do well in open terrain. They can also be used in a lighter role as Psiloi, and generally act as the Superior Psiloi troop type.

For my Athenian Army, the first appearance of Peltasts is in the Book II Later Hoplite force, where there is a list entry for sailors equipped for combat – in this instance, you have a choice of equipping the sailors as Peltasts (where they are fielded as Ps), or as Hoplites (Spears). I take this as meaning that the rowers of your ships are pressed into service on the main line, and the officers just equip them with whatever spare equipment they have to hand. This means that they get the shield and weapon, and maybe a helmet if one is available.

So, six elements of sailor Ps were done up, as well as two new elements of regular Ps, which I calculated I needed, but had not yet done (oops!)

The other two elements were a pair of Thracian Ps elements. As mentioned above, the Thracians were the originators of the Peltast fighting style, so the Athenians probably have a few of them as mercenaries to stiffen their screen. This pair of elements were painted with a bit of blue on their shields to distinguish them as Athenian, thus differentiating them from their cousins who will come later…

For the 28mm, I’ve actually got 24 peltast models built, including two unit leaders, but I decided to do a unit of 12 this time around – the rest can be done later. But the shields were a bit of a thing to do…whilst I definitely recommend Little Big Men studios for their shield transfers, just putting one on a shield isn’t really enough – You then have to paint the edges of the shield to match the front, and not many of them use the standard Vallejo colours…I was mixing and matching colours for hours, trying to get them completed and looking good. I also did a few transfer chop jobs, mainly to add some differing designs to the shields, as I figured the 28mm Peltasts should really have some shield designs rather than just the plain blue – these are actual troops equipped with their own gear, rather than guys forced to fight and equipped by the state. I guess I could have gone with the plain shields, but I do like the variety I ended up with.

Next up – the remainder of the sailors.