FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

The photo's above show Russian figures from the recent Ambush Alley Ireland event. The models are from Britannia's 20mm range. The game was set in Afghanistan with the Russian paratroopers and mechanised infantry attacking a heavily defended Afghan village.

SEARCH AND DESTROY

HUE LIA -PEU BON -SOUTH VIETNAM 1967
All photographs were taken at Ambush Alley Ireland Day.

AMBUSH ALLEY IRELAND DAY

A few club members traveled to county Kildare this weekend to participate in the Ambush Alley Ireland day. We had a great day out, when I got home at 12pm that night howerever I did feel like the models above, shattered. A big thanks to Thomas, Cyril, Skip, Brian and Ruardhi of the Newbridge wargames club who hosted the event. Special thanks to Piers,Skip and Cyril for running the games.

Their were two Ambush Alley games, one set in Afghanistan, one in Iraq and a couple of demos of Ambush Valley (Vietnam version of Ambush Alley) at the event. It really was a fun day out, I hope to post a few picture's on the blog over the next week or two.

The guys in Kildare have a great forum which can be found at:

http://www.guildwargamers.com/

THUREOPHOROI

My 10mm Successor army continues to grow with the addition of some Thureophoroi.

The Thureophoroi were a type of infantry soldier, common in the 3rd to 1st Century BCE, who carried a large oval shield called a thureos which had a type of metal strip boss and a central spine. They were armed with a long thrusting spear, javelins and a sword. They also usually wore an iron or bronze Macedonian helmet. The thureos was probably originally an adapted form of Celtic shield. It has been suggested that the thureos was brought to Greece after Pyrrhus of Epirus' campaigns in Italy.

Thureophoroi were usually distinguished from both skirmishers and the phalanx and seem to have operated in a role intermediate between the two types. They often supported light troops and seemed to have been capable of operating in a similar manner to peltasts. The Thureophoroi were well suited to the tactical needs of smaller states, mainly border defense. They were mobile and could rapidly advance over varied terrain. According to Plutarch, they could fight as skirmishers and then fall back, assume spears and tighten the ranks, forming a phalanx.

Figures: 10mm Magister militum

MEDIEVAL WARFARE

Some pic's from Paul McConnell's 28mm Medieval figures, which were on display at this months club meeting.

GREEK CAVALRY

Photograph's show 10mm Tarantine Cavalry. The Seleucid and Epirus armies of the successor kingdoms found gainful employed for these troops after the death of Alexander the Great.

Originally the cavalry of the army of the Greek city of Tarantas (Tarentum) in Magna Graecia, they were renowned for their peculiar battle tactics. They were the only cavalry of the Graeco-Roman world to employ pure, advanced skirmishing tactics, called the Tarantine Circle. They were unarmored and normally equipped with shield and javelins, which they hurled at the enemy, evading any attempt to engage in close combat. In the Hellenistic era, we have numerous references to Tarantine units, even in the armies of the eastern Macedonian empires, but unfortunately no definite account of their equipment or their tactical use.

Figures: 10mm Magister Militum

HORSE ARCHERS 10mm

I am currently basing figures for my 10mm Successor Army. Above are photographs of horse archers. The Seleucid Empire incorporated native troops with various expertise's into their armies. The eastern part of their empire provided horse archers including Parthians,Dahae and Bactrians.

Figures : Magister Militum

Scale : 10mm