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Troy
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Asteropaeous had the distinction in combat of being ambidextrous and would on occasion throw two spears at once. In the Iliad as the Trojans attacked the Achaean wall, he was a leader of the same group of the Lycian warriors with Sarpedon and Glaucus. It was this group which pressed hard enough to allow Hector and his troops to breach the wall.
Later during the siege Achilles is mercilessly slaughtering Trojan warriors alongside the river Scamander, and polluting the water with dead bodies, including one of Priam’s sons, Lycaon.
With the river god Scamander pondering how he might stop Achilles, Achilles in turn attacks Asteropaeous (himself the grandson of a river god) whom Scamander instills with courage to make a stand against Achilles.
Achilles and Asteropaeous engage in combat, Asteropaeous throwing two spears at the same time at Achilles. One spear hits Achilles’ shield, while the other hits the right forearm of Achilles and draws blood. Asteropaeous was the only Trojan in the Iliad who was able to draw blood from Achilles.
However he fails to kill Achilles and is slain.
Achilles is to boast that though Asteropaeous may be descended from a river god, that he, Achilles, is descended from a mightier god, Zeus. Later , in the funeral games for the slain Patroclus, the bronze and tin corslet, and the silver studded swords of Asteropaeous are awarded as prizes.
Troy and her allies
Battle of Zama in 202BC
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In 218 BC the Second Punic War began and the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal traversed the Alps to invade Italy with an army that included 37 war elephants, which were believed to be mostly African.
In the course of that arduous crossing, many men, cavalry and draught animals were lost, but apparently (according to ancient sources) not a single elephant. The elephants were to contribute to Hannibal’s first victory in Italy, on the Trebbia river, where they frightened the Roman cavalry and routed the Roman auxiliaries. Shortly after the battle, all but one elephant died. It is not known why? Maybe the after effects of exhaustion suffered during the crossing, or some disease incurred during the campaign, are all distinct possibilities.
The Battle of Zama in 202BC proved to be the crucial encounter of the Second Punic War. The Carthaginians led by Hannibal, met the invading Roman army under the command of Scipio, who afterwards was titled “Africanus”. The armies were equally matched, but Hannibal had a force of 80 war elephants. The Carthaginian army had been assembled in a hurry, was manned with a considerable number of recruits and the recently caught elephants had not been fully trained.
Both generals concentrated their infantry in the centre, with cavalry on the wings. Hannibal stationed the 80 war elephants in front of his infantry, and started the battle by ordering the elephants to attack. Scipio had anticipated this attack and had set up his infantry in the usual standard 3 lines, but instead of the draught board formation he placed the maniples in rows with gaps between them. The lightly armed velites preceded the infantrymen, and were prepared to meet the advancing elephants. During the attack the Romans blew their trumpets and horns, and beat their shields with their swords, creating an unbearable noise. Some elephants frightened by the cacophony of noise pivoted and rushed into Hannibal’s Numidian cavalry, causing confusion, which Scipio’s own Numidian allies exploited to completely rout Hannibal’s left wing.
The rest of the elephants clashed with the Roman velites, and were drawn into the gaps in the Roman rows, where they were isolated by the velites and captured.
Because of these Roman tactics, the elephants did not seriously harm the Romans, whose cavalry having gained victory on the flanks, attacked the Carthaginian infantry in the rear, destroying Hannibal’s remaining army.
According to Appian, at Zama Hannibal’s elephants were equipped to inspire the enemy with horror, and it is believed they were draped in blood red cloth, and their ears painted red.
Defeated in the second Punic War, Carthage was forbidden to keep war elephants.
Carthaginian
Roman Cavalry
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Roman Army of the Late Republic
Thessalian Cavalry
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For a full description on
Thessalian Cavalry
Thessalian Cavalry
Mongol Invasion
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Mongol Trebuchet
Gempei War
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Tomoe Gozen was an Onna-musha from the late Heian Period of Japanese history. She served Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the Gempei War.
Her story in the Tale of The Heike influenced several generations of Samurai, and has been celebrated in many books, music, poems and films.
She commanded, under the leadership of Yoshinaka, 300 samurai. Yoshinaka fought the Taira army under Yoritomo at the Battle of Awazu, on February 21st 1184. Although Yoshinaka’s troops fought bravely, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Tomoe Gozen’s 300 samurai, were outnumbered by 2,000 Taira warriors, but still Tomoe Gozen was said to have taken at least one head of the enemy, Honda no Morishige of Musashi.
With only a few of Yoshinaka’s soldiers standing and facing certain defeat and death, he told Tomoe Gozen to flee because he wanted to die with his foster brother Imai no Shiro Kanehira, and he said that he would be ashamed if he died with a woman.
Gempei War 1180 - 1185
Vikings
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Age of Arthur - Vikings
Normans
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Odo was the son of William the Conqueror’s mother Herleva and Herluin de Conteville. There is uncertainty about his birth date, and it is believed he was born around 1035. Duke William made him bishop of Bayeux in 1049.
Although Odo was an ordained Christian cleric, he is best known as a warrior and statesman. He funded ships for the Norman invasion of England and is one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The Bayeux Tapestry which was probably commissioned by him to adorn his own cathedral, appears to make the point that he did not actually fight, that is to say shed blood, but rather encouraged the troops from the rear.
The Latin annotation embroidered onto the Tapestry above his image reads, "Hic Odo Eps Baculu Tenens Conortat Pueros”, "Here Odo the Bishop holding a club strengthens the boys”.
It has been suggested that his clerical status forbade him from using a sword, although this is doubtful. The club was a common weapon and used often by leaders including the Duke William himself, as also depicted in the same part of the Tapestry.
In 1067, Odo became Earl of Kent, and for some years he was a trusted royal minister. On some occasions when William was absent (back in Normandy) he served as regent of England, and at times he led the royal forces against rebellions (eg, the Revolt of the Earls).
During this time, Odo acquired vast estates in England, larger in extent than anyone except the king. He had land in twenty three counties, primarily in the south east and in East Anglia.
Age of Arthur - Norman Knights
Siege of Malta
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Great Siege of Malta
Conquest of America
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Skraeling
Mountain Men
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Whiskey, Scalps and Beaver Pelts
North West Mounted Police
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For a full description on NWMP, please click on either of the figures.
Whiskey, Scalps and Beaver Pelts
Black Hawk Wars
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Black Hill Wars 1876-1877
Battle of Cowpens
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17th Light Dragoons
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Battle of Cowpens
The main core of Morgan’s flying Army was a battalion of veteran Continentals. Three companies of the Maryland Line, and one company from Delaware. These were highly trained and disciplined, and formed the main line commanded by John Eager Howard. They were the best troops to engage in prolonged close combat with British regulars.
The Delaware Company was especially highly regarded, and most were survivors from the Battle of Camden. Their commander, Captain Robert Kirkwood, was also well regarded.
Their full regimental issued uniforms were dark blue with red facings, cuffs and turn backs. Waistcoats were white and more durable buckskins replaced the white cotton breeches, and they wore cocked hats trimmed with yellow braid. A black metal cannister which held forty extra cartidges was also added.
In October 1780, North Carolina, from its meagre stores, furnished the men of the Delaware company with new shoes, a hunting shirt, and blue striped ticking overalls. This was the uniform worn at Cowpens and subsequent actions, at Guilford Court House, Hobkirk’s Hill, the Siege of Ninety Six and Eutaw Springs.
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CWMORGAN Brigadier General Daniel Morgan - The enigmatic Daniel Morgan was likely the best tactician of the war.
Born in New Jersey to James and Eleanor Morgan, a Welsh family, he became initially an officer in the Virginia Militia and at the start of the American Revolutionary War he recruited a company of riflemen. He served in Benedict Arnold’s expedition to Quebec and in the Saratoga campaign. Also the Philadelphia campaign before resigning from the army in 1779. He was to return to the army after the Battle of Camden, and led the Continental Army to victory at the Battle of Cowpens.
Morgan’s plan at the Battle of Cowpens took advantage of the British commander Tarleton’s tendency for quick action and his disdain for the American militia. Morgan positioned his Virginia riflemen to the front, followed by the militia, and the regulars in reserve at the hilltop. The first two units were to withdraw as soon as they were seriously threatened, but only after inflicting some damage.
This it was planned would invite a premature charge from the British.
The tactic resulted in a double envelopment. As the British forces approached, the Americans, with their backs turned to the British, reloaded their muskets. When the British got close, they turned and fired at point blank range. In less than an hour, Tarleton’s 1,076 men suffered 110 killed and 830 captured, and 200 prisoners which were wounded. The British Legion among one of the best units in Cornwallis’s army, was rendered useless.
The captured commander of a battalion of the 71st Regiment of foot, Archibald McArthur, said after the battle that, "he was an officer before Tarleton was born; that the best troops in the service were put under "that boy” to be sacrificed”. For his actions, Virginia gave Morgan land and an estate that had been abandoned by a Tory.
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CWDEL-003 Delware Company, Infantry
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CWDEL-003N Delware Company, Infantry (4)
Delaware Company
Battle of Cowpens
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Queen’s Rangers
ACW - Cherokee Mounted Rifles
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For a full description on
Cherokee Mounted Rifles, please click on either of the figures.
Cherokee Mounted Rifles
ACW - Confederate Artillery
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Confederate Artillery
ACW - Rockbridge Artillery
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1st Rockbridge Artillery
ACW - 4th Virginia Regiment
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Army of the Shenandoah, The First Brigade,
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