In the first two parts of our look at Bronze Age wargaming, we were able to neatly divide up the forces and army deals we were exploring into nice, neat sections. Part one had Egyptians and some of their most famous foes, while part two went on a nice little trip ’round Mesopotamia. Part three, on the other hand, is a bit more of a mixed bag, but no less exciting for it – there really is a bit of everything on display here.
Just as a quick point of order – for further background and context on some of the forces discussed here, it’s well worth checking out the first and second parts of this article series!
We’ll begin with the Mitanni, a Hurrian people from what is now south-eastern Turkey, who ruled an empire extending into Syria and Mesopotamia. Famed horsemen and in particular charioteers, who are often credited with introducing the technology to the Near East, the Mitanni warred with the Egyptians in the Levant, before eventually being taken over by the Assyrians. As befits the fathers of chariot warfare, their army deal has three of them, with attendant chariot runners to back them up, as well as a solid core of Shukituhlu, Habiru, and Hupshu infantry and archers. Included for free are a unit of skirmishers with slings (useful in literally every pre-gunpowder period of warfare!) and a command group.
Next, we jump to the late Bronze Age Canaanites, the Semitic peoples of the Levant, whose city-states were fought over by Egyptians, Mitanni, and Hittites alike. Various Canaanite cities were part of each of these larger Empires and fought both alongside and against them, making a Canaanite force an ideal component of a larger army, or a way to guarantee you’re never short of a friend (or a foe) in your gaming group! The army deal gets you a light, fast-moving force drawing from the varied culture of the region, with three chariots backed up by skirmishers, archers, and javelinmen, with once more the slingers and command being free! What this force lacks in staying power it more than makes up for with ranged ability, and is the perfect complement to a solid core of Egyptian or Hittite spearmen!
Now we come to an interesting army deal that can be used to represent either Assyrian or Kassite Babylonians, both in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (boo! hiss! none of that high-tech rubbish here!). Nicely following on from the Mitanni force, only a simple change of paint colour on some of the weapons is required to make this into a later army, or you can stick with good, honest bronze (like any right-thinking person!) and keep them where they belong. With a good mix of Hupshu light and Asharruti medium infantry, plus three chariots and two units of skirmishers, you get a nice, balanced army that can slot into either period. You also get a free unit of Ashuruti archers to add even more ranged power, because that empire isn’t going to expand itself.
Finally, we come to one of my absolute favourite sets of figures – the early Achaeans or Mycenaeans! They could well be used to represent the last gasp of the Minoans of Crete, but I much prefer them as representatives of the early city-states of Aegean Greece – in other words, the Achaeans (or Danaans, as you prefer) of Homer’s Iliad! I’ve wanted to do some Trojan War gaming forever, and this force with its core of spearmen, swordsmen, and archers, backed up by chariots (for the purpose of dragging Hektor!) is the perfect starting point – just add Myrmidons! For those of a more historical bent, you also get two warbands of Lukka mercenary medium infantry absolutely free – these Sea Peoples are part of the fearsome, mysterious hosts that led to the infamous Bronze Age Collapse.
And there we have it – the Bronze Age is an awesome period to wargame using Hail Caesar, and it’s never been easier to get started with these fantastic army deals. The only question is… who will you fight for!
