Extract from DBMM Lists - "Justification" for Hittite spear to be Bd(F) or Bd(I)
Actual message number on DBMMlist is #38590
15th December 2006
Re: Brimingham Play Test/Hittites
"David Mather" <mather@...> wrote:
> Proabably use Hittites (although no doubt change my mind a good
> dozen times) - which leads me to a possible issue - I have been
> using the Hittites "Spearmen" as Bd(F) following comments on the
> list - see message #34758 from Duncan extract below -
> "Yet others (French brigans, Hittites, maybe Ghurids) probably
> shouldn't become Pk (F); but then they, IMHO, are borderline cases
> who probably shouldn't have been Ax (X) in the first place. (Nigel
> T suggested Hittites should be esentially the same as other BA NE
> infantry, which suggests Bd."
> Will this cause a problem and is it legit (cue Duncan)
Well, I still stand by that view; I would like sometime to sit down
and give serious consideration to which Ax (X) should be Pk (F) and
which shouldn't, case by case, but I haven't been able to do it
thoroughly yet. Leaving it up to what Phil's got in the rules does
lead to some daft anomalies like French brigans as Pk (F).
As for the Hittites, I think either Bd (F) or Bd (I). I said - here
and on TNE -
"Hittites - Imperial infantry have fairly short spears, predynastics I
think are Ax (X) only on the basis of spearheads. Not Sp as they are
now thought to have no shields. Possibly Bd (I) as line-of-battle
infantry?"
To which Nigel replied (TNE message 4921, 22 Oct 2004):
"The Hittites are the same as the typical conscript infantry of the
day. Our only clues for the Imperial period, aside of the weapons
themselves, are depictions by their enemies at Qadesh. There they
have no shields but spears (can't read too much into the length
shown - it's just notional) and drawn swords. What's the betting
they're no different than the Egyptians, who are shown with identical
types of weapons (blades and javelins/spears) and in open or close
order according to circumstance..."
cheers,
Duncan
