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Post by macbeth on May 25, 2020 2:09:52 GMT
I still remember receiving Book 2 of the WRG6th Edition Lists via mail order when in my mid teens and being excited about the possibilities for the multitude of new armies that could be used
Of course my excitement hit a new level when I stumbled onto the "Mexican List"
Aztecs, colourful and with lots of A grade troops with 2 Handed Cutting Weapons AND shooting weapons to soften up the opposition
A Sacred Standard back when they meant something - (because the big plus to the reaction test meant your A and B grade troops (even regulars) would go hell for leather impetuous).
The stuff dreams were made of for a young wargamer bored with the Classical standards from WRG5th.
In those days there were three types of Aztec Warrior societies - called "Knights" back then Jaguar and Eagle - self explanatory; and Arrow Knights - the blurb at the bottom of the list describes them as Archery specialists who dressed in the costume of any bird EXCEPT the Eagle and they were armed with 2HCW, Bow and Shield.
Tin Soldier who were quick off the mark to make a range of Aztec figures modelled them just like the Eagle Knight but with Bow in the hand that also held their shield.
I even read an additional source, not a good one I admit, but Gary Jennings' novel "Aztec" had the main character conversing with the commander of an army - an Arrow Knight dressed as an owl.
By the time we get to the world of DBM/M, Warrior and FOG I suddenly notice all reference to the Arrow Knight gone. When I google it the only references I find is to a type of warrior available in the Age of Empires computer game, and some guy showing how he painted one (though this one is not an archery specialist, instead throws an oversize arrow) in his painting blog.
Just curious - Was the Arrow Knight just a dubious troop type that went the same way as the displaced Roman Legionaries in the Chinese Border Nomad list from the same book (which at the time were an article of faith for wargamers too  )
Cheers |
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Post by macbeth on May 25, 2020 2:14:21 GMT
As an additional note - when googling this I read the Wikipedia articles on the Jaguar and Eagle warriors, one of which (Eagle I think) gave an account of the Gladiatorial Sacrifice. That such a thing occurred I can attest from one of the serious history books I picked up on Aztecs once I started buying the Tin Soldier figures, and once again it appeared in the Jennings novel. More interestingly was the way this was presented - Warriors attacking one at a time, then all four together and then if the victim still lived, a Left Handed fighter attacked. This jogged my memory, it was straight out of the novel, but is noted as having no source. I guess it is possible that the Wiki description was lifted straight out of Mr Jennings' book. Cheers |
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Post by martin on May 25, 2020 7:47:23 GMT
Intriguing -
I’ve posted on the Society of Ancients forum...will let you know if anyone there can shed light on this.
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Post by hammurabi70 on May 25, 2020 18:13:07 GMT
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Post by martin on May 25, 2020 18:17:05 GMT
If you can’t access the forum, the replies are-
Duncan Head pointed to this.....
“From a TMP discussion:
Quote
As for the existence of the Arrow Warriors, there are small tantalizing hints of their existence. However, there is no mention of them in any of the surviving Codices or in any of the writings of the Conquistadores or later writers. There is no Nahuatl term for Arrow Warrior. There are no pictures of Arrow warriors. The Codex Mendoza shows uniforms of Eagles, Jaguars, Quauhchiques and Ontontin, but no Arrow uniforms. If I had to bet on it, I'd say they didn't exist.
There's also an article here which also reckons there is no evidence for them.“
And Stephen Brennan adds-
“ So far as I recall there turned out to be no evidence for an Aztec elite archer warrior society. So as you suspect they went the way of the Chinese Border Nomad Roman Legionaries.”.
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Post by macbeth on May 25, 2020 23:07:41 GMT
Thanks to both Martin and Hammurabi for that Very helpful. Back in the day I loved using the Aztecs in WRG6th, they suited my style and temperament - but once 7th came along it was a different ball game - I remember eviscerating an Aztec army with either my Pre Feudal Scots or Kushite Egyptians in the first Cancon where 7th was played, because my opponent was still wedded to playing them in the 6th edition style. I was young at the time and in those years was fascinated when I came across references to the WRG Army lists in the historical fiction I was reading - the Arrow Knight in "Aztec", and the refugee Norman Knights in Tranter's "Macbeth the King" were the two most memorable examples. In the end I left my Aztec figures to my old club when I left Bendigo for Canberra permanently. Cheers |
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