DBA 2.2
15mm Essex Miniatures
Army Composition: 1 x (Gen) 3Cv, 9 x 3 Cv, 2 x 2Lh or 3Cv.
The Avars were a confederation of heterogeneous people's consisting of Rouran, Hephthalites, and Turkic-Oghuric races who migrated to the region of the Pontic Grass Steppe modern-day Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and from Central Asia after the fall of the Asiatic Rouran Empire in 552 AD. They are considered by many historians to be the successors of the Huns in their way of life and, especially, mounted warfare.
The Avar's settled in former Hunnic territory and almost instantly set upon a course of conquest. After they were hired by the Byzantine Empire to subdue other tribes, their king Bayan I (reigned 562/565-602 AD) allied with the Lombard's under Alboin (reigned 560-572 AD) to defeat the Gepid's of Pannonia and then took over the region, forcing the Lombard's to migrate to Italy.
The Avars succeeded in establishing the Avar (Nation) Khaganate, which encompassed a territory roughly to modern-day Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria down to and including parts of Turkey. The departure of the Lombard's for Italy in 568 AD removed another hostile people from Pannonia, enabling Bayan I to expand his territories with relative ease and found the empire which lasted until 796 AD, the Avars were finally conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne.
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| King Bayan I (3Cv) should be 3Kn! ;oP |
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| Nobel's (3Cv) |
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| General's Escort Cavalry (3Cv) |
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| Bulgar & Alani Skirmish Cavalry (2Lh) |
Avar Timeline
552 AD
Fall of the Rouran Empire of Central Asia; flight of the Avars.
557 AD
Avars arrive in the Steppe.
558 AD
Avar contact with the Byzantine Empire.
562 AD
Bayan I becomes king of the Avars.
567 AD
Avars and Lombard's ally to defeat the Gepid's of Pannonia.
568 AD
Lombard's leave Pannonia for Italy; Bayan begins building his empire.
569 AD - 592 AD
Rise and expansion of the Avar Empire.
580 AD
The Slavs and the Avars overwhelm Greece, Thrace and Thessaly.
602 AD
Death of King Bayan I of the Avars.
626 AD
Slavs, Avars and Bulgar's lay siege to Constantinople, the Romans manage to repel the attacks.
630 AD
Bulgar revolt against the Avars results in civil war.
630 AD - 695 AD
Decline of the Avar Empire.
696 AD
Avars conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
Lovely figures and read Phil!
ReplyDeleteThanks Fran for your kind words much appreciated
DeleteAll the best to you Sir!
cheers,
Nice work Phil, on horses and riders,and nice details on the shields too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris, painting the details on the shields was a pain in the backside. I started using "toothpicks" instead of a fine pointed brush, to paint the dotted details on the shields :o))
DeleteNow thats a good idea, thanks for the tip!
DeleteI also use the good old fashion "fountain and quill ink :o) pens" as well. Great to use on any 15mm/25mm/28mm period figures and of course on shield's! :o)
Deletecheers,
Terrific army of horsemen, Phil! Armor and shield work are excellent. Very, Very good to see activity from your paint brush again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan, I painted/gone for the all out "punching" Cavalry option with this DBA Avar army. I'm not to sure about Essex figure choices for this cavalry army, I would have added more variety of cavalry poses i.e. Islamic Persians and/or Early Russian period figures to the Essex Avar Army pack...anyway.. :o) Thanks again Jon, for your kind words and support!
Deletecheers,
Lovely Avars Phil!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike!
Deletecheers,
I always enjoy these instalments and these are no exception. Well done Phil!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Thank you so much for your support and kind words, much appreciated Christopher!
Deletecheers,
Fantastic, another gem of an army, Phil! I appreciate the historical background and map. With an all cav build, I assume they're tough to handle in DBA.
ReplyDeleteHey, how are you doing Monty!
DeleteCavalry are faster, allowing to choose when to attack, create advantages, and disengage if necessary. Cv are great to use as flankers (harass your opponents flanks :) and/or as Reserves (near your DBA camp)
I have seen players use their all Cv army as one combat group and charge and hope for the best dice roll results. Other players setup 4 combat groups (3 elements per group) deploy in "checker board" fashion with 3-4 inches gaps between each group to create gaps and dare invite their opponents to try and exploit the setup :o)
Cavalry with their good combat factor +3 and speed 4 inches can respond quickly and reach a threatened area in good time to do some damage.
Cv have a somewhat even chance (rolling good dice) defeating enemy bows, blades, spear and pikes. All Cavalry in any army should avoid Camelry, elephants, knights, and war wagons. Cv are great against Ps (skirmishers) and (Lh) Light Horse.
Cv are useless in "bad going areas"
Thanks again Monty!
cheers
Hey, Phil! These are superb, great to see more lovely DBA troops again. Although your Napoleonics are excellent too!
ReplyDelete:o) Thanks Dean appreciate your kind words
DeleteAll the best,
cheers
Beautifully painted army, Phil!
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete!
Deletecheers,
Very nice Phil!
ReplyDeleteHey!
DeleteThanks Rodger!
cheers,
Lovely work Phil, these Essex figures have come up beautifully.
ReplyDeleteEssex figures do paint up well... appreciate your kind commentary Lawrence.. all the best
Deletecheers,
Nice post and great looking Avars!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, glad you like the Avars! :o)
Deleteall the best,
cheers
Great looking army and nice potted history, lovely looking shields
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain,I appreciate your kind words and visit.
DeleteAll the best,
cheers
I just love your work, Phil!! :D Thanks for sharing and for the History lesson, too! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind commentary, much appreciated
DeleteAll the best to you Sir! :o)
cheers,