Tuareg 1000AD-1591AD (Book III/69)

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Army Consist

Element Description of Troops
1x3Cm (Gen) Tuareg General
10x3Cm Camelry
1x3Cm or 2LH Bow Camelry
1x3WB or 3Ax Tuareg Foot Troops
Camp Followers A Patch of Sand

The Tuareg were a much-feared people of the Sahara, second in fame only to the Fanatic Berbers who would later sweep across their lands. They were known to mercilessly raid trade caravans moving through the area, often in force. They were often known to join with a caravan as friends, only to turn on one of the group later and leave them for dead in the desert sands. They are a people as harsh and unforgiving as the desert in which they live.

Descriptions of the Tuareg vary over many years, but as soon as I knew I wanted to paint them, I had a particular vision for how I wanted them to look. I wanted their dominant feature to be their dark indigo robes, rather than their shields or their accents. This left a remarkably small number of figure manufacturers to choose from. Eventually the army was comprised of figures from Essex, Falcon UK, and Chariot.

Their robes are a uniform dark blue indigo color (believe it or not, that is blue, not black.) I was aiming for a sharp contrast between the indigo and the tan/white of the camels. Plus, I admit, I was also trying to shadow the "black riders" look from the "Mummy" films.

This army is a bit of an oddity in DBA, existing as one of the only low-aggression all-Camelry armies. With certain options, 12 Camelry units can be fielded with a 0 aggression factor, making their immunity to Dunes and Oasis a very viable tactic.


Tuareg General [1x3Cm (Gen)]

The Tuareg General is little removed from the rest of his Camelry forces, noteworthy only from his flag and light blue turbans. Though the lighter blue is probably a later Berber influence, it was an easy way to distinguish the stand from the rest of the army.

Though late to adopt Islam, I couldn't resist the opportunity to paint the star-and-crescent against the solid black of the flag.


Camelry [10x3Cm]

The mainstay of the Tuareg forces are their massive horde of Cavalry. Primarily, these cavalry were spear or javelin armed, and a mix of tribesmen from throughout the region. Though there would likely have been much variation in the color, their use of the Indigo robes is meant to give a uniform look to the group.


Bow Camelry [1x3Cm or 2LH]

Bows were considered a somewhat uncivilized weapon to the Tuareg, and for much of their existence as a raiding army were limited to the poorest of tribesmen. Since this element in DBA can be classified as either 3Cm or 2Cm, it seemed natural to represent these outcasts here.


Tuareg Foot Troops [1x3WB or 3Ax]

Though primarily a mounted army, it was not unheard of for Tuareg to assail their enemy on foot (or for poorer tribes to be called to battle without the benefit of mounts.) Thus, these spearmen were brought to the field.

Since, in this army, the foot troops were likely to be less commonly used, I chose to only make a single pair of elements to cover both DBA options. This covers their inclusion in the army as either Warband or Auxilia, though Warband is the most common deployment.


A Patch of Sand [Camp Followers]

For the Tuareg camp, I wanted to try and grab hold of the nomadic, desperate feel for the life of a Tuareg. The idea that a simple rock, shielding an oasis-like patch of rainfall (or an underground spring) from the encroaching desert seemed a perfect choice.

The stand of two foot troops can double as Psiloi in the army, or represent the Camp Followers. The Palm Tree Barker marker can be removed to check zones-of-control or left to provide the Camp Followers with a small bit of much-needed shade.


Please send any comments/criticisms/corrections to webmeisterzeke@att.net


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This page was last updated on February 5th, 2008 at 03:07 PM