Italian (450-200)

This is the army of any of the Sabellian tribes, ie. Samnites, Campanians, Lucanians or Bruttians. It is also that of the Iapygians, since they adopted the tactics and armament of their neighbours.

The warriors of these armies are basically identical; even the division into "round Lucanian" and "oval Samnite" shield is schematical and not borne out by the evidence.

Foot troops carried two short spears, about 6' long, which could be either thrown or used hand-to-hand. Rating as auxilia for all warriors therefore seems appropriate; there is however uncertain evidence for Campanians fighting in hoplite phalanxes.  That said it would appear, notably from Livy, that Italian infantry - no doubt like their Roman counterparts - adopted a more or less dense formation depending on the terrain, possibly being able to open or close it during a battle.

All Sabellian warriors wore a broad belt as a symbol of manhood and courage; it was often gilt-plated.  The impressive crests on their helmets may have been generalised or restricted only to the aristocracy. Their aim was to increase height and thus terrify the enemy : the importance of war-cries and associated psychological effects in Italian warfare was paramount.

Noble cavalry (shielded or unshielded, and equipped exactly as the infantry) were present in all armies, but especially amongst the richer Campanians and also among the Iapygians, who fought in terrain more appropriate to the use of horses.

Armies were sometimes accompanied by poorly-armed skirmishers, representing the least wealthy warriors, or, in Bruttium, peasant levies. I use standard Greek skirmishers for these.

This is one of my Mini-C&C Ancients armies, where one base represents one unit (except for medium and heavy infantry, who require two bases). Composition is as follows (80 pts) :

Samnites, Lucanians and Iapyges: 2 Gn, 4 MI, 14 Ax, 2 L, 2 MC

Bruttians: 2 Gn, 16 Ax, 2 MC, 7 L

Campanians: 2 Gn, 4 MI, 14 Ax, 3 MC (dont 1 Grec)