"Roman Confusion!" Topic

I have just started armies for Infamy Infamy. I like the Victrix Gallic figures so I started there. But now as I to shop for Romans I am conflicted. I think the appropriate match for Gauls is Caesarean Romans but Victrix doesn't make those.

So first question – do the warlord games caesarean romans match up with the size of the Victrix Gauls?

All that being said, if I wanted to do britons or Germans I think EIRs are more correct – right? If I use EIRs then they don't really match Gauls right? By that time the Gauls are pretty much pacified?

So what to do? Suggestions please?
Thank

Can't go wrong with Republican Romans. They fought plenty of Gauls. From the sack of Rome through the Punic Wars until JC finially marched into Gaul.

You are correct that the Gauls are more or less permanently subdued by Caesar – though some more-or-less Gauls in Central Europe, Celtic-speaking, La Tene-culture peoples like the Scordisci, did remain independent until the very early phases of the Empire.

But don't forget that Caesar famously invaded Britain and crossed the Rhine into Germany, and even before his day Roman armies were fighting the Cimbri and Teutones, who were (probably, mostly) Germans. So if you do go for Caesarian late Republicans, you can fight more or less anyone.

And there is even an Osprey on Caesar's army due out in September.

I have no advice on figures, sorry: don't do 28mm.

Except for one small Gallic village that still holds out against the Roman invaders…

Augustus had a major campaign in the Alps to secure the routes between Italy and Gaul. It lasted from around 25bc to 7bc when a huge monument was built to celebrate the conquest. The tribes conquered were a mix of Rhaetians, Celts and others but would have appeared very similar to the Gauls.

It was during this time that the Roman army adopted segmentata so EIR troops could be used though I don't know when they changed from oval to rectangular shields.

You could also use Gallic warriors in a German or Dacian army, as Celts. The remaining Celtic tribes of central Europe were eventually absorbed into these two groups. There were other Celtic groups further east all the way to the Volga but how "Celtic" they looked is anyone's guess, particularly after the main cultural zone of Gaul was taken over by the Romans.

If you select Early Imperial Romans, then you could present your Gauls as Ancient British, but you will need to have chariots rather then cavalry in the army. Alternatively, as suggested, you could have them as a smaller part of a German or Dacian army, representing tribesmen that who did not accept Roman rule and migrated to other rebel nations.

An Early German army can oppose either Caesarian or Early Imperial Romans.

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. I think I hear the call for Caesarian Romans – fight Caesar's Gallic War and represent the incursions into Britain and Germany.

I can say that the Warlord SPQR Caesarian Romans are a good head taller than their Hail Caesar EIR. I bought some Victrix EIR cavalry and had to sell them on because they were similarly much larger than the Hail Caesar EIR. I would take from that that that e SPQR Caesarian would be a decent match for the Victrix BUT I have not done a direct comparison.

I thought Warlord Caesarian Romans were small figures. Unfortunately, there isn't a great line available. The Foundry figures are nice but really overpriced. The old Companion Caesarian Romans were magnificent but are not currently in production. Not a big fan of the OG Caesarian Romans either. I think this is a big gap in the 28mm market.

Remember too that far from all EIR wore lorica segmentata (and it was issued to some auxilia too, not just legionaries. It was probably far more common to wear chain, as the earlier legionaries had done. Likewise, the oval shield probably stayed in use – the curved rectangle wasn't universal either as far as I know.

So (correct me if I'm wrong but) I think earlier style legionaries would serve pretty well for both the caesarean and early EIR periods.

Here's a unit of Victrix Gallic cavalry flanked by a cohort of Foundry Caesarians (red shields) and one of Warlord Caesarians (blue shields). You decide if they work for you. link

Basha Felika: "Except for one small Gallic village that still holds out against the Roman invaders…"

:-)

Caesarian/Marian Romans are great. But so are the Early Imperial ones in the classic Roman look (lorica segmentata) and the Late Romans are wonderful with all their colorful units! You can't forget the classic matchup between Rome and Hannibal either. If you ask me, you can never have enough Romans! Cheers! It's an addiction--but mostly harmless anyway.

The republic gets to fight Carthaginians, Hellenistics, Iberians, Gauls, and plenty of the little chaps too. No contest which should be the first choice.

@SteveTheTim – thank you for the photo! The foundry figures look be a little beefier than the warlord figures but it's hard to tell as they look to all be crouched behind their shields. Height looks pretty close. Cavalry look beautiful!

Are the warlord figures from a Hail Caesar box or from a SPQR set? I would think they are the same but some other comments led me to believe that the scale of the two lines might be a little different with the SPQR figures being a little bigger. Anyone know?

Thanks.
Ken

SPQR and HC Caesarians are the same size from what I've seen. It's only HC EIR legionaries that are smaller and some of the sets like the medicus are larger.

Aren't the Warlord Romans just the old Wargames Factory ones ? They took over the WF lines. My Roman and Gallic armies for Hail Caesar are all Wargames Factory.

My Warlord Caesarians are from the original Hail Caesar release. I've never seen the SPQR figures so can't comment. The most significant opponents for Caesarian/Marian Romans were, of course, each other. The civil wars offer a huge variety of troop types and nationalities as auxiliaries and allies: Gauls, Iberians, Germans, Numidians, Hellenes, Palestinians, Arabs, Balkan types… essentially everyone in the Mediterranean arena. Then you have three Pontic wars if you want to fight late Successors, Jugurthine wars if you want to fight Numidians dressed as Romans and Parthians if you want to be slaughtered by horse archers and cataphracts. And Spartacus.

Warlord has the WF ancients but is sitting on them as they would compete with their own versions. Their dark ages sets are WF though.