I'm still not clear on why WRG started the practice of calling this mob "late." To me, "late" would refer to the Hasmoneans. You know - the guys who loitered about the palace around the time of Salome, Aristobulus, Mariamne, Herod, and that lot. Or even the Zealots, who eventually provoked the Romans into destroying the Second Temple in 70 C.E., and, in the process, caused the near exhaustion of the Roman treasury in the effort it took to put down all three Judean revolts against Roman domination.
So, for the sake of clarity, let's define the army list under discussion as being of the "First Temple Period" of Jewish history. Before King Solomon built the First Temple, the Hebrew army had no chariots - other than the hundred or so that his dad kept for show-and-tell after smashing King Hadadezer of Aram and his force of "a thousand chariots." (See II Sam. 8:4.)
It was out of this modest beginning that Solomon "built a large regular [chariot] force that required long and complicated training and the workshops, stores, training establishments, barracks, sheds, veterinary and other auxiliary services without which it could not operate." (C. Herzog & M. Gichon, Battles of the Bible, London: Greenhill Books, 1997, p. 120.) The Bible numbers Solomon's chariot forces at 1,400 vehicles (see I Kings 10:26 & II Chronicles 1:14) and 41,000 horses (see II Chronicles 9:25 & I Kings 4:26).
The chariot arm continued to form an important and regular part of both armies of the Divided Kingdom, i.e., Israel and Judah. (See I Kings 16:9; II kings 8:21, 9:16, 9:21, 10:2, 13:7, 13:14; & Micah 5:10.) For example, the allied Syro-Israelite army that stopped the Assyrian army of Shalmanezer III at the Battle of Qarqar (853 B.C.E.) included a contingent led by King Ahab of Israel consisting of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 infantry. The Jewish chariots comprised one-half of the 10 allied kingdoms' chariot force. (See M. Rosenthal & I. Mozeson, Wars of the Jews, New York: Hippocrene Books, 1990, pp. 57-58.) This period concludes with the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians . . . . So much for terminology. . . .
The next "tweak" takes the Generals off horses and puts them on chariots. The old WRG classification had them on LCh, but some later published lists, including the current AW list, designate them as Heavy Cavalry units. However, I can find no reference to anything like HC in the Hebrew armies of this period, and it therefore seems inappropriate to hang this on their Generals. Given the known history and traditions of Israelite military organization, these field commanders would most probably hitch a ride on the "elite" chariots when roaming the deserts and valleys, and go on foot when bashing about the hill country of Israel. In the latter case, an HI classification would seem appropriate. The below list provides for the option, i.e., LCh or HI.
Next, the Benjaminite slingers seem to have been lost in the current AW list. More than likely, this was mere oversight. ('Clerical error' is a very useful concept in many aspects of life today.) Admittedly, some might regard this small unit of Skirmish Infantry as being in the "trash troops" category, and therefore of no real consequence. Nevertheless, the tribe of Benjamin has been distinctively noted as being 'ambidextrous with the sling' (I Chronicles 12:2), and has been represented in all the other wargaming army lists that I have seen.
King David organized the tribal levies of Israel on the basis of a rotating national reserve. Each of the 12 tribes mobilized one-twelfth of their men in each month of the year for training and routine military duties. This "ready reserve" provided approximately 24,000 militia under arms at all times. Blending the tribes under this military structure was fundamental to the creation of a truly "national" army.
Nevertheless, the various tribes each were recognized for specific capabilities in warfare. For example, the Gadites were "shield and buckler" men noted as expert skirmishers in mountainous terrain (I Chronicles 12:8); the tribes of Judah and Naphtali carried shield and spear (I Chronicles 12:34); the Zebulites and the tribes located east of the Jordan were deemed experts "with all instruments of war," and were specifically noted as able to "keep rank" (I Chronicles 12:33); and the tribe of Issachar seems to have specialized in 'fifth-column' work, i.e., intelligence missions (I Chronicles 12:32).
In terms of the size of the regular, standing foot units of the army, it has been estimated that when King David went up against the Ammonites and Aramaeans (see II Samuel 10:6), he used only his regulars, including both Gibborim and Philistine Mercenaries, with a total strength of approximately 25,000. (See Herzog et al, p. 113.) It seems that David achieved a unique, almost equal balance between the "shock effect of massed troops on one side," and " maximum flexibility and maneuverability on the other." This effective compromise was achieved in his infantry because "archers, slingers and javelin-throwers provided the material for his light troops," and the" heavily armoured pikemen provided the massed shock force." (Ibid.)
The regulars "had two corps, the Gibborim (i.e., the 'mighty men' of the King James Bible) and the foreign mercenaries. The Gibborim comprised two regiments that were built around the nuclei of the first and second 'Thirty'." The first regiment originated in the loyal band of Judean tribesmen who formed around David in his period of exile from Saul's court. Herzog et al claim that these Judeans could form the "closely arrayed heavy phalanx." The second regiment evolved out of a troop that was originally recruited from among the Trans-Jordanian peoples after David attained the crown of Judah. This latter would seem to have included Moabites, Aramaeans, Hittites, and other professional mercenaries who sought opportunities amidst the crossroads of trade between the Mesopotamian and Nile Valley cultures. (See Herzog et al, pp. 111-112.)
The second corps of Hebrew regulars consisted of an array of Pelethites, Cheretites and Gittites who originally joined David when he was exiled among the Philistines. Herzog et al make it clear that this corps was armored Heavy Infantry, and was very loyal to the Davidic throne, experienced, and well trained.
The choice of allies herein requires a bit of explanation. First, while Israel was allied long-term to the Phoenicians, the latter was primarily a sea power, and their army was not large, nor too experienced. It was more of an oversized garrison defense than a field army. This alliance was more of an economic/commercial relationship than a military one. Second, while Israel was allied occasionally with Edomites, Moabites & Ammonites, these alliances were sporadic in nature and of short duration. Also, the presence of Midianite Camelry on the list, as it stands now, effectively represents the kind of troops these petty kingdoms would contribute to such an alliance. Finally, while Israel fought against Aram on occasion, these two regional powers were more often allied – making the Aramaeans the most logical choice. These Aramaean allies also allow the addition of some HCh to provide a slightly more balanced force when playing against a larger, heavier army such as the Assyrians.
This was the first army I ever built. Choosing 15 mm figure size (such being the most popular size in my wargaming club at that time), it took me a whole year to paint and base 435 figures – a total of 2,833 WRG-style points. To this day, it still gives me a 'charge' when I deploy my 'Jews-with-attitude' on the board. I did the entire mob using the figures from Chariot Miniatures. Not only do I like the highly articulated sculpture work of their castings, but also their catalogue provides excellent recommendations on how to put together a Hebrew army from the figure choices available. The only additional recommendation I would make is to suggest mixing Philistine and Sherden figures for the Philistine Mercenary troops. This would reflect the mixing of Pelethites (who wore the kilts and reed helmets of the Philistine figures) and Cheretites (who wore the horned helmets of the Sherden figures) in this unit.
Given the number of times I have been thoroughly clobbered by Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Hittites, Aramaeans, etc., etc., I would respectfully suggest that it takes a bit of experience to learn how to use this army most effectively on the tabletop. But when you do finally win, it feels great!
| First Temple Hebrews : 960 – 581 B.C.E. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stands Permitted | Units | Troop Type Armour | Morale | Training | Weaponry | Strength per Stand | Point Value per Stand |
| 1 | CiC | LCh | Elite | Trained | Jav/B/Sh | 1 | 51 |
| 0 - 3 | Generals | LCh or HI | Veteran | Trained | Jav/B/Sh | 1 | 37 |
| 4 -16 | Ne'arim - Chariots | LCh | Elite | Trained | Jav/B/Sh | 1 | 11 |
| 0 - 8 | Chariot Runners | SI | Warriors | Irregular | Jav/Sh | 2 | 2 |
| 0 - 8 | Parashim - Cavalry | LAC | Warriors | Irregular | Jav/Sh | 3 | 8 |
| 4 - 14 | Philistine Mercenaries | HI | Veteran | Trained | Sp/Jav/Sh | 4 | 8 |
| 4 - 14 | Gibborim – House Guards | LAI | Veteran | Trained | Sp/Jav/Sh | 4 (loose) | 8 |
| 12 - 60 | Tribal Levies - Spears | UI | Warriors | Irregular | Sp/Jav/Sh | 3 | 3 |
| 6 - 32 | Tribal Levies - Archers | UI | Warriors | Irregular | B/Sh | 3 | 3 |
| 0 - 12 | Benjaminites - Slingers | SI | Warriors | Irregular | S/Sh | 2 | 2 |
| 0 - 16 | Midianite Camelry | LACm | Poor | Irregular | B | 3 | 5 |
| 2-4 | Supply Train | Total point value per unit: | 15 | ||||
| 2-4 | 2nd Supply Train | Total point value per unit: | 10 | ||||
| After 850 B.C.E. | |||||||
| 0 - 12 | Upgrade Chariots to MCh | +5 | |||||
| Aramaean Allies | |||||||
| 0 - 1 | Aramaean General | HCh | Veteran | Trained | Jav/B/Sh | 1 | 41 |
| 0 - 10 | Aramaean Heavy Chariots | HCh | Veteran | Trained | Jav/B/Sh | 1 | 17 |
| 0 - 16 | Aramaean Spearmen | LAI | Warriors | Irregular | Sp/Jav/Sh | 3 | 4 |
| 0 - 16 | Aramaean Archers | UI | Poor | Irregular | B/Sh | 3 | 2 |
Notes:
Each stand of Midianite Camelry counts as two (2) stands for shooting.
Chariot Runner rule applies.
Aramaean allies must have own general, and cannot be in mixed command with Hebrews.
Aramaean allies may not be used when fighting against an Aramaean army.
The term "B.C.E." means "Before the Common Era" and is the secular equivalent of the Christian term "B.C.", i.e., "Before Christ." Its usage is spreading widely in both academic and non-academic literary circles.
To make King David's army out of this list, merely delete all chariots and cavalry.
Late Hebrews: Comments on AW Army Lists
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© Copyright 2000 by Terry Gore
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