Impetus Aztec Army in 28mm

 

My Aztec army is finally finished! The figures are a mixture of Gringos40, The Assault Group, and Wargames Foundry. They are all based on 2ps and the bases are Warbases Impetus bases. All the figures can, however, be removed from the bases so can be used in the 'En Garde' skirmish game.

 

First up we have the command 'stand'; not all based together. In the front we have Moctezuma himself, flanked on one side by a priest holding a freshly-extracted heart in his hand. On the other side of the Aztec Emperor is an Eagle Warrior with a captive who, one presumes, will soon be handed to the priest! At the back are two Aztec speakers, one wearing a rather fetching human skin suit and other blowing into a conch shell.

 

Next up, we have the elite Cuachique unit, or 'Shorn Ones'. These were the most prestigious of the Aztec warrior groups, having taken at least 7 captives and 3 of which should have been taken against more respected opponents. They were the shock troops of the Aztec army and had taken an oath to never take a step backwards in battle. Recognisable by their distinctive yellow feather suits, shaved heads and painted faces.

Moving down the Aztec pecking order, my army does not at this stage have any Otomi troops but has a unit of Eagle and a unit of Jaguar warriors. The army list for Impetus actually lists one or the other - but I couldn't resist getting both! We can bolster any enemies if we have to! One of these Aztec warriors was called a cuauhocelotl. The word cuauhocelotl derives from the Eagle warrior cuauhtli and the Jaguar Warrior ocelotl. These warriors needed to have taken at least 4 captives in battle.

The final of the 'suited' units is a group of warrior priests. Aztec warrior priests had their own ranking system. For example, 2-captive warrior priests wore a plain white suit, while 3-captive warrior priests wore a plain green one. These warrior priests have taken 4 captives in battle and as such can wear the 'cicitlalo cuextecatl' or 'starry night' suit. This suit is in the Huaxtec style with a coned hat. These style suits, albeit red and black, were worn by 2-captive warriors who weren't priests, called the Cuextecatl.

Next, we come into the non-suited main bulk of the army. Every Aztec man was trained to be a warrior. Farmers and other workers were rallied in times of war. Most of these will not have taken captives although some may have taken one. None have taken more as they do not wear the red Huaxtec suit for taking 2 captives, or the butterfly banner for taking 3. These are the 'peasant levy' for want of a better phrase - the Macehualtin farmers or other men from the regional areas known as Calpolli. As the suited warriors, many are armed with the Macehuitl (obsidian-edged club), cuauhololli (round-headed clubs), or tepoztopilli which was somewhere between a spear and a halberd. Some where the cotton armour called ichcahuipilli.

The final main unit of the army is the unit of bowmen, armed with the Aztec bow, the Tlahuitolli. These were around 5 feet long with arrows tipped with obsidian.

Then, we have the skirmish element of the army. A smaller unit of tlahuitolli bowmen, a unit of slingers armed with the tematatl sling, and a unit of warriors armed with atlatl spear thrower, which increased the range and speed of the missiles.

And to finish the army off, some casualty markers!

In the short term I think the figures will see more use in skirmishes, either against each other or a small Conquistador/Tlaxcalan warband I am putting together.