Here is the latest addition to our new Macedonian range – the Royal Guard! Silver Shields, White Shields and Brazen Shields – all elite hypaspist regiments that can be represented on the tabletop.
The Macedonian phalanx was one of the world’s greatest bodies of fighting men, and the best of them were amongst the very finest soldiers ever to march upon a battlefield. Under Alexander they conquered the known world and under his Successors they fought over the spoils of Empire.
One of the Macedonian army’s most decorated units, the Silver Shields (Argyraspides) served under Alexander the Great, their name derived from the silver-plated shields they bore. Chosen men, armed with the deadly sarissa pike, they were both feared and revered due to their long service and skill at arms. Following Alexander’s death in 323 BC, the Silver Shields followed the Thracian general Eumenes, in support of Alexander’s son. They infamously delivered their general to their enemy, Antigonus, after their baggage train containing 40 years worth of loot and their families was captured during the Battle of Gabiene in 316 BC. Antigonus duly rewarded them with service in Afghanistan and suicide missions – nobody likes a traitor!
The Antigonid phalanx was divided into two separate and distinct corps – the Brazen Shields (Chalkaspides) and the White Shields (Leukaspides). The troops in these divisions were, much like Alexander’s Royal Guard, picked men. Thracians and other ‘barbarians’ were rewarded with land in return for servitude in the phalanx. Unlike Alexander’s phalanx, the Antigonid Royal Guard units formed a larger percentage of the overall army strength, with over half of the army being formed from their strength in more than one battle.
This boxed set gives you everything you need to field one of these famous units. All you need to do is to paint their shields silver, bronze or white!
You can add these elite units to your army on our webstore here.
Dan Hewitson