Assault Bireme, Auxiliary Iberian Swordsmen

Description

The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.

Like many warriors, Iberian tribesmen were stubborn beyond all reason in defence of their gods, homes, lands and honour. Even when cornered, surrounded and beyond all hope, defeat was not an idea that could be entertained for a moment. In fact, rather than accept the shame of defeat they were known to kill themselves. Possibly they also hoped to deny the enemy the glory of having killed them. Some warriors went into battle carrying vials of quick-acting poison, carefully extracted from a variety of buttercup. All Strabo, the Greek historian described the poison as “…a herb that is nearly like parsley and painless…”, he was not being terribly accurate. Like all poisons, it hurt, and it caused the user’s face to contort into a horrid, sardonic grin before death came. This morbid, mocking expression unnerved enemies, even Romans, who were convinced that the smiling corpses were mocking their foes from the afterlife.