Post by Kamenwati on Nov 22, 2011 14:50:26 GMT -6
Carnian Military Force and Structure
Battle is a high-risk strategy. It brings matters to a decision and can save the country from the horrors of rampaging armies. On the other hand, if one lost a battle one risked losing everything, including, of course, one’s life.
No quarter was given to high-status prisoners. Even kings were summarily knocked on the head. A sensible commander therefore did everything possible to avoid battle unless he was confident of winning. Battles tended to happen when two forces were more or less equally matched, or thought they were, or when the commander had run out of other options.
Once battle had become inevitable, commanders would choose their ground carefully. To maintain speed the army marched as light as possible. Heavy war gear was carried in the rear in carts or by packhorses.
Towns were expected to supply the army with food and other necessities as it marched.
Victory or defeat in a battle depended on morale as well as physical strength. The professional warrior, hearth trooper or mercenary, married late, if at all. The prime of his manhood was spent in the service of his lord, and he spent his leisure in the company of men, hunting, hawking and drinking. He lived on the cusp between the fiction of the sagas and praise poetry and the hard facts of military life: the former informed him of the way he was expected to behave, the latter of how heroic ideals worked out in practice. He repaid the mead he drank and the gifts he received by absolute loyalty and devoted service. One is bound to wonder: did the warrior fear death in battle? It has been suggested that he was a fatalist: what shall be, shall be, and better to die gloriously than to live dishonorably. To fall in battle was considered an honorable death.
Emperor
- commander-in-chief of the entire Carnian military force
Knights
- Each knight had his own lands and troops. The Knights were selected by the King and each has official military and civil duties.[/center]
Under each Knight, the standard military force consists of:
Legion – has an appointed military commander called a Praetorian. A legion is usually 10 cohorts or a total of 2,000 fighting men and officers.. A Tribune, officers usually second in command of the legions. Other lesser tribunes served as junior officers.
Cohort - appointed military commander called a Legate. two (2) centuries or a total of 200 fighting men and officers. The first cohort was double strength in terms of manpower, and generally held the best fighting men.
Centuria - appointed military commander called a Centurion. Usually 80-100 fighting men. A Signifier, one for each century, handled financial matters and decorations.
Contubernium - a "tent unit" of 8 men commanded by Decanus- equivalent to a sergeant.
Aquilifer - standard bearer of each legion- a position of much prestige
Cornicen - horn blower or signaler
Cavalry – appointed military commander called a Prefect - commands a unit of cavalry. Each legion was supported by 300 equites (cavalrymen); sub-divided into ten turmae, approximately 30 equites (cavalrymen), commanded by a Decurio.
The Battle-Chariot – has an appointed military commander called a Prefect. It is called a "carpentom" and is a light, two-wheeled vehicle drawn by a pair of yoked horses, little more than four meters in length and less than two meters wide. Even though it is not used always and everywhere in the kingdom and is dependent upon recommended tactics and terrain; the battle-chariot is not considered a very typical part of Arthur’s warfare and has only 10 per legion. The chariot consists almost exclusively of organic material; the main metal parts are the iron tires and the iron fittings to strengthen the hubs. Metal rings and connectors are used to strengthen joints and flexible connections. What made the chariot so special from others, however, is that the chariot-platform is not fixed to the axle but hung free in a rope suspension. This makes it a lot more comfortable to drive and a lot easier to fight from. Usually two persons ride in the chariot. The charioteer sits in the open front of the chariot and actually drives. The warrior stands behind the charioteer and throws his spears from the chariot before alighting and fighting on foot. The charioteer stays close enough to retrieve his warrior and carry him away from the battle if he is wounded or killed.
Logistics - Engineers and artificers, and around 1,600 non-combatants; the non-combatants are generally the men who tended the mules, forage, watering and sundries of the baggage train. Secundus designed his logistics plan similar to the Roman logistics, which were among some of the best in the world - from the deployment of purchasing agents to systematically buy provisions during a campaign, to the construction of roads and supply caches, to the rental of shipping if the troops had to move by water. Heavy equipment and material (tents, artillery, extra weapons and equipment, millstones etc.) was moved by pack animal and cart, while troops carried weighty individual packs with them, including staves and shovels for constructing the fortified camps. Typical of all armies, local opportunities were also exploited by troops on the spot, and the fields of peasant farmers unlucky enough to be near the zone of conflict might be stripped to meet army needs. As with most armed forces, an assortment of traders, hucksters, prostitutes and other miscellaneous service providers trailed in the wake of the fighting men.
Auxilia and velites: Allied contingents, often providing light infantry and specialist fighting services, like archers, slingers, or javelin men. They usually form into the light infantry.
The Nature of Tamazgha Warfare
The Warriors of the Tamazgha fought many battles. Some involved rather small numbers of combatants, but there were also mass battles in which at least tens of thousands participated. However, Tamazgha warriors seem to have been much less used to fighting in formations and organized units. The Tamazgha warriors engage their enemy as if they would defeat them simply by overrunning them, trusting their brute force more than elaborate tactics and clever strategies. This may well be due to a trait of Tamazgha warlord mentality, which valued individual prowess with arms and heroic feats more than fighting in tight groups and trusting in the combined power of many men in close military formations. Military organization seems to be based, in case of the infantry, more on where one comes from than the type of weapons one carried, although chariots and/or cavalry were set aside to fight together. The warbands, who were most likely the high response troops of the Tamazgha, often formed the first line of the infantry, hurling themselves upon the enemy in the first assault.
The military encampments were often squalid places where the soldier/warrior might even find himself in a minority… "support services" was carried out by civilians of various statuses.
Build shelters - Slaves and women helped or supervised by lower ranked warriors that have no other more urgent duties would be the first to establish the camp.
Find fire wood - Children, women and trusted slaves would perform this duty, the children would start while the camp is being built.
Fetch water - Children, women and trusted slaves would perform this duty.
Dig latrines - Slaves and prisoners of either sex would perform this duty, it is entirely possible that in a camp where there are none then the warriors shall not bother. Where we know that there were no women or slaves etc in a camp disease was rife and this may have been one cause.
Prepare food - Women and slaves but also professional cooks, these latter may actually be warriors though probably of the lower ranks. Having said that, as every man knows, he is the best cook in the world and is not above giving advice and assistance to the less gifted members of society, especially if they are young women.
Guard the camp - Warriors and the older boys in some circumstances.
Forage for food in the surrounding area - Normally done before the camp is set up but if it is a long term establishment this shall be continued by the warriors. Additional slaves may also be "recruited" during this activity.
Repair weapons, equipment and clothes - This would be done by all categories depending on their skill, a slave may be a blacksmith, prisoners may have been taken for their skills. Women would be the first choice for the mending of clothes and warriors could make minor "make do" repairs to their own weapons and equipment.
Interrogate military and civilian prisoners - Warriors with their leaders would carry out this essential intelligence function, however if there were a language barrier anyone from the other classes may be involved.
Guard prisoners - Warriors of course.
Sort booty - Warriors of lower rank would do the work supervised by their leaders.
Tend the wounded - Normally done by the women, however some functions would be carried out by an appropriate man. For instance, one highly rated skill of a leader was his ability to sew, this related to his skill tending the wounded and not his neatly repaired socks!
Bury/burn the dead - This depends on the religion of those concerned and the status of the corpse. It could range from a slave digging a trench and kicking the body in up to a state funeral.
Wash the dead - Normally the duty of women but again religious practices of the race concerned would have to be taken into account.
Religious observances - Priests/Priestesses appropriate to the religion/deity would perform the rite, those in attendance would depend on the religion.
Wash clothes - Women and slaves would perform this duty, if there were none then it didn't get done.
Groom men, women and animals - Women would perform this function on men and other women, both sexes would work on animals, usually slaves but a favored horse may at times be tended by its owner in person.
Search for lice - Carried out in conjunction with the grooming, an essential task. These little blood suckers are carriers of disease and must be removed regularly, there were no really effective methods of removing them other than a close personnel search by hand with a comb.
Trade - Most traders were men but there are accounts from shortly after our period when women took over the family business, this was unusual but there is no reason to suggest it did not happen in our period of interest. Traders in a military camp must have some sort of political protection or be the only source of a valuable commodity; they must also be expected to return again. If they do not have this value then what is to stop the warriors from just taking what they want?
Negotiable sex - Women have plied the oldest profession in every military camp throughout time. As with traders these women must have some value or protection that prevents the warriors simply using and discarding them.
Romantic sex - If a woman has protection, status and is not for sale then romance may well be the final resort of the frustrated warrior. The fact that this may not be socially acceptable, especially with fathers and husbands, has never stopped people.
Rape - Often the fate of female slaves and prisoners, in some circumstances we are talking of gang rape of a newly enslaved prisoner, what better way of cowing a spirited woman and making sure she understands her new status!
Eating and drinking - Meal times were different, the main meals being at the beginning and end of the day. What is eaten shall also depend on status, slaves are not going to be fed as well as the warriors, prisoners may well be deliberately deprived of food and water in order to subdue them.
Training - Well if there is no alcohol to be consumed, they are bored with the women and the prisoners are unconscious then I suppose that they might actually have done some. Young warriors often need to let off a bit of steam and the older ones like to show off their skills, training therefore might not be what we would consider by the word, it may well be a bit more chaotic and unorganized. The exception would be when the leader is bored and thinks that the shield wall could be better, this would probably cause some grumbling but as the leader is the meanest so and so in the camp it shall be done.
Child rearing - Women's work of course. No doubt there shall be some contact with the warriors but this can range from friendly interest in the antics of the young, to a beating for some minor infringement of a warriors peace.
Games - Worn out by the sex, beatings and training, relaxing warriors may well play a board game before becoming too drunk!
