“Two armies are two our bodies which meet and attempt to frighten one another.” -Napoleon Bonaparte

Last time I talked in regards to the nature of armies, now I’m going to debate explicit kinds of armies. and the way they may work together:

The Noble’s “Gang,” Retainers, Bodyguards (Comitatus)​

Professional armies had been uncommon till trendy occasions. “Comitatus” is the oft-used Latin time period for an armed escort or retinue, a royal bodyguard, that might be comparatively few in quantity however can be out there year-round. In the later Saxon interval in England they had been known as housecarles, the one skilled troops within the nation. The Germanic Chiefs against Rome ceaselessly had a retinue of this sort, the origin of the phrase.

Raiders​

Much of melee warfare previously, all the way in which again to the traditional Near East, was about raiding for wealth, and to punish the enemy, fairly than makes an attempt to beat territory. The Neo-Assyrians would raid opponents as a way to subjugate them, then return to Assyria and count on to obtain tribute. If an space repeatedly refused to pay, lastly the Assyrians would occupy it completely as an alternative of simply raiding, however this may occasionally have helped result in their downfall as they unfold themselves too skinny.

While barbarians generally overwhelmed civilized states, more often than not they had been solely raiders. We consider raiding as one thing that barbarians did, and of agricultural economies, however the foraging of the armies of monied economies may very well be nearly as dangerous. Moreover, the economies of the traditional Near East had been typically agricultural economies, and people states did a number of raiding.

Only within the twentieth century will we turn out to be accustomed to wholesale makes an attempt to beat different states fairly than raid them. With the proliferation of nuclear weapons we’re again to growth of nationwide affect by means apart from conquest – until you’re the Russian Federation.

Dynastic States​

Dynastic states: polities ruled by some sort of monarch who was a part of a hereditary dynasty, comparable to a king, impartial duke, or emperor. Definitely NOT trendy constitutional monarchies.

I listing these individually as a result of they predominate in early trendy Europe. The precise troopers typically weren’t even nationals of the nation elevating the military. For instance, Frederick the Great’s Prussian military was about one third foreigners. Discipline was harsh and troopers had been solely anticipated to comply with orders, to not assume, so you possibly can use foreigners as roughly automatons.

These sorts of armies had been supported by cash (comparable to English subsidies for Prussia), not by agricultural economics.

“Feudal” Armies​

I put citation marks round feudal as a result of historians nonetheless argue about whether or not feudalism actually existed, or how widespread it was. We can describe how it’s thought to exist. The ruler/overlord granted lands to a vassal in return for an obligation to serve militarily or to pay some sort of tax. The vassal had full management of all of the individuals in his land, primarily serfs who had been hooked up to the land itself. The vassal used the taxes he acquired from his individuals (normally paid in variety) to assist keep the roughly skilled troops who would reply the decision from his overlord. Some of the peasants would even be anticipated to serve the decision up was for a restricted period of time, to keep away from interfering with planting and harvesting. This might work properly in an agricultural economic system.

Mercenaries​

We may also discuss mercenaries, protecting in thoughts they’re a part of a monied economic system. Mercenaries are normally professionals, which is an enormous benefit when adversaries usually are not. Much of the Carthaginian military was mercenaries. Xenophon’s “10,000” are some of the well-known mercenary bands. The Hellenic successors to Alexander the Great typically used mercenaries. Mercenaries had been widespread in Roman, Greek, and Persian occasions however not a lot within the Middle Ages earlier than the Renaissance condottieri, doubtless as a result of most of the economies weren’t monied (how do you pay mercenaries with out coinage?). William the Conqueror used Flemish and different mercenaries.

Crusading Armies/Religious Military Orders​

These are roughly distinctive to the Middle Ages. But the armies themselves are not often completely different from typical armies of the time, although you may make an exception for spiritual navy orders such because the Knights Templar and Teutonic Knights. The latter must be skilled armies, however weren’t quite a few.

The Players​

This dialogue is primarily supposed to contribute to your efforts to construct a fantasy and even science fiction world. But the place may the participant characters match into these schemes in a marketing campaign that emphasizes warfare? Characters may start as members of a noble’s bodyguard, or as mercenaries, or as extraordinary troopers in some context. This could not work for a lot of gamers, as being a soldier tends to restrict what you possibly can and can’t do: you are serving on the behest of some superior authority.

Your Turn: How typically do participant characters begin out as troopers in your campaigns?