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Making the infantry of Arashi
Lord Dick Tim:
Hello everybody,
I want to start a dialogue about building a basis for the ground forces for the world of GOI. I recently started a story in the galley called "Desert Asp" as a way to get an example out there of where the real killing and dying would take place between the nations that exist in this fictional space.
Now there are some glaring mistakes in the original post, that I want to retrograde later as we refine the idea of what a ground force would comprise and what exactly this conflict is about.
We have a lot of potential latitude to make some wild assumptions. GOI is largely about the air ships, it's likely that cannon that'll be established later as the adventure mode gets closer will be targeted to that sphere and not have much focus on what we create here. With that we have a chance to create a unique story space for enthusiastic writers to provide accounts within a collected identity with unique names, places and historical accounts that will have a common synergy creating a richer, more believable fiction.
So let's start with whatever you want to talk about, let's get crazy into detail, I'm talking down to the amount of bullets in a magazine to the people in charge of conflicts.
Desert Asp
A battalion of troops belonging to a regiment of battalions in the Arashi infantry corp.
First things first, some things I've already said but want some support for or arguments against.
I've described the Asps as a Battalion of a few hundred, I'm thinking the actual number would be closer to 900 not including auxiliary/logistics, for a fully manned fighting unit. A battalion would be comprised of a number of companies, broken down by platoons, then further into squads and fire teams. This is a classic infantry break down and lends itself well to the Arashi identity of being descended from western European stock.
Their commander officer is a Lord Commander, the lord part being more flavor of story and less relevant, but the Commander grade may be appropriate for a Battalion level CO position. The rank however is not realy appropriate for an infantry commander, being traditionally a naval rank. A lieutenant colonel or major might have been a better choice.
Above this would either be a full "vulture" Colonel at the regimental head, or Lt. General. I like the idea of using the national bird to represent the colonel rank insignia not unlike American forces using an Eagle.
The weapon I pulled from the top of my head is a fictional one, a Finnish mk25. Finland is a Nordic country, not western European but has long been known to have amazing marksmen during the ww1 to ww2 era. The weapon could be changed, or could be an Anglean manufactured weapon widely used for its durability and stopping power, not unlike an Ak-47.
The asps wear long coats, possibly thin walled and made of an breathable material that would blend well with the desert. I'd also imagine some kind of head dress would be needed to protect the face, head and neck from the desert sun.
The conflict
I describe this as a Jihad, which can be defined as,
: a crusade for a principle or belief
this believe could be an independent and free Arashi state, pushing foreign invaders out of their traditional and cultural borders.
The use of the word Jihad might not seem appropriate given its current application, not to mention some of the current parallels that could be drawn from the cannon and today's very real conflicts. Yet I stand behind the use of it as a word that best describes the struggle, unless somebody has a better one.
The Belligerent
I portray the guild as superior in number, technology, but not in superior stock. The name of the army, or nick name is Brass Hat, I don't have a reason for this and i am unsure if this is a slur or the actual name of the enemy unit.
I do like the idea of a Carthagian approach to warfar for the Arashi, being comprised of several mixed units with various strengths, and a more Roman effect to the Guild. The guild would have superior numbers and equipment with several allied factions marching along side, but would be weakened by disagreements about points of law, military tactics, or nepotism putting under performing people in important military positions.
The conflict, with the military powers dressed in this way, might have started with several initial merchant victories as their larger armies barreled over a disorganized and unready Arashi state, but would grind to a halt as they entered the deep desert, unprepared for the eventualities of desert warfare or the guerilla nature of Arashi fighting techniques.
This would not translate into clear defeats, as the Merchants would still retain superior numbers and supply, but could be seen as a bungling of the campiegn by leaders at home seeking a quick military victory, resulting in rash and knee jerk decisions that result in severe Merchant loss of life and defeat against inferior forces causing a possible cascade retreat across the front till a new line could be established.
I'm unsure how this conflict would conclude, but a white peace might be fair to say, both sides making no significant terms against the other.
I'm sure chemical warfare would have been in heavy use... And I've rambled on enough for now. I seriously need to organize my thoughts better.
Pickle:
Sounds rather organised for the Arashi. From what is known of them, they seem to fit the nomadic pattern or that of a society that has only recently begun to move away from the nomadic lifestyle (but still holds it dear to its heart). I have them inspired by the Arab tribes of the early C20, with or without Ottoman rule. The Arashi ship is certainly inspired by the lines of an Arab dhow.
I picture them as having irregular forces, somewhere along the lines of Bedouin or Mongol light cavalry (ok, I'm thinking of TE Lawrence). If you adapt that into the dragoon role, you've mounted infantry better suited to maintaining pace with aerostats. After all, the aerostat combines the roll of tank/aircraft and inherits the weaknesses of both as well as the strengths. Infantry will be required.
Your ideal opponent is a semi-modern army of a over-ruling force, based on the Ottoman empire.
Lord Dick Tim:
Now if I didn't have anything to go off of, I'd be sharing this opinion. However the video detailing some of the origins of the factions details the Arashi as descending from western Europe I believe.
So I pushed the tacticle consideration to be more like the ottoman janissary, with a more Franco/British influence from the later imperial age.
The concept has some credibility if the Arashi loose in the opening phases of a conflict against an organized military force, countering with guerrilla fighting and "desert power" tactics. Organizationally though I imagine they would still retain the old Imperial system of military governance, it's a several thousand year old tradition and well entrenched in Europe.
Pickle:
Ahh, so the line of the lore is almost as though the Ottomans continued to rule. Making the Arashi less Arab and more German-backed Ottoman. As this now puts into my head the German senior officer from TMMITFM, I will struggle to take the Arashi seriously.
I must get around to watching some of these videos. A single point of reference for each faction would be useful, one thread for each collating all the snippets.
Sgt. Spoon:
Read your story, watched your designs and got a little nerdgasm about how I really wanted a faction to look. I love the burren dieselpunk setting with the WW1/2 trench warfare against the "Brasshats" (funny name btw). Sadly I find them, as PIckle said, quite different from what I believe the Arashi league to be. As of how I've understood they are very much scavengers living in heterogenious city states. I wouldn't suspect them to be able to form such ranks in such great numbers, or hardly any kind of developed ranks at all, even though the Western European origin.
Bascially they would be the "classic" post-apocalyptic nomads and scavengers.
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