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.

[HamsterIV]

The Desert Asp story was a fun read but I see adventure mode consisting of two types of people: People in flying contraptions and people who have stuff dropped on them by people in flying contraptions. So long as I am part of the former, I could care less about the back stories and motivations of the latter.

[Sgt. Spoon]

I actually find the whole ground aspect very intriguing

[Lord Dick Tim]

Well to you Hamster!

Ok, as for the Arashi formations, this is a fluid concept and the story was just to establish some kind of direction, not necessarily the correct one.

When I think of any force that has to fight both the Mercantile Guild and the Yesha Empire I conjure up the image of a people very accustomed to fighting war on their home front.  Their scavenger like cities and militaries might hold on to weapons, design templates for centuries, while also looting enemy equipment and tactics.

This could change wildly from one city to the next, each on adapting tactics or equipment from their corners of the Arashi desert.

[Lord Dick Tim]

Ok, taking a look at some historical battles I came across several notable examples of mixed military campiegns using various degrees of technological advancements and fighting ethos welded into a single military force.
It's not pretty.

The most recognizable ancient figure was Hannibal, historians don't agree on every detail but it appeared to be a repeated act that people's with less armor, or perceived inferior technology, would loot enemy dead and use their armor and weapons.  Apparently many of his mercenary foot divisions used looted roman armor and weapons.  (this is widely debated on precisely what was used for more reasons then I care to go into)

The same occurs in the American Revoluton, capturing British uniforms and changing the colors to blue from red.  Using English muskets and cannons, as well as ships for the continental army and navy.

With Arashi I can see this being much the same, during a war, but not likely at the beginning of one.  I'd reason that northern Arashi soldiers would have more Yesha equipment and adapted to fighting with it, where eastern cities would naturally appear more like Merchantile armies.

Most of these mixed unit armies usually only pick up victories because the enemy under estimates their resolve and under estimates the amount of enemies they actually have and the commitment of their allies.  (when Hannibal crushed the roman legions at cannae almost all southern Italy declared for Carthage)

So maybe at the battalion level, we'd see cohesion, but at a regimental level we would see various different types of units all mashed together, each battalion varying in composition and refinement.

[Charon]

I think your breakdown is pretty solid so far, Tim.

I have to cite some examples, so I guess I'll start from my own experience. 

Any fighting group, nomadic or static, modern or ancient, advanced or otherwise will have some sort of organization. This is even true of the insurgency in Iraq, and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Hell, it's especially true, I should say. We don't give these types near enough credit. In any cell worth its salt, there will be a leadership element, a financial element, a logistics or procurement element, a ground warfare element and an instruction element. There may be more, but there are rarely less.

These groups are organized in different ways, but the most effective ones appear to adhere in some small way to large-scale military orgnization. There are brigades, battalions, companies, platoons and even fireteams. Are they always so well organized? No, but with good reason. In any unconventional unit, leadership must be decentralized. Groups on the ground need to be capable of carrying out operations with a bare minimum of guidance from higher (We do this too, but we do it a bit better). So, there will be a chain of command that gives broad statements about operations to be carried out in a region, with smaller, more local (and usually embedded) figureheads to carry them out. These figureheads are usually prominent figures already well established in the society, believe it or not. This method works well when it's your homeland that's been invaded.

For an expeditionary group, a group going to other places to conduct operations, there is a bit more control. The model mentioned above would simply not work in the same way. Why would a group of roughneck, cut-throat types know that this would work?

Fight any enemy for long enough and you'll teach him the Art of War. They've likely seen it from the wrong angle, time and time again.

The composition of their units will constantly vary, especially as they continue to vary in modern times, in modern units. A Battalion in the Marine Corps can weigh anywhere from 500 to 1200. Obviously, every attempt is made to inflate that number, but no deployment will be denied due to a lack of men, except for in circumstances of combat ineffectiveness, wherein a unit has most likely just returned from combat (having suffered great losses).

All in all: Organization isn't unavailable to any army with a couple of good engagements under their belt. Far more likely flaws include a lack of decentralized authority, requiring high level management of the slightest action; Lack of initiative instilled during training, causing men to freeze during combat, and leaders to miss opportunities; Heavy handed authority resulting in a massive rise in apathy, or a general will to simply "Get by" without incurring the wrath of leadership...there are many more of these.

Battlefield scavenging is likely to occur except for in units with extremely refined discipline and very reliable supply chains. Even then, the chances of lifting equipment from the dead is fairly likely, given the right circumstances.

[Pickle]

Were fire teams part of the organisation of any organised military force in the early twentieth century? - we are supposed to be closer to WW1, than C21 asymmetrical post-colonial NDYPOMP exercises.  There is no Treaty of Versailles in the canon.

[Sgt. Spoon]

I certainly hope that they'll be able to whip up some more interesting counter against the guild then just pillaging and random encounters

[Lord Dick Tim]

Ill have to do some digging but I believe napoleons army worked in different organizational phases for urban to field fighting.
Most ww1 militaries were organized, at the least, down to the platoon level.  That I know from memory, I'll need to study up for a better understanding, there was a lot of doctrine reforms after the great war.

[Pickle]

The Napoleonic saw the introduction of riflemen as skirmishers, but even into 1914 the wearing of camouflage is considered unsporting, and the targeted shooting of officers is positively ungentlemanly as the rank and file might do absolutely anything without an upper class twit to lead them.  I do like the quote, unattributed but always said to be around the time of WW1, "The purpose of cavalry is to lend a touch of class to what would otherwise be a rather vulgar brawl" - infantry was strictly working class cannon fodder.

Much of the reform in the modern military came as a result of the Great War.  Without the Treaty of Versailles to rebel against, would the modern German army have been created? - and remember just how fare behind Great Britain lagged in terms of military progress at the outset of WWII.  In 1937 the RAF were putting the Gloster Gladiator into service, whilst the Luftwaffe were equipping squadrons with the Bf109.

[Wazulu]

Ooh, that's an interesting twist on the Arashi- I'll defer to you, Tim, but perhaps there could be a caste system in effect, whereby all lower class became infantry and higher ones cavalry, in this case airship crew and pilots. I'd like this distinction, but I don't think it works perfectly- honestly, I think there's too much rag-tag in the Arashi ship design to carry it. Annoyingly, I think a caste system would work the Baronies, as they already have a diverse set of households who hold dominion.