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Nightstar The Bright
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! The following text is a collection of the information about the Alethi military !
During the True Desolation, warfare began to change. There are far fewer large scale formations, those are far to easy to disrupt. Instead men spend their time in protected warcamps, occasionally making a sudden surge to claim ground and shove away the enemy. During this time battles changed from decisive engagements to several month long fights.{{book ref|sa4|43}} The Alethi quickly adapted to warfare against the [[Fused]] and [[Regal]]s. The Alethi army adapted to the [[listener]] strategies by increasing the flexibility of their armies, making them able to respond quickly to the uncanny way the listeners fought. Army surgeons: the apprentices are almost all men who have some incapacitation, preventing them from fighting.▼
== Military ==
Although uniforms differ between armies, most Alethi wear something very similar. Uniforms are usually coloured with the colours of their wearer’s highprince.{{book ref|sa1|46}}{{book ref|sa1|58}}{{book ref|sa3|116}}
Uniforms are generally comprised of stiff trousers, a jacket, which often comes down to the waist and buttons closed beneath the belt, a shirt and boots.{{book ref|sa2|2}}{{book ref|sa3|59}} Uniforms, both the ones owned common soldiers and the ones owned by high ranking lighteyed officers, always have a patch to indicate the duty and unit of the wearer.{{book ref|sa2|2}} Uniforms also always have their Highprince’s glyphpair displayed prominently, both on the back and the breast.{{book ref|sa1|18}} Some men choose to further personalize their uniforms by adding embrodiery or colourful scarfs.{{book ref|sa2|44}} When it rains soldiers may choose to wear a stormcoat over their uniform, and there are often umbrellas ready for officers.{{book ref|sa2|81}}
An officer’s uniform is usually comprised of a waistcoat and a double breasted longcoat, sometimes decorated with
Officers are distinguished by knots on a cord across the epaulette, with the amount of knots and their colour signifying their military rank, and their rank in the Alethi caste system.{{book ref|sa1|1}}{{book ref|sa1|6}}{{book ref|sa1|17}}{{book ref|sa1|26}}{{book ref|sa1|46}}{{book ref|sa1|47}}{{book ref|sa1|58}}{{book ref|sa1|67}} White knots indicate a citizen officer, that is a sergeant or squadleader;{{book ref|sa1|1}}{{book ref|sa1|6}}{{book ref|sa1|46}} red knots indicate an officer of seventh dahn;{{book ref|sa1|46}} and gold knots indicate second or third dahn;{{book ref|sa1|26}}{{book ref|sa1|46}} It can also distinguish between low captain,{{book ref|sa1|67}} captain,{{book ref|sa2|25}}{{book ref|sa3|83}}{{book ref|sa3|117}} captainlord,{{book ref|sa3|63}} lieutenant,{{book ref|sa3|i|14}} sergeant,{{book ref|sa3|6}} and battalionlord.{{book ref|sa4|40}} Soldiers without authority bear no knots.{{book ref|sa1|17}}{{book ref|sa1|46}}{{book ref|sa1|67}}{{book ref|sa4|23}}
=== Strategy ===
==== Troops ====
The Alethi Military has a lot of soldiers, approximately a hundred fifty thousand troops.{{book ref|sa1|22}} Most of these troops are darkeyed spearmen, with a smaller percentage of lighteyed heavy infantry and archers.{{book ref|sa1|6}}{{book ref|sa3|26}} At the tail end of the Era of Solitude Alethi warfare started to include more and more cavalry,{{book ref|sa3|73}} an army in the year 1145 would have about fifty horsemen,{{book ref|sa3|26}} if not less, while an army in 1173 would have several hundred horsemen.{{book ref|sa3|6}} The Alethi also employ many army surgeons, their apprentices are almost all men who have some incapacitation, preventing them from fighting.{{book ref|sa1|47}} Following the start of the True Desolation, the Alethi armies began employing [[Surge|surgebinders]] to aid in their war efforts.{{book ref|sa4|64}} Foremost among these surgebinders are those of the [[Order of Windrunners]]. Besides the Windrunners the Alethi employ a large number of [[Order of Edgedancers|Edgedancers]], with a smaller number of [[Order of Lightweavers|Lightweavers]].{{book ref|sa4|3}}{{book ref|sa4|20}}
Each of the Alethi armies has it’s own strength, with the [[Kholin princedom|Kholin]] army having the best heavy infantry, the [[Roion princedom|Roion]] army the best archers and the [[Sadeas princedom|Sadeas]] army the fastest bridges, at least during the [[War of Reckoning]].{{book ref|sa1|24}}
{{sidequote|All wars are games. The greatest kind, with the pieces lost real lives, the prizes captured making for real wealth! This is the life for which men exist. To fight, to kill, to win.|The [[Sadees|Sunmaker]], who shaped modern Alethi militarism{{book ref|sa1|24}}|side=right|size =300px}}
Cavalry has never played a large role in Alethi warfare, at least, until recent times. Warfare has started to include more and more cavalry.{{book ref|sa3|73}} Cavalry has historically been used to fight shardbearers,{{book ref|sa3|26}} and has more recently begun being used to break lines.{{book ref|sa1|67}} Cavalry was used extensively during the [[War of Reckoning]], mainly to break ‘Parshendi’ lines and establish a beachhead for the rest of the army to exploit.{{book ref|sa1|17}}
The Alethi are also excellent, by modern standards, at using their surgebinders. Windrunners are used to launch aerial assaults on the enemy, defend the Alethi armies against other [[Surgebinding#gravitation|lashing]] surgebinders and aid in conventional ground attacks.{{book ref|sa4|64}} Besides this, the Windrunners scout the surrounding landscape and aid in moving troops, mostly generals or other high ranking officers, around.{{book ref|sa4|111}} The Edgedancers are mainly used as medics, with their use of the surge of Progression the Edgedancers can heal anyone in a matter of seconds. In contrast to these surgebinders, the Lightweavers don’t enter combat, instead they serve mostly as spies.
New tactics
▲During the True Desolation, warfare began to change. There are far fewer large scale formations, those are far to easy to disrupt. Instead men spend their time in protected warcamps, occasionally making a sudden surge to claim ground and shove away the enemy. During this time battles changed from decisive engagements to several month long fights.{{book ref|sa4|43}} The Alethi quickly adapted to warfare against the [[Fused]] and [[Regal]]s. The Alethi army adapted to the [[listener]] strategies by increasing the flexibility of their armies, making them able to respond quickly to the uncanny way the listeners fought
Middle is heavy infantry, then to the sides mobile, lightly armoured but fast, archer units is new tactics. Infantry will try to reach the sides but the heavy infantry will beat their central block.{{book ref|sa3|26}} Some officers take their children with them to war, although never to the battlefield. Instead they usually stay at the town that serves as the army’s long-term command post.{{book ref|sa3|52}} In recent years the Alethi also began to make use of smaller more mobile teams, which have their own tactics.{{book ref|sa3|66}} Men rotate in and out of the front lines, for every five minutes you're fighting, you have as many minutes resting.{{book ref|sa4|49}}
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