Editors
1,783
edits
Nightstar The Bright
Joined 5 November 2023
no edit summary
|
The modern Alethi military is one of the strongest armed forces on Roshar with well over 100,000 troops{{book ref|sa1|6}} and over thirty [[Shardbearer]]s.{{book ref|sa2|5
Because of the immense size of the army and the difficulty of travel, compounded by the poor supply line infrastructure of Alethkar,{{wob ref|3824}} [[Soulcasting]] plays a vital role in supplying the army with wood, metal, food, and many other necessities, as well as being used in building fortifications. The king controls most of the Soulcaster ardents; in fact, manipulating the highprinces with his Soulcasters is one of the ways that the king maintains a control over them.{{book ref|sa1|15}}
=== Wages ===
{{image|Sadeas bridges.jpg|side=right|width=300px}}
=== Bridge Crews ===▼
{{for|Bridge crew}}▼
Bridge Crews were a very important part of the army during the War of Reckoning, serving as an expendable workforce that carried bridges to help soldiers cross over the large chasms between plateaus. They also acted as canon fodder for Parshendi bowmen, as to direct attention away from more trained and valued soldiers.{{book ref|sa1|32}} Due to this, bridgemen had a very high mortality rate, with around half a crew dying per run.{{book ref|sa1|9}}▼
Each Bridge Crew was made up of 35-40 men, which were lead by a Bridge sergeant, who reports directly to the Brightlord in charge of the crews.{{book ref|sa1|6}}{{book ref|sa1|17}} Each crew has an internal leader elected amongst themselves known as the bridge leader, who has no official authority outside of that which his crewmembers choose to give him.{{book ref|sa1|14}} Members of bridge crews were typically payed five clearmarks a week, given on the third day of every week.{{book ref|sa1|11}}{{book ref|sa1|14}}{{book ref|sa1|27}}▼
The bridges used by Torol Sadeas's army are typically eight feet wide and two feet thick, with supports on both sides extending its width to sixteen feet. They are also thirty feet long, and allowed one to set up 8 men per column and 5 men per row.{{file ref|Sadeas_bridges.jpg|Bridge Run Interior Art}}▼
While not on bridge runs, they are typically used as cheap manpower to perform undesirable duties at war camps, such as chasm or latrine duty.{{book ref|sa1|27}}▼
Not all highprinces made use of bridge crews, with Dalinar notably refusing to make direct use of them. He instead makes use of bridges on wheels, pulled by chulls. Due to being heavier and pulled by chulls instead of people, movement is significantly slower, but Dalinar makes use of it regardless as it results in a major reduction of casualties during plateau runs.{{book ref|sa1|26}}▼
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. When there is an abundance of Shanay-Im the humans lock their shields together into a canopy, protecting from lances and spears, aside from that the humans have learned to use water to render the stormforms power unusable.{{book ref|sa4|42}} Kings guard: blue and gold. Also from the Kholin army. The old campaign conundrums: did one choose the best position to weather storms, or did one seize the high ground. Most men choose the former.{{book ref|sa1|22}} The Alethi military is over a hundred fifty thousand troops strong.{{book ref|sa1|22}}
=== Command structure ===
==== Leadership ====
The Alethi military not a single unified entity, rather, it is a loose coalition of ten different militaries. These ten militaries are sworn directly to their respective highprinces. This means that the king has very little say in how the military is run; he doesn’t command anything other then the two hundred and fifty strong King’s Guard.{{book ref|sa2|5}} There is constant in-fighting between the highprinces' armies, even during wartime,{{book ref|sa1|47}} and cooperation between the highprinces themselves is seen as a weakness.{{book ref|sa1|54}} This is bolstered by the tenets of Vorinism that say the purpose of life is to prepare in order to join the Heralds in the fight to regain the [[Tranquiline Halls]] and Alethi belief that everything is a competition in life.{{book ref|sa1|15}} Recently, in an effort to truly unify the kingdom, [[Dalinar Kholin]] has been appointed as the [[Highprince of War]] by the king. This title was used in Alethkar before being fragmented into ten princedoms when each highprince was given the ultimate authority over one aspect of the governing of the kingdom. On paper, this gives Kholin authority over all war-related activities.{{book ref|sa1|69}}
Aside from this division between the armies, the Alethi have excellent leadership. This is mostly due to how for the Alethi, being a leader essentially the same is as being a general.{{book ref|sa4|27}} Alethi officers, be it low ranking or high ranking officers, learn how to properly and effectively boost the morale of their troops.{{book ref|sa3|78}} If a commander, like a captain or companylord, isn’t in place to give commands, the most senior of his officers has command.{{book ref|sa3|73}}
{| class="infobox side" style="width: 22em; float:right; font-size: 88%;"
==== Ranks ====
The Alethi military is complex and contains many ranks. The figure to the right shows some of the ranks and gives some information about them. Besides these, there are a few extra ranks or duties. One such rank is highmarshal. It is unknown what the position of highmarshal entails, but it is a high rank, and most highmarshals command a large force of soldiers practically by themselves.{{book ref|sa1|47}} Some officers are responsible for a branch of the army, such as the infantry or cavalry, these officers are referred to by their duties, along with the suffix -lord (e.g. cavalrylord, infantrylord).{{book ref|sa1|26}} Besides these ranks, some officers gain command of certain parts of the army (e.g. the rearguard). These officers are referred to as ‘commander of the … (part of the army)’ (e.g. commander of the rearguard).{{book ref|sa1|68}} It is extremely rare for a darkeyed soldier to rise higher than the rank of squadleader.{{book ref|sa1|47}}
=== Equipment ===
==== Shardbearer tactics ====
Nets, ropes. Destroy the plate and then kill them with arrows. Shardbearers generally duel with eachother, without interference, or at least, until your lighteyes is losing.{{book ref|sa3|11}}
▲=== Bridge Crews ===
▲{{for|Bridge crew}}
▲Bridge Crews were a very important part of most of the
▲Each Bridge Crew was made up of 35-40 men, which were lead by a Bridge sergeant, who reports directly to the Brightlord in charge of the crews.{{book ref|sa1|6}}{{book ref|sa1|17}} Each crew has an internal leader elected amongst themselves known as the bridge leader, who has no official authority outside of that which his crewmembers choose to give him.{{book ref|sa1|14}} Members of bridge crews were typically payed five clearmarks a week, given on the third day of every week.{{book ref|sa1|11}}{{book ref|sa1|14}}{{book ref|sa1|27}}
▲The bridges used by Torol Sadeas's army are typically eight feet wide and two feet thick, with supports on both sides extending its width to sixteen feet. They are also thirty feet long, and allowed one to set up 8 men per column and 5 men per row.{{file ref|Sadeas_bridges.jpg|Bridge Run Interior Art}}
▲While not on bridge runs, they are typically used as cheap manpower to perform undesirable duties at war camps, such as chasm or latrine duty.{{book ref|sa1|27}}
▲Not all highprinces made use of bridge crews, with Dalinar Kholin notably refusing to make direct use of them. He instead
==== Soulcasters and supplies ====
==== Warcamps ====▼
How a warcamp is organised and run depends greatly on the highprince. Some camps are organised and patrolled while others are chaotic and almost lawless.{{book ref|sa2|5}} Alethi warcamps are generally circular, with the camp followers in a ring on the outside, the mercenaries, if there are any, in a ring next to them, the citizen soldiers in the middle and the lighteyes in the very center.{{book ref|sa1|4}} inside these rings the barracks, which are placed in rows, are arranged into circular patterns, with a meeting ground and a mess hall at the center of each battalion.{{book ref|sa1|26}} Many warcamps have a market, which is located in the camp followers' part of the camp. Most warcamps also have a number of barracks that allow for families, or married soldiers can rent a place in the market.{{book ref|sa2|46}}▼
==== Communication on the battlefield ====
Another formation is called the trident formation, this is a small-squad battlefield formation used by spearmen. The men, or man, in the middle hold(s) the target’s attention while those on the outside attack from the flanks.{{book ref|sa2|32}} There are also a number of formations which aren’t used on the battlefield. One such formation is used during an inspection, the men will stand in lines while the officer(s) check(s) their gear.{{book ref|sa3|78}}
▲==== Warcamps ====
▲How a warcamp is organised and run depends greatly on the highprince. Some camps are organised and patrolled while others are chaotic and almost lawless.{{book ref|sa2|5}} Alethi warcamps are generally circular, with the camp followers in a ring on the outside, the mercenaries, if there are any, in a ring next to them, the citizen soldiers in the middle and the lighteyes in the very center.{{book ref|sa1|4}} inside these rings the barracks, which are placed in rows, are arranged into circular patterns, with a meeting ground and a mess hall at the center of each battalion.{{book ref|sa1|26}} Many warcamps have a market, which is located in the camp followers' part of the camp. Most warcamps also have a number of barracks that allow for families, or married soldiers can rent a place in the market.{{book ref|sa2|46}}
=== Training ===
| |||