Difference between revisions of "User:Nightstar The Bright"
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over thirty [[Shardbearer]]s.{{book ref|sa2|5}}
=== Wages ===
=== Knights Radiant ===
Following the start of the True Desolation, a notably large amount of their army is made up of [[Knights Radiant]], primarily those of the [[Order of Windrunners]] and the [[Order of Edgedancers]], with a smaller but still notable number in the [[Order of Lightweavers]].{{book ref|sa4|3}}{{book ref|sa4|20}} They are used effectively as a means of transport and combat against the Fused and [[Regal]]s.{{book ref|sa4|9}}{{cite}}
{{image|Sadeas bridges.jpg|side=right|width=300px}}▼
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}}
Only lighteyes wield swords, although almost never as primary weapons, because according to Vorin traditions the sword is a lighteyed's weapon.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} These swords include both longswords and shortswords.{{book ref|sa4|35}} One handed swords are often wielded with small round shields.{{book ref|sa3|73}} Alethi heavy infantry, which always consists of lighteyed men, carries heavy and impact based weapons such as maces, they also often carry square steel shields.{{book ref|sa1|6}} Due to Vorin cultural ideas women can’t be armed, even scouts are only allowed to wear knives.{{book ref|sa3|70}}
===
=== Battlefield tactics ===
The Alethi have a wide range of tactics. A popular tactic is the hammer and anvil tactic.{{book ref|sa3|3}} The Alethi are also practiced at executing a fake rout, often leading to an ambush.{{book ref|sa4|41}} At the tail end of the Era of Solitude warfare started to include heavy cavalry more and more, although the use of heavily armoured and equipped horsemen was still a relatively new and costly strategy.{{book ref|sa3|73}}
{{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}}
Each highprince has his own martial philosophy, and their army 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.{{book ref|sa1|24}} Cavalry to fight shardbearers and lighteyed heavy infantry. Wooden mobile scouting towers in the camps. Canopy from shields to protect from arrows. 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. Standard spearmen blocks engage enemies as much as to position them as to do harm. {{book ref|sa3|26}} also light infantry as fast harrying forces due to lack of horses
While highstorms are a problem, good planning prevents an army from needing to be out during a storm, except in some rare cases.{{book ref|sa3|19}}{{book ref|sa1|4}} If a campaign takes longer then anticipated, the army can split and retreat back to a number of towns for shelter.{{book ref|sa3|19}} Due to highstorms, the Weeping is a common time for military campaigns.{{book ref|sa2|79}} Sieges are rare in Alethkar, and often last only a short time. This is due to soulcasters, which make it impossible to starve a city out. Instead, the Alethi break down the walls quickly, seize the high ground to pound the city for a while or simply attack, attempting to scale and conquer the walls.{{book ref|sa3|19}}{{book ref|sa3|11}}
=== Bridge Crews ===
{{for|Bridge crew}}
▲{{image|Sadeas bridges.jpg|side=right|width=300px}}
Bridge Crews were a very important part of most of the Alethi armies 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}}
==== Soulcasters and supplies ====
Alethkar possesses numerous soulcasters, most of them are capable of creating materials such as grain or stone. In fact, Alethkar has a near monopoly on food making soulcasters.{{book ref|sa2|i|9}}{{book ref|Dawnshard|epilogue}} The existence of these Soulcasters enables the Alethi to raise and supply large armies that their logistics would not normally allow for, as it can be difficulty to travel in Alethkar, and the Alethi have poor supply line infrastructure.{{wob ref|3824}} Soulcasters are also used to supply the armies with wood, metal, and other necessities. Although despite their access to many soulcasters, small armies often have only one, to be used in emergencies only, this means that they still need to run supply trains.{{book ref|sa3|52}} 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}}
==== Warcamps ====
=== Training ===
The way soldiers are trained depends on the Princedom they’re from. In some princedoms it is seen as the squadleader’s or sergeant’s task to train new recruits.{{book ref|sa2|52}} The Alethi do make use of a number of drills to practice large scale formations and movements however. Soldiers are usually trained in one or two additional Skills, e.g. horse grooms.{{book ref|twok|28}}
{{sidequote|There hasn’t been peace since the Tranquiline Halls, Man’s life on Roshar is conflict.|a quotation from [[The Arguments]]{{book ref|sa1|24}}|side=right|size =300px}}
=== Fortifications ===
Many holdings, to let armies rest and wait.{{book ref|sa3|19}} Soulcasters are used in building fortifications.{{book ref|sa1|15}}
==== Shardbearers ====
Ballistas, nets, both on top of the walls which are cut down and nets that can be fired at shardbearers.{{book ref|sa3|11}}{{book ref|sa3|71}} ropes, catapults.{{book ref|sa3|11}} also Polemen to push shardbearers off.{{book ref|sa3|71}}
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