Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Agreed; if Phil had been up against the Egyptian's historical foes, he would have been just fine. But, those were the days of WRG 6th and lots of historical mismatches; everybody else had Assyrians, Greek hoplites, or - to Phil's disgust - Roman Imperials. Phil's guys just couldn't stand up to them, sorry to say.

Which is why we the Ptolemies were Greek (well Macedonian) and Imperial Rome ruled Egypt.

Maybe Phil would have been better off playing Stygians. Black Magic might have balanced out crap armor.

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

With Thoth Amon leading the army.

I'd put him more towards the rear. Or maybe the middle. In any case, he should have a good bodyguard corps to avoid any distractions caused by mighty thewed heroes.

Originally Posted by Bren

Which is why we the Ptolemies were Greek (well Macedonian) and Imperial Rome ruled Egypt.

Maybe Phil would have been better off playing Stygians. Black Magic might have balanced out crap armor.

Spoiler:

"Black magic, the last refuge of incompetent armoursmiths!"

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

I have quite a few military related questions, but I’m not sure how interested the others on this thread would be.

For what it's worth, I'm interested.

I never did see full strategic info on how the Glorious Seal Emperor was conducting the war. Sometimes it was just my legion, sometimes, like at Sunraya there would be an amazingly large number of legions, and it seemed like we spent a lot of time marching here, there, and everywhere to confuse the enemy as to the Tsolyani army's true intent.

All I know is the Emperor said "General Mnasu, go here" and we went there.

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

How big are typical battles in the Five Empires? What size formations are typically employed by the Five Empires during a Qadárdàlikoi (or “Great War”)? Are we looking at several legions being deployed to a given theatre, or are Cohorts typically the largest type of unit used, combined as required. If memory serves, there are almost 90 Legions in the Tsolyáni Army. How probable would it be to have say 10 or 20 of them in a large campaign directed against a similarly sized enemy force, such as during the war with Yán Kór, or during the Mu’ugalavyáni invasion of the Chákas?

I know that individual combat between Champions is often a precursor before the Qadárnikoi (or “Little War”), but what about the Qadárdàlikoi (or “Great War”). Is a set piece normal before a major battle, or are such rituals reserved for lesser conflicts?

I think that this kind of question is part of why this thread exists...

Let me take a quick first pass at this, and I'll have more tomorrow; very cold night tonight, just ahead of the storm we're supposed to get, and I need to be in bed pretty quick. So...

The size of battles depends entirely on the strategic situation on that particular front. Chanis, for example, which was fought as part of the 2020 War, had two full legions of Mu'uglavyani and detachments of several more. The Tsolyani had one full legion, and assorted detachments. Ry, on the other hand, was a slugfest with a single legion on each side.

Usually, multiple legions are deployed to a front; Tsolyani legions are specialists, so you'll see 'battle groups' of usually two or three heavy legions, the same number of mediums, and detachements of specialists like lights or missile troops. The Mu'uglavyani and Livyani tend to do the same thing, while the Yan Koryani and Salarvyani - having mixed legions - tend to go for numbers.

In our own battles, Tilketl saw us fighting two full Gureks (Tleku Miriya I and II) with three cohorts of heavies. Third Mar had the GG with his one legion, some Shen, and me all facing something like four or five full legions' worth of Yan Koryani. Anch'ke saw me facing down something like 15,000 tribesmen with one legion plus four cohorts. Our big battle with the Ssu had us with four cohorts - my personal troops - facing Vimuhla only knows how many Ssu.

So, a large campaign, such as NW Frontier or NE Frontier, would see a force like you describe - but they would be divided into battle groups, under a Kerdudali, and advance on different route due to the supply issues. (Even a small legion can eat everything out of an area...) Non-human mercenaries are rare; they are a strategic-level asset, and get parceled out to commanders based on perceived need and the commander's 'pull' with Avanthar.

(Try Steve Pisani's "Missumdalikoi" wargame; it's a strategic-level board game, and it is a great way to generate battle scenarios.)

Warfare in the Five Empires is pretty formal; the 'champion duels' are almost required for the 'little wars', and considered good form for the 'great wars'> Third Mar was considered a huge 'social gaffe' on the part of the Yan Koryani, as their commander opened the battle with a general onslaught and no formalities - too new at the business, and too impatient, and it cost him the battle and his life.

Does this help? I can say a lot more on this, of course...

Originally Posted by Shemek hiTankolel

Lord Chirine and Glorious General,

I have quite a few military related questions, but I’m not sure how interested the others on this thread would be. So, I’ll post a couple, and if necessary I can take it offline and ask the rest of the questions via PM, if you’re up for it, or start a new thread elsewhere.

How big are typical battles in the Five Empires? What size formations are typically employed by the Five Empires during a Qadárdàlikoi (or “Great War”)? Are we looking at several legions being deployed to a given theatre, or are Cohorts typically the largest type of unit used, combined as required. If memory serves, there are almost 90 Legions in the Tsolyáni Army. How probable would it be to have say 10 or 20 of them in a large campaign directed against a similarly sized enemy force, such as during the war with Yán Kór, or during the Mu’ugalavyáni invasion of the Chákas?

I know that individual combat between Champions is often a precursor before the Qadárnikoi (or “Little War”), but what about the Qadárdàlikoi (or “Great War”). Is a set piece normal before a major battle, or are such rituals reserved for lesser conflicts?



Shemek

As another questions asking fellow on this thread, I'd say you should ask any and all things that interest you. Yes, sometimes I wouldn't care about the answer, happened already! But Chirine would answer my questions, too! So it's not a zero sum game.
And sometimes I'd get valuable information from the answer to a question I wouldn't have bothered to ask. This has happened already, too.
So it's definitely not a zero sum game!

Ask away.