Dwilight University/Military Studies/Greg Tarr Inquires
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| Letter from Greg Tarr | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Dean Sejieda,
As I am new to the realm and to the religion matters, I would like to learn more about what you think about the theoracy of Morek and how would you describe the term "religion"? I am also really interested in the military and I wanted to ask about the military formations. What military formation should a commander use on a specific occasion, like infantry vs monsters, or cavalry vs archers. What is the advantage of the skirmish and the wedge formations? What would be the best thing to do when you assault a fortress and you are outnumbered? I have other questions but those are the ones that I find the most interesting. Regards, | |
| Greg Tarr (Student) | |
| Letter from Sejieda Vita | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Student Greg,
I would be happy to oblige you. I will leave the religion issue now because I will have to compose my thoughts on the matter. Your question has sparked my interest in potentially cataloging our discussions for posterity. What are the others' opinions on this? Regarding military issues, I'd invite you to read my old essay: Dwilight University/Military Studies/Sejieda Doctrine Letters Infantry against monsters is a bad idea as they face horrid casualties. What is best is about a 1/3rd infantry to 2/3rd archers army composition. I prefer to keep cavalry out of monster battles, but some desire combat. I have two different settings for cavalry for this reason. Archers(ranged): defensive, middle, line, lowest withdrawal settings Infantry(melee): normal, back, box Cavalry(preserving unit/less combat): evasive, rearguard, box, lowest withdrawal settings Cavalry(sacrificing unit/more combat): aggressive, rearguard, wedge, lowest withdrawal settings Cavalry against archers, off the top of my head, would best be done by having the cavalry aggressively rush the archers in a wedge formation from the front line. It should be a remarkably easy battle for the cavalry. I would hope no man would command solely archers against cavalry. Skirmish formations are rarely used, but they would have a good purpose if you were facing an all or majority(massively majority) archer army. Skirmish protects you against ranged units. However, they are massacred before any close combat units. As an anecdote, a former military adviser in Springdale once suggested infantry be on front skirmish in the northern peninsula. Obviously, I scolded him for such foolishness. A battle like that would have been an absolute massacre of our men. Wedge is good for turning the tide of a battle. It allows you to give more casualties, but lets you take more. Many marshals have cavalry on wedge consistently, but I believe this is a waste unless an army needs that extra edge in a battle. Cavalry are expensive to recruit and we need not be wasting them. Assaulting a fortress would obviously depend upon your intent. I will assume that you mean to take the fortress. Many fortresses are not taken in one battle, especially when out-numbered. It also depends on the composition of the enemy troops. Should they have many archers, I would rush them with infantry(and siege engines obviously). Should they have many infantry, I would rain archer fire upon them and retreat quickly. | |
| Sejieda Vita (Dean of Military Studies) | |
| Letter from Greg Tarr | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Dean Sejieda,
I have studied carefully your words and spent some time in the library to return with more questions. You affirmed that a cavalry unit in a wedge formation against an archers unit would be a good choice. What about a cavalry unit in a skirmish formation? I do think that they will easily evade the enemy arrows, though I am not sure if they will be as effective in close combat as the wedge formation. Also, what would you suggest as formation for infantry or archers units against attacking monsters? I personally think that an agressive rearguard infantry unit on a line formation would be effective. For the archers I think that putting them behind the infantry in a defensive stance also in a line formation will give them plenty of time to shoot their arrows. Regards, | |
| Greg Tarr (Student) | |
| Letter from Sejieda Vita | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Student Greg,
You make an excellent observation and it would be worth trying in battle. It is not often you face an only-cavalry army however. Excellent observations such as these prove valuable to a military commander. Regarding your inquiring about monsters, I stand by the settings in my last letter. Archers(ranged): defensive, middle, line, lowest withdrawal settings Infantry(melee): normal, back, box Cavalry(preserving unit/less combat): evasive, rearguard, box, lowest withdrawal settings Cavalry(sacrificing unit/more combat): aggressive, rearguard, wedge, lowest withdrawal settings | |
| Sejieda Vita (Dean of Military Studies) | |
| Letter from Greg Tarr | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Dean Sejieda,
Thank you for the explanaton. I have one last question before dedicating my time on the essay I would like to write. My question is pretty simple : If there would be a big invasion, what would be the best option for gathering, organizing and counter attacking? Would it be best to wait and rally all the armies in one region then start the counter attack, or try and hold the invaders with the closest allied army, hoping that the reinforcements would come in time? I have seen that the first choice would be easier to organize by the military commanders, but the invaders will have the time to pass through our lands to loot and murder the populace which could influence our economy if the invaded regions are one of our primary production source. I do think that the second choice is a good option too, but there is always the chance the marshals lack the skill of coordinating their moves which can lead to a big failure if the reinforcements do not come at the right time. What would be your opinion on this matter? By the way, I have chosen to write an essay which would be entitled Preserving Military Equipment and Morale. Regards, | |
| Greg Tarr (Student) | |
| Letter from Sejieda Vita | |
| Message sent to Full Members of Dwilight University | |
| Student Greg,
It really depends on our relative strengths and weaknesses against the enemy. Should one of our armies be far from the capital, it is worth it to weaken the opponent and have that army retreat and refit, then coordinate with the other armies(nearer the capital) to push the enemy back. If we have knowledge of the invasion beforehand, we should coordinate to fight the enemy, even taking it to their lands. The marshals should always have control of their armies. However, there should be an overall figure to coordinate between the marshals. I hope this brief answer satisfies you. I would also remind the members to please address the full members(students and higher) and not all members(applicants included). | |
| Sejieda Vita (Dean of Military Studies) | |
