Shinigami ni Sodaterareta Shoujo wa Shikkoku no Tsurugi wo Mune ni Idaku - Vol. 2 Ch. 8 - Battle In The Wings
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Anyone here understand the strategy, cause I'm pretty confused on what's going on.
Like why is the Empire only sending in small detachments of Cavalry and expect them to kill the whole army. Like the previous attack didn't work and they just went lol just send in higher numbers of horsemen. And I'm sitting here thinking why didn't you just send in your whole army. It's like the equivalent of sending in like 5 ghosts in Starcraft to kill the enemies army and expecting them to do a lot of damage when in reality their probably just going to die without accomplishing anything.
I understand that armies require a reserve force to react offensively and defensively. But the purpose of the Cavalry wasn't a raid or harassment is was literally told to destroy the army like they weren't going for an extended battle but a decisive victory right off the bat with lesser numbers of forces for some odd reason.
Like why is the Empire only sending in small detachments of Cavalry and expect them to kill the whole army. Like the previous attack didn't work and they just went lol just send in higher numbers of horsemen. And I'm sitting here thinking why didn't you just send in your whole army. It's like the equivalent of sending in like 5 ghosts in Starcraft to kill the enemies army and expecting them to do a lot of damage when in reality their probably just going to die without accomplishing anything.
I understand that armies require a reserve force to react offensively and defensively. But the purpose of the Cavalry wasn't a raid or harassment is was literally told to destroy the army like they weren't going for an extended battle but a decisive victory right off the bat with lesser numbers of forces for some odd reason.
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@Feeder they are not supposed to kill everyone, they are supposed to puncture a hole in the formation to allow a few of them through to kill the commanders.
Without the commanders, the army then can be easily routed and be pursued and kill.
Alexander the Great main battle tactics is pretty much about that most of the time.
Without the commanders, the army then can be easily routed and be pursued and kill.
Alexander the Great main battle tactics is pretty much about that most of the time.
@Feeder "Decapitation strikes" are something modern militaries like to try too, they just use strike aircraft and missiles for it and often just have to settle for demolishing the communications infra instead because they can't actually locate the enemy commanders. Back when warfare boiled down to hitting the other guy over the head the means were naturally that much more straightforward, and for example Medieval battle accounts sometimes mention volunteer "headhunter" squads who swore to take down the enemy monarch/other leader or die trying (the latter being what usually happened; bigshots surrounded themselves with handpicked elite bodyguards for a reason).
The local top leader going down was Kind of a Big Deal in no small part because even when they weren't the direct overlord and/or paymaster of the army it tended to be their personal authority and prestige that kept the whole army together and pointed in roughly the same direction - them getting offed or captured was fairly universally the cue for the troops to start legging it, and even in the best cases (ie. the subordinate commanders could hold things together and managed to conceal the loss until after battle) severely disrupted the chain of command such as it now was.
Bigger still if he was a ruler or some similar political bigwig ofc since that could spell the end of an entire dynasty, if not realm, and usually meant some kind of succession trouble, but that wasn't of immediate tactical relevance. Sometimes the enemy leader's death was even undesirable for the victor for dynastic-strategic reasons, eg. Louis II of Hungary dying at Mohács in 1526 was quite a problem for the victorious Ottoman Sultan; he could thus not be turned into a however-reluctant vassal and instead his kingdom was then inherited by the already-formidable Habsburgs - the two empires would then go on butting heads in the Balkans and Central Europe until both eventually collapsed in the First World War.
Big Alex incidentally *himself* almost got literally decapitated at Granicus when, being the young hothead he was at the time, he outpaced the wedge of the hetairoi and took on the three Persian satraps present solo (the trio were themselves apparently specifically going after him) - he managed to drop two but was stunned by an axe blow his helmet only just stopped and Spithridates, the satrap of Lydia, was a moment away from ending his career and life when his bodyguard Cleitus arrived at literally the last second and cut off the Persian's raised sword arm.
Make what you will of the fact alternate-history fiction never seems to make use of the glaringly obvious divergence potential here, but I digress.
The local top leader going down was Kind of a Big Deal in no small part because even when they weren't the direct overlord and/or paymaster of the army it tended to be their personal authority and prestige that kept the whole army together and pointed in roughly the same direction - them getting offed or captured was fairly universally the cue for the troops to start legging it, and even in the best cases (ie. the subordinate commanders could hold things together and managed to conceal the loss until after battle) severely disrupted the chain of command such as it now was.
Bigger still if he was a ruler or some similar political bigwig ofc since that could spell the end of an entire dynasty, if not realm, and usually meant some kind of succession trouble, but that wasn't of immediate tactical relevance. Sometimes the enemy leader's death was even undesirable for the victor for dynastic-strategic reasons, eg. Louis II of Hungary dying at Mohács in 1526 was quite a problem for the victorious Ottoman Sultan; he could thus not be turned into a however-reluctant vassal and instead his kingdom was then inherited by the already-formidable Habsburgs - the two empires would then go on butting heads in the Balkans and Central Europe until both eventually collapsed in the First World War.
Big Alex incidentally *himself* almost got literally decapitated at Granicus when, being the young hothead he was at the time, he outpaced the wedge of the hetairoi and took on the three Persian satraps present solo (the trio were themselves apparently specifically going after him) - he managed to drop two but was stunned by an axe blow his helmet only just stopped and Spithridates, the satrap of Lydia, was a moment away from ending his career and life when his bodyguard Cleitus arrived at literally the last second and cut off the Persian's raised sword arm.
Make what you will of the fact alternate-history fiction never seems to make use of the glaringly obvious divergence potential here, but I digress.
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I understand that it's a tempting trope of gutless talantless noble in charge, but that's not how medieval chain of command works. Heck, even in early 20-th century some orders were "misinterpreted", "lost" and plain delayed if officer in command didn't feel like it.
@kwendy That was sadly *exactly* how Medieval chain of command worked; blue(r) blood generally trumped demonstrated competence. And likewise highborn underlings might simply ignore orders and just do whatever the fuck they pleased. Leading cause of those famous big French defeats during the Hundred Years' War, for ex.
By no means uncommon long into the gunpowder era either, what with the semi-private nature of armies until the late 1600s and the purchase system of officer commissions that only gradually phased out during the 1700s, at different rates in different realms (the UK was one of the laggards). And no small part of the grimly farcical performance of the Austro-Hungarian and Imperial Russian armies in the Great War stemmed from their officer corps having far too many well-connected aristocratic idiots.
By no means uncommon long into the gunpowder era either, what with the semi-private nature of armies until the late 1600s and the purchase system of officer commissions that only gradually phased out during the 1700s, at different rates in different realms (the UK was one of the laggards). And no small part of the grimly farcical performance of the Austro-Hungarian and Imperial Russian armies in the Great War stemmed from their officer corps having far too many well-connected aristocratic idiots.
@kwendy You could certainly try, and the historical record suggests you'd be surprisingly likely to get obeyed too.
Anyway these militaries look like they're on more sophisticated basis than collections of feudal levies and/or semi-private regiments raised by mercenary subcontractors; more or less standing "state" armies, what with the uniforms and at least a semblance of institutionalized hierarchical officer corps. Think Rome in the Imperial period or China (well, some periods thereof...) or even say the Aztecs, not Medieval Europe or similar seriously decentralised warlord messes elsewhere, in organisational terms. Disobeying direct orders, never mind now ones coming from an apparently well-connected and influential "Prince of the Blood," is probably a real good way to get sacked or worse even if those orders are blatantly stupid.
Anyway these militaries look like they're on more sophisticated basis than collections of feudal levies and/or semi-private regiments raised by mercenary subcontractors; more or less standing "state" armies, what with the uniforms and at least a semblance of institutionalized hierarchical officer corps. Think Rome in the Imperial period or China (well, some periods thereof...) or even say the Aztecs, not Medieval Europe or similar seriously decentralised warlord messes elsewhere, in organisational terms. Disobeying direct orders, never mind now ones coming from an apparently well-connected and influential "Prince of the Blood," is probably a real good way to get sacked or worse even if those orders are blatantly stupid.
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ah yes the bane of every fantasy-based story: incompetent nobles. can't have a story without someone in an entitled position fucking up so hard while being praised to high heaven by bootlickers
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@kwendy Disguising what is factually open mutiny as "unavoidable delays" gets a mite tricky if the superior can basically just walk out of his tent to see for himself if his orders are being carried out. And while taking insubordinate underlings to task during active fighting proper was obviously impractical, relieving them of duty and appointing replacements could be and was done in sufficiently well-organised armies during the inevitable lulls in combat, as were court-martials after the battle. See, for example, the aftermath of Lützen in 1632 where several Imperial officers were put on trial for Fahnenflücht (lit. "flight from the standards" ie. desertion, cowardice in the face of enemy) and executed in an act of blatant scapegoating, including at least one very popular one.
One might also recall the unfortunate Admiral Byng, court-martialed and shot in 1757 ("pour encourager les autres", snarked Voltaire in Candide) "for failing to do his utmost" at Minorca in what was frankly a pretty shitty and untenable spot, as the panel that convicted him recognised (they actually recommended royal pardon but because of :reasons: and lolpolitics this was not given). Did help instill a mindset of uncompromising aggression in RN officer culture that came to serve it well, mind you...
One might also recall the unfortunate Admiral Byng, court-martialed and shot in 1757 ("pour encourager les autres", snarked Voltaire in Candide) "for failing to do his utmost" at Minorca in what was frankly a pretty shitty and untenable spot, as the panel that convicted him recognised (they actually recommended royal pardon but because of :reasons: and lolpolitics this was not given). Did help instill a mindset of uncompromising aggression in RN officer culture that came to serve it well, mind you...
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1000-man squad? 1000 men in late medieval era equal to a cavalry regiment or an infantry battalion, not a fking squad.
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Getting Band of the Falcon vibes over here.
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