Imperial Army

Field Marshall: Field Marshall commands multiple armies.   General: Army commander   Commander: commands brigade   Captain: commands either an infantry block or calvary squadron   Sergeant: Sergeants are responsible in maintaining order in the ranks. Each one is usually in charge of hundred men. They are tough and fierce veterans. Sergeants in the pike formations will be armed with halberds. While Sergeants in other units will be equipped like their men.

The Imperial Army only has one objective to obediently serve and protect the Empire.

Unit Sizes:   The most common Imperial military formation is a brigade.   The standard Imperial Brigade consists of 3,000 infantry and 1,000 calvary. The infantry is then divided into four blocks consisting of 750 men per block. Each block has 400 pikemen in the center and 350 musketeers equally divided on the pikes flanks. The calvary are divided into four squadrons of 250 men. With two squadrons on each flank of the infantry. Now some commanders have the luxury of having some artillery under their command. If they do the artillery will be placed in front of the infantry.   The Imperial calvary is made up four types; Cavaliers, Cuirassiers, Lancers, and Dragoons. Cavaliers are the most common, Lancers are the second most common, then followed by Dragoon. Now not all commanders like the use of Dragoons but if they do have them it’s common to have two squadrons (replacing two Cavalier squadrons). The Cuirassiers are rare to find and are typically found in armies lead by the Emporor himself.   Most non Imperial units are organized differently from the Imperial standard. The Highland Brigades of Caledonia are a good example of this.   Now commands are given by trumpet(s). Each infantry block will have a drummer with them so that the men will keep an even pace. There are two battle flags that are carried by the infantry blocks. One is the Imperial Flag and the other is the commander’s personal battle flag. Both are kept in the rear of each block. The same flags (but smaller in size) are carried by each calvary squadron as well. These flags are used to rally soldiers if the units become disorganized.   All Imperial officers come from the nobility. This usually means buying their command or using political influence. Officers seek personal glory on the battlefield hence the reason they carry a personal standard next to the Imperial Colors. This also means that tactically speaking most of them lack the proper skills to lead their force and tend to act rashly. This mentality can put their command in jeopardy if facing an opponent with strong tactical mind.

Equipment   The following is the standard equipment for all units raised in the Reichlands. Non Imperial units will be armed differently.   All Imperial soldiers wear a yellow sash around their waists in order to identify each other on the battlefield.   All Imperial officers will have plume of feathers either on their helmets or in their hats.   Musketeers: Musketeers wear a white wool soldier’s coat and over it a breastplate and backplate for armor. They also wear a white pith, black wool pants, and leather gloves. They carry a bandolier of powder flasks and a priming flask of powder. These are for use to load and fire their flintlock musket. As a backup weapon they tend to carry a navy style cutlass.   Pikemn: Pikemen have three components to their armor; the breastplate, the backplate and a set of tassets. They are so equipped as they are the ‘heavy’ division of the infantry and could be used to provide a shocking impact at weak points of the enemy’s line, thus perhaps turning the tide of battle. They also have a morion helmet to protect their head. They carry a sixteen-foot-long pike for a primary weapon and a short sword called the “Tuck” as a secondary weapon.   Cavaliers: Cavaliers are the mounted soldiers of the Imperial Army. They ride into battle wearing a buff coat over their shirts and breastplate over the buff coat. A visored plate mail helmet serves as head protection. A steel bracer on the left arm serves as a mean of blocking an enemy sword strikes. They are armed with two flintlock pistols that are kept in scabbards attached to the Cavalier’s saddle and a Navy style cutlass for hand-to-hand combat.   Lancers: Lancers excel in the pursuit of routing enemies. They are armored similarly to the Cavaliers. However, their offensive equipment is where they differ. They have no pistols in their arsenal; instead a lance is the primary weapon of these horsemen. The Navy stlye cutlass still serves as their secondary weapon.   Dragoons: Dragoons are equipped the same as Cavaliers. Except that they carry a flintlock carbine instead of pistols and since the carbine is shorter and lighter than a musket they can fire from horseback if there is a need for it. They will also ride around the battlefield dismount and fire at the enemy until the enemy gets to close. When this happens, the Dragoons will remount and redeploy.   Artillery Crews: There are six men in an artillery crew. They are equipped just like Musketeers, except without any armor. They do have a Navy-style cutlass for defense. The Saker Cannon is the Imperial Army’s cannon of choice for its maneuverability. It a can be pulled by two horses or pushed into place by four men if need be. They will also use the heavier Demi-Culverin cannon during sieges and set field battles.   Tactics   The Imperial Army always begin a battle with an opening volley from its artillery. Then its infantry will advance toward the enemy with cavalry on the flanks. The infantry is divided into brigades with pikemen in the center and musketeers on the flanks. These brigades are then divided into a checkerboard pattern. Then when in musket range, the musketeers will begin firing volleys. When the inevitable clash of infantry or cavalry charge happens, the pikemen will try to do the majority of the fighting; but the musketeers will join the fight with their swords and if need be, they’ll use their muskets as clubs. Now during the infantry maneuvers the cavalry on the flanks would be attacking their counter parts in front of them and try to route them. If the route happens the cavalry would then turn into the enemy formation and begin attacking from the enemy’s rear. If there are any dragoons in the army, they would act as a screening force in front of the main body. They would redeploy to provide additional firepower were their commanders needed them.

In the old days the army had a good relationship with The Order of the Northern Cross; but after the army modernized the relationship soured. There are many in the Imperial Army that look down on the Order for its willingness to cling to the old ways of war. They in return pass this down to their soldiers which tends to lead to minor conflicts between members of each faction