CH 61

061: Military and Aristocratic Details

May 16, 2022 - 3 minutes read - 520 words

The Army can be broken down from thousands to a handful of soldiers in an organized manner, let us go through the various unit sizes.

Squad :Two privates and a commanderCommanders can be Sergeants, Corporals, or Private First Class3 people Platoon :Three squads and a commanderCommanders can be Sergeants or Master Sergeants

10 people Company :Three fighting platoons, a logistics platoon and a commanderCommanders can be Second Lieutenants and Master Sergeants41 people Battalion :Three Companies, with a single shared logistics platoonCommanded by a Lieutenant or MajorAround 100 people Brigade Three Battalions

Commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel or MajorAround 300 people Division Three BrigadesCommanded by a ColonelAround 1,000 people Army Corp Two DivisionsCommanded by a Major General or ColonelAround 2,000 people Army

Two Army CorpsCommanded by a Lieutenant General or Major GeneralAround 4,000 people

Not everyone in the larger units is represented in the above counts. An Army might only have half of its personnel represented by the unit number, the other half never sees the actual battles and instead handle supplying the front-line soldiers.

In my regiment, the front line is all people who can ride running dragons. That’s approximately 100 soldiers. Then there’s 50 cavalry and 50 horseback messengers and transport escorts. Finally, there’s 100 transport soldiers.

Just because a soldier is dedicated to transport, doesn’t mean that person isn’t able to fight. Thinking back to the bandit subjugation event, it was a clever ruse to have trained soldiers that were also serving as transport guards.

Next, you’ve got the aristocracy ranks.

At the very top, you’ve got the Royal Family, below them is Duke, Marquis, and Count. These are the senior aristocracy.

Next there are the Viscounts and Barons, these are the intermediate aristocrats. These ranks are inherited from parent to child, in Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture.

Then there are the lower aristocrats, Baronets and Knights, neither are inherited.

A Knight is a commoner soldier that has been recognized and appointed by an aristocrat. There are many knights that learned their skills from their father who was a knight, and managed to secure a knighthood of their own.

A Baronet is awarded by the King to a commoner who is skilled in management duties. They are sometimes hired by higher aristocrats to manage towns, but they also serve in various parts of the Kingdom government. Both Baronets and Knights receive a stipend from the country, Knights get 5 gold coins a year while Baronets receive 6 gold coins.

These ranks are sometimes called honorary Barons. Many Knights are the sons of Knights or Baronets.

Now, as for territory, a Duke would get a region, like Kanto. A Marquis would get two prefectures or so. A Count gets a single prefecture. Viscount would be about half a prefecture or four or five towns and villages. A Baron would get something like three towns or villages.

Baronets and Knights are not given territory, but sometimes manage a single town or village on behalf of a higher noble. The aristocrats that are not given territory are called court aristocrats.