> > I don't think that the West, by and large, tends to have much in
Peter
> The only idea for the west not generally having standing armies
> comes from the received medieval parallel. And even that is
> largely inaccurate being formed from medieval literature which
> was written by hacks that lavished attention on the knights and
> ignored the poor bloody infantry.
I think Peter is spot on the nose here. The concept of medieval armies being feudal and unprofessional has come under increasing attack since the war years. Oman and others of his era who applauded the art of war during the days of the ancients, tended to denegrate the medieval period as being lacking in military skill. Part of this was the belief that their armies were not standing and therefore not professional.
While it is true that standing _state_ armies (as in those armies recruited and maintained constantly all year round - various military orders and special organisations did exist as standing forces) in Western Europe were not truly systemic till the late Hundred Years war, the definition of 'professional' needs some examining. Many knights and commoners lived in a constant state of campaigning, some even through the winter or in garrison duty. So frequent was this duty that they often had far _more_ time in training, actual combat and in a military environment than many soldiers in professional armies today. Rather than being paid regularly by the state many of these soldiers and warriors reached a state that we would call sub contracting in our employment market. So while they had no regular pay, they were nevertheless 'professionals' in terms of skill and capability.
> I find it more interesting to give strong Malkioni states standing
> armies and/or professional infantry, considering that other great
> civilizations (Lunar, Kralori, Fonritan and Holy Country) have them.
Yes and Loskalm has a standing army larger that pre-Italian wars France managed to field in 1495 in the Fornovo campaign, yet France then had 4 times the population of Loskalm.
The Lunar Imperial Army can field around 120,000 troops, twice as many if it raised its garrison and house forces. Kralorela could likely raise even more forces.
Seshnelan and Safelestran armies are recruited from a professional class of knights, who are feudally raised yet spend most of their time preparing and training for war. Many have extensive combat experience. There is also a significant body of mercenaries, esp in Safelester that are professional fighters. Many commoners can fight too, communes or city militias provide a strong infantry force.
So while a standing army in the sense we know it may not be feasible on a large scale, all of those states will have access to forces that can fight quickly and are professional in character. This is not really very different from a modern state army which has cadre standing forces, designed to be expanded in times of total mobilisation. Consider the growth in the American army from pre world wars levels to the end of those wars. The same principles apply.
Martin Laurie
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End of Glorantha Digest
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