>Greg Stafford:
>
><snip>
>
>> The thousand-plus year old Dara Happan hoplites come from only
>> Dara Happa or, sometimes, specific cities.
>
><snip>
>
>> Ancient units are kept active because of their magic. Their accumulated
>> successes over the centuries have accumulated tremendous magic resources
>> for the regimental Guardians. Thus these regiments are generally
>> inflexible, but pack a huge punch when used to their maximum.
>
>It strikes me that this is far longer than any military organisation has
>continued unchanged in our world. This may be one of the clearest
examples
>of Gloranthan institutions being greatly different from ours because of
the
>effects of magic.
Nick Eden:
> Sorry, I'm a bit behind...
> I would doubt that many non-DH units are unchanged, but I wouldn't
> underestimate the age of some units of the modern age.
> The Swiss Guard today are obviously very similar to the unit that was
> formed hundreds of years ago, but consider the Royal Navy, seeking as
> they do to ensure that the guardian spirit of HMS Ark Royal continues
> to keep the fleet safe over the centuries.
The name gets re-used and that practice is part of the unit magic, but there's little else in common between the modern aircraft carrier and the medieval ship.
I made that comment partly because some of the earlier discussion of the 'regimental' system assumed that territorial ties between a unit and its recruiting area were an essential feature. In the British Army those links were created as part of the Army reforms after the Crimean War, and have now almost all been abandoned after around a century. So although some of our regiments have existed for centuries most of their key features have changed repeatedly over that time.
There's a famous quote from World War 2 when an Admiral said 'it takes three years to build a new ship, it would take three hundred to build a new tradition'. That three hundred years is a very short span by Gloranthan standards.
I'm part of one organisation that is around eight hundred years old, my old Oxford college. It's been on the same site since its foundation and still owns some of the property donated then. It's had essentially the same organisation throughout. No military organisation in Britain goes back that far - any examples from elsewhere?
Andrew
Powered by hypermail