Oestian Principalic Army line infantry By Imperator-Zor Watch

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Like (and largely in response to) it's larger neighbor the Kingdom of Torion, the Principality of Oestia has for the last three centuries maintained a large standing army which has become the core of their defenses. The Kingdom's cities and provinces are allowed to maintain their own part time guard militias and the nobles are still free to train their sons to serve as knights which can form companies that exist out of army's general command heirarchy, but all Oestian ground forces are ultimately subordinate to the Principalic Army. Despite the fact that it did face some resistance early in it's history from the landed nobility (most notably in a brief an unsuccessful conservative uprising in 186 BIA which led to the nobility loosing their old feudal right to raise their own levies). While smaller than the Torionese Royal Army, the Oestian Principalic Army makes up for it with superior organization, equipment and training.



The standard Oestian infantrymen has a morion helmet and a breastplate proofed against shot (though in the modern context this means resistant to pistol fire) as well as either a cutlass (for infantry) or rapier (for officers). Runic weaponry and armor is used by higher ranking officers who can afford it as well as by members of the Elite Guard Regiments and the Marines. Rank is displayed on helmet and pauldron insignia: steel circles with horizontal lines for enlisted soldiers and Bronze triangles and shields with vertical lines (as well as the Leviathan insignia of the Principality for generals) for officers. Their are eight styles of uniforms representing forces from the Principality's seven provinces as well as the elite Guard regiments, though all bear the livery of the Principality (green and blue with gold trimming). The majority of Oestian officers are drawn from the nobility, though a fair number of prominent commoners also buy commissions, some officers are promoted from the ranks and by tradition (instituted by Princess Allsilva-III in the aftermath of the anti-army uprising) four young orphans every year are selected to be groomed to become either naval or army officers. One of the reasons for the success of the Principalic Army is the Principalic Officer's Academy. Service is mostly voluntary for a period of 4 years followed by sixteen years of reserve service, though in times of war the Grand Assembly can authorize "Durationial Conscription" to replace casualties.



Having to deal with the constant aggression and territorial ambitions of the larger Kingdom of Torion has forced the leadership of the Principality to innovate to maintain an edge, a driving force which has made the Principalic Army one of the most effective general armies on a soldier for soldier basis. Traditionally the Principalic Army has made use of Tercio formations as it's primary method, supported by rifle armed skirmishers, light cavalry and dragoon drawn from the principality's herders and drovers as well as a well developed siege corps and especially their "flying guns", lightweight cannons firing 2.7 kilogram projectile used as highly mobile field artillery. To keep ahead of the Torionese, starting in 22 BIA the Principalic Army had begun experimenting with linear tactics with formations four ranks deep to deliver as much arquebus fire into enemy formations as possible in certain sitatuions. These tactics were of mixed effectiveness until traders had provided Oestia with new flintlock rifles with bayonets and cylindro-conical bullets in 11 IA, which were soon replicated and made said linear formations much more effective. In the 20s they switched to Infrastructural Type-2ER caplock screw breech-loading rifles and local copies there-of which further improved their rate of fire and could be effectively loaded while lying down. In 36 IA they began importing Type-3R/c Bolt Action rifles from Infrastructure as part of a special deal. Though these new weapons were expensive both in terms of their upfront cost and their ammunition they were quite well received by the soldiers who were issued for their superior speed of loading and accuracy. Even so they produced their own style of bayonet.

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