The Eternal Empire
The Imperial Army
Overview
The Imperial Army serves as both the military and police forces of The Eternal Empire. As it not only protects against both internal and external threats, but also serves to make the empire's expansionist goals a reality, the Imperial Army is quite large, being somewhat outsized even for a place as big as The Eternal Empire. This is possible largely through Raskalarn's careful construction of Imperial culture, as it requires both a great deal of respect for the military and a general willingness to forego traditional profit in favor of victory during wartime. In addition, it requires a great deal of internal infrastructure and an above average agricultural base in order to keep the Imperial Army supplied.
As for the Imperial Army itself, outside of its sheer size, there are two major things of note. The first is an uncommonly high level of discipline, even by the standards of a professional military. Pillaging the countryside and attacking innocent civilians are both treated as serious offenses by the Imperial Army and are punished appropriately, and an Imperial soldier breaking the law is treated very harshly. The second major point of interest is the ease with which a soldier can change what division of the military they are in. Rather than assign a soldier to a division and train them to that division, the Imperial Army prefers to let its soldiers train to their own talents and find where they best fit within their ranks, encouraging each soldier to be the best they can be, rather than trying to force them into a mold.
Finally, the Imperial Army's division structure itself has some oddities. The Imperial Army has four branches: The Infantry, the Cavalry, the Navy, and the Mage Corps. However, each branch also has specialized sub-branches that serve more specific roles. Each branch and their sub-branch will be talked about in their own posts in this topic. It should be noted, however, that rank is shared across each branch, though command is not. That is to say, if a soldier is a Sergeant in command of a unit in the infantry, but chooses to transfer to the Navy, they will retain their rank, but may not immediately be given command of a naval unit.
Branch Organization
Branches are organized as followes.
Branch
|
V
Division
|
V
Brigade
|
V
Battalion
|
V
Company
|
V
Platoon
|
V
Squad
|
V
Individual Soldier
|
V
Division
|
V
Brigade
|
V
Battalion
|
V
Company
|
V
Platoon
|
V
Squad
|
V
Individual Soldier
Ranks
What follows is a quick summary of all 11 ranks in the Imperial Army and what each ranks duties and responsibilities are.
11: Marsal: Marshal is a unique rank in that it is the only rank that has authority over all four branch and is only ever bestowed by the Empress herself. Marshals serve exactly two roles in The Eternal Empire, but both are vitally important. The first role is as a military governor of an established Imperial Region, overseeing all the commanders in the region and acting as the final court of law before the Empress herself. The second role is that of a campaign leader, overseeing the conquest of a new region. Unless the Marshal is killed in battle, it's all but guaranteed that a Marshal who oversees the conquest of a region will become it's military governor afterwards. Marshals have their own regional councils to help govern their regions, and they all also serve on the High Council, advising Empress Raskalarn. As such, Marshals are under the direct command of the Empress, and answer only to her.
Command Officer
The Command Officer ranks don't see as much direct combat as lower ranks and are instead largely focused on grand strategy and making sure their branch is operating at peak efficiency. The are three Command Officer ranks.
10: General: Generals are the overall leaders of their branches, whether that be in their region or in a campaign. While each General does serve under a Marshal, they are the ones in charge of keeping their branch running properly and, as such, they are generally considered the ones most responsible for their wellbeing of their branches. Each General is in charge of either a Regional or Campaign Branch, depending on whether they are serving in an established region or as part of a campaigning army.
9: Sentinel: Sentinels are just below Generals and usually serve as the ones who keep a General's staff in line and keep their headquarters running smoothly. They also serve as advisors to their General and handle some of the smaller, but no less vital, aspects of running a military. In addition, each Sentinel manages a Division.
8: Major: Major's are the lowest rank of Command Officer and are the ones who most directly deal with the Field Officers, as their primary job is to relay orders from Generals and Sentinels and see that they are carried out properly. In addition, each Major commands a Brigade.
Field Officer
The Field Officer ranks are the ones generally in charge of the front lines of combat. While the highest ranking Field Officers aren't necessarily always in combat, they are on or near the front lines of any battle big enough to necessitate their presence. There are four Field Officer ranks.
7: Captain: Captains are the highest ranking Field Officers and such, many are in training to assume Command Officer rank. Captains rarely see combat outside of the Forest of Corpses or an active campaign, but are nonetheless expected to always be ready for the possibility. Captains are frequently the ones in command of major fortifications that aren't Branch Headquarters or major cities. In addition, each Captain commands a Battalion.
6: Lieutenant: Lieutenants are generally the ones who oversee direct combat, often directly on the front lines of most battles. Lieutenants are the ones who command the watchtowers posted along Imperial roads. In addition, each Lieutenant commands a Company.
5: Sergeant: Sergeants are rarely out of direct combat, and as such, are required to be able to maintain a cool head and a battle plan in combat in order to be effective at their job. They are also the ones most directly responsible for enforcing discipline in the Imperial Army and punishing more minor infractions. In addition, each Sergeant commands a Platoon.
4: Corporal: Corporals are the lowest rank of Field Officer, and are always in combat with the soldiers under their command. These are the officers who most directly interact with the enlisted soldiers and are held directly responsible for the troops under their command. In addition, each Corporal commands a Squad.
Enlisted
The Enlisted ranks are the bread and butter of the Imperial Army, the regular soldiers who do the vast majority of the work, whether that be fighting a battle, catching and arresting a criminal, or whatever other work the army needs done. There are three Enlisted ranks.
3: Warrant: Warrants are the highest rank of the Enlisted and usually serve as direct aids to their Corporal. They have no official command position, but are frequently put in charge of overseeing minor tasks that don't need an officer.
2: Stalwart: Stalwarts are seasoned soldiers who have not only seen combat, but done well enough in combat to be recognized for their services and watched for greater promotions.
1: Private: Privates are the most basic soldier of the Imperial Army. If a soldier can see lightning, hear thunder, and perform the most basic tasks of their branch, they can be a Private.
Uniform
When a new recruit joins the Imperial Army, they are given two uniforms. One is a combat uniform, representative of their division. This varies depending on the division, but consists of armor and a weapon. While a soldier can customize their gear as they see fit afterwards, this makes sure each Private is at least armed and armored.
The second uniform given is a dress uniform, and this is consistent across the entire Imperial Army. The dress uniform consists of a black trench coat with silver trim that buckles across the chest, a black button up vest, a black undershirt, black trousers with silver piping down the sides, black gloves, and black knee high boots, and a black tricorn hat with silver lining.
In the dress uniform, rank is denoted as follows:
Marshal: Gold chains at the wrists of the coat, ankles of the boots, connecting the waist of the coat and at the collar of the coat.
General: Gold chains at the wrists of the coat, ankles of the boots, and connecting the waist of the coat.
Sentinel: Gold chains at the wrists of the coat and ankles of the boots, a silver chain connecting the waist of the coat.
Major: Gold chains at the wrists of the coat, silver chains at the ankles of the boots and connecting the waist of the coat.
Captain: Silver chains at the wrists of the coat, ankles of the boots, and connecting the waist of the coat.
Lieutenant: Silver chains at the wrists of the coat and ankles of the boots, a bronze chain connecting the waist of the coat.
Sergeant: Silver chains at the wrists of the coat, bronze chains at the ankles of the boots and connecting the waist of the coat.
Corporal: Bronze chains at the wrists of the coat, ankles of the boots, and connecting the waist of the coat.
Warrant: Bronze chains at the wrists of the coat and ankles of the boots.
Stalwart: Bronze chains at the wrists of the coat.
Private: No chains at all.
