The Morsian army of the Dictatorship, also known as the Morsian Military Dictatorship Army, Morsian Dictatorship Army or Army of the Dictatorship was the military forces of the Morsian Military Dictatorship on the planet Mors. Forming from the Royal Morsian Army, the army of the dictatorship saw great expansion to over quadruple the size of the royal army as well as radical reforms in tactics, units and formations.
History[]
Formation[]
The army reformed from the army of the former Morsian Kingdom after it exploded into the First Morsian Civil War. Legate of the 1st legion, Gaius Rutil'iar, took over the nation as a dictator rather than taking the title of king. Due to his previous experience in command of the army, Gaius decided that the army as a whole needed radical reform, though much of this would not come until after the end of the First Morsian-Sicc'orax War.
Early expansion[]
![]() |
---|
Military of the Morsian Empire (From 20,000 BBY onwards) |
Structural history |
Rutilarian reforms · Farranaxian reforms · Reforms of 3,920 · Cracian reforms · Unit types and ranks · Equipment · Legions (Canon · Legends) · Navy (Canon · Legends) |
Campaign history |
Wars and battles (Canon · Legends) · Civil Wars and rebellions (Canon · Legends) |
Strategy and tactics |
Infantry tactics |
Borders and fortifications |
Castellum · Castra · Escensio · Finibus Galacticus (Finibus Septemtrionis Galacticus (Finibus Otega ad Qiilura · Finibus Thanium ad Ashicus · Finibus Meram ad Quelii · Finibus Kanz ad Raioballo) Finibus Coruscanticus · Finibus Teraab ad Trax · Finibus Meridionali Galacticus (Finibus Chommell ad Brema · Finibus Arkanis ad Cadavine · Finibus Lambda ad Bothanicus)) |
Under different political systems |
Royal Morsian Army · Morsian army of the Dictatorship Morsian army of the First Republic · Imperial Morsian Army (Canon · Legends) |
![]() |
While the Morsians were busy in their civil war, the Sicc'orax Republic took the opportunity to attack the tribal nations of the Fakk'ar and Tennar'brii to the north of the Morsians, hoping to open a new front and split the Morsian forces. However, the tribes put up a fight and called on the Morsians to help them, as they were on friendly terms mostly due to trade. Gaius, recognizing the threat, agreed to aiding them and raised two more legions, the 4th and 5th legion. After training, they were sent north to bolster the failing forces of the tribes.
It was during this time that he also implemented the legion standard, a cross piece on a long pole which would display an emblem unique to the legion. The idea of the standards was to give the soldiers something to rally behind and focus on defending. It also built up a comradery while making the soldiers protective of the standard, with the aim of giving them increased morale and willingness to fight to the death to prevent the standard being captured.
Shortly after his proclamation of becoming dictator, Gaius formed a special elite unit named the Morsian Guard. This unit was formed out of worry that he might be targeted for assassination, as the late kings had been. His most loyal legionaries were chosen to form the first detachment of guards, as well as the most elite of the legion, to give him the best protection. The guard would later be expanded to also guard the Morsian Senate as well as act as garrisons for settlements.
Reformation after the war[]
Following the end of the war and a peace treaty with the Sicc'orax, Gaius worked on army reforms, known as the Rutilarian reforms. Further legions were raised, numbering from the 6th to the 8th, in order to bolster the Morsian forces for any further war with the much larger sized Sicc'orax. The war had shown not only Gaius but also the Senate and populous that the current army was woefully undersized to deal with the vast amount of Sicc'orax warriors that could be fielded by the much larger nation, despite the higher training and equipment of the legions. Increasing the fielded manpower would allow the Morsians to not only defend their current lands but also advance and take land off the Sicc'orax in future wars. An attempt was also made to equip the legions with siege equipment of some sort, in order to better batter down walls and gatehouses of defended settlements they encountered.
Further reforms included creating official melee formations that could be assembled on the battlefield to defend against certain tactics or threats. These included a static shield wall, a covered formation to protect against arrows and projectiles as well as a box to defend against threats coming from multiple sides. During the war several legions had developed these tactics, or some similar to them, so Gaius laid down some official formations based on the most successful ones. The number of men in a legion was also expanded by 500, bringing the total to 1,500 men. In addition, armor and weapons were changed plus the ranking and units that comprized the legions. Instead of having 1,500 legionaries, this was reduced to 500, formed from the original soldiers in the first three legions. The legionaries were the most experienced, most well armed and heavily armored of the legion and formed the backbone of the new legions. 500 medium infantry came in the form of the mediares and 500 lighter infantry in the form of luxarii, bringing the legion to its 1,500 men strength.
Build up to war[]
Over the following several centuries, the Fakk'ar and Tenar'brii were annexed in the Morsian lands and two more legions raised to take their place, the 9th and 10th legions. Gaius died and was replaced by Maxius Gill'iar who planned more conquests to take more land for the dictatorship. It was under his leadership that an overseas colony was established after the events of the Morsian-Giovan'ii War and the legions were moved around to better defend the borders of the Morsian lands. The 3rd legion was sent to the colony to protect it, while the remaining legions were split between the northern and southern border in preparation for a second war with the Sicc'orax.
However, before much more expansion could be planned or executed, he was overthrown by Flavia Yjak'aar and the Morsian Guard in the Second Morsian Civil War. Under her tenure as dictator, conquest was halted in favor of improving the internal structure of the nation. Army expansion and wars were halted, and mostly used for garrison and guard duty. They also were used to build a road network to properly connect important cities and settlements. By 16,140 BBY, the lands of the dictatorship had been greatly improved internally, increasing stability and the overall happiness of the citizens. Flavia was aware, however, that the peace treaty with the Sicc'orax was over and war was ever more likely each year.
Second Morsian-Sicc'orax War[]
The war came in 16,133 BBY with an initial shock advance by the Sicc'orax to the north, overrunning the 4th and 10th legion stationed there. The 6th and 7th legions were rushed all the way from the southern end of the nation to reinforce the north, using the newly instated road networks, however it was not going to be quick enough to prevent the Sicc'orax running through the old lands of the tribal nations. The other legions in the north, the 5th and 9th, were redeployed to attempt to stem the advance until the two legions arrived to reinforce them. At the overseas colony, the 3rd legion advanced and eventually captured all of the Sicc'orax territory neighboring them.
Organization[]
Early on in the life of the army under the dictatorship, it underwent a drastic re-organization with old positions becoming defunct and replaced with new ones. This completely changed the chain of command and was followed until the end of the dictatorship.
- Three classes of soldiers came in the form of the luxarii, Mediares, and Legionarii, being light, medium, and heavy infantry respectively.
- 100 of each class were arranged into a cohort, commanded by a centurion.
- 500 men, or five cohorts, were commanded by a tribunus.
- The entire legion was commanded by a legatus.
Equipment[]
Supplied equipment different for each class of infantry, reflecting their role and therefore affecting their speed and longevity in a fight. The heavier the class of infantry, the stronger and heavier their armor and weapons were.
|