The Royal Morsian Army, also known as the Royal Morsian Legions was the military forces of the Morsian Kingdom on the planet Mors. Until the near end of its life, the Morsian Kingdom had no official army or even an organized fighting force. Any hostile actions against the kingdom, which happened very rarely, was usually dealt with by a hastily raised militia force that could fend off the enemies by sheer number or annoyance. However when the more organized Sicc'orax Republic appeared on the Morsian border and started to raid Morsian settlements, the king at the time, Caesar Tarqui'in I, began the process of creating a royal army to protect their border.
The early life of the army was a turbulent one, and it underwent several radical changes before a dedicated system was settled on. Initially it was just a larger group of militia which was trained to a basic standard. After fighting a Sicc'orax raiding party and noting their weapons and equipment, this force evolved to a dedicated number of swordsmen. Despite the army's destruction at the Siege of Favarae, it was considered a success, and just prior to his assassination, Caesar I cemented the first three legions.
History[]
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| 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) |
 Morsian fanon continuity
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Formation[]
The Morsian Kingdom was, for a large amount of its life, a purely defensive nation. Strong walls and gatehouses were considered sufficient defense against any rogue bands, and no nations were bordering the kingdom for most of its life. As such, any hostile forces such as bandits or gangs could be dealt with by a crude militia force that could be raised and sent against the hostile group. This changed when the Sicc'orax Republic appeared and started raiding the furthest settlements at the southern end of the kingdom.
Early reforms[]
To defend against them, the current king Caesar I, raised a group of militia to defend against the raiding parties. They managed to successfully fend off an attack in the Battle of Malagus but with heavy losses. Following this costly victory, the king reformed the army to comprise of 300 long sword armed soldiers. They were given basic, rudimentary training and sent to the frontier of the kingdom to await the next raiding party. The army saw its first combat in the Siege of Favarae, in which it defended the settlement against a far larger raiding party. While the siege was ultimately a victory for the Sicc'orax, it was incredibly costly with most of their forces dead or wounded. The perceived success of the new army prompted the king to once against reform it into a far larger and organized structure.
Later legions[]
The reform culminated in the foundation of the 1st Legion, the first standing legion to be fielded by the Morsians. It was larger, more structured, and commanded by two senior officers who were chosen from the Morsian Senate. Over triple the number and far more heavily armed and armored, the legion transformed the Morsian Kingdom from a purely defensive state to one that could potentially expand by force. Two further legions were raised, the 2nd and 3rd legion, bringing the army to a total of 3,000 soldiers. Arranged into ten cohorts of 100 men commanded by a Centurion, they were more organized and trained than the swordsmen, and with superior equipment it was hoped that they would fair far better against the Sicc'orax raiders.
Action until the dictatorship[]
The first major action for the new legions came in the form of the First Morsian-Sicc'orax War. Caesar was assassinated, leading to king Pompinius Tarqui'in IV to declare war on the Sicc'orax in revenge. The legions were marched south where they acquitted themselves well in occupying Sicc'orax settlements and dealing with the little resistance they encountered on the way. Their first major test came in the form of the First Siege of Traevilon, a well defended settlement situated near to a river and with good defensive earthworks. Despite the pressure of the defenders and the problematic terrain, the legions successfully broke through the defenses, forded the river and captured the settlement of Traevilon.
A problem arose with the First Morsian Civil War, where three rebel senators split the kingdom into three due to Pompinius being assassinated without an heir. In response to this, the 1st legion turned away from the siege and returned to the kingdom to put a stop to the senators and restore order. In the Battle of Arrus, the 1st legion easily dealt with the mercenary and militia forces of Veparius Lar'us which served to grow the ambition of the legate Gaius Rutil'iar. Further battles against Caesar Jular'ius proved that the legion was more than capable of taking on militia and mercenary forces, whilst the culminating Battle of Volcanesis Magna cemented Gaius in his bid for power and formed the Morsian Military Dictatorship. With his ascension to power as dictator, the army was reformed into the Morsian army of the Dictatorship.
Organization[]
The start of the army came in the form of 300 swordsmen, arranged into groups of fifty men. They were not commanded by a central commander, rather one senior soldier who acted as the officer for each group.
The Royal Morsian Army was formed of 1,000 men organized into cohorts of 100 men. Ten cohorts formed the legion, without any additional auxiliary forces.
Ranking[]
Royal Morsian Legions[]
- A standard soldier was a Legionary.
- 100 legionaries were commanded by a Centurion.
- The second in command was a Secundus Legatus.
- In command of the legion was a Legatus.
- The commander-in-chief of all legionary forces was the Morsian King.
Equipment[]
The initial equipment of the militia was incredibly poor, mostly formed of whatever the individuals could bring. There was no sort of standardization, with bows, slings, spears and swords all being acceptable weapons. Armor, too, was equally as unregulated, ranging from nothing to substantial metal coverings. As such, the tactics of the militia changed each time it was raised due to the randomness of the equipment and its quality.
The swordsmen of the early army were far more uniform, armed with longswords and wearing light armor, the swordsmen were the important foundation stage of a more permanent army. This uniformity of equipment and arms proved to be its success in the battles it fought in, as while it was not necessarily superior to the forces opposing it, it proved the need for training and good quality equipment.
The legions at the end life of the army were the pinnacle of military power in the local area of the Morsian Kingdom. The legions were equipped with loose plate armor that covered the torso and shoulder regions, with some extra protection for the groin in the form of a separate armor piece. Metal grieves protected the lower leg while no additional protection was offered for the extremities such as feet or hands. A simple bowl like helmet with cheek guards proved ample head protection for the time while metal grieves provided some leg protection. Arms came in the form of a shorter sword, as the longswords were considered unwieldly and a liability in a close melee, and having a shield in the now free off-hand would provide extra protection. This shield was vaguely ovular in shape, featuring highly rounded corners, and would eventually lead to advanced fighting formations being developed.
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