150 [interlude]The army with a state III
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-Pov of Mervyn second-sixth moon 286 AC
The armor training was the most difficult of all, as it included extra weight on your entire body, making the effort even greater. The sergeant only made us push harder, as there was a quota that had to be met, and at the moment, there were more applicants than slots; therefore, this constantly raised the bar to force the rest to give up.
Additionally, the formation movement training began to intensify constantly, as we frequently had to march between one camp and another with armor on, only to exercise in that camp and return the next day until our feet got used to walking for hours.
Then came the pike training, to make use of the hours of classes given by veterans. On several occasions, we fought with other groups and had to practice one of the most terrible techniques that could arise in pike battle: the pike push. When the shield bearers and zweihanders failed in their mission to break the enemy pikes, the only option was to forcefully break the enemy formation, which involved pushing. This caused those in the front lines to be crushed, as the entire formation had to push forward in order to split the opposing side. Although the training didn't reach the need to break the opposing line, we saw what could happen, and this was one of the resources that a commander had.
The food remained delicious and varied, while the training sessions continued to get longer and required a lot of willpower. They made the most of the rainy season to make us suffer the mud hell, where every step required us to use our entire body to move a foot, and that constantly. Still, they demanded that we walk and push supply carts in the damn mud or when they simply made us hold a log on our backs while the rain, which gave fertility to our lands, soaked us completely.
Even so, almost no one surrendered, as joining the army meant changing the destiny of their family forever. The payment that would be generated month by month for the completion of twenty years of service, the prestige, and the social position one would obtain were what motivated many to continue in the hell that the instructors were making us go through.
When the rainy season passed, the training sessions began to relax a lot. They were increasingly technique-focused rather than strength-focused, so we only trained our fencing or marksmanship and occasionally fought between groups with pikes.
One of the most methodical trainings was putting on the armor, even at night, as there was always the possibility of a night attack, and we had to be prepared for everything. The training started for hours practicing how to put on and take off the armor over and over until we could do it from memory.
On one of those occasions, we had to do it blindfolded. There was quite a chaos with falls and pieces of armor falling from hands, and it truly seemed like what would happen in case of a surprise attack. It was straightforward once one got used to the constant metallic noise around.
Padded doublet, mail shirt, breastplate, greaves, the rest of the parts, and the helmet, and everything ready.
"Ready, my sergeant," I said after making sure I had put on all the parts of the armor.
"MERVYN," the sergeant shouted, and I heard his furious steps approaching me.
"WHY DID YOU PUT ON THE ARMOR SO FAST, MERVYN?" the sergeant shouted after stopping and being silent for a few seconds.
"You ordered it, my sergeant," I replied confidently.
"DAMN IT, MERVYN, YOU BROKE THE COMPANY RECORD. YOU SET A NEW RECORD, MERVYN. YOU'LL BE AN AMAZING SOLDIER, MERVYN, AND I WON'T LET YOUR SKILLS ROT. I'LL MAKE SURE TO INFORM MY CAPTAIN OF THIS, MERVYN. YOU'RE GOING TO BE AN OFFICER, MERVYN. YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE DECISIONS, MERVYN," the sergeant shouted.
"NOW STOP BEING PROUD OF YOURSELF AND TAKE OFF THE ARMOR AND PUT IT BACK ON NOW," the sergeant shouted again, and I heard him walk away by his steps.
"Ah, how my head hurts from all those shouts!"
After that, the training focused on doing the same with crossbows, where they shouted at me again to congratulate me.
I was beginning to get used to the army when we were finally given an easy training to relax. We just had to march to a camp and spend the night and return, as simple as that. No mud, no pushing something, we just had to march with the armor and carry the pikes, just that.
Our sergeant told us where we should march, but he had to go to a meeting with his superiors, so he wouldn't accompany us, like any other officer.
The journey began, and we tried our best to maintain discipline, as even though the journey was short, we always had to be prepared. Although this was a day of relaxation, we couldn't slack off, or the sergeant would make us run around the camp as punishment if we didn't meet the highest standards of military discipline.
We walked through the extensive plains of the area, without any danger, occasionally observing one of the many abandoned villages in the area, as now all the inhabitants lived in the cities near the river.
Everything was going perfectly until there were only a couple of kilometers left to reach the destination, but there was a fairly steep hill with woods that we had to cross if we wanted to reach that campsite the fastest way, and next to it was a path that bypassed that hill, but it would be much longer.
This seemed very curious to me, as if it were on purpose. Most started walking towards the hill when I saw several birds starting to fly at the same time in the woods.
"Stop!" I said to all my comrades.
Everyone stared at me.
"I think this is a test... everything seems too simple. I believe there's a trap in that forest; we should go around it," I told the group of recruits who looked at me strangely.
"But we have orders to go straight to the camp. We can't take that detour. If we delay, the sergeant will punish us all when he finds out," said a man from another company.
"Look, I've hunted in some forests, and let me tell you, if many birds fly at the same time, there's likely hunters in the area, and we all saw it. There might be people waiting for us in the area," I said, trying to appeal to reason.
"But, who are they, rebels? In most remote areas from the cities, there's the occasional trouble with fanatics of the Faith of the Seven," said another recruit, a bit nervous.
"I doubt it. Rebels couldn't be near the training camps. They might be stealthy, maybe they're close by," said another recruit.
"Whatever's out there, we should avoid it. If there's a fight, the terrain is not optimal: a steep hill or a forest. Terrible terrain for the use of pikes, and it's the only thing we were allowed to bring. It's very likely a test. Doesn't it seem suspicious that just the one day our officers don't come, this happens?" I said to the group of recruits who were hesitating.
"Well, if you have doubts, blame me, since the idea is mine. I'll take the punishment. Let's continue on the path, circle around the hill, and we'll reach the camp. Instead of twenty minutes, it'll take us a little over fifty, but we won't be taking a risk."
Everyone nodded, with doubts, but they nodded, and we reorganized the marching columns and continued on the path that circled around the hill.
But as we continued our way, we heard a trumpet from the hill, and we saw a large group of horsemen forming a wedge formation.
"Damn, I was right," I said, a little surprised.
Panic consumed everyone, and they all began to doubt what we should do, as we didn't have officers to receive orders.
"Damn it! Form a square; it's cavalry, they can't charge directly against us, so they'll surround us. Be ready, pikes against the horses, quickly!" I shouted to the panicked group.
Most obeyed, and we began to form a small square of pikes presenting the sharp tip against the knights, while the rest placed their pikes in the four directions, waiting for them to surround us.
I had to take the few who remained paralyzed and put them in formation, and I started putting someone in charge before someone decided to run and commit suicide, as everyone was very scared, as it would be our first battle.
The horses began to charge towards us; the armor they wore looked like the typical armor of the knights of the Faith of the Seven. We were fighting against fanatics.
The knights stopped about a hundred meters from us and gently galloped, starting to surround us. They weren't stupid to try to end everything in one charge.
The knights began to ride in circles around us, and on several occasions, they tried to cut our pikes with their swords. Obviously, we made it difficult for them and tried to impale them, but they were quite agile to dodge it or simply deflect the pike's tip with their sword.
For ten long minutes, we were in this combat, where the knights attacked the weak points of our formation by cutting our pikes, while I and some colleagues with a sufficiently cool head tried to control the rest of our comrades who were dead scared.
"Damn it, act like men. Remember that God has already decided whether we die today or not. No matter what happens, show courage," I said to my comrades who were trembling.
I must say that even I was doubting if we would get out of here alive, as we had no way to attack the knights.
But the sound of the trumpet again from the hill caught everyone's attention, and the knights stopped attacking. We saw another rider approaching us.
The one who approached us wore the totenkopf uniform.
"Now I'm confused. What is one of ours doing with the pagans?"
"Who leads these men?" asked the totenkopf rider.
"That would be me," I said after everyone looked at me.
"A recruit leading recruits... insubordination?" said the rider, staring at me.
"We had no officers, so I simply took command while we thought about how to get out of here," I replied to the totenkopf.
"Well... relax. It was a test. These are my men, who occupied armor that we took from the dead pagans. Your name, kid," said the rider with some respect in his voice.
"Mervyn of Hornhill," I replied to the rider.
"Ah, yes, your sergeant has told me about you. Well, I must tell you that you passed, so you've been saved from punishment. You're the second group to pass. Most follow orders to the letter, and we pinned them down the hill... But you're the first ones to resist. The other group collapsed within a few minutes and tried to retreat with very little order, almost leaving their necks ready to be severed and added to the vinegar cauldron to adorn our tents," said the rider with a smile, and his men laughed quite a bit.
"Carry on your way. We must wait for the next group. But, take this, sew it to your clothes, and give it to your comrades as you see fit," said the rider, dismounting and handing me something, then signaling for us to leave.
At the camp, I was told they were patches indicating that I was a recruit aspiring to be an officer, more precisely, a captain, and I had to distribute those of sergeant and corporal as I deemed appropriate.
For quite some time, more men arrived who received harsh punishment for not thinking outside the box, because by not thinking a little more, they would have condemned us all to die.
My training routine changed from that day on, as all my free time I used to rest or read was now focused on new classes of tactics and logistics. Because for the Prussians, tactics win battles, logistics win wars, and the king himself is an expert in logistics.
As they immediately put me in charge of a group of men to lead, but I still answered to the training sergeant. So in several practice fights with pikes, I had to lead and not fight, and they performed frequent tests where they gave me information about the agronomic and industrial capabilities of cities, and I had to establish supply lines based on those capabilities, see where I could get food or where I could get swords and armor.
And that included having to manage the finances of my men with the help of a junior quartermaster officer, be it payments, food, clothing, weapons, armor, horses, logistics carts, and even scouts.
Since at the end of the training, they introduced us to those who would be our eyes, the Finns, who were also recruits, and they taught us how to perform reconnaissance on horseback, search for sources of water or food, how to hide the shine of our armor.
Since we had to collaborate, and a lot, because in my tactics classes, decisions always had to be made based on what the scouts said.
Until finally, the six months of hell passed, and they gave all the recruits the title of soldiers, and those of us who were aspiring officers were given the rank in a small ceremony attended by the Minister of War and the Generalfeldmarschall von Roon, who gave us the ranks and our first missions.
Mine consisted of supporting the Finns with a spy network that sought to obtain the secrets of Prussian steel.
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