(More Timeless Wisdom from someone who's never commanded an army.)
The first Law of Military Planning is KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid. With that in mind, I have come up with a short list of things for SCA fighters (and their commanders) to remember that will, verily, transform them into an invincible host.
(And, being an egomaniac, I used my own name to help me remember the list.)
M
is for
Mission.
What is it? Can you articulate it to the guy who just
joined your group 2 minutes before the cannon? Where
are you going? How do you get there? What do you do
once you’re there? What if that doesn’t work out?
Who’s in charge? Know the answers before the battle
starts. If you don’t, ask.
For Commanders: Make sure they know. All of
them. But first, make sure you know too.
I
is for
Individuals Don’t Win Wars.
Find a buddy. If he dies, find another buddy and the
two of you find a unit. Then you and your unit go
looking for enemy guys who haven’t found buddies.
Bragging about body count around the fire at night
is fine for hero-wannabes. If you remember nothing
else from this essay, remember this:
War is a team sport.
For Commanders: You can’t win wars by yourself either. If you’re swinging rattan, you’re not commanding your unit.
L
is for
“Lay On” Means “Charge”.
Don’t spend your hold time merely gasping for air or
glad handing your opponent across the way. (Do that
too.) But when you’re done, assess your situation and
decide which way you’re going to charge the instant
they start you up again. Look for your leader and
see where’s they're facing.
For Commanders: When they look to you, have the
situation already assessed.
CAVEAT: Don’t talk tactics during hold. It’s cheating.
E
is for
Engage Aggressively.
As noted above, charge the very second “Lay On” is
called. When in the shieldwall, don’t just hide
behind your shield—- hit something! If nothing else,
it gives the guys across from you just one more
distraction to look out for. Polemen and spearmen—-
keep those weapons moving! The shieldmen are counting
on you. Skirmishers—- You’ve been entrusted with a
high-energy job for a reason. Go get ‘em!
For Commanders: Execute your initial orders with vigor.
After the inevitable mix-up, gather a force and go
and engage forcefully. If you wait until you have
“enough”, you never will. After the press, all is
chaos. The first side to regain a semblance of order
and keep the other off balance and merely reacting
will probably win.
CAVEAT: Engage when it’s to your advantage. Don’t
charge outnumbered without a good reason. If you
can’t find a smaller unit to beat up, become bigger
by linking up with another unit-- but be quick about
it.
S
is for
Show Up.
You cannot do glorious heroic deeds for Crown and
Kingdom when you're back in camp sleeping off a
hangover. Be where you need to be, when you need to
be there, and with the right equipment. If you don’t
know the answers to these, ask.
For Commanders: If your time is limited, appoint
someone (or several someones) whose sole purpose in
life is rounding up people for the unit. This is
where sergeants came from. They do not have to be
tactical geniuses, just motivational. At the planning
sessions, you promised your commander so many troops.
If they don’t show, you broke your promise.
CAVEAT: It’s their vacation, too. And you’re not
really in the Army. On the other hand,
War is a team sport.
Will these 5 simple rules really make you into an invincible host? No.
But it might help keep you from becoming merely an
armed mob. I submit that if each soldier and
commander in your unit followed these simple
guidelines 75% of the time, you’d be the among the
best units on the field.
The dirty little secret of military science is that it
isn’t-- really-- very hard to understand at all. But
simple things become much harder when someone is
trying to kill you.
