Hi McGuiness,
Regarding the Border states, the textev clearly states their armies weren't used because they were too small and obsolete; despite later having made 204,000 rifles for them, a ratio of 1/500 compared to Desnar's AoJ having only 17,708 after years of preparation for a ratio of almost 1 out of 8360, or almost 12 times as many despite having just over 2/3 the population.
I've pointed out those BS rifles will have to be kept and used together, ie tagged to ensure they are carefully identified as to who made them or they will quickly become useless, given the very varied nature of their manufacture all over the BS.
The initial textev suggested none of the Border States' population was recruited for the Army of God, those 500,000 were recruited entirely from within the KotTL, though some, albeit relatively few, have since joined the AoG.
I'd argue Siddarmark is far more likely to innovate over a far wider spectrum than either the Knights of the Temple Lands or Dohlar, both of whom are watched and rather restricted, not knowing what will be permitted and what not, depending on Clyntahn's whim.
Having just one or two people in nations with 89 and 97 million people respectively doesn't impress me [3 out of 186 million, seriously?], when there are lots more trying to figure out how to save the republic and far more motivated.
I suspect we'll see some in HFQ, if not the next book; does anyone care to guess what they'll invent?
Aside from a guillotine, to speed up inquisitor and other executions?
Compared to the open support by the EoC and the RoS across their societies, rather than in a very narrow field, everyone else are very distant also-rans, with the possible exception of South Harchong, which seems to be shifting toward a more mercantile societal preference.
Given what Rock Point said in March 897 at the end of LaMA, Sharpfield isn't going to run wild yet.
Interdict CoGA shipping, particularly between North and South Harchong, but not much past the Gulf Narrows.
Dohlar may be toast long before the end of HFQ, but how the alliance treats Dohlar may be critical as to how others, like the BS respond when the alliance approaches and advances beyond their borders.
The MHoGatA may number 1.6 million or more, but it will have to be broken up in the face of the changes the alliance is making to the Go4's TO&E.
We've already been put on notice that Safehold armies expect to spend a day getting ready for battle from the approach march.
Any sub-army etc that dallies that long in front of the ICA is toast, just from being hammered by its artillery, while the rest of the ICA marches around and ambushes those still stuck on the road or waiting to find out where they're supposed to go etc, when its already too late.
The alliance will need many of the rifles of at least one of those sub armies to finish equipping the 15 new RSA divisions completing their training this spring even after Wyrshym and Kaitswyrth make their donations.
Given the cited production rate, it could be May to June before a whole ICA army can be re-equipped with M96's [ie between 50-60,000 not counting transit time], and perhaps the smokeless powder will be ready at the same time, but it will be the ICA artillery which has yet to demonstrate most of its tricks that will continue to dominate the battlefields this year before the improved weapons replace them.
I've suggested before that the reequipping might proceed from north to south to ensure climate and weather don't interfere with the process over the rest of the year [and probably into 898], while DE's might be the quickest given his proximity to Thesmar especially if steam tugs do the barge towing.
L
McGuiness wrote:n7axw wrote:As for what happens in Safehold, my own guess is that at least among the leading nations, particularly Siddarmark and the EOC, but possibly also Dohlar, there is going to be a lot of creativity unleashed. In fact if the power of the inquisition is broken, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Temple Lands take off. Even after the hit they are going to take as the war winds down, there is a lot of money floating around there. Their traditional aristocracy, the vicars and archbishops, are going to be either gone or in turmoil. It's possible that they might have an altogether new arrangement.Don
If we were to rank the nations of Safehold according to their current level of innovation and manufacturing, it would be something like this:
#1 Empire of Charis (by an order of magnitude!)
#2 Temple Lands (Magwair's wizard better at creating practical designs from Charisian tech, gets stolen tech first, awash in money, has a good manufacturing base that's growing rapidly.
#3 Dohlar (Thirsk's wizard is the best outside of Charis and it has a dependable manufacturing base.)
#4 Siddarmark - will soon be #2 with Charisian tech transfers and has a massively expanding manufacturing base.
#5 Desnair (Mediocre manufacturing base, mediocre quality of manufacture, no innovation. A
distant 5th...)
#6 South Harchong. Utterly corrupt but you can fire its cannon without having it explode in your face - maybe.
#7 North Harchong. Sixth only because Sodar is nothing but sheepherders and the Trellheim pirates don't manufacture anything. Products best used as scrap metal for Dohlar.
The various border states probably fall somewhere between North Harchong and Desnair. They aren't producing a lot of weapons, but they are providing a lot of warm bodies for Magwair to turn into soldiers.
As things currently stand in the war, Dohlar is the
only CoGA allied nation that's clearly going to take it on the chin in its own territory. How that shakes out will largely determine the outcome of the war, since Desnair is largely out of it already, and South Harchong won't have a ship afloat once the ICN gets busy in the Gulf of Dohlar. North Harchong will be forced to ship all its men and supplies by land, and it has no canal system. It's contributed most of what it can already, now that the ICN is about to run wild in the Gulf of Dohlar! (THANK YOU RFC!)
He's laughing because I've been screaming for the ICN to take out Gorath and Thirsk since before MTaT.
By the end of HFQ, Dohlar may have fallen and the AoG may be driven completely out of Siddarmark. The wildcard is the 1.3 million man army of Harchongese, even though a large part of it remains cannon fodder. 640,000 rifles is nothing to sneeze at, especially when over 90,000 of them are breechloaders.
The M96 with bullets that use smokeless powder can't arrive soon enough! But once it does...
