ATST Snippet #4

Peter2 wrote:IIRC, not aspirin-pills, but a type of sweet known in the UK as a gobstopper (aka jawbreaker in the USA and Canada) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobstopper

You are thinking about the limpet mines, they used aniseed balls candy as a timing device.

Weird Harold wrote:Block it with something less and the CoGA will pull a regiment or two from the fighting to work on the canal.

Wait until the CoGA has just cleared -- or nearly cleared -- the canal and then take it away from them or block it again.

Nah, when the fire the first charges they embed some more in the ground but don't fire them. When the army has a lot of soldiers engaged in the clearing blow it again. (This amounts to nothing more than lighting a very well hidden fuse, something they can pull off while the crews are busy.)

The morale of the new clearing team will be very low indeed, it's going to go slowly.

The MH, of all armies, has a commander, senior artillerist and senior engineer who have all been appointed on the basis of competence. Doesn't that strike you almost as cheating?

After all, it's a lot more than the AoG manages!

Now, be fair: The Army of the Sylmahn and it's branches weren't destroyed owing to the incompetence of their commanders. They were hung out to dry by a political superior.

Randomiser wrote:The MH, of all armies, has a commander, senior artillerist and senior engineer who have all been appointed on the basis of competence. Doesn't that strike you almost as cheating?

After all, it's a lot more than the AoG manages!

Well, ... OK. But the Harchongese are supposed to be Nepotism Inc, and they're appointing on merit, that's definitely cheating.

Louis R wrote:Now, be fair: The Army of the Sylmahn and it's branches weren't destroyed owing to the incompetence of their commanders. They were hung out to dry by a political superior.

Randomiser wrote:The MH, of all armies, has a commander, senior artillerist and senior engineer who have all been appointed on the basis of competence. Doesn't that strike you almost as cheating?

After all, it's a lot more than the AoG manages!

Randomiser wrote:Well, ... OK. But the Harchongese are supposed to be Nepotism Inc, and they're appointing on merit, that's definitely cheating.

Military commanders doing what they're SUPPOSED TO BE DOING is "cheating" now, is it?

evilauthor wrote:

Randomiser wrote:Well, ... OK. But the Harchongese are supposed to be Nepotism Inc, and they're appointing on merit, that's definitely cheating.

Military commanders doing what they're SUPPOSED TO BE DOING is "cheating" now, is it?

When it's the MH turning into a competent army, certainly.

Maybe with the 'if your not cheating, you're not trying hard enough' approach to the word, but definitely cheating.

What he's on about is that the command structure of the MHOGATA doesn't resemble that of the Army of Justice nearly as closely as you'd expect it to. I think he's not making sufficient allowance for the influence of the bureaucracy - you are expected to actually do the work that you make everyone pay through the nose for, so the idea of competence isn't entirely alien.

There's also the fact that Clyntahn did finally grasp the nettle and accept that an _effective_ MH was desirable. And the lesson of Harless & Co. is blatant enough that even Zhaspahr could absorb it. Which is why Harchong only got to go through 4 [or was it 5?] candidates before settling on the current incumbent.

evilauthor wrote:

Randomiser wrote:Well, ... OK. But the Harchongese are supposed to be Nepotism Inc, and they're appointing on merit, that's definitely cheating.

Military commanders doing what they're SUPPOSED TO BE DOING is "cheating" now, is it?

Louis R wrote:There's also the fact that Clyntahn did finally grasp the nettle and accept that an _effective_ MH was desirable. And the lesson of Harless & Co. is blatant enough that even Zhaspahr could absorb it. Which is why Harchong only got to go through 4 [or was it 5?] candidates before settling on the current incumbent.

IIRC, the first two MHoG commanders resigned in protest over what Duchairn and Magwair expected of them, and the third was removed in disgrace for a level of incompetence and corruption even the IHA wouldn't tolerate. The fourth resigned over interference in how he ran his command by advisers assigned by Duchairn and Magwair, but it's likely the same sort of unhappiness about upsetting the natural order of things that motivated the first two was an underlying factor.

Rainbow Waters has his own concerns there, but is smart enough to recognize why the MHoG had to be dramatically overhauled to have any hope of facing the EoC in the field.

The Harchongese regular army was actually an effective force, but wasn't large enough. It's the swelling of the ranks by arming peasants and serfs to provide millions to send against the allies that causes various nobles concern. "Just how do we disarm them again and send them back home to servitude after we win?" is a question the smarter ones must be pondering.
_______
Dennis

DMcCunney wrote:
The Harchongese regular army was actually an effective force, but wasn't large enough. It's the swelling of the ranks by arming peasants and serfs to provide millions to send against the allies that causes various nobles concern. "Just how do we disarm them again and send them back home to servitude after we win?" is a question the smarter ones must be pondering.

Rayno is certainly considering it: he's a Harchongese noble and is dismayed at the thought of well-armed, well-seasoned veteran serfs returning home with their guns and knowledge. There's even some textev that he's quietly undermining the war effort by dragging his heels when it comes to turning the Host into an effective fighting force.