THE
ORCISH
WARFARE |
Orcs are known as the most warlike of all races though they usually lack the discipline and organization one would assume from a standing army. Instead a common pack behaviour is known to dominate their decisions on the battlefield showing only a minimum of coordination among one clan. Thus it is nearly impossible to put orcs from different clans or even tribes into one fighting unit because they'd rather turn against each other for honour and loot than fight the enemy. On more than one occasion disputes among rivaling clans and leaders have saved the day for a human, elven or dwarven army and made close to defeats glaring victories.
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Nevertheless though looked upon by all other races
orcs in battle are not respected as equal in any way but certainly they're
feared.
To overcome the lack of a central leadership, a general of sorts, some tribes -
like the Losh-oc or
Ashz-oc - at least agreed to elect
warlords for certain times and a certain task. However these warlords are still
not seen to be equal to a general. In fact they're more the head of a war
council consisting of all clanleaders which means that in the end they still
can only depend on the warriors of their own clan. In even greater campaigns
these warlords lead their own armies to the battlefield and again form some
kind of council to decide what to do together.
While this system has proven to be surprisingly stable it is also the reason
that orcs never make any clever battle plans.
In the vast hierachies of clan relations and alliances it would be nearly
impossible to force one clan to stand back as some kind of relief force or
sneak up from behind while others gain all the fame. This has also proven to be
the key weakness of most orcish campaigns
because when fighting in their very own clan they are nearly unmatched in the
way they fight together.
Organization.
The orcish way of war is very clan-based. The
warriors of one clan are generally the smallest
orcish fighting unit which consists of between 50 to 300 warriors. This is
usually enough to commence raids, scouting and smaller engagement but for a
fullscale campaign one clan is generally too weak so several clans ally for a
common goal and rally their troops.
For this purpose warlords are elected. They already lead whole armies of 1000 to
up to 6000 warriors and command them in agreement with the participating
clanleaders. In even greater campaigns, where different parties join for a
common goal these warlords only coordinate their moves in councils but stay
mainly independent from each other. Such occasions are only very rare, the last
time such a huge orc army has been seen marching
together in the south was in the Third Sarvonian War.
Otherwise it can be said that you have various
orcish armies that only contact each other about their plans when necessary
and coordinate attacks only when the odds force them to do so.
Tactics.
The smallest unit among orcs represent their
clans where family bonds force them to stay rather disciplined and they're
willing to watch each other's back in battle.
A clan usually attacks in a triangular formation to break the enemy line as
quickly and as lethal as possible. Orcs - except
the Osther-oc - don't have a great
feel for battle formations and subtle tactics. Their favourite battle plan is an
overwhelming frontal assault that either breaks the enemy lines or ends in many
small skirmishes. This would be an easy to dodge situation for any well-trained
army when the different clanleaders wouldn't lead their warriors independently
on the battlefield, everyone of them seeking a good opportunity for their
attack. For the opposing side this means that orcs
usually hit them in waves from different sides, at different angels, in
different strength endangering any battle formation to fall in total chaos, a
situation orcs know best to exploit.
While there are no exercised battle formations most
orcish clans nevertheless follow a certain order in battle.
The
Skirmishers
The first line of
orcs are usually Skirmishers with only spears
and clubs to fight. They consist either of very poor or rather young warriors.
They're meant to break the enemy line just long enough to give the following
orcs room to exploit opportunities.
The Shieldbearers
The Skirmishers are followed by the Shieldbearers,
orcs with wooden shields and either axes or
swords. They'll draw the enemy in many small fights and
will widen any gap that might have opened in the enemy's line.
The Pike and Spear Orcs
They're then followed by orcs with pikes and
spears. Those orcs will push back the enemy with
their long pikes and eventually cover the orcs
in front of them from any quick counterattacks.
The Elite Warriors
The last line usually represent the elite warriors,
orcs with sword, shield and bow,
often clad in more or less effective armor, sometimes accompanied by archers
with only shortbows. While the archers will just provide cover from behind the
lines, the Elite Warriors will support their front men and will stand ready
anywhere where the own line might break. They're the last to come to fight but
they're meant to fight any serious resistance that has survived the onslaught
from the other lines with their expertise and better
weapons.
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Classes. The Sarvonian orcs share very similar categories of warrior classes among the different tribes, supposedly as they all share a common language and all have a common heritage. Some tribes will lack certain classes due to limitations in build or in equipment but nevertheless they at least know the purpose of certain warriors:
Noruck-chmer (Skirmishers)
Only equipped with simple weapons like clubs, spears and dagger the "Norucks"
are the first line in a common battle. They usually wear no or only light armor
in the form of hides or leather and consist of either very poor
orcs or young warriors that have to prove
themselves.
They'll either lure the enemy into a fight or break the enemy line to make room
for the older and better equipped ones. The Norucks are very common among the
Ashz-Oc and
Losh-Oc.
Gorucks (Shieldbearers)
The Gorucks can be considered as the orcish
standard clanwarrior. Equipped with a sturdy wooden shield and a slashing weapon
of considerable strength - either a sword of sorts or
an axe - they are already a worthy opponent to any
infantrymen on any battlefield. Sometimes the Gorucks already wear some armor
pieces but their strength lies in adequate weaponry combined with great agility.
Most orc warriors consist of this type, they're
orcs who have proven their worth in combat. The
Osther-Oc have thes Gorucks equipped
with heavy armor otherwise not known to other orc
tribes and all equipped with broadsword or battleaxe.
Ashzuck (Worthy Warriors)
The Osther-Oc,
Ashz-Oc and
Losh-Oc are considered the "Great Orcs"
in Sarvonia as they reach nearly the height
of man. Thus they make formidable "Gorucks" and "Ashzuck". The "Ashzucks" differ
mainly in status from the normal soldiers, the "Gorucks". They're veterans and
usually among the eldest of the clan. As an orc does not grow weak with age
their combat skills do not suffer from it, instead most of them have enough foes
and loot from victories to put together a very good equipment. Very often they have a sword,
shield, spear and even bow and clad themselves in scale or chain - rarely in
plate - mail. Only they are usually wealthy enough to afford an
orcish warbow
and they're known to use it well. The family and clanleaders are usually of this
class with enough wisdom and experience to know where and how to fight.
Ngangas (Archers)
These are orcs who only fight with their hunting
bows and a knife for
selfdefense. They're looked upon by the warriors as they don't even fight in the
first row of the battle. Thus they're not common among the "Great Orcs" - though
Osther-Oc might train and deploy some for various tasks. Smaller
orcs, those
living in the wilderness however have been known to often participate in
campaigns of the "Great Orcs" as such archers as they would be totally
overpowered in the first battleline.
Rochock (Wargriders)
Only the Rhom-oc are known to deploy wargriders in vast numbers, in fact all of
them fight from the warg's back. In many other tribes the Rochock are more of a
myth as they do not breed wargs which are large enough to carry an
orc.
Wargriders are usually more scouts and mounted archers than anything else. While
they can be formidable against infantry orcs depend more on their sturdy pikes
and arrows when they move against human or
elven cavalry.
Beside the Rhom-oc only the
Losh-Oc are known to use wargriders
more often as the
Losh-Oc have bred the Warwarg, a
warg species as big as a
horse.
Morgur (Wargs)
While these beasts are not used as mounts by every orc tribe they're
nevertheless used as hunting packs by most. They're either to guard the camps or
hunt down prey. In battle these packs might fight alongside their masters as
wargs can fall into a bloodrush and even chain mail cannot hold off their
steel-hard teeth.
Wargs exist in different sizes, from big
wolves to nearly
horse size. The
biggest wargs are being bred by the
Rhom-oc and
Losh-oc tribe.
Harach-me (Ogre Berserks)
In times of war orcs are known to hunt and
capture ogres to use for their war effort.
While not very bright ogres nevertheless are
immensely strong and can bring down whole dozens of soldiers before collapsing
from mortal wounds. On some occasions orcs seem
to have made deals with some ogre groups but
obviously not even orcs do trust
ogres enough to let them walk free within their
camps. Thus they prefer to capture them and use them as berserks. Chained, often
blinded, and kept hungry the orcs will then
unleash these tortured war machines in the front of the battle line and direct
them with torches and sticks into the right direction. Half a dozen
ogres, even when weakened by long captivity,
can still bring havoc to a well-ordered battleline and kill dozens of people
before being slain. Still ogres are known to
not discern between friend and foe and are thus also a risk to bring to the
battle when they turn against the wrong side. So even
orcs do not use them on a random basis.
Information
provided by
Koldar Mondrakken
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