Standing Army of the Harkanian League

The Standing Army of the Harkanian League is by far the most effective and highly trained military force in the world. Combining focused discipline with brilliant ClockTech ingenuity, they are an unstoppable force, subject only to the occasional defeat at the hands of a heavily magical force.

The Harkanian League employs both regular and "ethnic" troops.  Regular Harkanian units may come from any of the League's member-states, although individual units are usually all from the same locality.  For instance, a company of Harkanian arquebusiers may be composed of Darkridgers, dwarves, or men from the Flat.  "Ethnic" troops fight in the style of a particular region or race, and are almost always drawn from the corresponding member-state or race.  These units give the Harkanian army much more flexibility than it would have with its regular troops alone.  The two styles of soldiers are considered broadly equal within the army by its high command, although friendly rivalries between different types of units (as in all armies) are common.

Regular Troops

Light Infantry

• Harkanian Pikemen Company
• Harkanian Arquebusier Company
• Harkanian Riflemen Company
• Witch Hunter Squad

Horse Troops

• Harkanian Pistolier Troop
• Harkanian Cuirassier Troop
• Harkanian Dragoons

Engines of War

• Harkanian Blundercog

• Harkanian Grasshopper
• Harkanian Ironclad

Artillery

• Harkanian Cannon
• Harkanian Volley Gun
• Harkanian Siege Mortar
• Harkanian Great Cannon
• Harkanian Heavy Weapon Crew

Ethnic Forces

Searland Forces

• Mynoth Bear-Sarkers

Dwarven Forces

• Dwarven Death Tub
• Dwarven Tunnel Fighter Squad

Darkridge Forces

• Risen Mammoth Tank
• Zombie Phalanx
• Gutflinger Artillery Squad
• Necromancer Boneshaper Squad
• Ettercap Cavalry Regiment
• Portable Necropolis
• Vampyr Phaetons

Strengths

The strengths of the Harkanian army are its black powder and ClockTech weapons and a sophisticated military doctrine supported by an equally sophisticated military-industrial complex.  A Harkanian army of 20,000 soldiers - a large but not massive force by Harkanian standards - might feature nearly 10,000 arquebuses, 20 blundercogs, 20 cannon and 20 volley guns in addition to more conventional weaponry.  Fielding such awesome firepower requires more than large stockpiles of guns.  It also requires an endless and carefully managed train of mules and oxen capable of transporting hundreds of tons of black powder, shot, and spare parts - and, of course, the industrial might to produce such materials in the first place.  Such is the logistical prowess of the Standing Army of the Harkanian League that it can fully provision with relative ease armies that most nations would have a hard time simply feeding.

The result of this enormous logistical effort is an army that can utilize its best weapons with abandon on the battlefield.  A Harkanian army is almost impossible to withstand in the conventional manner.  Its long range firepower is second to none, and its short-range firepower is so awesome that it can hardly be withstood by even the best hand-to-hand troops.  As the range falls shooting becomes more accurate, cannons switch to grape shot, volley guns come into play, blundercogs run rampant, and finally the enemy runs into the volleys of thousands upon thousands of arquebuses well shielded by disciplined pike.  The effect of these weapons is magnified by the fact that few people in the Circle have ever seen (or heard) the effects of truly massed gunfire before facing Harkanian troops.  That which the army cannot simply shoot into oblivion can usually be defeated by the use of specialized ethnic troops.  When a Harkanian army is well supplied and able to work together, it is truly unstoppable.

Weaknesses

To the extent that the Harkanian army has any weaknesses, its greatest is surely its reliance on its supply train.  A Harkanian army on campaign is followed by an endless winding column of mules, oxen, and wagons.  These supply not only food but also ammunition to the army.  Canny foes attempt to avoid the army itself altogether, and attack the supply train instead.  This is usually guarded only by a few regiments of infantry and squadrons of pistoliers - formidable troops, but beatable.  If the army can be cut off from its supply train it usually only has enough ammunition to fight one pitched engagement.  Of course, one pitched engagement is usually enough to send any opposing army home in tatters, so even an unsupplied Harkanian army is best avoided in the hopes that it will starve.

Harkanian experience with Azhua rebels in the Sunset Islands highlights another potential weakness in the army: the vulnerability of its individual soldiers.  Most Harkanian troops lack body armor, and are equipped with weapons that function best in large groups.  An individual pikeman, arquebusier, or even blundercog can be overwhelmed by more heavily armed and self-sufficient soldiers.  This "weakness" is difficult to exploit.  Harkanian troops dispense with body armor in part because it is almost impossible to weather the storm of shot to get within sword's reach.  Even if part of the army is ambushed, it is difficult to exploit any gains: the ambushers are apt to finish off one part of the line only to be stopped by sheer weight of numbers as the rest of the army reacts.  A Harkanian army that can be fragmented and ambushed en masse could almost certainly be defeated, but for such a scenario to present itself would require very carefully chosen terrain, an intricately laid battle plan, and a great deal of luck.

The most common way to attempt to defeat a Harkanian army is with large numbers of thaumaturges.  These can provide some amount of protection to advancing friendly troops, and are usually an army's best bet to destroy the dreaded Harkanian artillery before it can play a decisive role.  Even without supporting artillery and blundercogs, however, Harkanian infantry and cavalry are a tough foe to defeat.  Moreover, the Harkanian army is not without its defenses against magical attack.  Witch hunters are frequently stationed with the army's heavy weapons to protect them against enemy thaumaturges, and a Harkanian army that incorporates Darkridge ethnic forces may have a number of thaumaturges of its own.