Cantonments as Fiefs

[kato13]

Webstral

Cantonments as Fiefs

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I was on my way to work today when I had an epiphany about MilGov and its efforts to rebuild the country. By early 2001, the old relationship between the federal government and the surviving cantonments has disappeared. A new one has taken its place. The new relationship between Colorado Springs and the various cantonments still nominally under MilGov control is more like that of a lord and the fiefs under him. The structure is fairly loose, and the local lords have a great deal of autonomy. The ability of the king to enforce his will on the lords is pretty minimal. After all, what are the Joint Chiefs going to do to the commander of the 78th Infantry Division? They can’t give him anything. They can’t take anything away.

Colorado Springs becomes the king in actuality as well as in name with the rebirth of airships. I’ve brought this up plenty of times before, but it bears repeating. “Airlords of the Ozarks” changes everything by bringing airships and airship engineering expertise to Colorado. I see airships catching on like a house on fire with the Joint Chiefs. I see them initiating construction of airships at the best possible speed because the ability to transport goods and personnel by air using a simple, easily maintained technology turns the isolated MilGov cantonments from islands into settlements connected by an aerial highway.

With the ability to redistribute critical goods and expertise, MilGov has something to offer the various cantonments. Loyalty to Colorado Springs changes from a lingering (but dying) sense of patriotism and duty to a sense of mutual back-scratching. If you are the commanding officer at Cairo, IL, the arrival of parts and petroleum industry engineers by airship changes the entire paradigm for the cantonment. With the catalytic converter back on-line and the prospect of proper training for the refinery personnel, the CO of the 194th is probably going to be far more inclined to stay in the MilGov fold. In turn, shipments of fuel to MilGov cantonments along the Mississippi will bind those cantonments to Colorado Springs.

For the foreseeable future, each cantonment behaves as a fief. MilGov isn’t in a position to replace the commander, for instance. Just as title to the fief remained within the noble family, command of the cantonments remains with the personnel of the cantonment. Loyalty is based on MilGov control of the airships and the ability of MilGov to supply the cantonments with what they need. In turn, MilGov can extract what it needs for Colorado and for other cantonments in exchange. MilGov gains in power by becoming the hub of an aerial communications network and a clearing house for all the various goods moving between MilGov cantonments around the US. As the cantonments begin to prosper from the exchange of goods and expertise, they become increasingly dependent on the airships. As this happens, MilGov becomes more and more a central authority which has the power to make and enforce demands on the cantonments.


Webstral


Webstral





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chico20854

Web-

I agree completely.

The next development to follow the airships is CENTCOM and their ability to bring Milgov two key assets for reconstruction: (limited) petroleum supplies and organized combat units (including functioning aircraft).

We're using these three as the basis for our reconstruction plan...


chico20854


Visit chico20854's homepage!



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ChalkLine
Rogue Conformist

The thing to remember about feudal relationships is that it is pre-monetary. If you get a medium of exchange returning and creating an economy, the old feudal relationship breaks down and mercenary troops as more easily purchased.

Also, feudal troops are very short duration. In western European history the customary length of deployment was forty days, after that the logistical supply and troop endurance was exhausted. I think this is still a good benchmark.

The big problem with feudality is the onset of bastard-feudalism, where a new money economy encourages 'over mighty subjects'. These magnates are capable of deplying more military right than their feudal lord, and start to demand more concessions than government can support.

Any sort of feudal relationship assumes a total lack of central taxation. Central taxation allows the central power to deploy troops of their own and minimise possibly politically unreliable magnate troops.
__________________
"Hmm, that didn't work. . .
Go to Plan 'B' guys; kill everything."


ChalkLine





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Webstral

Non-monetary seems a good way to describe the 2000-2001 environment. Dollars aren't worth anything. The value of gold is debatable, "Armies of the Night" notwithstanding. MilGov has no means of collecting taxes outside of the Colorado cantonment--at least until the advent of the airships.

I have been thinking about the issue of feudal levies in regards to MANIFEST DESTINY. One of the first actions MilGov will try to under take is the clearing of the Snake River so fuel shipments can go to the Puget Sound cantonment. The Colorado Springs cantonment doesn't have the moxie to go after the New America cantonments in southern Idaho. If MilGov can assemble troops from other cantonments, the offensive might have a fighting chance. Moving troops, their equipment, and their supplies from cantonments like Ft. Huachuca-Tucson, Muskogee OK, and Puget Sound would be a massive undertaking--even assuming those cantonments agreed to part with the troops indefinitely. If forty days is the limit, then MilGov can't use troops from other cantonments until the transportation situation changes dramatically. It's going to be up to Colorado Springs to negotiate its relationships with its various supporters.

If MANIFEST DESTINY works, the feudal aspect of the relationships between Colorado Springs and the rest of the MilGov cantonments will change in exactly the same way feudalism in Europe gave way to a centralized state supported by a money economy. However, until there is money there is limited danger of any of the cantonments becoming over-mighty. So long as Colorado Springs controls the airships and is in a position to have all or most inter-cantonment commerce pass through Colorado, it is Colorado that will be calling the tune for the emerging money economy.

Webstral


Webstral





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Raellus

Something else to keep in mind is distance. Feudal polities where fairly limited in size due largely to the matter of distance, pertaining to it's effects on transportation and communications. Early medieval kingdoms were relatively small compared to most modern nation-states for this reason.

Matters of distance and communications may preclude a T2K feudal "baron" from sending troops to far afield in service to his liege lord. In Web's example, the commander at Huachuca is unlikely to be willing to send "his" troops to someplace as far away Idaho. For Milgov to coordinate such a move with limited and unreliable communications would be extremely difficult as well.

I totally agree with those that envision a return to pseudo-feudalism in the early '00's but a feudal polity the scale of the current U.S. would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to maintain on many levels.
__________________
"This one goes to 11." -Nigel Tufnel


Raellus





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DeaconR ,266


I'm preparing for the project to do some Civgov stuff--it's very necessary to understand my pcs' point of view and that of the CDC and the special units acting as scouts and protectors for them.

If Milgov is feudalism, Civgov is the dying Byzantine/Roman system at work. In a sense it is like Constantinople with a few isolated satellites and ambassadors, struggling to stay alive, and within its grand walls pretending everything is normal. If this is the case then the Admiral commanding the Civgov units in New Jersey/New York is like Belisarius, trying to save a Rome that might not be saveable. There are similarities in that the President's isolation and that of the government surrounding him prevents a real understanding of what is going on. Civgov has been plagued by a poor communications net and that doesn't help either. While vast stockpiles of food and other resources were scavenged from the evacuated cities of the midwest to help provide the enclave in Nebraska outside of it Civgov has lost what little control it had over areas along the southeastern seaboard and in the Ohio River Valley--though this may change thanks to Roger Caldwell.

One thing I have had very strongly in my game is the sense on the part of cetain local Civgov leaders of responsibility to the nation. They may serve Broward in name and they may have to suffer local would be kings like Carlucci but ultimately those who have remained in office--Caldwell, Admiral Barry, Dr. Ambrose, General Spiers (the latter three are NPCs for my campaign)--are doing what they do to help their country live again. The circumstances may have forced them to think rather locally but the idea of rebuilding communications and transport at least to liveable levels is never far from their minds.

In the case of the CDC in particular they are like monks of the early Dark Ages trying to preserve what knowledge they can for those who will come in the future.

Webstral: I really like what you've put together about the feudalism notion. It makes a lot of sense. I'd like to know if you find my ideas fit with yours. Also I would say that my players in a way treated Milgov people they met under friendly circumstances with as much respect as they could (though in a couple of cases things went bad) and were sometimes met with it. (though imagine that you are at a checkpoint and you suggest that you are carrying a number of biological warfare samples...)


DeaconR





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Raellus

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconR
If Milgov is feudalism, Civgov is the dying Byzantine/Roman system at work. In a sense it is like Constantinople with a few isolated satellites and ambassadors, struggling to stay alive, and within its grand walls pretending everything is normal. If this is the case then the Admiral commanding the Civgov units in New Jersey/New York is like Belisarius, trying to save a Rome that might not be saveable. There are similarities in that the President's isolation and that of the government surrounding him prevents a real understanding of what is going on.

In the case of the CDC in particular they are like monks of the early Dark Ages trying to preserve what knowledge they can for those who will come in the future.




Love the analogy! I can't remember who to attribute this quote to, but I really like it:

"History doesn't repeat itself; it just rhymes."

If I may share another analogy, army divisions of the major combatants in Europe (NATO and WARPACT) prior to 2000 are similar to Roman Legions of the Imperial "Pax Romana" period. At that time, Legions were big (roughly 5,000 Legionnaires), largely homogenous in terms of the nationality/ethnicity(all legionnaires were Roman citizens), backed by heavy weapons ("Scorpions"), supplied by huge baggage trains, and supported by specialized auxiliary troops (archers, slingers, light infantry skirmishers, cavalry, etc.)

In the years leading up to '97-'00, modern army divisions were large, homogenous in terms of nationality, armed with heavy weapons (armor and artillery) well supplied, and supported by all kinds of specialized units (SAM, aviation, chem/bio/nuclear decontamination units, etc.).

After 2000, army divisions are more like the "Legions" of the late aniquity (preceding the "fall" of the Western Roman empire). There were two types of army units in the later Roman army, comitatenses which made up the field armies, and limitanae which were assigned to garrison a particular area. Comitatenses were much smaller than the Legions of Caesar and Trajan- only 1,000-1,200 legionnaires- and their nationailty and ethnic make up were markedly more heterogenous. Many were recruited from previously hostile Germanic tribes. They were still supported by baggage trains and auxiliaries but these were cut back to scale.

In the later stages of the Twilight War, army divisions are much smaller due to attrition (and a lack of replacements), elements of other nationalities' forces are incorporated (even former enemy troops), and support services and specialized troops are much fewer in number. Some units are better suited to raids and offensive operations (those with better mobility and firepower) and some are better suited to defensive ops or to garrison cantonments.

So, that's enough of that. I hope someone out there found this interesting or enlightening.
__________________
"This one goes to 11." -Nigel Tufnel


Raellus





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Webstral

I agree that in 2001 few MilGov supporters are going to send troops to another part of the country just because orders showed up. This is where the leverage comes in. Huachuca is brought back into the MilGov fold by amnesty for previous refusal of orders and by the prospect of trading some of the cantonment's surplus goods (food, a bit of cotton, non-petroleum lubricants, soap, etc.) for things the Colorado cantonment has (metals, machine tools, heavy weapons, etc.). The Joint Chiefs broker deals like this everywhere airships can go in order to secure loyalty--or at least cooperation.

My feudal analogy isn't meant to be taken at face value. I mean that the central authority of the modern state has disappeared. The central authority must negotiate with somewhat independent states throughout the country. The Joint Chiefs don't have the power to replace a unit in a cantonment or even the leadership of that unit. In that sense, 194th Armored Brigade controls its own fief in southern Illinois. "Howling Wilderness" tells us that the commander of the 194th is on the verge of going his own way. MilGov can do nothing about it. However, if MilGov can supply the 194th with parts and personnel to get the refinery running properly, MilGov has some leverage over the 194th. This is similar to many of the feudal arrangements throughout early medieval Europe in which the king had a limited ability to coerce compliance from his lords. If he could offer something in return, he had a much better chance of getting cooperation. This is the position in which MilGov finds itself in early 2001. To one degree or another, every remaining MilGov cantonment is going to continue to support MilGov from this time onward if there is some material benefit to doing so.

Webstral


Webstral





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ChalkLine
Rogue Conformist

While most of us look at Feudal systems as a historical footnote in western society, they are still valid (if not particularly moral) systems in certain circumstances. As a political system, they follow certain rules as we've kinda set out above, the historical facts are just icing really because historians can't help regurgitating historical facts that apply. I know I do it!

Let's look at Webstral's proposed T2K situation, and I think we'll agree his feudal or bastard-feudal models fits very well;

- Isolated, decentralised control.
- Independent supply system.
- Standing military requirement.
- Reduced interlocality movement.

Either Webstral's polities are going to devolve into little principalities, they are either going to be Feudal, Bastard-Feudal or Imperial in my opinion. Logically, they're probably going to be all four, and change between styles fairly often with the fortunes of war.

- Feudal polities will have strong standing militaries that are not capable of much force projection but are very strong in a qualitive sense. High value assets like armour can be supported by these polities which will outclass expected opponents from the disordered regions bordering them. They will establish powerful defensive bases - but don't expect them to go much further than their base artillery can fire. However, invaders cannot leave these powerful bases in thier rear if they mount an incursion, and if they do so the feudal bases can mount hammer blows into their rear area (ouch!).

- Bastard feudal polities have exerted a lot of power over their surrounding areas and have become mini-states under the theoretical control of a distant lordship. They will have the old feudal military systems backed up by a medium force projection capability that the 'overlord' can call upon for distant campaigning. The polity will be called upon to supply a certain amount and certain types of troops for campaigns outside the state at large. these troops usually act almost entirely within their own organisation, and innovations in logistical, command and combat systems may mean they no longer mesh well with other state troops. Polities that contribute such troops can call in big favours from the nation, as their almost states in their own right and need little input from the state. Thus they can demand concessions, independence in certain areas and so on.

- Imperial states have units that are raised from within a unified state and controlled, supplied and trained from depots managed by the main leadership. This is the modern system. In a T2K environment this may not be capable of extended control, and may only be a certain radio distance for example, or perhaps certain terrain features such as rivers that allow easy traffic may develop imperial systems along their course.

- Independent principalities are just that; small polities that only control themselves and have no rigid ties to any other state system.

It's obvious that you can become any of these classifications over a campaign.

Note that any political system such as monarchy, democracy, plutocracy etc etc can run these states, as the four listed are power politics classifications.
__________________
"Hmm, that didn't work. . .
Go to Plan 'B' guys; kill everything."


ChalkLine





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Headquarters

Republics and Dynasties

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I follow this way of "predicting" the Twilight world -as you do and agree.
Still I would like to throw in to the equation two factors .

1.Republics . this is an old invention and one that often emergres as a political system in situations were you have several parties equally matched in one defined area -say a town or city.Many places might start their own republics (defacto) even if they dont come out and declare themselves secessionists or something like that.But their selfgovernance is secession in itself.Such republics are not necsessarily democratic by modern standards , but might be run on principles of property or family -only the ones who own something valuable like farmland or machinery may vote.Only some families are eligable for their council or whatever its called.Such republics can exert control over other areas much like the medieval baron and his vassal or say Sparta and Lydia in ancient Greece.Examples of this are many ,like the Dutch Republic in the reneissance,the Swiss during the late middel ages and so on.

2.Dynasties

Both such republics and feudal fiefs will as time progress be run by a ever smaller number of people .There is little or no possibilty of a transfer of officers to run MilGov operations already under someones command.There are no new classes graduating anywhere -except maybe locally . Many commanders are given a patch of land lie a small yown and told to hold the position -in Twilight 2000 this also entails regulating the population,managing the resources ,farming and so on .Having a known quantity in charge becomes imperative in such conditions and the notion of the "family man " becomes important.In a Twilight type world ,the fighting man will want to have his family close.few peiople would consider leaving their loved ones in some one elses charge under such conditions.The man who has a family has a weakness that will keep him loyal .If he screws up or strays from his orders he knows his kin will get reprisals of some sort.After all they have to live somewhere - and that somewhere will be within range of the local cmomanders artillery if he is a wise man..As running everything like the MilGov commanders and their men do have to give some benefits (like the ability to get your own family food and medicine before the others ) , these positions will be coveted .And in such hard times where there are few choices as far as careers go ,( you either carry a weapon or have some rare skill or you brake your back on manual labour),it becomes important to keep such valuable positions in the family.The colonels sons will of course start military training and get commissions that will place them comfortably in headquarters.Other family members will get other jobs.Who can I really trust ?Family is the obvious choice for most.

And so the dynasties will emerge -and comissions will be bought or traded for personal gain or pledges of personal loyalty in the MilGov areas or pretty much any other organizations -like CivGov or independent areas.And this will make the situation truly feudal- were personal loyalties are stronger than any sense of national pride or patriotism.

Economic growth and a following emergence of a powerful citizenship -burgers- will obliterate the family ties-personal loyalty system over time like history has shown.That took at least 1000 years in Europe.