The Muster & Drill event is offered as a workshop for players, to give them a feel and insight for the way in which warfare was conducted on the level of a bande, company or regiment. Through it we hope to inspire other players of The Deluge to look more closely at how they & their clans (if applicable) enter battle in various events and battles hosted by the community and perhaps to either spark or feed the fires of interest players may have in the period.
We will strip back the commands & manouvres to the bare essentials, to the ones that are applicable within the game mechanics and those we find of interest. Even though we will strip away what we deem to be unnecessary we may still explain what we've taken out to give a greater understanding of what would have happened in reality. As an example the firing procedure for muskets:
The full commands for firing a matchlock musket, in English terminology for the period, are as follows;
- Secure your scouring stick! Make sure the scouring stick (ramrod) has been returned to it's place in the stock, so that you know it's not in the barrel.
- Cock and try your match! Place the burning length of match into the serpentine (lever) and make sure it will land in the centre of the pan, where the priming lays.
- Present/Level your pieces! Raise your weapon at the enemy and prepare to fire.
- Give... fire! Fire your piece at the enemy. Note; A pause may be given between the words 'Give!' and 'Fire!'. On the word 'Give' the musketeer would open the pan cover.
In game this is reduced to the commands Present/Level your pieces! and Give... fire!. The other two commands are of no use and would just involve a Serjeant/Officer talking and people not doing. However we do feel it is important to know where the commands come from and why they were there in the first place to get a greater feel for the era and the actual drills used.
We will be using the Swedish faction for the drills for several reasons. Firstly they have two distinct units we can use for the training; Musketeer & Pikemen. Their roles are obvious and it will allow for easier communication. The second reason is that the method of warfare we will be teaching is that conducted by the English/Swedish and both are rather similar in terms of organisation, the English system being based off of the Swedish & Dutch methods. Thirdly, that Sweden is the figurative home nation for the Lucky Dogs - we fight for the crown of Sweden, admittedly for money...
The drilll will be divided into three partitions; Manouvre, Engagement Shotte, Artillerie Drill.
- Manouvre: This covers ranks and files, forming the body of pike/shotte, basic movement orders, opening/closing files and doubling the frontage.
- Engagement Shotte: This covers firing your pieces, fire by salvee, fire by introduction/extraduction and fire by Forlorn.
- Artillerie Drill: Use of artillery, drills for loading & firing the weapons.
We will be performing the usual drills for shotte, as before, but we are removing pikes from the equation and looking at artillery instead (note: The pikeman spoiler section will remain for possible future use). The artillery section will be near the end and will revolve around the truncated drill laid down by William Eldred in his works The Gunners Glasse. From his original 13 movements we have gotten it down to 5 that are applicable to the cannon system in The Deluge.
For a visual demonstration of the sort of thing that will be covered, this is a video of the Tower Hamlets Trayned Bandes, of which I am proudly a member, at Burton Agnes Hall, Driffield in Yorkshire, England. This video shows most of the manouvres that will be taught at the Muster & Drill Event, so if you fancy doing a little piece of homework prior to the event, I'd advise watching this. It only lasts 9:16 so it won't take up all of your time;
It is important that all attendee's use the same equipment. This is so that when we are moving as a body, a rank or file that we all move at the same speed. Thus the following are lists of equipment you will be expected to use. The list will be repeated prior to spawning as each particular unit type. There will be sufficient money available for you to take the required equipment and clothing.
- Snaphans Musket (No rest)
- 24 shots (2x bandoliers)
- Hanger (Sword)
- Coate (Swedish blue)
- Hat & stockings
- Good or Fine Long Pike
- Hanger (Sword)
- Coate (Swedish blue)
- Morion helmet & stockings
The Serjeant, Corporal & any other Lucky Dogs present will be resplendent in their red uniforms, making us easier to spot. Your Serjeant will be dressed thus;
The drill will be led by Serjeant Richard Flockton, known more commonly on Taleworlds as rapier17. An English Civil War reenactor with the Tower Hamlets Trayned Bandes, Serjeant Flockton has had the pleasure of reenacting at historically important locales including Blenheim Palace, Skipton Castle and the Tower of London, the most prestigious and active military fortress in England. Serjeant Flockton has experience handling both pike and matchlock musket and has a great interest in the 17th century.
Acting as Corporal will be either Captain James Digby or Corporal Wil Lambert. Both are long-term M&B: Warband players who are founding members of the Lucky Dogs. Both are keen enthusiasts for the period, even if they are Royalists. The Corporal is pivotal to the formation, the very cornerstone, in a literal sense.
The important question; how do you get involved? It's very simple;
[list type=decimal]
[*]Have access to TeamSpeak 3 (microphone optional but encouraged)
[*]Have the latest version of The Deluge
[*]A private message on Taleworlds to either myself, Serjeant Richard Flockton, or to his Honour, Captain James Digby[/list]
Please bear in mind we only have a limited number of places to offer and it will be on a first come, first served basis. No priority will be given to anyone excepting the Serjeant & Captain, and perhaps one or two Lucky Dogs, who shall be used for demonstrative purposes. The event is expected to last for at least an hour (60 minutes), perhaps up to one hour and a half (90 minutes), depending how things go on. The drills are pretty simple to learn and having trialed this with the Lucky Dogs & the Trayned Bande, otherwise known as the Hoary Hounds, we know that you will be proficient, at least, by the end of the event.
The event is scheduled to start at the following time;
Sunday, 17th August 2014
19:00 BST, 20:00 CEST
TeamSpeak 3 Server Details: azure.simrai.com:9996
Password: hat
19:00 BST, 20:00 CEST
TeamSpeak 3 Server Details: azure.simrai.com:9996
Password: hat
We try and keep rules to a minimum, as such we have just three;
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[*]DO NOT team hit, kick or kill under ANY circumstance. We will give ONE warning and should you persist you will be banned from our server - we take this seriously.
[*]Do not disrupt the training session. Help us to make it a smooth, enjoyable experience for all involved. If you have any questions then wait for the Serjeant to finish speaking before asking.
[*]Do enjoy yourself! We run these sorts of things for everyone's enjoyment - whilst it is intended to be educational it is also intended to be enjoyable.
[/list]
James Digby
Richard Flockton
Torkel Gamalson
John Cooper
Leopold Bergmann
Casper Hagendorf
Richard Flockton
Torkel Gamalson
John Cooper
Leopold Bergmann
Casper Hagendorf
Code:
[url=http://tinyurl.com/q52dgyj][IMG]https://tw.greywool.com/i/eBURw.png[/IMG][/url]
Credit for the pencil sketches goes to Panzerkaput, you can check his blog here.
The crew has a very poor discipline: steering kicks, fights, mischief with cannons. I would advise to careening. 
