Kelsummian Pikemen Formation.

Hedges of pain. Trained for years by stabbing criminals with pikes the length of two horses, they can hold the line with nothing to defend them but meager armor, a small helmet, their signature weapon, and the men beside them. Standing fast, against the Taldefan arrows, and those abominations in the ruins of Sathoth. They are masters of attrition warfare, having simply outlasted their opponents on multiple occasions. One time they killed more of their enemies with thirst than with their pikes. Kelsumm's dominance in infantry and cavalry is thought by historians to be the reason for the Taldefans to double down on their cultural preference for ranged combat. The pikemen have an old, simple purpose, they are a large mass of men trained for a relatively small length of time, to hold the line. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Composition

Manpower

There is, in a single block of Pikemen, is around a thousand fighting men, twenty officers, twenty waterboys, and 160 rearguards to take care of the supplies for a total of 1200 men. Of the thousand fighters, there are seven hundred pike wielders, 100 shieldmen using the Kelsummian two-handed shield, 100 men with Sathian great sabers.

Equipment

The equipment of the standard pikeman includes the standard survival knife, cooking pots, and the helmet and chainmail vest of the Kelsummian infantryman.

Weaponry

The primary weapon of the Kelsummian Pikemen is, unsurprisingly, the four murtock long Kelsummian pike. It has a cross stop to prevent the pike from going too far into the enemy, a serrated spearhead, pommel, and rivet braced shaft. The officers are given a mace. The swordsmen are much heavier armored and armed with Sathian great sabers to screen the formation from those who get past the tips of the pikes. The shieldmen are armed with the Kelsummian two-handed shields. Functionally a huge oak door with a steel spearhead on the edge in line with the fist of the wielder and a hook on the top edge for emergency grappling. However, a shieldman's primary weapon is their heavy spiked steel boots and bladed knee pads.

Structure

The formation described here is the smallest unit pikemen are employed in. They can be grouped together in lines increasing in size theoretically forever, most often deployed alongside each other formations, officers being there to handle formation maintenance. Officers are organized based on experience. There are generally ten formation maintainers, eight disciplinarians, one secondary commander in charge of understanding the battle plan, and one supreme officer in charge of taking initiative and improvising.

Tactics

The 1000 line-holding soldiers are divided into five lines, two hundred men apiece. Two lines, maybe three, fight at once. The others cycle out to the rear to take a water break and breath. The pikemen are deployed in open combat, to stop cavalry charges, hold lines, and counter close-range infantry. The lines are screened as they deploy by the shieldmen, who also protect them from ranged attacks. They stand behind the second line when the pikemen engage. The swordsmen mix into the pike line and protect the formation from enemies getting past the pike tips.

Training

The training of the pikemen includes being taught how to stab humans, horses, and occasionally giant terrifying tentacle monsters. They do this with pikes. The swordsmen are trained to take out threats without getting in the way of the pikes. The shieldmen are trained to defend the formation and kick the enemy in the groin. The officers are trained to know when the lines should cycle, and how to stagger the lines so more than one person can stab the enemy at once.

Logistics

Logistical Support

There are 160 armed men in charge of transporting food and water from the back lines to the mouths of the resting Pikemen when they cycle behind the lines.

Auxilia

This formation has been known to call for archer support and provide protection for cavalry charges.

Recruitment

The recruitment pool of all Kelsummian formations is the Kelsummian citizens. The formation insignia is tattooed onto the chest or arm of the new recruit, the training begins.
The next day, they train to live without much food, use their weapons, and exercise. The pikemen specifically have endurance exercises. They train constantly until deployed to combat.

History

The Pikemen were originally spear-and-shield-wall formations used en masse by Sathoth's conquest forces. The shield was dropped in favor of a longer spear during the opening days of the war with Taldefa. The spear was less effective against cavalry charges than the pike and was gradually phased out. To compensate for the lack of protection, the armor, traditionally simple thin gambison, was thickened and reinforced with a coat of chainmail. There was a gradual dropping of the individual shields and their replacement with the Kelsummian traditional two-handed shield. They also started to be augmented with two-handed swords.
And then there was the incident most people think of when they hear Kelsummian Pikemen. Kelsummian general Lomm Deajj attacked a Taldefan force encamped in a large empty field. The Kelsummian cavalry nullified the Taldefan range advantage but was surrounded. The Taldefan cavalry tried to do the same to the Kelsummian Archers, but they were stopped by the pikemen. The Pikemen officers saw the enemies were drawing water from a lake, so they, three formations, surrounded the lake, held off Taldefan counterattacks, and prevented them from getting drinking water. They eventually died of thirst.
Other rather unremarkable actions in which the pikemen took part. The battle of Red Steeple Hill solidified their reputation as an attrition force. they holed up in a pagan church, killed the people inside, and held off a cult, and a minor tangent of the Ravener horde until the entire enemy force had dashed themselves against the pikes of the Kelsummians. They hold the line like this today, tomorrow, and shall until they are told not to.

Historical loyalties

Historically, the original Sathian spear-and-shield-wall levies were loyal to the Empire of Sathoth and its subsidiaries. The successor state of Sathoth is, of course, Kelsumm, so the levies evolved into the modern Pikemen loyal to the modern Sathians, Kelsummians.

Type

Infantry

Founding

Not entirely possible to pin down. They result from an organic transformation from mere thugs with pokey sticks into a force of professionals with really long pokey sticks.

Overall training Level

Professional

Assumed Veterancy

Trained

Used by

• The Empire of Kelsumm