Combined Arms Marine Warfare (CAMW or CAMW+N)

Lightning-war

The archers launched volley after volley down onto the beach defenders. The wind was in their favor, and their crossbows far outclassed the enemy longbows. As the hail of fire came down upon enemy lines, archer after archer was cut down without respite. The flagship Island Wind docked alongside the enemy beaches. Cavalryman after cavalryman dismounted, charging forward in formation with pikemen and other peasants. The enemy lines had no time to react, and snapped like a wire that had been drawn too taut. Grand Master Inato's tactic of combined warfare had passed its trials with flying colors...

Account of the Naval Landing at Lanasu

Discovery

Grand Master Inato was ordered to invade the strategically important region controlled currently by Ameral after they grew increasingly hostile towards their alliance and negotiations broke down. Knowing that the small squadron he had stood no chance of victory in a normal, line-infantry line-navy battle, he consulted tactical manuals, and, disliking them, held a yearlong roundtable with seventy of the best and brightest commanders and engineers in the kingdom.
Inato then acted on their suggestions, even going so far as to criss-cross the nation to hunt down the fabled craftsmen that built the legendary machine crossbow. He then wrote his own notes on an asymmetrical landing operation, based on the ideas others had suggested. This was the first time anyone thought to combine the holding power of infantry with the range of archers and the sheer numbers of peasants, no less supporting them with special area-denial poison weapons from the sea to prevent the enemy from flanking his short line.

Combined Arms Marine Warfare... or, more precisely, how the Coleric Navy can take a three-hundred square kilometer island in one week.

Artibus, Military Tactician

Current Access

It is a guarded military secret of the Capital Fleet Marines. Those that have seen it in use generally do not live to tell the tale, and the lightning speed of Colrian naval operations means that even if a few wounded do escape capture, the fleet would likely travel much faster than the information on how the tactic was used.

Complexity and Constituent Technologies

The complexity of this operation is immense. To synchronize infantry, cavalry, archers, ships, and levied peasants, Inato re-colored his imperial banners bright red, orange, and yellow so that he could more easily see troop positions on the battlefield.

To make an infantry better for holding ground, his roundtable invented the barbed pike so that they could better withstand cavalry charges, the pike square to organize them into coherent units against cavalry, and the triple-word command so that the first, second, and third ranks of the pikemen knew exactly how they needed to hold the pikes. Ameral was relying on cavalry to stop the Coleric infantry, but the pikemen stopped them cold.

Horsemen, want iron? We got a lot of it!

For archery, Inato needed to saturate the enemy lines with acceptably inaccurate fire, as he had not the men for specialized snipers. Therefore, he tracked down the fabled craftsmen who could build the repeating crossbow, and had large scale triple-manned versions firing steel bolts two feet long also installed on his ship. With these weapons, soldiers could cut down enemy lines from afar, and the use was simple in contrast to enemy longbows.
For cavalry, Inato arranged them into teams of four and groups of sixteen, each with their independent commander (quarternary organization). Cavalrymen tended to be the most "noble" of the bunch, knowing at least some basic tactics, so their roundtable took the radical step of getting them more freedom. Secondly, he ditched cavalry armor which had been made obsolete by crossbows in favor of mobility, which let his troops advance easily.
Finally, the levied, untrained peasants were the bulk of his invasion force. For them, sheer numbers was all he needed: He sent hundreds of roaring peasants charging directly into enemy fire from the closest shielded rendezvous point, causing a break in the enemy morale by them simply not having enough bolts to cut them down (human wave warfare).

Uses

Use of this seems to be rather obvious. The use of this combined arms formation is generally used for island landings, and also mountain warfare, where mobility is limited but the objective is clear. The formation was generally used, but the discovery was from levying a small, poorly trained force to take a large, cliff-strung island, and the necessity of having new shock tactics. The effectiveness of the formation in the Coleric Capital Marines has decreased substantially after Grand Master Inato's death, but it is still superior to enemy units that have tried to copy it, at least so far. However, the Sabdao Defense Federation has started to pick up on how to use it: so the current Grand Master Benicius is talking of levying a new type of soldier to attack and use as a diplomat (magisters).

Necessary Training

All soldiers involved need to be trained basically, and specifically in the art of landings or mountain warfare for two additional years. Then, together, they need to be trained with proper weapons for an additional year of instruction and year of practice. Peasants need at least to know how to wield a sword or spear, with two to four months of instruction (propaganda) to teach them to charge directly into archer fire without fear.

Inventor(s)

Grand Master Inato of the Order of Aeramen

Access & Availability

Military secret, Class III (need-to-know basis)

Complexity

Coordination necessary requires up to two years of training.

Map of Ameral Campaign

Blue is movement of Coleric forces, red is movement of Ameral forces, green stars are Coleric victories