Orcish Legions

The Orcish Legions were a large military formation which operated within the Dark Armies serving the Grim Order of Kala. The Orcish Legions made up a large portion of the Dark Armies' forces with orcs being considered the main fighting force for the Grim Order.

Composition

Manpower

A single Orcish Legion is around 6000 orcs strong with around 2000 more orcs in reserve. Out of these 6000 orcs, around 500 would be cavalry. The orcish cavalry were made up of fast moving riders mounted on a vargr, large wolf-like beasts. Unlike the typical horse riders of other armies, vargar are as much of a weapon as the orcs riding them, capable of dealing their own damage towards their enemies.
_{Note: Vargar is the plural version of vargr}

Equipment

The Orcish Legions used a variety of equipment and machinery in their war efforts. Orc soldiers wear crude, albeit effective, plate armour with chainmail under armour in areas where plate armor cannot cover such as the armpit region. Plate armor was crafted from steel and made for one size though it was common for high ranking orcs to have custom fitted armour made for them. Plate armour was often stored within the orc foundries meaning they were often covered in soot and were rarely cleaned by their owners and coated in blood from previous battles. The bloodier the armour the more respect an orc has as it would mean they have been involved and survived many battles.
While Orcs were typically expendable, orcish culture itself having a dislike for weakness and a focus of battle glory, the did have access to basic healing items such as herbs to heal minor wounds and rejoin the war.
During long campaigns, orcs would often have some cooking equipment between them, though orcs would often lose them doing battles. Use of cooking supplies was mainly limited as orcs are happy eating fresh meat and blood from their fallen enemies.

Weaponry

Orcs were known for using crudely made weaponry which was produced in vast quantities. One of the most common weapons were cleaver style arming swords with some larger two handed longswords of similar designs. Orcs also made great use of pikes, spears, maces and axes on the battlefield.
It wasn't uncommon for some orcs to steal weapons from the corpses of their enemies to use in their next battles.

Orc archers were well known and feared throughout Araes during the Great Wars. Making use of Orc bows which used steel instead of the usual wood used by most other races. Using their strength to their advantage they were able to fire arrows with incredible power and distance.

Siege engines

Orcs made use of large siege engines to render walls and gates to ruin. The most common siege engine was the trebuchet which would throw rocks towards their target. Orcish trebuchets could get very large in size, capable of flinging boulder sized rocks. At the beginning of the Second Great War, it was revealed that Orcs learnt to create crude but large canons which could obliterate stronger walls such as the siege of Brozefort Wall.

Another common siege engine was the Siege Tower which would be pushed towards an enemy fortification by large trolls. Once lined up with the wall the top of the tower would open and orcs could charge past the defence. Siege towers were made with many different materials, typically depending on where and when they were built. A lot of towers were made of wood while others were made with metal parts which made them more resistant to fire.

Prior to the use of canons in the Second Age, the only way to break down a gate was by the use of a battering ram. Rams were large and occasionally decorated with intimidating imagery such as having the top of the battering ram carved into a skull shape. Some rams were magically enhanced with an ability known as "Firebreath". Firebreath battering rams contained magical flames inside a skull shaped head which would cause small explosions whenever it collides with the door or gate.

Structure

Legions were lead by a general who commanded the whole legion. They were the ones responsible to strategize their tactics in battle.
Each Orcish Legion was separated into around 10 cohort of roughly 600 orcs which were lead by a commander. Each cohort was further separated into 6 companies of around 100 orcs, lead by a captain.
Warlords were Orc generals who commanded up to 10 Orcish Legions.

Tactics

Orc Legions did not employ specific and complicated battle tactics and strategies but rather opted for overpowering and swarm tactics. Orcs would throw large numbers of troops at their enemies and would use brute force to destroy and raze armies and settlements.

Training

Orcs are trained at a young age and go through training via survival where only those who survive are sent into war. Training is brutal and often deadly with real weapons used during sparring matches.
Despite the wasteful tactics used in training, this does not cause any detriments to the growth of legions as orcs grow and reproduce rapidly and more than capable of making up the numbers required.

Logistics

Upkeep

Orcs themselves do not look for money and precious items, though they often take what they can when invading their enemies. The main upkeep in regards to the Orcish Legions were in food and supplies. Repairs or replacements for armour and weapons were often required after lengthy battles and constant fighting can make orcs extremely hungry. Typically food was relatively easy as orcs are known for eating the bodies of their enemies and victims and using their blood as a drinking supply. In the event that orcs were unable to access food of any kind, they could become raverness and, if unable to find any sources of food, would begin to kill and eat eachother.
Equipment and siege engines were often resupplied after battles if the legion required more for an upcoming battle.

Recruitment

Orcs were recruited at birth. In a constant battle for survival, orcs would learn at a young age how to fight and kill. Should an orc survive into adulthood they were automatically recruited into the Legions where they would be trained to respect their leaders and their place within the legion before swiftly going out to war.

History

Historical loyalties

The Orc Legions were the main powerhouse of the Dark Armies and served the Grim Order of Kala in their campaign against the people of araes. The Orcish Legions served the Grim Order during the First Great War until they were defeated towards the end of the First Age. The legions were disbanded and became nothing more than individual clans which thought amongst themselves for survival.

During the latter end of the second age, the Grim Order began to reach its full strength and the clans were secretly united again. The orcs revived the, then, ancient tradition of the Orcish Legions and began serving the Grim Order of Kala once again during the Second Great War until they were once again defeated and disbanded for good.

Type

Infantry

Founding

~2560 (1A)

Dissolution

2056 (2A)

Overall training Level

Professional

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Used by

• The Grim Order of Kala