THE ARMY
SUPPLY, LOGISTICS, AND POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION
THE POLITICAL SITUATION
[24] Xena's army for the Corinth campaign was organized
in three wings: Left, Center, and Right. Each wing
consisted of a division of infantry of varying size and
approximately a brigade of cavalry. These wings were
equipped and trained for independent operations. This
kind of organization was not to be repeated until the
1790's when Napoleon created the Corps D'Armee system.
These forces were used in exactly the same manner that
Napoleon used his corps. The wings moved along
whatever roads were available and kept within a half a
days hard horse ride of each other thereby maintaining
continuous support.
[25] This system, with its many variations, was so
effective in Xena's use that it was often thought that
Xena's army was a product of divine intervention. Time
and again enemies would think that they had Xena's
force at their mercy only to discover that what they
had to their front was only a part of the army, and
that a force far larger than their own lay across their
line of communications. Xena was the inventor of
"Hammer and Anvil" strategy. Again the "dishonorable"
conduct of Xena's forces vastly increased her army's
effectiveness. She would continue to hold her enemy's
armies by the nose, and kick them in the behind
throughout the remainder of her career.
[26] Xena's forces moved fast and their training and
equipment reflected that fact. Heavy forces, while
they did exist, were kept to a minimum. Celerity and
surprise were to be the hallmarks of Xena's operational
methods. Therefore she depended on light infantry and
light cavalry to further her strategic aims. Both
infantry and cavalry were divided into sword and
missile armed forces both trained in each other's jobs
to increase their tactical flexibility.
[27] The regular light infantry was armed with a
relatively long iron sword and usually carried no
shield. Additionally they carried a five foot long
javelin that could be both thrown and used for
thrusting work. The tips of these weapons were made of
bronze, and should not be confused with the famous
throwing spear of the Roman Legionary, the pilum. They
wore armor that was heavier in some parts than the
heavy infantry to compensate for the lack of a shield.
Often this armor, which was mostly leather, would be
supplemented by chain mail. Light infantrymen were also
all expert swordsmen.
[28] The missile infantry, in addition to the sword,
traded in their javelins for a relatively short
recurved yew bow and a quiver of arrows. Additionally,
all archers carried a small shield or buckler. Despite
the fact that the archers were nowhere near as powerful
as the much later English Longbowmen, they were
effective enough to provide significant support for
both attack and defense.
[29] Other accouterments, such as helmets, were kept to
a minimum throughout the army --- primarily to save
weight. Since the Army survived off the land for the
most part negating the need for extensive baggage
trains, incredible distances were often covered by
Xena's light infantry. Forty mile per day forced
marches were common and sixty mile marches were
occasionally achieved.
[30] The cavalry was a far smaller arm, but a very
important one. The relative lack of cavalry can be
explained by the relative rarity of horses in Greece.
[31] Horses were primarily raised by the richest
families in Greece for both social and practical
grounds. Indeed until Xena had succeeded in taking
most of the state of Thessaly, the horse rearing center
of Greece, the cavalry were not significant as a combat
arm. Most horsemen during that early period were
confined to reconnaissance and security work. Once a
significant number of horses and horsemen were acquired
they were trained for shock as well as scouting and
security. This was brought about because of the
possession by Xena of the stirrup.
[32] The simple iron hook known as the stirrup allowed
a mounted man to have much more leverage and stability
in the saddle than those without it. This allowed a
significant number of horsemen to be armed with lances,
which was developed from the infantryman's javelin but
much longer --- approximately fifteen feet.
[33] The lance armed cavalry would often charge through
enemy infantrymen scattering them where the sword armed
cavalry would ride them down and destroy what survived
the initial charge. A third cavalry arm, much less
numerous, were archers. Armed with the same short bow
as the infantry, these horsemen were used to provide
spot support to the cavalry at key points on the
enemy's positions. To put this into a later historical
context, in Napoleon's army these three Cavalry arms
would be called Chasseurs A' Cheval, Lanceurs, and
Grendiers A' Cheval.
[34] Yet a fourth mounted force existed but it doesn't
fit into any of the categories listed above. This was
the most prestigious force in Xena's army---The
Immortals.
[35] The Immortals were a very small formation
consisting of no more than a thousand men. Primarily
they were Xena's personal guard. This force consisted
of Xena's most valued troops. The members of this
formation gained their position by long service (not
all that common) or by showing conspicuous gallantry on
the field. Many had achieved the precious "Squeeze" or
night with Xena. Their training was unique for they
were trained in all military skills and had great
flexibility in the weapons that they carried. Indeed
the skills of many of The Immortals rivaled that of
Xena herself.
[36] Their mission, while including the guarding of
Xena's headquarters and person, consisted of long range
reconnaissance. Five man teams of Immortals would ride
as much as a week ahead of Xena's main force
reconnoitering the terrain and pinning down the
location of the enemy. In combat, The Immortals were
usually held in tactical reserve where they would wait
until the proper moment when the Commanding General,
often dressed in glittering golden armor, would herself
lead them headlong into the enemy's weak spot
collapsing the enemy's ability to fight. This usually
ended the battle --- favorably.
[37] In addition to these duties, The Immortals were
also Xena's political police. In the event of
rebellion in rear areas, small detachments of the
Immortals would be sent to suppress the rebellion or to
enforce discipline on recalcitrant troops.
[38] If Xena's army had any kind of personnel weakness
it lay in the field of engineering. This was a common
failing of Greek armies, and of all armies in the
Heroic age. Indeed it was not until the Roman Army did
military engineering become a war winning factor.
However this was more than compensated by Xena's
strategic expertise. It was not common for her to
engage in sieges since she preferred to cut off and
bypass strong points and get on with her strategic
aims. She also had an arm of her forces that was
particularly handy in dealing with water obstacles.
Xena had a Navy.
[39] The name navy doesn't really fit Xena's maritime
force particularly well, for they were not trained to a
unified doctrine, nor were they equipped with warships
as a rule. Xena's Navy was hired. The ship's owners
were primarily pirates kept in line by significant sums
of money. There were a relatively few "for the
purpose" warships available. Most shipping consisted
of smallish, and fast merchant ships that had been
optimized for raiding. This kind of naval structure
made sense for Xena because she was a land commander
who used her naval forces solely for the support of her
land operations. Indeed it would be nearly 500 years
before the Athenians discovered the true significance
of sea power and build a navy to reflect that
significance.
[40] As it was, Xena's navy represented a serious
threat because she was the first General in history to
make amphibious assaults as we now know them. Often
times these assaults from the sea were coordinated with
land attacks, effectively doubling the effects of both
operations. This operational method was a truly
devastating weapon and the threat of such a combined
arms assault often settled a war before it even
started.
[41] As stated earlier, Xena's army lived primarily off
the land. The army needed to continue its conquests
while on campaign or starvation would have ensued, as
it sometimes did. Xena had enough foresight to take
what materials from the conquered territory she
controlled that only reflected her army's needs rather
than stripping the territory bare. She was also
ruthless in her management of scroungers.
[42] When her forces moved on, a small detail, usually
less than ten for every one hundred citizens would be
left behind to enforce the tribute that Xena had
ordered to be extracted. This "government" was charged
to take a percentage of the agricultural produce of the
area and then use the local tradesmen to build the
rolling stock to send the food and fodder up to the
army wherever it went. Administrative sophistication
akin to the Roman's did not exist so there was great
inefficiency in this supply line, but it did often
prove helpful in more barren areas. Also this "press
gang" was also to recruit males of military age to be
sent to the army where their training was undertaken.
[43] The recruitment process was the same as when Xena
was there in person. Those who resisted were thrown a
weapon and told to defend themselves. If they did
defend themselves they were killed as an example.
Those who didn't resist were sent to Xena under guard.
[44] Needless to say any serious opposition was
ruthlessly crushed. For this purpose a special company
of Xena's Immortals would be dispatched to the area
under revolt. The copper scrolls relate that if the
rebellion was not stopped by the time this
"einsatzkommando" arrived, the most violent methods
imaginable would be used to stop the rebellion. After
the fighting was suppressed, decimation of the male
population of the town often ensued to make an example
of it to the surrounding area.
[45] This system was Xena's single greatest weakness as
an empire builder. Xena offered protection from other
marauders or armies to the populations of the areas she
conquered in exchange for the material and manpower she
extracted, but she never cared to try to win over the
hearts and minds of these populations. This political
neglect was exacerbated by the fact that Xena
considered herself a warrior not a politician.
[46] There was a cultural bias against administrative
duties in Greece and Xena was a part of that culture.
Therefore she left behind her least able people, or
those in disgrace, to administer the conquered
territory. This would lead to constant revolts and
mutinies in Xena's rear areas which led in turn to ever
increasing brutality by both the rebels and the
occupation troops. Often times a bad situation was
made even worse by over zealous warriors trying to
regain their position in Xena's eye with misplaced
brutality. Fortunately, if Xena did arrive in person
to assess the situation and if she found misconduct,
she would take care of it personally by the execution
of the offending troops. There was an even worse
possibility. The system was very vulnerable to covert
penetration by her enemies.
[47] The men that Xena left behind had not delivered
the performance she expected as commanders. This led
to this offender being banished to the rear to
administer the conquered territories. These men, often
untrustworthy, many times were corrupt and brutal. Some
were disgruntled and wished revenge on Xena for
stunting their careers. The most cunning used their
positions as the suppliers of the goods that Xena's
army had to live on, to build independent political
bases in the areas that they managed. This could lead
to these officers building their own private armies
capable of striking in Xena's rear necessitating the
detachment of elements of the main army to deal with
the problem. The scrolls say this happened only once
in Xena's career and the Warrior Princess succeeded in
breaking up the rebel army.
[48] Much more common but no less dangerous was the
possibility of the penetration of Xena's rear areas by
agents of Xena's primary enemies. Like all military
operations, Xena's depended on the security of her
movements and her assets. Disgruntled officers shunted
off to the rear because of their failures could and
sometimes did make contact with enemy powers to strike
independent deals in return for intelligence
information. Espionage was of course a capital
offense, and Xena detailed ad hoc parts of her forces
to try to enforce such security, but her habit of
placing untrustworthy people in these important
positions undermined her efforts.
[49] Xena tried to compensate by increasing the tempo
of her operations and relying on living off the land as
much as possible, but this was only partially
successful. After the Battle of Corinth, Xena's
military career was apparently ended by a subordinate
who was able to strike a deal with Athens. This
subordinate, Darphus, one of Xena's wing commanders,
used a dispute over strategy as a pretext, then used
Athenian gold to buy off his men and foment a mutiny.
[50] Greece during the heroic age was in the throes of
political disorder. As was explained earlier, Greece
was a nation at the very beginning of Western
civilization. Administrative structures and economies
were at the beginning of their development and very
simple in operation. Most Greek towns had what was
known as a town chief while some of the larger
settlements, Athens most famously, were experimenting
with direct democracy. The remainder were hereditary
monarchies. It was this confusion that greatly aided
The Warrior Princess in her attempt to dominate Greece.
[51] At the start of the Corinth campaign, Xena had to
cope with five major strategic powers: Athens, the
ultimate objective of her strategy; Corinth, the grand
tactical target of the campaign; Argos, the city that
would have been next in Xena's strategic plans; and,
Sparta, the culmination of Xena's designs. The fifth
power that Xena had to deal with was easily the most
unique, and still basically unknown, the wandering
tribes of the Centaur species.
[52] The tribes of Greece were not only trying to come
to terms with themselves as a people, but also with two
other societies: One of women, The Amazons, and one of
an entirely different species, the Centaurs. Xena, as
far as we now know, had little involvement with the
Amazons, although there is much speculation that she
learned many of her skills while with them, but she was
heavily engaged with the Centaurs for most of her
military career. In this case, when Xena invaded
Thessaly, the Amazons of the region retired into the
Pindus Mountains to await developments. They were
never involved in the war the Centaurs now faced.
[53] The Centaur is a bizarre species, consisting of
the entire body of a small horse grafted onto the upper
torso and head of a human. Almost nothing is known of
this race except the fact that they were dangerous on
the battlefield. Indeed since no centaur skeleton has
ever been discovered, there is a general belief that
the species never existed. Nevertheless, the
interviewee on the copper scrolls clearly describes
this odd species and the manner and results of her
fighting them.
[54] Easily the most versatile of the ancient military
forces, the Centaur could, by himself, undertake all
the roles armies were capable of undertaking. Compact,
strong, and fast, the average Centaur trooper weighed
between six hundred and seven hundred pounds. Each
animal could carry approximately two hundred pounds of
provender exclusive of what they could carry in a wagon
or chariot. Unlike human troops, Centaurs could be
organized instantly into ad hoc formations of any arm
of combat. These formations were usually led by the
best Centaur at any one military discipline. Centaurs
were expert at exploiting their extreme mobility by
using their human intelligence combined with their
equine strength and agility. All Centaurs were trained
with versatility in mind and all carried a missile
weapon of some sort, sword and lance. Centaurs were
also easy for which to provide since they were
omnivorous. They could eat nearly anything.
[55] The King of the Thessalian Centaurs was one Tyldus
the Great. Little is known about him, except for the
fact that he was responsible for two important
developments. Centaur blacksmiths apparently invented
the horseshoe. With this simple innovation, Centaurs
stayed in the field for much longer periods and
suffered far fewer health problems. So impressed was
Xena with the technology, she adopted the horseshoe
wholesale for all of her cavalry forces. The second
innovation for which Tyldus was responsible was that of
the massed cavalry formation. Centaur heavy cavalry
would form into large blocks while armed with heavy
lances and charge at the trot into formations of human
infantry in an unimaginably devastating manner.
However, because of the Centaur's weaknesses in rough
or closed terrain, infantry could be successful against
them, and Xena made sure that whenever she could bring
the Man Horses to battle it was on a battlefield of her
own choosing.
[56] The Centaurs involved in the Battle of Corinth
were originally from the plains of central Thessaly.
As far as can be determined, Xena apparently fought at
least three pitched battles with the Centaurs and
succeeded in levering them out of their homelands and
driving them into the mountains of central Greece. In
this case Xena showed political sagacity for her army
was welcomed as liberators by the human population of
the province. Thousands of humans flocked to be
recruited by the Warrior Princess as her forces passed,
and the province remained an important component of
Xena's logistical network throughout the campaign.
[57] Xena exploited the traditional racism of Greek
society very much to the Centaur's disadvantage. The
Centaurs were harried constantly, rounded up, and
preyed upon until they were driven across the Isthmus
into the Northern Peloponnese where they were finally
able to find political support from the King of
Corinth, Sisyphus. The approximately fifteen thousand
Centaurs that survived were to be the primary striking
force of the alliance that Sisyphus was able to
assemble to face Xena on the plains of Corinth.
[58] The four major powers in the Attic peninsula and
on the Peloponnese at the time of Xena's offensive on
Corinth were Athens, Corinth, Argos, and Sparta. The
relations between these powers were tense at best
because with the continuation of the Trojan war, and
the King of Sparta at Troy with Sparta itself under a
regent in Menaleus's absence, all feared that each
other might have designs on the other's territory. The
Athenian Council, a democratic committee elected by the
total male population of the town was deeply divided on
security issues. Despite the fact that Athenian land
forces were considerable and that Athens had the
greatest Navy in the known world, the Council could not
come to any kind of firm decision about what to do
about the arrival of Xena and her forces on a line less
than forty miles away.
[59] Sisyphus, King of Corinth, the most able of the
monarchs in the area, had no illusions about Xena's
presence and he feared an assault by the Warrior
Princess at any time. So he quickly and deftly did
what he could to build a defensive alliance in order to
stem the threat. Sisyphus was caught in a serious
strategic bind. The port of Lechion, a huge public
works program to establish Corinth on the Gulf of
Corinth had yet to be completed. Since there was no
good anchorage on the Corinthian gulf, the huge
Corinthian navy was pinned to its port of Cenchreae on
the Saronic Gulf. A huge canal that cut the Isthmus
from the Gulf of Corinth to The Saronic Gulf had been
planned but not begun thus leaving the Corinthian navy
impotent in this situation. The navy had been built
with the Athenian Navy as the primary threat in mind.
[60] The Athenian possession of the new warship called
the bireme, as well as the size of the Athenian Navy,
forced Sisyphus to make a strategic decision that was
totally rational given the circumstances the earlier
situation presented. Corinth did have some naval
forces in the Corinthian Gulf, at the port of
Aristonautes, but they were insignificant for two
reasons, the harbor was very small, and the fastest way
to get shipping into the Corinthian Gulf was to haul
the ships overland via teams of oxen from Cenchraeae.
This was an immensely slow and expensive process. The
long sea voyage around the Peloponnese could not be
trusted to bring the necessary reinforcements from
Cetchraeae in time.
[61] When Sisyphus decided upon this strategy, it was
not expected that any threat would manifest itself from
the north. To Corinth's complete surprise, Xena had
seized the northern littoral of the Corinthian Gulf
between the border of Locris and Velanidhia Point.
This coastline possessed several excellent anchorages,
especially where the modern town of Andikira now
stands, on Krisios Bay. The threat grew ever larger as
intelligence reported the gathering of a significant
number of ships in Krisios Bay. Xena had succeeded in
smashing Sisyphus' plans at a blow.
[62] Desperate for support, Sisyphus sent deputations
to Athens, Argo and Sparta. The mission of these
deputations was to convince the leaders of Argos and
Sparta of the grave threat they now faced. If Athens
was strategically enveloped and Corinth was crushed,
Xena could strike south with impunity, and destroy both
inland cities at her pleasure. Sisyphus could expect
no immediate help from the northeast. Athens was
frozen into immobility by the Athenian council's
inability to come to a decision upon strategy despite
the fact they had the largest and best trained navy in
the known world. Another factor in Athen's political
dallying was the fact that they feared Corinth as a
threat against themselves. The council could not see
that if Corinth fell, they could do absolutely nothing
for the loss of Corinth enveloped Athens on land AND AT
SEA.
[63] Sparta was led by Tyndareus, a doddering, senile
old man who was placed in regency over the city since
his son Menelaus was at Troy laying siege.
Argos-Mycenea was led by Orestes, one of the sons of
Agamemnon, who was young and energetic but did not
possess the imagination to see the threat of the
Warrior Princess and he was more interested in revenge
upon Menelaus. In addition the great state had declined
in power greatly because of the pressure of the cities
involvement in the Trojan War.
[64] In great trepidation, Sisyphus, who was no friend
to the Centaurs, turned to Tyldus as the possible
striking arm of the army that might save his city while
he trained as many troops as he could. As it was,
Sisyphus was able to gather about eight thousand levies
to provide the Corinth and the town of Megara on the
Isthmus garrisons and about four thousand infantrymen
to support Tyldus in the field. Sisyphus' survival
depended upon the effectiveness of the Centaurs, and
whether or not Tyndareus and Orestes could be convinced
to send massive reinforcements.
Continued next month in Part 3
