Peasant Levy

Summary

The most common troops found on any battlefield by far, the levies of lords from every corner of the realm are essentially warm bodies with farm tools and worn spears, meant to do nothing more than charge wholesale against enemy lines in an effort to overpower their foes through numbers alone. Making up the bulk of feudal armies in Galisia, peasant levies possess next to no discipline, training, or equipment. So why then, would a lord raise such troops? In simple terms, convenience and affordability. Peasant levies are, as the name implies, levied from the lower classes that constitute most of a fief's population. Marshalled from their hovels to serve in a lord's host, they can be fully mustered and mobilized for campaign within a matter of weeks. Usually given only stale bread and water by their noble commanders, they are considered extremely low maintenance troops.

While many lords look down on the over-incorporation of levies into their hosts, there are many who see them as a key factor in turning the tide of battle. For the rulers of fertile, highly populated farmlands, this is especially true. Within a matter of days, these lords can raise an army of thousands to stand against invasions or participate in ongoing conflicts. And while these thousands of new troops raised will certainly be of dubious quality, they still have plenty of uses. From tying down enemy forces to sowing confusion and disorder on a battlefield, peasant levies can often contribute to one side of a fight prevailing over the other. There have even been documented cases in the past of whole detachments of knights being slaughtered to a man under a wave of levies. It is for this reason, along with their affordability, that peasant levies continue to be a mainstay of feudal armies all over the Continent. As the old saying goes: with enough rats, one can bring down a lion.

Composition

Manpower

The manpower available in a peasant levy is largely dependent on the size of the local population. In fiefs consisting of vast stretches of mostly barren, treacherous terrain, the most optimistic guesses suggest that only several thousand peasants eligible for levy service will be found. By contrast, rich and fertile fiefs may yield a sizeable force of tens of thousands, drawn from the vast estates and farms they call home to fight for a greater cause.

Equipment

Peasant levies are usually issued no equipment at all. Wearing only the soiled clothes on their backs, they are sent directly into the fray to fight for their lord. As one could imagine, many do not survive this ordeal. But the process of clothing and armoring troops is expensive work, and while some especially benevolent lords may equip their levies with basic armor and helmets, these pieces of gear do precious little to protect against most ranged and melee weapons.

Weaponry

As some of the most cost-efficient troops, peasant levies carry with them the added benefit of arming themselves with whatever weapons they can lay their hands on. Mostly wielding farm tools from home and sharpened sticks, levies are often forced to make do with what they can, lest they go into battle completely unarmed. Even a burlap sack of stones for throwing at the enemy is a preferable weapon to nothing at all. However, charitable lords with a surplus of old and rusted weapons, usually spears, may choose to arm their levies in this manner.

Structure

Given the nature of their formation, a peasant levy is little more than organized mob. No center of authority exists apart from their liege lord, who rides with his knights and cavalry a safe distance away, and is therefore of little leadership value in battle. Some peasants of seniority may attempt to take on leadership roles, but overall, most levies quickly devolve into bickering and and infighting without the constant threat of their lord's more professional troops constantly spurring them towards the enemy.

Tactics

In general, peasant levies are only ever given a single order by their commanders: forward. There is only forward, nothing else. Trying to explain tactics such as flanking or skirmishing to an undisciplined, unorganized mob of peasants would only serve to confuse them and encourage a rout quicker than would've happened in the first place.

Training

The training of a peasant levy, if one could even call it that, consists of several days spent learning how to level a sharpened stick at the enemy and hoping for the best. It is no surprise then, that many peasant levies break and run at the first charge of the enemy, disintegrating into a chaotic rout that usually ends in their massacre at the hands of better quality troops.

Overall training Level

Levy

Assumed Veterancy

Recruit