I'm a disorganized, war-torn world, one of my characters has to recruit a huge army all by herself. What would be some methods, and how long would it take? Also, how would she enforce discipline and gain respect, considering she hardly has any real authority? What would be some good ways to maintain the army, and would she be the one to provide supplies somehow?
I’m afraid this is a pretty difficult question to answer in full, especially because a lot of it depends on the confines of your own world, but here are some things to think about and some questions to ask yourself.1. Is there competition to recruit for armies/gangs? You’d have to figure out what you’re offering what they aren’t and be prepared to contest recruits from other factions. Keep in mind that a cause alone often isn’t enough to persuade the masses to war.2. What IS the cause? Who benefits from it? How much does it clash with present ideology? Is it defensive, and if so are there people who think the cause is worth defending? Is it offensive, and if so are there people who think the attack is justified? Everyone likes a narrative and everyone wants to be the hero of their own story, so if you’re in deep enough that there needs to be an army then the cause better be something worth dying for.
3. Generally the person in charge of the army provides resources for those below. This is usually true of every army. Even Imperial Japan, who allegedly only provided a single bag of rice to a soldier and told them to scavenge for the rest, in actuality provided rations to their soldiers such as barley, hard tack, hard candy, tea, canned or dried meat/vegetables, and even vitamins. Especially in an apocalyptic setting that probably is lacking in transport and communication, as well as an overall resources shortage, your army won’t get very far if you aren’t making sure they get what they need. There’s some truth to the phrase “an army marches on its stomach,” and I’m inclined to say that if a person thinks their cause is worth mustering an army for, then they should be prepared to house, guide, care for, and enrich the army they’ve created for that cause.4. Don’t confuse “discipline” with “abuse.” A lot of people have seen so many army movies that they think abusing a soldier -- emasculation in front of peers, publicly humiliating actions or activities, threats of bodily harm-- is the only way to earn their respect, and everyone just accepts it because “that’s the way the army is.” Being cruel to soldiers doesn’t earn respect or authority or breed discipline, so if you’re looking to have scenes where your character steps up and disciplines their soldiers, try to make their interaction more level, more human, yeah?
5. If your character has no good reason to be put in charge, then you either need to concoct a good reason for her to be in charge posthaste, or she don’t need to be in charge. Simple as that. The whole “chosen one” and “best leader is the leader who doesn’t want to be a leader” trope thing is terrible. Leaders gotta lead. People die because incompetent people who weren’t ready were forcibly put into that position. If she ain’t got no reason for being an authority then she shouldn’t be.
5a. Is it really necessary for there to be a singular figurehead? I understand that for the context of the story there usually has to be a main character, but a group can perform just fine with a cohesive ideology and resources, no leader needed. Plus, it’s my humble opinion that the sort of rank structure the modern military has would be completely bunk in an apocalyptic society. Rank in the military these days isn’t based on competency or respect; it’s based on arbitrary things like time in service and classes completed and physical prowess. It doesn’t translate. jmo. 5b. Are you sure you mean to go with an army and not a militia? Or at least the unorganized contemporary kind? The former indicates a pretty rigid structure and culture and the latter is way more lax, less strict and open to interpretation, basis being “civilians gathered in a military-like force.”6. fun historical fact: knights were actually exceptionally rare on the battlefield because it essentially took an entire village of at least three hundred to support even a single knight. 300 villagers to 1 knight. A well-to-do sovereign might have at most three at their disposal. Now, thanks to mass production that ratio has shrunk, but it still holds true that to support a warrior on the battlefield, you probably needed several people to put ‘em there in the first place. Clothing, housing, feeding, providing medical care, safety, and even recreation require many many people even if it’s just for one person, let alone an entire army. 7. How long would it take in a war-torn disorganized world?? gosh months maybe years probably, depends on how big the army you need is and how readily available resources are to begin with. The more resources you start with the more people you can take on who will proceed to speed up acquisition of resources so you can hire more people i.e. to use an otherwise obsolete phrase “you need to spend money to make money.”8. for gods sake if you are going to do an army or a military-like structure put some thought into your rank structure. It doesn’t have to be identical to the current one but just give it a go you know? (ps please don’t ask me for help coming up with ranks)I don’t typically do responses to theoretical non-standard armies, (basically armies that are operating outside the rules that exist presently) so besides this response I probably can’t help anymore. Nonetheless, I hope there was something useful in here!
-KingsleyIf you felt engaged or enlightened by the above post, would you please consider checking out my Patreon? Your small contribution can make a huge difference for me. Thank you for your support!
