December Content Update: A Regiment Divided - The Red and Blue Lancers

A REGIMENT DIVIDED

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THE TRUE DISPOSITION OF THOSE BODIES OF FIGHTING MEN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS THE WHITE ROSE LANCERS,

NOW CALLED "RED" OR "BLUE" LANCERS BY VIRTUE OF THEIR ALLEGIANCES.

THE SITUATION

With our land so divided betwixt personal and politickal loyalties, it seems in these unpleasant days that every body of armed men serves no longer the good of the common wealth and the people of the realm, but their own narrow loyalties - not for the sake of a greater weal, but in the name of their paymasters, their chiefs, those to whom they can look to for promotion and advancement in the case of victory, or shelter in the case of defeat. Thus, the Grenadiers have rallied to their Aetorian Queen, and thus the Cuirassiers have assembled just as loyally to their Duke of Wulfram. Other regiments too, have rallied to one flag or the other, as have the Houseguards of the Cortes Lords, whose arms are bourne now in the name not of common defence, but the politickal loyalties of their masters.

There are few exceptions to such a rule. The officers of the Royal Dragoons have followed the lead of their Colonel in declaring neutrality - or else flocked to the side which has seemed to them best placed to offer them advantage. The White Rose Lancers, on the other hand, appear to have found themselves in a situation of rather greater confusion. Many have followed Viscount Palliser to the ranks of the Aetorian Queen, whilst others follow the lead of their own Colonel, who sits upon the council of the Duke of Wulfram. Thus, a single regiment has been split in two, and although both bodies remain a shadow of their strength (their numbers having already been sapped by the years of peace and now reduced still by the violence which commenced this current and most unhappy state of affairs), it seems that the chiefs of both forces intend on raising men to fill the so-recently-emptied ranks so as to bring these two regiments - these 'Red' and 'Blue' Lancers - to full wartime strength. 

At a glance, these two forces may seem evenly matched. Both are currently of similar numbers. Both possess secure bases - the Red Lancers in Aetoria and the Blue at Tannersburg - which are nonetheless far away from the Regiment's regular recruiting grounds in Warburton. Both even still wear the same uniforms, carry the same weapons, and ride in the same tack; distinguished only by the coloured sashes and scarves from which they draw the names which they are now known by. It may seem to a casual observer that neither force is more or less legitimate than the other, and that both are as worthy an heir to the original as the other.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

FACT: The BLUE LANCERS remain under the command of its RIGHTFUL COLONEL IN CHIEF

While there is little question that many talented and experienced officers have gone over to the Aetorian Queen and her Red Lancers, such a fact cannot counterbalance the truth that the Blue Lancers retain the most valuable person of all, that of the Duke of Warburton. For all that Palliser and his officers may boast of their experience against the Antari, they cannot lay claim to the rightful office of Colonel-in-Chief, which has always been in the possession of the House of Harris, whose current head sits upon the Duke of Wulfram's council. As a result, Palliser does not sit as a rightful commanding officer in his own right, but as a mutinous deputy, who has thrown over his own superior officer, and taken a number of his subordinates into mutiny with him. All of the customs and laws of military discipline name him and those who believe themselves under his command as derelict in their duty - a fact which no amount of fighting experience or past accolade can erase.

FACT: The BLUE LANCERS retain possession of their traditional RECRUITING GROUNDS

Although the Blue Lancers currently maintain quarters in Tannersburg, their allies in the Duke of Wulfram's camp also retain control of the regions of the country from which come the regiment's recruits. Ask any fighting officer worthy of the name, and he will you that it is not uniforms or weapons which make the character of a regiment, but the men which fill its ranks. This means that as both regiments are raised to wartime strength, the Blue Lancers will be able to retain its accustomed character, since its new recruits will be made up of the same good Warburtonian stock which has always made up its ranks. The Red Lancers, on the other hand, will necessarily need adulterate their depleted cadre of original Lancers with recruits from Aetoria, who are of different and altogether unsuitable temperament. The Blue Lancers will retain the character which has made it renowned. The Red Lancers, on the other hand, will slowly become an Aetorian regiment, manned by a those of a character wholly inferior to their counterparts in regard to the matters which a regiment of lancers must excel at.

FACT: The BLUE LANCERS alone may rely on reliable supply of PAY and RATIONS

The continued presence of the rightful Colonel also serves as another advantage for the Blue Lancers, as it is the Colonel who is required to provide for matters of pay and supply. While it cannot be denied that the Viscount Palliser is in possession of a considerable fortune, he does not possess the estates necessary to maintain it whilst also providing for the upkeep of a regiment. With the Aetorian Crown in a position of deep obligation to its creditors, it seems unlikely that the Queen is any more likely to offer relief when it inevitably becomes necessary. The Duke of Warburton on the other hand, retains the possession of his estates and the great incomes which derive from them, allowing him to support the upkeep of the Blue Lancers indefinitely, just as he did during years of peace. Thus only the Blue Lancers may rest assured that their pay will never be stopped for want of funds on the part of their Colonel.

FACT: The BLUE LANCERS remain in possession of their reserves and supply of MOUNTS

It is well understood that the capabilities of a cavalryman are much reliant on the particular qualities of his horse. When it comes to the duties of a lancer, it is the Warburtonian breed which is unquestionably the best suited for the tasks required of it, being more agile than the Cunarian destrier, lighter than the Wulframite charger, but more robust and hardy than those beasts commonly bred in Aetoria. With such qualities in mind, it becomes clear that only a regiment which retains access to the breeding farms and pastures of Warburton may mount its squadrons in a manner best fit for purpose, and that access remains exclusively the province of the Blue Lancers, not the Red.

FACT: The BLUE LANCERS remain in possession of their accustomed BARRACKS and STABLES

While the Blue Lancers may reside for the moment in Tannersburg, their home barracks and stables remain in Warburton. There they possess not only remounts and stockpiles of their own accustomed armaments, but the museum of the regiment, its formal mess hall, and all the other accoutrements and adornments which a regimental establishment requires. Once free to do so, the Blue Lancers may return to those accustomed barracks and stables built to especial purpose for their own regiment and its mounts. The Red Lancers, in contrast, have no such luxury. The slapdash accommodations which they are currently burdened with in Aetoria are the only ones which they possess, and as a result, they are cut off from the history and a great many of the conveniences which have much embellished the existence of the regiment they claim descent from.

Thus is presented the reality of the matter, that these two divergent regiments - seemingly equal - are in fact possessed of vastly differing circumstances. Given such intelligence, it is certain the most persons of discerning attitude might easily see the merits of one over the other.