Military

Sir,

If you remember correctly, you asked me to ascertain the military strength of all the towns and cities in our Grand County so that you can assess Wissenland’s military strength. Herein is attached a detailed overview of all of the Barony’s of the land, their military capacity and nuances. I hope this is what was required of me.

Yours humbly
Sergeant Hofstadter

The Barony of Sonnefurt

The Barony of Sonnefurt has a relatively haphazard approach to its military. The Baroness relies on her Marshall, a certain Richter Eichhorn, once a Captain in our provinces’ Soll River Patrol, along with his Bailiff and Sheriffs to organise and recruit the soldiers. However, the Lord-Mayors of the local towns are responsible for the raising of the militias. This creates an ineffective and disorganised military which struggles to bring itself to full strength at any occasion. However, in a recent territorial dispute with neighbouring Kroppenleben, the use of volunteers, allies and mercenaries meant the Barony actually somehow defeated a superiorly organised military force.

Due to the complexity of the military of the Barony, I shall break it down to make it more manageable.

Command

Executive command of the Sonnefurt’s military at any occasion always falls upon the Baron’s chosen Marshall. Currently this is Marshall Richter Eichhorn, chosen by the former Baron Max von Heisenberg and reinstated by his daughter, the current Baroness, Katarina von Heisenberg. This is not to say the Marshall is not sworn to follow the orders of the current Baron, as he falls under their command at all times, but the Baron’s normally defer to the Marshall for his expertise in military tactics.

The position of Marshall is purely based on merit, and is normally chosen from a member of the Barony’s own military. Marshall Eichhorn was different however, having been poached from the Soll River Patrol.

The Marshall is entitled to appoint his own Bailiff, with the consent of the ruling Baron, who acts as his second in command. This job currently falls to Bailiff Arthur Kuhn, appointed from the ranks of the Sonnefurt Regiment. The Bailiff is tasked with managing the Sheriffs on behalf of the Marshall, as well as being the acting commander of the Sonnefurt Regiment, overseeing their training, upkeep and recruitment. The Bailiff will lead the armies of Sonnefurt in tasks which the Marshall cannot oversee, which presumably will increase as the Marshall grows ever older. Finally the Marshall is also tasked with carrying the standard of Sonnefurt into battle on behalf of the town.

The Sheriffs are appointed in each town by the Marshall, with consent of the towns Lord Mayor. The Sheriffs task is to manage the militias of each town on behalf of the town’s Lord Mayor. They will lead the militia into battle, but have no other position besides this rank. The current Sheriffs are: Jonas Kerrmann in Thalfang, Dietrich Kurst in Ostrach and Tobias Aulen in Ertingen. In Sonnefurt itself, Father Josef Schmidt acts as the Sheriff, declaring it part of Sigmar’s mission to protect the Barony.

Organisation

The military of the Barony has two distinct groups, the professionals and the irregulars. The irregulars form by far the largest part of the Barony’s military, making it incredibly difficult to assess the total capacity of the Barony’s military strength. However, there are several main regiments that appear on the Barony’s Order of Battle

The standing regiment of Sonnefurt are called the 1st Sonnefurt Regiment of Foote, sometimes dropping the ‘first’ as it is self evident. These soldiers are the professional soldiers, required by the law of the Empire, and the soldiers that will be called up to fight for Wissenland. They also act as the town watch in Sonnefurt.

The Sonnefurt Volunteers is the official name given to the regiment formed from the militias of Sonnefurt’s own townsfolk.

The Dieten Township Militia is the official name for the regiment made up of the militias of Ertingen and Strazen, the Ertingen Irregulars and Strazen Levy respectively.

The South Soll Coalition Militia is the official name for the regiment comprised of the militias of Thalfang and Ostrach, the Thalfang Yeomen and the Ostrach Men at Arms respectively.

The Ostrach Sharpshooters is the official name for the semi-professional regiment recruited from across the Barony that resides in Ostrach.

Recruitment

The Sonnefurt Regiment is recruited, unlike the militias, from the entire Barony. For many peasants, it is an attractive option, for the Barony is relatively safe and pay is decent. To save on having too large a standing army and having to pay for housing, Sonnefurt makes use of a rotary system, meaning that soldiers spend years in the service, and years out until they have completed their set number, and payment is then received. This means it is possible for the farmers of the land to be professional soldiers and still maintain a farming business on the side through their family. The vast majority of the Sonnefurt Regiment seem to be recruited from Ostrach, as it is a poor town and thus has a military background, as many seek the riches of war.

The Sonnefurt Volunteers are just that, volunteers that are innumerable and appear at random when the cry for war goes out from the Sanctuary of Sigmar. They rally at the Church en masse and are then delegated as detachments to the professional militias by Father Schmidt. Anyone is permitted, provided they are a resident of Sonnefurt, whether they be man or Dwarf. If there are many volunteers, then they may for their own regiment with the permission of the Bailiff.

In order to maintain their position as Lord Mayor of their town, the Mayors in Sonnefurt are obliged to maintain a militia for each town of a certain quota of men, decided upon each year by the Marshall and Bailiff and overseen by the Sheriff of the town. The militias are recruited on a voluntary basis, a muster list being recorded of those obliged to fight for the Barony when called upon. Notice will be given to those required to fight by the town’s Sheriff, however sometimes anyone available will be drafted in quickly to react to an immediate threat. If the number of volunteers is insufficient then men of a certain age will be picked at random and instructed to fight.

The Ostrach Sharpshooters are unique in that they are a semi-professional regiment, not a militia or a standing company. They thus recruit from across the Barony, basing their recruitment solely on merit and accuracy with a crossbow. Pay is good and the regiment have many applications at their bi-annually tryouts. Many of the men over the years have come from the villages of Martinskorf and Bezeinhof as their skills as hunters give them keen eyes. As semi-professional soldiers, the regiment is not stationed at all times, but when called up, all must answer the call.

Training and Equipment

The Sonnefurt Regiment are paid for and equipped mostly by Sonnefurt’s coin purse and in part by the taxes imposed by the Empire. The standard equipment required of a standing regiment is a halberd, a suit of chest armour, boots and uniform. As this is the minimum, this is how Sonnefurt equips its soldiers. However, the regiment does enjoy a detachment trained in the use of black powder weaponry from Nuln, unofficially named the Sonnefurt Fusiliers, a gift from trade links further north.

Training is regular, interspersed between shifts on the town watch, sentry duty and patrols of the Barony. The training is overseen by the Bailiff of Sonnefurt. The upkeep of the military is funded by the Barony and the regiment have their billets in the Military District in the town itself.

The Sonnefurt Volunteers are self equipped, bringing whatever they can find to battle. There is no official training either and combat experience is not required.

The Dieten Township Militia are equipped and paid for by Lord Mayor Walter Heim, and Lady Mayoress Elinor Helemburtus, each overseeing the equipment of their individual town’s militias, but liaising so that equipment correlates. As the Lord Mayors only have to provide weaponry and training, the militias equip themselves with a uniform and their own armour. The two Mayors opted to equip their militias with the half-pike, an option chosen for its ease of use in battle, so that they could call upon anyone, and save drastically on training their militias. Training occurs as such only once a year in each town and is compulsory for anyone who has their name on the muster.

The South Soll Coalition Militia are equipped and paid for by Lord Mayors Willi Vogt and Gunter Funk. The two men are incredibly competitive and both relatively rich and as such try to outdo each other with the equipment provided for their militias. The two Mayors managed to agree to equip their militias with halberds and glaives. In order to encourage their militias, the two have begun to provide better armour for veterans, and as such, in comparison to the Dieten Township Militia, the South Soll Coalition seems better armed and equipped. Training is fairly regular for the men of the militias, as the Mayors want their soldiers to represent them well on the battlefield. Many of their militiamen go on to join the regular regiment after service in the militias.

The Ostrach Sharpshooters are a unique regiment, paid for by Mayor Vogt as a personal favour to Sonnefurt, established many generations ago by his family, and funded by an aeons-old investment ago for their construction. Each Sharpshooter is required to provide his own crossbow, as it is an honour to be accepted. No uniform is provided either and is the prerogative of the Sharpshooter himself. The Mayor thus only funds their wages and bonus for accuracy and kills, but this still costs him a large amount of money.

Markings and Heraldry

The Sonnefurt Regiment are denoted by their cut and slash uniforms, standard across the Empire. They are coloured in the grey and white of Wissenland, but are marked by the crimson red of the Von Heisenberg, having sashes and feathers this colour at the digression of the individual soldier. In battle they carry the Sonnefurt colours, bearing the Rose and Briars of the Von Heisenberg family. Those who form the Sonnefurt Fusiliers are permitted to die the cloth covering their arms a darker grey to avoid soot stains.

The Ertingen Irregulars have no official uniform, but most choose to bear the colours of Wissenland and Ertingen. Ertingen’s official colour is yellow, owing to former Solland alliances of the Heim family when they paid allegiance to Kreutzhofen. The Heim heraldry is the Sun of Solland.

The Strazen Levy are also not required to wear a uniform, but those who represent their town bear its colours and those of Wissenland. Strazen’s official colour is a pale blue, the colour of the Helemburtus family. They also bear their heraldry of the family, the White Stallion.

The Ostrach Men at Arms are required to wear the colours of Wissenland, under the orders of Mayor Vogt. They are however also permitted to show their town allegiance with minimal use of the Vogt Green, a dark green. The Vogt family heraldry is that of the White Lion of Wissenland.

The Thalfang Yeomen are also obliged to wear the livery of Wissenland by Mayor Funk. Furthermore, in order to distinguish themselves more from their rivals, they are encouraged to decorate themselves with the Funk family colouring, a deep purple, owing to their wine heritage. The Funk family use the Fleur de Lys as their heraldic symbol.

The Ostrach Sharpshooters are independent to the militias and can decide their own livery. Due to the mixed origins of the recruits and that no equipment is provided, no Sharpshooter looks the same. They tend to associate themselves to the Barony through the use of their respective town colours, or in the case of the few nobles who fight in the regiment, their own families. All tend to have the Wissenland colours prevalent on their outfits too, to distinguish themselves from any other rival provinces.

The Sonnefurt Volunteers wear whatever they have available at the time a call to war is heard. They sometimes wear sashes and ribbons with the Von Heisenberg colours or the Wissenland colours although this is not at all required. They are a mix batched of well dressed and shoddily clothed men who look a mess on the battlefield.

Other Notable Military Assets

The Sonnefurt Battery is a rather loosely applied term that covers all the artillery pieces in use at the time of conflict. Despite the Beyer Foundry churning out many artillery pieces in the town, few are bought by the town’s own military. We recently commissioned them ourselves to make weaponry for the 9th Regiment of the River Patrol. The Baroness deems that artillery is too expensive to maintain when the Barony sees little regular conflict. The available pieces are often in various states of disrepair and are crewed by experts, paid per battle to man the guns. These men are normally workers in their workshops and as such have no uniform, wearing what they so desire.

The Von Heisenberg Guard are the Baroness’ personally funded bodyguard, established by Phillip von Heisenberg when he became Baron. They are recruited from the best of the Barony’s soldiers and the best mercenaries in the region. They accompany her everywhere she goes, forming the garrison at either of her homes. They act only on her own orders, and as such do not see battle particularly often, for she likes to have them all travel with her. They may be commissioned to perform a task on her behalf on the battlefield but this is only in dire emergencies. If the Baroness chooses to go to war, they will protect her valiantly, but this only ever happens in the direst of emergencies. They last saw prolonged conflict in the war with Kroppenleben, but before that had performed mainly bodyguard and ceremonial duties.

Sonnefurt can also call upon many mercenary Knights when the time calls for it. The mercenaries that regularly appear are press ganged, accused of false charges or held on tenuous grounds and released so long as they fight for their freedom. Others are hired, but this is an expensive business which Sonnefurt does not like to resort to. Some are sons of rich merchants or nobles who want to prove themselves, but like to earn money at the same time. The mercenaries are not reliable unless the Barony pays a decent wage, so cannot be truly counted in their muster.

Recently, Sonnefurt called upon allies from Meissen and Heisenberg to aid against Kroppenleben, as well as the Nuln Volunteer army. These allies can be bargained for but are not a common sight unless the Barony is in dire peril.

I have also heard rumours that the 9th Regiment of the Soll River Patrol have been known to act against our direct orders from their Wissenburg headquarters and aid the armies of Sonnefurt. This must only be in covert actions however, or Captain Strotmann would have been reprimanded severely.

Order of Battle: The Battle of the Bezau Hills

This was the last major conflict in the Barony of Sonnefurt before the war with Kroppenleben, in the year 2419. The army of Sonnefurt faced a relatively large Goblin band descending from the Black Mountains into the Barony via the Bezau Hills, determined to pillage and kill the inhabitants. A large force was hastily assembled to defend the Barony, comprising a typical muster of Sonnefurt, as the call was unexpected, however, the raid threatened the Baroness' villa, and as such her guard were dispatched.

General: Marshall Richter Eichhorn

Left Flank

Commander: Sherriff Tobias Aulen

The Dieten Hills Township Militia Half-Pikes
50 Men at Arms
Accompanied by small detachment of 10 of the Ostrach Sharpshooters

George Languedoc’s Mercenary Company
10 Armoured Knights

Frau Hilda- Imperial Cannon from Ertingen

Centre

Commander: Marshall Richter Eichhorn

1st Sonnefurt Regiment of Foote
50 Professional Soldiers, 10 Fusiliers

Fett Gertrude- Imperial Mortar from Sonnefurt

Hasslich Bessy- Imperial Cannon from Sonnefurt

Detachement of the Von Heisenberg Guard
50 Highly Trained Soldiers

Right Flank

Commander: Sheriff Father Josef Schmidt

South Soll Coalition Militia Billmen
50 Men at Arms
Accompanied by a small detachment of 10 of the Ostrach Sharpshooters

Sonnefurt Volunteers
30 Free Company

Helga- Imperial Mortar from Thalfang