This isn’t an area I know much about, but Eric was meticulous about this, and he definitely knows a lot about it.
This is a quick explanation of the structure and I am sure Eric and many of the other writers can spend hours talking military structure with you, if you are ever at a minicon or on a salon call and are so inclined.
– Bethanne Kim (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine)
Baen’s Bar
05 July 2015 15:38 (Bjorn Hasseler)
Eric Flint created the second lieutenants, battalions, and majors, not me.
“Officially, the USE army had a very clear and simple structure:
Each division consisted of nine thousand men commanded by a major general.
Each division had three brigades of three thousand men, commanded by a brigadier.
Each brigade had three regiments of one thousand men, commanded by a colonel.
Each regiment had two infantry battalions of four hundred men, commanded by a major, and an artillery company of two hundred men usually commanded by a captain.
Finally, the infantry battalions were composed of four companies of one hundred men, commanded by a captain. A company consisted of three platoons of thirty men commanded by a second lieutenant, and a heavy weapons unit of ten men commanded by a sergeant. The company’s first lieutenant usually served its captain as his executive officer.” (_1636: The Saxon Uprising_, chapter 1, page 18)
But since “Such was the neat theory reflected in the official table of organization. Mike was pretty sure the ink hadn’t dried yet before reality began to diverge from theory” (ibidem), I’ve had Colonel Derfflinger appoint Old Reinhold (Reinhold Rühle) as captain of camp followers because he’s used to having someone handle that and Major von Hessler make a couple cousins fähnriche (ensigns) instead of second lieutenants because while they’re family, they’re 20 and 16 years old and extremely inexperienced (in his mature, 23-year-old opinion. Ahem.).
Yes, at the close of “The Red Lion Regiment”, one sergeant in the regiment has the additional job description of watchmeister, and one sergeant in each company has the additional job description of feldwebel. Alas, this hasn’t affected their pay.
It’s not so much that Colonel Derfflinger and Majors von Rochow and von Hessler think these are all inherently good ideas as “General Torstensson told us to do it this way, so we will.”
I really think you’re going to have to abandon the idea popular among 20th and 21st century NCOs that second lieutenants are inherently incompetent.
