It's Ration(al)

[Orc Knight]

Having been forever since I've actually posted something that's not a reply, here's a new thread instead.

I've found it interesting (and since it has to do with food) to research military rations and MRE's and even trail rations and the like. So herein lies the question: What are your world's military food affairs? From the trail to the mess? Do they get tinned beef and some S.O.S. or better fare? Porridge or stew on the march? After all, an army marches on it's stomach (so long as it's not robots or some such, they're harder to feed).

I've come into this through my own story, in which my main character is an elven scout who truly believes the best food ever is her military rations. Which mostly consists of dried sausages, cheeses, hard tack, preserves and new tinned foods and anything else they happen to hunt or fish up when along the trails and wilderness they traipse across. She also quite enjoys her military meals, if only because they are fairly hearty affairs of stews and porridges and breads and the like. So long as they're not suffering a famine anyways. So, that done, how is it in your world(s)?

 

[skip.knox]

Since my armies are all historical, they eat as their historical peers ate. For the most part, this meant foraging plus buying supplies from towns (medieval cities regularly would set up special markets to service passing armies; held outside the walls, if you please).

But your question raises an interesting question for me to consider. Would a dwarf army move the same way? Would they deal only with dwarf towns? How would a human town react? Same question applies to an elf army, orcs, or trolls. Gnomes don't fight (in Altearth), so that leaves them out, but a passing army would still affect a gnome village. For that matter, would elf/dwarf/whatever need different kinds of supplies?

Not sure what to make of it, but I thank you for making me think of it.

 

[Orc Knight]

I suppose for the differing armies, it also depends on the regions they live. And of course diet. Elves might be able to live on radishes alone but an orc might want something a little bit bloodier. And your welome. My heads been nagging at me to make this thread anyways.

 

[skip.knox]

It's also worth considering other ways of gathering supplies (not just food). There's simply gathering stuff in the neighborhood--I'm reminded that when the King of England an area of twelve miles around was considered royal, subject directly to the king's demands. He still tried to pay his way, but sometimes it was with promises poorly kept.

Anyway, there are the markets, where there was ample room for disputes about price gouging. There are some rather notorious cases from the First Crusade.

But could there be other means? Voluntary contributions, perhaps. Meant sincerely or just in preemptive self-defense. Maybe local magicians would be expected to provide in some way. Still another possibility: bring *everything* with you. Could only by accomplished magically, but could be fun.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Fish, spices and rice are the staple diet of the Kharran Empire. These are also the staple diet of the military as well. As these foods can be dried and stored for long periods of time, they can be served in vast quantities although it's not exactly the greatest diet. They supplement their diet with the Rule of the Third: they can take a third of whatever crops, produce and livestock are avaliable for providing for the military.

For other things like weapons they are standardized and made of as few parts as possible to allow for mass production and transportation.

In the Occidental Republic (the rival power to the Kharran Empire) they have mobile weapons factories so, as long as they have access to the raw materials they need, they can set up the factories as close to the action as practical.

(The technology etc in my world is akin to that of the 1930s.)