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The Caplup

The Caplup were an elite military unit, formed shortly after the first millennium to aid the defences of the land that was to become Ticeta. They seem to have disappeared from Arthean life in modern times, even with Ticetian monarchs there has been no call to raise this unit to help with recent conflicts.

This work was prepared in 1408 by Derek Murrow of the Ticetian Military History group, based in Callenhall.

Formation

The Caplup was formed sometime in late 1021 or early 1022 by the King of Cellam. In the face of enormous military and economic pressure from the Southern Empire, the kingdoms in the region known today as South Ticetia were forced to unite. Even in these early years Cellam was the economic hub of the region, and so it fell to their ruler, King Brochan of Cellam, to take the lead. The Empire was becoming difficult to deal with, and a war with the south was looking inevitable; the Kingdoms needed a way to respond.

While the date of the formation is sketchy, the original charter for the group still exists, and it on display in Cellam. This first charter as signed by the thirteen kings of the region, who each decreed (in the charter) that they would put forward their three finest knights to serve as a part of this unit. There were several intentions behind the creation of the unit:

The size of the force was initially 39 strong, and of those original soldiers, four were heirs to the throne of their own kingdoms. The group assembled in the lands north of Cellam in late spring 1022, and spent six months training in warfare and developing tactics with the finest military minds available in the northern lands. After this, the group was temporarily broken up, the warriors returned home for the winter and passed on their training to a larger audience - to the rank and file of both the regular military and the conscripts of their own kingdoms.

The formation of the unit turned out to be a master-stroke. Not only did the northern kingdoms now have an elite military unit, by the end of winter in early 1023 it also had a single army which had been trained to a basic standard. The units which made up the army had been drilled to use common tactics, and the lull of activity throughout 1023 meant this army was further refined and trained. Meanwhile, the figurehead unit was about to make a big name for itself.

First Military Activity

In spring 1024, the easternmost of the Ticetian kingdoms reported activity to the south where the Empire had started amassing troops. At first this was mostly scouts, but the build-up carried on, and regular soldiers began arriving over the summer of that year. At the same time, the Empire was tightening its control of food support to the north, trying to weaken the region to lower their resistance to invasion.

The Caplup had spent its second winter out among the kingdoms training men, but they were recalled to Cellam at the end of 1024, shortly after beginning the process again. The fighting, the kings had rightly surmised was close to starting, and the Caplup were first deployed in early 1025, just after the winter ended. At first, their role was just to scout out enemy positions, supply columns and troop movements up from the south, and they successfully tracked the supply chains all the way back to the western stretches of the Empire far in the south. This information was brought back to Cellam at the end of that year, and it allowed a precise military operation to be planned during that winter.

The kingdoms began quietly moving small units of troops south during the last month of winter, and by early spring of 1026, the bulk of the fighting force was assembled in position. Keeping this many troops out of sight of the Empire was not easy; they were kept lightly armed, and well out of sight. This situation could not be continued for long, and the Caplup had their work cut out for two months of spring training these regular units.

The troops were unleashed at midsummer in a series of raids that were begun by the Caplup. The first strike came against poorly defended supply depots south of the main troop garrisons, these were easily defeated, and the food supplies were burned. From here the Caplup headed south, taking out pre-planned installations in the Empire's supply chain before turning and heading north to bring the fight to the well equipped but poorly fed troops camped on the (soon to be) Ticetian border. When this hammer-blow fell, the Imperial troops were in disarray - they were being attacked from behind by mounted knights, while trying to prepare counter attacks against the surprise assaults they had suffered.

The pace of attacks against the Empire's forces increased, but became less and less effective as the element of surprise petered out. The regular allied army assaulted every target they could find; initially taking out food supplies, which at first were captured and re-allocated. After this, the attacks went on to hit barracks and all Imperial government installations across south Ticetia.

The Caplup did not stop; their speed and mobility proved invaluable as they raided outpost after outpost. They rode south again to intercept Imperial reinforcements and to break other parts of the supply chain. This first military campaign had seen its elements of luck for the Caplup, but their tactics had worked well. They lost just eight of their number in the fighting, overrunning several Imperial depots in the process and cutting off thousands of camped troops from their food supply.

Anti-Imperial Campaigns

Following the shock victories which set the tone in this first part of the war, the Caplup was withdrawn from action in autumn of 1026 to recover from its personnel losses, and the fighting was continued by the ordinary troops. The unit was expanded from its original size to a 46-strong unit by adding more elite troops which required training. Rather than appoint knights to the unit to fill it, the military promoted some of its best recruits to fill the roles, 75 experienced soldiers were drafted into the training camp which was to fill the 8 vacant places and seven new places in the Caplup. It took six months to prepare the new recruits, to the required standard, and even those who did not make the grade returned to their regular units much stronger and far better trained.

By the time the Caplup returned to action, their enemy had begun to reinforce. They now faced a larger Imperial force, and one which was prepared to fight openly.

The Caplup was deployed carefully during this period. Most of its work was in scouting missions, and was sent into combat on very few occasions, normally in carefully planned precision strikes to unsettle the enemy. Its primary combat role was to hit the enemy where it was softest and weakest, and became so expert at overrunning Imperial supplies to the point where the Empire had to keep half its forces in reserve just to protect its supply chain.

The Caplup were instrumental in slowing down the Imperial army; they gained a reputation among the enemy of being a clinical and brutal strike force. Usually, the first the Empire knew about one of their strikes was when they sent a team to investigate where supplies had disappeared to.

By 1030, the Caplup's role in the war had changed once again. They had taken to ambushing regular troop columns as they moved along the supply line, there were far fewer defences surrounding the peasant troops than there were around the supply depots by now. If carried out correctly, the fast-moving unit attacking with surprise could be devastating against columns of infantry, and could disappear again before the unit can rally its defences. The purpose in these raids was not to wipe out the force, but to thin them down through fast hit-and-run attacks. Using this approach they fought the Empire to a standstill, making it almost impossible for the Empire to keep its forces supplied in its advance. By 1035, the war was at an impasse, and the Empire was struggling financially to keep its army in the field. It was forced to reduce its troop commitment along its front line - there was too much opposition to the hight tax burden imposed in the Empire upon its businessmen and nobles. And with food supplies now reaching the Ticetian region from Kingdoms in Caldonacia, the Empire did not have the stranglehold it needed to keep the war going at its former levels. It could have intervened and disrupted food supplies to Caldonacia too, but the political will to carry this out did not exist. There was far too much opposition from the grain traders who were already losing out in both taxes and lost revenue from the north-west.

In 1040, with the war now easily contained by the regular army, the Caplup were deployed to maintain the transport route for the minerals and gems that had been found in the mountains of south Ticetia. This proved very successful, the Empire was unsuccessful in making raids against the supplies and the Kingdoms of Ticetia became very wealthy. The Caplup were withdrawn from this trade route duty in 1042, when the job was undertaken by regular troops at first, and then by security teams from 1047 onwards. The Caplup remained in reserve and still came to help in the brief periods when attacks on the route became frequent.

In 1051 the Caplup was incorporated by a new Royal Charter by the newly formed Ticetian government in recognition of its important role in holding back the Empire's forces.

Fell Beasts

Ticetia was invaded by Bugbears and Orcs in 1098. The country raised a peasant army to go and fight them, and the Caplup, who had achieved folk-hero status following their exploits against the Empire, were asked to be a figurehead and rallying point for volunteers. When the conflict started in earnest, they proved to be an extremely valuable unit - leading other mounted units to cut off sections of the invading army and driving them down into the plain to be dealt with by the regular units. After the first month of this, the Bugbear army became very wary of any mounted force, and were forced to use different tactics against them.

Towards the end of the invasion as the Caplup's role changed again; now they chased down and wiped out wolf-riding orcs and goblins that had been deployed initially to counter mounted troops in the area and in the end to aid a withdrawal from the human-controlled lands.

Decline

In 1170's, the political stature of Caldonacia had risen high, and they began flexing their military muscles against their neighbours. Their ruler, King Bruan, exerted pressure over his western neighbours, and used his wealth and power to successfully limit the Ticetian grain supplies. Ticetia was still not self-sufficient in food, and was importing heavily, particularly from Caldonacia, and now they were slowly being strangled. Bruan had clearly studied the warfare tactics of the south before beginning this attack, and learned much from their mistakes. In particular, the Caplup held no fear for him.

As part of the initial blows of the war, the Caplup were asked to start a military campaign against Caldonacia in 1177. Things had changed in the Caplup, however, and in over 70 years of idleness for them, they had become a unit of privilege and class elitism, being consumed with political posturing rather than military prowess. Selection for the unit was now handled by fees paid by the wealthiest nobles of Ticetia. The lack of ability and good training was evident, but King Gregory of the house of Cellam was determined to send the unit to fight as a figurehead. This proved to be a huge mistake; the Caplup were easily driven back by the well-organised regular infantry of the Caldonacian army.

Despite it being his own insistence that the unit go to war, King Gregory was absolutely livid with his elite force, and he revoked their Royal Charter. The other Ticetia monarchs were pleased at this step; the Caplup had become a millstone round the neck of their nation, toothless in battle, and preventing the military from moving forward. Ironically, this step helped the status of the Caplup; as the patronage of nobles ended, the weak that had purchased their positions within the unit drifted away.

The movement didn't die out; the Caplup still had a military heart. The officers continued the organisation as a military force, recruiting able men from the body of common Ticetian soldiers in an attempt to recapture its glory. Now the unit had no status in the army; membership was wholly voluntary. The famine in Ticetia at the end of the 12th century also meant that volunteers were few. By 1200, when the northern isle was invaded by Caldonacia, the Caplup had taken it upon themselves to visit the region, and to observe the military of both sides. They continued to spend time observing military activity between the Caldonacians and the former Empire as hostilities commenced in 1214.

Renewing the Royal Charter

When gold was found midway between the former Empire and Ticetia in 1272, the Ticetians needed a strong unit to stay guard over the gold mines and protect Ticetia's interests while negotiations continued over mining rights. Queen Louisa of Cellam was quite surprised to discover that the unit still existed. Despite their failure against the Caldonacians, the Caplup's name had fallen somewhat into folklore. The unit was granted offical military status once again. Those who had volunteered for its ranks were assigned to its duty, but there was no time for extra training - they were immediatedly assigned to defence of the mines. Their reputation seemed to be enough to keep the Empire in check when it became known that they were guarding the mine approaches. With the return of official military status, the unit was free to train more fully as an elite unit, and was now able to recruit some of the best knights and warriors Ticetia had available. The unit was expanded to become a 150 strong light mounted cavalry force at this time too.

When the mining rights were finally decided, the Queen was so pleased with the unit that she re-established their Royal Charter. She tried to ensure that the Caplup could not become a pawn of the nobility, however, and so assigned their feudal status to the crown of Cellam. This was to have unforeseen repercussions later; nobody expected the crowns of Cellam and Ticetia to become separated.

Political Upheaval

With all the political change in Ticetia during the 1310's, the Caplup became caught up trying to support the Kings of the Ticetian council. When Hugo made an attempt to take the throne of all eleven Kings, the Caplup rallied to the support of the crown of Cellam, to whom their Royal Charter had locked them. Queen Louisa had died in 1303, but her son, King Gregory III of Cellam, was leading the opposition to the takeover of power. He almost provoked a civil war when he summoned the senior members of the Caplup into the council hall in Cellam when the vote was proposed in 1320, to give an implied threat to all those present who were considering which way they were to vote during the debate of the coming months.

The Caplup were in a very difficult position; they were duty-bound to support the 11 monarchs individually and the Ticetian state collectively. Their Royal Charter, however, tied them without any shadow of doubt to the crown of Cellam. Normally, there would be no difference; the council ruled Ticetia on majority decision, so the King of Cellam was expected to go along with that rulership. But now it looked like the King of Cellam would stand in defiance of the will of the council.

The military leaders of the Caplup struggled with this for some time; there are records of their own debates which went on for several weeks. Despite their duty, their position of honour seemed to have won out. They were preparing to back the King of Cellam to the hilt, begin a civil war and take captive all the members of the council.

Before doing this, they presented their position to King Gregory; this was probably the defining moment for Ticetia, as Gregory took a decision to avoid years of strife and bloodshed. He walked into the council chamber and declared that the Caplup would not be used as a pawn in internal power struggles, and that he did not want them to serve a corrupt regime. He had little choice now but to accept the decision of the council in the appointment of a single monarch Ticetia, and that he would have no control over the choices made by a future King, be it of Ticetia or any wider or smaller realm. He attempted to disband the Caplup immediately by revoking their Royal Charter. The paper was easily dealt with, but it proved impossible to force the Ticetian army to close down the unit when control was out of his hands.

The effect of this is not what the King had expected - his own diaries show that he'd expected the Caplup to leave his service immediately and take sides with the council, as it had simplified their chain of command - the military did the council's will. But the knights of the Caplup understood the situation well; despite being duty-bound by their military ties to the council, they believed they were honour-bound to the King of Cellam, and those who supported the council.

The Caplup did not like the idea of an upstart king, but they chose to support the council's decisions, as they always had whether they agreed with them or not. Normally they did not get involved with politics - they had become accustomed to following their orders without question. But now, they refused a call for them to stand down (from the King of Cellam) and returned to training at the military training camp on the plains south of Meden, South Ticetia. Several of their number stayed to provide security to selective council members. Their presence around town, and in the halls of the Kings Chambers in Cellam (where the council offices had been housed for a century) became commonplace. They organised it so there were always four of the Knights near to the King of Cellam, and near to several of the other council members. This was to make a statement of their support for certain views that had not been accepted by all parties in the discussions in council.

The next step for them was completely unprecedented. Their general entered into the political arena, and spoke passionately against the change of basis for the monarchy. All this posturing and rhetoric from the Caplup and the other Kings had little effect. Hugo still maintained his support with his bought votes, and finally the throne of Ticetia was handed to one man.

Invading Caldonacia

From the mid 1320's, the Caplup were treated as a maverick unit. The new king clearly disliked them. While they were still an elite force, their role was to change. They were no longer selected for defence missions; they were to spearhead a new invasion. The Royal Charter was not renewed, as the new King saw this as completely unnecessary; the chain of command already existed, and the unit was confirmed as active. It was already clear to those inside the military, the Caplup were destined to carry the flag of Ticetia in a new war - an invasion of their neighbours. In the meantime, the Caplup spent six months of every year in Caldonacian territory scouting and observing, building up a picture of the military might of Ticetia's enemy.

During early 1329, the Caplup helped keep knowledge of Ticetia's advance to the east a secret. They became adept at hunting down Caldonacian scouts in the wilderness. They became so good at this that it is believed the Caldonacians were completely unaware that Hugo, travelling with his army, had presented himself at the Kathron delve to pay tribute to the Dwarves.

The Caplup headed the assault on the first defensive installation in Caldonacia; they overran the first of the forts which had been established on the western sides of the mountains. The regular army swelled up behind, while the Caplup pressed on past, preventing those fleeing the garrisons from getting back to warn Caldonacia about the size of the Ticetian army.

In 1330, at the battle of Carlow, the Caplup were ineffective for the most part, with Ticetian forces laying siege to the walled city, but when the walls were brought down by consistent pounding by the Ticetian engines for a week, the Caplup were first inside. They suffered heavily, as they could not use the advantage of their horses, and the city was well manned.

The unit was sent back to Ticetia after this to regroup and retrain. By 1337, the Caplup had returned to the war a couple of times as the army headed south, but it had only been used for scouting. At first they were pleased when Hugo fell ill, they thought they would gain some freedom, but the unit ended up in a big argument with the Kings son, William. The prince's inept military command had started to cost lives in the field, and the Caplup, a figurehead for the army, became the biggest objectors. They knew they could be used to prevent many of the problems the army was now facing, but they were not deployed, and friction mounted.

Finally, the unit was sent back to Ticetia in disgrace; arguments with the prince had over-spilled several times, and William could stand it not more. They figured no more in the war. The incoming King, Thomas, had little interest in them, they were seen as a Ticetian unit, with questionable loyalties to a King from the Empire. The unit disappeared from the military roster; there was little fuss.

Modern Times

There is little mentioned of the Caplup these days. When King Marcus was dealing with raids along the coast, there were discussions about raising the Caplup again, but the matter was suddenly dropped. It was decided that a fortification of the east coast was a better proposition. It is believed that the Caplup still existed, and refused to answer the call of a non-Ticetian King.

They were conspicuous by their absence from the civil war. The surviving war diaries of the highest military ranks of the Empire showed they were petrified at the prospect of the Caplup rising to serve the Ticetian cause in the conflict. They had attempted to raise counter-units that could compete on the ground in combat, and there was some success with this, but the Caplup did not appear in the fighting.

It has also come to light that discussions were held by King Siegfried in 1399 about the possibility of raising the Caplup, again to deal with invaders in the east. He furthered the discussions with senior generals, before the matter was, once again, suddenly and unexpectedly dropped. There was no conclusion reached about whether the unit should be available or not; and the task was given to the Kings Guard instead.