Themiclesian Marine Corps (according to November Magazine)

Themiclesian Marine Corps
Emblem of the Themiclesian Marine Corps
Founded	17 February 1318 (1318-02-17)
Country	Themiclesia
Type	Naval infantry
Size	7672 active 4233 reserve
Part of	Ministry of Defence
Motto(s)	Merchant sons never fear! (ascribed)
Colors	lime
March	tbd
Mascot(s)	penguin
Engagements	See list Battle of Clarkestown (892) Battle of Portcullia (1323) Battle of Tups (1352) First Maverican War (1767–1768) Second Maverican War (1791–1796) Raid on Rad (1791) Battle of Liang-la (1867) Pan-Septentrion War (1926–1949)

The Themiclesian Marine Corps (舫冗人, pjang-njung'-njing) is the naval infantry branch of the Themiclesian Navy (艦航, krams-gang).

Name and translation

Many Themiclesian institutions acquired their Tyrannian names when they were confronted with their counterparts, and the Themiclesian Marines are one such example. The Tyrannian Royal Marines, who fought them in 1791 during the Raid on Rad, gave them their present name. Before then, Rajian and Sylvan sources regularly called them the Exercitus Thimiensis, or in Tyrannian, the "Themiclesian Army". In non-Tyrannian communication (normally limited to diplomatic letters), the term Exercitus Thimiensis is also used by Themiclesian diplomats; the analogous term that refers to the Navy is Naviter Thimiensis. The former term is no longer widely used due to possible confusion with the similarly-named Themiclesian Army.

Though the "Themiclesian Marine Corps" is the sanctioned translation of the Shinasthana name pjang-njung-njing (舫冗人), Themiclesians do not use pjang-njung-njing to translate "marine corps" in general; rather, the term shljui-prjang (水兵, lit. "naval soldier") is used. This is because, domestically, shljui-prjang refers to the lake-based naval infantry that was part of the Themiclesian Army. This branch was abolished as an institution in the 19th century, but it remains a specialization in the consolidated Infantry branch. Conversely, since the pjang-njung-njing are one department of the Naval Ancillaries (冗人), other departments like the Corps of Physicians (醫冗人), which bear a similar title in the Themiclesian language, are translated drastically differently into Tyrannian. This creates a paradox in translation that is in fact common in Themiclesia, as translations are often made without reference to the overall structure of Themiclesian institutions.

The term pjang-njung-njing (舫冗人) can also be analyzed further. pjang (舫) is a proper name for a cabin located in the stern of a ship and constrats with stjit (室), a cabin in the bow of a ship. Both pjang and stjit are terms derived from common names of parts of terrestrial buildings. Being cabins under the exposed deck, both contrast with the dzrjung (崇), the exposed deck, and the ro (樓), the superstructure. There is currently disagreement about the proper reading of pjang: the 3rd Regiment, formed in 1810 and the oldest extant unit, reads it as pjang, while the 4th and 5th Regiments, both dating to the Pan-Septentrion War, read it as pjang’ instead. Philologically, pjang is likely the correct reading, since it is homophonous with the root word pjang (房, lit. "rear chamber"), and also since pjang’ means jib (the foremost triangular sail of a ship). Various theories have been forwarded to explain the confusion of "two very different things" by individuals who "have good reason to be familiar with the names of parts of a ship". B. Martin, maritime historian, argues that the confusion occurs because the 4th and 5th Regiments were raised after the age of sail and did not ever experience a situation where the distinction was meaningful. A. Tarrow, linguist, posits that because the 4th and 5th Regiments were mostly Dayashinese, they overlooked the difference, since their native language was non-tonal, rendering the two terms completely homophonous.

History

Early centuries

Main article: Themiclesian Navy § History

During the 1st to 3rd centuries, much of the norhtwest coast was inhabited by native societies and not under Themiclesian control. Natives used water bodies expertly to evade attack, transport warriors, and sneak up on settlements, and naval combat in Themiclesia likely arose to counter such threats. In the 4th c., the royal court ordered coastal (both the Halu'an coast and the Inland Lake coast) prefectures to maintain naval militias. Such naval forces were precedented in Menghean military strategems, though their application seems concentrated on rivers and lakes. It seems plausible that some dedicated infantry units existed, since ships remained manoeuvable while they engaged; however, the distinction between crew and soldier was not clear. These coastal fleets were maintained, for the Inland Lake coast, up to the early 19th century and were part of the Themiclesian Army.

The organizational ancestor of the Themiclesian Marines appeared in history together with the Themiclesian Navy in the early 800s. The state-operated fleet was organized to fight Hallian warriors, who raided the Columbian coast, to protect merchant ships, and to suppress piracy along the Halu'an, Columbian, and Meridian coasts. As the ships' crews were mostly impressed from oceanic fleets, the merchants and non-sailing individuals in them were organized as a sort of supplementary militia apart from the crew, which at this time were also expected to engage the enemy, as in customary to the domestic naval militia. While the militia was initially meant to augment the crew in battle, they were soon expected to do most of the fighting to protect the crew and keep the ship manoeuvrable. In the Battle of Clarkestown of 892, the navy was responsible for transporting the West Expedition Army across the Halu'an against a coalition of Columbian natives. In view of the naval infantry's merchant background, the general leading the expedition ordered them to scout, which promptly compromised the whereabouts of the force and occasioned its complete extermination. The navy was barely able to escape, with only a handful of ships returning to report the devastation.

Modern period

The shift from the merchant militia of the 11th to 16th centuries to a professionalized institution around 1570 is considered to have brought the Marines into its modern age in practical terms. While there are great differences, historians have noted some parallels to the colonial armies that had been professional for two or three centuries. The entry of Sylva into the race for colonies in Meridia has prompted Themiclesia again to expand its fleet, which bifurcated into the North Sea Fleet (for the Halu'an Sea) and the South Sea Fleet (for the Meridian Ocean). The Admiralty devised an formula for calculating how many marines were required. Advocates of the formula stated that, since ships and marines both have fixed costs, expenditure on either can be mathematically optimized. Beneath the optimum, the likelihood of capture increases dramatically, while above the optimum, additional deployment carried diminishing returns. At the time, the cost of building each ship was quoted in rjew, technically a unit of timber, but which including the labour needed, on average, to make it a structural part of the vessel. If the vessel was lost, the loss was quantified as its current value, and each ship would become unsuited for battle in a given number of years after launch. Thus, the amount of marines needed was a function of the value of the fleet. In the late 1500s, one marine was required for each 80 rjew (c. 2.21 tons). Opponents of the formula asserted that it does not factor in any information about the enemies they are projected to face and, for that reason, must be inaccurate. Nevertheless, the court adopted the formula, and the size of the Marine Corps seems to have followed it very closely for the next two centuries, and its influence persisted despite abolition in 1799.

The adoption of the formula apparently had a radical effect on the way the force was organized. In the late 1500s, the induction to the Marines outpaced the number of applicants, who were guaranteed a trading license, which permitted them later to buy and sell goods overseas, for service. This, in effect, created an imperfect trading monopoly by former members of the naval service. However, the Secretary of State for Finance asserted to court in 1585 that commercial revenues would increase if the licensing system was abolished forthwith, and the court followed. Though proven correct, it also removed the only incentive to join the naval service as a marine, since salaries offered were uncompetitive. Only two years later, the number of enlistments dropped to zero (during the 1588 fiscal year); the government opened enlistment to the public in response. To prevent men from leaving, the government extended terms of service from 6 to 12, then to 18 years by the 1600s. The quickly-developing nature of naval warfare in the 1500s also demanded the government prioritize cannon foundries and shipbuilding, both expensive, rather than increasing salaries. Indeed, following the formula established, there was a trend to decrease salaries for both sailors and marines; however, sailors were considered skilled labourers under statute, so their salaries were ab initio three times that of an unskilled labourer.

Maverican War

Main article: Maverican Wars

Raid on Rad

Main article: Raid on Rad

Prairie War

At the outbreak of the Prairie War in 1926, the Themiclesian Army took Dzhungestan's capital city, occupying it for the next five years. The Greater Menghean Empire turned against Themiclesia in 1933, pushing the front westwards. Themiclesia's occupation was almost voluntarily withdrawn in order to delegitimate Menghe's entrance, under the Foreign Office's direction, though to little effect. The Foreign Office objected to the War Office's proposal to conscript as provocative, wishing that the war remain one of limited objectives and commitment; additionally, the Federation of Unions staged two general strikes in opposition to the war, and the government was unwilling to risk introducing conscription. As a compromise, the Special Conscription Act, 1935 permitted the government to conscript organized men in other government departments. In early 1935, the 1st and 2nd Regiments were conscripted this way, along with the Royal Engineers (consctruction teams in service to the monarchy), local policemen, fire brigades, and an interminable litany of others.

Some Dayashinese men volunteered to join the Army, but the government was in reality also concerned about the loyalty of the newest immigrants and their willingness to take up arms against their former compatriots. In view of a conjectural naval invasion to the west coast, the Marines were ordered to recruit in 1937, which progressed very slowly as most able-bodied men were conscripted or volunteered to join the Army instead. To catalyze recruitment, they handed out pamphlets in Dayashinese and Menghean—sections of society that were still under-represented in the Army. Surprisingly, response was forthcoming. Their enlistment were not opposed because engagement with the Imperial Dayashinese Army was not expected there, so their personal allegiances were less worrysome than if they were on the front. In 1936, Dayashinese men accounted for over 80% of the entire enlistment, allowing the Marines to expand in size more than four-fold in one year. A strong push for linguistic uniformity occurred, but eventually the language spoken by the force turned into a pidgin of several languages, including Shinasthana and the languages of the OS, Dayashina, and Menghe.

PSW and D/ISOG infiltration

Starting when Dayashina declared war on Themiclesia, the IDA's Imperial Special Operations Group sought to infiltrate the Marines. The core object, as declassified D/ISOG papers show, is to cast doubt on the allegiances of the 100,000 or so Dayashinese immigrants to Themiclesia and to create terror in the Themiclesian public behind the front, since the Marines were used as rear-line troops in this case. The Cabinet Office had, in 1937, heavily propagandized the immigrants enlistment as proof of a "resolve that transcends ethnicity and language"; the Army had further elaborated on this, in early 1939, with fliers dropped in Dayashinese camps to attack at their national construction of the war as a struggle between races. The infiltration concentrated on the Dayashinese-majority 4th and 5th Regiments.

To engender terror and non-confidence in the public, Dayashinese operatives, mostly feigning as surrendering IDA soldiers, would announce an intention to naturalize to Themiclesia; welcoming any opportunity to discredit Dayashinese unity, the Foreign Office enthusiastically accepted them. Having settled, they would then apply to join the Navy, which preferentially placed Dayashinese recruits (identified by their names) into the Marines. Infiltration in the 4th Regiment was particularly prolific, since it was assigned to guarding the temporary capital city at Blim-tsi, which was a coastal city with some naval armaments. Infiltrators then took advantage of the Marines armouries, which contained only light weaponry, to attack civic amenities and attempt assassination on the Emperor. Ultimately, attempts on the Emperor's life narrowly failed in two instances, and attacks on infrastructure were limited in their impact on the war effort, since the Army's supply lines were diffuse. However, they did succeed in vexing the residents of Blim-tsi to the extent that a statute in 1943 was passed to ban marines from the city's limits; this law remains, curiously, in effect.

Current roles

All active units are permanently on loan to the GA.

Recruitment

During the Rjang (472–542) and Meng (543–752) dynasties, before the existence of a national navy, Themiclesian laws required all merchant chartering ships to trade abroad to be armed and defend the ship should it be attacked. This practice may be older, though firm textual evidence only attest to its existence in the Rjang dynasty. There is little to explain why the merchants, rather than sailors, should be required to bear arms, but according to later literature it was thought that the merchants' goods attracts hostility, so they ought to be (at least partly) responsible for repulsing it. If this was true, then the ships' crews may have insisted that the merchants protect their ships as much. A. A. Ascott believes that this was inevitable as the merchants would still be at a total loss if their transport were destroyed by hostile groups, and they were thus interested in defending the fleet as well. Some prominent trading guilds, especially those sponsored by aristocrats, had professional soldiers with the fleet. During the Rjang dynasty, aristocratic houses retained soldiers within quotas set forth by the government, but during the Meng dynasty this was suppressed, and it thus became incumbent on merchants to be armed. At any rate, most merchants were unable to afford such services and armed themselves. When the navy was founded, the government hired and sometimes impressed sailors from merchant fleets, and the merchants in them conveniently became troops. This contrasts with the prefectural militias' (lake) navies, which generally trained recruits to be naval infantrymen as much as cavalrymen and crossbowmen.

Into the second half of the Dziai dynasty (762–1080), the increased frequency of conflicts with Hallian raiders along the Columbian coast began to disrupt the commercial activities of merchants. While merchants served in the navy, they were allowed to retain some goods to sell abroad. In an emergency, the admirals could confiscate these goods for military use, with or without compensation. Yet as naval voyages lengthened in duration and (in the 1000s) extended to Meridia, merchants became distraught at the thought of impressment, which would impair their ability to trade freely. To combat evasion of naval service, the court in 1004 made it illegal to trade aborad without a license. The navy was further allowed to confiscate unlicensed merchants' property. To acquire the license, an aspirant merchant had to complete a certain number of years in the naval service. This system proved popular with existing merchants, as it restricted the entry of new competitors and made impressment less likely for them. In 1004, the term of service was four years; then in 1020, adjusted to six years. This provided the government with a stable source of soldiers in the navy, as there was always a demand for new trading licenses; additionally, it also made collection of taxes more efficient. It also meant the government could pay marines a very low salary, since their primary reward was the trading license. As the coastline of Meridia was explored, naval service provided an opportunity for non-merchants to explore abroad for new commercial opportunities. While actual successes must have been few, the lure of riches from trading abroad induced a sufficient number to enter naval service that it was not reformed after the Dziai ended.

Equipment

Melée era

From the inception of naval infantry combat in Themiclesia, weapons and armour were modified to suit the highly restrictive geography of ships and the requirements of formations that moved upon them. While very large ships (up to 5,000 tons in displacement by most estimates) existed in the era of sail, such ships were uncommon and rarer still as warships. Armour designs therefore gave priority to mobility and survivability in water, while weapons were designed so that a soldier had sufficient variety on hand to deal with enemies at a distance and up close. The entire kit assumed minimal reliance on his line-mates, since large formations with multiple specialized components were not practical on a soldier's own ship, and even less so if boarding an enemy ship via nets or planks.

The basic weapon for ranged combat was the recurve bow before the gunpowder era; however, towards the end of the 14th century bows became rare. It appears the use of catapults have discouraged ships to stay in arrow range. In its place archaeologists have recovered slingshots and javalins. For person-to-person fighting, most Marines held either a pike or halbred; the halbred had two sides, one being the blade of an axe, and the other a blunt, hammer-like weapon that could be used to push enemy combatants off the edge of ships and planks, and the pike was longer than the halbred but had a smaller, elongated blade. Both had barbs that could be used as a reaching device if overborad. These two weapons were designed to be used jointly, and most were trained to use whichever was more convenient. Short-range combat was fulfilled with a sabre. This is the same sabre as cavalrymen used with a slightly longer grip for two-handed use, permitted swinging and slicing cuts; the blade was overall straight but had a slight inward curve for better "bite". Infantry, on the other hand, usually used swords, which were slightly longer and had two sharpened edges.

Armour heavily used leather, layered cloth, and bamboo. Cloth waxed to a canvas-like consistence reduced water absorbsion, which, with dozens of layers, weighed the wearer down. The last had resilient fibres that resisted traverse cuts well; the weakness of bamboo to cuts parallel to its grain was mitigated by weaving bamboo fibres and then treating it with lime, which made the fabric more pliable but retained its resistance to traverse cuts. Metal armour was present in the form of a mixture between scale and plate, but it was worn far more off ships than on them, since metal armour reduced agility. It seems the choice of armour depended on the weapons the enemy was expected to field. Metal helmets were, however, common; under the helmet was a cap made from leather and spacers, designed to make spread pressure across the head more evenly in the event of a head-on impact. In the 10th century, another helmet design from the Army's charioteers were co-opted; these had longer rims that reached the collars of neck armour, allowing impact to spread there and also protecting the neck area from both trauma and leision more effectively. These were the "Raccoon Helmets" that was themed after a raccoon's protruding facial features, with ears, eyes, and nose encouraging blows to glance off.

There is disagreement over what they wore under their armour. Recent art and film tend to depict them wearing form-fitting crimson tunics and cream pants, which is implausible because crimson was a privileged colour, not permitted on individuals without rank. Form-fitting clothing were also exceptionally rare in Themiclesia before the modern era. It is most likely that the Marines did not have a uniform colour, or even uniform garments, since armour adequately identified affiliation. Nevertheless, the suspension belt worn under the armour (it ran diagonally across both shoulders and attached to a waist belt, which held onto greaves) suggests that something similar to ordinary Themiclesian clothing could have been worn to avoid abrasion, with long, wide sleeves and loose, billowy pants. Sleeves would have been drawn back or folded under gauntlets, and pants tied at the knee, if it was more convenient; written evidence shows that billowy pants were not only common on soldiers but all walks of life. Pieces of string were prepared in pockets and used to tie pants up, making tripping less frequent, when required. All evidence points towards sailors being barefoot onboard; the same is assumed for the Marines while onboard, since clogs slipped easily on the polished-wood decks of the day.

Gunpowder era

When gunpowder spread, boarding enemy ships became progressively less frequent. Themiclesian marines therefore receded in number and started to spend more time on land, manning naval fortifications and protecting the fleet in dock. In naval combat, where the gunpowder prepondered, they were one of the earlier adherents to hand-held firearms, only a century after ships were fitted with cannons. The argument was that the short range and inaccuracy of early firearms did not matter as much when the enemy had little cover and room to maneouvre on ships' decks.

The advent of firearms rendered most forms of armour, except the heaviest of plate, ineffective; however, that more engagements were shifting onto land allowed them to develop the medical apparatus that was only possible with territorial fortifications. Weaponry in this era generally followed Themiclesia's ability to supply them with modern firearms, though sidearms such as sabres were still retained. While essays were written arguing for an artillery department, the naval strategem did not include the Marines as a permanently land-based force.

In various campaigns in Njit-nom (now the north of Maverica), the Marines discovered that coating shoes in rubber increased their grip. Soaking these soles in rubber, common in Maverica, produced a much more resilient and comfortable sole; by the 1760s, most had their shoes regularly soled with rubber whenever available, and rubber was a commodity available on ships, since they were useful for stopping minor leaks. This fashion spread into other walks of Themiclesian society. The Army's shoe shop adopted the same technique with existing leather shoes in the 1800s, and this design survives into the modern age as the blue army shoe. When the Marines further learned to use old canvas to shell their shoes, wax was used to provide a water-resistent outer coat, offering protection against saline environments; this technique also found its way across the entire spectrum of military personnel very soon.

Culture

The current culture of the Themiclesian Marines is grounded in the naval policy of the 19th century, after the Raid on Rad debilitated the Navy and subsequent Second Maverican War severely cast into doubt the financial component of the aggressive foreign policy. The reduced size of the fleet equated reduced pressure on recruitment, and in 1800 the Marines had returned to a previous state of (actually) voluntary enlistment; this had a profound impact on morale and discipline, as recruits were no longer cheated, lied to, and abducted aboard by subterfuge. The rapid expansion of industry and broader participation created a class of skilled labourers that, unlike previous centuries, was not part of trading or professional guild but valued their skills according to their ability to support a family financially. For many, this was a replacement or even improvement over agricultural work that had been the prototypical way a man supported a family. Attainment to this state of financial security by means of skill was titled "respectability" by contemporary Casaterran labourers. This had been part of the sailor mentality for some centuries, when they deemed themselves statutorily and economically skilled labourers. As part of civilian sailing guilds, they also brought standards of work and professional pride into the naval service. While, of course, there could not be such a guild for marines, the reduced size of the Marine Corps permitted salaries to rise sufficiently that enlistment in the 1800s was a valid career, such that the skills associated with being one was made, retroactively, a profession.

Previous to this, Themiclesia's Colonial Army, which had been a professional military, was publicly acknowledged as a destination for the violent and criminal to practice the same on the state's enemies. This is synchronously with the assumption that such individuals were impious to their family, thus willing never to return to Themiclesia and accept a plot in her colonies, a highly negative attribute. Members of the force were tattooed at enlistment, carried over from the tattooing of violent criminals as punishment and mark of infamy, much like branding in Tyrannian common law; likewise, the Colonial Army had black uniforms, clearly associated with the colour black in prisoners' clothing. These stigmata were so visible that a man enlisting had "to renounce his reputation as a decent person and reduce himself to the cultural station of a criminal." However, given their military success in defending Columbia and Meridia against incursion, the Colonial Army has been forwarded as a model which the Marines have emulated from time to time, though not in a way which impinges on the moral aspiration of their men. Scholars are uncertain why the Colonial Army persisted in using stigmatized measures (and indeed reinforcing the stigma) such as tattooing and wearing black, but some have suggested that it may have created some sort of esprit d'corps. The unity and martial spirit of the Camian Army, descendant of the Colonial Army, was of note in the 18th and 19th centuries. While the foundation of their unity has been rectified, the Colonial Army remained stigmatized in Themiclesia, though the Camian Army must have attracted envy from the Marines.

It seems, therefore, the marines of the 19th century emulated professional sailors, to replace the unacceptable identity of the Colonial Army with the fictitious professional identity, in expectation to reap the same rewards it has brought. This was not without parallel in other parts of Themiclesian militaries. In the 1820s, the Royal Signals Corps began operating the first modern door-to-door postal service domestically; in the 1840s, they pioneered the telegraph in Themiclesia. Medical and veterinary officers in the militias were thoroughly respected by ordinary militiamen and paid likewise. In each case, professionalism was associated with increased social status and financial gain. Yet these differ in one principal aspect from the marines—they were each associated with a profession. This is because, as historians believe, the professional soldier was at odds with the militiaman, that fighting was something to be done, unpaid, as a duty of citizenship, and citizens had professions aside from it. Hence, A. A. Abbott describes the professionalism of 19th century marines as "fictitious", "one whose authorship was borne out of excessive terms of service and envy of a successful military". A similar distinction is also seen in the Navy in the 18th century, when the sailing and gun crews were different departments; only the sailing staff carried the professional badge. This antagonism between professional support branches and non-professional combat branches would persist in the Navy until 1837, when the Naval Engineers were split, and in the Army, well into the 1950s. The Navy has professionalized itself as part of the same gravitative reductions in size.

As part of professionalism lexified by "respectability", the Marines adopted measures to define their profession and set themselves apart from ordinary militiamen. One attribute of the modern (19th c.) professional was independence, financial and behavioural; being a salaried class, the former was accomplished, and in the latter they sought better techniques in their own ranks and respect for the laws of society and professional work of others. This agreed well with the hierarchy's desire to rectify the ills they had caused in the 18th century, such as forcible recruitment and drunken riots. In another form of independence, a strong push for self-improvement occurred, as skilled labourers of the age sometimes regarded themselves as "petty scholars" of their respective crafts; someone who could improve their techniques in productive ways was deemed superiorily professional. And, what perhaps made them most famed in the century, their vocal statement that professionalism resists abuse; this was accepted by officers in the progressive camp that individual marines should not be criticized except for failing at his duty, and even then not through verbal or physical abuse. Conversely, enlisted men were fully expected to participate in drills in with enthusiasm and an eye to advising his superior about what could be done more effectively in the future, since this was their shared "craft". This development was not without critics. An MP questioned in parliament that if everyone had something to say, the commanding officer would be swamped; however, the Navy Secretary replied that "[e]ven in this august chamber we do not all have useful things to say at any statement any speaker makes, so we ought not over-estimate the little people [i.e. commoners]".

Professionalism has also made its mark on other aspects of their 19th century behaviour. In the Home Militia, regiments organize prefecturally; even in large musters, militiamen retain a strong bond to their original prefecture, since their records are stored there and salaries issued there. Historically, when Themiclesia was invaded, the local prefecture's militia was expected to fight extra hard, since it is "their prefecture" that has come under incursion. This is in contrast with the Navy's principles, which de-emphasized regionalism initially and later levelled nationality, since it impressed men of all origins. In the Middle Ages, amongst the naval forces that contested the waters around Meridia, the Bond of the Sea were rules of war for naval engagements, prohibiting excessive destruction; it was so named, scholars believe, because the naval forces, regardless of nationality, were seen as sharing a mutual suffering to the tumults of the ocean and ought to have some sort of regard for each other. In this, the Marines were clearly more influenced by the Navy and did not have regional affiliations; legally, to accommodate men recruited abroad, they also de-emphasized Themiclesian culture and stressed that skill and dedication were priorities. This agrees with their 19th century characterization as professionals, under which their bond towards each other is through their shared dedication to their craft, rather than common origin, as in the Army. This is reflected amply in the absence of "Themiclesian" before the official names of the Army and Navy. The Themiclesian Air Force is, currently, the only branch that has "Themiclesian" as part of its official name, though they are nevertheless added in translation to avoid confusion.

As with the rest of the Navy, the Marines are noted in the modern period for their casual disregard for proper manners. These observations, made domestically, may be partial and omit "manners" that are opaque to those not in naval service. While the Navy was early to adopt the Casaterran salute, some time in the 15th c., its application was somewhat different than in Casaterra, especially given later divergence. Depending on the location of the subject of the salute, the saluter raised his arm on the side farther from the subject; if the object was on the saluter's right, a salute on the left arm was offered. If the object subsequently moved to the saluter's left, a new salute on the right would be offered. For head-on encounters, salute on either side (but not both) was acceptable. While this appeared archaic to Casaterran visitors in the 1800s, it was not as strange as not having a salute at all, such as in the case of the Royal Guards and most militia units until 1950. This salute was only used as a greeting. To indicate assent, a hand was placed over one's heart; this did not appear to be directional, and both left and right hands were acceptable. This was probably a variation of the Themiclesian gesture with both hands clapsed together over the heart, indicating intentful listening. The reason why the Navy performs it with one hand rather than both is probably because, most of the time, they would be holding something in the other. Additionally, the Navy do not salute the quadrant ensign, which was later adopted as the national flag; this is because one would be flown on each ship, and saluting it every single time one passed by it would be an intolerable nuissance. Like all commoners, sailors and marines were expected to recuse themselves in the presence of the sovereign, whether hiding in a cabin or simply facing the other way; if they were spoken to, they must perform the customary obeisance of bowing and prostrating (拜稽首) before replying to their superior officers, who would then relay it to the sovereign.

Next, in 1803, the Navy requested the withdrawal of the Naval Tribunes, who were responsible for enforcing law in the fleet, usually appointed from experienced lawyers; in light of good discipline and the role of the Naval Tribunes in starting the Affair of 1766, the court agreed to allow captains to try subordinate officers and men for some offences, while reserving jurisdiction to Themiclesian courts for others. In 1806, the first captain-general who had been an enlisted marine was appointed; this was a significant departure for the Ministry of Administration from previous practice, though it was by no means a persistent one. In 1890 they reclassified Marines' officers from administrative to technical, which excempted them from approbation.

The Consolidated Fleet was rebuilt in 1802 to a much-reduced scale; according to the prevailing formula for calculating the amount of marines required, its size shrunk from 18 regiments at the high point in 1757 to six regiments in 1803, including two regiments each on the Isle of Laing and Duck Island. However, the reduced size also allowed the Department of Ancillaries to correct some ills like the notorious abuse and forcible recruitment that had plagued the Marines during two centuries of intense naval warfare.

Unit names

The Themiclesian Marines have a very whimsical unit-naming tradition. This is in stark contrast with the constellation-driven naming scheme that the Themiclesian Navy has obeyed. Names can be acquired by voting within the formation, usually by voice rather than ballot, or by appelation from another group of people, whenever it is accepted by the unit itself.

Current units

• 3rd → 203rd Regiment—Star Chasers (追星), acquired by voice vote in 1948, in reference to the ancient traditions of nocturnal navigation that the Marines performed.
• 4th → 204th Regiment—Glory Seekers (榮益). Orignally "Problem Solvers" (永蔽), but in the 4th Regiment's dialect, the nickname was homophonous with "executioner" (刑辟), which was accepted via voice vote, as a pun, in 1949. Though the Navy leadership welcomed the pun, the connection with the Maracaibean 1st Marines was deemed an evil omen of the highest degree; as a result, it was changed to the current one.
• 5th → 205th Regiment—Sharpshooters (循射, ljul-smljas). However, members of the Regiment have pointed out that "sharpshooter" was homophonous with "missed by a long shot" (夷射, lir-smljas) in the dialect of the 4th Regiment. This has become the bane of their existence while training with them.

Former units

• 1st Regiment—Wobbly Light (搖光, a kind of auspicious celestial body), conscripted by the Themiclesian Army in 1935.
• 2nd Regiment—Circular Rainbow (繞虹, a kind of auspicious metereological phenomenon), as above.

Music

The song most anciently associated with the Marines is the Celestial Amble (步天歌, bas-t'in-kar), which is an abridgement of a song passed down by Imperial Astronomers in stringent secrecy. Legend holds this song was written as early as 584, but the earliest surviving version dates to 890. The version in use at the Imperial Observatory includes clues to the astrological meanings of the relative positions of the stars, supernovae, and a variety of abnormal phenomena. The Celestial Amble is a first-person narrated, rhyming lyrical poem that describes the magnitude, colour, and relative position of the 283 Themiclesian asterisms and, composing them, 1,464 stars. The number of stars swelled gradually, from that figure in the 900s to well over 3,000 by 1700, new stars being named, and the celestial bodies of the southern hemisphere added.

The song is about thirty minutes in length, singing at a brisk pace. Those who mastered this song and were able to apply it while on voyage or expedition were called "Star-chasers" in Marine parlance, receiving quadruple or quintuple pay than one who could not. The Celestial Amble remains the unit march of the 203rd, who are named in honour of these Star-chasers, whose records represent some of the earliest geographies of West Hemithea and North Meridia. The position of "star-chaser" was a much-honoured one; despite the low status of the military, civil aristocrats are required to call the Star-chaser "your honour" (明公 mrjang-kung, 明君 mrjang-kljul) in the second person and "well-esteemed" in the third in respect of their critical duty.

Oath

Due to the disruptions resulting from merger with the Loyalist Colonial Army in 1780, the marines were required by law to take an oath before the ship on which they served, before they were allowed to board the ship. The oath, originally established in 1784 for former members of the Orange League (a derogatory name for the the Cambrian Loyalists), was made mandatory for all members of the force in 1785, under a consideration of fairness.

ＯＯＯ誓不惟橘黨人，不為厲，不說人以不法，若有違震死，孫子不藩。

[name] djiais pje-gljui kwljit dang’ njing, pje gwjar rjais, pja sljuis njing le’ pje pjap, njak gwrje’ ghwjei tjins sjii’, sun tsje’ pje pjal.
[name] zheih pjui kjut dang’ nzin, pjut wji ljai, pjut shui nzin ji’ pjut pjap, nzak ’ju ’jui chin si’, sun tsji’ pjut pjan.

[I, A.B.] swear [I am] not an Orangist, [that] I shall not be a disagreeable [person], [and] I shall not advocate to others illegal [things]. If there is deviation [then I shall] be struck dead [by lightning], [and my] posterity will not thrive.

In 1957, it was briefly considered in Parliament to abolish this oath, since the Cambrian Loyalists were no longer an active militia or political force demanding military action against Cambria, but an early prorogation killed the proposal. Then, in 1968, the Human Rights Council found the oath in violation of the freedom of conscience, due process of the law, and nulla poena sine lege; two years later, the oath was rewritten to be politically neutral.

ＯＯＯ誓不惟黨人，不為厲，不說人以不法，若有違，論如法／免官暨論如法／廢。

[name] djiais pje-gljui dang’ njing, pje gwjar rjais, pja sljuis njing le’ pje pjap, njak gwrje’ ghwjei, rjuns njak pjap / mrjan kwal kjik rjuns njak pjap / pjaps.
[name] zheih pjui dang’ nzin, pjut wji ljai, pjut shui nzin ji’ pjut pjap, nzak ’ju ’jui, lun nzak pjap / miaen kwan kjit lun nzak pjap / pjoi.

[I, A.B.] swear [I am] not in any fraternity of preceding dedication, [that] I shall not be a disagreeable [person], [and] I shall not advocate to others illegal [things]. If there is deviation [then I shall] be punished according to statute / [NCO] dismissed and punished according to statute / [officers] cashiered.

Motto

Themiclesian public bodies do not usually have mottos; however, individuals can. The Marines' motto is not an officially sanctioned one, though it was independently attested in history at least twice to be merchant sons never fear or merchant sons always well-spirited. Hallian and Sylvan sources record that the phrase was shouted as part of pre-battle rally, making it perhaps more a warcry than a motto in sensu stricto. An exhaustive search into the Marines' archives for this phrase returned only one result, written in 1434, describing the reason why seafaring merchants should be required to submit their "younger sons" for naval service:

賈於外，百難不懼，為持家計，茲以振其心乎久長。農子輾於內，粟乃蘖，賈子征於外，物乃通，利家之孝也。家齊，國乃興。國興，天下平。

kra gwrja ngwais, priak nal pje gwrjah, gwjars drje kra klips, dzje le tjins gje sjem ga kwje drjang. nong tsje' nrjan gwrja nups, sjok ne ngrjat, kra tsje' tjiang gwrja ngwais, mjet ne hlong, rjit kra tje hruh lar. kra dzi, kwek ne hjeng. kwek hjeng, t'in gra brjiang.

To trade overseas, not fearing a hundred challenges, is to support the family, and for that cause their hearts are always well-spirited. When a farmer's son wets seeds at home, so that it may sprout, and a merchant's son adventures beyond, so that merchandise may freely pass, it is piety to the family's interest. Only when the family is united, the state will prosper; when the state prospers, the world will be in tranquility.

What should be noted is the used of the word tjeng, here translated as "adventure", is multifunctional. On one hand, it can refer to any journey with a set destination, for virtually any purpose; on the other hand, it is also used to mean "expedition" in the military sense. When Themiclesia invaded Dzhungestan in 1926, the headquarters was called the East Expedition Headquarters (征東府, tjeng-tong-pja). In either case, lexical emphasis lies on the travelling, not the destination or the traveller's purport there. In the cited passage, some scholars believe that, while the commercial function of the (elder) "merchant sons" was explained, a pun was meant for the militarization of their younger siblings.

Daily rituals

3rd Regiment, 1920s, in garrison

• 4:30 — wake up
• 4:45 — write letters, read newspaper
• 6:00 — formation, row call
• 6:30 — breakfast
• 7:00 — garrison hygiene and maintenance
• 9:00 — tactical rehearsal
• 10:30 — baths
• 11:00 — row-call
• 11:10 — cut cheques and prepare other instruments for the navy
• 12:00 — lunch
• 13:00 — personal exercise time: golf, tennis, jogging, hiking, and walking are options
• 18:00 — row-call, dinner
• 19:00 — free time
• 20:00 — bed

1960s

• 6:30 — ship horn, wake up
• 7:00 — daily comb of the ship, saying, "Visitors, please identify yourselves!" (賓客其自名!)
• 8:00 — breakfast
• 10:00 — row-call
• 10:10 — cut cheques for the navy
• 10:30 — free time
• 12:00 — lunch at the lower mess
• 14:00 — designated exercise time, spend as required: walk around the deck, push the ship around, stretch, or use the officers' squash courts if not in use
• 16:00 — baths available, row call
• 18:00 — dinner at the lower mess
• 20:00 — free time
• 22:00 — bed

See also

• Themiclesia
• Deep Mission Troops
• Dayashina