Fyrd title system
The Fyrd title System (Fyrish: titul byrdnys) is used by the Fyrish armed forces to assign acting ranks and define an ad hoc chain of command. This system aimed to facilitate the functioning of overstaffed echelons as standard units. Titled ranks or units may receive orders to return to their nominal position from the Chief of the General Staff, typically during mobilisation or deployment. The title system arose from pressures from the War of Sylvan Succession (WSS), where the need to raise units rapidly became a sensitive military and political matter.
Background
The Fyrd faced significant challenges during the WSS as the pre-war cadres (Fyrish: gedryht) were too few, the industry too disorganised, and the Fyrd's needs too great. Penny-pinching became a pressing reality for the post-war Fyrd, and the nation's damaged finances returned their immediate attention to the Fyrflota. The newly appointed Chief of the General Staff, Shad Harlan, advocated consolidating the cadres and introducing the title system in 1920.
The title system began as the consolidation of the existing cadres and the reformation of their structure in 1920. The system sought to end the stratification of standards in training, increase officer retention, integrate the Fyrd and Milite forces, and address the problem of insufficient room to condense a larger officer corps into fewer standing divisions.
The title system
The title system assigns acting ranks and defines an ad hoc chain of command within the Fyrish armed forces. A title may grant authority above or below the current rank of titled members. Titled ranks or units may receive orders to return to their nominal position from the Chief of the General Staff, typically during mobilisation or deployment.
Before the title system, the Fyrd maintained divisions under cadres in varying states of readiness. The readiest divisions comprised stood-up full-strength units, middle readiness comprised stood-down under-strength units, and low readiness comprised stood-down skeleton units, each under a cadre. However, the old cadre system became a major stumbling block during the WSS, owing to the vast gaps in training standards between cadres, the separation of cadre from unit post-training, and outright needing more commissioned and non-commissioned officers.
The title system solved these problems by consolidating the cadres and bringing them together to form entire divisions from the newly enlarged cadres. The Fyrd still used square divisions at the time, each consisting of about 18,000 men. Henceforth, each division would now comprise five cadres numbering around 3,600, three times larger than previous cadres.
Effects
The title system successfully facilitated the functioning of overstaffed echelons as standard units. It enabled the Fyrd to raise more divisions more rapidly from a smaller post-war force and provided a solution to the problems faced by the Fyrd at that time.
One of the intended benefits of the title system is that the soldiery became acutely aware of and adept in the roles of their subordinates and superiors. This awareness cultivated a deeper trust between ranks and rewarded individual initiative as the title system allowed elevated ranks to shine. Titles also forced upon the Fyrd a means to constructively criticise superiors within the etiquette of the day, which proved beneficial for doctrinal and tactical development in the years following.
However, issues persisted with the title system until military cultural norms had sufficiently adapted to such changes. The old school of military thought, notably General Oswine Wulfric, harshly criticised the system right until he died in 1922. Wulfric's position underlined the importance of a single chain of command, though counter-critics argued this was an issue of application — how the Fyrd should apply each chain.