Lastret Endlessemerald Raiding Doctrine
For warfare conducted against goblin domains.
The officer of a raiding party is an agile elf armed with a one-handed iron sword or lash.
Command:
During an incursion, the officer has as many soldiers as he is fit to command to increase his chances of destroying the largest goblin formations possible. Goblin prisoners from homeland forts will not be pressed into service because they will not fight against goblin forces. Some demon prisoners, however, are partial to the constant combat that the unit will encounter and shall be pressed.
The officer does not offer indigenous humans the protection of his unit. If bandits (roving or encamped) are encountered they are killed, but if a lair is discovered, it is bypassed unless it is a threat to the home civilization or a necessary redoubt for the unit. The officer uses discretion when a lair is entered whether or not to continue the attack, as solitary lairs are not worth crippling the unit over when its purpose is to hunt goblins.
Once the proximity of a goblin fortress is discovered, patrol is conducted nearby from nightfall until daybreak. Travel is not conducted up and down rivers, as the presence of a divider during a battle complicates its conclusion. Sleep is had during the day for 12 hours beginning at dawn, at the seaside if possible to decrease the possibility of ambush, or in an area with little foliage such as peat or glacier.
If the officer feels he is incompetent to patrol and skirmish during the night, he inquires with indigenous humans for the location of a cave in goblin territory. Sleep is had there and patrol is conducted during the day.
Heavy loot is taken insofar as it can be traded for necessary equipment and provisions. Giant cave spider silk is recovered after successful combat and is spent under the discretion of the officer.
When the raiding party has lost more than 3/4 its men in casualties, the officer returns to the nearest fort for reinforcements. The officer losing the use of his hands is not an excuse to be relieved from duty, but it means he takes on a purely advisory role in the unit until he becomes proficient in striking with his body. An officer who loses the use of his legs may be relieved from patrol duty and will be permanently stationed at the nearest fort.
Combat:
The goblin officer is identified and disabled ASAP. If this officer obviously possesses superior skills and equipment, human infantry is allowed to be the first to engage the officer, followed by an attack by the elf officer on his rear. In goblin military formations, there will often be a lack of a real leader.
During fighting, the officer dismembers or debones goblins so that they cannot use their weapons, but kills or otherwise attacks where necessary. When a foe is so disabled, the officer moves on so that disabled enemies are killed by human soldiers. Goblin archers with line-of-sight on the officer are targeted quickly, as a complete set of armor often still allows shots to the lungs, heart, throat and brain. If seriously wounded, the officer takes shelter in the nearest group of soldiers.
If the human unit possess more than 1/3 of its strength in archers, the officer acts as their ward during the battle and stays near their location.
After the battle, triage is performed on human casualties. Regarding soldiers who have lost the use of their weapons, discretion is used towards the unit's remaining strength: if it is low, these soldiers are left behind while they are unconscious and a trip is made to the nearest fort for reinforcements, but if unit strength is high, they are retained so as to attract larger numbers of goblins in future battles.
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