The most basic military unit in Myork is a battalion. Battalions can have from 100 to 4,000 members. They are created as a way to give command authority to an officer, thus the unbalanced nature of the unit sizes. Each battalion is established by official decree. Most were intended for a specific purpose or to award a particular person or family for services.
Battalions are organized by geography, with larger land holders being put in charge of local battalions that are designed to coordinate the military efforts of the nearby land owners. Military service is Myork is the responsibility of the larger land owners, who must provide soldiers to the military deepening on the size of the land they own and/or the size of their family. While there are nuances, this is the standard formula for determining a family’s required service:
• Any land owner with 25 acres or more of land is required to provide one soldier to one of the battalions of Myork.
• Any land owner with 50 acres or more is required to provide two soldiers to the Myork battalions.
• Any landowner with more than 160 acres of farm land is expected to organize various families within the land and thereby organize them to provide soldiers as is appropriate.
• Any family with more than four sons living on the family land must provide three soldiers to the Myork battalions.
The standard land owning family owns approximately 100-125 acres and maintains their family and a large number of servants. Because of this, most people outside of the city-state believe the abbreviated version of “every family must provide two soldiers”.
While the battalion’s commander is responsible for equipping the men in the unit, the families sending the soldiers are responsible for reimbursing the commander. When a battalion is first formed, the government will grant the commander a large sum of money to get the force outfitted, but it is never enough, and the commander and the families will need to provide the funds to completely fund the gear. The central government is also responsible for providing commanders with a food allowance in order to feed the men, as well as a small allowance to pay the men. Myork soldiers receive very little pay from the government as they are considered to be supported by their families.
Some battalions are seen as being “cheap battalions”. These units are less expensive to outfit, most commonly being longbowmen wearing leather armor and a small melee weapon. While these battalions are not prestigious to the families who’s sons are members, it is a way for the poorer farmers to provide the required troop(s) without going bankrupt. These battalions are far more common in the eastern regions.