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NICE! darius_sedai Send a noteboard - 07/06/2010 09:55:03 PM


*Snippety snip*

I've said this over and over, YES the Damane will be able to move troops, but the lack of linking is a significant disadvantage to them. It's like you have a pistol and your enemy has a machine gun, sure the pistol is better than just a knife, but you're still pretty much out gunned.


I had a vague memory that RJ had talked about traveling as a means of war and so went looking for it. Here it is, I think it is interesting:


Week 14 Question: Military strategy in the War of Power must have been odd, indeed. How do the concepts of capturing and holding territory even make sense in a world where forces can Travel?

Robert Jordan Answers: Good question, though not all of the forces involved could use gateways. (Rafo! Rafo!) Think of the ability to Travel in terms of moving troops via aircraft, and you will begin to get the picture. Even with the largest possible circles, there are limits to the size of gateways and thus limits to the front along which you can move troops out through it, the numbers you can commit simultaneously. Of course, you can use multiple gateways, but each is still only so large and can admit only so many soldiers at a time.

So-called front lines were very fluid, but you couldn't fling your forces in anywhere without regard to what would be surrounding them or how you were going to resupply, reinforce or withdraw them. Although no one has shown it so far in the books, there are ways to interfere with the making of a gateway - and ways to defend against interference - so the battle would take place on many levels. Yes, any area you hold can be attacked by your enemy, and you can attack any area that he holds. (Part of the result was great destruction and a great fall-off in the ability to produce high tech items. By the time the Bore was sealed, soldiers were already much, much more likely to ride horses and carry swords than to ride armored vehicles or aircraft and carry shocklances, which had all become very rare.) But holding an area is not impossible so long as you can successfully disrupt your opponent's attempts to make gateways into it. Even if he manages to get those first soldiers in, if you can disrupt his ability to reinforce, resupply or withdraw, it becomes another Dien Bien Phu for him. Of course, if you fail, then it becomes Gettysburg or Waterloo, a bloody fight that will be decisive for somebody. At least until the next "decisive" battle is fought. Remember, that designation is always given after the fact, by historians."


What I especially noticed there was that RJ said that there are ways to disrupt gateways and even hold entire areas by disrupting all opening gateways (presumably by the use of wards or the like).

Convenient that Rand has merged with LTT and (presumably) got most of his memories around the same as the Seanchan have got Traveling. I could see Rand now being able to teach the Asha'man how to protect all the major cities and areas around them and preventing the Seanchan from traveling at will. This is something the Seanchan don't know so Rand will once more have the advantage.
Domani Drag Queen in the White Tower ... Aran'gar watch out!
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Signing reports - 06/06/2010 07:30:37 PM 2006 Views
Interesting - 06/06/2010 07:41:56 PM 1071 Views
BS said Demandred's identity is the greatest secret in the story, and will pay off in the end... - 06/06/2010 08:05:51 PM 1284 Views
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Re: If they get Traveling, I hope we read the first time the Seanchan move their "creatures" through - 07/06/2010 11:03:22 PM 850 Views
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LMAO - 08/06/2010 11:01:57 PM 1031 Views

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