Bloodlet Throne Coven Military

The Bloodlet Throne Coven military, more commonly referred to as the Coven military, was formed by Salthar and Vengar Vivarian, along with Lucius Draconus, in 4E 201. Though they were never counted among the largest military force in Tamriel, they were among the best trained, as standard military troops went.

Due to a lack of raw resources, the Coven lacked the heavy artillery pieces commonly fielded by other armies, such as trebuchet and catapults. However, they supported their infantry assaults with archer volleys, and magical barrages.

In addition to the military having elite units within its ranks, they were occasionally supplemented by other Coven forces. The Black Guard, or Obsidian knights, for instance. Due to the small size of the military in general, forces in garrisoned towns and cities often relied on local help in keeping the peace. This allowed the Coven to redeploy troops to active combat zones in their territory.

Recruitment and training
Initially, the Coven accepted recruits from all over Tamriel, as they needed the numbers to combat the Stormcloak and Imperial presences in Skyrim. This changed, however, after the Covens defeat at the battle of Karthspire. Potential recruits were selected from villages, the bulk of them being Breton, Imperial and Nord, though as Coven recruiters spread, various Mer, Khajiit, and Argonians began to balance out the mix.

Contrary to the Covens' first military expansion, recruits were selected, for the most part, because of their lack of military experience. Thanks to this, instructors didn't need to worry about the recruits earlier life training interfering with Coven tactics. If recruits passed their initial trials, they became vampires, and commenced their training in earnest.

Recruits were sent through a series of tests, in which the instructors learned where individuals strengths lay. The better melee fighters were assigned to infantry, those skilled with the bow to archers, those that excelled at riding, to cavalry, and so on. Lacking an advantage in numbers, Coven troops were also trained to be combat generalists, taking examples from both Imperial and Dominion forces. Able to fill in each standard role, apart from the one they'd been initially selected for.

Those recruits that showed above average initiative, were instructed in the role of officers. They were encouraged to participate in team-building activities, and lead squads of their comrades against other officers in competition. Officers were expected to lead by example, inspiring their men to greater deeds in the Covens name. Officers also were exposed to situations simulating what they should expect, if they were captured. Loyalty to the Coven was ingrained in them to a state above the usual level hammered into standard soldiers.

Organization
The Covens standard infantry were trained to stand toe to toe, and outfight any enemy forces they came across. Their vampiric strength and reflexes allowed them to hold out longer than most troops. At the end of the first decade of the fourth era, the military altogether stood at about only 2,500 soldiers. This included elite units such as the Gold Bloods and Ebon Reapers troops. Officers, all the way up to the general rank, were expected to lead their troops in combat. This formed a strong bond between the leaders and their troops. Coven sorcerers were assigned to each battalion, and served to summon reinforcements through necromancy, and support the soldiers with arcane offense and defenses.

Necromantic reinforcements
Besides serving as magic artillery and defense from hostile spells, sorcerers were in charge of raising, and passing on orders from officers to the lesser dead. Such forces would supplement the initial Coven forces, and included zombies, skeletons, and wights. Rarely, a wraith or banshee could be brought to bear. However, each sorcerer could only support a finite amount of undead, and four of them acting in concert, could only summon about one hundred reinforcements.

Structure
The Coven structure was based on Imperial troop formations, though, due to lack of numbers, they only managed to field brigade strength armies, made up of 1,250 vampires, including officers.

Post Vampire war
After the Vampire war, the number of troops the Coven was able to field was further diminished. An 'army' was considered 800 soldiers, including officers. Battalions were further reduced to 400, though the smaller units maintained their size. Furthermore, the lack of available soldiers meant that the largest army of 800, was seen very few times, as the Coven simply couldn't afford to deploy so many troops to one area.

Tactics
Prior to and during the Vampire war (4E 200-4E 202), the Coven armies were deployed in standard military formations. Blocks of infantry, supported by archers and mages. Lesser undead were deployed as a screen in front of the main force, to absorb enemy spells and missiles. Standard tactics were to march towards the enemy, and engage in close combat as soon as possible, where the stronger Coven forces excelled.

After the disastrous battle of Karthspire, these tactics were no longer viable. During the last year of the war, Coven commanders were forced to use less-conventional tactics against superior forces, such as Varnus' Kohls guerilla war against the Stormcloak and Dawnguard forces in the Pale and Eastmarch.

After the end of the war, the Coven began exploring different tactics. In general, they followed three principles, which often allowed them to end a conflict, before it had begun. Shock and awe, demoralization, and misinformation.

Shock and awe tactics involved arriving at a potential battleground with a superiorly armed force. When forced to fight, Coven forces preferred to strike key enemy installations, such as watchtowers, forts, and lightly defended locations.

Demoralization was often the more brutal of the three principles, involving public executions of captured enemy leaders, mass executions of enemy soldiers, and razing of villages.

Finally, misinformation on Coven troop numbers, locations, and targets were spread by Coven agents among the enemy camp and civilian centers. This, along with demoralization of the enemy, was centered around convincing the enemy that fighting would, in the end, be pointless.

Divisions
Infantry- The bulk of Coven forces, they were more than capable of going toe- to - toe with Imperial legionnaires, Stormcloaks,and Forsworn raiders. A squad of Coven infantry was made up of five soldiers, often lead by a sergeant, the Coven equivalent of a Legion decanus. They were sometimes used to infiltrate enemy positions while the rest of the company provided a distraction.

Archers- Like in most armies, the Coven archers were used to provide long range fire support, and whittle down the enemies number before the infantry and cavalry engaged. They were also cross trained to fight as infantry, should the need arise.

Artillery- Due to a lack of raw resources, such as lumber, the Coven didn't have the heavy ballistae, catapults or trebuchets commonly used by the Empire. However, by 4E 205, the Coven had developed several variations of a small, easily transportable ballista.

Cavalry- Usually armed and armoured in light Darksteel plate and leather, the Coven cavalry was judged too valuable to waste charging into a prepared line. Instead, their job is to weaken the enemy by using flanking assaults on them. They also rode down any escaping foe, should the plan call for total annihilation.

Scouts- Few in number, and the stealthiest of the militaries troops. Scouts were sent out ahead of an assault to discover enemy positions. ,

Sorcerers-  Four  sorcerers were attached to a battalion of Coven troops. Their jobs also involved stopping hostile magic,weakening the enemy with arcane arts of their own. bringing lesser undead, such as skeletons and zombies.