| All their lives peasants were working for their masters - cultivating the land, extracting resources, and multiplying the prosperity of their lords. At wartime, peasants were recruited to militia squads. Indeed this was the least battle-worthy part of an army.
The morale of these fighters was rather low, too. Although people are capable of self-sacrificing feats when they protect their families, it is very difficult to control such an army. Moreover, insufficient fighting training resulted in unwarrantably heavy casualties.
However, the militia was of great numbers and low value. These soldiers did well in performing ancillary functions, waging guerrilla wars and building fortifications. Commanders often resorted to the militia when the main army resources had already been exhausted.
It is hard to describe their weapons or equipment, because it was too diverse or lacking at all. Militia men mainly fought with their own tools (axes, smoothbore hunting guns, etc). Militia men also got some pikes and guns from military storage. Peasants mainly used their own clothes instead of uniforms. The militia were only summoned for combat operations; after a battle, people returned to their usual work. |
