We Have Reserves: Difference between revisions
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* [[Subverted Trope]] in the ''[[Dune|Legends of Dune]]'' trilogy, where [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|Omnius]] and his [[Robot War|Thinking Machines]] fights battles in an entirely logical and efficient manner. A massive fleet will not engage the inferior enemy if the casualties are above the acceptable parameter, even though machines aren't really supposed to care about casualties. It falls to his ruthless [[Brain In a Jar]] generals, who do fit this trope, to come up with tactics that surprise the enemy. One of their tactics - [[Colony Drop|dropping an entire cruiser on a city]] to destroy the scrambler field emitters that are keeping the machine forces from invading.
** On the other hand, the [[Church Militant|Butlerian Jihad]] forces will not hesitate to lose hundreds of lives to destroy several machines, as exemplified by the takedown of the [[Humongous Mecha]] Ajax by hundreds of angry slaves armed with primitive rocket launchers and even more primitive ''clubs''.
* [[The Draka]] use their slave soldiers (called "janissaries" in reference to the Ottoman military units) in attrition situations that their [[Super Soldier|elite shock troop Citizen army]] cannot finesse, thereby saving the much more precious lives of the [[Master Race]]. A Draka officer is reprimanded at one point for showing ''too much'' concern for the lives of his janissaries.<ref>Specifically, he's chewed out for acting to minimize Janissary casualties out of an emotional concern for their well-being, as opposed to a pragmatic motive of avoiding wastage.</ref> Eventually the Draka [[Evilutionary Biologist|engineer]] aggressiveness out of their slaves, and the janissaries are replaced by the [[Mix-and-Match Critters|part-baboon, part-dog, part-human]] [[Petting Zoo People|ghouloons]] who serve much the same purpose.
* Cultural-divide example in [[Codex Alera]]: when the Marat go to war, the first wave of an attack is always the green recruits, the warriors who most recently became of age. The ones who survive that are considered to have been smiled on by The One, and get to participate in the battle proper.
* In ''[[Shadowmarch]]'', Autarch has no qualms about letting his soldiers die meaninglessly, as long as he accomplishes his goal. During the siege of {{spoiler|Hierosol}}, he ordered [[Zerg Rush|full scale attack]] through the breach in city's walls, despite being warned of massive casualties it will cause among his troops. He explained that his soldiers should be happy to fight and die for their autarch.
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