Malazan 7th Army

The Malazan 7th Army was commanded by Fist Coltaine unto its destruction outside the walls of Aren. It is now known as the Chain of Dogs.

7th Army Sigil – Chain of Dogs

"Corporal, you've just come face to face with the Seventh's entire Mage Cadre."

- Kulp

DG, UK mmpb, p.231

"Duiker entered the regimental rows of tents that marked the Seventh. The various elements maintained their cohesion in the encampment's layout, and each was clearly identifiable to the historian. The medium infantry, who formed the bulk of the army, were arranged by company, each company consisting of cohorts that were in turn made up of squads. They would go into battle with full body shields of bronze, pikes and short swords. Chain camails protected their necks and shoulders. The other footmen consisted marines and sappers, the former a combination of heavy infantry and shock troops - the old Emperor's invention and still unique to the Empire. They were armed with crossbows and short swords as well as long swords. They wore blackened chain beneath grey leathers. Every third soldier carried a large, round shield of thick, soft wood that would be soaked for an hour before battle. These shields were used to catch and hold enemy weapson ranging from swords to flails. They would be discarded after the first few minutes of a fight, usually studded with an appalling array of edged and spiked iron. This peculiar tactic of the Seventh had proved effective against the Semk and their undisciplined, two-handed fighting methods. The marines called it pulling teeth.

The sappers encampment was set somewhere apart from the others - as far away as possible when they carried Moranth munitions. ...Look for the most disordered collection of tents and foul-smelling vapours aswarm with mosquitoes and gnats and you'll have found Malazan Engineers. And in that quarter you'll find soldiers shaking like leaves, with splash-burn pockmarks, singed hair and a dark, manic gleam in their eyes."

DG, UK mmpb, p.548-9

'Tooth-puller' shields, a tactic peculiar to the 7th army

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