Anatomy of Warfare - What to do in a War?

[Roswynn]

You're welcome, Leetsepeak & Boston123

And the other posters bring up some very important points - disease, logistics, the supernatural elements...

A resource I had somehow forgotten BTW is Exalted 2n edition's very own Scrolls of Esoteric Wisdom Vol. 2 - Scroll of the Kings. It talks about warfare in all the directions of Creations. I was very impressed with the treatment given to the Realm's Legions, but all directions are rather interesting - it talks about gods, typical tactics, main locations, armies, attitudes... There are some rules you won't actually need for Ex3, but IIRC you played 2e, so they will mean something to you and you might be able to somehow use them (of course, if they don't contradict the canon you're using). All in all though a great book for war in Creation.

[BrilliantRain]

Yeah, if you're the typical infantry grunt there's a lot of boooring stuff you'll be ordered to do. March, camp, stand watch... and then there's a lot of waiting around - some people in modern wars find that part to be the most difficult, apparently. It sure wreaks havoc with morale - and with someone's psyche. It might be better to gloss over this kind of stuff with some generic description and info, instead of role playing the minutiae, but trying to convey a sense of how nothing relevant ever happens might work. Also, anything can serve as exposition, as an occasion to introduce or develop NPCs, to establish a mood, to give the PCs a chance to express themselves, and so on - a scene here and there in the middle of something mind-boggingly tedious can do the job, I think.

While it isn't period, I feel like MASH might be useful for watching how people deal with standing around doing nothing while knowing that they might be called into a life or death situation at any moment. Also how non-professional people deal with being conscripted into battle.

A lot of psychological stuff really. If war never changes, then the issues that they're dealing with on the show should be just as relevant to Creation as Korea.

[BrilliantRain]

Also, you should check out the master of strategy. Sun Tzu's Art of War, which can be found translated for free on the internet. You might also check the Exalted version, the Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier.