Army of the Jihad



The Army of the Jihad was the military force created by the League of Nobles during the Butlerian Jihad.

Origins
The Army emerged after the escape of Serena Butler from Earth, and the subsequent escalation in the war against Omnius - better known as the Butlerian Jihad. The Army of the Jihad came about through the strengthening and centralizing of the various disparate forces scattered throughout the League of Nobles consisting the League Armada.

Tactical and Military Successes
The Army had mixed success against the forces of the Synchronized Worlds through a period of some seventy standard years. Their war efforts for the Human cause resulted in many glorious successes, such as the victory on Ix; however, their victories were tempered by some spectacular losses, usually because of: a) suspect military intelligence; or b) an under-estimation of Omnius' forces.

The strong-arm military tactics of the Army were complimented by cunning deceptions, usually proposed by joint-Primero Vorian Atreides. The huge fleet of fake warships that were stationed over Poritrin and managed to deter an invading fleet of Thinking machines is a case in point. These tactics were statistically much more successful than outright confrontations because of Omnius' inability to think creatively.

The sustained existence of the Army of the Jihad also owed much to the strengths of the Holtzman Effect, the details of which remained hidden from Omnius. The shields that arose from the Effect gave the Army of the Jihad a significant advantage over the conventionally armor of the thinking machine army, and reduced their attrition rate against a force that could produce military units far quicker. Later, the faster-than-light travel stemming from the Holtzman Effect also saw League forces dramatically outrun Omnius' armies.

Evolution
After the Army of the Jihad executed the Great Purge, and penned in the Thinking machines to one world, the weary League of Nobles declared that the Butlerian Jihad was officially over. At this point the Army was renamed to the Army of Humanity, and commissioned to keep Omnius restricted to Corrin. A later escalation in tensions saw the Army of Humanity destroy the last Omnius iteration at the Battle of Corrin.