In Machiavelli’s the Prince he describes three kinds of troops a prince should avoid. The three kinds of troops are mercenaries, auxiliaries and ones mixed forces. According to Machiavelli mercenaries, a group of random people put together, can be described as un-united, undisciplined and ambitious. The Auxiliary troops are the complete opposite of mercenaries when it comes to their skill training in combat. Auxiliary troops were expensive to borrow because they were highly trained troops who fought well. Whenever they went into battle they won. Mixed forces are partly mercenary and national. They are stronger than mercenaries but are inferior to ones own arms. Machiavelli lays out several reasons for a prince not to rely on these kinds of forces. Machiavelli says “they have no love nor cause to keep them in the field other than that a small stipend which is not sufficient to make them want to die for you” (The Prince, 48-49). Mercenaries are unreliable because they only care about money, which causes them to have low morale and as a result, are not effective in battle. “They always aspire to their own greatness” (the Prince, 49). Another reason as to why a new prince should not rely on mercenaries is because their skilled commanders cannot be trusted to suppress their own ambition. “In sum mercenary arms laziness is more dangerous; in auxiliary arms, virtue is (The Prince, 55). The reason for a new prince not to rely on Auxiliary troops is because by hiring them the new prince puts himself in a no-win situation. If he loses the battle for which he hired them for he will become defenseless and if he wins he owes his victory to the ruler of the auxiliary force. The new prince, who conquered with the auxiliary troops, will never be a “true ruler” because his army is loyal to the person from which they were borrowed. Mixed forces were deemed unreliable for basically the same reasons as the auxiliary and mercenary troops. They are also not skilled in battle as much as a prince’s own arms would be. The best kind of troops
