Organization in The Oz Series

the twenty-seven soldiers

Also known as a company of twenty-seven soldiers, these bold warriors, the brave Army of twenty-seven, the twenty-seven warriors of Oz, the twenty-six officers and the private, a captain, our brave Twenty-Seven, the other officers, a colonel, the twenty-seven officers, you stupid soldiers, these brave soldiers.

The Royal Army of Oz, now a company of twenty-eight officers from Generals down to Captains with no privates left — every soldier having been promoted one by one for courage and skill; of varying builds and dressed in handsome many-colored uniforms.

Appears in 13 chapters, first in chapter 55, last in chapter 88.

This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.

What the story establishes

Member count	28 (as of ch. 86)
Purpose	To serve as the army escorting and defending Ozma's rescue procession, though cowardly and ineffective in practice; in this chapter their purpose culminates in all twenty-six officers being sent, one after another, to make their guesses in the Nome King's palace, ending in their transformation into ornaments. (as of ch. 61)
Reputation	Claim to be wonderfully courageous and terrible to their foes in battle, but in this chapter their knees are so weak with fear of the iron giant's hammer that they cannot walk or run, and they must be carried two at a time on the backs of the Lion and Tiger to cross safely, contradicting their claimed reliability as fighters. (as of ch. 58)

Relationships

includes ← ozma_rescue_expedition ch. 57
The Army of twenty-seven marches behind the main party in the procession, forming the military strength of the expedition to the Nome King's domain.
leader of ← Tin Woodman ch. 55
The Tin Woodman marches at the head of a company of twenty-seven variously uniformed soldiers; when the twenty-six officers order the private to retreat and flee in terror of the Nomes, the Tin Woodman pursues them, halts them, and threatens to have Ozma reduce all the officers to privates and promote the private to general if they flee again, restoring order and command over the army.
subordinate to → Ozma ch. 55
The twenty-seven soldiers march behind the Tin Woodman as part of Ozma's procession, following her chariot across the desert and into the palace of Ev.
restores form ← Billina (ended) ch. 65
By guessing correctly among the palace ornaments, Billina broke the Nome King's enchantment over Ozma's followers/soldiers, restoring them to their natural forms, marked by the ringing of the enchantment bell.
frees ← Billina (ended) ch. 64
Billina selects and disenchants the green ornaments throughout the palace, restoring all twenty-six officers and the private of Ozma's army to their true forms.
protects ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 58
Seeing the officers too frightened to run beneath the pounding iron hammer on their own, the Cowardly Lion agrees to place himself in danger again, leaping back under the mallet to shield and carry them past it before it can fall.
rescues ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 58
With the officers' knees too weak from fear to run beneath the pounding hammer themselves, the Cowardly Lion leaps back under the mallet again and again, carrying two generals clinging to his neck each time until all the officers are landed safely on the far side.
protects ← immense Tiger (ended) ch. 58
The Hungry Tiger joins the Lion in repeatedly leaping under the swinging hammer, shielding the terrified officers from the descending mallet as it carries them across two at a time.
rescues ← immense Tiger (ended) ch. 58
The Hungry Tiger joins the Lion in repeatedly leaping back beneath the pounding hammer, carrying two officers at a time clinging to his neck until the entire terrified, weak-kneed army has been carried safely to the other side.
confronts → nome_army (ended) ch. 65
On Ozma's order, the lone private among the Oz soldiers charged forward and attacked the ranks of Nome warriors with his spear.
commands ← Ozma (ended) ch. 65
Ozma ordered her soldiers to fight the Nome warriors to the death, and after the generals raised the excuse of heart disease, she commanded that the lone private attack instead.
rescues ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 58
With the private stranded high on the iron giant's swinging arm, the Scarecrow lies flat on the ground beneath him and calls for him to jump down onto his straw-stuffed body, letting the private drop onto him safely at the right moment.
transforms ← the Nome King (ended) ch. 61
One by one, all twenty-six officers of the Army of Oz enter the Nome King's palace, fail their guessing game, and are transformed into ornaments.
commands ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 59
The Tin Woodman pursues the fleeing soldiers and orders them to halt, then commands them to return to Ozma and obey her orders.
defeats ← captain of the Nomes (ended) ch. 65
The Nome captain shattered the private's spear with a blow from his battle-axe, leaving him unable to fight any longer.
gives ← Ozma (ended) ch. 68
At the reception, magnificent gold medals set with precious stones are presented to each of the twenty-six officers of Ozma's army.
defies → Ozma (ended) ch. 59
Terrified by the Nomes' jeering laughter, the twenty-six officers order the lone private to about-face and the whole company breaks ranks and flees, abandoning Ozma's procession until the Tin Woodman stops and turns them back.
threatens ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 59
The Tin Woodman warns the twenty-six officers that if they try to run away again, he will have Ozma reduce all of them to the rank of private and promote the lone private to general in their place.
shows respect → Billina (ended) ch. 64
The freed twenty-six officers and the private gather joyfully around Billina, thanking her earnestly for saving them from the Nome King's magic.
located in → Kingdom of the Nomes (ended) ch. 57–67
The Army of twenty-seven tramps behind the main party as the whole procession leaves the palace and heads along the road toward the valley leading to the Nome King's domain.
commands ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 61
The Scarecrow orders the weeping general to follow his commander's fate and enter the palace to make his guesses, insisting it is the general's duty to march in.
threatens ← the Nome King (ended) ch. 61
When the general refuses to enter the palace, the Nome King threatens to throw him into one of his fiery furnaces if he will not go in and make his guesses.
commands ← Billina (ended) ch. 64
Billina brusquely directs the freed soldiers to help her search for Ozma, calling them 'stupid soldiers' and ordering them to look around.
commands ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 58
The Tin Woodman shouts "For-ward--march!" while waving his axe, ordering the halted procession, including the soldiers, to resume moving.

From the text

of whom some were lean and some fat, some short and some tall; but all the twenty-seven were dressed in handsome uniforms of various designs and colors, no two being alike in any respectChapter 55

I have in my Army eight Generals, six Colonels, seven Majors and five Captains, besides one private for them to command.Chapter 56

"Why, they seem to be all officers."Chapter 56

"Our knees shake so that we cannot run," answered a captain. "If we should try it we would all certainly be pounded to a jelly."Chapter 58

"I won't," said the general. "I'd like to, of course; but I just simply WON'T."Chapter 61

See the twenty-seven soldiers chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →

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