Peleliu
Banded Mongoose
Starting a thread on the Imperial Army. I thought Geir's comment in the Marine thread deserved a bit more attention:
My vision of the Imperial Army is that it is similar to the c.19th-early 20th century British Army (post Cardwell reforms). A regimental system based on battalions. A regiment would be composed of anything between 1 and X number of battalions. For example, the London Regiment during for WW1 was expanded to 88 battalions. The regiment is the home administrative formation. Battalions are the actual building blocks of the brigades.
Add in the complexities of melding the British Army with the Indian Army and things get interesting. Take an "average" Indian division in WW2. It was generally composed of 3 infantry brigades each of 3-5 battalions. Each brigade was "stiffened" with one British battalion with the remainder being Indian Army. Artillery, armor and other support (often British units) filled out the division. Individual battalions were frequently moved in and out of a division, but the brigade and divisional structure remained stable.
Such a system begins to looks very much like the 3rd Imperium.
IMTU Imperial Army brigades are formed of 2-5 battalions. Each brigade has one battalion of Imperial Army troops. The remainder are battalions drawn from the armies of member worlds. Brigade and higher headquarters are usually from a permanent Imperial Army command-support cadre. Especially large or wealthy worlds are sometimes permitted to field an intact brigade under their own officers, but this is generally frowned upon. Typically, individual battalions are spread out as much as possible and can be plugged into brigades operating a subsector or more apart. All troops use standard Imperial Army uniforms when in Imperial service. Patches, badges, distinctive uniform accessories, vehicle flashes, etc. identify individual units.
Imperial Marine organization differs at this level. The regiments are not just administrative units, but combat formations. A Marine regiment is a fixed triangular organization of 3 line battalions per regiment. Each regiment also includes substantial heavy support assets controlled by the regimental commander and distributed as needed. In general, Marine battalions are somewhat larger and include more integrated support units than army battalions. Nevertheless, the army always notes that Marine regiments are just brigades by a different name. Marines see a sharp distinction between the two.
On the very rare occasions the navy needs to form large formations for ground combat, they follow the army brigade structure. A naval brigade is a frightening sight to behold. And one best avoided under all but the most desperate circumstances.
My vision of the Imperial Army is that it is similar to the c.19th-early 20th century British Army (post Cardwell reforms). A regimental system based on battalions. A regiment would be composed of anything between 1 and X number of battalions. For example, the London Regiment during for WW1 was expanded to 88 battalions. The regiment is the home administrative formation. Battalions are the actual building blocks of the brigades.
Add in the complexities of melding the British Army with the Indian Army and things get interesting. Take an "average" Indian division in WW2. It was generally composed of 3 infantry brigades each of 3-5 battalions. Each brigade was "stiffened" with one British battalion with the remainder being Indian Army. Artillery, armor and other support (often British units) filled out the division. Individual battalions were frequently moved in and out of a division, but the brigade and divisional structure remained stable.
Such a system begins to looks very much like the 3rd Imperium.
IMTU Imperial Army brigades are formed of 2-5 battalions. Each brigade has one battalion of Imperial Army troops. The remainder are battalions drawn from the armies of member worlds. Brigade and higher headquarters are usually from a permanent Imperial Army command-support cadre. Especially large or wealthy worlds are sometimes permitted to field an intact brigade under their own officers, but this is generally frowned upon. Typically, individual battalions are spread out as much as possible and can be plugged into brigades operating a subsector or more apart. All troops use standard Imperial Army uniforms when in Imperial service. Patches, badges, distinctive uniform accessories, vehicle flashes, etc. identify individual units.
Imperial Marine organization differs at this level. The regiments are not just administrative units, but combat formations. A Marine regiment is a fixed triangular organization of 3 line battalions per regiment. Each regiment also includes substantial heavy support assets controlled by the regimental commander and distributed as needed. In general, Marine battalions are somewhat larger and include more integrated support units than army battalions. Nevertheless, the army always notes that Marine regiments are just brigades by a different name. Marines see a sharp distinction between the two.
On the very rare occasions the navy needs to form large formations for ground combat, they follow the army brigade structure. A naval brigade is a frightening sight to behold. And one best avoided under all but the most desperate circumstances.
