Knootian Defence Force

The Knootian Defence Force (KDF) is the military of the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss, referring to all the branches of the military. The Knootian Defence Force had a reputation of being incompetent in the past. The navy was referred to by foreigners as "the rubber boat", and its army as "that guy on the bike". Indeed, bycicle infantry forms an integral part of the mobile forces of the Landmacht. However, military spending has increased in the wake of the Shadow War, especially with the new conservative coaltion of Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan which has placed great emphasis on reforming the KDF. Conflicts such as the Fourth Edolian War and the One Day War also served to highlight the need for a responsive and mobile KDF. Another boost to the defence force was the military aid from EOTED(continued by ICEL) and New York and Jersey

The military HQ is located in a bunker in The Hague. All Knootian units and vessels use improved versions of the Combat Application Engineered System for Advanced Response (CAESAR) which is used for virtually all logistics. General de Kaste is still formally in charge of the KDF, though he relinguished day-to-day command and has taken on a more ceremonial function during Operation Tempo Doeloe. Hans Couzy commands the military base known as Europolis.

Branches in the military:

• Landmacht (Army)
• Marine (Navy)
• Luchtmacht (Airforce)
• KMC - Knootiaans Mariniers Corps (Knootian Marine Corps)
• KDF Ruimtevloot (KDF Spacefleet) (future tech only)

Military strength

Knootian military strength has improved since the Shadow War, and it currently ranks in the top 10% of military spending per capita in the world. This still puts in well behind most major powers and most potential adversaries when matched up directly, both due to the smaller size of the nation (The DDR is rather large, but when compared to the superpowers its population is smaller then and as a consequence its raw economic and military strength tend to lag behind.)

The Knootian Defence Force is entirely a professional volunteer army, encompassing about 0.39% of the population. These numbers are not permanently under arms, however, but they have all received military training and function as active reserves. The number of actively mobilised Knootians in the Landmacht, Luchtmacht and Marine varies wildly.

In addition to this, the Knootian Federation can be drawn upon for military resources. Several divisions from the protectorate of Ale-Yarok have been integrated into the KDF. Soldiers have been trained in Knootian Colombia as well, but these have only been deployed locally in order to quell rebellions in that region. Locals from both dependencies are usually trained by Knootian officers. (OOC technicality: This is just for flavour, not to boost military numbers which may be considered Godmoding.)

National characteristics affecting military potential:

• The government has the power to edict emergency acts whereby able citizens are drafted into the military. This requires the most extreme of situations, however, and it has only been done in anticipation of a world war when Drum Gods threatened to invade and during the Shadow War where they actually fought in the battle for The Hague. These poorly-trained forces made an especially poor showing, however, and were quickly overrun. Professional Knootian and allied SATO forces eventually recaptured the city.
• The Dutch Democratic Republic has a sizable high-tech arms industry, which is currently exporting most of its products abroad. In the event of an all-out war, this would translate in a sizable capability of producing arms.
• Information Technology and other advanced technologies are very advanced and advances are incorporated into the military, especially the Luchtmacht and the spacefleet. This generally leads to much more efficient logistics, but also higher maintanance and lower survivability.
• Knootian culture generally abhors violence and has pacifist inclinations do not help to improve the stature of a military career. Knootians (both KDF and reserves) do not expect to ‘fight to the death’ and are expected to do so only in extreme circumstances.
• Guns are banned domnestically, and the average civilian cannot be expected to be able to handle them.

Military doctrine

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A korporaal of the Knootian Defence Force 34th artillery (towed). (Posing without his Combat boots.)

Landmacht & Luchtmacht doctrine

Modern Knootian military doctrine usually assumes defensive situations insofar as massive troop deployments are concerned. On the offensive, the military prefers more specialist tools such as airdrops and air support over massive troop movements. Operation Tempo Doeloe is one of the largest KDF operations in recent history, featuring 50.000 troops deployed into Tanah Burung.

• Bicycle infantry: in order to increase mobility of the common soldier, standard infantry units have been equipped with fast and silent bikes that can be used to speed up an otherwise slow advance. While more and more brigades are transformed into Mechanised Infantry, the Bicycle Brigades provide a cheap alternative for higher mobility.
• Towed guns, of all sizes, used as artillery.
• Peace Corps forces: the Knootian answer to its limited stand-alone military capabilities and new types of missions presenting itself was the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps consists of troops that are especially well-trained, specialising in dealing with a wide range of situations beyond pure military engagement. Special emphasis is placed on multinational cooperation. When there is a mission abroad, the Peace Corps soldier is usually the first to go along with the Luchtmacht.
• Eurofighter – many variants of the Eurofighter serve in the Knootian airforce.
• Gay Spray - a non-lethal chemical weapon designed to incapacitate hostile forces. (Classified)

Marine operating practices

The new Ondeugd-class Battleship and the Waarden-class Air Defence Cruiser are to improve the strength of the standard battlegroup. The tactical design in the air will be defensive, rather then offensive.

An advanced Knootian Defence Force battlegroup will include two Ondeugd-class battleships, one aircraft carrier, two air defence cruisers (Waarden-klasse ADC), two normal cruisers, eight destroyers and 2 nuclear submarines. A single old Zeedier-class submarine (diesel-electric) will also be part of the standard battlegroup. Initially four such battlegroups will be created. Other ships in the fleet will still conform to old standards (one carrier, one or two conventional battleships and escorts). Old battleships will gradually be taken out of service and mothballed, but other models such as the de Ruyter-class Battlecruiser and the Phlegethon-class frigate are still being refitted for use.

In order to improve flexibility, ships will be held in reserve to be part of battlegroups tilted towards specfic roles as “Modules”.

• The Offensive Air Group (OAG) which has an extra carrier
• The Marine Amphibious Assault group (MAAG) which has KMC marine landing craft
• The Battleship Battle Group (BBBG) which will have two additional Ondeugd-class ships.
• The Long-range Offensive Group (LOG). As an extra it will have 1 ammunition ship and 1 supply ship if no friendly ports are availiable for resupply.

Military experts have speculated about a new standard practice of another group of stealth submarines being kept in ‘wolfpacks’ that will travel separately from the main battlegroup with the purpose of reconnaissance, submarine warfare and nuclear capabilities.

Space doctrine

In space, it tends towards support roles for larger multinational fleets. This is mainly the result of having most of its ships produced in Sunset shipyards, meaning they are slightly below the development envelope of Yut standards. Recent efforts to modernise the spacefleets have helped, however, with new carriers and fighter-size gravships coming into service.

The KDF starfleet uses "Star Trek"-type Starships imported mainly from Sunset. Its emphasis is placed on smaller and older types, though recently the KDF has accuired a few advanced carriers as well as new cruiser designs. An overview of the most common classes:

• Dawn-Class Dreadnought
• The KDF Thorgardson, the fleets latest addition.
• Eclipse-Class Cruiser
• Cohort-III Class fleet cruiser
• Cohort-II Class fleet cruiser
• Venture B-Class Explorer

Ranks

Ranks in the Knootian Defence Force using the RL NATO Rank Code. OF refers to the officer ranks, OR to other (enlisted) ranks. (Compare to RL military ranks here) It should be noted that the person of the Maarschalk-Generaal of the army is often (but not always) also appointed as Commander in Chief of all the branches of the military. The Knootian Marine Corps uses the same rankings as the Landmacht, but the highest-ranking KMC officer is a Majoor-Generaal (Major-General Bierman)