Royal Army of Listeneisse
Listeneisse > Royal Army of Listeneisse
History
The legends surrounding the Royal Army of Listeneisse bring it all the way back to those followers of Joseph of Arimathea who left the Holy Lands in the days after the ascencion of Jesus Christ.
Joseph's journey to settle in Listeneisse with his companions was filled with battles and wars against those who would have exterminated the followers of this new religion. Unlike many who chose to be martyred, the followers of the Grail Company fought back. Furiously.
They had such militaristic roles in their circle as the Standard Bearer of the Grail, who bore the first red-cross-on-white banner into battle against the godless foe. The fashioned themselves as Knights, or Equites, following the traditions of martial Rome.
They wielded swords and shields and cut a swath through their enemies, ever vigilant to defend the Holy Grail, the vessel that had come into their possession. They build strong castles, and married into royal lineages of the lands wherein they settled. This was how the Grail Kingdom was founded.
It has been hard to put down the sword ever since.
The original bulwark of defenders of the Kingdom were known as the Knights of the Temple of the Holy Grail, also called the Grail Templars. They wore white surcoats with the red cross upon it. They had common sergeants as well amongst them. They were crack shock troops, defending the borders from attack, keeping away bandits and nefarious interlopers. However, they were not indiscriminant butchers. If they could tell someone was of good nature and quality, they would invite the person into the Kingdom, where they could enjoy the King's hospitality.
During the ages, the Knights also snuck out into the world, intermarrying with people of other nations. Sometimes creating secret chapterhouses of their order. Other times bringing back their families or followers to Listeneisse, to flee an ever-more-chaotic world around them.
16th-18th Century Army
In the age of gunpowder, the Kingdom began to rely more on Yeomanry -- citizen soldiers -- to defend its border. They were taught how to use guns and drill. A rule of 1% of all men of able body (eventually this became 'persons of able body' to include women) were drafted as reservists. Others, at a lower rate, were drafted to serve full time in the military forces.
Reservists, until recently, served only two weeks per year for four years. Or, if they wished, they could serve 8 weeks at one time. During their service, they would mostly drill and learn how to use their equipment. Outside of their two weeks, they were given course work on military terms, geography, operations. They would then be tested, and their pay would be based on their passing their final muster and exams.
19th-20th Century Army
As modern armies took shape around the world, the standing army moved further and further away from its origins in the nobility and knighthood, and more towards professional soldiers. Sergeant Majors became important to regiomental cohesion, especially to instill discipline in unwilling draftees.
The age of cavalry passed by, and motorized vehicles made their way into the nation, bouncing and bounding across the unpaved borders, filled with explorers in search of the mystical kingdom.
They'd be impounded by the Royal Foresters, and marched off to see the King. During those days, the Kings of Listeneisse were a highly religious, suspicious bunch. They did not like outsiders generally traipsing through the Kingdom. But they did admire the daring of these early explorers in their odd vehicles. Soon there were motor cars being built for the Kingdom, and especially, the Royal Cavalry Corps.
Reports of mechanized war around the world alarmed the Kingdom. Many of the adventurers were let to go back into the world with missions to keep tabs on technological developments taking place. They often took with them Grail Templars, trusted allies by their sides. They would wander the world, from the Far East to the Wild West, seeking out what was going on in terms of military advancements. Yes, they would even steal secrets from nations, and brought them back to keep the Grail Kings apprised of the changes in the world.
From this, a modern army emerged, shadowing developments of the world around it.
From gunpowder, to more powerful explosives. Smoothbore cannons gave way to mortars and howitzers and antiaircraft guns. Rockets and missiles were developed.
However, the Kingdom was very small. Never more than a few million people. There was no way it could keep up with the massive changes going on in the world, especially as isolated as it was.
When the atomic bombs were first invented, it sent a shudder through the nation. Here was a weapon they could not stop if it came their way, except by the grace of God.
The Grail Kingdom began to consider how to truly defend its borders from any interlopers, and how it could survive any nuclear exchange by other powers, or against it, if enemies of their faith decided to target them.
Modern Army
After it was decided to engage the world, the Kingdom of Listeneisse expanded rapidly. It had to purchase many systems from overseas at first, creating a huge trade deficit. But as the Kingdom developed its own technology, its modern army came into existence.
It specialized in R&D to combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). It has many NBC Reconnaissance Vehicles of a native design.
The most recent development was the massive reduction in Army Reserve forces. The rate of the Reserve Draft dropped from 1% of the entire populace down to 0.1%, a force reduction of 90%.
The number of full-time draftees also dropped. The Army of Listeneisse was changing into a modern professional, recruits-only army.
Doctrine
The Kingdom of Listeneisse had been a national-defense-oriented force until the modern engagement with the world. Recently, it has begun to develop air mobile, light infantry, and sealift/airlift capabilities to put their forces wherever they need to go in the world.
The Royal Army of Listeneisse (RAL) focuses strategically on the independent Corps, which includes all the assets for offensive and defensive operations. It is the Corps, of about 30,000-50,000 personnel, which can be dispatched in whole or in part to engagements around the world, whether as part of a defensive alliance of the Warzone of the Defenders, or as a peacekeeping operation, or for joint military exercises.
Below the Corps, the next most important units of maneuver are the Mechanized Division, Armoured Brigade, Light Divisions and Airborne Divisions.
- The Mechanized Division is seen as more of a large-front or large area of operations unit, designed to hold strategic objectives, or to move forward along a wide front. It is the main force of a Corps, and there are usually one, two, or three divisions in a Corps.
- The Armoured Brigade is seen as a shock force, designed primarily for offensive operations. While it includes some infantry forces for screening the armoured and artillery assets of the brigade, it is primarily designed to take territory, or to destroy enemey assets in a territory, turning over the area of operations to the mechanized or light infantry division in relief. It has about as many tanks as a Mechanized Division, but far fewer supporting infantry.
- Light Infantry and Airborne Divisions are both designed for rapid mobility. They are to be entirely transportable by the common mule of the modern world, the C-130. It it cannot fit inside one of those birds, it does not belong in these divisions. Exceptions are made for certain pieces of key equipment, but generally, it's a rule that they need to travel light and fast.
- Light Divisions are trained for disbursed and coordinated operations in different terrain types: forest, jungle, mountain, desert, urban, surburban. Their role is to move fast and thus, travel light. They are not designed to fight toe-to-toe with heavy units. They are trained instead for insurgency and counterinsurgency operations. What some might have called "guerilla tactics." However, the term is eschewed, in favor of "irregular operations." They are trained to be self-sufficient if need be, or to support the other major units of maneuver in their operations, usually in a supporting or relief role. Alternately, as an advanced deployment force, to await relief by heavy units.
- Airborne division troops are trained both as paratroopers and helicopter-based deployment (via rapelling while hovering, and conventional landing zones). They are trained similarly to the Light Divisions, but spend more time with coordinating air-to-ground strike operations.
