The Koenwitz "Freebooters"

The "Freebooters" or Koenwitz-Freikorps was a large paramilitary force that was created after the cessation of the Great Patriotic War and 1999. It was composed primarily of ex-servicemen and ex-policemen, but also contained young idealists and some old Royalist soldiers. It was secretly employed and controlled by the government of the new Armed Republic of Koenwitz in order to suppress a growing pro-democratic rebellion in Eastern Koenwitz, something that it did exceedingly well for much of the 1990s. However, following a disastrous campaign near the town of Harabszk that lead to a massive outbreak of violence in the East in 1999, the force was quietly disbanded. However, following the developments in the United Socialist States of Boico there have been rumours that the "Freebooters" have been reactivated.

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A group of "Freebooters" setting up an ambush for Pro-Democratic Insurgents near Nicoleheide, October 1992

"The Royal Army Rises Again" - The Early Days of the "Freebooters"

Although the Great Patriotic War ended officially in November 1991, heavy fighting continued between various insurgent groups in the East of Koenwitz that had fought for the two opposing sides. In the main the violence was spurred on by the Koenwitz Liberation Front (KLF) who had started the war by calling for the removal of Crown-Prince Reinhardt, but were equally unhappy with the new military government, which they denounced as "corrupt and immoral". The KLF contained and odd collection of soldiers, liberals and a great many Christians, who had been trampled on by the Crown-Prince in the years leading to the war and were to be equally oppressed by the military government.

For most of 1991-1992, the KLF fought against its arch-rival, the Royalist Freedom Army (RFA), composed primarily of irrregulars and former Royal Army soldiers who had not followed Field-Marshal Kaen when he and the Army switched sides in 1999. The fighting was exceptionally fierce and during the Christmas 1991 period the Army was called when shells started landing in the already badly-damaged city of Harabszk.

Field-Marshal Kaen was annoyed by the continuing insurgency. He quickly gave the police force powers to shoot or deport pro-democratic or die-hard Royalist militiamen. This was not enough. The police force had been crippled by the war and was not yet capable of mounting full-scale operations against the militants. In February 1992 there was a notorious incident in East Harabszk. Forty police officers had been sent to restore order at the large MAK factory, where a pro-democratic riot had broken out. As they entered the factory grounds, they were locked in by the workers. KLF militiamen opened fire from the roofs, forcing them back into the security office. The workers set the office on fire, and when the surviving policemen emerged, blackened and choking, they were set upon by a large mob who beat them to a pulp. The KLF cleared the mob after half an hour of violence and then executed the broken officers. It then announced on national radio that it was in control of Eastern Koenwitz.

The Army was furious. The Chiefs of Staff wanted to launch a full assault on Harabszk and raze the troublesome city to the ground. The trouble with this approach, however, was that it would only alienate further the already disillusioned populace of the East, and possibly lead to a resumption of the Civil War. The Army was exhausted by the five turbulent years of the war, and the country was struggling to get back on its feet. The situation had to be resolved in a different way.

This 'other way' was suggested to Field-Marshal Kaen by a young officer from the Army's elite 2nd Jäger Division, Colonel Kurt Ertz. With the Army demobilising many of its soldiers, he suggested reorganising those with the most combat expereince into an elite "detached force" that could operate independently of the Army and government while remaining under its overall control. The force could also recruit the more moderate rebel troops from both Royalist and Democratic sides. This idea appealed to the Field Marshal and he commissioned Colonel Ertz (who was promoted to Lieutenant-General) to form the force.

While the Army kept a tight ring around Harabszk, Ertz feverishly set to work establishing a working military force. It took him two months to establish the 1st Regiment of what he dubbed the Freikorps-Koenwitz, which was to become the units' official title in the months to come. This regiment, comprised mainly of ex-Jäger troops, was dispatch immediately to East Harabszk and the MAK plant. After a week of heavy fighting, the KLF force had been subdued and government control restored to the town. The Freikorps had earned their first success - and also their first claim of brutality, with stories of prisoner executions and torture.

Following this victory in Harabszk, Ertz stepped up the programme of recruiting and supply. His aim was to raise a force of 10-50,000 men with independent aerial, artillery and armoured assets that would be taken from redudant army materiel. A large training camp was established at a secret location in the Southern Mountains, and by the end of the year the Freikorps 1st Brigade was ready for action. It was to see plenty of it.

The "Glory Years", 1993-1998

The 1999 Eastern Insurgency

Rising Once More: The Boico Deployment and the Restoration of the "Freebooters", 2007

The dramatic events in the USSB during the summer of 2007 forced a great change upon the regular Army. It was realised that keeping the force numbers limited to just 500,000 would be insufficient if Koenwitz was to become more involved in foreign affairs. The difficulty, however, was that to increase the size of the Army would take a great deal of time. With the war in Boico worsening and demands from other nations increasing, Field-Marshal Kaen ordered, clandestinely, the re-establishment of the "Freebooters", who would be under the control of the Army once again.

This was not a major problem. Since 1999, many of the former Freikorps officers had returned to jobs in the police service, or gone to train new recruits in the Army. Of course, finding fighting troops would be more of a challenge, given the heavy losses suffered in the Eastern Insurgency. However, by June 10th 2007, enough former Freikorps men had returned to service to enable the creation of two brigades; one infantry and one mechanized. Rather than deploy them immediately to Boico, the Army kept them in reserve in order to bring them up to full strength. At time of writing the Freikorps is still recruiting, and it has been offered to several nations gripped by insurgencies or low-scale civil wars. Because it is not officially sanctioned by the government, should the situation abroad worsen the Freikorps can be withdrawn immediately, without linking them to the Koenwitz and hence protecting it from any possible attacks by rebel forces that take government in countries where the Freikorps have been deployed. This was one of the first lessons learned by the Army during the Boico Deployment, where it rapidly became deeply involved in a war that was not its own, a war that ultimately threatened the future security of Koenwitz.

The Composition of the "Freebooters"

Details on the exact order of battle of the Freebooters remain particularly sketchy, as there is very little available information. However, based on interviews and websearches, this is the best guess to how the 100,000+ strong force is organised. The composition of the brigades is based upon original Royal Army units, and the commanding officers were generally junior officers or NCOs in the Royal Army until 1990. The Freikorps are supposedly under the command of Major-General Kurt Ertz, Chief of Staff of the Foreign Department, although this has been hotly denied by the government. Additional information suggests that the Army is creating two "Foreign" Brigades as part of an effort to turn the "Freebooters" into a Foreign Legion-type force. At time of writing the 2 "Foreign" Combat Brigades are fully operational thanks to an influx of Urscreenian men under Koenwitzian command. These brigades were engaged in the battle to repel to Boicoian invaders in the winter of 2007.

1st Independent Infantry Brigade

Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General Eberhardt Wittmann

• 1st Battalion, The Harabszk Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, The Harabszk Regiment
• 4th Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles
• 1st Battalion, The Westerwald Artillery (machine guns and mortars)

2nd Independent Infantry Brigade

Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General Lars Mohnke

• 2nd Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles
• 5th Battalion, The Freikorps Light Infantry
• 3rd Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles
• 2nd Battalion, The Westerwald Artillery (machine guns and mortars)

1st/3rd Independent Mechanized Brigade

Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General Haraldt Waenger

• 1st Battalion, The Freikorps Tank Regiment
• 1st Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles (Motorised)
• 55th Battalion, The Freikorps Tank Regiment
• 23rd Battalion, The Freikorps Strike Regiment (Assault Guns and medium tanks)
• 3rd Battalion, The Westerwald Artillery (motorised guns and assault guns)

2nd/4th Independent Mechanized Brigade

Officer Commanding: Lieutenant-General Joachim Wunsche

• 2nd Battalion, The Freikorps Tank Regiment
• 5th Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles (Motorised)
• 6th Battalion, The Freikorps Rifles (Motorised)
• 24th Battalion, The Freikorps Strike Regiment (Assault guns and medium tanks)
• 4th Battalion, The Westerwald Artillery (assault guns)

The 1st/5th Independent Parachute Brigade

Officer Commanding: Colonel Wilhelm Student

• 1st Battalion, The Koenwitz Airborne Regiment (Parachute Borne
• 2nd Battalion, The Koenwitz Airborne Regiment (Gliderborne)
• 1st Battalion, The Koenwitz Airmobile Regiment
• The 1st Independent Aviation Regiment (KV-52's and UH-1D's)

The 1st/6th Foreign Combat Brigade (1st Brigade of the Koenwitz Foreign Legion)

Officer Commanding: Colonel Alfred Knispel

• 1st Battalion, Foreign Rifle Regiment (Infantry)
• 2nd Battalion, Foreign Rifle Regiment (Airborne)
• 1st Battalion, Foreign Jäger Regiment
• 1st Battalion, The Koenwitz Legion Artillery Regiment
• 908th Independent Aviation Regiment (KV-52's and UH-1D's)

The 2nd/7th Foreign Combat Brigade (2nd Brigade of the Koenwitz Foreign Legion)

Officer Commanding: Colonel Kurt Regermann'

• 3rd Battalion, Foreign Rifle Regiment (Airborne)
• 2nd Battalion, Foreign Jäger Regiment
• 3rd Battalion, Foreign Jäger Regiment (Airmobile)
• 2nd Battalion, The Koenwitz Legion Artillery Regiment
• 909th Independent Aviation Regiment (KV-52's & UH-1D's)

See Also

• The Armed Republic of Koenwitz
• The Army of Koenwitz
• The Boico Deployment