Showing posts with label Imperial Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Imperial Army. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Huiha Esoyatre - an Aslan Minor State Part 2

Trokh is the main Aslan language and has remained fairly constant across both millenia and parsecs of space. In the RimWorlds, the three known Aslan states are at least 10 parsecs distant from each other and rarely interact. Each Huiha speaks Trokh but with slight local variations. I discovered a partial Aslan dictionary online which has some useful terms, and which seems to either be derived from the word list in MegaTraveller Alien Vol 2Solomani and Aslan - the Rimward Races, or to have helped form it, as well as a word list in GURPs Traveller: Alien Races 2Aslan, K'kree, and Other Races Rimward of the Imperium. Further Trokh words will need to be generated as required from Space Corsair's excellent Traveller word generator programme.

Trokh Word List
aikoho"many ships", fleet
khoiayaarmor
afeahyalhtowpopular Aslan pet; flying carnivore/killer
ayakyuircarnivore native to Kusyu, noted for speed and ferocity
Akoaft"Far Throwing" - artillery
Soarl"elite"
Trekhyair"land protector" clan military force
Ahr’eah"armed pride" - platoon or company
Areiale"they who sprint" – marines
Ekho’ear"armed family" – squad
Hraye"wanderer" – scout
Hryo"half dozen" - a squadron
Huih’eal"armed clan" – battalion or regiment

This list of words provides some useful starters, but I think I will have to generate more.

The Personnel figures I generated for each Huiha and E'kho of the Huiha Esoyatre in part 1 of this article were drawn from the populations of each of the Aslan worlds within the hasoi of Huiha Esoyatre. Consulting Alien Races 2 and Solomani and Aslan I determined that 10% of the population, or population resource equivalent, were currently available for Military service. This is a little higher than normal, but the Huiha Esoyatre shares border space with two potential enemies - the Imperium and the Kalar-Wi - and annexed a Kalar-Wi system only four years ago, so political tensions are elevated.

I had earlier determined, using the tables in GURPs Traveller Ground Forces, that the Huiha Esoyatre had some 3000 battalion equivalents available for offworld deployment as a Tech Level 12 force. The choice was made by the Huiha government to upgrade part of this force to Tech Level 14, and this produced 3 Elite Corps, 3 Elite Divisions and two Elite Independent Regiments equipped to TL14, and 10 Corps, two Independent Divisions and one Independent Brigade equipped to TL12. The equipment upgrade reduced overall numbers to about 1000 battalion equivalents.

When I looked at the Geithurian Republic Table of Organization, I essentially started with the first formation and then assigned battalions to it, before moving on to the next formation. With the Unified Imperial Army Gamelea Command, I worked out possible ranges of unit numbers across all Imperial Subsectors in the RimWorlds, and then assigned units to each formation within the Gamelea and Miazan Subsectors from the available units for those Subsectors. The Huiha Esoyatre, however, was a little different.

.With essentially a feudal form of government, each E'kho is required to contribute personnel and units towards the trekhyair, or "land protector", force of the Huiha, or clan, and each lesser clan is required to contribute units toward the trekhyair of the dominant clan of the Huiha. All these subordinate forces remain under the control of the contributing E'kho or Huiha, even if they fall under the command of the senior E'kho or Huiha. To begin to untangle this knot, I had to know how many personnel each E'kho was able to contribute; work out the percentage of the total trekhyair this represented; and then work out what percentage of the 1000 battalion equivalents already determined as making up the Huiha trekhyair each E'kho's contribution actually numbered.

Did I really need this information? No. But I did want to capture the flavour of an Aslan force, and creating this background material contributes to the richness of the mileau. Also the numbers, as they came up, posed questions as to how politics within the Huiha Esoyatre actually worked, and answering these questions gave me a clearer picture of the Huiha as a whole.

After a little number crunching, I arrived at the following raw figures:

Huiha or ClanBattalions by system
Huiha EsoyatreYuwe: 18 Battalions; Yuakteisye: 192 Battalions; Faiwawhwe: 75 Battalions
Huiha UahwilYuakteisye: 1230 battalions; Faiwawhwe: 72 battalions
Huiha AiaihfaYuakteisye: 600 battalions; Faiwawhwe 66 battalions
E’kho HraktiskearAtlasiykh: 1 battalion
Huiha HwouwoahiwFaiwawhwe: 132 battalions
Huiha I’iyheasFaiwawhwe: 141 battalions
Huiha EakteaeiFaiwawhwe: 153 battalions
Huiha AwuahraFaiwawhwe: 150 battalions
Huiha HtualraluikhFaiwawhwe: 144 battalions
E’kho HroukhteftaiYaitlaorail/Kidan: 1 battalion

As these battalion equivalent numbers were based on the original TL12 3000 battalions, I decided that I would arbitrarily reduce the strength of the larger clans by a third to reduce the over-all total of battalions to better match the formations I had originally generated from GURPs Traveller Ground Forces. One thing that did give me a little wriggle room was the fact that the Aslan don't have set sizes for various units - squads, for example, can vary between 4 and 12 soldiers.

Huiha Esoyatre is both the dominate clan of Yuwe, and the clan that dominates the wider hasoi, even though in military numbers Huiha Esoyatre falls behind Huiha Uahwil and Huiha Aiaihfa. However, Esoyatre's strength may lie in the fact that its four families work more in harmony under the leadership of E'kho Hleahayaou then the eight familes of Huiha Uahwil and the seven families of Huiha Aiaihfa work together under their leading E'khos. Add in political and traditional ties between E'khos of the Great Huihas, as well as alliances with the Lesser Huihas of Faiwawhwe, and interfamily and interclan relationships, and the political landscape of the Huiha becomes a scintillating web of connections. A web that can become an armoured sphere around the hasoi in the event of outside aggression.

Next: A look at the Huiha and E'kho tables of organisation.

Sunday, 12 January 2014

Imperial Army - Gamelea Subsector


Following on from my earlier post on the Miazan Subsector Imperial Unified Army, I decided to continue the process by working up the UA for Gamelea Subsector.

As before, I am using GURPsTraveller: Ground Forces by Douglas Berry as my guide. Ground Forces postulates that all Imperial planets above a certain population and Tech Level produce "Battalion Equivalents" from a percentage of their population. These "Battalion Equivalents" can either be grouped into Battalions and higher formations at the producing planet's tech level, or traded-in/amalgamated into Elite formations, or higher Tech Level formations. In the latter case, the assumption is that the planetary Government imports higher Tech equipment, which makes individual formations more efficient, which permits the Government to enlist fewer soldiers.

Firstly, to determine the number of Battalion Equivalents each planet produces, the Battalion Equivalent Table is used. This table is my adaption of the original Classic Traveller table that appeared in Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society Issue 10, rather than the one from Ground Forces as it is easier (for me) to use.

Defence Battalions or Battalion Equivalents (BEs)
Population
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
TL
3
-
1
10
1C
1K
10K
50K
100K
4
-
1
10
1C
1K
2K
20K
200K
5
1
2
3
30
3C
3K
30K
300K
6
1
2
3
30
3C
3K
30K
300K
7
-
1
2
20
2C
2K
20K
200K
8
-
1
2
20
2C
2K
20K
200K
9
-
-
1
15
150
15C
15K
150K
A
-
-
1
15
150
15C
15K
150K
B
-
-
1
12
120
12C
12K
120K
C
-
-
1
12
120
12C
12K
120K
D
-
-
1
10
1C
1K
10K
100K
E
-
-
7
7
70
7C
7K
70K
F
-
-
-
5
50
5C
5K
50K

Working with these figures and applying them to Gamelea Subsector, we begin to see the following emerge:

Gamelea Subsector Imperial Worlds
Planet
Port
Pop
TL
BEs
Reserve
Raw BE
Units
Varch
B
5
B
1
-
1
1 TL11 Infantry Battalion - 1st A'Varchi Ranger Battalion
Acorlis V
C
6
7
20
30
10
1 TL12 Infantry Battalion, 2 TL7 Armoured Battalions, 2 TL7 Infantry Battalions
Julnar
A
5
F
-
-
-
 Nil
Leminkainen
D
5
4
10
15
5
1 TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Freedom Militia
Anthorann
C
9
B
12K
18K
6K
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 1 TL12 Elite Armoured Corp, 2 TL12 Armoured Corps, 2 TL12 Infantry Corps, 2 TL11 Armored Field Armies, 4 TL11 Infantry Field Armies, 1 TL11 Armoured Corp, 1 TL11 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL11 Infantry Divisions
Kerak
C
0
B
-
-
-
Nil
Rimbaud II
B
4
D
-
-
-
Nil
Tulvan
C
7
8
20
30
10
1 TL12 Armoured Battalion, 1 Elite TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Civil Guard, 3 TL8 Infantry Battalions
Kalath
B
4
9
-
-
-
Nil
Feor
A
8
9
15C
21C
8C
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 2 TL12 Armoured Brigades, 2 TL12 Armoured Regiments, 4 TL12 Infantry Divisions, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Battalion
Vanvlack VII
B
5
B
1
-
1
1 TL11 Infantry Battalion - The Vanvlack Volunteer Defence Force
Gamelea
A
A
F
50K
75K
25K
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Field Army, 3 TL15 Elite Infantry Field Armies, 100 TL15 Armoured Field Armies, 200 TL15 Infantry Field Armies
Ventura
B
9
C
12K
18K
6K
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Battalion - the Parliamentary Guard, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Corp, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Division, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Regiment, 6 TL12 Armoured Corps, 24 TL12 Infantry Corps
Bryak
D
A
9
150K
225K
75K
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Field Army, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Field Armies, 27 TL9 Armoured Field Armies, 56 TL9 Infantry Field Armies
Canblyne
A
5
D
1
-
1
1 TL13 Infantry Battalion - Citizens' Defense Battalion
Gilanda
B
4
3
1
-
1
1 TL3 Infantry Battalion - Republican Guard
Lymethius Subsector Imperial Worlds - part of the Duchy of Gamelea
Ouron
C
4
7
-
-
-
Nil
Finduil
C
8
8
2K
3K
1K
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 3 TL8 Armoured Divisions, 2 TL8 Infantry Corps, 3 TL8 Infantry Divisions, 1 Elite TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Finduilan Rangers
Por'via
D
5
8
1
-
1
1 TL8 Infantry Battalion
Anar
A
7
A
15
21
7
1 TL15 Infantry Battalion, 1 TL10 Armoured Battalion
Unified Imperial Army Units for Gamelea Subsector
Personnel for each Field Force of the Unified Imperial Army are recruited from all Imperial planets within the subsector the Field Force is assigned to.
3366
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Regiment, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Commando Battalions, 6 TL12 Armoured Corps, 3 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 3 TL12 Armoured Regiments, 2 TL12 Infantry Field Armies, 3 TL12 Infantry Corps, 3 TL12 Infantry Divisions

It is Imperial policy to equip all Unified Imperial Army Units to at least Tech Level 12 standard. This ensures a unity of equipment across formations. Subsector Army Commands are permitted to upgrade units under their command to higher Tech Levels, but the cost for this upgrade is to be born at Subsector level.

House Juharl-Zarquestuir have been Dukes of Gamelea since the beginning of the Ninth Century. It was Duke Petron IV (reigned 1041 - 1065) who, following the Ulanor succession to the Sector Duchy in 1044, began to upgrade the Gamelea Unified Army to Tech Level 15. This was partly in response to increased activity by the Outrim Alliance, and partly in response to the shift in power amongst the Houses Major of the Rimward Subsectors.

The major Imperial recruiting grounds in Gamelea Subsector are Bryak, Gamelea, Ventura, Anthorann and Feor. Duke Petron encouraged the system Governments to upgrade a portion of their Planetary Defense Forces to Tech Level 15 even as he ensured funds were available for the Unified Army. Duke Pahran continued his father's initiatives but his death in 1080 at the beginning of the 4th Outrim War delayed further progress as the Unified Army found itself heavily committed to resisting incursions by the Outrim Alliance.

In spite of the political lethargy that paralyzed the Gamelea Subsector government under Duke Petron's grandson, Adryos Urzov IV (reigned 1080 - 1105), the current Subsector Duke, Kolin II Andralistain, has indicated that he intends to complete Duke Petron's plans to upgrade the Gamelea Subsector Unified Imperial Army formations to Tech Level 15 over the next five years.

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Imperial Army - Miazan Subsector

Dick Hentz' evocative mid-Tech trooper
from Book 4: Mercenary
Following on from the design work I did on the Imperial Marines assigned to Miazan Subsector, I next decided to examine the regular ground forces - the Army.

To guide me in this task, I turned to GURPs Traveller: Ground Forces by Douglas Berry for ideas and suggestions.

As an initial assumption, Ground Forces postulates that all Imperial planets above a certain population and Tech Level produce "Battalion Equivalents" from a percentage of their population. These "Battalion Equivalents" can either be grouped into Battalions and higher formations at the producing planet's tech level, or traded-in/amalgamated into Elite formations, or higher Tech Level formations. In the latter case, the assumption is that the planetary Government imports higher Tech equipment, which makes individual formations more efficient, which permits the Government to enlist fewer soldiers.

Ground Forces has a Battalion Equivalents table but, as this is a GURPs table, it makes my head hurt doing the mental arithmetic to convert it into Classic Traveller.

Looking through my stack of books, I found a copy of Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society #10 - one of the issues that came out around the time the 5th Frontier War board game was released. I'm pretty sure that this table has appeared in various forms since then, but this is my version of it.

Defence Battalions or Battalion Equivalents (BEs)
Population
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
TL
3
-
1
10
1C
1K
10K
50K
100K
4
-
1
10
1C
1K
2K
20K
200K
5
1
2
3
30
3C
3K
30K
300K
6
1
2
3
30
3C
3K
30K
300K
7
-
1
2
20
2C
2K
20K
200K
8
-
1
2
20
2C
2K
20K
200K
9
-
-
1
15
150
15C
15K
150K
A
-
-
1
15
150
15C
15K
150K
B
-
-
1
12
120
12C
12K
120K
C
-
-
1
12
120
12C
12K
120K
D
-
-
1
10
1C
1K
10K
100K
E
-
-
7
7
70
7C
7K
70K
F
-
-
-
5
50
5C
5K
50K

Working with these figures and applying them to Miazan Subsector, we begin to see the following emmerge:

Miazan Subsector Imperial Worlds
Planet
Port
Pop
TL
BEs
Reserve
Raw BE
Units
Exxilon
C
8
9
150
225
75
1 TL12 Elite Armoured Battalion, 2 TL12 Armoured Battalions, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Regiment, 1 understrength TL12 Infantry Regiment (4 Battalions), 1 TL9 Infantry Division
Bromus
C
7
7
200
300
100
2 TL7 Elite Armoured Regiments, 1 understrength TL7 Armoured Regiment, 1 TL7 Elite Infantry Brigade, 1 TL7 Infantry Division, 1 TL7 Infantry Brigade
Golus
A
5
D
1
-
1
1 TL13 Infantry Battalion - 1st Aldeed Golus Scout Battalion
Janda
B
4
D
-
-
-
Nil
Hydrot
B
3
7
-
-
-
Nil
Omega Vasali IX
C
3
7
-
-
-
Nil
Miazan
A
9
C
12000
18K
6000
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Corp, 1 TL15 Armoured Corp, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Corp, 1 TL15 Infantry Corp, 2 TL14 Armoured Corps, 1 TL14 Elite Infantry Corp, 2 TL14 Infantry Corps
Celephais
B
6
B
12
18
6
1 TL11 Armoured Battalion, 1 understrength TL11 Infantry Regiment (4 Battalions)
Byer's Planet
B
4
A
-
-
-
Nil
Nakaya
C
9
7
20K
30K
10K
1 TL12 Elite Armoured Corp, 3 TL12 Armoured Corps, 2 TL12 Elite Infantry Corps, 3 TL12 Infantry Corps
Epoch
D
1
5
-
-
-
Nil
Naltor
D
6
4
100
150
50
1 TL10 Infantry Regiment, 1 TL10 Armoured Battalion
Cabria Subsector Imperial Worlds - part of Duchy of Miazan
Lo-Taisang
C
5
9
1
-
1
1 TL9 Infantry Battalion
Tonivar
C
5
8
2
3
1
1 TL8 Infantry Battalion, 3 TL8 Reserve Battalions - organised as an under-strength regiment
Unified Imperial Army Units for Miazan Subsector
Personnel for each Field Force of the Unified Imperial Army are recruited from all Imperial planets within the subsector the Field Force is assigned to.
405
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Battalions, 1 TL14 Infantry Corp, 1 TL14 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL14 Elite Infantry Division, 1 TL12 Infantry Corp, 1 TL12 Armoured Division, 1 TL12 Infantry Division, 1 understrength TL12 Infantry Regiment
Kamperelian Republic
Ektra
B
6
8
20
30
10
1 understrength TL11 Infantry Regiment (4 Battalions)
Floranna
B
6
C
12
18
6
1 TL12 Armoured Battalion, 1 understrength TL12 Infantry Regiment (4 Battalions)
Kamperel
A
A
B
120000
180000
60000
3 TL15 Elite Armoured Corps, 3 TL15 Elite Infantry Corps, 3 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 58 TL11 Infantry Field Armies, 3 TL11 Infantry Divisions, 1 TL11 Infantry Brigade, 29 Armoured Field Armies, 1 TL11 Armoured Division, 1 TL11 Armoured Regiment
Kamperelian Republic Ready Reaction Force
Personnel for the Kamperelian Ready Reaction Force are primarily recruited from Kamperel
2801
1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 5 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 3 TL15 Elite Infantry Battalions, 2 TL11 Armoured Field Armies, 5 TL11 Infantry Field Armies, 3 TL11 Infantry Corps
Independent Worlds
Lithia/Miazan
C
7
4
1000
1500
500
2 TL13 Infantry Regiments, 1 TL13 Infantry Battalion, 1 TL13 Armoured Battalion
Huop/Miazan
C
5
8
2
3
1
1 TL8 Infantry Battalion, 3 TL8 Reserve Battalions - organised as an under-strength regiment

It is Imperial policy to equip all Unified Imperial Army Units to at least Tech Level 12 standard. This ensures a unity of equipment across all formations. Subsector Army Commands are permitted to upgrade units under their command to higher Tech Levels, but the cost for this upgrade is to be born at Subsector level. During the period when the Miazan Subsector Dukes were also Sector Dukes of the RimWorlds (999 - 1031), Miazan Subsector Unified Imperial Army formations were regularly re equipped with the best technology available, and deployed as a Sector Reserve against the hostile coalitions along the Imperial Border. Even after suffering heavy losses during the 4th Outrim War (1080 - 85), at least a third of the formations assigned to the Miazan Subsector UIA are still equipped to Tech Level 14 standards.

As the bulk of the personnel serving in the Miazan Subsector UIA are recruited from Miazan itself, there is a tendency for the lines of authority between Ducal oversight of the Miazan PDF and the Miazan UIA to become slightly blurred. A portion of the Miazan UIA formations have now been upgraded to Tech Level 15 equipment and these units tend to train with and deploy with Miazan PDF formations.

Notes:
Exxilon has an Exotic Atmosphere (Atmos A). This reduces the number of Battalion Equivalents available (by effectively moving Exxilon's population one column to the left). In Exxilon's case, the Baron of Exxilon has decreed that the Exxilonian Baronial Household Force and six battalions of the Planetary Defence Force would be equipped to basic Unified Imperial Army standards. While this has further reduced the number of units under arms, it has increased the effectiveness of the Planetary Defence Force of this frontier world.

Golus - The 1st Aldeed Golus Scout Battalion has a reputation for producing exceptional desert fighters. Cadres from the battalion are in demand to provide desert warfare training throughout the Sector.

Miazan - As the Subsector capital, Miazan has been the seat of House Geyukthi, Dukes of Miazan and past Sector Dukes of the RimWorlds, for two centuries. The Miazan Planetary Defence Force, equipped to the highest standard, is built around the Household Cavalry Division - part of the Elite 1st Armoured Corp - and the Guards Corp.

Nakaya - Given Nakaya's isolated position, and the proximity of the hostile Kamperelian Republic, the Baron of Nakaya required that the Nakayan Planetary Defence Force be re equipped to Unified Imperial Army standards. This two-decade long project is now in its final stages.

Naltor - The upgrade of the Naltorese Planetary Defence Force has not been as successful as similar projects on other worlds. The megacorps involved in exploiting Naltor's natural resources have been reluctant to contribute to the long term defence of the planet. Consequently, the small Naltorese Defence Force consists of a Light Infantry Regiment and a wheeled Armoured battalion.

Ektra - The raising of a regiment of "loyal" Ektrans was an attempt by the Kamperelian Government to devolve security and reduce tensions on Ektra. The Ektran People's Defence Regiment is equipped and trained to Kamperelian Line Regiment status but morale remains low and the Loyal Ektrans have difficulty in recruiting and retaining personnel. Consequently, the Regiment is only able to muster four battalions.

Floranna - The devolution of planetary security by the Kamperelians on Floranna was slightly more successful than on Ektra, and a battalion of upgraded Miirhorn IV/B Battle Walkers was quickly raised. A four-battalion short Regiment of Florannans was also raised but has proved harder to keep up to strength.

Kamperel - The Republican Guard have become an army within the army on Kamperel. Currently numbering six Corps, with an attached Commando Division and two Marine Divisions, the Republican Guard dominates political and civil life on Kamperel. A further six divisions, with three Commando Battalions, form the nucleus of the Kamperelian Republic Ready Reaction Force. The realization by Imperial Intelligence that the Repubican Guard had been secretly reequipped to Tech Level 15 standards proved a nasty surprise for Imperial military planners. The source of this high tech material has yet to be traced.

Lithia - The Purvion inhabitants of Lithia have settled upon a Tech Level of 4 for their day-to-day lives, in keeping with their relationship with the planetary ecosystem. Their Planetary Defence Force, however, is equipped to TL13 standards with material, it is believed, imported from the Purvion colony world of Tallu/Lymethius.



From these figures, the notes emerge. And from the notes, scenario ideas and background colour begin to emerge. And from a gaming point of view, I now have an idea of the size of the ground forces of the Miazan worlds, and an idea for wargames set in this Subsector.