Austenasian Army

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Austenasian Army
Copiæ Austenasianus
Active 23 May 2009 - 17 June 2020
Country Empire of Austenasia
Nicknames "The Legions"
Engagements Skirmish of the Treasury
Austenasian Civil War
War of the Orlian Reunification
Leadership
Commander-in-chief HIM Emperor Jonathan I
Chief of Staff (Magister Militum) Lord Magister Militum William K., Baron of Zephyria
General information
Headquarters None official
Personnel at dissolution 22
Standard weapon Wooden/metal baton
Standard assault weapon Slingshot/catapault

The Austenasian Army was the land warfare branch of the Austenasian Armed Forces (the national military of the Empire of Austenasia) between 23 May 2009 and 17 June 2020.

History

The Austenasian Army was founded on 23 May 2009 by Act 80, and until the outbreak of the Austenasian Civil War had only two soldiers. With war however, both sides began huge recruitment drives - the Austenasian Army, under the control of the legitimate Esmondian government, swelled to 27 members (not counting a larger force of unenlisted foreign supporters), whereas the rebel Carolinian forces at one point counted over 80 members, although these were never properly mobilised and were disbanded after the war.

After the Austenasian Civil War was over, Emperor Esmond III pledged to make Austenasia a more peaceful nation, and began working with the Ministry of Defence to disband any superfluous or inactive units of the Austenasian Army, eventually reducing the number of soldiers to 15.

When war broke out again later that year over Orly's reunification, Austenasia was militarily unprepared for conflict. No recruitment drive was attempted due to the then Crown Prince Jonathan persuading Esmond III that any threat to his position as overlord of the Carshalton Nations was negligible (the war having been orchestrated by Jonathan in an attempt to diminish the power of Esmond III). Wrythe was left poorly defended against the locally based Midget Army, which resulted in the conclusion of the war and a demand from Esmond III that the Armed Forces be raised back up to their Civil War strength.

However, Declan I, II & V was now also jointly ruling Emperor, putting Austenasia in personal union with the Tsardom of Orly. The Ministry of Defence assumed that Orlian mercenaries and volunteers would be able to make up for the gaps in Austenasia's defences while they were reconstructed.

In January 2011, the Austenasian Army underwent large reforms, transforming it from a British-themed to an Imperial Roman-themed army (cohorts instead of regiments, etc). The most practical effects of these reforms, however, were to make it easier for new soldiers to be recruited and to place more emphasis on merit rather than nobility when being promoted. Between October 2011 and January 2012, over half of the members of the Austenasian Army were given offers of an honorable discharge, in an attempt to purge the ranks of non-committed recruits. Very few took up this offer, and those who did were quickly replaced with new recruits.

The Midget Army joined the Austenasian Army in April 2011, and new units Centuria III Monoviae, Cohors I Jonathana and Legio I Virginia were founded in 2013, expanding over the course of the following year. On 8 March 2015, Legio I Virginia left the Austenasian Army to become a unit of the re-established Imperial Navy.

By 2020, the Austenasian Army was composed of 22 soldiers, the majority of whom had enlisted for the Civil War over a decade ago and many of whom had since fallen out of contact with the government and may even have forgotten that they were nominally part of the Austenasian military. The Austenasian Army was therefore dissolved on 17 June by the Armed Forces Act 2020, with its soldiers receiving honourable discharge.

Command structure

The Austenasian Army was overseen and funded by the Ministry of Defence, with the War Council to be convened for its overall command during wartime. The War Council (similar to the British Chiefs of Staff Committee) was comprised of the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, the Administrative Chiefs of the Austenasian Armed Forces, and the Senior Enlisted Advisors to the Administrative Chiefs, with the Monarch permitted to cast a deciding vote in case a tie was reached on a decision, and to veto any decision made which was opposed by the Prime Minister.

The Monarch is commander-in-chief of the Austenasian Armed Forces and has the power to appoint, promote and demote officers as well as to form, merge and dissolve military units with the consent of the Minister of Defence. The Chief of Staff of the Austenasian Army - for most of its existence, Lord Magister Militum William - was the professional head of the Austenasian Army, and reported directly to the War Council when it was convened. The Chief of Staff held the rank of Magister Militum.

A Dux was the deputy of the Chief of Staff in a particular geographical region. As both legions were stationed on the island of Great Britain, they fell under the jurisdiction of the Dux Britanniarum.

Ranks

Prior to the reforms of January 2011, the Austenasian Army was ranked according to the traditional British hierarchy:

Pre-Jan'11 rank Post-Jan'11 rank
Field Marshal Magister Militum
No equivalent rank existed Dux
General Legate
Colonel Tribune
Major
Captain Centurion
Lieutenant
Sergeant Major
Sergeant
Corporal
Private

Formation and structure

The structure of the Austenasian Army was, before January 2011, based on that of the British Army, but after that was based on the Imperial Roman army.

Unit Legion Cohort Century
Contains 1-10 Cohorts 1-6 Centuries 1-80 Individuals
Personnel Up to 4,800 Up to 480 Up to 80
Commanded by Legate Tribune Centurion

At the time of its dissolution, there were two legions in the Austenasian Army:


The Austenasian Army could also call on local supporters to help in a conflict, primarily from Orly. For example, during the Battle of the Grove, out of at least six Esmondian supporters only one was an actual enlisted member of the Austenasian Army. Since the 2020 military reforms, such local supporters would be temporarily enlisted as Comitatenses.

Equipment

While the Austenasian Army did have officially designated standard equipment, this list was made in 2009, when there were only two soldiers, and so the standard equipment available was not nearly enough for every soldier.

Infantry

  • "Standard": The officially designated standard basic infantry weapon for the Austenasian Army was a metal or wooden baton. The wooden batons were relatively easy to produce, whereas the metal batons were adapted from metal poles used in gardening to hold up seedlings etc. The Austenasian Army also had a small number of small handheld catapults/slingshots, capable of shooting projectiles a reasonable distance at a fairly powerful velocity - these (if aimed at the face or neck) were more likely to be potentially lethal, and so were never used outside of training.
  • Usual: In encounters such as the Skirmish of the Treasury and Battle of Carshalton Park, toy swords were used as batons, and pump-action toy guns were used to fire plastic projectiles.
  • Potential: The Austenasian Army had the necessary resources to manufacture basic explosive/incendiary devices such as petrol bombs. Hammers, saws, broom handles, knives and golf clubs could potentially be used as melee weapons.

Armour
The officially designated standard basic infantry protective device was a toy shield, but there were not enough of the officially standard toy shields to be used by all of the Austenasian Army, most soldiers did not use protective armour. The Austenasian Army also had toy helmets and breastplates stockpiled, but due to their small size and awkward appearance they were never used.