Grand Imperial Army
The Imperial Army at its core is the primary policing and occupational force of the Colonial Earth Empire within its own borders., and as a defensive force when long drawn out sieges are necessary. The Imperial Navy handles most offensive measures, utilizing their famous Imperial Shock Trooper Corps , so the Army was relegated to coming in once the Shock Troopers had made a beachhead and needed more occupying forces to cow a local population. In the Core Systems , this mainly means relegated to local army groups working primarily alongside the Colonial Security Bureau, forming up the ground muscle needed to carefully remove the threats to the Empire. The regiments also act as the personal levies of the nobility. They are just as likely to fight other army regiments as they are enemies of the empire. The Army is the largest military force in the Orion Arm. It is also poorly organized and its priorities are directed by squabling noble families. Seven out of every ten soldiers is poorly equipped and poorly trained, no more than a conscript sent to a distant world to die. Two out of ten are merely poorly trained law enforcers, who police to colonies of the Empire. The very few professional forces , and they are spread thin amongst the fault lines of the empire.
The Imperial Army technically operates under the control of the Imperial Court and the Emperor. It is made up the Imperial House Guard Armies, like the Imperial Tymorran Army or the Royal Stars Guard Army. This means that in reality, instead of under the control of the Emperor, each Guard army pledges loyalty to their own noble house. The nobility earned this right during the War in Heaven. The Emperor can tithe regiments from the noble houses, and utilize their presensence as part of the Winged Hussars Guard Corps, and also request a certain tithe of troops to serve in Imperial Crusades. In turn, the Nobility is able to request compensation for their efforts in Imperial expansion, a time honored tradition.
The Imperial Army operates under the auspices of the Imperial Court, and the Emperor. However, in reality, it serves under the true control of the Imperial Nobility, with each regiment being directly funded and supplied by the noble houses. However, because of this split it means that the Navy and the Army are somewhat opposed to one another.
The overall organization is split by individual Corps or Armies, which fall under the control of one of the Noble Houses. The Houses have different methods of appointing the Lord Commandant of their Army, whether it be an election from the nobility, an internal selection by the military or a hereditary appointment. The range in power under a singular commandant can range from a handful of worlds, to a whole swath of systems. Each House Army can vary wildly from one another, with their own traditions, uniforms, and ways of conducting war. These regiments can vary wildly in their structure. The regiments of the Imperial Tymorran Army are funded directly and controlled by noble houses, forming their own psuedo nobility. The regiments under the Federal Sand Defensive Corps function under the federal government, and functions more out of more of a priveledged bureaucracy, with officers coming from the Imperial Citizenry
In the Mid Rim , where there lies mainly resource extraction operations on planets far from the imperial core, this mainly means the Army controls the whole planet. Or, in many cases, the planet is owned by an Colonial protected Corporation and the Army is providing basic back up to the private corpo security that already exists there, ready to act in the case of outside invaders, or for the occasional larger uprising. The army is primarily used for their Imperial Royal Police forces, who ensure order is maintained within the Imperial Systems.
Imperial Royal Police
The Imperial Royal Police are the standard run of the mill police of the Empire that keep the cogs moving. The primary arm of the Imperial Army, the Royal Police make up the majority of "Active" forces within the army. On all different worlds, the Royal Police carry out the daily will of the Empire, at the leisure of their army commanders. Much how the various regiments can vary wildly from system to system, so too can their royal police forces. They all must maintain a very few loose guidelines, but the local governors and leaders mostly shape their local forces to their own will, and when push comes to shove, most police will have their loyalties tested, should they must choose from their Army commander, or their leadership at the Imperial Court. This can make control cumbersome, and Imperial Police Commanders often find themselves under the lenses of the Colonial Security Bureau or worse, the Office of Imperial Security, should the Empire begin to question their loyalty. Their equipment, training, organization, and even dedication can vary from system to system. With some having particularly dangerous, well-armed with drones and the latest tech. While others, are bloated underequipped and corrupted by local nobles siphoning off funds and manpower for their own personal projects.Structure
Imperial forces are organized into smaller and smaller units, all the way down to fireteams and squads. At the very top lies the Grand Imperial Army, commanded by the Emperor themselves. The Grand Imperial Army is made up of various Imperial House Guard Armies, which each answer to a different Imperial Noble house. These include the Royal Flower Army, the Imperial Tymorran Army, and the Royal Stars Guard Army. These Guard Armies can occupy dozens of worlds with their manpower. The House Guards are broken up into Imperial Sector Corps, which exert their influence over handfuls of systems. Some are independent of any House Guard, like the Federal Sand Defensive Corps are independent, and operate under the Grand Imperial Army. Others, like the Felucia Steel Corps pledge fealty to the larger House of Moments and work closely with their Imperial Tymorran Army.
The Sector Corps are then broken up into Imperial Legions. Legions have the manpower to occupy an entire planet, both on internal worlds like Mystra as police forces, and as colonial occupying forces like on Nimbam. Their power can vary wildly, depending on the size of the planet they are tasked with. This is the largest organizational force occupied with direct force as a whole. Each legion is made up of Imperial Divisions. Imperial Divisions usually specialize as either Police Divisions or Army Divisions. Police Divisions, or PDs, are utilized as a security and occupational force on Imperial worlds and Imperial occupied worlds. Army Divisions serve in a more typical fighting role. They can be assigned to an entire planetary region.
Divisions are broken up into Imperial Regiments. The Regiments are the largest force that can be recruited from a singular world, a stipulation put into place because of the War in Heaven, where several Imperial Legions launched their own coup. Imperial Regiments are specialized, from the infamous Tymorran Dragoons to the Fasaryr Rifles. They serve as the pieces that fill the puzzle of each differing imperial world. The Imperial Regiments have all their support elements underneath them, and can still effectively operate independently on their own theater, so long as they have open supply lines to the greater Imperial Force. Regiments can even be attatched to Imperial Naval Legions, as supportive elements in invasions. Regiments are built up of Imperial Brigades and Battalions. Companies make up battalions, which are in turn made up of platoons and squads.
Culture
In many cases, the Imperial Army can operate like a feudal organization of power. Royal Families from powerful worlds maintain control over their local Imperial Army regiments. In the Core Systems these Army Commadants are mostly figure heads, and really the bulk of the Army serves the various security services that might need their assistance. All the while, Imperial Army command pushes back, but only by choosing to support certain security services over the other, and a careful political game of influence is waged in the bureaucracies.
In the further distances, Commandants act like Dukes, controlling whole swaths of planets under their regiment, far from the prying eyes of the central Imperial Authority. These Commandants collude with and make alliance with the various Imperial Admirals that patrol their regions, each looking to benefit off of one another all the while climbing the military ladder. If the Commandants are Dukes and Lords, the Lord Commandants are the Princes, and from their politicking they elect a Lord Commander of the Army, who serves directly at the request of the Emperor and the Imperial Court.
Type
Military, Army
Parent Organization
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