Kalgachi Defence Force (1649 - 1718)
The Military Forces of Kalgachia were composed of four distinct elements; the Kalgachi Defence Force, the Prefects' Border Guard Service, the Church Partisans and the Protectorate Forces. In total war conditions Kalgachia is capable of mobilising some 4.7 million people into these combat arms, amounting to one quarter of its entire population.
The Kalgachi Defence Force
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| Active: | 1649 AN – 1718 AN |
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| Allegiance: | Kalgachia |
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| Personnel: | 112,177 full-time combatants 77,000 active reservists |
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| Type: | Infantry and fortification based territorial defence force with integrated mobile reconnaissance, air assault, air defence, electronic warfare and special operations capability |
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| Nickname: | "The Skivniks" |
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| Current Commander: | The Perfectus (identity unknown) assisted by 3x Chiefs of Staff on rotation |
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| Conflicts & Deployments | ONGOING:
HISTORICAL:
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Overview
The Kalgachi Defence Force (KDF) is the principal military force of Kalgachia, whose full-time component amounts to two field corps and three reserve armies supported by specialised fortress, air assault and special operations units. Drawing upon the doctrinal and technological legacy of the highly-developed Minarborian military-industrial complex, whose expertise it inherited almost wholesale, the KDF is the second-largest organ of Kalgachi state behind the Church of Kalgachia and by far the most heavily resourced; a result of its historical proximity to the immense and ideologically-hostile forces of Shireroth and subsequently the Unified Governorates. The proximity of these martial behemoths, viewed in the Ketherist horticultural tradition, has been considered by the Kalgachi Central War College as a necessary and ultimately beneficial manifestation of 'evolutionary pressure' which sustains the combat capability of the KDF at greater level than the Micran average and lends it some protection against degenerative social tendencies at home.
The familiarity of the Kalgachi soldier with the spectre of death is maintained by the sustained operational tempo arising from the containment of Tyrannocricetus aliger (the notorious Tee-al), whose main habitat is located in the Kalgachi south but ultimately ranges throughout the country and beyond.
Ground Doctrine
In the face of overwhelmingly superior firepower by its historic geopoltical rivals, KDF doctrine places a heavy emphasis on rhizomic antifragility and swarm theory, dispersing points of failure as much as possible and effectively relegating centralised command to the preperatory phase of war in anticipation of its destruction or loss of communication during actual hostilities, requiring a high degree of territorial familiarity and individual initiative on the part of junior and mid-ranking officers to compensate for the shortfall. This extends to the KDF's logistical structure which emphasises short supply lines around a multitude of small covert arms dumps - usually guarded, administered and shared with local partisans - whose contents are supplied from deep underground munitions factories in peacetime and periodically rotated back underground for maintenance. While theoretically beneficial in a home defence scenario, reliance on such an arrangement does entail a substantial dropoff in KDF unit endurance on unfamiliar or hostile ground, for instance in large expeditionary operations. The only exceptions to this are the cossack units and special forces who are trained to obtain what little they need from bushcraft and/or plunder, and air assault units whose mobility extends to their logistical arrangements.
On a tactical level the KDF emphasises close integration with reservists and local partisans, helping the latter forces to harrass and distract the heavy spearheads of an invading army whilst the greater part of the KDF's own offensive power is devoted to the sustained and aggressive degradation of the enemy rear echelon, diverting the enemy from its primary objective of ground capture and retention whilst retarding the establishment of a functional occupation regime within ground it does control. With the exception of mounted and air units the KDF operates with a slow but constant mobility, using areas of thick vegetation and topographic hollows to locate and infiltrate small gaps in any front line or rear-echelon dragnet the enemy attempts to establish. The notion of permanently conceding ground, in a nation of Kalgachia's size and position, is considered futile regardless of the temporary benefits - therefore the entire country is considered a viable operational area regardless of the strategic situation, and the tactic of retreat by forward infiltration is considered imperative. Visual concealment and emissions control is an important aspect of this, assisted by items of kit such as the 'snuggly' - a quilted insulating sheet which, when not used as a blanket for sleeping out the cold Kalgachi nights, can be worn as a cape for reducing troops' infrared signature while on the move.
In active battle KDF commanders are taught to close hard with the enemy to negate the latter's air and artillery capability and under no circumstances allow themselves to be pinned down at distance - or at least to disengage and move quickly from their position of first contact where an unfavourable disparity of firepower is apparent. The KDF's underground units, equipped with submachine guns, shotguns, flamethrowers and other close range weaponry, show a particular enthusiasm - and allegedly aptitude - for this type of intimate battle, whether underground or on the surface.
Like its predecessors in Minarboria, the KDF work to integrate an effective anti-air and anti-tank defence down to the company or troop level and a robust electronic warfare capability, although the application of these in Kalgachia's rugged topography has necessitated much head-scratching by military planners with regard to the field disassembly and transport of larger systems by pack horse or helicopter.
Air Doctrine
From its creation, the KDF has renounced aspirations to air supremacy in view of the asset expense measured against the superiority of the probable opposition - a position informed by the commanding performance of Shirerithian air assets in the War of Lost Brothers. In the air - as on land - the emphasis is on denial rather than control. This is offered by Kalgachia's sprawling air defence systems, composed of the tried and tested Minarborian surface-to-air missiles - the Sciarid MANPADS for short range, the Dandelion for medium range and the Burdock for long ranges extending to the edge of the Micran atmosphere. The latter, relying on active radar, operates with a cryptographically-determined, millisecond-range signal shift in the variables of frequency, pulse rate, amplitude and switch interval which themselves are duplicated across four unique channels, offering some resilience against spoofing or repeater jamming and, when linked with the signal refractors of friendly electronic warfare units, against wide-spectrum anti-radiation missiles. The Dandelion missile lacks this capability although its own active radar mode is generally an unused backup to its passive seekers which can operate in infrared, or utilise the Minarborian technology of ionised air homing which locks on to the electromagnetic burst of compressed air on rotor tips or the leading edges of transonic/supersonic fixed-wing aircraft. The seeker of the Sciarid missile is limited to infrared owing to its small size - although it does have an unguided firing option to provoke evasive manoeuvre, act as an infrared decoy or even attempt a lucky hit.
Kalgachia's military electronics are designed with resilience in mind - most are deliberately retro affairs of vacuum tubes, nixie displays or even clockwork that can be repaired in the field with pliers and a soldering iron without going to the trouble of replacing a whole unit or finding the air-filtered, static-free clean room required to work on microcircuitry. Such components also have a degree of innate EMP hardening, although the deficit in processing power compared with more complex miniaturised systems inevitably seeks compensation by the human brain, requiring a more intensive training regime for operators and a larger number of operators overall.
Before 194 AL the KDF's air defence assets operated on the standing instruction that all aircraft in Kalgachi airspace more than 3000 metres above the local ground level, unless explicit orders had been received to let them pass, were to be engaged and destroyed without warning. Over time this resulted in a series of accidents, usually involving non-instrument-rated pilots who found themselves in the impossible dilemma of flying into cloud and potentially striking a hidden mountain, or else climbing above the weather only to be blasted out of the sky. After much rancorous deliberation, Kalgachia's ruling Council of Perfecti eventually approved the import of a single squadron of Buzzard C-61 fighter jets from Kasterburg on the condition that they be limited to a peacetime air policing and special operations role, mindful of their uselessness in a total war scenario as their only available runway would likely be a prime target for enemy saturation strikes in the opening minutes of any such conflict.
The outsourcing of the Buzzards' maintenance burden to Kasterburg as part of the import agreement allows their Kalgachi pilots to train on an intensive, full-time basis by freely sacrificing airframe hours for pilot hours, resulting in maximum combat readiness and serving as a high-performance skill pool for the wider Kalgachi aviation community. Pilots of the Buzzards' operating unit, the Special Purpose Regiment, have found that this higher-than-average skill level is essential to fly the stub-winged aircraft, noting its violent proclivity for fatal stalls or spins at even modest angles of attack, the unpredictable effect of external payloads upon its handling characteristics in the transonic range, and runway instability due to its narrow landing gear configuration and the unusually high speeds required for takeoff and landing. The aircraft's limitations constrain its role in Kalgachi service to straight-run intercepts, reconnaissance missions, single-pass ground strikes and electronic operations with any attempts at dogfighting, close ground support or other manoeuvre operations considered an unacceptable risk to trained pilots and aircraft which were obtained at considerable expense to the state.
Close air support in the KDF is provided by the Whirdlebirb, originally a gunship of Babkhan origin whose blueprints were discovered by the Minarborians during an archeological expedition to an Ashkenatzan bunker and rebuilt in modified form. The Kalgachi variant of the Whirdlebirb can carry a variety of armaments, or up to twelve troops or a combination thereof, although the use of mounted weapons while carrying exterior passengers on its exterior seating has led to unfortunate incidents in the past. Kalgachia's mountain topography offers a sea of radar clutter or complete shielding in which the Whirdlebirbs, flying low and slow, aim to achieve some degree of survivability in contested airspace; the rotorborne nature of the KDF's air support component also allows for maximum dispersal to unprepared locations in wartime and maintenance elements are correspondingly decentralised to sustain detached flights or even individual machines in the field, an arrangement which also aids their ground concealment.
KDF units are organised as follows:
I (Inner) Corps
1st (Oktavyan) Division
1st Surface Brigade
- 1st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 2nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 3rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 4th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 1st Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 1st Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 1st Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
2nd Surface Brigade
- 5th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 6th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 7th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 8th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 2nd Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 2nd Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 2nd Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
3rd Surface Brigade
- 9th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 10th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 11th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 12th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 3rd Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 3rd Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 3rd Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
1st Underground Regiment
- 1st Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 2nd Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 3rd Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 4th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
8th (Oktavyan) Division
15th Surface Brigade
- 57th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 58th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 59th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 60th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 15th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 15th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 15th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
19th Surface Brigade
- 73rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 74th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 75th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 76th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 19th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 22nd Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 19th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 19th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
20th Surface Brigade
- 77th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 78th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 79th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 80th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 20th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 23rd Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 20th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 20th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
2nd Underground Regiment
- 5th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 6th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 7th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 8th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
4th (Jollity) Division
9th Surface Brigade
- 33rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 34th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 35th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 36th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 9th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 9th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 9th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
10th Surface Brigade
- 37th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 38th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 39th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 40th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 10th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 10th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 10th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
5th Underground Regiment
- 17th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 18th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 19th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 20th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
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II (Outer) Corps
2nd (Abrek) Division
4th Surface Brigade
- 13th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 14th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 15th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 16th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 4th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 4th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 4th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
5th Surface Brigade
- 17th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 18th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 19th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 20th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 5th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 5th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 5th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
3rd Underground Regiment
- 9th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 10th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 11th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 12th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
3rd (Katarsis) Division
6th Surface Brigade
- 21st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 22nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 23rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 24th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 6th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 6th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 6th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
7th Surface Brigade
- 25th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 26th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 27th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 28th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 7th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 7th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 7th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
8th Surface Brigade
- 29th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 30th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 31st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 32nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 8th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 8th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 8th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
4th Underground Regiment
- 13th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 14th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 15th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 16th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
5th (Schlepogora) Division
11th Surface Brigade
- 41st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 42nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 43rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 44th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 11th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 11th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 11th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
12th Surface Brigade
- 45th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 46th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 47th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 48th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 12th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 12th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 12th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
13th Surface Brigade
- 49th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 50th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 51st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 52nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 13th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 13th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 13th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
6th Underground Regiment
- 21st Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 22nd Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 23rd Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 24th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
1-iy Kazachniy Polk Imeni Z.M. Karymova (1st Cossack Regiment)
- 1st Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 2nd Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 3rd Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 4th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
2-oi Kazachniy Polk Imeni A.B. Hangbaidagulya (2nd Cossack Regiment)
- 5th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 6th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 7th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 8th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
3-iy Kazachniy Polk Imeni V.S. Shumyanova (3rd Cossack Regiment)
- 9th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 10th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 11th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
- 12th Cossack Squadron (4x Laqkozak Patrol Troop)
6th (Bergburg) Division
14th Surface Brigade
- 53rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 54th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 55th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 56th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 14th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 14th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 14th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
Khativa I Netzach Ha-Ba (1st Kossar Regiment)
- 1st Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 2nd Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 3rd Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 4th Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
Khativa II Ha-Esh Volyri' (2nd Kossar Regiment)
- 5th Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 6th Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 7th Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
- 8th Kossar Squadron (3x Fire Support Troop, 1x Air Defence Troop)
7th Underground Regiment
- 25th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 26th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 27th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 28th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company
7th (Lithead) Division
16th Surface Brigade
- 61st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 62nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 63rd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 64th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 16th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 16th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 16th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
17th Surface Brigade
- 65th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 66th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 67th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 68th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 17th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 17th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 17th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
18th Surface Brigade
- 69th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 70th Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 71st Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 72nd Infantry Battalion (4x Infantry Company)
- 18th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 18th Air Defence Battalion (4x Mobile SAM battery)
- 18th Electronic Warfare Battalion (2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex)
8th Underground Regiment
- 29th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 30th Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 31st Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
- 32nd Underground Battalion (4x Underground Infantry Company)
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Independent Units
Fortress Division
The Fortress Division is tasked with operating Kalgachia's network of underground combat installations. These are built to one of three specifications - A, B, or Ludd. The A and B installations are large, embrasured weapon platforms built into steep mountainsides overlooking points of strategic importance such as cities or mountain passes. The considerably smaller Ludd sites house the KDF's inventory of medium-range ballistic missiles - these are fed with a constantly-updated stream of targeting data from civil and military intelligence sources which provide, in the event of hostilities on the border, an instant and targeted strike capability into Kalgachia's immediate abroad.
The largely static nature of the Fortress Division has allowed it to commission unique weapons systems such as an extended-range version of the Malus anti-gravtank missile (Malus-ER), essentially a standard Malus fitted with a booster stage which extends its hypersonic boost phase to a range of 5 kilometres for engagements at distance. Specification A fortresses are also equipped with the Neaptide Gravimetric Countermeasure System, a disruptive beam generator which is nominally operational but remains experimental in nature and is subject to frequent upgrades.
For supporting actions in areas without emplaced weapons, the Fortress Division operates three artillery trains with integrated area defence capability.
Specification A Fortress (320 personnel)
- Malus-ER silo x24
- Dandelion medium-range SAM silo x24
- Heavy machine gun emplacement x16
- Burdock long-range SAM silo x12 (these cable-linked to x4 tetrastatic/redundant radar heads off-site; can also be integrated with mobile SAM batteries)
- 20mm autocannon emplacement x8
- 152mm howitzer embrasure x8
- 305mm gun embrasure x4
- 'Neaptide' Gravimetric Countermeasure Emplacement x1
There are 12 Specification A fortresses, in the following locations:
-Looking North over Oktayvan's Northeast approaches
-Looking North over Oktavyan proper
-Looking Southeast over Abrek
-Looking Northeast over Katarsis
-Looking North over Schlepogora
-Looking South over Lithead
-Looking Southwest over Bergburg
-Looking Southwest over Jollity
-Looking North-northeast from Fort Candycane
-Looking East-southeast from Fort Fortitude
-Looking East-southeast from Mount Toastypops
-Looking North from the Splatterhorn
Specification B Fortress (150 personnel)
- Malus-ER silo x6
- Dandelion medium-range SAM silo x6
- Heavy machine gun emplacement x8
- Burdock long-range SAM silo x3 (these cable-linked to x2 bistatic/redundant radar heads off-site; can also be integrated with mobile SAM batteries)
- 20mm autocannon emplacement x4
- 152mm howitzer embrasure x4
There are 60 Specification B fortresses, located approximately 70-80 kilometres apart throughout Kalgachia (except the Lieutenancy of Lepidopterum), interspersed by a further 180 cosmetic decoy sites.
Ludd MRBM Launch Site (12 personnel)
There are 60 Ludd launch sites throughout Kalgachia, each of which houses four Ludd MRBMs and sixteen launch-phase penetration aids. Among the launch sites are a further 60 cosmetic decoy sites.
Artillery Train (87 personnel)
- 305mm gun x4
- Burdock long-range SAM launcher x2
- 40mm air defence cannon x2
- Quad Dandelion medium-range SAM Launcher x1
- Quad Malus-ER anti-gravtank missile launcher x1
There are 3 Artillery Trains located around the Kalgachi railway network, supplemented by a further 9 decoy trains.
Fire Division
The Fire Division is the KDF's main air assault unit, conceived as a substitute for armour and mechanised infantry in Kalgachia's mountainous topography. Created after much lobbying by persistent quarters of the Kalgachi government who cited the operational successes of Kasterburg's Luchtmobiele Brigade, the Fire Division is notable for being the only unit in the KDF capable of pulling a division-sized logistical tail faster than the speed of a pack horse. The Division is thought to be the priority recipient of Kalgachia's painstakingly-accumulated hydrocarbon fuel stockpiles.
1st Fire Regiment
- 1st Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 2nd Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 3rd Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 1st Special Reconnaissance Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex, 16x UACV-1 "Magic Dragon"
2nd Fire Regiment
- 4th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 5th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 6th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 2nd Special Reconnaissance Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex, 16x UACV-1 "Magic Dragon"
3rd Fire Regiment
- 7th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 8th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 9th Fire Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 3x Fire Company)
- 3rd Special Reconnaissance Battalion (1x HQ & Support Company, 2x Mobile Sensor Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile Comms Jamming Complex, 1x Mobile ELINT Complex, 16x UACV-1 "Magic Dragon"
Special Purpose Regiment
The Special Purpose Regiment is, as the name might imply, the KDF's special operations unit. In matters other than Tee-al containment the SPR, despite its small size, can be credited with more operational experience than the rest of the KDF combined. The full extent of the regiment's activities are naturally classified but are thought to occur primarily within the inner Benacian space and include reconnaissance, espionage, the capture, delivery or destruction of assets, targeted assassinations and influence operations. In this the regiment are said to have adopted and adapted the proven methods of the Prefects who have accrued some competence in the subtle stage-management of Kalgachia's own Laqi clan politics over a number of decades.
The Regiment has occassionally been known to operate further afield, loaned from the usual KDF command structure to commercial or other state entities. The experiences thus obtained are of immense value to less experienced units and SPR operatives of all ranks are frequently seconded to training cadres throughout the KDF. The SPR also operates Kalgachia's single squadron of jet fighter aircraft, usually in support of its other operations but also in a peacetime air identification role.
The SPR is composed of the following:
- 21st Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- 24th Whirdlebirb Squadron (1x Whirdlebirb Squadron)
- Mountain Battalion (250 Special Operatives)
- Forest Battalion (250 Special Operatives)
- Cossack Squadron (250 Special Operatives, 250 horses)
- Human Operations Battalion (250 Special Operatives)
- 1st Fast Operations Squadron, Gravelbottom (16x Buzzard C-61 Jet Fighters)
- 2nd Fast Operations Squadron, Fort Ermingander (16x Buzzard C-61 Jet Fighters[1])
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KDF Reserve
The Kalgachi Defence Force Reserve (KDFR) was split from the Church Partisans in 199 AL, to relieve the KDF's full-time units from logistical support and general security duties in the Northbloom Protectorate. Each KDF reservist spends one month per year on active duty - in peacetime some 77,000 troops are active at any one time, with the remaining 847,000 in civilian life awaiting their annual rotation. KDF reservists are only marginally better armed than their partisan counterparts but receive better training in a formal military environment - their duties in peacetime include military road and rail transport, running messages, guarding garrisons, operating and maintaining decoys, disaster relief, and quelling civil disorder on behalf of the Prefects.
The KDFR is disposed as follows:
1st Reserve Army (Centre)
- Lieutenancy of Oktavyan: 2,520 Reserve Companies of which 210 are active in peacetime.
- Lieutenancy of Jollity: 840 Reserve Companies of which 70 are active in peacetime.
2nd Reserve Army (North)
- Lieutenancy of Abrek: 840 Reserve Companies of which 70 are active in peacetime.
- Lieutenancy of Katarsis: 1,260 Reserve Companies of which 105 are active in peacetime.
- Lieutenancy of Bergburg: 840 Reserve Companies of which 70 are active in peacetime.
3rd Reserve Army (South)
- Lieutenancy of Schlepogora: 1,680 Reserve Companies of which 140 are active in peacetime.
- Lieutenancy of Lithead: 1,260 Reserve Companies of which 105 are active in peacetime.
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Total KDF Assets
(combat and combat support only)
- 847,000 inactive reserve personnel
- 113,977 full-time personnel
- 77,000 active reserve personnel
- 15,330 horses
- 1008 Malus-ER anti-gravtank missile emplacements
- 708 Whirdlebirb K2 general-purpose helicopters
- 672 emplaced heavy machine guns
- 648 Dandelion medium-range SAM silos
- 600 attack dogs
- 480 mobile Burdock long-range SAM lanchers
- 368 100mm pack anti-tank guns
- 368 mobile Malus anti-gravtank missile launchers (twin)
- 336 emplaced 152mm howitzers
- 336 emplaced 20mm autocannons
- 324 Burdock long-range SAM silos
- 300 Whirdlebirb K3 helicopter gunships
- 240 Ludd MRBM silos
- 160 mobile Malus anti-gravtank missile launchers (quad)
- 160 mobile Dandelion medium-range SAM launchers (quad)
- 72 152mm pack howitzers
- 51 mobile Dandelion medium-range SAM launchers (twin)
- 48 "Magic Dragon" UACV-1 unmanned aerial combat vehicle
- 48 emplaced 305mm guns
- 32 Buzzard C-61 jet fighter aircraft
- 12 emplaced 'Neaptide' gravimetric countermeasure systems
- 12 rail-mounted 305mm guns
- 6 rail-mounted 40mm air defence cannons (quad)
- 6 rail-mounted Burdock long-range SAM lanchers
- 3 rail-mounted Malus-ER anti-gravtank missile launchers (quad)
- 3 rail-mounted Dandelion medium-range SAM launchers (quad)
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Non-Combatant Elements
In addition to its combat function the KDF effectively functions as the Kalgachi defence ministry (a consequence of its unseen Supreme Commander being one of Kalgachia's ruling Council of Perfecti, thus assuming overall responsibility for the coordination of national defence). This has resulted in a large non-combatant staff which dwarfs the size of the force's combat elements, allowing aged soldiers of even the lowest rank to sustain their careers past the age of frontline fitness. The arrangement also allows valuable experience from non-commissioned and junior officers to percolate through the command structure and mix with insights from the civilian world.
General Staff
There are three duplicate KDF General Staffs, each located in its own redundant deep-level underground command rhizome. Overall command of the KDF is periodically switched between these rhizomes for the purpose of staff experience or operational need. The exact location of these rhizomes - respectively codenamed GLACIS, WESTNEST and FLORID is a closely guarded secret. Each command rhizome is comprised of the following elements:
- KDF Deep Command
- I Corps Command
- II Corps Command
- Fortress Division Command
- Fire Division Command
- Special Operations Command
- KDF Reserve Command
- Intelligence Staff
- Logistics Staff
- Training Staff
- Troglodyte Counsel
- Partisan Liaison
- Protectorate Forces Liaison
- Civil Power Liaison
- Prefect Liaison
- Foreign Power Liaison
Intelligence Command
Intelligence Command gathers and interprets operationally-pertinent information, specialising particularly in the Open Source (OSINT) and Measurement and Signature (MASINT) branches of the craft. In addition the command maintains an extensive deception complex comprised of decoy military structures running into the hundreds along with spurious signals traffic, disinformation leakage, misleading vehicle movements and other falsely-generated signatures of a spectrographic, gravimetric, seismic and topographical nature.
Logistics Command
Logistics Command deals with the provision and storage of KDF supplies. It is a relatively invisible command - most of its production and storage facilities are deep underground. Once produced, movements of KDF supplies are generally left to the embedded logistical detachments of their destination units to avert the force nullification hazard of enemy action upon seperate supply formations. To ease the travel time required by combat units to collect supplies, Logistics Command maintains a network of concealed caches and ammunition dumps across Kalgachia. While working well on home ground, this supply arrangement does entail a substantial dropoff in KDF unit endurance when operating outside friendly territory - with the exception of special operations units, cossacks and other elements skilled in foraging and looting.
Logistics Command is composed of:
- Quartermaster General's Office (Oktavyan)
- Armaments Office (Fort Fortitude)
- Equipment Office (Bergburg)
- Victualling Office (Oktokamensk)
- Caching Office (Fort Candycane)
Training Command
Training Command maintains premises across Kalgachia for the development and refreshment of the KDF's fighting skills. These vary in size from small office buildings to enormous garrisons. Unlike most of the KDF's estate, Training Command's installations are located on or near the surface to allow easy transit to and from training manoeuvres. Regardless of their assigned trade, all KDF recruits undergo initial instruction at the School of Basic Training and Infantry Warfare in Katarsis City where they learn physical fitness, drill, weapon handling and other rudiments of military life before proceeding through other venues to complete their training regime.
Training Command is composed of:
- Kalgachi Central War College (Oktavyan)
- Partisan Instructors' College (Abrek)
- Infantry Warfare College
- School of Basic Training and Infantry Warfare (Katarsis)
- School of Mountain Warfare (Fort Fortitude)
- School of Underground and Urban Warfare (Oktavyan)
- School of Mobile Warfare and Animal Husbandry (Schlepogora)
- School of Artillery (Kossarstadt)
- School of Air Defence, Electronic Warfare and Military Intelligence (Bergburg)
- Mr. Ventaro's Charm School[2] (OPFOR Cadre, Special Cultural Immersion Training)
- School of Combat Aviation (Fort Candycane)
- School of Biomic Warfare and Special Operations (Lithead)
- School of Logistics (Mirth)
- School of Battlefield Medicine, Chaplaincy and Catering (Jollity)
- School of Music (Jollity)
- School of Administrative Services (Oktavyan)
Provost Marshal's Office
The Provost Marshal's Office is concerned with military discipline and maintains a small stockade in most KDF garrisons along with a "Corrective Training Establishment" near the city of Abrek. Individuals in its care can sometimes be seen performing menial janitorial and repair work at KDF facilities.
The Prefects' Border Guard Service
Formed in 150 AL, the Prefects' Border Guard Service (PBGS) is the most visible element of Kalgachia's internal security apparatus. In addition to the usual retinue of customs and immigration staff, the PBGS operates 342 armed Frontier Patrol Units (one for every 10km of the Kalgachi Frontier), each numbering 64 personnel and four attack dogs. Although these units are primarily intended to intercept individuals or small groups violating the Kalgachi border, their light firepower is augmented by an intimate knowledge of the Kalgachi frontier area and an aptitude for covert field reconnaissance second only to the KDF Special Purpose Regiment. They have also preserved certain strains of engineered flora from the Minarborian era - namely the notorious triad of Dreadnettle (urtica terribilis), Sharpshooter Primrose (primula ballistis) and Shrapnel Lily (lilium discerptionis), and have continued the Minarborian tradition of sowing these species into belts of 'biomic minefield' immediately behind the Kalgachi frontier. The periphery of these areas require periodic clearance to prevent the violent flora's uncontrolled spread into Kalgachia proper - a delicate task in itself and one for which the PBGS keeps a cadre of skilled gardeners, usually Nezeni specialists from the Lieutenancy of Lithead in Kalgachia's south.
Postings of PBGS guards are periodically rotated along the Kalgachi border to give each guard a balanced experience of challenging and quiet areas and to prevent the establishment of corrupt relationships with local smugglers or other border violators. Units posted to the quiet areas, such as those facing Batavia or Kalgachia's protectorates, are often downmanned for guards to take leave or assist Prefect operations in the Kalgachi interior.
Total PBGS Field Assets
- 342 Frontier Patrol Units totalling 21,888 personnel, 4104 horses and 1368 attack dogs
Church Partisans
For all the KDF's fighting skill, it is not numerous enough to present effective resistance to an enemy attacking along the entire length of the Kalgachi frontier; so, as in Minarboria, every Church parish selects a portion of its able-bodied citizenry for mobilisation as partisans in a time of total war. Although numbers fluctuate within and between each parish, the total manpower (and womanpower) of such fighters is thought to be around 3,700,000.
Over the course of many years, between more ordinary Church activities, those of the congregation selected as partisans undergo the following twelve-step programme of instruction by training cadres from the KDF:
1. Deconstruction and Dispelment of Alien Ideologies
2. Resistance to Interrogation
3. Escape and Evasion
4. Camouflage and Fieldcraft
5. Foraging and Bushcraft
6. Clandestine Reconnaissance
7. Improvisation of Weapons
8. Trap-laying and Sabotage
9. Acclimatisation to Suppressive Fire, Artillery and Airstrikes
10. Weapons Handling and Marksmanship
11. Recruitment and Small Unit Leadership
12. Tactical and Operational Martyrdom
Kalgachi partisans are much mocked and maligned by the enlisted ranks of the KDF for their perceived lack of professionalism and delusions of martial grandeur - but their asymmetric doctrine, intimate knowledge of home ground and sheer numbers are quietly recognised by the KDF officer corps as of genuine military value in the event of a major war; if nothing else, the partisans' generous sprinkling of small arms and explosive caches maintained in every Kalgachi parish - the keys to which reside with the parish Credent and a trusted few of his congregation - give the KDF a valuable backup on home ground in the event of a collapse in their own supply chain.
In addition to their wartime function, each Parish keeps a proportion of its partisans mobilised in peacetime for the purposes of maintaining public order, firefighting and medical evacuation. The competence and professionalism of these formations vary in broad correlation with the density of the surrounding habitation, ranging from trained and uniformed full-time volunteers in the larger cities to licensed thugs and extortionists in the backwater parishes of the Laqi east.
Protectorate Forces
Three of Kalgachia's Protectorates have standing armed forces which are detailed here.
References
- ^ Ex-UDF, donated 1678 AN
- ^ A legacy name - the school's original director is believed to have been dismissed on suspicion of introducing subtle misinformation to the curriculum, resulting in the compromise of several DTW Field Researchers in 174 AL. His subsequent fate is unknown, as is the identity of his successor(s).
