House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion (51 page)

Unique to the
Trojans
at that time was an internal storage and deployment system for missile pods, making the
Trojan
the first ever pod-laying warship in service in any Navy. While outwardly similar to the more advanced system onboard the
Medusa
class, the prototype system had numerous inefficiencies and some outright dangerous design faults that were fixed in later generations.

The second unique “weapon system” was the organic ability to launch a squadron of
Series 282
advanced light attack craft from internal bays. While its ability to service and rearm the LACs was somewhat limited, the
Trojan
was also the galaxy’s first hyper-capable LAC-carrying warship.

After the early successes of the first four units, the class went on to serve well in the Silesian Confederacy for over a decade. The follow-on units became a common sight throughout Silesian space, and even though pirate groups learned to recognize them, they still provided a powerful deterrent effect, especially once the merchant cartels began to introduce more new-build unmodified
Caravan
-class freighters into the area.

While the Janacek Admiralty had written up plans to extend the class with an additional dozen units, those plans were scrapped with the onset of the Second Havenite War. With the need for manpower growing at an enormous pace, the
Trojans
were listed for disposal shortly thereafter, freeing up their overly large crews for the new construction starting to come off the building slips.

The Royal Manticoran Marine Corps

The Royal Manticoran Marine Corps was formally established in 1516 PD, but can trace its roots back to the Navy’s Fleet Marine Forces, first created in 1438 PD shortly after the initial skirmish with the Free Brotherhood. Part of the process of transforming the Navy from a primarily civil defense organization into a true military organization, the Fleet Marine Forces grew from the core of cross-trained naval personnel who formed the original boarding teams and shipboard security.

Until the mid-seventeenth century, the Corps remained the only Kingdomwide armed service dedicated to ground or boarding combat. In 1665 PD, shortly after the Ranier War, a growing movement in Parliament called for a unified ground service encompassing both the newly created Army and Marines as a cost-efficiency measure. It made little sense, proponents argued, to maintain two separate forces, each with its own infrastructure needs and costs, when they performed so many overlapping roles and missions. While the new service was formally called the Royal Army due to the broad spectrum of official responsibilities the new service needed to meet, the majority of the senior officers came originally from the Corps. After a few generations, though, the drive to create “uniformity” in the name of efficiency became increasingly pronounced, eventually leading to much more emphasis being placed on planetary combat and less on the training in the shipboard duties like damage control and weapons crews which had always been part of the traditional Marine role. Increasingly, the Fleet found itself with soldiers assigned to its ships but not fully integrated into those ships’ operations, which increased manpower costs—without Marines trained in shipboard duties more spacers were inevitably required—and decreased efficiency. Eventually, the nature of the problem was recognized and the Marines reemerged as a separate organization intensively trained to perform both shipboard and planetary missions.

Given the primacy of the RMN within the Star Empire, the RMMC has become the senior ground combat arm of the Star Empire. Originally tasked with providing boarding parties for naval units, the Corps’ responsibilities are currently defined as follows:

1.
Provide emergency landing parties, security parties, and boarding parties for the ship to which they are attached.

2.
Provide shipboard police under the authority of a warship’s master at arms.

3.
Man shipboard duty stations at GQ or battle stations.

4.
Provide garrisons, guards, and security detachments for Manticoran enclaves on other planets.

The Royal Marines are not responsible for sustained planetary combat, atmospheric support, or the garrisoning of entire planets. Those missions are the purview of the Royal Manticoran Army, which is specifically trained and equipped for these tasks.

Organization

A Marine rifle squad consists of thirteen members: a sergeant, two corporals, six riflemen, two grenadiers, and two plasma gunners. The basic tactical element, a section, consists of a plasma gunner covered by three pulser-armed riflemen and a grenadier, commanded by a corporal, while the sergeant exercises overall command. A Marine heavy weapons squad consists of a sergeant, two corporals, and six to ten riflemen, depending on the weapon the squad operates. Heavy weapons squads are “pure function” units equipped with either heavy tripod-mounted plasma guns, tri-barrel pulsers, man-portable SAMs, or mortars.

A Marine rifle platoon consists of a lieutenant, platoon sergeant, one clerk, and three rifle squads. In addition, each platoon has two assigned Navy Sick Berth Attendants (SBAs) to act as corpsmen. A heavy weapons platoon consists of a lieutenant, platoon sergeant, clerk, and four weapons squads (one of each type).

A Marine rifle company consists of a captain, four staff lieutenants, one first sergeant, three clerks, and three rifle platoons. Each company also has two additional permanently attached Navy SBAs and is normally paired with one of its parent battalion’s heavy weapons platoons.

The primary maneuver unit of the RMMC is the battalion, which typically consists of a lieutenant colonel, one major (the exec), a ten-man staff, one sergeant-major, one color sergeant (a leftover from the Corps’ earliest days now acting as the sergeant-major’s noncommissioned exec), ten noncommissioned clerks, three rifle companies, and one heavy weapons company. In addition, each battalion should have an attached Navy doctor, assisted by five SBAs.

Approximately ten percent of the Corps’ total battalions are “assault” battalions (indicated by adding [A] to their unit designations) in which all personnel are equipped with battle armor. An assault battalion has no “heavy weapons” company per se. Instead, an additional “rifle company” in battle armor takes its place. In addition, an assault company or battalion has a somewhat higher “teeth-to-tail” ratio than a rifle company or battalion because the Corps’ attached Navy medical personnel are not trained in the use of battle armor and are not carried on the assault units’ Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E).

The largest permanent standing unit is the regiment, consisting of a command section leading three battalions. Regiments may be organized into brigades or even divisions, although this was seldom practiced before the Havenite Wars. Brigades are currently used as administrative organizations when a large Marine force needs to be deployed to a distant fleet station such as the Talbott Quadrant or Silesia. Deployment of units above regimental strength in a combat zone remains rare for two reasons: modern weapons and equipment mean that larger units are seldom required, and when larger units are required, the situation is almost always one which should have been handed over to the Army in the first place.

Equipment

The standard shoulder arm of the RMMC is the M32 series grav pulse rifle in 4 x 37 mm caliber. The M32A5, introduced in 1918 PD, is the latest variant of this versatile weapon system. The M32 has two magazine wells, each of which will accommodate a single hundred-round magazine. Pulser darts come in two basic varieties: a solid, non-explosive, antipersonnel round and a superdense, explosive round designed for antiarmor or general suppressive fire. A shorter carbine version, the M19, is designed for shipboard use. The standard sidearm carried by officers is the M7 pulser and its short-barreled variant the M9.

The M107 Plasma Rifle and M109 Plasma Carbine are the RMMC’s standard antiarmor weapons. The M107 uses twin M13 power cells, while the M109 carries only one. Each cell is good for three to twelve shots, depending on power settings. Maximum effective range in atmosphere is about four thousand meters, but bloom and energy bleed begin reducing terminal effect very rapidly beyond twenty-two hundred meters. In vacuum, maximum range is usually line of sight, with minimal energy bleed.

Indirect supporting fire is provided by the M142 Grenade Launcher, a semi-automatic grav-launcher firing spin-stabilized 30mm grenades from forty-round belts or six-round box magazines. Maximum effective range is about eighteen hundred meters. The grenades can be fused for impact, delay, or air burst operation and the integrated targeting computer displays ranging data and kill zones on the scope or directly overlaid onto the Skinsuit HUD.

Heavy weapons squads are equipped with a variety of crew-served weapons, including the M247 Heavy Tribarrel, M271 Plasma Cannon, and M223 Mortar among others. These are tripod-mounted weapons carried disassembled by squad members and deployed in minutes to provide support fire to maneuver units. Variants of the M247 and M271 exist for battle armor, carried be a single assault marine and drawing from the suit’s internal power cells.

Standard combat gear for the RMMC includes the Mk7 Armored Skinsuit. The underlying structure of the Mk7 is identical to the Navy’s skinsuit, though the Marine variant trades comfort for protection and increased tactical features. For small arms protection, a series of armor plates covers the suit, providing adequate defense against light weaponry. The addition of weapon interlink ports allows the use of the helmet’s heads-up display (HUD) in combat. The skinsuit is used in boarding actions, shipboard duty, hostile environment engagements and combat drops, while lightweight unpowered body armor is worn at other times.

Assault units are equipped with M21 Battle Armor, a combat suit with a powered exoskeleton and heavy armor plating, powered by internal power cells. The M21 Base Platform can be configured in a number of ways depending on mission requirements. In reconnaissance configuration, more power is stored at the expense of weapon loadouts, which increases endurance but leaves the trooper with nothing more than a standard pulse rifle, while in assault configuration, heavy weapons such as tribarrels and plasma cannon are carried.

The RMMC is a pure infantry force, with no organic vehicle components other than their (Navy-operated) small craft. The two most commonly seen subtypes are the Mk30 “Condor II” Pinnace and the Mk17 Avenger Assault Shuttle, though some units still carry the older Marine-optimized Mk26 Skyhawk Pinnace. All three are capable of company-level drops as well as fire support.

Aside from the dedicated Broadsword-class LCA and the new Kamerling class, interstellar transport was provided throughout the war by the aging Rorke’s Drift-class Fast Attack Transports and the Guadalcanal-class Heavy Assault Transports. With the drawdown of onboard marine complements due to the increased automation onboard Manticoran Warships, a design study was put in place in 1920 PD for a new class of Marine transport. Designed to attach to a fleet to provide a centralized Marine support unit, the as-yet unnamed LPX (Attack Transport, Experimental) can carry three regiments plus support on a large battlecruiser-sized hull, with enough active and passive defenses to protect itself as part of the fleet train, and sufficient small craft capacity to deploy a full regiment in a single wave.

The Royal Manticoran Army

The Royal Manticoran Army was formally established by King Roger Winton II in 1648 PD and is the youngest of the Star Empire’s three military services. Prior to that date, each planet in the Manticore system had its own Planetary Guard to provide for disaster relief, peacekeeping, and planetary security, but there was no perceived need for a Kingdomwide army.

With the growing merchant fleet and responsibilities of the Royal Manticoran Navy in the years following the first transit of the Junction, the Star Kingdom began to look toward gathering a military that was capable of force projection in addition to its historical role of providing system security and defense. The Royal Army was established as part of that initiative, merging the three Planetary Guard forces into a single service and starting a research and construction program to develop the equipment and doctrine to fight a major ground war if required.

The Army achieved two important “firsts” during the Ranier War: its first operational deployment and its first actual combat operations. The practical experience of several months of low-intensity combat in the Ranier System honed the skills the Army had developed through extensive training and wargaming. The Army’s good performance was one of the factors cited to justify the century-long merger with the Royal Marines.

The Army’s four primary mission roles are defined as follows:

1.
Provide the mechanized “muscle” for sustained planetary combat.

2.
Secure and maintain control of planetary surfaces and fixed ground defenses.

3.
Maintain the peace against uprisings or unrest when called to do so by the Government.

4.
Provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

It should be noted that, despite the equipment and training, the Royal Army has never in its history been called upon to fulfill its primary mission. Any force that holds undisputed control of the high orbitals can force a surrender or can defeat even a superior enemy ground force without risking its own units with few exceptions. For those exceptions, the Star Kingdom has built an Army capable of sustained planetary combat, but the capability has not been needed to date. Instead, the Army has been tasked with peacekeeping and garrison duties on over a dozen captured Havenite worlds. Often the first Manticoran any of their population met in person was a member of the Army, and its training as peacekeeping and local police forces has served them well in that role.

Organization

The Royal Army is primarily a mechanized force, consisting of regular, armored, and assault infantry units; armored units; engineering units; heavy ground defense units; and aerial units, including both atmospheric and trans-atmospheric fighters (sting ships). The Army uses the term “armored unit” to indicate a unit equipped with armored fighting vehicles, which range from relatively lightly armored but highly mobile skimmers and infantry fighting vehicles to heavy tanks, capable of standing up to heavy plasma fire. In the unusual eventuality of really heavy ground combat, the Army usually provides heavy vehicles support for the Marines or completely takes over from them in the sustained combat role.

While the Army’s “leg” infantry and few battle armored assault units operate with the same organization and doctrine as the Marines, their armored infantry are organized a little differently at the squad level. An armored infantry squad fights dismounted, with two four-man fireteams (often called “quads”) and a sergeant in overall command, supported by the two- to three-man team in their light skimmer or infantry fighting vehicle.

Armored infantry platoons consist of three squad vehicles plus a command vehicle. A tank platoon likewise consists of four tanks (three plus a command tank). Various support platoons exist at different levels of organization, but the core “three plus command” organization concept remains constant across this level of organization. A company, whether composed of infantry, armored infantry or tanks, consists of three platoons plus a command element. The command element will include a command vehicle for the staff, and often includes support vehicles (medical, engineering, air defense, etc.) depending on the mission.

A typical Army Battalion will consist of a command element, three standard companies, one support company (often a combination of heavy weapons and mission-specific support), and a fifth company that is normally detached for recruiting and depot duties, including vehicular maintenance and rear area security. Three battalions combine to form a regiment, which is the highest permanent organizational unit, similar to the Marines.

Pure function units above regimental size are not used, but when necessary, the Army will form mission-specific Regimental Combat Teams, typically consisting of one armored regiment, two armored infantry regiments, and one aerospace wing for transport and airspace control.

Atmospheric Command operates all of the Army’s aerospace fighters and transports, and is organized into squadrons and wings. The unit organization changes to meet the needs of the mission, ranging anywhere from a cross-attached squadron for close-air support of an armored infantry battalion to a full transport wing to provide airlift for an entire regiment. Under the terms of the East Cay Agreement, Atmospheric Command is prohibited from operating extra-atmospheric vehicles at “interplanetary distances,” which is interpreted to mean more than one light-minute from a planetary body. The East Cay Agreement was intended to prevent the design and procurement of competing assault shuttles, pinnaces, etc., by restricting the Army to stingships and similarly short-ranged extra-atmosphere combat vehicles. The East Cay Agreement had been waived upon occasion, however, and Army stingships are designed to be capable of operating from Navy boat bays and Marine assault ships when necessary. Atmospheric Command personnel routinely train in joint operations with both the RMMC and the RMN.

Equipment

At the level of the individual soldier, the Army has a great deal of commonality of equipment with the Royal Marines, and its infantry regiments are equipped with identical gear across the board, with minor differences only based on mission focus. The Army has far fewer battle-armored assault units than the Marines, however, given the expense in both equipment and training to maintain them.

The primary combat unit of the armored regiment is the M11A2 grav tank. The M11 is a hybrid design, capable of short “sprints” on counter-grav, with conventional treads for stability and long distance travel. The primary weapon is a 120 mm plasma cannon, supported by a remote tribarrel pulser for anti-infantry defense as well as an automated point defense turret designed to rapidly engage and destroy incoming projectiles and missiles. Forward scouting is performed by onboard counter-grav reconnaissance drones, while an active and passive ECM suite works to defeat guided projectiles, as well as target locks from enemy tanks.

The M13 Infantry Fighting Vehicle is a lightweight variant of same hybrid pattern as the M11, but armed with a heavy tribarrel pulser in the turret and capable of carrying a total of twelve soldiers, including a commander, driver, gunner, and full rifle squad. Numerous specialty vehicles (command, engineering, air defense, artillery, etc.) are built on the M11 and M13 base platforms.

In comparison, the M27 Skimmer (often referred to as a “battle taxi”) is a pure counter-grav vehicle that bears a closer resemblance to an armored aircar than a tank. Optimized as a fast reconnaissance vehicle, the M27 is capable of speeds up to nine hundred kilometers per hour at low altitude. Armament consists of a twin light tribarrel pulser turret to provide support fire to the embarked squad when necessary.

Atmospheric Command operates a number of aerospace craft, but the two most common are the M105 “Goliath” transport and the M116 “Viper” stingship. The Goliath is the primary heavy lift platform of the Atmospheric Command, and a Goliath Wing is capable of airlifting an entire regiment from one side of the planet to the other in less than twenty-four hours. The Viper is the standard single-seat stingship operated by the Army, a high-performance impeller-drive hypersonic attack fighter capable of operations from “treetops to low orbit,” as well as limited space capability.

The Army has no interplanetary transport ability and must rely solely on Navy and Marine transport. The Star Empire is running chronically short of their fast attack and heavy assault transports, and the ones in service are worked hard. It is not unusual for Army regiments to find themselves loaded aboard civilian transport to reach their garrisons.

Queen’s Own

The Queen’s Own exists in order to provide physical security to the sovereign and to members of the royal family, and to provide area security for Mount Royal Palace and for other royal residences. More than mere bodyguards, the Queen’s Own also has responsibility for certain support functions, such as intelligence, associated with protection of the Royal Family. While operationally part of the Army, the Queen’s Own dates back to 1489 PD with the Coronation of King Roger I. Recognizing the need for a protective detail for the Monarch, given the influx of new colonists, the Manticore and Sphinx Planetary Guards each “donated” a company and a half of their troops to form the core of a battalion. Gryphon followed suit after its population reached a level to support its own Planetary Guard. The unit has grown in strength since then, and had already reached regimental size by the time it was merged with the Army in 1665 PD.

The Queen’s Own (formally known as the Monarch’s Own Regiment) is generally regarded as the elite of the Army, but its ranks are also open to Marines, and even the occasional naval officer. Before being accepted for service in the Queen’s Own, an individual must first prove himself or herself thoroughly in one of the combat arms.

The Queen’s Own consists of four “battalions,” one for each of the three original planets of the Star Kingdom plus a “training battalion,” which both trains new recruits and provides opposition forces for training at the Army’s premier combat training facilities. The Queen’s Own’s battalions do not normally detach their “recruiting” or depot company. This means that, technically, the Queen’s Own’s official strength is 2,940 troops. In fact, it is usually somewhat understrength because of the high standards its personnel must meet. Like the Army itself, the Queen’s Own contains its own atmospheric component of stingships and heavy transports. Most of its personnel, even on security detail for the Monarch herself, are normally configured as light infantry, but each battalion has its own integral heavy weapons company, and powered armor is available to it.

The Queen’s Own is expected to contribute forces to frontline combat if the Star Kingdom is at war. This usually takes the form of deploying one of its three planet battalions to the active theater, leaving the other two planet battalions to hold down the Regiment’s normal peacetime duties. Those duties include the personal security of the sovereign and members of the royal family, security at Mount Royal Palace and other royal residences, and intelligence functions related to the preceding two duties.

In addition to all of the above, the Queen’s Own is the Army’s premier ceremonial unit, as it has been a part of the Star Kingdom’s military traditions dating back to the founding of the Star Kingdom itself.