Exército
Moçambiques 2300
INTRODUCTION
Located
on the south-eastern coast of Africa between Azania and Tanzania, Mozambique's
history, and its military, have been defined in the modern era by the
presence of substantial Tantalum deposits in the nation. Exploitation
of tantalum has fueled what has rightly been termed the "Mozambique
miracle" wherein one of Earth's poorest nations was transformed
into a rich and stable republic, but it has also generated internal
strife and tensions with external powers and neighbors. Though
internal and foreign tensions have abated substantially since the height
of the tantalum boom, the present day Republic of Mozambique maintains
a strong professional military trained and equipped to oppose foreign
or domestic enemies as necessary. NARRATIVE
The patrol, a short platoon of sixteen men, had been on the
move almost continuously for a week, pursuing fleeing terroristas deep into the hinterland of the embattled Provincia
de Blanco. The men, fanned
out behind the tracking team, were exhausted, struggling wearily through
the Acacia scrub bush under the baking east African sun.
“Contact right!” the warning, shouted by Cabo de Grupo Combate
(CGC) Piet van Doornan, the patrol’s senior NCO, preceded the desultory
flurry of flat popping snaps of Type 49 assault rifle and Type 381 machinegun
fire fractionally.
Cabo-Adjunto Thappharansi Kon spun to his right as he dropped
into the prone, pulling the optics of his LK-1 carbine to his eye. The combined day/thermal channel display showed
a half-dozen man-shaped blobs brandishing weapons seventy meters away
in the bush. Without hesitation,
Kon quick-fired three 30mm grenades and then rolled to his left to get
behind the marginal cover of the acacias while he reloaded.
“GC Two, suppress. GC
One, assault through,” Capitão Salvador
Chipenembe’s voice came through loud and confident on the squad radios. Kon and the rest of Grupo Combate 2 went
into their rehearsed battle drill for suppressive fire while the captain
and GC 1 bounded forward in pairs, closing with the enemy.
It was over in a few seconds, followed by shouted orders to
reorganize the patrol. Three
terroristas were dead, the others having fled deeper into the bush.
The only two members of the patrol wounded were the tracker team.
“Alternate trackers up,” CGC van Doornan’s voice rumbled through
the scrub. Cabo-Adjunto Thappharansi
Kon moved up, joined by his tracking partner CGC Kalash Dhlakama.
“What do you have, Kon?” Capitão Chipenembe was in a hurry, looking to his new trackers
while monitoring the rest of the patrol’s activities and talking into
the LR radio.
Kon squinted down into the dust where the terroristas had
retreated. The Thailand-born
junior NCO finally said, “Three men, dragging a fourth.
Two in army boots, one in track shoes.
The fourth, they are dragging, is in French army issue boots
– see the Swiss crosses scuffed sideways in the print?”
“Excellent, excellent. ENDEX
and admin time, Captain Chipenembe. Thirty minute break followed by change of mission,”
4o Sargento de Estado-maior Anupam Nagra, senior training
NCO for class 02-03 of the Exército Moçambiques’ Combat Tracker
School stepped forward from where he had been observing the exercise.
Kon paused for a sip of water from the bladder in his patrol
pack. He was as tired as he could
ever remember being, and Class 02-03 had another two weeks of field
exercises left before earning the coveted Flechas Combat Tracker
Badge.
Order
of Battle
Military History Current Defence Situation and Foriegn Relations Organization Equipment End Notes ORDER
OF BATTLE
EXÉRCITO MOÇAMBIQUES
COMANDO ESPECIAIS DO MOÇAMBIQUE
1a
Divisão Pára-quedista Agrupamento de Infantaria Pára-quedista 1001 Agrupamento de Infantaria Pára-quedista 1003 Agrupamento
de Flechas 1010 FORÇA
DO FRONTEIRA FORÇA DO ESPAÇA FRANCÊS (HQ: Okavango, Kimanjano)
99a Divisão Expedicionária (HQ: Okavango, Kimanjano) Agrupamento Expedicionária 9901 (Okavango, Kimanjano)Agrupamento Expedicionária 9902 (New Falmouth, Joi) Agrupamento Expedicionária 9903 (Nouveau
Amman, BCB) Agrupamento Expedicionária 9904 (Attached to Brazilian Expeditionary Force) COMMANDO DO SUL
Força
de Móbil do Sul
52a Brigada Artilharia Força
de Defesa do Sul
54a Brigada Artilharia COMMANDO
DO NORTE Força
de Móbil do Norte 51a Brigada Artilharia Força
de Defesa do Norte 53a Brigada Artilharia AGRUPAMENTOS
DE POLÍCIA MILITAR MILITARY HISTORY
The
modern Exército Moçambiques, like its parent nation, has
little connection with the pre-tantalum nation of Mozambique, which
entered and emerged from the Twilight War in a tattered and semi-functional
state (as one Mozambican historian has noted, "For most nations,
the apocalypse came suddenly in 1997, for Mozambique it began in 1932
and progressed in fits and starts for most of the 20th century").
By the first decade of the 21st century, only faint echoes of RENAMO
and FRELIMO lingered among the various warlords and independent towns,
and Mozambique itself was one of many African nations that existed in
name only. National
reunification is generally recognized to have begun in 2007, and was
notable for its ugliness in an era when standards of civilized behavior
worldwide were more often honored in the breech than in practice.
Driving the reunification was an odd alliance of ethnic Shangaan and
ostensibly FRELIMO-aligned groups from the southern provinces of Gaza
and Maputo and Afrikaaner refugees from the new nation of Azania, many
of whom entered Mozambique initially as mercenary groups traveling with
dependents in tow. The Reunification was at its bloodiest in the
north of the country, where the Makhuwa ethnic group, backed overtly
by Tanzania (and, on occasion covertly by Azania), formed a rival national
government. After a decade of warfare, the Shangaan/Afrikaaner
alliance emerged victorious, though the heavily Makhuwa-populated province
of Niassa in north-west Mozambique broke away, initally as an independent
nation which was later incorporated into Tanzania in 2030. Following
Reunification, Mozambique struggled with internal ethnic divisions and
external pressure from ethnic Makhuwa guerillas, occasional border clashes
with Azania, and similar tensions with Tanzania (the latter erupting
into two full scale wars during the 21st Century). Despite the
initial presence of skilled Afrikaaner labor, bolstered later in the
century by Indian refugees from Goa and elsewhere on the sub-continent
fleeing South Asia's ongoing self-immolation, the nation remained desperately
poor throughout the Age of Recovery and into the Second Age of Exploration.
The Mozambican military, such as it was, was small and poorly equipped
during this era, typically characterized by conscript forces who were
militia in all but name operating alongside small, highly professional
"Agrupamentos Combate," many of which remained mercenary
Afrikaaner (or, increasingly, Indian) units. All this changed in the middle of the 22nd Century when tantalum suddenly emerged as the most valuable of minerals. Mozambique found its economy, almost literally, transformed overnight, and the growing pains were sometimes fearsome, especially as foreign workers flooded into the country from elsewhere in Africa and South Asia to work the vastly expanded Tantalum mines. Basic infrastructure and services were slow to catch up with the population explosion, and the government of the era slid rapidly into corruption and profiteering. There were no less than seven serious revolts, rebellions, or coups against the central government during the era, which the Army was deployed against. On three of these occasions, Azanian and French troops (joined by Japan in the third intervention) had to intercede to maintain the national government. The
situation eventually stabilized as, increasingly, Mozabique became Japan’s
primary supplier of Tantalum during the late 22nd century
and consequently benefited from major Japanese foreign aid projects. As economic conditions began to improve, there
were attendant and peaceful improvements in government as well. The framing of a new national constitution in
2220 is widely regarded as the defining point in Mozambique’s emergence
from the Third World and movement into the 2nd Tier. For
the Mozambican military this increase in affluence and transition of
the nation to a stable democracy prompted a period of major reorganization
and retasking. The Exército Moçambiques was increasingly
transformed from an organization mostly fit for riot control and strike
breaking into a professional military force primarily tasked with securing
the nation’s frontiers and its strategically vital Tantalum mining facilities. The nation’s resources went behind reorganization
and for most of the 23rd century Mozambican military forces
have been noted for their top of the line military equipment, imported
eclectically from major arms producing nations.
In the first two to three decades of the century, there were
serious teething problems with this influx of equipment, but over time
infrastructure and logistics caught up with more flashy front-line systems. Military
operations in the last century have been limited, primarily to operations
against cross-border incursions across the nation’s northern and western
borders by “post-national” groups. Tensions
with Tanzania have run very high from time to time, but have never developed
into outright conflict since the conclusion of the 2093 war between
the two nations. Both nations
have accused the other of clandestine operations from time to time,
probably with some justification. The other place where Mozambican forces have proved their worth is in international deployments within Africa and elsewhere, with Exército Moçambiques units deployed frequently in disaster relief, humanitarian, and peacekeeping missions. From an international perspective, neutral Mozambique is generally acceptable to belligerents as a power whose deployment will not favor either side of a conflict. At the operational level, Mozambican troops, professional soldiers and products of a liberal, multi-ethnic socialist democracy have consistently demonstrated an aptitude for such missions. Despite this operational focus, however, the military remains primarily trained and organized for the mission of ensuring national sovereignty and protecting the nation’s Tantalum mines. Mozambique, to date, has avoided significant involvement in the Kafer War, though this is changing circa 2303, with the dispatch of a small expeditionary force to the French Arm. This force is not intended for front-line combat, but rather to assist in humanitarian relief and reconstruction. It remains to be seen if Mozambique will be further drawn into the conflict, and the issue is hotly contested in the national Parliament.
CURRENT
DEFENSE SITUATION AND FOREIGN RELATIONS Mozambique
is located, loosely, at the southern end of “independent Africa,” with
the Azanian sphere of influence to its south and west, and French Africa
to the northwest (as well as the French presence in Madagascar).
Northeast are the generally non-aligned nations that have avoided
absorption by either the French Empire or the UAR. Mozambique
has generally steered its own course in African politics, overtly antagonizing
neither Azania nor France, though not always agreeing with them. Those two nations are the only credible threats
to national sovereignty, and the size and organization of the Mozambican
military is driven by a need to avoid any appearance of weakness that
might encourage those nations to infringe on Mozambican territory. The
more common, though much less credible, threat faced by the Mozambican
military is from cross-border incursions along the northern frontier
from Tanzania, Malawi, and Katanga.
As these nations have progressed up from relative poverty, they
have been plagued by unstable governments and non-governmental armed
bands. The collective effect
has been a tendency (much reduced in the last 30 years) for bandits
and marauders to cross into Mozambican territory in pursuit of Tantalum
or more general loot. This problem
has remedied itself as the nations of independent Africa have improved
economically, but there remains a certain cultural tradition of regarding
Mozambique as a rich and tempting target for the criminal elements in
those nations. Asia: Japan was formerly a major supporter of Mozambique and purchaser of its
Tantalum, though the relation between the two nations is not as strong
or as close as it was in the 22nd century.
Relations with other Asian nations, like Europe, generally follow
economic interests, and these are few and far between. A large number of refugees from Indochina have
settled in Mozambique, but their presence has not produced the same
degree of engagement with the region as is seen with India. Azania: Relations
between Azania and Mozambique are generally good, though sometimes strained
by Azania’s perennial racial issues. Mozambique is not only a multi-ethnic nation
where equality is rigorously mandated by national laws, but is has significant
minority populations of Afrikaners and South Indians, the specific groups
most often slighted by the Azanian government’s laissez-faire
approach to such issues. Still,
the two nations more often than not find common cause in relation to
events in Africa and beyond. France: Relations
with France tend to be complicated by Mozambique’s willingness to sell
its Tantalum on the open market, with transfers to nations like Manchuria
and Iran being deemed problematic by the French government. The French approach to this issue has been a
largely successful “carrot” approach, offering Mozambique top-end French
military hardware and other inducements to alter Mozambican policy. Such measures have not managed to deny Tantalum
to nations France considers questionable, but has made things more expensive
for them. At the same time, however,
some in Mozambique’s political arena are wary of being seen as too responsive
to French agendas, and recent selection of German and other international
firms to provide new weapons systems reflects this. Europe: Mozambique’s
motivation for engagement in Europe generally follows exclusively economic
patterns. Relations are generally
warm with ESA member-states and the Ukraine, as a consequence.
Relations are also relatively close with some of the smaller
European nations that are involved in developing their space exploration
or commerce capabilities. Besides economic dimensions, the Mozambican
military has relatively frequent contacts with many European military
establishments stemming from joint assignments on international deployments. Indian
States: Mozambique
is fairly closely linked with the various South Asian states in the
former India. These nations are
major (primarily non-Tantalum) trading partners.
Several waves of immigrants and refugees from South Asia have
settled in Mozambique and retained an unusual degree of cultural coherence
and affiliation with their ancestral homelands.
Finally, Mozambican troops have been involved in numerous deployments
to South Asia. Politically the
Mozambican government has often tried to play the role of mediator in
South Asian conflicts (sometimes with French or other international
support), and only been occasionally successful.
Complicating the situation is the presence of a number of ostensibly
non-violent political groups (ranging from pro-unification to various
minority population focused groups) with headquarters in Maputo.
Various South Asian regimes have accused some of these groups
of armed radicalism within the Subcontinent and accused Mozambique of
seeking to subvert national governments.
Mozambique stridently objects to these accusations, and has jailed
or deported a number of identified terrorists, but the issue undermines
Mozambican influence in some Indian states. Manchuria: A
major purchaser of Mozambican Tantalum, despite French efforts since
the Central Asian War to diminish this, Manchuria was formerly a well
regarded diplomatic ally and supplier of military equipment. The Central Asian War and the consequent break
in relations between France and Manchuria has prompted rethinking of
this situation. In final analysis,
Manchuria’s friendship is not deemed worth the cost of French belligerence. While Manchuria remains a major trading partner,
including sales of Tantalum, the relationship has cooled in the last
10-15 years to a level the politicians in Maputo consider acceptable
vis a vis France. North
America: Canada,
America, and Mexico are of little direct interest to Mozambique, though
Mexico has been an occasional minor Tantalum purchaser. Like Europe, however, the Exército Moçambiques
has occasional contact with North American forces, especially Canadian
ones, during peace enforcement and similar missions. South
America: Relations
with Brazil are close, owing both to some degree of common cultural
history, as well as Brazil being a major purchaser of Mozambican Tantalum.
Ties with Brazil have, perforce, put Mozambique at odds with
Argentina, and largely closed South American markets outside of Brazil
and Venezuela to the nation. Tanzania: Regarded
as the traditional rival and enemy for most of the 21st and
22nd centuries, relations with Tanzania, though still sometimes
strained, have improved as that nation has become more economically
prosperous and both nations have become more politically stable. Other
East African Nations: Though sometimes the subject of intense resentment
and envy by other East African nations owing to cross-border strife
in previous eras, Mozambique is also regarded as a strong, independent
nation that can counter-balance French, UAR, and Azanian interests in
the region. Mozambique does not have an impeccable record
in playing this role, however, sometimes siding with the larger African
nations against smaller ones, and so a large degree of ambivalence exists
towards Mozambique among the other eastern African states. ORGANIZATION
The
Exército Moçambiques is somewhat unusual in its organization
below division level. Each division
consists of five Battle Groups (Agrupamentos Combate), most typically
composed of six combat arms companies and a supporting artillery battery
and a logistics echelon. Divisions
also include battalion-sized supporting elements like engineers, reconnaissance
units, divisional artillery, etc. Battle
groups are directly subordinate to the divisional headquarters and blur
the line between battalions and brigades in their capabilities and mission
taskings. In Mozambican doctrine, Battle Groups often
are expected to operate in a dispersed, sometimes remote, fashion.
The
army is broadly divided into Mechanized Divisions (Divisãos Mecanizado)
and Light Divisions (Divisãos Ligeira), with four active and
two reserve Mechanized Divisions and two active and six reserve Light
Divisions making up the bulk of the Exército Moçambiques.
The use of the term “Light” is somewhat misleading as both types
of divisions are well equipped with motorized transport and are intended
for mobile operations. The distinction
between the two is both one of equipment, with Mechanized Divisions
being hover mobile “heavy” formations while Light Divisions use wheeled
light armored vehicles, and also of missions, with Mechanized Divisions
geared for offensive, mobile warfare, while Light Divisions are infantry-heavy
organizations intended for defensive (or deliberate offensive) operations.
Each
Force also includes an artillery brigade configured for the deep strike
role. This brigade has two battalions,
each of eighteen long-range self-propelled 170mm Brazilian MD-170 EM
howitzers, a battalion of twenty-four Scandinavian Åskskräll multiple
rocket launchers firing 240mm guided ballistic missiles, and two attack
aviation battalions, each with eighteen Aerofabrique Zephyr X-wing
gunships. These brigades are intended for deep interdiction
missions (90-100km+ forward of friendly troops).
Augmenting
the two major geographic commands are the Mozambican Special Command
(Comando Especiais do Moçambiques), which controls the elite
conventional 1st Parachute Division, as well as smaller,
unconventional special operations units, including the Flechas combat
tracker unit and the 1011th Parachute Commando Battle Group
(‘Commando’ having been borrowed from Azanian and Afrikaaner sources,
sometimes causing confusion with the cognate Portuguese cognate Comando)
. Also supporting the Army in
its territorial defense role, are approximately a division worth of
Army personnel organized into three Frontier Brigades who work closely
with paramilitary border police units in monitoring and maintaining
Mozambican territorial integrity. Organization
Below Division Level – Agrupamentos Combate
Each
Agrupamento Combate, or Battle Group, is an all-arms combat unit
with infantry, armor, artillery and other assets permanently organized. Most generally have six maneuver companies,
an artillery battery, and a Headquarters and Service Company. As such, the Battle Group is somewhat intermediary
between battalions and brigades, in terms of size, compared to most
contemporary military organizations.
In terms of operations, it functions more along the lines of
a brigade or a French Groupement Mobile than a battalion. The table below indicates subordinates companies
by agrupamento.
Each
agrupamento Headquarters and Service Company (Companhia de
Comando e Servicos) includes maintenance, medical and logistics
platoons. The company also has various reconnaissance
assets to help shape battle space. A
Signals and Intelligence Platoon, provided with communications and electronic/information
warfare equipment, is available to monitor enemy units’ EM footprints,
as well as reducing the Battle Group’s own signature. A UAV reconnaissance platoon with three Abantesma
II medium-range reconnaissance drones provides an organic aerial
reconnaissance capability. Finally,
a forty-eight man Surveillance Platoon, mounted on twelve light hover-reconnaissance
vehicles and armed with one SK-19, one LK-1, two MD-93 gauss sniper
rifles and an FTE-10 anti-material rifle provides the Battle Group commander
with a close reconnaissance capability, as well as a dedicated sniper
element if needed.
Other
company organizations are shown below.
Tank Company
(Companhia de Carros Combate)
Exército
Moçambiques tank
companies consist of ten Luftkissenpanzer-IX hover tanks organized
into two platoons of four, plus two tanks in the headquarters platoon
for use by the company commander and the Sargento de Companhia
(a somewhat unusual arrangement).
Additional headquarters platoon assets include a pair of Kangaroo
hover APCs adapted for cargo hauling, and used by the company’s executive
officer and #2 NCO, the 4o Sargento de Estado-maior, and a pair
modified to carry reduced recoil 120mm mortars.
The company also has an organic mechanized infantry platoon,
equipped with AVCI-4 hover IFVs and organized identically to the Mechanized
Infantry Company’s rifle platoons described below.
Light
Armor Company (Compahia de Carros Combate Ligeira)
The
main mobile striking power of the 1st Parachute Division,
each light armor company is organized identically to a standard tank
company, except that French ACL-7 light tanks replace the Lukis-IX
(the company continues to use AVCI-4 and Kangaroo personnel carriers).
Mechanized
Infantry Company (Companhia de Infantaria Mecanizado)
Mechanized
companies are organized as reverse copies of tank companies, with ten
AVCI-4s, organized into two platoons, plus a platoon of four Lukis-IX
hovertanks, and supporting Kangaroo hover APCs, including two mortar
carriers. Each mechanized infantry platoon is provided
with four AVCI-4s and consists of three squads, each of eight men, plus
two medics and two two-man plasma gun teams, each primarily equipped
with a Type 21 PGMP. Each rifle
squad is divided into two four-man fire teams, one led by the squad
leader the other by his assistant. Each
fire team is equipped with two SK-19 assault rifles, one LK-1 laser
rifle, and an MG-19. One squad in each platoon is equipped with a
launcher unit for the Blindicide-9 anti-vehicle missile and ten
missiles, while the other two squads are equipped with GW-3 light automatic
grenade launchers; these weapons are employed as necessary by dismounted
teams. Light
Mechanized Infantry Company (Companhia de Infantaria Mecanizado Ligeira)
The
Light Mechanized Infantry Company is equipped throughout with the Weta
light armored vehicle. The
company consists of a headquarters platoon, three rifle platoons, and
an anti-armor platoon. The headquarters platoon has three Weta-APCs
and two Weta mortar carriers.
The anti-armor platoon has two Weta Tank Destroyers and
two Weta-APCs, each carrying four two-man Blindicide-9 teams
and forty-five of the small ATGMs. Finally,
the rifle platoons are each of four vehicles and are organized identically
to the Mechanized Company rifle platoons, except that all three squads
are equipped with the GW-3 light AGL. Motorized Infantry Company (Companhia de Infantaria) Mounted
on locally produced Girafa 6x6 tactical trucks, Motorized Infantry
Companies are the backbone of the infantry agrupamentos. Organization is similar to the mechanized and
light mechanized companies, with a company headquarters platoon including
two low-recoil 120mm mortars (mounted in Girafa and capable of
being fired from those vehicles, including a shoot on the move capability). The anti-armor platoon is equipped with four
Girafa anti-tank vehicles, mounting dual-tube Luchs missile
launchers, and lacks Blindicide-9 teams.
Compensating for this shortage, each rifle squad in the company
is provided with both a Blindice-9 launcher unit and a GW-3 light
AGL. Parachute Infantry Company (Companhia de Pára-quedista) Parachute infantry companies are structurally somewhat different
from the other types of infantry units. The headquarters platoon is strictly composed
of communication and logistics assets, with the usual mortars moved
to a company weapons platoon. The
weapons platoon consists of four French light 80mm mortars, four Luchs
ATGM launchers mounted on light wheeled ATVs (eight vehicles total,
one for the launcher and gunner, one for the loader and four spare missiles),
and an eight man sniper squad armed with eight MD-73 gauss sniper rifles. Each rifle platoon consists of three eight man
rifle squads, organized the same as squads listed above, and a weapons
squad with two GW-3 light AGLs and two Blidicide-9 launchers. Parachute infantry units are sometimes called on to function
as conventional infantry, and all parachute infantry companies are equipped
with enough Girafa tactical trucks to allow them to function
as motorized infantry, as appropriate.
As the Girafa is air-droppable, companies can deploy by
air in the motorized format as well, if the situation dictates. Combat Walker Company
(Companhia de Carçi)
Combat walker companies are organized into a headquarters platoon, including three BH-21MZ1 combat walkers (used by the company commander, executive officer, and company sergeant major), a maintenance section, and a supply section. The remainder of the company consists of three Pelotãos de Carçi, or Combat Walker Platoons, each made up of twelve walkers, split into three squads of four (one led by the platoon leader, one by the platoon sergeant, and the last by a senior Cabo de Carçi), plus a transportation squad with six Girafa tactical trucks modified to carry combat walkers, their crews, and a two basic issues of ammunition for each walker (each truck can carry two BH-21MZ1s). Transportation squad drivers and assistant drivers are usually an even split of qualified walker pilots and trainees. The former spell the other pilots, while the latter assist with maintenance and also provide local security for the company trains. Most personnel in the company are armed with FAB-20 carbines for personal defense when not piloting walkers, plus six SK-19s per platoon (including the headquarters platoon). Artillery
Battery (Companhia de Artilharia) Agrupamento-level artillery
support consists of hovercraft or truck mounted multiple rocket launchers
and air defense assets. Indirect
fires are provided by the modular Scandinavian Åskskräll MRL
system, capable of firing 120mm, 160mm, or 240mm guided and unguided
rockets. Air defense is provided by a platoon of six
carriers mounting long-range sensors and German Ohu missiles. In hover-mobile units, the battery’s indirect
firing elements consists of six Kangaroo APCs modified to carry a pair
of Åskskräll launch boxes, allowing a usual load-out of twelve
120mm rockets per vehicle (though longer ranged rockets are sometimes
used), with six more Kangaroos, each carrying four Ohu as the
ADA asset.. In wheeled units, the firing element consists
of eight Girafa trucks, each mounting a single Åskskräll box,
with six Girafa again carrying four Ohu missiles each. Additional assets include a supply platoon with
one ammunition carrier per indirect firing unit and two carriers for
additional Ohu missiles, plus a headquarters and fire direction
center element. Anti-Tank Company (Companhia de Contracarro) Anti-Tank Companies provide
Light Mechanized and Infantry Agrupamentos with both anti-armor
firepower as well as additional direct and indirect fire support for
the other companies of the battle group.
The company is composed of a headquarters section and three anti-tank
platoons (with a total of fourteen Weta tank destroyers, split
into three platoons of four plus the headquarters), plus a mortar platoon
with six Weta mortar carriers.
The company’s mortar carriers are primarily loaded out with smart
top-attack rounds to allow engagement of enemy AFVs and point targets
out to twenty kilometers, but they can provide more conventional fire
support if needed. Organization Below Division Level – Divisional BattalionsDivisional
battalions in Mozambican units tend to be smaller and more organizationally
pure than Battle Groups. Depending
on the mission, they may be retained by the division commander or attached
in part of whole to a Battle Group to support its operations. Divisional Artillery Battalion The
divisional artillery battalion is a mixed organization with four firing
batteries, one equipped with Åskskräll multiple rocket launchers
(usually firing 240mm missiles in the deep strike role) and three batteries
equipped with Russian 2S55 ‘Tucha’ 153mm electromagnetic howitzers. In light divisions, ordnance is transported
on armored 8x8 heavy trucks. Mechanized
divisions use extensively modified Kangaroo APC chassis for the same
mission. The battalion also includes
a headquarters battery with its own UAV reconnaissance and target detection
platoon (three Abantesma II drones) which can either be tied
into the overall divisional surveillance and reconnaissance plan, or
left directly under the control of the battalion, depending on mission. Typically, one battalion per division will be
tasked for direct support, while the other will retain control of its
UAVs and be tasked for autonomous deep strike missions. Air
Defense Battalion Besides
a headquarters battery, the air defense battalion consists of two firing
batteries of Ohu missile-armed carriers (hover or wheeled, depending
on the division type), a light battery with forty Martel shoulder-fired
surface to air missile teams, and a directed energy battery with eight
long-range lasers (again mounted on hover or wheeled carriers). The long-range Ohu missiles are used
to augment the similar air defense assets found within the divisional
Battle Groups and provide air defense to other divisional units. The light battery can be used to provide air
defense for key point targets within the division area, or to set up
astride likely avenues of transit for enemy aircraft in an ambush role. The directed energy battery provides ballistic
missile defense and high-altitude air defense for the divisional area. Engineer
Battalion The
Engineer Battalion provides a variety of combat engineer support assets
for the division. Its primary
assets consist of three Combat Engineer companies, mounted on sixteen
modified Kangaroo APCs or Girafa trucks and equipped with
adequate equipment to allow them to operate as generalist engineering
support units. A separate Breaching Company is equipped with
various sensors and UGV drones to allow rapid and multiple breachings
of mine obstacle belts. A division
engaged in deliberate offensive or defensive operations would typically
have a tracked Heavy Engineer Battalion attached from the Command level,
equipped with 21 Polish-Czech Dzik combat engineer vehicles and
other earth moving and heavy equipment. Gunship
Battalion Divisional
gunship battalions consist of a headquarters company, two gunship companies
(each with six Zephyr X-wing gunships), two scout companies (each
with eight Karasu light X-wing gunships), and a maintenance company. Reconnaissance
Battalion The
divisional reconnaissance battalion is intended for aggressive reconnaissance
and counter-reconnaissance operations, with “softer” reconnaissance
operations being conducted at the Battle Group level and by the echelons
above division level. Besides
the headquarters company, the battalion consists of three reconnaissance
companies and one aerial reconnaissance company.
In Light Divisions, the reconnaissance companies consist of fourteen
Weta reconnaissance vehicles and two Weta mortar carriers. In Mechanized Divisions, the reconnaissance
companies consist of eleven French ACR-89 reconnaissance vehicles, six
AVCI-4 infantry fighting vehicles (in mixed platoons of three reconnaissance
vehicles and two infantry carriers), and two Kangaroo mortar
carriers. MOZAMBICAN SPECIAL COMMANDThe Mozambican Special Command is an organization that represents
both the army’s special operations capability, as well as strategic
reserve. The largest element
of the command is the elite conventional 1st Parachute Division.
The 1st Parachute Division, with a
mix of infantry and light airmobile armor is typically the force of
choice for international interventions, though, depending on the threat
situation it may be reinforced with heavier armored vehicles.
The MSC also includes a number of less conventional units.
Agrupamento de Flechas 1010 is
a combat tracker unit in the tradition of various antecedents dating
back to the 19th and 20th centuries, including
the original Portuguese colonial Flechas (“Arrows”).
As the Mozambican populace has become increasingly urbanized,
Battle Group 1010 has evolved from a combat tracker unit utilizing recruits’
basic knowledge of the bush to the premier East African repository for
such skills, carefully maintained and nurtured by the Battle Group’s
internal training establishment and imparted to the predominantly urban
and suburban recruits to the Mozambican military.
The Group’s Combat Tracker School, a grueling seventeen week
course, devotes it’s first ten weeks to “immersion learning” in the
bush, with rapid expectation that trainees will learn how to subsist
and forage, as well as develop tracking skills.
Only after passing this portion of the course does the syllabus
progress to tactical operations and other military-specific skills.
Though much of the course is specific to East Africa, attendance
is a coveted assignment for international special operations personnel
with sufficient Portuguese fluency.
Most infantry and reconnaissance units in the Mozambican Army
try to have at least some key personnel attend and complete the school
(failure rates run as high as 80% in a typical class).
Battle Group 1010 is made up of four operations companies,
each of sixty-seven men (a seven man headquarters element and three
twenty-man platoons), though in addition to operations at platoon level
(and occasionally company level), the unit often pushes out two to four
man tracking teams to more conventional units operating in the border
region. There are two additional companies, one of which
administers the Combat Tracker School, while the other travels throughout
Mozambique providing refresher training and shorter tracking and survival
courses to Army and Military Police units.
All members of the unit are graduates of the Combat Tracker Course
who have then returned and passed the selection process for service
in the unit. Enlisted rank structure
in the unit is informal, and most personnel are at least Cabos de
Grupo Combate.
Agrupamento de Commando Pára-quedista 1011 is a fairly conventional infantry assault force along the lines of US
Army Rangers, the British Para Regiment, etc, with the exception that
the unit trains extensively for the mission of recapturing and securing
Tantalum mining and refining installations.
They are a highly proficient close-combat force, organized, like
Battle Group 1010 into four operations companies (each organized identically
to a parachute infantry company, except that the weapons platoon has
only two mortars, two ATGMs, and a twelve man sniper squad instead of
the customary eight), plus two training companies.
Also like Battle Group 1010, the unit’s two training companies
split responsibilities between conducting their own in-house selection
and continuing training programs and providing mobile training teams
for the rest of the army concerning urban and built up area combat techniques.
Agrupamento de Commando Navais 1012 is a standard maritime special operations unit, with three eighty-man
shallow-water/surface operations companies and two sixty-man combat
swimmer deep-submersible companies.
Battle Group 1012 does not have the same training role as the
other two units, and conducts its own selection and continuing training
programs without the inclusion of separate training companies.
MOZAMBIQUE IN THE KAFER WARMozambique has no extra-solar colonies, though Mozambican
nationals and corporate interests can be found in most French and Azanian
colonies, as well as elsewhere in human space.
This association with France and Azania meant that the Kafer
invasion had a powerful symbolic resonance with the populace of the
nation, even if tangible impact on the nation was modest.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Beowulf, the decision was
made to organize an expeditionary force for service in the French Arm. The Mozambican populace was divided on the notion
of engaging in front-line combat on behalf of major colonial powers.
The idea of sending a force package tailored for humanitarian
relief operations was, however, much more popular with the Mozambican
public.
The decision to stand up the 99th Expeditionary
Division was made public on 15 August 2302 (90-series divisions in Mozambican
service have traditional represented provisional organization for out-of-country
deployment). The division consisted
of a provisional command and control cell with an austere collection
of divisional combat service support assets.
Primary sub-units were four Agrupamento Expedicionária
and two Corps-level Hospital Units.
While the term Agrupamento usually refers to combined
arms combat units, these particular units were organized for humanitarian
relief and recovery operations (HRRO).
Each has a single company of Girafa tactical-truck mobile
parachute infantry from the 1st Parachute Division, reinforced
with a platoon of Weta tank destroyers and combat walkers from
the 4th Light Division for local security.
Additional assets of each group include a medical company, a
pair of combat engineer companies (including attached divisional-level
explosive ordnance disposal teams), a pair of transportation companies
equipped with Girafa trucks, and a civil affairs platoon.
Building on experiences on Earth, the deployed units are designed
to link up with non-governmental organizations and local labor and,
it is hoped, provide a significant amount of assistance in reconstruction
efforts. Three of the four units
were deployed to support either Azanian or predominantly African French
colonies, while the fourth is currently deployed to Tanstaafl, on Aurore,
in anticipation of subsequent deployment to Novoya Kiyev.
Both Hospital Units were reinforced with their own light security
element (reinforced platoons of light troops from the Policía Militar)
as well as substantial augmentation with Mozambican and other Portuguese
speaking civilian doctors operating under lucrative short-term (12-24
month) contracts. Orthopedic
and infectious disease specialists were considered especially vital
to deal both with the aftermath of Kafer invasions and occupations and
the general breakdown of health services on many colony worlds.
RANK STRUCTUREThe rank structure of the Exército Moçambiques is ultimately derived from the colonial Portuguese model, with various foreign influences, including British (by way of South Africa/Azania), Soviet (from the pre-Twilight era) and more recently French. The rank system has, however, evolved very much on its own for the past several centuries and is somewhat unusual in its terminology, even if a fairly conventional in its execution
Note: The Policia Nacional utilize
the same rank structure, except that the rank and file are referred
to as polícia rather than soldado, corporals are cabos
de patrulhe, and all NCOs above the cabo level are sargentos
(either sargentos de patrulhe, if in a leadership role, or sargentos
de delegacia for staff NCOs). Officer ranks are identical.
EQUIPMENT
Small
Arms and Light Support Weapons
In
2290, the Exército Moçambiques began soliciting proposals for
various upgrades to its arsenal of small arms, and quickly settled on
a very appealing comprehensive package deal offered by the German firm
of Rorttmann GmbH. While some supporting weapons systems are not
Rorttmann designs, the majority of the arsenal are German imports, centering
around the superb Sturmkarabiner-19 and Laserkarabiner-1
weapons systems (known, respectively, in Mozambican service as the FAB-19
and an FCL-1). Rorttmann also
provides the Maschinengewehr-19 (local designation MB-19) light
support weapon for squad level support, the Granatenwerfer-3
light automatic grenade launcher for platoon level fire support, and
the FAB-20, an adaptation of their paramilitary Polizeikarabiner-20
for use as a personal defense weapon. Outside
the Rorttmann designs, the Exército Moçambiques employs the Kurita
Type 21 plasma gun for platoon-level fire support and the Brazilian
Modelo 93 7mm gauss sniper rifle.
Brazil’s ARNO corporation also provides the Pistola 751 Bélico
(P-751B) 7.5mm machine pistol, the standard military and law enforcement
side-arm in Mozambican service. The
Polícia Nacional are primarily armed with the FAB-20 and a semi-automatic
only version of the Arno 751, the Pistola 751 Polícia (P-751P)
(cf). The force also has limited access to Sk-19s and Lk-1s, as
well as specialist less than lethal and close combat weapons. The
units of the Comando Especiais are generally equipped with standard
Exército small arms though, as is typical of such units, they
also employ a number of weapons not available to the rest of the army,
including foreign weapons for clandestine cross-border activity.
Armored Fighting Vehicles and Combat Walkers
The
Exército Moçambiques has a very modern fleet of armored fighting
vehicles, broadly divided into hover-mobile vehicles equipping the Divisãos
Mecanizado and lighter wheeled vehicles equipping the Divisãos
Ligeira and Brigadas Fronteira. The
heart of the hover-mobile AFV fleet is the ultra-modern German Luftkissenpanzer-IX
and the equally modern French AVCI-4 infantry-fighting vehicle.
Prior to adoption of the AVCI-4, the Exército made use of the
Kangaroo APC, and the 'Roo remains in service in secondary roles, such
as MRL carriers, air defense vehicles, and the like. (In addition,
it is still in full-scale service with the two reserve mechanized divisions,
though these formations have traded in their older American M9 hovertanks
for LkPz-IXs.) The
Agrupamentos Ligeira are equipped throughout with the New Zealand-designed
Weta family of wheeled armored vehicles, including reconnaissance,
personnel carrier, anti-tank, and mortar carrier versions. The
Weta replaced the French ABR-76 and VCIR, though some of the
reserve light divisions are still equipped with the older vehicles (complete
conversion to the Weta should be accomplished by 2306). The
two Para-Armor Battle Groups in the 1st Parachute Division
are equipped with the air-droppable French vehicles, the ACL-7 hover
tank, while retaining the airportable AVCI-4 for their infantry components. Though the ACL-7 has proved controversial in
French service, the Exército Moçambiques has been pleased, to
date, with their vehicles and are contemplating some expansion of the
fleet beyond the 1st Parachute Division. The
standard Combat Walker for the Exército is the French BH-21,
in a format modified for local service designated the BH-21MZ1, known
informally as the Carçi in Mozambican service. The BH-21MZ1
has replaced the French BH-18 and the Manchurian Type 1-1, neither of
which was ever deemed entirely satisfactory, in Mozambican service.
The BH-21MZ1 has begun to show its age, however, and the BH-25 was selected
as a replacement in 2299, though fielding has been complicated by the
demands of the Kafer War and is currently not projected to begin for
several more years. Arno
Pistola 751 Bélico (P-751B) and Pistola 751 Polícia (P-751P) A
light machine pistol produced by the Brazilian firm Arno, built around
a relatively lightweight 7.5x23mm caseless round (ballistic performance
is comparable to 9mm designs). The weapon is available in two
versions, the Pistola Polícia, and a military version, the Pistola
Bélico. Both versions include an integral collapsible stock
and visible light laser-aiming module. The primary difference
being that the Pistola Bélico is selectable for 3-round bursts,
allowing a much higher rate of fire, while the Pistola Polícia
is strictly semi-automatic. Type: 7.5mm machine pistol, Country: Brazil,
Weight (Empty): 1 kg, Length: 20cm (Bulk=0); 35cm (Bulk
= 1) (stock extended), Action: Single shot or bursts, Ammunition:
7.5x23mm fixed cartridge ball, Muzzle Velocity: 450mps, Magazine:
15 round box, Magazine Weight: 0.1kg, ROF: 3, Aimed
Fire Range: 50m (75m with stock extended), Area Fire Burst:
3 rounds (AFV=0.25) for P-751P, 9 rounds (AFV=0.9) for P-751B, Area
Fire Range: 20m (40m with stock extended), DP Value: 0.4,
Price: Lv200 (P-751P), Lv250 (P-751B) (Lv2 for box of 100 rounds)
Rorttmann
Maschinengewehr-19 A
light automatic weapon companion to the Sk-19 assault rifle, the MG-19
fires the same 9x12mm APHE binary round as the Sk-19, but feeds from
150 and 200 round cassettes and fires at a somewhat higher muzzle velocity.
Layout is conventional, with the action forward of the trigger,
so the weapon is fairly long by 24th century standards. Standard equipment includes an electro-optical
battle sight with thermal night observation channel and a bipod.
The weapon can also be placed on a light (5kg) tripod unit for
use in the sustained fire role, though the feet of the tripod have to
be sand-bagged for effective use due to the light weight. Type: 9mm light machinegun, Country: Germany,
Weight (Empty): 8kg, Length: 101cm (Bulk=3), Action:
Single shot or bursts, Ammunition: 9x12mm APHE, Muzzle Velocity:
1100mps, Magazine: 150 or 200 round cassette with integral propellant
gas, separately loaded catalyst bottle sufficient for 600 rounds (aimed
or burst), Magazine Weight: 1.5kg (150 round), 2.0 kg (200 round),
Catalyst bottle weighs 0.2 kg, ROF: 5, Aimed Fire Range:
850m (on bipod), 700 meters (without bipod), Area Fire Burst:
20 rounds (AFV=2), Area Fire Range: 500 meters (bipod), 450 meters
(without bipod) (note, on tripod or vehicular mount, area fire range
is 850 meters), DP Value: 1.1, Price: Lv700 (Lv7 for 150
round cassette, Lv10 for 200 round, Lv3 for recharge bottle) Rorttmann
Polizeikarabiner-20 (Pk-20) The
Rorttmann Pk-20 is a variant of the standard Sk-19 binary assault rifle
specially designed for law enforcement use. The main difference
is the inclusion of an intermediary muzzle velocity option (600 mps)
to allow the use of weapon in conditions where a full-velocity assault
rifle round would be inappropriate (such as when combat occurs in densely
populated areas). In addition, the baseline Pk-20 lacks an integral
30mm grenade launcher and utilizes a less sophisticated electro-optical
sight unit. In
Mozambican service, the Pk-20 is known as the Fuzil Automatico Binário
Modelo 20, or FAB-20, and is used both by the Polícia Nacional
and the Exército Moçambiques, in the latter case as a personal
defense weapon. Though not in service with Mozambique,
Rorttman also produces a version of the Pk-20 which can only fire at
the lower muzzle velocity (Polizeikarabiner-20 Eingeschraenkt, or
Pk-20E) and a version that includes the 30mm grenade launcher (Polizeikarabiner-20
mit Granatenwerfer or Pk-20G). Type: 9mm binary propellant assault rifle, Country:
Germany (exported extensively), Weight (Empty): 3 kg, Length:
75 cm (bulk = 2), Action: Single Shot or bursts, Ammunition:
9x12mm APHE, Muzzle Velocity: 1000 mps or 600 mps (area fire
400 mps), Magazine: 50-round box magazine with integral propellant
gas bottle with charge for 600 aimed shots (800 at reduced velocity)
or 200 bursts, Magazine Weight: 0.5kg, Recharge Bottle Weight:
0.1kg, ROF: 3 (area fire 5), Aimed Fire Range: 500 m,
Area FireBurst: 10 (AFV=1.5), Area Fire Range: 250 m,
DP Value: 1 (0.6 at reduced velocity, 0.4 area fire), Price:
Lv340 (Lv2 for 50 round disposable magazine; Lv1 for recharge bottle)
BH-21MZ1 Combat Walker
Known
colloquially in Mozambican service as the "Carçi" the
BH-21MZ1 is a Mozambique-specific version of the French BH-21 combat
walker (the term is a lona word from Manchurian, where slang for combat
walker is K'arsi, or "monk's habit," and dates back
to the BH-21s predecessor in service, the Manchurian Type 1-1).
Primary modifications consist of adding an external mount for
an MG-19 light machine gun (with 300 rounds of ammunition) and enhancements
to the basic export BH-21 electronics suite to keep it current with
French service versions. It is otherwise identical to the standard BH-21
‘walker. 1)
The Pk-20 and the MG-19 are based on Bryn Monnery’s revised stats for
the Sk-19 rifle, found on the Etranger website.
For those preferring the original stats, Pk-20 muzzle velocity
should be adjusted down to the canon value.
MG-19 muzzle velocity would be approximately 850 meters versus
the canon design. No other changes are necessary. 22/04/2004 Copyright James
Boschma, 200 |