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France recruits many soldiers from its off-world colonies. These can be found in three different kinds of units. Metropolitain for those colonies officially a part of France proper, presently only Nouvelle Provence. Colonial and Militia for the other worlds being regular and reservist soldiers respectively.
Régiment de Cavalerie Coloniale The Régiments de Cavalerie Coloniale are regular armoured and reconnaissance regiments raised in the colonies, and normally providing the bulk of the front-line off-world defence forces. Generally they are well trained and motivated, but tend not to have the most modern equipment. The 1e RCC has gone on to form the seed for the Régiments Blindée de Tirane. The RCMA is a composite formation created from Squadrons drawn from the other regiments for service on Aurore. It should be noted that this 'swapping' of squadrons is commonplace in the RCC. The system of origin is noted after the regiment.
Blindée Cavalerie Métropolitaine Nouvelle Provance - Tirane Régiment Blindée de Tirane All of the regular Nouvelle Provençal cavalry and armour was initially all a part of the 1e RCC. As French forces expanded beyond the size of one regiment the new units formed were given a 'fractional' number i.e. 1/1e RIC, 7/1e RIC. When integrated into Metropolitan France and loosing the 'Coloniale' title the regiments converted to the style Xe Régiment Y de Tirane. Where X was the previous fractional number and Y a cavalry or armoured title. So for example the 2/1e RCC became the 2e Régiment Aero-Hussards de Tirane. The choice of title was left largely to the personnel of the regiment involved and reflected the equipment of the unit or the amount of élan the unit wanted to project. Being French they naturally largely opted for cavalry titles. No matter what the title the units have the abbreviation Régiment Blindée de Tirane (RBT) to avoid confusion. The one exception was the 1/1e RCC which almost from its inception had operated off Tirane, but continued to recruit from Tirane. With the re-organisation it decided to retain its 'Coloniale' title, and typically is still to return to Tirane after some 20 years service on the French Arm. It still has the reputation as being the 'senior' NP armoured regiment. When expanding a new regiment is formed using the next number.
Régiment d' Infanterie Coloniale The Régiments d' Infanterie Coloniale are regular infantry battalions raised for colonial defence purposes. Like the RCC they are usually well trained and motivated, the standard of RIC battalions on Aurore has been compared favourably to their Earth raised counterparts, but their equipment is often not as modern. Normally one regiment is raised per world, and then additional battalions of that regiment are raised when required. However Nouvelle Europe on Beowulf has two regiments with the 5e RIC originally being raised for off-world tasks but is now used in the light infantry role. The 7e RIC is the home for several smaller units raised on a multiplicity of French outposts which don't rate colony size. This varies from platoons to a battalion on Sans Souci.
Nouvelle Provence The original infantry of NP was contained in the numerous battalions of the 1e, 2e and 3e Régiments d' Infanterie Coloniale. The 1e RIC contained most of the 'line' infantry strength of the colony, the 2e RIC was a smaller regiment containing most of the intervention forces, whilst the 3e RIC contained light infantry trained for operations in the mountains, swamps and other challenging terrain. When NP became a de-facto part of Metropolitan France the 1e RIC became the Régiment d' Infanterie de Tirane, the 2e RIC bns became part of the Marines or Metropolitain Paras but retaining their original bn number, and the 3e RIC became the Régiment Chasseurs de Tirane. The bns generally became1st bns of the regiment whose number they had previously carried. So the VI/ 1e RIC became the I/ 6e RIT etc. When new battalions were needed to be raised the senior regiments would gain an extra battalion. The RIT and RCT regiments are all-regular formations.
The Colonial Militias generally have only a small armoured cavalry arm, with only Beta Canum having more than a couple of regiments. Generally they are relatively poorly equipped, although training is usually good. The new sense of pride brought about by the establishment of the Empire, combined with the patriotic 1st and 2nd Generation Colonist recruits who make up the bulk of the regiments means the Militia generally has good morale. Nouvelle Europe The GMMNE was formed in the first decade of the 23rd Century in a response to some of the earliest crises in the Ramadenthian Archipelago. It is now based around the capital of Devereux.
Beta Canum-4 The Militia forces on BCV-4 have expanded greatly in recent years with the increasing tension with Germany. The armoured cavalry follows the same styling as the infantry, with individual regiments being named after colours.
Adlerhorst The Militia of Saint-Benoit on Adlerhorst is constrained in size by the Treaty of Darwin, and so boasts only one light armoured regiment. The RHAN is named after one of the most feared nocturnal avian predators on the world. Australian peacekeepers who have observed this unit on exercise rate them as equal in competence to any Earth raised regular force.
Aurore Prior to the Kafer invasion Aurore had but one lightly equipped squadron of cavalry. The cavalry arm has expanded six-fold since those days and has had to bear an increasingly heavy burden until the arrival of reinforcements. The units are currently rebuilding around a cadre of battle-hardened men. The 1e RCA has recently received several modern German hovertanks.
Infantry make up the bulk of the French colonial militia strength. Although they always received some military training they were often used to control civil disturbance in support of the police or conduct other tasks for the local government. The Kafer War has seen an increase in general combat training in most units. Nouvelle Europe The Colonial Militia of Nouvelle Europe is small and somewhat neglected. The Tirailleurs are recruited from the mainland whilst the Fusiliers-Marins are mostly from the Archipelago.
Kimanjano The Kimanjano militia has long been regarded as a pursuit for the colony's elite, and there is much social rivalry between the Black and Gray Tirailleurs.
Beta Canum - 4 Like the Militia Cavalry has undergone a rapid recent expansion in response to a German military build-up on planet. As a result the quality of the militia varies widely, with some being excellently trained and equipped and others struggling along with old weapons and poor leaders.
Adlerhorst As mentioned above the size of the militia is greatly constrained by the Treaty of Darwin, but those units that exist receive excellent training and equipment. The RSFB are no exception, and the units contain a very large proportion of ex-French Marines.
Nous Voilà The militia on BCB is a part of the Gendarmerie and largely operates in support of it. Military training is generally not a priority.
Aurore The Militia regiments of Aurore are undoubtedly the most battle-hardened of any in the French order of battle. However the attrition of the long conflict has finally begun to tell. During the invasion the original two Tirailleur battalions were reinforced by new regiments. The RVA were recruited from the countryside to provide a scouting and outpost manning capability. Whilst the RLA were recruited from the cities to provide heavier combat forces. However today there is little but tradition to separate the organisation of the battalions from these three regiments. The RRA was created from former regular soldiers from a variety of nations, and today is manned by veteran Kafer fighters from the other militia and other regiments, and has a fine fighting reputation.
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