Beowulf

Beowulf is the citadel of the human presence in the French Arm. It provides the last defensible outpost on the route to Earth, and it was in this system the last Invasion was finally stopped. The system is heavily fortified and provides training grounds for ground and space forces and has become an important arsenal and logistic centre for the whole war effort.

The Dominion of Alicia in particular has benefited from this new found status and the colony is booming economically and growing in importance politically. The CEF is headquartered in the Alician capital of Heorot where General Taylor and Admiral Mountjoy hold court and juggle the strategic and political running of the war whilst fending off diplomatic complications.

On Alicia, IV Corps controls all of the available manoeuvre warfare assets whilst being prepared to deploy units off world. The military presence is also greatly increased due to a vast number of units training and refitting in one of Alicia's many military camps. Alicia's revitalised volunteer forces are also capable of being mobilised in large numbers of up to 4 fighting divisions. The pre-surveyed defensive positions are constantly being upgraded and improved. Should the enemy again come to Beowulf they will face a fearsome defence.

IV (Alician) Corps

IV Corps is dedicated to the defence of the British Dominion of Alicia. Although only active for nearly 18 months it is now a well trained and practised organisation operating from an array of subterranean command bunkers across the whole of the continent. It is prepared to control up to 9 divisions in the defence of Alicia and conducts continuous exercises of its formations and civil defence procedures.

5th Brigade, Australian Expeditionary Force

 

This Australian armoured brigade has been detached from the Australian 1st Division and posted to the AEF. Originally based near Aramac in northern Queensland the brigade is also known as the 'Devil-Tank Brigade.' Designated the Australian theatre reserve the brigade is tasked to be committed further up-Arm in times of danger . In the meantime the brigade is in place to conduct training in counter-Kafer operations under IV Corps. Well equipped with modern weaponry the brigade is a potent manoeuvre force. It is the intention of the Australian government to rotate line brigades from Australia's regular divisions through Alicia to benefit from the training experience.

 

9th Sqn, Tank Regiment of Australia (9-TANK)

15th Sqn, Tank Regiment of Australia (15-TANK)

6th Sqn, New South Wales Mounted Rifles (6-NSWMR)

45th Sqn, New Canberra Guides (45-GUIDES)

 

5th Brigade uses this stylised depiction of a hovertank and devil's face, in keeping with the brigade nickname. 5 Bde's red triangle symbol lies outside of the normal Australian Divisional unit indicator system and is instead descended from the old symbol of 5th Cavalry Brigade.

1st (Alician) Division

1 Div was formed alongside 2 Div in July of 2301 in order to bring the previously independent Rapid Reaction Brigades into a divisional structure. The division has initially concentrated on defensive operations and benefited from the lack of budgetary restrictions during the emergency. It is now widening the scope of its operations to include general offensive taskings. Although this has become a political bone of contention between British and French colonies as the perception of the Kafer threat recedes.

Divisional Recce Group

 

King's Mounted Rifles (KMR)

 

1st Brigade

 

The Duchess of Alicia’s Dragoons (DAD)

1st Bn, The Royal Regiment of Alicia (1 RRA)

2nd Bn, The British Beowulf Fusiliers (2 BBF)

 

2nd Brigade

 

The 1st Alician Hussars (1 AH)

3rd Bn, The Royal Regiment of Alicia (3 RRA)

4th Bn, The Royal Regiment of Alicia (4 RRA)

 

6th Brigade

 

The Red Lancers of Alicia (RLA)

1st Bn, The British Beowulf Fusiliers (1 BBF)

2nd Bn, The Royal Regiment of Alicia (2 RRA)

Alicia has only just introduced formation signs into service and so far has generally kept them exceptionally simple. The two divisions simply use a black patch with a white roman numeral. These signs are currently normally found only on vehicles and increasingly on dress uniforms, but rarely on combats.

2nd (Alician) Division

2 Div was formed at the same time as 1 Div and has had much the same experiences. Although has also often been tasked with providing a brigade as a manoeuvre forces for the Archipelago. Currently also the 4th Brigade has begun training to replace or reinforce 8th Brigade on Beta Canum.

Divisional Recce Group

 

The 2nd Alician Hussars (2 AH)

 

3rd Brigade

 

The 2nd Alician Light Horse (2 ALH)

1st Bn, The New Gloucestershire Regiment (1 NGR)

2nd Bn, The New Gloucestershire Regiment (2 NGR)

 

4th Brigade

 

The Northern Grays (NG)

1st Bn, The Royal Strathy Highlanders (1 RSH)

2nd Bn, The Royal Strathy Highlanders (2 RSH)

 

5th Brigade

 

The 1st Alician Light Horse (1 ALH)

1st Bn, The Alician Light Infantry (1 ALI)

2nd Bn, The Alician Light Infantry (2 ALI)

3rd (British) Armoured Division

3rd Armd Div was brought up to Alicia from Earth shortly after the Battle of Beowulf and the start of the Liberation. It had been relegated initially to the role of II Corps reserve but has now been permanently attached to IV Corps. It has been in training to reinforce human forces further up on the Aurore front if needed. The orbat of the Division was changed early on with the replacement of 9 Brigade by the battered, veteran 79 Brigade. 79 Brigade has now been reinforced and brought back up to strength, and the combat experience of the brigade has been used in setting up training programs for the whole division.

Divisional Recce Group

 

14th/20th Hussars (14/20 H)

4th Bn, The Yorkshire Regiment (4 YORKS)

 

8th Armoured Brigade

 

8 Armd Bde has undergone a small re-organisation before deployment to Beowulf. The damage done to the battalions of the Royal Green Jackets on Beta Canum in the initial Invasion and the need to provide replacements meant that the brigade's 3 RGJ was badly understrength. Consequently the battalion was replaced with the 2nd Battalion of the Connaught Rangers, a hard fighting Irish unit.

 

9th/12th Lancers (9/12 L)

5th Bn, The Light Infantry (5 LI)

2nd Bn, The Connaught Rangers (2 CR)

 

10th Armoured Brigade

 

10 Armd Bde is a brigade notable for its high concentration of Scottish soldiers, together with their pipers who are much in evidence during attacks on exercise. It remains to be seen if they will be used in a similar role if the brigade sees battle.

 

4th Dragoons (4 D)

1st Bn, The Royal Scots Fusiliers (1 RSF)

1st Bn, The Gordon Highlanders (1 GORDONS)

 

79th Armoured Brigade

 

79 Armd Bde was the only British armoured formation to see action before the Battle of Beowulf, conducting an epic mobile defence across New Africa which was largely responsible for that colony remaining mostly free of Kafer occupation. It saw further action until after the Liberation but was then so depleted that it required removal from the line. Sent back to Beowulf the unit had two of its units replaced and others rationalised, however the brigade still retains an irreplaceable knowledge of manoeuvre warfare against the Kafers.

 

X Sqn, 10th/11th Hussars (X 10/11 H)

7th Royal Tank Regiment (7 RTR)

3rd Bn, The Coldstream Guards (3 COLD GDS)

2nd Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers (2 RWF)

The 3rd Division traces its history back to the Peninsular Campaign of the Napoleonic War and has seen continuous service since then. This patch was designed by Field Marshal Montgomery, then commander of the division in the early years of WW2. Apart from a hiatus during the Cold War this symbol has been worn ever since. The triangular design represents both the 3rd Division and the three brigades each of three manoeuvre units of the division.

CEF Commanders' Reserve

The CEF Reserve is nominally based on Alicia, however its component units can be found any where in the French Arm. The Reserve is actually a pool of rapid reaction units who have been specially organised to be capable of rapid movement by starlift assets to other worlds. Of these forces 6 Commando Brigade is normally found embarked on various ships of the fleet and 6 Assault Brigade is trained to make opposed planetary landings.

It is rumoured that the special forces units attached to the CEF are attached to the Reserve for administrative purposes. However the chain of command and composition of these forces remain deliberately opaque, although it is reasonable to assume these forces work to the highest commander in their deployment theatre.

1 (Wellon) Light Brigade

 

1 Wellon Light Bde is a relatively new arrival in theatre having arrived in January 2303 to replace the 1st British Light Bde that was returning to the Core. It has spent the time since arriving in theatre wisely launching several thorough training programs and has impressed observers with the overall quality of the unit. Currently the Bde is tasked to conduct follow on operations in the event of a planetary assault or with reinforcing isolated colonial garrisons.

 

1st Bn, The Royal Victoria Rifles (1 RVR)

1st Bn, The Royal Highland Regiment of Wellon (Wellon Black Watch) (1 RHW)

2nd Bn, The New Scottish Rifles (2 NSR)

1 (Wellon) Light Brigade was the first Wellonese unit in theatre to start wearing the newly designed Wellon Expeditionary Force flash introduced in January 2303. Other units received these in March of the same year and some are still not wearing them. Worn on the right shoulder the flash represents a flaming sword, symbolic of Wellon's desire to rid the French Arm of the Kafer invaders. The flash is worn with a small Wellon flag and national arc. Brigade insignia are worn on the left shoulder. It should be noted that the Wellon Army components of the WEF use a black background, the RWN dark blue and the RWAF light blue.

6th (British) Assault Brigade

 

6 Asst Bde before the Invasion was simply a crack Light Brigade manned by paratroopers. However when 6 Cdo Bde was caught up in raiding operations the brigade re-roled to spearhead planetary assaults. It saw service on Kimanjano, Beta Canum and Crater during the Liberation and was heavily engaged. After re-grouping on Beowulf the Bde is again the elite spearhead brigade of the British forces operating from the assault ships Normandy and Arnhem. There is great rivalry between this brigade and 6 Cdo Bde which has built upon the historic and bitter divisions between British paratroopers and marines.

 

2nd Bn, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA)

6th Bn, The Parachute Regiment (6 PARA)

7th Bn, The Parachute Regiment (7 PARA)

6th Assault Brigade alongside the TA 1st Airborne Brigade continues the long traditions of Britain's airborne forces and so still wears the 'Pegasus' flash, sometimes referred to as the 'Billy Ruffian' flash. Parachute Regiment battalions assigned to the Air Assault Brigades wear a different badge, which even after 80 years is still resented.

 

6 Commando Brigade, RM

 

6 Cdo Bde is composed of the lightly equipped 'Red Commandos' who act as the Royal Space Navy's elite ground forces. The brigade's original role as orbital assault specialists was overtaken by events during the Invasion and instead they have specialised in raiding ops from RSN warships in company groups or sometimes even smaller units. As a result the brigade has a very high profile and reputation. 69 Cdo is rebuilding after fierce combat during a series of boarding operations in the Henry's Star system.

 

62 Commando, RM (62 Cdo RM)

63 Commando, RM (63 Cdo RM)

1 Commando, RAM (1 Cdo RAM)

 

7th (Royal Alician Marines) Brigade

 

7 RAM Bde is normally deployed in the Ramadenthine Archipelago due to the long running border dispute between British and French colonies. However recently the brigade has been tasked with providing a follow on force or reaction reserve for deployment further up arm.

 

1st Bn, Royal Alician Marines (1 RAM)

3rd Bn, Royal Alician Marines (3 RAM)

4th (Reserve) Bn, Royal Alician Marines (4 RAM)

The Royal Alician Marines 7th Brigade, alongside the 8th Brigade, are the only Alician formations to introduce unofficial brigade flashes. 7 (RAM) Bde's subdued flash is the roman numeral 7 imposed over the RAM's Winged Fist symbol. Being unofficial it is worn only on exercise but can also be found on t-shirts and other privately procured clothing.

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