List of alternate military unit names

Just been considering certain proposed names for military units which never actually came into existence or were renamed with other designations- such as Hitler proposing a WAFFEN SS Div WARRANGER (named after the Viking mercenary Varangian Guards in Byzantine service) which Himmler rejected as being too obscure; or during the Spanish CW, the initially proposed Thomas Paine Battalion of the International Brigades, which however actually became the Canadian Mackenzie-Papineaux Bn. Then of course, there's also the proposed racially integrated Crispus Attucks Bde in the US Army, which many American civil rights advocates argued for in the 1st few yrs of US involement in WWII. Cany any-1 think of other such outfits ?
 

MrP

Banned
You'll get swamped by all the naval never-weres, I warn you. ;) Here's a couple:

HMS Agincourt (Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, WWI)
HMSs Renown, Repulse and Resistance (Revenge-class battleships, WWI)
HMSs Rodney, Howe and Anson (Hood-class battlecruisers post-WWI)
The G3 battlecruiser and N3 battleship designs are also worth noting. But I'll not swamp you with naval stuff all in one go!
 
I always though the Iron Division would be a cool name for a American Armored Division.....:D
Also, when I'm playing HOI, i always use these names for Marines if they expanded themselves a bit...
1st Marine Armored "Belleau Wood" Division
2nd Marine Armored "Montezuma" Division
1st Marine Airborne "Feet First!" Division
 

Sachyriel

Banned
Riel's Raiders, an elite group of Metis horsemen who could ride and shoot with the best of them, pioneered camouflage as well as became the first to use Gatling guns to shoot down enemy airships. Canada pays tribute to them every June 2nd, Battle of the Winnipeg River.

RIEL.GIF
 
If the Turkey were the national bird, I guess the 101st Airborne Division would be called "The Warbling Turkeys".
 
I still like the old Americal Division (My Grandfather on Mom's side served in it in WWII, and my Great-Uncle served in it in Vietnam).
 
The US raised a regiment of Voltigeurs during the Mexican War. The term could have remained as part of the US Army's OOB. Likewise the cavalry could have remained divided into Dragoons, Mounted Rifles, and Cavalry. This could then have an impact on the evolution of the Army in the 20th century -- motorized (i.e. mounted) infantry could have been under control of the Cavalry branch rather than Infantry -- causing whatever butterflies you might want to create.
 
A modernized version of the Roman legion structure (perhaps first adopted in Revolutionary France) could work. As eventually adopted in American use, it was organized as follows:

1 Grand Army = 2 Armies (100,000 soldiers)
1 Army = 5 Legions (50,000 soldiers)
1 Legion = 2 Corps (10,000 soldiers)
1 Corps = 5 Cohorts (5,000 soldiers)
1 Cohort = 2 Maniples (1000 soldiers)
1 Maniple = 5 Centuries (500 soldiers)
1 Century = 2 Points (100 soldiers)
1 Point = 5 Denaries (50 soldiers)
1 Denary = 2 Mains (10 soldiers)
1 Main = 5 soldiers

(Points from the original French poing for fist, Main from the French word for hand)
 
12th "Dirty Dozen" Virginia Marine Division

Formed after the Second American Revolution, the 12th saw action during the Confederate-Mexican War where it received the most citations for the Southern Naval Cross for Distinguished Service in the history of the Confederate Navy.

Later in the early 20th century the 12th was one of the first Confederate Division to land feet first in France and the very first to be placed into the trenches. The division was responsible for numerous breakthroughs among the German lines but also suffered a 145% casualty rate. During the first world war the Germans would often refer to the Confederate Marines as Teufel-Hunde or Devil Dogs. The crossed battle-axes of the 12th were often stolen from captured marines as a souvenir for German soldiers.

In the inter-war period the 12th was station in Fort Charleston "Crazy Horse" Lee on the Mexican Border.

When the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics invaded Germany in 1941 the Confederate States of America took a solid neutral stance, until the Red Army crossed the Rhine and drove towards Paris. Once again the 12th was ordered up to defend France. Under the direct command of Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest III (who would later be known to the Germans as Krieg-Jadghund) the 12th fought in Eastern France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Poland and finally Russia.
During the Second World War the 12th (who had become its own echelon among the Confederate Armed Forces) earned more medals than any other Marine unit in the history of the Confederacy, again setting a record for the Marine Cross of Honor and Excellence.

After the war the 12th was disbanded once again and since then has only been called upon one time during the Mexican Civil War in the 1970's, during which time the Divisions heroic reputation was bismirched by war-crimes against communist rebels.

Today the "Dirty Dozen" lives on in countless memorials and statues across Europe and the Confederate States of America. Along with an entire (but small) wing in the Confederate Musuem of War in Atlanta.
 
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