Once weren't warriors

MrP

Banned
The spark of creativity lit by Sargon's mention of the Sheffield Sabres in NPC, and partly derived from my Famous quotations that never were thread, I present a new thread blending the two. Er, try to make the blend like Monkey Shoulder whiskey and not like Bells. ;)

Outline:
Name/designation/type of fictional military unit, e.g. King James III's Royal Light Infantry

Brief potted history of the unit including PoD, e.g. James II more popular, no William/Mary combo, subsequent James III, who was the last British monarch ITTL to take to the field as C-in-C. Almost killed by Austrian chasseurs at the Battle of Brussels (1759) in the War of the Prussian Succession (1755-1762), but rescued by an outpost of the 12th Foot, subsequently renamed to honour the event.

Then a few more battle honours. Same for warships, military airships, Roman legions or whatever else you want to use. :)
 
The Prince of Wales' Own Second Punjab Cyclists Rifles

Raised in 1894, this unit of the Indian Army was the first to deploy bicycles on the battlefield to improve the moboility of light infantry. It was originally a predominatly Sikh and Dogra force (today its composition is more cosmopolitian) selecting recruits for stamina and size, and at its first appearance on parade during the 1903 Durbar, the impressive appearance of the turbaned, heavily bearded and muscular men drew much comment.

The unit amassed few battle honours during the first decades of its existence despite deploying to the North West Frontier Province on several occasions, but its men gained a high reputation for being deadly in small-unit action and willing to go on the most dangerous patrols. Its first formal battle honour - Jelalabad - was awarded in 1924 during the brief 'Third Afghan War' (later downgraded to a punitive expedition). Its glorious moment came during the intervention in the Siamese War of 1948-50 where it fought with distinction in the battles of Nong Kai and Bhan Muc and the Shan and Mekong campaigns. On this occasion, it earned its honorific 'Prince of Wales' Own' by royal appointment after its troops briefly came under the command of the Colonel Henry Windsor and fought with distinction. It has since served in the Second Malay Crisis, the Papua Insurrection and supported military operations in East Africa.

The formation today retains its honorific title though it is technically part of the Army of the Dominion of India and Her Dependencies. Like most Indian regiments, its batallions are stationed separately, I Bat at its traditional home in Peshawar, II Bat in Singapore. It still parades on bicycles (including slung carriages designed to accommodate mortars and machine guns), but since 1962 has been fully motorised on armoured personnel carriers and light lorries. The force still concentrates on long-range light infantry duties and trains its men for helicopter and small craft deployment. A detachment is currently on active service with the Ashante kingdom's forces combating the RFTA north of Kumasi.

Like that?
 
Women's Royal Volunteer Semaphore Service (WRVSS)

Founded 1895 just as Britain joined the Great War to address the desperate shortage of trained Signal Officers in the British Army. The members were usually attached in small numbers to other units. The "Ladies" as the Soldiers called them fought in Darrien, Mexico, Sweden, Mesopotamia, Italy, Persia and Japan. They won no less than 17 Military gallentry medals and two George Crosses. The Naval Intelligence service recruited many of its operatives from the ranks of the WRVSS and they are credited with the Crimea deception, the deciphering of the Vienna signal and the infamous Italian Green signals.

Following the war the Service was scheduled for disbandment but a publicity campaign by Gynalists world wide ensured its survival. In 1914 it amalgamated with the Royal Semaphore Service.


Semaphore Sergeant Mary Clearwater became the first woman to win the George cross when after being cut off from her brigade she continued to transmit the Mexican positions despite being almost continuously shelled. Finally the Mexicans assaulted her position with infantry. She repulsed two assaults with grenades and rifle fire and when she observed the third forming up she gave her own position to the Kingston Artillery fixed her bayonet and despite having being wounded in the chest she charged. She did not survive but she is credited with delaying the Mexican army for 36 hours, long enough for the “Fighting Blacks” to dig in and hold. The 111th benefited most from the delay and having observed some of the events from their position on Semaphore Hill, the first toast in their mess is always “The King and Miss Clearwater”.
 
Ala Arminiana C R Torquata Flavia Firma

This unit is epigraphically attested between the early first and the mid-third centuries AD, beginning its service in Germania Superior. Its recruitment date is not known exactly, but it is not thought to predate to the Augustan age. Some scholars believe its name refers to the Cheruscan nobleman Arminius mentioned by Tacitus (Ann. IV 3; V 31) and Aurelius Victor (XIII, 4), but in the absence of decisive evidence the question must remain open. If it was indeed recruited by that Arminius, it can not much predate the rebellion of Segestes (9-12 AD).

Early epigraphic evidence (CIL XIII 2415 and 12132) indicates that the unit was based in the Haltern area and later moved into permanent quarters at Sediburga near Colonia Augusta Chaucorum. It is here that a body of first-century funerary monuments attest to the continued presence of the force and allow us a glimpse into its makeup. We have the names of four troopers (C. Caelius Cnavo, I. Gu...erus Flavus, Marcus Aulatus, C. Vettius Carobaudes), one subordinate officer (T. Flavius Cautes Vetta dup(larius)) and two centurions (M. Clodius Velleius, T. Fl(avius) Serapion). The prevalence of Germanic names (Cnavo, Carobaudes, Vetta and probably Gu...erus) makes it unlikely that this unit was recruited from among Roman citizens and therefore indicates that its designation as C(ivium) R(omanorum) was won in battle, as was the honorific Torquata. The designators 'Civium Romanorum' and 'Torquata' are absent from the earliest inscriptions and only occur together on CIL XIII 4518, the funerary monument to T. Flavius Serapion found near Seitberg. This stone is dated from internal evidence to between AD 69 and 87, indicating the titles may have been won in the course of the civil war that brought the Flavian dynasty to power. Mommsen believes T. Flavius Serapion to be a promoted soldier of Vespasian's army sent to command a unit of doubtful loyalty, which would make this explanation unlikely.

No inscriptions attesting the Ala Arminiana in the Germanies can confidently be dated after 90 AD, though two are undatable. The first clearly datable evidence for the unit in Pannonia is in 124 AD (CIL III 1276, an incomplete laterculum of the duplarii of the Ala). It is believed to have been transferred in the course of the Dacian Wars and stationed at Ruppiae. The laterculum is also the first inscription to include the title 'Flavia Firma' believed to date to the reign of Domitian. Nine more inscriptions (two tile stamps, an ostracon, two altars and four funerary stones) dating to between AD 126 and the late Severan dynasty were excavated in the area. Naming patterns suggest an influx of local recruits.

The further history of the Ala is shrouded in uncertainty. We know that its camp remained in use until the fifth century (architectural remains suggest a complete remodelling after c. 300), but no epigraphic evidence sheds light on its inhabitants. A doubtful emendation of the Notitia Dignitatum identifies the 'Equ(ites) Armin(iani)' under the command of the Dux of Pannonia Prima (von Seeck prefers 'Equ(ites) Armig(eri)').
 
(inspired by cerebus)

the French Female Forigin Legion
Established in 1841. French Female Forigin Legion filled a variety of roles from the begining. It organised nurses and other medical personel but many members followed on patrol and saw combat. Expirience showed that female soldiers filled a number of vital roles. They could search the bodies of female arabs without angering their men and father. They also provided intelligence by associate with the female Algerian population.

Unlike the Forigin Legion, the FFFL recruited French women, at first from the lower classes but later on from the whole society. FFFL had the first female fighter pilots during WWI where one achived ace status.

Special saboture and spy units where set up during all three world wars.
 
68th Regiment of Foot (Iroqui)
Now part of the American Rifles

Founded in 1762 by the Hudson Bay Company following the treaty of Vienna that left Canada in French hands.
In 1783 they were absobed into the regular army as part of Pit's Army reform Act and later that year they repel a French Invasion.
During the French revolutionary wars they take part in the disaster of the Florida invasion where they gallantly and pointlessly assault Fort St Mary three times.

The regiment took part in the invasion of Mexico and the occupation of NuSpania during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1822 and were prominent in the suppression of the 1826 Carolina Revolt.

During the Anglo-Russian war the Regiment distinguished its self in the Crimea and Private John QuietBear became the first recipient of thr King George Cross when he recovered the Irish Guard's Mace from Russian forces during the retreat.

In the Great War the Regiment was the first on the Beaches in the Adriatic Decsent of 1897 and is credited with closing the Verona Gap trapping the bulk of the Army of Italy and leading directly to the Austrian surrender.

After the War the regiment was part of the great retrenchment and was amalgamated wth the Cree, Apache and Navaho regiments to form the First American Rifle Regiment. Home base Shikargo with a rotating regiment on station in Nagasaki.




1783

The 29th (Worcestershire), the 68th (Iroqui) and the 73rd (Duke of Athol’s Highland) regiments face an invasion from Canada and at the battle of Semaphore Hill turn back an invasion of 7,800 French and Canadian Soldiers supported by three cannon. Despite being outnumbered more than three to one the regiments held their position for three days. The French being short of supplies then retreated. Their Commander DeMouchy stated “ The English were completely beaten, with only americans in reserve, outflanked to the north and overmatched in every way but they did not realise it. The hill was red with the coats of the fallen but when my men attacked they rose up and threw them back down the hill.” The British suffered over twelve hundred casualties, the Iroqui in particular were left with only 173 officers and men. All three regiments are entitled to wear eagle feathers in their cap badges (now replaced with silver replicas). The diarist Hutton who was present at the battle (and fought as a volunteer) wrote “ The three regiments made an awful sight as they waited on the hill. Then as the French came up the Indians let loose with a series of terrifying yells answered by the pipes from the Scots but from the Worcesters came no sound save a quiet ‘steady lads, steady’ from Sergeant Major Hook.”
 
Another early all girl unit:

Female Combat Training Corps
Brittish military organision founded in 1845, dedicated to train basic combat skills to females before leaving to colonies. Keeps detatchments in every major Brittish colony offering volontary introduction courses and repetition courses.
 
3 (Zululand) Ibutho* "Bulls With White Faces," U.P.S.A. Defense Forces.

From Famous Military Units of the World
(c) 2004, Alfonso Rosales-Pikula
Nahualcoyotl Press, Villahermosa
Mexican Empire

Translated from the Spanish.

The integration of Zulu military forces into the United Provinces' defense structure followed closely on the Province's admission in 1809. The Bulls With White Faces were the first Zulu unit to replace their assegais entirely with firearms, though they still train with the knobkerrie to this day.

The unit was called to active duty during the 1814 Umba River crisis, when it was impied** under Jacobus de Vries with the Campbell Highlanders (Stirling's Land), the Veldtjagers (Vrijland), and 5 New Groningen Kommando. Despite the reluctance of some white troops to serve alongside blacks, the Zulus proved themselves in a dozen engagements, gaining a fearsome reputation among the French Army's Indian levies for their enthusiasm in hand-to-hand fighting, as well as their cross-terrain abilities, which far surpassed the city-bred New Groningen and Stirling's Land troops and even shocked the hardy Vrijlanders, many of whom were veterans of the arduous campaigns against coloured rebels in Tswanaland.
...

Zululand's historic enthusiasm for providing troops to the Provinces' conflicts in lieu of traditional taxation meant that the Bulls With White Faces have been "activated" more than any other UPSA Kommando (though technically a volunteer militia unit, the Ibutho is on de facto active duty), with no less than 15 campaign streamers and a record of distinguished service spanning two centuries. Today, the majority of recruits come from "lesser" ibuthos and are selected in an annual weeklong trial of martial skill. Though not technically a special operations unit***, this rigorous selection process and high degree of cohesion and pride makes the Bulls With White Faces probably without peer among light infantry units.

There are few more martial peoples in the world than the Zulus, and no unit among them more respected than 3 Ibutho, making the Bulls With White Faces an easy choice for inclusion in this volume.


*Zululand uses the term "Ibutho" for a regiment synonymously with the Dutch "Kommando".
**"Impi" is used throughout the UPSA to refer to a brigade, along with the more common "krijgruppe"
***The UPSA reserves that designation solely for units which fall under the Marines.
 
The Chavs

This warlike race once inhabited the British hinterland, celebrating victorious combat with outsiders and pikeys through ostentatious displays of bravado (outside chip shops in damp precincts).

Their chromium-adorned Chaviots raced hither and thither on Saturday nights, making boom-boom noises and throaty roars. Their dress was immodest, combustible and spoke of athletic prowess, although the whining feral countenance of the skinny males and the rotundity of the females - or 'chavettes' - belied this.

They died out from starvation when their giros were refused at the Post Office.
 
The Diamond Sutra Fraternity

One of the most feared groups of legendary martial arts practitioners, the Diamond Sutra Fraternity was founded in the fifteenth year of the Gaozong Emperor by the missionary Apirana during his travels in Aoteroa. Like many all-male fraternities of Shan Buddhists, they grew from a body of students accompanying their master (today revered as a bodhisattva) for study and protection into an organised monastic community.

in the course of the Mao Li wars of the latter Song and Wu eras, the Diamond Sutra brothers earned renown as a fighting force under the command of their abbots Hone Kawiti and Maui Hiroa. They fought in support of the Wahaka dynasty, using their close connection with monasteries in Fujian province to acquire modern weapons. Following the conquest of the Eastern Isles, they were deeded considerably lands in the best parts ofd the country. The remains of the master Apirana were brought to the Diamond Sutra stronghold in Lutrawita Island, where they are revered to this day.

like many Shan monks (most famously the Ikko Ikki in the Joseon prefecture of Wa), the Diamond Sutra Society practices wushu as a means of meditation. Its novices are also trained in the military use of weapons of war and grouped into fighting units that are available to the Mao Li king and are often used to combat the black inhabitants of the northern desert. They are much in demand as mercenaries, but it is likely that most men claiming Diamond Sutra membership in the Middle Kingdom or Joseion are impostors. Technically, Brothers are forbidden from leaving their monastery without the permission of the abbot.

The 'Tales of the Black Faced Traveller in the Southern Lands', a popular novel by Ling Lifei, chronicles the (fictitious) adventures of a Diamond Sutra Mao Li warrior on pilgrimage to Sri Lanka. He is stereotypically described as a large, preternaturally strong man of insatiable appetites and remarkable genital endowment, simple-minded but kind-hearted and brave to the point of foolhardiness.
 
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