Like RyderWest said, the original Lee-Enfield had detachable magazines.
The Union Forever: A TL
- Thread starter Mac Gregor
- Start date
Indeed, I'll post some more American rifles. Looking forward to see what you got for the Commonwealth.
Weapon Profile: Madensen L67A1 and SCLTSE L74A1
A British Army Madensen L67A5 LSW light machine gun, with Para stock, bipod and attachment rails.
Name: Madensen L67A1 light machine gun (Also known as the C67A1 SAW in Canada, the L67A1 LMG in Australia, Machine Gun 7.2 mm 67A1 in Madras and the R67A1 in South Africa)
Designer: Rhys Wilson, Griffin Conrad & Brooke Johnston, Madensen Armaments [1] (produced by Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield)
Type: Gas-actuated long-stroke piston open bolt light machine gun
Caliber: .280 British [2] (7.2x43mm ComNat [3])
Feed system: 200 round box magazine or 30 round magazine
Adopted: 1967 by the British Army and the Commonwealth of Nations
Users: British Commonwealth and associates
Notes: TBA
[1] Formed by Adrian Madensen in 1911 to supply arms to the Territorial Forces, it soon became one of the largest arms manufacturers in the United Kingdom and it is well renowned across the world for its innovative work in field design, ammunition and weapons system design, often being compared to Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield in prestige for the United Kingdom.
[2] Due to the butterflies of NATO not existing and the pressure of the United States to reject the .280 British round for the 7.62x51mm NATO round in OTL, the .280 British round was officially adopted into the British arsenal in 1948 and put into various intermediate weapon platforms (to be revealed soon) and the L67A1 machine gun.
[3] Short hand name for the "Commonwealth of Nations", saying this round is standardised for the British Commonwealth.
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A Royal Singaporean Infantry Rifle Regiment (part of the Royal Malayan Army) SCLTSE L76A1 submachine gun with the 50 round casket magazine and suppressor.
Name: SCLTSE L74A1 submachine gun (Also known as the C74A1 CSW in Canada, the L67A1 SMG in Australia, SAF Carbine 9.1 mm 74A1 in Madras and the R74A1 in South Africa)
Designer: Shi Suyin, Wai Yongzheng, Nawar bin Nirmala & Vairesh Thanujkumar [1], Singaporean Commonwealth Laboratories of Technology, Science and Engineering (SCLTSE) [2] (produced by Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield)
Type: Striker-fired blowback closed bolt sub-machine gun
Caliber: 9x22mm Madensen/ComNat [3]
Feed system: 30-round box or 50-round casket box magazines
Adopted: 1974 by the British Army and the Commonwealth of Nations
Users: British Commonwealth and associates, Malaya, Brunei, Sarawak
Notes: TBA
[1] These 4 weapon designers and professors at Singapore's famous SCLTSE university were the main innovators of the compact sub-machine gun, or personal defence weapon, with their designs on the prototypes of powerful, compact personal weapons that could be issued to officers and security forces.
[2] The Singaporean Commonwealth Laboratories of Technology, Science and Engineering were formed in 1952 as a small research university and has grown, within the Union of Malaya as one of the most important laboratories in the Commonwealth, where they developed numerous civilian and military technologies that helped the British win the Asia-Pacific War, even as the Japanese were only 80 miles from the main campus in Singapore during the war.
[3] A fictional pistol round developed by Madensen Armaments that is intended to fit the role of the 9x19mm Parabellum round in the British Commonwealth, due to the 9x19mm Parabellum being locked into Association of European States boundaries and has instituted a export ban on the foreign use of Parabellum ammunition and all foreign weapons using the round by the German government and its AES allies, forcing the designers to use the 9x22mm Madensen round.
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IEF Civil War: May-Sep 2000
Eurasia on Fire
The IEF Civil War
May – September, 2000
The IEF Civil War
May – September, 2000
During May and June, Reformer forces loyal to Yevgen Pasternak’s government in St. Petersburg managed to consolidate their position in most of the western portions of the Imperial Eurasian Federation. Conservative troops had fled, disbanded, or surrendered in a crescent shaped swath of territory running from the Crimean peninsula through Belarus and the Baltic and stopping near the outskirts of the port of Arkhangelsk, which despite a vicious three day battle, remained in Conservative hands. By July, the separatist governments in Helsinki and Warsaw had cleared most of their territory of either Conservative or Reformer IEF forces although a number of holdouts remained. For the most part, the separatists and Reformers did not engage each other as part of an unofficial truce. The same could not be said of the Conservative troops. In the Caucasus, the Armenian and Georgian regions declared for Pasternak despite considerable pressure from nationalist groups to pursue full independence. Like the Ukraine, they demanded greater autonomy inside the IEF when the war ended. In the east, the Conservatives fared better destroying a number of Reformer enclaves such as during the short but costly siege of Kazan. In short, by mid-July a rough but discernable front had formed between the warring factions.
Starting on July 17, the Conservative leadership under Mitya Kuznetsov ordered a massive offensive to recapture the capital of St. Petersburg. In the bloodiest battle yet, an assortment of army units and militias clashed over a wide area north of the city of Novgorod. The Conservatives scored some impressive initial successes having a clear advantage in the number of cataphracts including the modern B-88 Bagration. However, as Conservative forces pushed north the advance ground to a halt due to insufficient numbers and a shortage of close air support. On August 5, the Reformers counterattacked the overextended Conservatives. By the end of the month, the Conservatives were forced to withdraw to the south and east losing control of Novgorod itself before the front re-stabilized. An estimated 98,000 soldiers and civilians were either killed or wounded during the fighting. Kuznetsov was humiliated by this failure and only narrowly survived a coup attempt by a small group of disgruntled military leaders in Moscow. On other fronts, like that in the Crimea and Bessarabia, a deadly stalemate persisted.
On September 6, news broke that Empress Elizabeth II, who had reigned over the IEF since 1962, died after suffering for months following a debilitating stroke in February. This provided a much needed boost to the Conservatives as the Tsesarevich had long been a supporter of the Motherland party and its Slavic/Orthodox centric ideology. In a nighttime ceremony in St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Tsesarevich was crowned Emperor Alexander IV. The new Czar blamed the death of his mother on the Reformers, an obvious absurdity but a notion that played well with many Russian peasants. Alexander’s ascent to the throne sent shockwaves throughout the IEF. In St. Petersburg the Reformers were distraught as this now put them in the awkward position of being in direct opposition to the monarch. Some Reformers wished to abolish the monarchy. Pasternak however, realized that doing so would critically undermine support amongst monarchists and ethnic Russians. Instead, Pasternak refused to recognize Alexander’s authority and instead declared that the imperial throne was “temporarily vacant.” This struck many as a political dodge, as Alexander’s claim to the throne had never been contested.
Following the death of Elizabeth II, the Baltic, which had largely sided with Pasternak, saw a significant increase in separatist activity. Though the two sides mostly refrained from fighting each other, and the area officially remained loyal to St. Petersburg many Balts seemed to view that their best chances lay outside the IEF. In the Caucasus, the various Muslim ethnic groups of Dagestan followed the example of their neighbors in Chechenia and declared independence. A provisional government was established in Petrovsk, now renamed Anzhi-Qala, under the unwieldy name of the Republic of the Islamic Peoples of Dagestan.
As October neared and winter approached, all sides began to plan for the long term. The war had no end in sight.
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Excellent update, and I greatly appreciate the map to show the situation.
The Reformers could start making promises for independence/autonomy to the potential breakaway states, but that would risk losing legitimacy. Tricky situation.
The Reformers could start making promises for independence/autonomy to the potential breakaway states, but that would risk losing legitimacy. Tricky situation.
Millions of troops and thousands of cataphracts wait south of the Mongolian and Manchurian borders, ready to launch themselves at any minute to tear chunks out of the dying carcass of the IEF. World War Three will soon begin. Pass the popcorn
On the military situation, the Conservatives should go after the weak links first. Start with the Caucuses and maybe Murmansk. LEt the Finns and the Poles go in exchange for them stabbing the reformers in the back
I'm pretty sure Alexander would be Alexander III, because Alexander II was succeeded by his first son Nicholas ITTL.
And Nicholas II was succeeded by Alexander III. Of course different guy as OTL Alexander III.
Or in ATL's terms, the Second Great War.
Which has the same fear and pop culture relevance, maybe higher, or World War Three in OTL.
Only instead of two power blocs, we are dealing with six power blocs all armed with nuclear weapons. Yay.
I consider the Asia-Pacific war world war two, but ok
Very nice! A few thoughts.
1) I'm surprised that the British Commonwealth fields a LMG in .280. Not that its impossible, but I would have thought that they would use the .303 that their service rifles use. Perhaps the Madensen L67A1 is primarily for airborne troops? What are your thoughts?
2) Do we think the British Commonwealth exclusively uses Imperial Measurements, or do some use Metric?
3) I love the "Singaporean Commonwealth Laboratories of Technology, Science and Engineering." Expect me to use that in future updates.
4) FYI, the term "Commonwealth of Nations" doesn't exist ITTL. It would simply be called the British Commonwealth or sometimes just Commonwealth. I have been trying to think or a more neutral term than "British" Commonwealth but I can't think of anything good that isn't OTL's "Commonwealth of Nations." Does anybody have any suggestions?
Keep up the good work. Cheers!
1.) The FN Minimi in OTL was primarily designed around the 5.56x45mm NATO round, which is considered an intermediate round and is considered lighter and has less recoil than a rifle round. Since I think that the .303 British would be used in a British Medium/General Purpose Machine Gun, similar to the FN MAG in OTL, the British would use a intermediate round for their LMG. Since the UK is a leader of a power bloc and there is no pressure or reason from the United States to reject the .280 British in favour of the 7.62x51mm NATO and the 5.56x45mm NATO, I reckon they would adopt it this time around.
2) I reckon a combination of both, since they are probably close to the US and it is confusing to switch units around, but not close enough that the US starts pressuring the British to do a switcharoo on ammunition like OTL.
3) Thanks.
4) I used ComNat because it was a bit jarring to say BritCom when referring to the ammunition. ComNat sounds nice on the tongue and it is similar in vein to NATO being attached to ammo designations in OTL.