TL-191 Uniform, weapons and equipment of the Secondary Combatants.
- Thread starter pattontank12
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Deleted member 2186
Should that not be simply be the Imperial German Navy ore Kaiserliche Marine instead of Imperial Kreigsmarine as that is more ore less the Third Reich navy with the Imperial added to it.
I should've used Kaiserliche Marine, I'm more familiar with WWII so my mind just automatically went there.
Will Edit.
I never learned them in the first place so I can't possibly forget them!
On a more serious note, @rob2001, @Virginia Liberal & @BarrelBuster, please consider me well and truly handed my marching orders; I'm not good enough at the art of illustration to have a diagram worth posting, but I do have some notions; for the record, this description will only cover the Second Republic of Texas circa the end of 2GW (with perhaps a few allusions to the postwar era).
In brief, one imagines that the State of Texas - being amongst the biggest & most populous of the Confederate States even after that disagreeable business with the State of Houston* - would have made a point of being as self-sufficient as possible in terms of war supplies (One imagines terrible wrangles during the First Great War and some truly delicate negotiations prior to the Second, given that in the aftermath of the Knight Coup Featherston has excellent reason to mistrust Texans, while Texas has ample reason to believe that if they can't make it for themselves, they'll go short as the Confederate Government focuses east of the Mississippi - a situation likely to be further complicated by Texas being the natural focus for Confederate rearmament-on-the-quiet, given it's proximity to the Mexican 'proving grounds' and it's enormous spaces).
In other words the Army of Texas might well be one of the largest to be found in a secondary theatre and unusually well-equipped (though Featherston would probably keep the very best goodies under his own watchful eye back east), though I suspect there would be a very significant concentration of Freedom Party Guards in the Lone Star State to keep the Texas State Government honest - something that might well have contributed to Texas' willingness to go it's own way once 'Sarge' started losing his grip on the South.
*I'll bet you cash money that Texans don't use that name if they can possibly avoid it, preferring various circumlocutions or simply "That place" (or perhaps "Our old place").
With that in mind I tend to assume that the Army of Texas (probably majority-Texan, but with odds & ends from other states complicating things politically) would wear fairly conventional CS Army/Air Force uniform of the Second Great War - albeit with sensible adaptations to better suit the frequently broiling, sun-baked Lone Star State (Cowboy hats in place of kepis, for instance, and white dress uniforms** for example); this would, of course, leave troops willing to work with the United States in a somewhat awkward position once the Second Republic is proclaimed, since all those other fellows NOT willing to do business with the 'DamnYankees' will likely be wearing the exact same outfit (an outfit the US army et al have been shooting on sight for several years).
Assuming that the US Army does not go out of it's way to be helpful in terms of resupply - which I think we can most reasonably assume to be the case - the newly minted Army of the Republic is likely to emphasise field modifications like removing stars from the rank badges of field officers (in the interests of leaving only a Lone Star), adding a star to the badges of lower ranks for the purposes of differentiation, painting a Lone Star on helmets or wearing a simple 'white above, red below' armband (a nod to the field of the Texas state flag).
I'd also be very surprised if there weren't a thriving black market in US army 'Coal scuttle' helmets destined to be repainted butternut and prized as the best way to avoid triggering a US soldier's instinctive fight-or-flight response; one assumes that weapons & equipment would remain much the same (though with 'CSA' stamps*** or logos either defaced, removed or just turned upside down as shorthand for a soldier's change of allegiance).
**I'd bet money that it isn't just the CS Navy that has dress white uniforms, given the generally steamy, baking-and-or-boiling local climate.
***I've imagined a 'CSA' army stamp with the letter 'C' resting above the 'SA' to form a sort of pyramid (Suggesting a 'Confederacy and the rest' mindset), but am not sure how practical this might be.
It's also quite possible that those Republic of Texas officers working in close proximity to the US Army for prolonged periods might well take to wearing US insignia on (ex)Confederate Army uniforms - I'm specifically thinking of staff officers in the field grades, major & lieutenant colonel & full colonel - to help avoid confusion with the insignia of US Army brigadier generals, major generals or lieutenant generals AND make life harder for infiltrators who might assume that their old dress uniforms will help them slide in & out unnoticed.
Meanwhile, I'm fairly confident that any Featherstone-Aligned former comrades in arms will become even more ragged as their lines of supply are cut off; with that in mind, I'm not sure they'd be able to make even field modifications to their uniforms, but die hards are likely to gravitate to Freedom Party Guard formations (suggesting either the placement of Party Guard insignia on CS Army uniforms or - more likely - a strange mix of Party Guard, CS Army and scavenged US Army kit).
After the Second Great War, of course, things are going to be Different; for the record I'm only discussing the RoT army for the simple reason that (A) I doubt there would be enough elements of the CS Navy in Texas harbours for them to form the core of a Lone Star Republic navy - and I suspect the United States of America would make it very difficult for CS navy types to avoid surrender by heading for a Texas harbour (B) I'm not entirely sure what CS Air Fleet uniform & insignia ought to look like* (C) The air force, by nature, are likely to worry more about distinguishing their planes than their individual persons from Die Hard former colleagues.
*I assume it to be either basic butternut, with distinctive insignia, or just possibly in a grey with quite a lot of sky blue to it; more likely the former than the latter, to allow for economies of scale - since Army & Air Fleet uniforms could be made by the same factories (It should also be noted that I rather like the Rank Table posted by Marc Pasquin some years back).
My best guess is that, in terms of uniform & equipment, the Second Republic of Texas would keep a strong "We're the GOOD Southerns, don't shoot us!" element - enough to make it clear that they're an independent by-God Republic that just so happens to jump when the US snaps because they're being Good Neighbours, yes spree!, no compulsion there a-tall! - not least because the United States of America isn't going to be selling them the Good Stuff if they can help it (and will certainly be eyeing the Texas Armaments industry as intelligently and as ruthlessly as any raptor looking to stamp out insubordination).
I'd assume that the major change would be a shift from the increasingly old-world 'tin derby' to the 'coal scuttle' and the adoption of a more formal Republic of Texas insignia; One assumes this would combine elements of rank insignia dating back to the First Republic of Texas with elements retained from the CSA days - one highly visible change would be the 180 degree rotation of NCO stripes (I assume that the Confederacy would favour a downward point, the United States an upward point; I get a mental image of at least some Texas sergeants in the last days of 2GW going around with the ghost of their old stripes visible under their new placement, though I'm not sure how practical this would be).
One also tends to assume that when a star appears on Texas uniforms it would be the Lone Star (but that this would appear on the insignia of every officer):-
- Second lieutenant: Lone Star & 1 bar
- First lieutenant: Lone Star & 2 bars
- Captain: Lone Star & 3 bars
Note: The number of bars reflects Confederate practice, a small display of Independence.
- Major: Lone Star & single arrow
- Lieutenant colonel: Lone Star & crossed arrows (gold).
- Colonel: Lone Star & crossed arrows (silver/white)
Note: I assume that, given how similar the badges for Lieutenant Colonel & Colonel on the old Texas table of organisation were, a more modern rendition would do well to use a distinction of colour (In the same vein as the US major/lieutenant colonel distinction by colour); since Texas field officers seem to have used gold stars while Generals used white, I'm basing the exact colours on that precedent.
- Brigadier General: Lone Star within wreath
- Major General: Lone Star & single arrows within wreath
- Lieutenant General: Lone Star & crossed arrows within wreath
Note: I'm not sure if General should be a permanent rank or only an appointment within the Army of the Second Republic; the wreath is, of course, adapted from the Confederate system as a way of distinguishing at a glance between Field officers & General officers.
I am, of course, assuming that Texas would retain butternut as the colour for it's service dress (field uniforms would likely be butternut until they started coming in camo); I also assume that full dress uniforms would be white (at least for the hot season); rank would be shown on the upper arm for NCOs and on shoulder straps for officers. Cap badge would likely mirror the Republic of Texas/State of Texas great seal; assuming there's a lapel pin, I'd bet on the Lone Star rather 'TX' (although the latter is a real possibility, one imagines that the Second Republic would be keen to avoid slavish emulation of their Northern 'Big Sister').
Right, that's all I have for now; thank you for your interest and please feel free to suggest alternatives to or elaborations on these rather rudimentary ideas.
*I assume it to be either basic butternut, with distinctive insignia, or just possibly in a grey with quite a lot of sky blue to it; more likely the former than the latter, to allow for economies of scale - since Army & Air Fleet uniforms could be made by the same factories (It should also be noted that I rather like the Rank Table posted by Marc Pasquin some years back).
My best guess is that, in terms of uniform & equipment, the Second Republic of Texas would keep a strong "We're the GOOD Southerns, don't shoot us!" element - enough to make it clear that they're an independent by-God Republic that just so happens to jump when the US snaps because they're being Good Neighbours, yes spree!, no compulsion there a-tall! - not least because the United States of America isn't going to be selling them the Good Stuff if they can help it (and will certainly be eyeing the Texas Armaments industry as intelligently and as ruthlessly as any raptor looking to stamp out insubordination).
I'd assume that the major change would be a shift from the increasingly old-world 'tin derby' to the 'coal scuttle' and the adoption of a more formal Republic of Texas insignia; One assumes this would combine elements of rank insignia dating back to the First Republic of Texas with elements retained from the CSA days - one highly visible change would be the 180 degree rotation of NCO stripes (I assume that the Confederacy would favour a downward point, the United States an upward point; I get a mental image of at least some Texas sergeants in the last days of 2GW going around with the ghost of their old stripes visible under their new placement, though I'm not sure how practical this would be).
One also tends to assume that when a star appears on Texas uniforms it would be the Lone Star (but that this would appear on the insignia of every officer):-
- Second lieutenant: Lone Star & 1 bar
- First lieutenant: Lone Star & 2 bars
- Captain: Lone Star & 3 bars
Note: The number of bars reflects Confederate practice, a small display of Independence.
- Major: Lone Star & single arrow
- Lieutenant colonel: Lone Star & crossed arrows (gold).
- Colonel: Lone Star & crossed arrows (silver/white)
Note: I assume that, given how similar the badges for Lieutenant Colonel & Colonel on the old Texas table of organisation were, a more modern rendition would do well to use a distinction of colour (In the same vein as the US major/lieutenant colonel distinction by colour); since Texas field officers seem to have used gold stars while Generals used white, I'm basing the exact colours on that precedent.
- Brigadier General: Lone Star within wreath
- Major General: Lone Star & single arrows within wreath
- Lieutenant General: Lone Star & crossed arrows within wreath
Note: I'm not sure if General should be a permanent rank or only an appointment within the Army of the Second Republic; the wreath is, of course, adapted from the Confederate system as a way of distinguishing at a glance between Field officers & General officers.
I am, of course, assuming that Texas would retain butternut as the colour for it's service dress (field uniforms would likely be butternut until they started coming in camo); I also assume that full dress uniforms would be white (at least for the hot season); rank would be shown on the upper arm for NCOs and on shoulder straps for officers. Cap badge would likely mirror the Republic of Texas/State of Texas great seal; assuming there's a lapel pin, I'd bet on the Lone Star rather 'TX' (although the latter is a real possibility, one imagines that the Second Republic would be keen to avoid slavish emulation of their Northern 'Big Sister').
Right, that's all I have for now; thank you for your interest and please feel free to suggest alternatives to or elaborations on these rather rudimentary ideas.
The Arsenal of the Porte - a collection of German, Austrian, Czech, and Italian guns to stave off the Empire's many enemies and delay its demise.Some weapon collages that I've been wanting to post for a bit;
All of these selections are pretty good in my opinion. For the Spanish collage though, I'd argue you could put even more guns to that list. But of course, to me this makes sense for the Spanish collage as being more of a collection of the most common or "best" weapons used by all sides.
So is this more of an experimental prototype? Or a jet that would have entered production?
Kind of reminds me of the many jet "Wonder Weapons" the Germans had plans for.
In OTL the Fw-1000x1000x1000 was a late war paper design, for TL-191 I'm imaging it as a second generation jet plane design.
I wonder if, in the wake of the Great War, the Imperial Mexican Army would have adopted more elements from the Victorious German Army? This would partly be to separate themselves a little from their now-crestfallen sugar daddy the CSA and partly to invite interest from the Kaiser’s lot (Potentially securing a new European backer to balance out the USA and the CSA).