Army of Burgundie

Because of its non-permanent status, the majority of Burgundie's Army is best suited to fourth generation warfare, which is the basic doctrine of force. It relies entirely on small unit tactics and small, fast armored vehicles. This doctrine is born from the bloody origins of the nation, that presupposes that all citizens are soldiers and that massive standing armies are too expensive for the threat levels that Burgundie has historically encountered.

The arms and insignia of the Army is an escutcheon with an upper party per fess Gules and a lower Argent with a river in nombril point, with a badge of crossed lance and bill hook or. The Red signifies the high opinion of the blood spilled, the logistical ability of the army to get over any obstacle, and the lance represents the officers and the bill hook the soldiers. The lance recalls the Eques of the lans proviso, the bill hook the various other foot soldiers each man-at-arms would bring to accompany them.

= Mission = The Army of Burgundie (Burg: le Strates della Burgundie), commonly called le Strates, serves as the land-based branch of the Civil Defense and Security Ministry in the Burgoignesc Security Forces. The mission the army is charged with is:
 * Preserving the peace and security, and providing for the defense of The Burgundies, and any areas occupied by Burgundie;
 * Maintaining and preparing against future threats to the sovereignty of Burgundie;
 * Implementing the national objectives for land forces as determined by the national government of Burgundie; and
 * Overcoming any nations or parties responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace, security, or commerce of The Burgundies.

Strategic doctrine
Le Strates works to achieve its mission through its strategic approach. The strategic approach is that the army is always prepared to:
 * rapidly and with oppressive force, engage all enemies in a prompt, but fully logistically-support fashion;
 * wage sustained land and cyber combat against any opponent, anywhere in the world;
 * conduct combined arms operations with unified command structures, combat objectives, and communications;
 * execute special operations in support of ongoing military operations;
 * establish and sustain the theater or area of operations for joint forces operations; and
 * liaison, integrate, and fight with valor alongside national, and multinational forces.

Tactical approach
Le Strates prepares and expects all of its soldiers, at all levels, to take the initiative and take an adaptive approach to complete orders and meet objectives. It builds its command structure from the highest level to support all levels of maneuver units down to the battalion level. Focus on small formation tactics has led to le Strates to have an outsized and global logistical mechanism to "feed the beast". Because the majority of the army is not in an active-duty status (only the Burgoignesc Foreign Legion is a permanent full-time unit of le Strates), there is not a plodding bureaucracy resistant to change. Le Strates is adaptive to change, and often relies on, and therefore invests in, changes recommended by field-deployed personnel. The survivability of the individual soldier is considered the highest priority in achieving the mission and therefore the soldier's experience is the catalyst for changes in doctrine. However, since the Legion is the only standing element of the Army, it has a massive influence on tactical and strategic thinking.

= History =

Standing Army
In the 14th and early 15th century bands of mercenaries, whose contracts with their masters had expired, were the scourge of medieval Kingdom of Dericania. In the late 1430s, unemployed Derian mercenaries pillaged across southern Dericania. Eventually some were recruited by southern mercenary captains who hired them out to the royal companies raised by order of the local princes, who it seems regarded them as a major impediment to peaceful rule. They extorted protection money from local peasants as well as exacting tolls from passing merchants and holding local important people for ransom.

In 1461 the Bishop of Bonavix passed laws that restricted military recruitment and training to himself. There was a new tax to be raised known as the taille that was to provide funding for a new provincial army. The mercenary companies were given a choice of either joining the provincial army as the maintained one hundred (Burg: les centes manutenures on a permanent basis, or being hunted down and destroyed if they refused. The bishop was able to cobble together one such unit in 1463, which was sent out to gradually eliminate the remaining mercenaries who insisted on operating on their own. The new standing army had a more disciplined and professional approach to warfare than its predecessors. In addition to this unit, the bishops still called upon men-at-arms and footmen by calling a general levy where all able-bodied males age 15 to 60 living in the bishopric were summoned to go to war.

This was the first standing army raised in the principalities that were later unified into Burgundie. Called the maintained one hundred (Burg: les centes manutenures), the unit was at, approximately, a modern company strength, being built around 100 knights (Burg: Eques) and their attendants.

Each lance (Burg: lans proviso for 'contractually obligated lance') contained, six men. The senior member was a man-at-arms (Burg: gens des armes), initially a mercenary captain but eventually a knight owing a knight's fee (Burg: Eques). This man was supported by a squire (Burg: coutillier), usually a younger man still undergoing his apprenticeship to arms, or not yet fully proved in battle. The man-at-arms and squire were further assisted by a page, or (Burg: valiet de guerre), usually a teenage male, who was responsible for caring for their armour, equipment, and horses. The squire was generally fully armoured, and usually charged alongside (or close by) the man-at-arms, and helped him handle the sixteen- to nineteen-foot lance when they fought dismounted (which initially happened fairly often). The lance further contained two archers, who were at first considered mounted infantrymen, provided with horses for mobility alone, but not for battlefield operations. Some were apparently equipped with bows and arrows, others with crossbows, and all also carried swords or axes and some armour, if usually less than the man-at-arms and the squire. As time went on, their role became increasingly difficult to distinguish from that of the other two combat soldiers. By the time of the Great Confessional War, the 'archers' had apparently evolved into armored lancers.

The Bishopric of Bonavix raised and maintained this unit until the end of the Great Confessional War in 1575. The unit was lead by a Sergeant-Captain, usually the bishop, but not exclusively. The success of the unit inspired others to create similar units and by the start of the Great Confessional War, other a third of the combatants maintained standing armies of various sizes.

Great War
= Organization = Main article: Burgoignesc Security Forces Main article: Structure of the Burgoignesc Army Structure of the Army of Burgundie (click to enlarge).

Standardized Militia Program
Young Burgoignacs receive their federal conscription orders for training at the age of 18, or after they have completed their high school studies. About two-thirds of the young Burgoinacs are found suited for military service; for those found unsuited, various forms of alternative federal service exist. Annually, approximately 42,000 persons participate in the militia program which consists of a 3 month basic training period, three 30 day special skills training (sabotage/explosives, amphibious operations, long-range shooting), a two-month tactical decision-making class, a two month review training period, culmination in a month-long exercise. Four week-long leaves are provided as part of the program. Once the "year of service" is completed and voting citizenship is attained, citizens can volunteer to continue their participation in the Standardized Militia Program. Continuing participates receive the following benefits: 100% of the first higher education degree paid for, non-competitive status for federal jobs, a $500 tax break/annum, $10,000 stipend/annum and access to housing programs/preferential lending rates.

Army Reserves
Since the Metropole Forces are not a standing army it requires a series of reserves to maintain their skills in the event that they are needed. Burgundie achieves this one three levels. The LUDC, the Metropolitan Guard, and the Princess Royal's Volunteers.

The Levantine Union Defense Council (LUDC), of which Burgundie is a co-founding member, provides a convenient loophole to the legal statute preventing Burgundie from having a standing army in it's Levantine territories. Burgundie provides a disproportionate amount of personnel support to the LUDC. By subjugating command and control of these units to the LUDC and not a Burgoignesc command, they are considered not a national standing army, but supernational-interagency combat units. This creates a thriving environment for soldiers and commander to train and gain valuable experience while also ensuring that the majority of the Army of Burgundie is capable of engaging in international operations and understanding complex and dynamic command environments.

The Metropolitan Guard is a ready-reserve unit of the army that constitutes a semi-professional corps of non-commissioned and junior officers. It is designed to be activated in the event of an invasion of the Burgoignesc Metropole and to rally residents to fight a guerilla war against the invaders.

The Princess Royal's Volunteers is a civilian self-defense league operated under the leadership of the army but regulated on a day-to-day basis by the National Gendarmerie of Burgundie. Membership is a prerequisite for fire arms ownership in Burgundie. Upon completion of the application process and 40 hrs of firearms safety training, residents are given a license to buy, own, and where permissable by local law, carry firearms. There are no dues, and members are automatically rostered with the Princess Royal's Volunteers. This designation means that in the event of a national emergency or war members are forbade from leaving the country and subject to conscription. To maintain membership residents have to complete 4 hours of subervised range time each month, and one combat village course each year.

I Infantry Tacticale
Known as the Yeoman's Legion (Burg: Tacticale Tenientieres) the I Infantry Tacticale is a more commonly associated with the higher class of the Burgoignesc military society. Its organization is unique in that it seconds all of its members to the Burgoignesc Civil Engineer Troops in times of peace, meaning that its 21,590 soldiers are full-time military professionals while respecting the constitutional and societal concept that Burgundie does not have a standing home army.

I Armored Tacticale
Modern combat uniform of the Ist Armored Legion, #dealwithit Lanciers rouges de la Garde impériale Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale Cent-gardes_Squadron

 Great Prince's Own Royal Zwallerkaddian Foot Guard
Main article: Great Prince's Own Royal Zwallerkaddian Foot Guard

The Great Prince's Own Royal Zwallerkaddian Foot Guard is an ethnic Zwallerkaddian Guard demi-regiment in the direct service of the Great Prince of Burgundie. The Guard is a non-mechanized infantry demi-regiment tasked with the protection of the Great Prince, his family and possessions.

Fire Seneschalcy
Main article: Fire Seneschalcy of Burgundie

The Fire Seneschalcy of Burgundie is the unit of the Army of Burgundie that exercises the following coordinating authority in Burgoignesc territory:
 * multi-jurisdictional fires
 * fire safety and preparedness
 * fire safety inspections of government buildings
 * fire fighting for "critical infrastructure" and military bases

Foreign Legion


Following the expulsion of the Protestants from Levantia during the Great Confessional War, Burgundie was flooded with Protestants and a Duke that was hostile to their presence in Burgundie. As an attempt to deal with their persistent presence and under pressure from the Holy Levantine Empire and the Papacy, the Duke of Burgundie, created the Burgundian Foreign Legion as a way to displace them, but bolster his military power. At its conception in 1577, the unit consisted of 1,000 Protestant men with 5 Catholic officers. They were trained as marines and were assigned to merchant ships conducting business outside of Levantia. This role persisted until the late 1800s when the needs of the thalosocrassy shifted and molded the legion to fit.

During the Occupation of Wintergen and Kiravian Pseudo-War and the subsequent occupations of AyerSee, Sodermark and Sturmhavn that permanent garrisons would need to be established to defend the islands. The Legion was re-purposed as amphibious infantry units. Their training consisted primarily of marine skills but added amphibious assault and coastal defense to the repertoire.

Today the Legion consists of 35,048 members, is still primarily Protestant, is excluded from operating in Levantia, is made up of 85% Burgoignacs and 15% foreigners, and is the only permanent "army" unit in Burgundie.

It is headquartered at Fort LaRemie, Nova Levantia.

Overseas Enemy Arms Repurposement Sustainment Brigade
The Overseas Enemy Arms Repurposement Sustainment Brigade (Burg: L'Outremer Brigade Sustenement pour le Reutilisement des Armes Ennemi (OBSRAE)) is a brigade-strength combined-capabilities logistics and engineering unit tasked with the rehabilitation of captured arms from opposition forces to reduce the logistical requirements on units of the Army of Burgundie. The OBSRAE is composed of two motor pool/mechanics battalions to reconstitute enemy ground vehicles, one aviation maintenance battalion, a small arms repair battalion, a research/evaluation/training battalion, and a brigade support battalion.

While it follows a standard brigade structure, the battalions are all capable of operating independently down to the company level and are often combined to fit the specific needs of the Army of Burgundie's deployed formations. The OBSRAE can be requested by any general officer on the recommendation of a field-grade officer, with a justification. The OBSRAE's headquarters unit includes a Resource Allocation and Adjudication Company which is focused on ensuring that the Brigade's elements are able to meet all requests and are deployed efficiently.

The headquarters unit also includes a Brigade HQ/HQ Company, a Network Support Company, an independent Engineer Company, and a Site Security Infantry Company.

Operational history
The concept of repurposing captured enemy weapons (Burg: repurposement) has long been practiced during longer campaigns, particularly in theaters of operations far away from the Burgoignesc Metropole. A similar strategy, have been conducted by navies for centuries, and has, since prior to its unification, been central to Burgoignesc martial maritime culture. Its use on land was not formalized until late in the Great War at which point Burgundie's army was spread across the globe and its logistics capabilities were strained to their breaking point. Units were asked to live off of the land and utilize captured equipment where possible so as to reduce the demand on the supply chain. There was measured success but not enough to reduce demand and at the end of the war the mechanisms in place were disbanded.

During Operation Kipling the cultural revolution at home and the resulting opposition the war and the military-industrial complex led to a similar supply chain problem. Some lieutenants whose squads were in particularly hard to supply areas took it upon themselves to train their soldiers on the use of enemy weapons (particularly small arms) and supplemented their ability to sustain fires with captured enemy munitions. As the war expanded this percolated up to the field-grade officers who began not only to increase the formality and investment in this capability but also to develop specialized recon missions to capture, instead of destroying, enemy weapons in remote areas of operations (AOs). This required specialized training, not only for general forces but also of the units conducting the recon missions. This request for supplemental training reached back to Army headquarters in the lat 1970s and the Standardized Militia Progam was reworked to include training on the main battle rifle of the Army of Burgundie, but also the primary weapons of the top three adversaries of Burgundie at that time. This program was scrapped in the mid 80s as ineffectual but it was added to the advanced infantry schools of the Metropole Forces and the Burgoignesc Foreign Legion and increased to the top 5 rifle/assault rifle platforms.

In 2012, L'Outremer Brigade Sustenement pour le Reutilisement des Armes Ennemi (OBSRAE)) was formed to increase the repurposement capability beyond small arms and include land-based vehicles. A supplemental "Adversarial Platform Familiarization and Industrial Strategy" course was added for maintenance personnel and vehicle crews so that they could, theoretically, get into any vehicle in the world (regardless of the labeling language on the instrumentation) and understand it enough to drive it to a secure area to be repurposed by friendly forces. Once in a secure location these vehicles are remanded to the OBSRAE for repurposement.

In 2018, OBSRAE was expanded to include an aviation maintenance battalion. To date the battalion is only tasked with repurposement of rotary-wing and small fixed-wing support airframes. The capability to effectively repurpose larger attack, interceptor, and bomber aircraft, while feasible, cannot be met with enough trained fighter/bomber pilots, so it has been deemed inefficacious.

Since its formation in 2012, OBSRAE has been deployed 48 times for an average of 6 months. It has reduced the demand on the Burgoignesc supply chain by:
 * 42 million rounds of small arms ammunition
 * 2.3 million small arms (battle rifles, assualt rifles, submachine guns, and pistols)
 * 249, , and/or
 * 4,942
 * 630 single-use
 * 349 reusable
 * 4,593 anti-tank rockets/missiles
 * 39
 * 82 anti-aircraft missiles
 * 3 s
 * 183 s
 * 49 s
 * 15 s
 * 29 s
 * 3 s
 * 295 unarmored support vehicles
 * 4
 * 2 medium
 * 6 small
 * 3 small
 * 1
 * 1

= Personnel =

= Bases =

= Equipment =


 * s for NCOs
 * s for infantry and s for cavalry Junior Officers
 * or for all Senior Officers (Senior Officers of Istroyo-Latinic ethnicity prefer the vine staff. Those of the Gaelo-Levantine line prefer the shillelagh. Either one is provided by the Army upon commissioning as a Lt. Colonel)
 * s for all Staff Officers

= Army Flag =

= Notable Soldiers =