Arcerion Armoured Corps

The Arcerion Armoured Corps is the component of the Arcer Army, that together with other combat arms formations (infantry, engineers, artillery) provide the direct combatant capability, specializing in the use of armoured fighting vehicles and main battle tanks. It includes all of the Army's armoured regiments, as well as a majority of the armoured reconnaisance regiments, almost all of which were converted from old horse cavalry regiments. The modern Armoured Corps comprises a number of active and reserve formations reflecting the nature of a modern, professional army, and primarily works in Northlea Governorate at Presdale Garrison and the Arcerion Maneuver Training Center.

History
Upon noting the success of other Occidental armies in the First Great War and their use of motorisation, considerations were made to enhance the Army's lacking capability to transport soldiers by truck. Concurrent to this, defense attaches began to report about other nations, notably Urcea and Caphiria, developing and pioneering the use of "tracked fighting landships," which after further correspondence would be discovered as the first modern tanks. Due to peace treaty and burgeoning diplomatic and economic friendship between Arcerion and Paulastra, as well as the lack of a true peer threat bordering Arcerion, tanks were not often at the forefront of defense proicurement as the bordering Indigenous nations were mostly comprised of infatry. Regardless, the Arcerion Armoured Corps was stood up, with several of its Regiments being reorganized from traditional horse cavalry to armoured reconnaissance formations with armoured cars, trucks, and halftracks, and the creation of the Arcerion Tank Regiment was started.

The Corps' first deployment to the Ardmori Civil War came less than two years into its formation, seeing action at the Battle of Taernsby as its first major engagement, where two tank companies supported by an armoured reconnaissance battalion conducted a counter attack to engage communist forces, which lacked anti-tank weapons and were beaten back, giving time for Arcer forces to evacuate civilians and noncombatants through the port. The Corps would fight with distinction for the short remained of the civil war, supporting traditional artillery and infantry formations.

The Corps would go onto fight in both the Second Great War (notably Operation Lightfoot, the invasion of The Cape) as well as the Fourth Bush War. Its most recent engagements were Operation Pullman, where it played a pivotal role in destroying Varshan during the final League of Nations advance on the capital city of Anzio.

Regiments
See Also: Regimental System of Arcerion

The Arcerion Armoured Corps is divided into battalion-sized 'Regiments' which operate both main battle tanks (armour) as well as armorued fighting vehicles in reconnaisance function (Armoured Cavalry). The Regiments themselves have a variety of names and designations, mostly historical in nature, such as Lancers and Dragoons, which are part of their individual Regimental Lineage. The Regiments also each carry their own Regimental Colours, including the Reserve Regiments.

The Corps is mostly administrative in function, administering the history and heritage of the armoured branch, cataloguing its major events and significant achievements, researching its future capabilities, providing guidance to policy makers and senior officers on doctrine, and assisting with the training of new members of the Corps.

The current establishment of the Armoured Corps includes: Current Regiments listed on the nominal roll of the Armoured Corps are: Regular Regiments: Reserve Regiments:
 * Arcerion Armoured School (Presdale Garrison)
 * Arcerion Arnoured Corps Regimental Headquarters (Kinnaird Garrison)
 * Arcerion Armoured Corps Museum (Kurst)
 * Supporting staff to the Arcerion Maneuver Training Center
 * Arcerion Tank Regiment (ATR)
 * Royal Arcerion Dragoons (RAD)
 * Arcerion Loyal Horse (ALH)
 * Arcerion Light Cavalry Regiment (ALCR)
 * Kurst Lancer Regiment (KLR)
 * Arcerion Mounted Rifles (AMR)
 * King's Arcerion Lancers (KAL)
 * King's Arcer Dragoons (KAD)
 * Arcerion Horse Guards (AHG)

Basing
The majority of Arcerion's main battle tanks and their supporting elements are garrisoned at Presdale Garrison in central Northlea Governorate due to its proximity to live fire ranges and large areas to conduct maneuver warfare exercises and training. The remainder of the regiments are spread out across Arcerion at their individual brigade and divisional lines.

2022 Confederate Memo on Defence
Under direction from the Ministry of Defence, heavier Armorued Formations centered around main battle tanks were to be divested in favour of more agile platforms such as the continuation of the LAV-91 family and pursing of a mobile gun system. This review concluded that with the decline and fall of Varshan, and a lack of peer threats, the need for heavy, expensive, and high maintenance armoured formations was in decline. However, the Arcer General Staff noted that the requirement for more expeditionary deployments was ever increasing and the need for an air-transportable, wheeled armoured fighting vehicle had not declined, and the Army's mechanized infantry battalions had continued to be in high demand by allies.

To maintain relevance, the Armoured Corps staffed its own recommendation that the existing tank fleet should be kept and maintained with life cycle upgrades to maintain serviceability into the 2040s, but shifting their internal focus away from tanks and towards Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) by enabling their armorued reconnaissance and cavalry regiments. This was reflected with the cancellation of the Next-Generation Main Battle Tank Procurement.