Arcerion Parachute Regiment

Overview The Arcerion Parachute Regiment (APR), commonly known as the Paras, is a Regular Force airborne infantry regiment of the Arcer Army, headquartered at the Novasar Barracks, located at the Presdale Garrison in the Arcer Heartland, Northern Northlea Governorate. Its current commanding officer is Lieutenant-Colonel Timothy MacAile, and the Regimental Sergeant-Major is WO1 Paul Truss. The Arcerion Parachute Regiment is part of the Arcer Army's 11 Parachute Brigade.

The Parachute Regiment was formed in the Interwar Period with the identified need to stand up a parachute capability for the Army, following a White Paper by the Arcer General Staff on the future of elite infantry formations. At its largest, it had a dozen battalions during the Second Great War, and formed the core of the 1st Airborne Division. The Regiment has taken part in every major Arcer conflict since its inception, from its key role in Operation Lightfoot, to the Final War of the Deluge against Varshan.

The regiment took on its current configuration and organization after the conclusion of the Second Great War as defense reforms slashed budgets and downsizing of the Armed Forces became a national priority. The Regiment has consistently proved to be a key asset to the Arcer Armed Forces, where it is often deployed for counter-insurgency, policing, stability, and humanitarian missions due to its highly mobile nature and maintaining a high level of readiness. As per the 2022 Confederate Memo on Defence the Parachute Regiment was slated to receive the funding and manning to raise an extra two battalions by 2028, and a further third new battalion (6 PARA) by 2030.

Formation
In light of massive industrialization of warfare and an increased emphasis on the professionalization of the Armed Forces of Arcerion, the Arcer General Staff outlined a new need for a highly-mobile airborne force of infantry that could seize airfields, ports, and key transportation hubs ahead of the advancing main ground forces from the Arcer Army. The General Staff identified that an existing infantry unit, the Duke of Lincolnshire's Regiment, headquartered at Presdale Garrison, would provide the nascent headquarters and training staff to begin forming the new regiment. Considerable efforts were also made by the Arcer Air Force to prepare for the troop lift that would be required to airlift multiple battalions. The Air Force started Combat Controller Parties, small groups of aviators that would integrate with the Army to assist with the air dropping of men, equipment, and ammunition onto drop zones.

Training and Equipment
The Parachute course itself took place over fourteen days at the Parachute School (later renamed to the Arcer Army Airborne School). Candidates had to jump from converted hot air balloons as the Air Force had no sufficient air transport aircraft available. A required five jumps was the minimum standard to be qualified as an airborne soldier, with the jumps gradually increasing in difficulty from no equipment, up to full equipment at night. During this period, Army records stated that volunteers failed from the course at an approximate 40% rate due to the unnatural type of training, fear of heights, injury, or failure to meet standards. Volunteers were often motivated by the Jump Pay that was awarded to successful candidates.

The follow-on training was sixteen weeks of additional exposure to small arms, heavy weapons, explosives, radios and transmission equipment, weather forecasting, escape and evasion, close quarters combat techniques, and a large physical fitness component. Specific emphasis was placed on the section and platoon level tactics, as Arcer Paras would be expected to fight in small disparate groups in the event of large dispersion on a drop zone.

First Great War
The Regiment from where the Paras gain their lineage, the Duke of Lincolnshire's Regiment, fought in the First Great War as part of the Arco-Paul Conflict. They mainly conducted patrols and defensive operations in Eastern Arcerion, as part of the blocking action to defend against Paulastran forces attempting to attack Arcerion through Washakara. They fought primarily against the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions from the Paulastran Army, and the Regimental War Diary, as well as reports from the Arcer General Staff all gave high marks to the Regiment's officer and non-commissioned officer leadership.

The Regiment participated in the brief conflict, and solidified many of the tactics and standard operating procedures that would serve as the core training requirements of the Airborne Infantry course years later. Forced ruck marches, night fighting, marksmanship, and the ability to move equipment via man-portable methods over rough terrain like the Eastern Aileach Mountains highlighted the requirement for soldiers to be educated, extremely physically fit, and aggressive.

With the conclusion of the Arco-Paul conflict of the First Great War, the Regiment was moved from its home garrison in Dalfearn, to the more Northern garrison of Presdale, where it would remain to police the Northern Arcer border areas, remaining in its garrison state until reformed into the Arcerion Parachute Regiment.

Second Great War
See Also: Operation Lightfoot The Arcerion Parachute Regiment's first large-scale and sustained combat operations after the Ardmori Civil War came with the invasion of the Cape in Operation Lightfoot. Arcer paratroopers, numbering twelve total battalions, invaded the Cape as part of the preparing phase to seize key road junctions, railheads, radio stations, and other key government buildings to enable success for the amphibious invasion. At all Drop Zones, Arcer Paratroopers would drop into Capetian-held territory, slowly fighting into the hills and areas surrounding their initial objectives. The overall result of the operation was a series of key battles that defined the Paras, such as the Battle for Novasar Airfield and the Battle for Hill 334. The Battle for Novasar Airfield, for which the Regimental Barracks and Headquarters is named, saw elements of the 1st Airborne Divison's HQ as well as disparate elements of two battalions engage a Capetian force of regulars, reservists, and light armour formations. Extremely fierce fighting using recoilless rifles, heavy machineguns, and mortars badly mauled both sides, however the Paras overcame and secured the objective, which allowed following members of the Royal Arcerion Engineers to clear, repair, and return the airstrip to operational condition. The Arcer Air Force was able to stage strike aircraft and maintenance personnel at Novasar, greatly contributing to the success of the armoured and mechanized offensives as they benefitted from the shorter turn-around time of close air support sorties. At Hill 334, the 4th Parachute Battalion successfully secured a key operational objective, which overlooked a major river and several bridges and river fords that were key to allowing the 2nd Division of the Arcer Army to advance towards Cape Town. Despite losing over half its officers and other ranks (killed or wounded) the Paras secured Hill 334 and proved again the value of elite infantry formations in enabling larger operational maneuvers. The legacy of the Second Great War on the Paras was a defining moment in Regimental History. It was the largest the Regiment would expand to, with twelve battalions plus staff, schools, and facilities, and is likely seen as the 'Golden Age' of the Regiment. Much of the current Paras' heritage is drawn from the Second Great War, including the current Regimental Lines, at Novasar Barracks.

Istrenyan Crisis
With the growing hostilities and tensions in Istrenya growing in 1959-1960, 11 Parachute Brigade, centered around the Parachute Regiment, was staged at a trio of airfields outside of Chester-on-Moore, and made preparations for an airdrop into Istrenya upon successful seizure of M'Kelo Airport outside of the large town of Mogtepeni. Despite insistence from Army Headquarters and the Arcer General Staff, the Confederate Parliament and Prime Minister's Office disallowed the use of 11 Para for an opposed landing, even though intelligence estimates had estimated there was limited amounts of anti-aircraft artillery or heavy weapons to prevent 11 Para, or the Parachute Regiment itself, from seizing the airstrip. On July 24th, with 7 Rifle Brigade having a tentative grip on the airfield, the Regiment was inserted along with other airborne battalions in the Brigade. 11 Parachute Brigade then proceeded to fight up the length of Highway 3, commonly referred to by Second Great War veterans as 'The Long March North,' to the outskirts of Iraso. After several weeks of sustained urban fighting in Iraso and its smaller townships nearby, the Parachute Regiment finally broke through on September 30th to reach the Arcer Consulate in the City Centre, relieving members of the Arcerion Commando Regiment along with consular and diplomatic staff. The Brigade was withdrawn by the end of January 1961 along with thousands of other Arcer troops, and reconstituted in Chester-on-Moore before they returned to the Novasar Barracks for a refit phase, having taken casualties during the course of Op Insolent.

Lineage
Duke of Lincolnshire's Regiment