Sable Military
Military Organisation: External and Commonwealth Forces
The military arm of Sable is a volunteer force of very highly trained
men,
operating cross-Shadow in the war against the Reich. Within Sable City itself
and the Commonwealth, most of its functions are defensive. Once outside the
'safe' Commonwealth area, however, the Sable armed forces are on active service.
The overall Sable military system was originally set up by Field
Marshal William O'Connor. He also established the Sable Military Academy,
the Riversend Naval Academy and
the Sable College of Military Magic, both of which have been
going from strength to strength. Since the forces have become established, O'Connor has taken
more of a back-seat role, and he now considers himself to be in well-earned
semi-retirement, although he is still the best military commander in Sable,
remains on the Sable Staff Council, and will answer the call when needed.
However, operational command of the Sable forces was handed over to Field
Marshal Prince William, who was given the title of Lord Protector and the rank
of Commander in Chief, some years ago, while Prince Francis, his deputy, is
heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the army.
The Sable Forces are split into three operational divisions: Home
Defence, Commonwealth and External.
The Sable Staff Council
The Sable Forces as a whole are overseen by the Sable Staff Council. This is
chaired by the Lord Protector, and comprises Field Marshal Lord William, Field
Marshal Prince Francis, General Celia Wallis, General Lord Graham, General
Alexandra Beaumont of the Royal Commonwealth Army, Generals Duke
Heinemann, Marne and Fitzwilliam and General Duchess Shaw from the Commonwealth
Defence Pact Shadows, First Sea Lord/Admiral of the Fleet Nicholas Bonner,
Admiral Richard Greer of the Royal Commonwealth Navy, and Air Chief Marshal
Prince Christopher.
Those members of the Royal Family who sit on the council have proven
themselves over many years of fighting with the Reich, rather than being
honorary appointees to the Staff Council. Other officers who occasionally report
to the Staff Council, or are consulted on specific issues, include Field Marshal
Prince Andrew and his son Adam (Sable's Master at Arms), Colonels Lovell and
Patterson (Chancellors of the Military Academy and SCMM), plus the operational
commanders of the Military Regions (see below) and the Commonwealth, and other
field commanders from specific theatres of war.
Return to Top
The Sable External Forces
The External Forces are comprised of the Sable Army, the Royal
Navy and the Royal Air Force, operating outside the Commonwealth, often in deep
Shadow, engaged in the wider war against the Reich. These external operations
against the Reich are roughly organised into three Military Regions, which have
their headquarters in large military reservations (around 12,000 acres) on the Shadows of Lothian, Ceredigion and Uaithen, all in the
Seventh Veil from Sable and equidistant around the Sable sphere. These three
Shadows have tech levels of around the 1950s, with gunpowder, automatic weaponry and the
internal combustion engine all functional, as well as magic. Each Military
Region has control of the land, sea and, where relevant, air forces operational
in their spheres of influence, as well as having detachments of the White Guard
(see Sable Security Services) assigned
to them, if not directly under
their command.
The Sable Army is a multi-Shadow organisation, with operational commanders in
each theatre of the war against the Reich. Forces are normally a combination of
Sable and Commonwealth nationals, and locals from the Shadows where combat is
taking place who wish to join the fight against the oppressor. Due to the
inconsistency of tech levels across Shadow, the officer corps of the Sable Army
are all cross-trained to fight in a variety of styles and with a lot of
different kinds of equipment, from Dark Ages and Medieval to early-21st century
tech. There are very few worlds in Sable Shadow that exceed 21st century tech,
as by far the majority of those lands became incorporated into the Technocracy
Band when the Nexus was created, although a small high-tech force is maintained
under the personal command of Field Marshal Prince Andrew, who is the Sable
expert in high-tech warfare.
Prince Francis tries to split his time equally between the Military Regions
and Army Headquarters in Sable City, itself, although he has in place a number
of deputies and operational commanders who look to the day to day running of
matters in their Regions when he is not personally present.
Specialist Army Units
The Black Panthers - Lieutenant-General Alyse Krieg
The 'Black Panthers' is the catchall nickname of the land and air corps of
the Sable Special Forces (more formally, the Paratroop Regiment and the Special
Air Service). There are detachments of Black Panthers assigned to all three
Military Regions, plus within the Commonwealth itself (based at Riversend), each
with their own regional commander, with General Krieg maintaining overall
control from her base in Uaithen. They work with the White Guard, but the two
regiments are distinctly separate, with different reporting lines.
Krieg is a tall, blond woman who looks to be in her early-fifties, who has
been a career soldier within Sable's forces for several decades. She takes no
nonsense from her subordinates, but maintains their respect by making she is fit
enough and competent enough to perform any task or action she asks them to.
The Royal Engineers - Mage Brigadier General Anthony Blake
The Royal Engineers are a regiment of battle trained mages. All are graduates
either of Sable Mage College, or the Sable College of Military Magic. Their
magical specialisms are usually towards trans/comms, combat/battle (including
siege and explosives), structural (including demolitions) and defensive,
although some are also healers. In addition to their magical abilities, the
Engineers are highly trained in the more mundane areas of combat engineering,
and many are expert map makers who occasionally work behind the lines to bring
home military intelligence both for the army and for the security services.
Anthony Blake is the youngest son of James, Duke of Richmond. He took active
command of the Engineers when his father finally retired from military service,
about fifty years ago. He is a specialist in defensive and structural magic. He
looks to be in his mid-thirties, with dark brown hair and slate-grey eyes.
King Robert has close links with the Royal Engineers, and is its
Colonel-in-Chief for ceremonial purposes.
Return to Top
The Sable Royal Navy
The Royal Navy has been in operation for well over a hundred and twenty years.
Initially it needed a lot of shipbuilding and shaking down, especially as ships
needed to be designed and built for a variety of tech levels, but it is now a
well-equipped, professional service, second to none on the Sable and
Commonwealth seas. Under the admiral's watchful eye, its further development and
expansion is going on apace. It is engaged in operations on Magica Superior, in the Commonwealth, and
beyond, as well as on the Gateway world of Murray.
It is split into five main fleets: one for each of the three Military Regions,
and one for the Commonwealth itself, which is based out of Riversend, although
operations on Magica Superior itself are undertaken by the Home Patrol Force. It
also works closely with the navies of the Defence-Pact Shadows of Lowell and
Cadel.
Admiral of the Fleet Nicholas Bonner, KG
Bonner himself is a solidly built man who appears to be in his mid-fifties. He was born at
Riversend, the son of David Bonner, a former Head of the Royal Commonwealth
Navy, and his wife Silke, also a Naval Captain, and always knew that he wanted to serve on the
High Seas. He was discovered to be Talented at a young age and studied at SMCC,
before becoming an officer cadet at the Riversend Naval College. He then had a
successful career within the navy itself, serving with honour in a variety of
theatres. He was assigned as Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord
about fifteen years ago. He is an archetypal sailor, and those who don't know
him well would consider him rather bluff: he is definitely quite willing to call a spade a
spade and to stand his ground if it needs to be stood. However, he is an excellent Admiral and very well respected by his captains.
He is married and has one daughter.
|
 |
The Royal Marine Corps
- Major-General Rick Longman
The Royal Marine Corps are a highly trained special forces regiment, under
the auspices of the Royal Navy. Its speciality is seaborne actions and
amphibious landings (no surprises there), although its personnel are efficient
and competent in all areas of special forces actions, and have been known to
co-ordinate operations with the Black Panthers.
Longman has been in command of the Corps for about forty years, having been
personally given the position by Field Marshal O'Connor, who found him a
particularly promising student. He is a strongly built man who looks to be in
his mid-thirties. He has white blond hair and light grey eyes, and is definitely
something of a ladies man.
Return to Top
The Royal Air Force is the most recently formed branch of the
Sable armed forces, having been created in response to the growing threat from
the Reich Luftwaffe, as air combat has gained prominence in Reich military
planning. The RAF has been a separate entity for about forty years, having grown
out of the earlier Royal Army Air Corp, and as an independent organisation, it is still
under development to a certain degree. It has both mechanised and non-mechanised
(e.g. dragons, griffins, etc) units, centred around the three Military Regions,
but available for deployment out to various theatres of warfare against the
Reich at short or limited notice. The rank structure is based on Army ranks.
Christopher is its second commander, his predecessor having
been killed when his fighter-plane was shot down about five years ago. His experience
in the Sable Guard has served him in good stead, although he is taking the time
to become more familiar with both mechanised flying and the differing combat
techniques that airplanes and helicopters use relative to non-powered flight.
The Royal Observation Corps
- Colonel Kira Strauss
The Royal Observation Corps are a sub-unit of the Royal Air Force,
specialising in aerial reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and analysis, in
both mechanised and non-mechanised arenas. They are not formally assigned to
front line combat, although inevitably their duties bring them into combat
situations, so ROC pilots are very well trained. Colonel Strauss took command of
the unit in SY153.
The Sable High-Tech Forces
Although technically attached to the Sable Military, the
High-Tech forces are based in the Technocracy lands, as their operational areas
are towards the Technocracy Band, rather than closer in to Sable. They have been
built and trained by Field Marshal Prince Andrew and Field Marshall Lord William
within the last decade, and comprise a small space force with associated army
and marines. Prince Andrew maintains overall command of the force, although he
is assisted by Admiral of the Fleet Regis Carlyle and General Raymond Barratt.
Return to Top
The Royal Commonwealth Forces
The Royal Commonwealth Forces are the protectors of the
Commonwealth Veil states, and blend Sable's own troops posted in the
Commonwealth, with those of the four Commonwealth Defence Shadows. Again,
there are army and navy units attached to the Royal Commonwealth Forces. The
Commonwealth naval forces are based out of Riversend, although their operations
are exclusively off Magica Superior, while the army is split between the four
Commonwealth Defence Shadows. The Sable Royal Air Force does not operate within
the Commonwealth.
There is a Commonwealth Staff Council which acts as a subset of
the main Sable Staff Council, dealing with matters pertaining specifically to
the Commonwealth. This comprises the Lord Protector, Field Marshal Lord William,
Generals Duke Heinemann, Marne and Fitzwilliam and General Duchess Shaw, General
Alexandra Beaumont and Admiral Richard Greer.
The Commonwealth Defence-Pact Shadows
Each of the four Defence-pact Shadows provides land-based forces for the
defence of their quadrants - Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth states alike -
and the Dukes/Duchess have been provided with the means to take their troops
through Shadow into battle if necessary. Two of the Defence Shadows, Cadel and
Lowell, also have naval forces which can be deployed in the Commonwealth Band if
required, in conjunction with Sable's Royal Commonwealth Navy.
The Royal Commonwealth Army - General Alexandra Beaumont
The Sable Army in the Commonwealth is commanded by General Alexandra
Beaumont, and is approximately of equal strength to the individual armies of the
Commonwealth Defence-Pact Shadows. It can be deployed if necessary to support
the native forces within the three Commonwealth Veils, although for it to
operate within a non-Commonwealth Shadow requires the permission of the resident
authorities on that Shadow. Within the Commonwealth States, it can be deployed
at will if the security of Sable or its allies is threatened, although in
practice, this is never done without the agreement of the threatened quadrant's
Duke or Duchess.
General Beaumont is a career soldier, having served in the Sable Army in all
three operational divisions. She is a tall woman, with red hair and green eyes,
and appears to be in her late-thirties. She was given command of the RCA about
fifteen years ago.
The Royal Commonwealth Navy - Admiral Richard Greer
The Royal Commonwealth Navy operates out of the Riversend Naval Base,
although it does not have responsibility for actions on Magica Superior itself,
only the Commonwealth Veils. In size it is equal to the combined naval forces
of Cadel and Lowell, with which it often undertakes joint operations and
exercises. It comprises a number of fast-attack boats, plus a wide range of
capital ships, although it does not have aircraft carriers, as mechanised air
combat is only possible within a very few Commonwealth Shadows.
Admiral Greer is a huge man, about 6'6" in height and well built, with a
commanding presence. He has served in both the External Royal Navy and the
Commonwealth Forces, and was appointed as Admiral Commanding the Commonwealth
Fleet twenty years ago.
This site © Trish Hart 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008.
Writings
and original artwork exhibited on player pages
are published with the author's permission.
Trumps based on photographic originals
use photographs obtained in the public domain.
Website administrator: Trish Hart (sable at fugue.org)