Capellan Confederation Armed Forces

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The Capellan Confederation Armed Forces (CCAF) is the military of the Capellan Confederation.

Like in all Successor States, there also exist further forces in the form of police, civilian guards, armed nobles and private or corporate security forces, all of which can take the form of veritable armies.

Besides these, the Capellan Confederation also maintains Warrior Houses, a unique feature of the Capellan state. These semi-religious monastic orders, usually a combined arms regiment including one or two bataillons of BattleMechs, exist entirely separate from the CCAF, and answer directly to the Chancellor whom they swear personal loyalty. They are not covered in this article.

Main article: Warrior Houses

Command Structure

Chancellor

The Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation is also the titular head of the CCAF.

Sang-jiang-jun

A position created by Sun-Tzu Liao, the Sang-jiang-jun (Senior General) is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the CCAF. The officer who bears this singular rank also serves as the chairman of the Strategios, and acts as the regent of the Capellan Confederation when the Chancellor is away from Sian.[1]

Strategios

The Strategios is the council that oversees the military bureaucracy that runs the CCAF. It is composed of the two jiang-juns from each Commonality and led by the Sang-jiang-jun. After the Capellan-St. Ives War, the St. Ives Commonality was granted three seats on the Strategios as part of the treaty that ended that war.

Regional

Each Commonality within the Capellan Confederation is commanded by two individuals. One is responsible for the line units, while the other commands the reserve forces.

Organization

The CCAF has traditionally employed a strong aerospace fighter contingent, hoping to stop invasions before they can get on the ground.

During the Third Succession War, the CCAF largely went on the defensive due to its smaller size compared to the other Successor States. They created a sort of elastic defense, with battalions holding down border worlds. Each battalion was only supposed to hold out until help could arrive from strategically located reserve forces. This worked very well for the small-scale raids that were the late 3rd War, but did not hold up well against a full-scale invasion. Prince Hanse Davion took advantage of this during the Fourth Succession War by using massed forces against multiple planets, overloading the CCAF's ability to respond.

Even in more recent times, Capellan units are often smaller than their counterparts in other nations.

Despite the overall bad reputation of the CCAF and their poor performance in the Fourth Succession War, it should be noted that the Liao army is easily underestimated. They were overrun by vastly superior number and at the same time hampered by no less than two enemy double-agents and two other traitors in their highest command positions, and a ruler drifting off into madness. No army could shine under such circumstances, and remaining in existence is probably no small feat. The CCAF (and the Warrior Houses) recuperated from the devastating war in a surprisingly short time. Immediately following the Fourth Succession War and still severely weakened, they were capable of beating back the Duchy of Andurien and the Magistracy of Canopus at the same time.

As a matter of fact, the average Liao MechWarriors tends to be slightly more skilled than his counterparts from other Houses, and the CCAF in general has a practical skill to make the best of their situation.

All Liao-designed 'Mechs (especially their early designs, Vindicator, Raven and Cataphract) have proven over and over again to be thoroughly well-designed and capable, as well as cheap and easy to build.

Capellan Hussars

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The most prestigious brigade in the CCAF, the Capellan Hussars guard the capital and nobility.

Confederation Reserve Cavalry

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The Confederation Reserve Cavalry has a proud history of service to the Capellan Confederation.


Capellan Defense Force

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The Capellan Defense Force brigade was created by Sun-Tzu Liao as part of the Xin Sheng movement.



Victoria Commonality Rangers

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The provincial force of the Victoria Commonality, the Victoria Commonality Rangers were formed from the two surviving units of the once mighty Chesterton Reserves.

Liao Cháng-Chéng

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After recapturing Liao in 3057, Liao Cháng-Chéng became the provincial force of the Liao Commonality.


Citizens' Honored

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The Citizens' Honored brigade was created by Sun-Tzu Liao and encompasses former mercenary units that became regular Capellan units. Many of these mercenary units had strong ties to the Confederation.

Capellan Brigade

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The Capellan Brigade was created by Sun-Tzu Liao shortly after McCarron's Armored Cavalry joined the CCAF. The brigade encompasses former mercenary units that became regular Capellan units.


Death Commandos

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The hyper-elite of the CCAF, the Death Commandos are perhaps the most feared unit in the Inner Sphere. All Commandos are trained both as MechWarriors and in black ops. Each Commando has access to two different 'Mechs.

McCarron's Armored Cavalry

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Once a mercenary unit that spent a large portion of its history in Capellan employ, McCarron's Armored Cavalry joined the CCAF around 3060. In return, the commander received a noble title and each member was granted citizenship.

St. Ives Armored Cavalry

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The provincial forces of the St. Ives Commonality and St. Ives Compact, the St. Ives Armored Cavalry are the most elite force in the region. Traditionally, war materiel of the St. Ives Armored Cavalry is painted gray-green, with highlights specific to each command.


St. Ives Sentinels

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When the St. Ives Commonality gained its independence, the St. Ives Sentinels were formed by placing two of the Cavalry units into their own brigade. For the next three decades, the St. Ives Sentinels fought their former countrymen with courage and dedication. After the Capellan-St. Ives War, the brigade was retained. Though many in the CCAF felt they were traitors because they defected to the St. Ives Compact, the unit regained acceptance in the Confederation by 3067.

St. Ives Janissaries

The St. Ives Janissaries are an experimental Combined-Arms brigade created by Duchess Candace Liao, the Janissaries are modeled after the AFFS' Ceti Hussars. The regiments 'Mech/Vehicles/Infantry units are broken down and mixed at the company level instead of the traditional Regimential Combat Teams and regular Regiments separation by battalion or regiment.

Free Capella

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Free Capella isn't a part of the CCAF. Similar to Heimdall, this formation of units consisted of resistance movements fighting the Capellan Confederation, but still defending the Capellan people.


Warrior Houses

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The Capellan Warrior Houses are semi-religious military orders within the Capellan Confederation, independent from the regular Capellan Confederation Armed Forces. They are a unique feature of the Capellan military, and well known and feared throughout the Inner Sphere. Led by the Grand Master of the Order, the Warrior Houses reported directly to the Chancellor and were placed under the command of the Strategos only at the Chancellor's direction. Many members of the Death Commandos are drawn from the ranks of the Warrior Houses.


Former brigades & units of the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces

Capellan Reserves

An older formation of the defense forces that served during the Succession Wars to after the Clan Invasion. The re-organization of CCAF, mark end of the brigade as Stapelton's Grenadiers formed the core of the new 1st Capellan Defense Force.

Chesterton Reserves

Defenders of the Chesterton Commonality until its capture by the Federated Suns, the Chesterton Reserves were primarily assigned to bolster of the Davion border along the Tikonov Commonality and was almost completely destroyed during the Fourth Succession War, only Kingston's Legionnaires & Sung's Cuirassiers, now known as Kingston's Rangers & Sung's Rangers still exist but with the re-organization of CCAF they were moved to the Victoria Commonality Rangers and the brigade was disbanded.


Liao Reserves

The Liao Commonality's previous provincial force. It ceased to exist as both units were destroyed during the 4th Succession War.


Sarna Reserves

The Sarna Commonality's defense forces. The despite the majority of the commonality's conquest during the 4th Succession War, Ishara's Grenadiers & Kamakura's Hussars who formerly were part of the Sian Reserves were transfered to it and continued to defend the remains of it.[2] With the re-organization of the CCAF the brigade was disbanded and both units were moved to the Liao Cháng-Chéng.

Sian Reserves

The brigade was disbanded when both units were transfered to the Sarna Reserves.

Tikonov Reserves

The brigade was disbanded when Kincade's Rangers were transfered to the Periphery Guard.

Periphery Guard

With the re-organization of the CCAF the brigade was disbanded and Kincade's Rangers were transfered to the Liao Cháng-Chéng.

Independent Commands

The 4th Succession War saw the effective end of several independent commands of the CCAF. Though the Blackwind Lancers (vide supra) were not destroyed, their defection to the St. Ives Compact ended their fealty to the Confederation. Since the (forced) reconciliation of the St. Ives Compact with the Confederation in the 3060s, the Blackwind Lancers have pledged their loyalty to Free Capella.

Military Academies

Capella War College

The CWC is the most prestigious, and most rigorous, military academy of the CCAF.

Liao Conservatory of Military Arts

LCMA promotes a meditative approach to combat training.

LCMA was at the center of the battle for Liao when the Confederation invaded the Republic of the Sphere

Sarna Martial Academy

SMA is the military academy of the Sarna Supremacy. It is looked down upon by graduates of other academies as the Supremacy did not wish to rejoin the Confederation.

Sian Center for Martial Disciplines

SCMD cadets must be outwardly perfect. All cadets are very closely scrutinized during their training on the capital world of the Confederation.

Sian University

Officers receive their training at Sian University.

St. Ives Academy of Martial Sciences

SIAMS was the principal academy for the St. Ives Compact during that nation's brief life span. Attached to the St. Ives Institute of Science, SIAMS has its own officer training program. Following its reintegration into the Confederation, SIAMS once more began political indoctrination classes.

Tikonov School of Military Discipline

Victoria Academy of Arms and Technology

The AAT traditionally catered to and technicians, but it was upgraded in 3061 to help train the Confederation's Periphery allies.

CCAF Ranking Conventions

During the Age of War, CCAF generals attempted to engineer a coup. In retaliation after the coup was put down, the incumbent Chancellor (Jasmine Liao) removed all officer ranks above Colonel, instituting instead the title "Senior-Colonel" as the rough equivalent of a general officer.[3] During the Xin Sheng reorganization, Sun-Tzu Liao reinstituted the ranks, denoting the two military commanders of each commonality and the CCAF fleet commander.

Immediately prior to the invasion of the St. Ives Compact, the Chancellor reformed and streamed lined the rank system of the Capellan military to try and reduce confusion and to further remind and enhance the renewal of the Capellan Chinese culture.

Old Rank New Rank Insignia
Commissioned Officers
Chancellor Unchanged N/A
– Sang-jiang-jun (Senior General) Brass triangle with green center
Senior Colonel Jiang-jun (General) Brass triangle with open center
Colonel Sang-shao (Colonel) Silver triangle with open center
Major Zhong-shao (Lieutenant Colonel) Brass bar with three silver pips
Captain Sao-shao (Major) Brass bar with two silver pips
Commander Sang-wei (Captain) Brass bar with one silver pip
Subcommander Sao-wei (Lieutenant) Brass bar
Enlisted Ranks
Force Leader Yi-si-ben-bing (Master Sergeant) Brass bar with two green diagonal stripes
Lance Sergeant Si-ben-bing (Sergeant) Brass bar with one wide green diagonal stripe in center
Lance Corporal San-ben-bing (Corporal) Green bar with two diagonal brass stripes cutting along the corners
Recruit Shia-ben-bing (Recruit) Green bar

References

  1. ↑ Field Manual: Capellan Confederation, p. 37
  2. ↑ 20 Year Update page 63 - Sarna Reserves still on the rolls.
  3. ↑ House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 34

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