Appendix XIa: TOG Legion Designation of Origin

Sub-Appendix XIa: TOG Legion Designation of Origin
(Continued from APPENDIX XI: Unit Naming Conventions)

By: Fireangel

Not all Legions are the same. Not even if they are identically equipped Garrison Legions. According to canon, TOG fields eight million legions, mostly Garrison Legions allotted at one per million inhabitants. As should be amply clear through the previous appendices of this document, this simply cannot be the case. There have to be more Garrison Legions… many more. Likewise, the numbers of Strike and Infantry Legions might have to be adjusted.

How does this come into Legion nomenclature? Even under canon, there were problems with Legion nomenclature; the 9,999th Strike Legion had been “recently activated” and practically no canon Legion was numbered into the tens of thousands.

This article is an attempt at correcting this flaw and simultaneously adding a degree of richness to the setting.

Legions are drawn from throughout the Empire, much like the structure used in the senate; at the planetary, provincial, prefecture, district (no senators at this level, I know) and national (Imperial) level. We’ll look at the way the structure works from the planetary level on up and see how it is that this organization actually keeps the Empire together under the rule of TOG.

GARRISON FORCES

(See also: APPENDIX XIV: How does TOG maintain control over quadrillions of citizens?)

While it might seem a simple thing (garrison = reserve), the designation of a Legion as Line, Secondary, Garrison or Reserve depends more on where the Legion is from than any particular use of equipment.

TOG’s military arm has two distinct divisions; Garrison Forces and Line Forces. In canon sources the term “reserve” is used haphazardly in order to describe a garrison legion, but this is not the case at all: not all garrison forces are garrison legions and few of these are actually reserves the way the term is understood in the early 21st century.

Garrison Forces comprise legions and auxiliae raised at the planetary (clarissimi), provincial (spectibles) and prefecturial (illustrus) levels which answer to their respective senators and enforce their will. The vast majority of Garrison Forces units are Garrison Legions, which are combined and recombined within a province and prefecture to ensure a stable balance of power amongst the various senator levels, and auxillia, which often reflect the needs and personality of the senator/senate that created them.

While Garrison Forces are “reserves” in the broadest sense, they are too immobile and tied to their region to truly serve as a reserve. Additionally, they are crucial to maintain order within and deter invasion without, so only a few “true” reserve units exist; mostly as auxilia. More importantly, the command structure of Garrison Forces and Regular Fores are separate; operational priority means that a PGA’s commanding General does not have the authority to issue battle orders to a Regular Legion Prefect and vice-versa. This will be further discussed below.

The breakdown of Legion types follows:

Planetary (world name) Legions

(World Name) Legions (Ex.: 246th Thapsus Garrison Legion) are, for the most part, Garrison Legions drawn from a single world within the Empire and racially uniform (i.e. all-human, all-Ssora, etc…). Recruits are trained on-world by Training Auxiliae and are drawn primarily from the vast pool of young male citizens fulfilling their military obligation with a handful of veterans and lifers providing continuity. Each world’s quota is simple: One Legion for every million inhabitants; male, female, citizen, plebeian, slave or non-human/naram. Most non-human/naram legions exist only at this level and are only rarely moved off-world to garrison other worlds or support provincial/prefecturial/national level formations.

Given an average planetary population of around 1.5 to 3 billion, this means that each world fields a Planetary Army (see Appendix II; a “standard base-six” Army is composed of 1,296 Legions) under the command of a General (who answers [in theory] to the Clarissimi Senator of the planet), however, only about one third of any given world’s Legions (approximately two Corps) are actually stationed on-world as part of the world’s “Planetary Garrison Army” (or PGA, discussed below); the remaining two thirds (approximately four Corps) are scattered in brigade-sized units throughout the other worlds of the province (and prefecture) on permanent or semi-permanent (30-50 years) station, with all equipment remaining on-station and only personnel being shipped (recruits out, shorties in). The “Militia Garrison Legions” often serve mainly as a final transfer assignment for soldiers with less than a year on their military obligation and these Legions serve as the main force in defending their world from outside invasion, behind any line units on-station. A Clarissmi Senator’s bodyguard is usually drawn from Planetary Legions, representing the elite of these units.

Informally, (World Name) Garrison Legions are called “Militia Garrison Legions” (ex. 246th Thapsus Militia Garrison Legion) when stationed on their own (native) world and “Guards Garrison Legions” (ex. 246th Thapsus Guards Garrison Legion) when stationed on other worlds. The terms “Home Guard” and “Foreign Guard” were once popular, but the Lictor’s Bureau of Propaganda determined that this created sentiments of foreign occupation and thus encouraged the use of the current terms among the troops. Guards units in PGA’s are usually assigned to a world in Brigade strength and are under (nominally direct) command of a Brigadier General from the Guards’ world, though the individual Legions and Auxiliae of this Brigade are often distributed amongst the PGA’s different Corps where needed.

Not all recruits (obligatory [i.e. male citizens] and volunteer [i.e. human/naram females and plebeians of all races and genders]) serve in Planetary Garrison Legions (Legio Planetarii); some choose (or are drafted, when quotas are not being met) to serve in (Province Name) Legions (i.e. 246th Shannedam Garrison Legion), which are generally more prestigious (not by much), but have anywhere from a 1-in-24 to a 1-in-6 ratio of Second Line Grav Infantry to Garrison legions (closer to 1-in-18 on average), with an occasional Front Line Grav Infantry Legion or even Brigade in prosperous Provinces. These non-garrison legions are generally used at the provincial level and above, either guarding the provincial capital/important worlds or “bumping up” to the prefecturial level or above and are almost never used to garrison “common” worlds. The total number of Legions often approximates the Army level in strength, though often using non-base-six formations at one or more organizational levels (i.e. 4 Divisions instead of 6).

Provincial Legions

Like Planetary (World Name) Armies, Provincial Legion Armies are scattered across the province’s 40-50 worlds in permanent or long-term semi-permanent station, with greater concentration on the Provincial capital and other important / strategic worlds, with the First Corps on permanent station in the provincial capital and the other corps spread out as Divisions and Brigades.

The higher-motivated troops of Provincial Legions and higher re-enlistment rate compared to Planetary Garrison Legions ensures a slightly higher overall quality of trooper and a better educated officer corps, often including Line Officers near retirement or who have chosen this duty to be close to their homeworld. Training is usually done in one or two facilities (if two, then on different worlds) by specialized Auxiliae. Spectibles bodyguard Legions are usually drawn from these units.

On average, each planet in a province provides enough manpower to staff and maintain 30 provincial-level legions, who are mixed during training and deployment in order to reduce the incidence of (planetary) cultural identity in individual units. Most auxiliae are assigned from the PGA’s as needed, but enough recruits are available to staff and maintain several Provincial-level auxiliae as well.

The overall commander of a Provincial Garrison Army is a General who answers to the Spectibiles Senator of the Province.

Prefecturial Legions

(Prefecture Name) Legions (i.e. 246th Alaric Mechanized Infantry Legion) are, as the name implies, drawn from across the Prefecture and represent the highest level of “reserves” in TOG. Well over 60% of personnel in these legions are volunteers and career soldiers, the rest being some of the more ambitious young citizens serving their obligatory military duty. Well over 80% of Prefecturial Legions are second-line infantry (or “PGA Infantry Legions”, which are organized like garrison legions but use grav tanks and APCs in some of their line Cohorts), with the remainder divided between standard Garrison Legions (10-15%) and front-line Strike/Grav Infantry Legions (10-15%, with Strike Legions being exceedingly rare), with a lower percentage of non-human legions than Provincial/Planetary Legions. In numbers, nominally there is an Army of Prefecturial Legions, but in practice this is closer to a reinforced Corps in strength, with 3-5 legion brigades, 3-5 brigade divisions and so on. The overall commander of a Prefecturial Army is a General who answers to the Prefecture’s Illustrus Senator, who usually draws his personal Guard units from this Army.

Much like Provincial Garrison Legions, Prefecturial Legions mix their recruits during training and deployment in order to minimize (planetary/provincial) cultural identity in any single unit. On average, each province produces enough recruits to staff and maintain approximately 62 Prefecturial Legions, which breaks down to approximately one and a third legion per world, with quotas based on population, number of worlds/provinces and a number of other factors. Provincial-level auxiliae, while rare, do exist; mostly as permanently-attached auxilia and ground support air arms.

Planetary Garrison Armies

Each world has a Planetary Garrison Army (PGA) composed of Planetary (1/3), Provincial (3/6) and Prefecturial (1/6) Garrison Legions under the command of a General who answers (in theory) to the Regular (District) Army Grand General of the region (usually at the Province level). This means that each world has two full “four star” (O-10 [USAR] or OF-9 [NATO]) Generals; one commanding the Planetary Garrison Army and the other the Planetary (Militia) Army (of which two thirds are off-world). Provincial capital worlds have an additional General commanding (administratively, for the most part) the Provincial Army, while Prefecturial capitals (often, but certainly not always, Provincial capitals as well) add the General commanding the Prefecturial Army. The General Commanding the PGA may come from the provincial, prefecturial or from the planetary (guards/militia) levels, as the hierarchy often gets mixed at the PGA level. Each PGA includes a HQ Cohort and a Century of infantry for security; this HQ Cohort, though raised from garrison forces personnel, is technically considered part of the District Army, as is the PGA’s General.

If both the Provincial and Prefecturial Generals are stationed on the same world, the Prefecturial General gets the unofficial honorific General Maximus and the Provincial General is titled General Secundus. If the Provincial General is the senior General on planet, he gets the unofficial honorific General Maximus. On rare occasions a planet has more than one Planetary Garrison Army (for administrative purposes or due to sheer population bloat); on such occasions, the more senior General gets the Maximus honorific. It should be noted that a Prefecture’s permanent capital is not necessarily a provincial capital, though it does happen. Generally, Garrison Forces command structures do not include the rank of Grand General (OF-10), but exceptions do arise both for organizational reasons (a 2-3 army PGA on a provincial and prefecturial capital), tradition (such as in many older prefectures) or to honor an individual prior to retirement.

REGULAR FORCES

So far we have discussed the Garrison Legions, which could be considered the reserves of TOG (though this is not entirely accurate). These Legions and Armies are rarely, if ever, moved, though it is common practice to rotate some units every few years so as to not create permanent attachments among the local population; the “higher” the parent organization, the more frequently it is moved; Planetary-level Legions are pretty much static, while some Prefecturial-level Legions change stations every 5-10 years. This immobility makes these legions almost useless for any sort of offensive campaign. While in theory the senior General on-world has absolute military command of all military units in-system, reality is much different; Naval (and Marines) units keep their own hierarchy and Regular (district and national-level) Army general-grade officers have operational priority of command, meaning that (for practical purposes) a Regular Army Brigadier General (“one-star”) in effect outranks even a General Maximus in the Planetary Garrison Legion.

All Garrison Armies are created by their respective-level Senators or Senate. Above these Garrison Armies are the District and “National” level “Regular” Armies, which require the Illustrus (Imperial) Senate’s approval for funding and creation.

District Legions

Of the “Regular” Legions, the best known and most common are the (District Name) Legions (i.e. 246th Dalvik Armoured Infantry Legion), of which there are eight groups: one for each District of the Empire and one for the conquered Commonwealth Territories. Only the most ambitious young male citizens seek such a billet for their obligatory duty; most billets are filled by volunteers, who see serving in such Legions to be a stepping stone to higher rewards. District Legions are staffed by personnel from across the District and rarely are deployed outside their home district (though single Legions or Brigades often cross the district border into the border worlds of neigbouring Districts as required by internal or external circumstances or by order of Caesar, an Overlord or the Illustrus Senate (this is rarely done and is one of the reasons for the continued existence of some of the other legion types described below). Each District fields a number of Armies based on its size and affluence (termed unofficially “Grand Armies”, average being composed of around 24 District Armies). Most of these armies are composed of Infantry Legions (both front-line and second-line) and Strike Legions, with a smattering of Garrison Legions for static installation security.

Each District’s Armies are under the command of a Grand General (Commonly referred to as a Grand General Maximus) who answers (officially) to the Illustrus Senate, but in practice serves at Caesar’s pleasure. Many Grand Generals rival Imperial Overlords in power; a fact that is not lost on many. Additional Grand Generals command fronts, theaters or even entire Prefectures and all forces therein. Training is conducted at facilities on various worlds in each District by dedicated specialized training Auxiliae, with many officers graduating from prestigious military academies in the 10 Core Worlds.

District Armies are comprised of recruits “booted up” to the district level from Prefecturial Army recruiting quotas. Though personnel equivalent to a Corps is provided they are trained at District Army facilities and provided with District or national-level trained officers. This assures that no individual Illustrus senator has undue control over entire units.

Constellation Legions

(Constellation Name) Legions (i.e. 246th Cygnus Armoured Infantry Legion) mostly date from the pre-Buntari Republic days and were grouped in 39 Grand Armies which ranged in size from the two-understrength-army Apus Grand Army to the 26+ army Cygnus Grand Army (many hundreds more legions were named for the 89 Terran constellations, though in numbers too small to qualify for Grand Armies, Armies or even Corps). Most of these Legions were disbanded, destroyed or redesignated as District Legions when these came into being (or fled with General Constantin with his Renegade Legions), but many still exist in TOG. Their area of operations is a wedge covering roughly the section of sky radiating out from the Sol System corresponding to the direction in which the constellation is viewed from Earth (see Appendix VI). In the millennia since their formation, the surviving Legions have spread out beyond the historical boundaries of their constellations. No longer coherent Grand Armies, very few exist in administrative formations larger than a Corps and most have been subsumed under the command of their local District Grand General Maximus. Few dedicated training facilities/auxiliae exist; most Stellarii Legions are simply assigned replacements from the surplus of other training facilities down to the planetary army level (if necessary). Most Stellarii Legions are Infantry (both front-line and second line), with a smattering of Strike Legions (mostly using older equipment) and Garrison Legions.

TOG (Army) Legions

TOG (Army) Legions (i.e. 246th TOG Armoured Infantry Legion) are created by order of the Illustrus (Imperial) Senate for Empire-wide security without particular regard for one district or another (though many are created specifically to serve in one District Grand Army, they retain their TOG designation). Often created in groups (Brigade, Division, Corps or even Army strength), their capabilities are widely disparate; some are poorly equipped single Garrison Legions created for ceremonial guard duties, while others are elite, state-of-the-art Brigades or Divisions centered around a heavily reinforced Strike Legion. Likewise, some are hastily created from whatever soldiers can be found, while others are specially trained elite units fanatical in their devotion to the Empire. Legion numbers are consecutive regardless of legion type; there have been approximately 10,000 of these legions activated (over 7 standard army’s worth), with the 9,999th Strike being activated in Shannedam County in the past decade.

Imperial Legions

Imperial Legions (i.e. 256th Imperial Armoured Infantry Legion) are very similar to TOG Legions but for one major difference; they are created by Caesar through Imperial Decree. Initial funding usually comes from the Imperial Office’s discretionary funds and/or emergency funds and/or Ceasar’s own pockets, but after two years the Legion’s budget comes up for review before the next scheduled Illustrus Senate; if approved, the Legion joins the Regular Army where it is most needed, but if not approved, several options arise: dissolution (the most common outcome; if the Legion survives in combat after two years, its purpose will likely have been fulfilled, so there is little need to keep it around), partial funding (funding is approved for 1-3 years, expecting dissolution/destruction by then, or for 4 years and another review), “dissolution and reintegration”; meaning that the Legion is ‘officially disbanded’ but Caesar decrees the creation of another Legion just like it to replace it (the legion in essence simply changes its number; the Senate looks poorly upon this and may withhold funding, supplies or reinforcements. Finally, Caesar may continue funding the Legion out of his own pocket (not really a long-term solution). By their very nature, Imperial Legions are created singly or in small groups (a reinforced Legion or short Brigade) and are overwhelmingly Infantry (mostly front line) and Strike Legions, with about 20% Second-Line Infantry and a few odd Garrison Legions thrown in for good measure. Only one Imperial Legion was ever classified as Praetorian; the 256th Imperial Armoured Infantry Legion, formed on 6796 by Caesar Nicholos Julianus; it was disbanded before it was fully assembled when his Praetorian Guard Prefects summarily intervened with the selection process and demonstrated unto Caesar that his was not the ultimate word on the matter; the members already selected were reformed into the 256th Praetorian Auxilia; an elite all-female human (genetic testing is involved) bodyguard used to protect Caesar’s vital interests.

Classiari (TOG Marines) Legions

Classiari (TOG Marines) Legions (i.e. 256th Classiari Armoured Infantry Legion) are TOG Marines units organized “from the ground up” as Army Strike or Grav Infantry Legions. Classiari is the old Latin designation for Naval Infantry. Most Marines units are organized as either Auxilia or as independent Cohorts or Centuries. When these independent units are grouped together (in a fleet, for example), they are designated (Fleet Name and/or Number) TOG Marines Legion (the Manii and Legion administrative units used are provided by the Navy and specialized Marine Reserves Auxiliae; it is often disconcerting to see naval ranks side-by-side Army/Marines ranks in the same unit), but when they are purpose-built from the ground up, they are designated Classiari Legions (some support cohorts/centuries are still provided by the Navy).

Organizatonally, all TOG Marines units (Legions or otherwise) are part of a single Grand Army, though the “Grand Army” and its ten component “Armies” exist only as administrative commands. Each “Army” (roughly one per District) includes approximately a “Corps” of Classiari Legions, though only 1-3 divisions are actually ever deployed as single units; the remaining brigades being parceled off to various fleets and Naval Installations. Regardless of whether he commands a Classiari Legion or not, the OF-5/O-6 rank of Prefect of the Legion becomes Prefect Classiari in the TOG Marine Corps.

Lictor Legions

Lictor Legions are few in number and come in two basic types: Pomerium Legions (i.e. 66th Pomerium Infantry Legion), under the authority of the Internal Espionage Division, and Fasciae Legions (i.e. 69th Fasciae Assault Legion), under the authority of the External Espionage Division. Roughly equivalent to Germany’s Schutzstaffel (S.S.) units in Earth’s WWII, these are nominally elite paramilitary units that to not answer to anyone but the Lictor.

Both types of Lictor Legions rarely mix with Regular Army troops in combat and make extensive use of Special Forces Auxilia.

Pomerium Legions

Pomerium Legions generally correspond to front-line (or second-line) infantry units with extra-strength MP presence (a cohort, instead of a century), well suited for counter-insurgency operations and population control through intimidation. Whenever Pomerium Units have found themselves in toe-to-toe combat with other units of similar strength they have done poorly, but given that they have battlefield priority (behind only Praetorian Legions), foes facing them have regretted it when reinforcements arrive. Actual numbers are classified, but the 66th is the highest-numbered legion known. Numerous Pomerium Auxilia provide security at Lictor offices throughout the Empire and are almost universally hated as the “Tactical Response Units” used to enforce the will of the Lictor. Pomerium Units accept only humans, though males and females are accepted, females are invariably segregated into their own (non-legion) units or auxilia. Genetic purity is not as crucial as loyalty, so provided a candidate can prove they are at least ¾ human, even naram will be accepted (though these are in a distinct minority). While not officially Pomerium units, “goon squad” centuries of non-human collaborators (organizationally equivalent to penal infantry centuries) are often rasised locally to support the Pomerium TRU’s. Pomerium Legions do not have any form of air support; any air support required is expected to be cheerfully provided by the local Navy or Army (Air Corps) commander.

Fasciae Legions

Fasciae Legions, on the other hand, are unapologetically Heavy Assault units. Like in Pomerium Legions, only genetically pure male humans are accepted after rigorous training and indoctrination, but unlike the reviled Pomerium Units, the Fascia Legions are considered the “elite of the elite in service of the Empire”. Only the most fanatical TOG supporters (citizenship is a requirement) are accepted and 70% wash out during the often brutal training. In fact, an additional 20% either die or are severely injured during training, leading to the perverse saying that “two die for every one that makes it”. Equipment is invariably state-of-the -art, heavy and they are on par with Praetorian Legions for battlefield priority: unfortunately, the brutal training often favours the lucky over the skilled and tactics often amount to frontal charges. Like Pomerium Legions, actual numbers are unknown, but it is known that there are at least two Divisions (this from propaganda and battlefield intelligence). Despite its daunting entry requirements, there are always more volunteers than training auxilia billets. No females are allowed to serve in any military capacity in Fasciae Legions, though there is a separate non-military all-female (pure) “auxiliary service” that provides “Comfort and Support” services to Fasciae Legions (this organization uses military formations and uniforms, but is not intended for combat of any sort). Fasciae Legions generally do not have organic aerospace support, though there is a small Aviation Branch that uses light recon and ground support fighters in units no larger than a Flight.

(Army) Aero Legions

(Army) Aero (Flying Corps) Legions are an organizational oddity in that instead of attaching an Air Wing to a Legion, a Legion is attached to an Army Flying Corps Air Wing. Almost universally front-line infantry legions, most known examples are of TOG (Army) or Imperial origin. In terms of equipment, Aero Legions are practically indistinguishable from Classiari Legions, but are controlled by the Army. Rare, these legions are never grouped as brigades (or larger) formations, instead being either joined to an existing brigade or used as the centerpiece of a brigade-sized formation of several auxilliae commanded by a Brigadier General.

Auxilia

Every million inhabitants produces enough recruits to maintain one legion and one or two Auxilia. These are distributed as needed throughout the various armies in similar ratios, though most auxilia remain in their operations region in a similar manner to world/province/prefecture legions. Unless they were custom-built to be part of a specific legion, very few Auxilia bear District or Constellation designations. TOG and Imperial Auxilia are more common, but also tend to be more volatile; lasting less than most other Auxilia types.

Reserves

As mentioned earlier, Garrison Legions are not exactly the equivalent of “reserve” legions. The reason for this is simple: it takes tremendous effort to mobilize a garrison legion to another world. Actual Reserve Legions are extremely rare (Reserves are organized more frequently as Auxilia), but do exist within the Empire. Keep in mind that military service is compulsory for all male citizens between the ages of 16 and 19; many choose to stay in the military, but many also leave the military and settle into civilian life. Reserve Units (Legions, Auxilia or Navy) tap into this pool of military-trained civilians who sign up for reserve duty for terms of three years, serving “one weekend a month and two weeks a year” with their reserve units (mostly support cohorts and auxilia, since TOG has no desire to leave heavy combat equipment dirtside where potential insurgents may take control of it). In case of planetary invasion, each world can mobilize its entire reserves, meaning every able-bodied citizen and non-citizen veteran can (theoretically) be armed and sent to the front, but in practice this simply cannot be done due to a severe shortage of equipment: old military equipment is often destroyed rather than have it fall into the hands of insurgents.

TOG Navy

OK, so what about the Navy? For all practical purposes, manpower-wise, a Battleship Squadron is the equivalent of a Legion. The main difference is that whereas a Legion packs all its personnel into a single, mobile package, the BB Squadron’s personnel are divided into the warships themselves (including marines, fighters and small craft), support ships and base/station personnel, which are not directly affiliated with any particular BB Squadron. Lesser units, such as Classiari Legions and independent Marines formations, as well as independent fighter wings and patrol craft (as well as independent ships and lesser warship squadrons) correspond to the 1-2 auxilia of each “legion per million”).

The designation of a BB Squadron as “Line” or “Reserve” has more to do with its relative composition of personnel than with any inherent equipment issues; Naval units come in “System (world)”, “Provincial”, “Prefecturial” and “District/National” designations, much like Legions do; very few BB Squadrons are designated “world/clarissmi” level; most such units are drawn from the “auxilia” or are drawn from the non-fighting support elements of a BB Squadron. Provincial BB Squadrons tend to remain within their Provinces and Prefecturial BB Squadrons tend to remain within their Prefectures. These are the “reserve” BB Squadrons; their equipment is often older and less capable than Line BB Squadrons, but just as often they use state-of-the-art warships in shakedown tours prior to handing them over to Line BB Squadrons.

Line Squadrons are often part of Battleship or Carrier Groups that are part of larger fleets (most commonly named for the District they operate in, though other National-level fleet types do exist; see APPENDIX III: Note on average planetary population for more details).