Imperial Armed Forces (3125–3321)


 * Not to be confused with the Holy Imperial Military

His Majesty's Imperial Armed Forces of the Empire (Narik: Zijne Majesteit Reitung Leger van der Imperia) were the armed forces of the Narikatonite Empire. They consisted of four branches: the Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Air Force and the Imperial Colonial Corps. All recruits swore an oath to protect both the Emperor and the Empire. They were one of the most dangerous armed forces of which to be a member of numerous times througout their history, and suffered severe losses during its relatively short but turbulent history.

All recruits to the Imperial Armed Forces had to be of Nariki or Jewish ethnic origin, and be a practising Lutheran protestant or Jew. They were a conscripted force, and all Narikatonite males had to serve 2 years in the military following their 18th birthday, after which he remained a reserve liable for call-up at any time for the next 6 years. The Imperial Armed Forces were been in a permanent state of war with Darnussia ever since the breakout of the First Narik War in 3125 until the Second Migrant Treaty in 3230. During the period between 3145-3175, the Imperial Armed Forces were considered one of the greatest militaries in the world. However, following their humiliating and devastating defeat in the Second Narik War, that reputation lay in tatters, and the quality of the Imperial Armed Forces continued to decline as the Republican Armed Forces grew.

Soon, in accordance with the Second Migrant Threaty, they were limited to 1 million men and had to scrap their nuclear arms program. In 3132, they were deployed to the Darnussian Republic to help the pro-treaty forces in the Third Darnussian Civil War. When the Narikatonite Empire merged with Darnussia in 3321, they became the Imperial Armed Forces of the Commonwealth.

Imperial Army
The Imperial Army of the Empire (IA) were the ground forces of the Imperial Armed Forces. They were the largest branch of the Imperial Forces, consisting of 1,073,000 men and officers. Their primary task was to protect and defend the Narikatonite Empire, specificially from the ground, but there were Army warplanes available. They were equipped with Hulstrian and Luthorian arms and weaponry. The Imperial Army had 3,500 main battle tanks, 3,300 armoured personnel carriers, 1,100 infantry fighting vehicles, and 17,000 artillery pieces at their peak strength in 3196. These were once top of the range, but soon were old and out-of-date.

They were descended from the Darnussian Army of the Second Darnussian Democratic Republic, and were renamed and transformed following independence in 3125, upon which around 35% of the new Imperial Army split and joined the Darnussians as the Free Darnussian Army. The new Imperial Army was shipped immediately to the Darnussian mainland to secure it for the Empire, and fought the long, bloody First Narik War, after which it came out on top. It fought a counter-guerilla campaign during which 3,934 IA troops were killed by Darnussian forces during the Dirty War. The IA withdrew from the mainland in 3155, but was called back in 3178 following the outbreak of the Second Narik War. It was here they bore the brunt of the war, and suffered massive casualties, with up to 230,000 dead. They were humiliatingly defeated in 3193, and found themselves based on the islands, waiting for a Darnussian attack during The Tensions. During the Third Darnussian Civil War, they were deployed as peacekeeping troops in the Republic.

Imperial Army Reserves
The Imperial Army reserves generally consisted of men aged 20-26 who finished their 2 years compulsory active military service, after which they were required to serve 6 years in the Imperial Army Reserves. All men were liable to be called-up to fight whenever they were needed, and each man had an army-issue rifle and handgun kept at home, and had to train with their local platoon every week. After serving 6 years, they could leave the reserves. This force contained 1,514,580 men at its peak strength in 3208. Any man of Nariki or Jewish ethnic origin and Lutheran or Jewish faith between the ages of 20-35 could join the reserves as a volunteer.

Imperial Navy
The Imperial Navy was the naval branch of the IAF. At its peak strength, it numbered 207,000 sailors

Imperial Air Force
84,000

Imperial Colonial Corps
39,000