Huscarle forces in my GTU

[FullBorg]

In the overall sketch, with a couple of major exceptions, running pretty close to GT:Nobles

- Archdukes get a full division, with one major exception
- Dukes get a brigade-sized formation, again with one major exception
- Counts get battalions
- Marquises and barons get companies

The first major exception is the Emperor, aka Archduke of Sylea. The Imperial Guard is collectively and legally considered the Emperor's Own Huscarles, with the Archduke of Sylea seconding their huscarle troops. As there is yet to be a seperation of the two titles between different people, it hasn't been a problem.

The Imperial Guard is composed of:
1 (Domain) Guard regiment for each Domain of the Imperium, Sylea, Vland, Illelish, Antares, Sol, Gateway and Deneb, drawn from Unified Army troops in those Domains
1 Marine Guard division drawn from jarheads Imperium-wide
1 Naval Infantry Guard regiment drawn from naval infantry Imperium-wide
1 Aslan Guard regiment, drawn from Imperial Aslan troops, Imperium-wide, without regard to branch of service
1 Vargr Guard regiment, drawn from Imperial Vargr troops, Imperium-wide, without regard to branch of service
The Archduke of Sylea's Own Huscarles - troops recruited directly by HG the Archduke, as opposed to the more "professional" selection the other formations undergo. Reinforced division size, appropriate to their attached noble's status as primus inter pares.

That makes two unitary divisions (Marine Guard, Archduke's Own) and 10 independent unitary regiments. Divisional assignments for the unitary regiments are fairly fluid, but usually the Naval Infantry Guard fights under the command of the Marine Guard when deployed, an ironic inversion of the relationship their parent services have.

The other archducal exception is the Archduchy of Deneb - as at IY 1145, His Grace Archduke Norris of Deneb has chosen to retain his brigade-sized huscarle force.

The single glaring ducal exception is way out in the Spinward Marches, in the Five Sisters subsector (under noble administration IMGTU) Due to the subsector being exclaved from the body of the Imperium proper, the Duke of Five Sisters' Own Huscarles dwarfs the other Archducal huscarle forces combined, in both sheer size, and in technology level.

The DoFSOH consists of approximately twenty two divisions arranged in an six-corps structure, with four prestige, independent divisional assigments, competed for among the component divisions on a semi-regular basis, and various independent formations and units. Rumours of a Jump Lawyer Battalion are completely scurrilous and unfounded.

The DoFSOH is unusual in maintaining jump cavalry formations - analagous to jump infantry who jump out of perfectly good starships, jump cavalry drive out and go balls to the wall to the planet below.

Why is a mere subsector duke permitted a force dwarfing the Imperial Guard?

The official reasons given cover the subsector's exclave status, and a reward for centuries of loyal service by succeeding dukes, but the patent of nobility is somewhat vague on the matter.

[TheElf]

DoFSOH looks like an acronym for Duke of Five Sisters' Own Huscarles, right?

Can you post a quick introductury thread to tell us more about the setting?

[FullBorg]

Well, modulo the Five Sisters being under noble instead of naval administration, and a stack more Whipsnades, is pretty close to the canonical GURPS Traveller universe.

The distinction between a military unit and a military formation is exactly the same as in real life - a formation is expected to independently stand in the main line of battle if needed, while a unit is not expected to.

[TheElf]

- Archdukes get a full division, with one major exception
- Dukes get a brigade-sized formation, again with one major exception
- Counts get battalions
- Marquises and barons get companies

You identify these formations by calling them regiments, divisions, brigades, battalions, companies. But we don't know how big a such formation is in that setting, what kinds of equipment they can have.

[FullBorg]

Ok, as per GT: Ground Forces, here's the loadout of a Lift Infantry division that forms the basis for most of the archducal huscarle forces.

GT:GF p30, "Divisions are made up of three combat brigades, plus an additional artillery battalion and additional specialised support units."

The core Lift Infantry brigade has the following:
1 Brigade Command Detachment
Command section - 89 soldiers including colonels, sar-majors and their staffs, riding in 15 Astrin grav APCs with their gear
HQ Company - 10 soldiers, usually hitching lifts
Scout Platoon - Go sneak in and take a look-see. 45 soldiers.
Security Section - Stop them buggering our command structure up. 85 troops overall, 3 air/space defence vehicles and an EW-variant Astrin
Nuclear Damper Section - These guys protect the brigade's assets from direct nuclear attack with their four damper-variant Astrins. 20 soldiers
Food Service Platoon - Got grub? These guys handle long term food service logistics, and cater to the bossman's tastes. 25 soldiers

Total Brigade command loadout: 274 soldiers

3 Lift Infantry Battalions
Consisting of:
1 HQ & HQ Company
Command Section - Like the brigade command, but at the lower battalion echelon. Bossman, his senior NCO, XO, etc. 56 soldiers, 7 Command-variant Astrins.
HQ Company - Support facilities at battalion level. Medical, scout, maintenance and supply platoons. 72 soldiers, in 11 air/rafts, 1 unarmed Astrin, five G-carriers, two heavy recovery vehicles and a field kitchen.

3 Lift Infantry Companies
The backbone of the LI battalion, they have 3 LI platoons and an HQ platoon.
1 HQ Platoon - Commander, XO, his senior NCO, etc. 10 soldiers, in two Astrins and one G-carrier.
3 Lift Infantry Platoons - 48 troops riding in 4 Astrins.

Lift Infantry Company loadout: 154 per company

1 Fire Support Company - The battalion's heavy hitters, 58 soldiers split among 2 Bergstrom light grav tanks and a G-carrier in the command section, and another 12 Bergstroms to deliver smackdown.

Total Lift Infantry Battalion loadout: 648 soldiers


1 Grav Tank Squadron
The arm of decision, the brigade-level heavy hitters. Cavalry is usually kept in reserve to exploit breakthroughs - ever heard a tank go supersonic?

Armour's god complex has resulted in them using variant unit names. Squadron = battalion, troop = company.

Consists of:
1 HQ & HQ Troop
Command section - Bossman, exec, senior NCO, total of 35 troops. 2 Intrepid main battle tanks for bossman and exec, 5 Command-variant Astrins for everyone else.
HQ Troop - Includes a small HQ element, squadron medical station, maintenance section, scout platoon and food services. 92 soldiers, split among 1 Astrin, 2 ambulance-variant G-carriers, 2 regular G-carriers, 1 food-services variant G-carrier, 4 heavy recovery vehicles and 8 air/rafts.

3 Grav Tank Troops
Consists of:
HQ Platoon - Troop commander and XO boss their own Intrepid main battle tanks, while first and supply sergeants boss Astrins. 18 troops total.
3 Grav Tank Platoons - Four Intrepid MBT, 16 tankers. Vehicle crews handle basic maintenance out in the field.

Total Grav Tank Troop loadout: 66 soldiers.

Total Grav Tank Squadron loadout: 325 soldiers.


1 Lift Artillery Battalion
If infantry is the queen of battle, arty is the king. And we all know what the king does to the queen.
Consists of:
1 HQ & HQ Battery
Command section - Bossman and senior NCO command Command-variant Astrins, while the XO commands a Fire Direction model. 20 soldiers.
HQ Battery - Medical, electronic warfare, fire control, and supply platoons. 56 troops, split among 1 regular Astrin, 4 EW-variant Astrins, 10 air-rafts, 2 regular G-carriers, and 1 food-services variant G-carrier.

2 Missile Batteries
Guided rocket artillery has been the mainstay of Imperial forces for centuries, only recently starting to give way to the awesome destructive flexibility of the Terrapin meson sled.
Consists of:
1 HQ Platoon - CO, XO, in Fire Direction-variant Astrins, SNCO in G-carrier. 12 troops total.
3 Artillery Section - 3 Sunburst missile sleds and 1 Fire-Direction variant Astrin. 21 troops total.

Total missile battery loadout: 75 troops.

1 Meson Battery
Terrapins first hit the battlefield in the late 1000s, and quickly earned their place. Terrain cannot block its shots, and they cannot be intercepted. Often, the first clue of an attack is when everything around the target up and explodes. This has led to Terrapins often topping enemy target lists, with their crews developing graveyard humour to match.
Consists of:
1 HQ Platoon, loaded out like the missile battery.
3 Artillery Section - 2 Terrapin meson sleds and 1 Fire-Direction variant Astrin. 17 troops total.

Total meson battery loadout: 63 troops.

1 Support Battery
All those vehicles, in combat, means things get broken. The line between officer and enlisted is blurriest here, with officers up to the battalion commander often pitching in.
1 Command section - Bossman, XO, SNCO, and three G-carriers. 9 troops total.
1 Maintenance section - Heavy lifting, done here. 60 NCOs and other ranks, 5 heavy recovery vehicles and 5 G-carriers.
3 Support section - Dogsbodies of the support battalion, these guys go anywhere and do anything. 5 G-carriers, each carrying two loaders cross-trained as mechanics. 10 troops total.

Total service battery loadout: 99 troops.

Total Lift Artillery battalion loadout: 388 troops


1 Support Battalion
These guys provide the 101 miscellaneous but essential services to keep the brigade going, from salvaging armoured vehicles to criminal investigation.
Consists of:
1 HQ & HQ Company - Much smaller than the combat units' HQ elements due to the services provided being part of the support battalions' normal duties.
Command section - CO and XO command Command-variant Astrins, while the sar-major works miracles in his air/raft. Total 9 troops
HQ company - 6 more miracle workers in a regular Astrin.

1 Engineer Company
Combat engineers, although known to defend their works ferociously, are not suited to building long term structures. Laying & clearing mines, field fortifications, and light construction are their specialties.
Consists of:
1 Command Section - Three Astrins, CO, XO & SNCO. The supply sergeant and 17 additional troops bring it up to 21 troops.
3 Engineer Platoon - 34 engineers, split among 3 Rusto engineering sleeds and 3 heavy G-carriers.

Total engineer company loadout: 123 troops.

1 Brigade Field Hospital
MASH in the 57th century AD.
Consists of:
1 HQ - The colonel commanding the hospital, who has the authority to countermand fighting commanders in medical matters, his XO, and 8 admin troops.
1 Surgical unit - 20 noncombatant surgeons.
1 General Medical unit - Deals with other non-surgical matters, such as infectious diseases, ensuring checkups are done, etc. 40 doctors, nurses and medics.
1 Field Hygeine & Sanitation unit - Maintains clean water supplies, latrines, etc, as well as working with locals to improve conditions - a very thankless job. 7 troops.
1 Support unit - 35 troops covering everything from grub, maintenance to stretcher-bearers.

Total field hospital loadout: 112 troops.

1 Maintenance Company
When the line units have broke it beyond the point they can't fix it, they send it up to brigade maintenance. Also maintains brigade-level equipment.
Consists of:
1 HQ section - CO, XO, SNCO, each with an air/raft, and 9 more troops, split among two G-carriers.
1 Mechanic Shop - 110 mechanics and 10 heavy G-carriers loaded out as mobile workshops.
3 Recovery sections - 26 troops split among 4 heavy recovery vehicles and a supporting G-carrier.

Total maintenance company loadout: 200 troops

1 Logistics Company
"Keep 'em Rollin!" Legendary supply sergeants are often born here, and it's often questionable who actually runs the logistics company, the supply sergeant or the nominal CO.
1 HQ section - CO, supply sergeant, 6 troops, among 4 air/rafts.
1 Warehousing Platoon - Organises supply depots and allocation, 8 troops.
3 Transport Platoons - 12 massive Teamster heavy carriers and their drivers, able to transport the tons of resupply that a combat brigade needs daily.

Total logistics company loadout: 52 troops

1 Military Police Company
Enforcing the Army's laws and investigating crimes committed at army facilities, the 48 soldiers are often overwhelmed by the scale of their expected task.
Consists of:
1 HQ section - CO, XO, SNCO, total 9 troops, split among 3 air/rafts and 1 prisoner transport G-carrier.
1 Watch HQ - Co-ordinates policing and, in the field, traffic control. 3 troops.
3 Watch Sections - 10 military coppers with 4 air/rafts modified for military policing.
1 Criminal Investigations Platoon - 4 detectives, 2 forensic technicians, investigating crimes against personnel or property.

Total MP loadout: 48 troops.

1 Food Services Company:
Backending the battalion field kitchens, the brigade food services company also has to source food locally when possible, and sort out the commander's grub. While Army food will always be Army food, the 36 soldiers here do their damndest under difficult conditions.
Consists of:
1 HQ section - CO and 5 cooks, travelling in either air/rafts or G-carriers.
6 Kitchen sections - 5 cooks and a G-carrier carrying a field kitchen. Often rotated forwards to assist battalion kitchens.

Total food services loadout: 36 troops.

Total support battalion loadout: 486 troops

Total combat brigade loadout: 3417 troops.

[TheElf]

With a duke having access to about 3400 people in his huscarle forces, and they should look after a pretty huge area with a lot of people there (with potential weapons), I would like to ask: What limits the size of such armies? Some resources needed to maintain them are rare? Some law?

[FullBorg]

That's rough size for ducal huscarle forces, yes. Major limits are custom, the governing patent of nobility, the noble's peers, and their pocketbook, since the noble is responsible for recruiting, equipping, training and upkeep unless their huscarles are federalised, usually into the nearest Unified Army.

Looking at a brigade-sized unit hired out by Five Sisters Aggressor Command, the state-sponsored mercenary unit maintained by the Duchy of Five Sisters to use Zhodani equipment and tactics in exercises against regular Imperial forces, we get, per GT: Star Mercs:

Lower limit on upkeep, exclusive of personnel salaries: Cr 400/month/critter
Lower limit on upkeep, brigade total: Cr 1,366,800/month

All figures below are exclusive of personnel salaries

Brigade Command Detachment:
20 Technical soldiers, Cr 1000 ea
12 air defence crew, Cr 3000 ea
244 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea

Subtotal: Cr 153,600
Unit has organic grav transport assets: x4 cost
BCD hire total: Cr 614,400/mo


Lift Infantry Battalion
HHC
56 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea
HQ - 6 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea
Medical - 11 medical soldiers, Cr 1000 ea
Scout - 24 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea
Maintenance - 22 technical soldiers, Cr 1000 ea
Supply - 10 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea

Subtotal: 71,400
Unit has organic grav transport assets:
LI Battalion HHC hire total: Cr 285,600/mo

Lift Infantry Company
HQ Platoon - 10 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea
LI Platoon - 46 footsloggers, Cr 400 ea, 2 medical, Cr 1000 ea

Subtotal - Cr 65,200/mo
Unit has organic grav transport assets
LI Company hire total: Cr 260,800/mo

Fire Support Company
HQ - 8 light cavalry, Cr 5000 ea, 2 grav transport, Cr 2000 ea
Fire support platoon - 12 light cavalry, Cr 5000 ea

Subtotal - Cr 284,000/mo
Unit is light armour: x5 cost
Fire support company hire total: Cr 1,420,000/mo

Total LI battalion hire cost: Cr 2,488,000/mo

[TheElf]

So it depends a lot on economy? And you say salaries aren't included... how important such salarias would be?

[FullBorg]

Since salaries depend on both rank and time in service, it varies.

[TheElf]

So no "average" that can be used to see how important it is?