Méharis

Méharis (Rahelian: ماهآرين, mahārin) were mounted infantry that existed for several centuries during different periods of Beheran history, often utilised for different roles in the Ténéré. Their name comes from the Rahelian word for a particular fast-running breed of dromedary camel known as the méhari. Although the Beheiran Armed Forces no longer makes use of mounted infantry or cavalry that uses camels, the name can be used to denote those operating in a reconnaissance capacity within the armed forces. In addition, the National Gendarmerie maintains several small units of mounted gendarmes known as the Patrouilles méharistes for use to access remote communities in the north and central areas of Behera.

History

Camels had long been used by Amazigh and Aswad peoples within the desert environments of northern Behera primarily for transporting goods and people as trade caravans and by camel and cattle herders. Increasingly due to conflicts with Rahelian bandits in the west, Amazigh caravans often employed mounted warriors with spears and later, with bows and arrows. These would often protect caravans through engaging mounted enemies, with Méharis coming into existence in the late antiquity period, often as hired mercenaries.

Méharis would first come into contact with the Muharamites between 682 and 686 CE, when the latter expanded their campaign of conquest into northern Behera. Often avoiding direct contact, Amazigh tactics were to use Méharis as scouts, often utilising local knowledge of the terrain in any given area to launch raids against Muharamite camps as well as columns, particularly infantry columns in which hit and run tactics were especially effective. However, due to their mercenary nature, Méharis were often unreliable, and various groups centred around single leaders would switch sides, the Muharamites often succeeding in bribing Méharis to have them fight for them, or to not harass their supply trains. Among these commanders was Amessan, who successfully resisted the Muharamites until his death in 702 CE.

Méharis formed a significant component of the Muharamite and later, Amassinid cavalry that began to be pitted against Rahelian raiding parties and later, invading armies. Often used as scouts, Méharis abandoned their mercenary tendencies and became fully integrated within the Muharamite state, although many units would rebel against the Muharamite masters during periodical Amazigh rebellions. Méharis would remain unchanged throughout the Muharamite and Amassinid periods, as well as through the Irnuhani period.

The Usemids would change the use of Méharis for decades and would ultimately lay down the foundations for their use as mounted infantry rather than as cavalry. From around 1726 onwards, Méharis were both trained in the use of weapons while mounted and while dismounted, the latter was expected to be the typical way in which Méharis fought. This was due to the increasing prevalence of firearms, and from 1727, the Usemids would begin adopting the Moukahla, which were more effective when fired on foot. Outside of tactical changes, Méharis also became formal military units under the Usemids and with that came a change in the ethnic composition of many Méhari units raised. Until the early 18th century, Méharis were primarily Amazigh mercenaries. Following the end of the First Dynastic War, Méharis were primarily drawn from Rahelian, Katul, or Hazama peoples, owing to the Amazigh siding with the Irnuhani. Qamar I retained these units during the Second Dynastic War, when the Irnuhani were finally defeated. Under Qamar II, these units were expanded and put to use in the Ténéré in order to pacify the Amazigh. Two units would become part of the Royal Guard; the Miaya or Hundred, and the Black Guard.

Méharis would gain international recognition during the War of the Desert between 1887 and 1890, where they were effective at delaying the Gaullican advance through the Hajjar Mountains, the Gaullicans noting their effective tactics. During the Battle of Zida, a massed Méhari charge successfully defeated a charge of Gaullican spahi light cavalry, with General Emmanuel D'Aramitz making comparisons to massed cavalry charges from wars in Euclea. Méharis would also subsequently conduct cavalry style charges against Gaullian and colonial Rahelian forces at the battles of El Boussaï and Messouma, the latter significantly depleting the ability for the Usemids to field Méharis. After the Siege of Afrar, Méharis did not feature in any subsequent battles and skirmishes before the Usemid dynasty finally ended in August 1890 following the capture of Amassine.

The Ahmadi Sultanate continued the tradition of fielding Méharis, with the Gaullican colonial authorities using them for long distance patrols along Behera's frontiers, as well as policing in the desert regions of the Ténéré, particularly in northern Behera. As under the Usemids, the Méharis were drawn from a variety of ethnic groups and peoples, and also included Amazigh. With Gaullican military officers and advisors now permanently stationed in Behera, the Ahmadi sultanate made modernisations to the composition of the army alongside introducing more modern weaponry. Méharis were formalised into regiments with unique substructures but were regarded initially as cavalry, before reverting to the more typical mounted infantry. In addition to traditional weaponry, modern rifles and sidearms were introduced into Méhari units, although traditional weapons were kept alongside modern ones, and some irregular units were exclusively equipped with these weapons. Experiments in the late 1890's saw some units equipped with cavalry lances, but these were largely kept for ceremonial use.

Méharis saw combat during the Great War, with a number of regular and irregular forces committed to the fighting in the Ténéré. Although more effective than horse cavalry, the Méharis proved vulnerable to more modern warfare tactics, including the use of aircraft, where Méhari columns and camps often came under attack from Estmerish aircraft operating from bases in southern Sohar. During this conflict, Méharis operated as long range raiders and as scouts, relying on being supplied from depots in oases dotted across the Ténéré, as well as supplies brought along the Trans-Bahian Railway. With technology ultimately progressing beyond what the Méharis could be expected to fight, the sultanate began disbanding formal Méharis as part of the rebuilding of the armed forces in 1937.

Méharis would still see combat as irregular forces during the Solarian War and as supporting units for the National Gendarmerie in the domestic conflicts afterwards, with the ''Patrouilles méharistes'' utilised for remote policing and border control to the present day.

Structure

Historical

As Méharis were mercenaries for the majority of their existence, they did not possess any kind of inherent structure to them, often operating in loose groups typically composed of 20-30 individual riders. Massed formations could be formed if enough were under the employ of the king or sultan at the time.

Under the Usemids, a basic structure for Méharis began to be developed. By the mid-18th century, Méharis were divided into three basic formations: ashrat, composed of ten riders, khamsun of fifty, and khamsuniyah of five hundred riders. The first two formations would be the most used, as typically only about fifty Méharis could be expected to be fielded at any one time. Only during certain pitched battles, especially during the Second Dynastic War and the War of the Desert, was the khamsuniyah ever fielded, famously during the Battle of Zida in 1888.

The Gaullicans would subsequently engage in slight modifications to the Usemid structure during their rule in Behera. Beginning from 1895, Méharis were organised along Euclean cavalry lines, with Méharis divided into regiments, squadrons, and troops, the latter being the smallest formation. Méhari regiments never exceeded 500 riders However, troops were increased in size from ten to twenty riders, with two to four troops forming a squadron. This structure remained unique to Behera, as Gaullican colonial cavalry units stationed in other colonies in northern Coius had their camel cavalry structured more along traditional Euclean cavalry formations. The ''Corps Méharistes'' totalled about 1,500 riders at any one time, and did not include Euclean Méharis that were composed entirely of Euclean riders. By the Great War, the Corps consisted of the 1st, 3rd, and 8th Regiments as well as two independent formations constituting a ceremonial mounted formation for the Royal Guard.

Modern

Méharis were generally abandoned after the Great War as military technology having rendered their combat capabilities obsolete, and the reforming Army opted for more modern reconnaissance and light infantry methods, including the use of motor vehicles and aircraft to replace cavalry. Between 1937 and 1948, no Méhari units were raised, and cavalry units were gradually converted into armoured reconnaissance or armoured units within the Royal Beheran Army.

In 1950, the Beheran government created the Royal Gendarmerie, whose task was to provide security and policing in rural areas as well as secure Behera's borders, especially with the outbreak of conflicts in former Euclean colonies bordering the sultanate. These were referred to as Patrouilles méharistes and while initial plans were to create a pre-war regimental strength, it was decided to instead to raise a unit of 150 riders and support personnel. The Patrouilles méharistes was used to support the military on long range patrols along Behera's northern borders, as well as engage in counter-insurgency operations, particularly in the Ténéré and in the Hajjar Mountains. These were again divided into subdivisions typical of cavalry units, with troops and squadrons naming smaller subunits ranging from ten to fifty riders each. The unit as a whole was referred to as a regiment, but was not titled as such.

Since 2015, there have been plans to expand the Patrouilles méharistes from one regiment to three for a total of 450 personnel.

Equipment

Firearms

Firearms were adopted by the Méharis from the early 17th century onwards and had become standard issue during the reforms under Qamar II. For just over a century, the Moukahla was the preferred firearm of the Méharis in addition to imported muskets issued by the government. These were used effectively in domestic conflicts and uprisings, but were completely outclassed by the beginning of the War of the Desert, where Méhari flintlock muskets suffered from inferior accuracy and reload time compared with the breach and bolt action rifles, particularly the Modèle 1874 and Modèle 1886 rifles in service with Gaullican forces.

From 1895, the Gaullicans began issuing Modèle 1874 to Méhari regiments reformed or raised locally. Although the rifle had subsequently been superseded in Gaullican service, the Méharis nonetheless benefitted from the increase in firepower and accuracy. Modèle 1886 and Modèle 1907 rifles would also be adopted, the latter in moderate numbers from 1920. Older rifles subsequently found their way into irregular Méhari and were used alongside the Moukahla during the Great War.

Werania would supply a large number of firearms and other weapons to the Royal Beheran Army during its rebuilding phase and subsequent protectorate period. These were mostly weapons that were surplus to requirements or had been supplanted in service by newer models. Many of these would pass into use by the Royal Gendarmerie which founded new Méhari units from 1950. Among the rifles that would enter service with the Méharis included G98 and K98 rifles, the latter received through both stocks handed over to Behera after Weranian soldiers were withdrawn as well as military aid from Kirenia.

The establishment of the socialist republic in 1960 allowed for more firearms to be passed onto Méhari units in the renamed National Gendarmerie, these being the AK-47 and AKM rifles, both of which continue to serve today in the Patrouilles méharistes.

Although Méhari units in service with the National Gendarmerie are equipped with modern firearms, they are not issued sidearms as standard. Despite this, many of those serving in those units acquired handguns either through the private market or captured from bandits and criminals.

Spears

The zaġāya for centuries was one of the many weapons utilised by Méharis prior to and after the introduction of firearms into service. It is a throwing spear and was used by Méharis to kill or maim the riders or their mounts when fighting mounted enemies. If Méhari engaged infantry on foot, the zaġāya would be used in the same way as a lance. From the Amassinid period until the Usemid period, two variations of the zaġāya were made; one shorter to be thrown against mounted targets and sometimes targets on foot, and a long one to be used as a lance.

Under the Usemids, the zaġāya became more akin to a lance rather than a spear, and remained this way until after the conquest of Behera following the War of the Desert. Gaullicans reforming the Méharis after the War of the Desert reconsidered the use of the zaġāya with the intent on replacing it with Euclean cavalry lances, but instead formally retired the zaġāya from non-ceremonial use by 1920. Nevertheless, the zaġāya remained in use with irregular units well into the 1940's, seeing use during both the Great War and Solarian War.

Swords

Swords have traditionally been the primary weapon used by Méharis during the centuries of involvement within Behera's internal and external conflicts, and have often denoted the different ethnicities of different units. Units raised in the north and west were typically armed with either the sekkine or the nimcha, the latter more common among units raised in the Ténéré and the Hajjar. From the First and Second Dynastic Wars onwards, units were raised further afield in Behera, including from central regions and the far south. Central Beheran Méharis were equipped with the kaskara, and units from Makania were armed with the takoba.

All four sword types equipped Méhari units throughout the 17th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, even during the Great War and utilised by irregular Méhari units during the Solarian War. It was not unusual for Méhari to carry multiple swords at once; one traditional sword and one combat sword. Swords are still carried by the Patrouilles méharistes, but are only kept for ceremonial purposes.

Current Status

Outside the Patrouilles méharistes, who part of the National Gendarmerie, no formal units of Méharis have been raised or continue to serve in the Beheran Armed Forces. Similar irregular units who utilise camels can be found in the former Djandjaouïde militia, now referred to as the Police Auxiliaries. These units operate with no fixed structure and independently within the Police Auxiliaries. As with the Patrouilles méharistes, they are all-volunteer units.