Army of the Syaran Republic

Army of the Syaran Republic
Армија на Република Сијар
Insignia of the ARS
Motto	If not us, then who?
Founded	10 August 1875
Disbanded	1 January 1988
Headquarters	Zovahr
Leadership
President of the Syaran Republic	Krunislav Mircevski (last)
Minister of Defense	Dako Yordanov Valerieva (last)
General of the Army	Hristofor Razvigorov (last)
Personnel
Military age	17–50
Conscription	Yes, during wartime
Active personnel	4,000,000 (1918) 7,500,000 (1937)
Related articles
History	Syaran-Ruvelkan War Syaran intervention in the Ruvelkan Civil War Divide War Siduri War Refusal War

The Army of the Syaran Republic (Syaran: Армија на Република Сијар; Armija na Republika Sijar or ARS) was the unified land and air forces of the Republic of Syara from 1875 to 1988. The ARS consisted of both land and air forces, with the Navy of the Syaran Republic operating as it's own branch; together they formed the Armed Forces of the Syaran Republic. The ASR replaced the various professional and volunteer armies of Syara's realm of the pre-unification era, though remained composed heavily of Makedonian and Galanian officers.

The ARS was officially formed on 10 August 1875, three months after the Conference of Pella. In the early years of its existence the ARS remained largely focused on territorial defense, but the rising instability in neighboring Ruvelka led to the continued expansion of the Army beginning in the 20th century. Following the outbreak of the Ruvelkan Civil War, a Syaran expeditionary force was deployed to Ruvelka to seize control of vital strategic areas. Syaran intervention quickly ended following the outbreak of the Divide War, which forced the ARS to rapidly re-deploy and defend the capital of Zovahr from invading Cacertian forces. Over 4 million Syaran troops served during the Divide War, eventually succeeding to pushing Cacertian forces out of Syara.

In the interwar years the ASR modernized, developing and fielding increasing numbers of tanks, artillery, and aircraft. In 1934 Syara invaded Ruvelka, kicking off the Siduri War. Syara subsequently invaded Quenmin and the Kingdom of Tennai. Syara's usage of the Measured Battle Doctrine, which emphasized slow moving large scale offensives supported by heavy artillery barrages proved unable to cope with Common Axis combined arms tactics, as did the Inner Sphere's industrial capacity. By 1937 momentum had swung wholly against Syara and the Republic was forced to surrender in 1938. Over the course of the Siduri War the Army of the Syaran Republic fielded some 14,000,000 men; approximately half of whom were killed or captured.

In the post-war years the ARS remained small and focused mostly on internal affairs, never rising above 500,000 men in uniform. Following the rise of the Wardens many military personnel defected from the army, although much of the officer corps remained loyal to the Monarchies of Galania and Makedon. The ARS was officially dissolved at the end of the Refusal War and along with the Syaran Navy reformed as the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces.

Structure

The Army of the Syaran Republic, along with the Navy of the Syaran Republic, fell under the Republic's Ministry of Defense, with it's commander-in-chief being the President of Syara. Under the Ministry of Defense was the Supreme Headquarters of the Syaran Army, effectively the highest operational command of the ARS. The highest ranking military personnel was the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters, who led the Supreme Headquarters Staff, composed of the leaders of the various departments of the ARS. This included the Department of Personnel, Department of Forces, Department of Resources (Equipment procurement and design), Department of the Army Air Corps (created in 1914), Department of Operations, Department of Intelligence, Department of Doctrine and Training, Department of Engineering and Construction, Department of Administration and Services, and Department of Judicual and Legal Affairs.

Beneath the Supreme Headquarters, the structure and organization of the ARS varied depending on whether there was war or peace. During peacetime the ARS was divided into regional commands in designated geographic areas throughout Syara. In 1875 shortly after the Unification of Syara this formed four corps in each Realm; this was later raised to six after the Syaran-Ruvelkan War. In 1928 in light of rapid expansion in the lead up to the Siduri War, regional commands were replaced by designated field armies spread across Syara. After the Siduri War the ARS reverted to garrison formations centered around regional commands, a practice that continued until the ARS shattered upon the outbreak of the Refusal War.

During wartime the ARS was structured into Army Groups. Between 1875-1930 these were named after their commanding officers (Army Group Yaponski) out of convienance, but following the revival of Syaran nationalism after the Divide War Army Groups were designated with letters of the Hellenic Alphabet (Army Group Alpha, Beta, Gamma, so forth). Army Groups were composed of several armies and were restructured and renamed during the Siduri War as events progressed; some were also composed of Allamunnic forces as well. Under each army was 2-5 corps, which were each composed of 2-6 divisions.

The Syarans did not follow a consistent naming convention for their divisional and regimental formations, to the confusion of allies and enemies alike. Divisions composed primarily of infantry could be known as an Infantry division, a Light Mechanized Division, a Motorized Division, a Light Motorized Division, or a Heavy Infantry Division with little changes to equipment or organization. The same went for Syaran Light Cavalry, Cavalry, Mechanized, Armored, Semi-Mechanized, or Motorized Infantry Divisions. Another type of infantry, a Sibko Division composed of ethnic Hayern soldiers, were considered among the most motivated and fierce soldiers the Inner Sphere fielded.

Virtually all Syaran divisions were "square" divisions, composed of four maneuver regiments each of four battalions. These were well suited towards intense, extended combat, but proved difficult to man towards the end of the Siduri War and many regiments were reduced to three battalions. Divisions also included an artillery regiment, a signal regiment, a transportation regiment, a medical regiment, an engineering regiment, and a maintenance regiment. Independent regiments of artillery, engineers, medical personnel, and other support staff were also common and typically assigned to the corps and army level as needed.

In the decades after the Siduri War the ARS adjusted its organization, adopting triangular divisions for its armored forces while retaining the square standard for mechanized and motorized divisions.

Doctrine and tactics

The ARS's doctrine underwent several changes throughout history. In the immediate years after the Unification of Syara the ARS was heavily influenced by Makedonian practices exemplified by the Ruvelkan-Makedonian War, where fast moving columns of infantry supported by artillery batteries converged on enemy formations. This methodolgy, which had routed the Ruvelkan Red Army in 1873, proved ineffective against the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic in 1907, where machineguns, trenches, and heavy artillery resulted in an extended war of attrition. Similar circumstances less than a decade later during the Desopya Campaign of the Divide War resulted in a re-evaluation of Syaran doctrine, which led to the development of the Measured Battle Doctrine.

Measured Battle Doctrine rejected the concept of the decisive breakthrough as thought of by the military minds of Cacerta, Acrea, and Æþurheim, believing that modern armies were too large and modern communications rendered a breakthrough doomed to be swarmed by oncoming enemy reinforcements. Rather than attempting to focus on isolated breaches in enemy lines, Measured Battle Doctrine dictated a continuous, steady rate of advance against an enemy force, overwhelming them with firepower and a constant assault meant to wear down their ability to resist. This required much from Syaran infantry, whom underwent rigorous training and practice as a result. Measured Battle Doctrine further posited that the distinction between defense and offense had become blurred as a result of modern tactics and communication, and thus Syaran forces had to be able to switch rapidly between attacking and defending. This required close coordination between Syaran infantry, artillery, and armor, and thus thorough communication was stressed at every level.

Air power and armor were both envisioned in purely tactical, rather than operational or strategic, roles and purposes. Lacking strategic bombers, the Syaran Army Air Corps was primarily focused on medium bombers and fighters meant to support the ARS while preventing the enemy from achieving air superiority. Syaran inexperience with armored operations left Syaran tanks with either two roles, infantry support or tank-on-tank combat. Syaran armor proved poorly suited to either; Syaran infantry tanks were lightly armed and armored and thus were no match for Common Axis armor, while Syaran armored formations were large, unwieldy units of 400 or more tanks that consumed resources and maintenance personnel while remaining operational inflexibile.

As a method of war, Measured Battle Doctrine was outdated by the time it was put into practice. Against the outnumbered and outclassed Ruvelkans, the ARS performed fine, but against the heavily mechanized armies of the Common Axis it proved insufficient. Syaran assumptions that the decisive breakthrough was not possible were proven wrong with the advent of motorized infantry and independent mobile armored formations. Against numerically superior forces the lack of force concentration, and as a result the limited ability to perform a defeat-in-detail, crippled the ARS's ability to inflict decisive defeats against its opponents. As the Common Axis's armored warfare became increasingly tested and refined, Measured Battle Doctrine proved ineffective at combatting the armored spearheads that became the staple of Cacertian and Quenminese offensives. While Syaran infantry and artillery remained potent forces, they could not overcome the inherent flaws in their doctrine.

While they employed a fairly rigid operational doctrine, at the tactical level the ARS was more flexibile thanks to the skill of its officers and soldiers. Syaran infantry were heavily armed due to the responsibility placed on them, and were supplied liberally with rifle grenades, automatic weapons, and anti-tank weapons. Between 60-70% of Syaran infantry were motorized, though the ARS still fielded more than a quarter-million horses. When attacking or defending, Syaran forces were organized into tactical echelons, which would allow either for a rapid adoption of a a defense-in-depth, or for multiple waves of assaults on enemy positions. Syaran infantry rarely advanced beyond the range of their own artillery, and often operated in conjunction with tanks and armored vehicles.

Personnel

Upon its formation the ARS was dominated by a Makedonian and Galanian officer corps, reflective of the two Realm's status as the principle political powers in the Republic. This dominance gradually faded after the Siduri War, but was still present and reflected in the Army's breakup during the Refusal War. Enlisted soldiers tended to more accurately reflect the demographics of the Republic throughout its existence.

Officers earned their comission through attending a military academy or through a reserve officer training course at their university. If the latter was chosen, they were expected to serve in the ARS for at least five years. Enlisted personnel with enough years in service could also be comissioned as officers if they passed examination and attended an appreviated officer academy course. Enlisted soldiers themselves could either enlist voluntarily or be forced to as an alternative to imprisonment. Per the Republic's constitution, conscription could be enforced during war time, though in 1931 it was enacted while the Republic was still at peace.

During peacetime enlisted soldiers entering the ARS trained for up to six months, with noncomissioned officers being selected from those that demonstrated good character and leadership traits; they were given another six months of training to become NCOs. During wartime training schedules were condensced to just three months, although in some instances it was even shorter. Conscripted soldiers were required to serve three years, though their terms of enlistment could be extended if necessary. Once ARS personnel had completed their tour of duty, their names were recorded in a national military registry so that the ARS had a cadre of trained veterans that would be prioritized for drafting in the event of an armed conflict. The ARS's reserve system was regionally based so that soldiers transitioning to civilian life would be in close proximity to their reserve formations.

Although recruits from Hayreniky were allowed to join the ARS with no issues, the Hayren Clans were able to submit their own creche raised soldiers for service in the ARS. These soldiers were assigned to their own divisions, which became known as Sibko Divisions (an ancient Hayern word for warband). Rasied from birth to fight Hayern soldiers were considered the most motivated and ferocious of the ARS, though they were only called upon en masse during the Siduri War. A total of 22 Sibko Divisions were raised during the war, all of them infantry divisions.