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| Thundering Elephant Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1984 – 1987 |
| Country |  Itayana |
| Allegiance |  Charnea |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Motorized Infantry |
| Size | 33,770 (1984) 36,990 (1987) |
| Garrison/HQ | Airashe (logistical hub) Yanomi (logistical hub) |
| Engagements | Ninvite War |
| Decorations | Thundering Elephant Banner |
The Thundering Elephant Army was an expeditionary military unit sent by various governorates of Karana Basin to Charnea during the Ninvite War. Assembled and organized in 1984 from the forces of regional governors, it saw action in several major battles of the war. The Banner fought in several major battles of the Ninvite War, developing methods and raising cadres for future iterations of the Itayana military. Its political impact, however, is poorly understood up to this day.
Background
With the onset of hostilities between Gharbaic population of Hatta and Charnean central government, several governorates of the former Karana Basin saw the opportunity to expand their knowledge in modern forms of warfare. As early as 1979, several observers from 6th, 7th, 10th, 29th and 33rd Governorates were dispatched there at the requests of their governorates. This eventually expanded into sending small units to aid the Imperial Charnean Army in combat by 1983. When the hostilities escalated in a large-scale uprising the ICA alone couldn't contain, the Charnean government used the connection to ask for military assistance in the form of expeditionary unit.
Organization of such unit met significant difficulties, especially after the initial planned division-sized contingent expanded into a reinforced infantry corps. All governorates of the Karana Basin answered the call and dispatched their units, partially fueled by anti-Gharbaic sentiment, partially in hopes of acquiring first-hand experience to be used in the future conflict. Altogether, this amounted to mobilization of the entire Karana Basin, albeit in a disorganized fashion because of the divided nature of it. Much of the civilian population at that time was mobilized for a hastily-prepared expansion of Aribango-Airashe Trans-Karana Railroad, and arsenals all across the Two Basins supplied any form of equipment they could make. Yanomi, capital of the 33rd Governorate, was chosen for its general headquarters, but Airashe of the 29th Governorate was its key logistical hub.
The unit was prepared by October 1983, but the rainfall season delayed its deployment until January 1984. Before the dispatch, the ceremony by the Solar Temple of Yanbango named the unit "Thundering Elephant Army", in honour of the shock force of the <<Ita-Napoleon>> campaigns from 1575 to 1625, blessed its banners' colours at the central altar of the Sun ternal, and presented the banner of the original Thundering Elephant Banner.
Operations
At the cessation of hostilities in 1987, the unit was transferred to Airashe, where, on January 5th, 1988, it was disbanded in a ceremony attracting much of the city's population and various delegations from across the Two Basins. Its subdivisions returned to the original governorates, while shared units were split between 6th and 29th Governorates.
Composition and Equipment
The Corps was formed from the forces of governorates of the right bank of Karana (6th, 8th, 10th, 12th) and the Makgato Plateau (29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th and 36th). Initially, each governorate sent a battalion and either a pioneer command and/or an artillery battalion. Following the escalation of hostilities, governors mobilized additional units, mostly to train replacements for killed and wounded soldiers. Medical services command was expanded and the centralized signal command was established for enhanced coordination of the units.
Initially, Army troops were issued Pattern 1950 automatic rifles, by that time a standard-issue weapon for line infantry; for company-grade fire support, 15mm Pattern 1952 HMG was used, a rechambered DShK machine gun. Heavier weapons included 50, 81, and 120mm mortars, as well as old 77mm field guns and 144mm heavy cannons of LDN Arsenal. Later in war, the banner received AP-42 sub-machine guns and AK-54 assault rifles, proven to be useful in urban confines of Hamath, as well as various RPGs and ATGMs for tank defence and MANPADS for air defence. 100mm MT-12 anti-tank guns and MLRS systems were also added.
Organization of the Army reflected changes in the overall thought as well. In 1986, it followed the traditional structure of Itayana Banners from the times of the Second Realm, slightly modified with the experience gained in the Agala War. Each banner was formed from two or three "wings" with various infantry battalions and field gun units attached to each wing, usually coming from the same or neighbouring governorates. The banner itself controlled logistics, heavy artillery, communications and allocation of various support units. The structure performed decently in the open-field massed offensives, but was found to be unwieldy in motorized offensive operations, redundant in defence, and occasionally introducing unnecessary friction between the wings.
By the late 1984, the Army was reorganized. Wings were reorganized into square divisions, named "Banners", with independent reconnaissance brigade and two triangular brigades. This later structure proved itself well in the 1985 campaigns, including the Battle of Hamath, and persisted until the end of hostilities. Following the war, the word "Banner" permanently shifted its meaning from corps to divisional level of organization across the Basins, while the word "Army" took the additional meaning of corps-level structure.