Volsung Regiment
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Private military, intelligence and security services contractor |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Colonel Sigurd Olafsson |
| Headquarters |
|
| Services | Private military force |
Number of employees | 3,000 military, 600 corporate |
The Volsung Regiment is a non-government armed force active in much of the world. It is legally a private military company incorporated and based in Keuland. As of 2020 it has some 3,000 'military employees' on its books, of which roughly 50% consist of defectors from the Valgtean military or security services.
Overview
Keuland has always been a destination for Valgtean defectors, the proximity between the two states, as well as in languages, making it easier for such people to adapt to life in a radically different world outside of the theocratic totalitarian rule of the Supreme Prophet. A significant portion of these defectors consist of former members of the Blessed Army or the Ecclesia Guard, usually career officers and non-commissioned officers rather than conscripts. These people already possess military training but lack many of the qualifications needed to thrive in a modern capitalist economy. Accordingly, many turn to the only skill which they have thoroughly mastered, that being the employment of arms.
Whilst most defectors formerly chose to serve in the Keuland military, Sigurd Olaffson was the first to realise the potential of a fighting regiment with its core based on former Valgteans. Formerly a staff officer in the Valgtean Naval Infantry, he was forced to flee the country in the wake of Marcus the Purifier's purge of the Valgtean security system soon oafter the latter's ascesion as Supreme Prophet. Whilst Olafsson survived, his family were hunted down and executed. Olafsson used his organisational talents to found a military unit which is run as a commercial enterprise, attracting the latent pool of skilled military personnel residing in Keuland and forged it into a formidable private military company.
Organisation
The Volsung Regiment consists of two mechanised infantry battalions and supporting arms. Roughly 50% of its personnel are Valgtean defectors. The remainder is comprised of a mix of native Keulanders and recruits from around the world. For these reasons, Latin is used as the main command language, although Nordic is also widely spoken.
Infantry battalions
Each infantry battalion is primarily mounted on XA-200 armoured personnel carriers. It comprises of three infantry companies, a mortar platoon equipped with eight 120mm self-propelled mortar vehicles and a scout-sniper team.
Each infantry company in turn can be broken down into a company HQ, three infantry platoons, an anti-tank squad with six two-men teams armed with either a 84mm recoilless rifle or Vesper missile. Each rifle platoon consists of three eight-men squads, two two-men GPMG teams, a platoon sergeant and a platoon commander.
Supporting elements
The infantry battalions of the Regiment are supported by the following elements:
- Artillery Battalion (16x self-propelled 105mm howitzers in two batteries)
- Anti-air Company (24x ASRAD-R SHORAD systems mounted on XA-200 APC chassis)
- Fast Attack Company (24x BMI Jaguar, armed with machine guns, grenade launchers or Vesper missile)
- Engineer Company
- Medical Company
- Signal Company
- Logistics Company
- Maintenance Company
- Drone platoon
Reputation
The Volsung Regiment has often been compared with another major Belisarian PMC, the Duklav Legion. Compared to the latter, the Volsung Regiment is measurably smaller and less well-resourced. However, compared with the Legion's reputation for clinical professionalism, the Regiment is reknown for its ferocity and ruthlessness. In particular, whilst it will scrupulously adhere to the laws and customs of war when taking prisoners of uniformed personnel from 'regular' armies and other mercenary organisations, it has been known to execute insurgents or even insurgent-backing civilians out of hand, especially where they back a Valgtean-supported cause.
Equipment
| Description | Origin | Type | Ammunition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M98 battle uniform |  Keuland |
Camouflage uniform | N/A | |
| Future Assault Shell Technology helmet |  Belfras |
Combat helmet | ||
| Scalable Plate Carrier | Belfras |
Body armour | ||
| Small Arms Protective Insert | Belfras |
Trauma plate | ||
| MOLLE | Belfras |
|||
| AN/PSQ-20 | Belfras |
Small arms
| Description | Origin | Type | Ammunition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG 85 |  Garima |
Fragmentation grenade | N/A | |
| P99 |  Ghant |
Pistol | 9x19 parabellum | |
| CBJ-MS | Ghant |
Sub-machine gun | 9x19 parabellum, 6.5×25mm CBJ | |
| Model 870 | Belfras |
Shotgun | 12 Gauge | |
| F516 |  Lyncanestria |
Assault rifle | 5.56x45 | The standard aiming device is the C79 optical sight, which is gradually being replaced by a red dot close combat sight plus optional flip-down 3x telescopic magnifier. The 10.4-inch barrel version is used by rear-area troops as a self-defence weapon. |
| FA-4 rifle | Ghant |
Battle rifle/marksman rifle | 7.62x51 | Predominantly used as a marksman rifle. Aaround 2-3 are distributed per platoon. |
| Arctic Warfare Magnum |  Arthurista |
Sniper rifle | .338 Magnum | Used in small quantities by dedicated sniper teams |
| AS50 | Arthurista |
Anti-material rifle | 12.7x99 | |
| Ultimax 100 |  Lion's Rock |
Light machine gun | 5.56x45 | |
| MG 74 |  Nachtmark |
General purpose machine gun | 7.62x51 | |
| CIL50MG | Lion's Rock |
Heavy machine gun | 12.7x99 | |
| M203 grenade launcher | Belfras |
Underbarrel grenade launcher | 40mm grenade | |
| MGL |  Tulura |
Multi-launch handheld grenade launcher | 40mm grenade | |
| CIL 40 AGL | Lion's Rock |
Automatic grenade launcher | 40mm grenade | |
| GL09 Advanced Airburst Weapon | Arthurista |
Handheld automatic grenade launcher | 25mm grenade | A consignment was reportedly stolen from an Arthuristan armoury in 2016, before finding its way to the Legion via black market channels. |
| Crossbow | Arthurista |
Disposable AT launcher | ||
| 84mm RCL | Ghant |
Recoilless Rifle |
Anti-tank guided missiles
| Description | Origin | Type | Ammunition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBT LAW | Ghant |
Light man-portable ATGM | ||
| Vesper missile | Arthurista |
Man-portable ATGM |
Anti-air systems
| Description | Origin | Type | Ammunition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS-70 | Ghant |
MANPADS |
Artillery
| Description | Origin | Type | Ammunition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardom |  Yisrael |
Heavy self-propelled mortar system | 120mm | Mounted on XA-200 APC chassis |
| Hawkeye self-propelled howitzer | Belfras |
Self-propelled howitzer | 105mm | Mounted on BMI Jaguar chassis |
Land vehicles
| Description | Origin | Type | Variants | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMI Jaguar | Belfras |
Light general purpose vehicle | ||
| HMATV | Arthurista |
Light lorry | ||
| Bv 206 | Ghant |
Light bandtrack | ||
| DAF T-244 | Arthurista |
General purpose lorry | ||
| XA-200 | Ghant |
APC |
Aviation
| Description | Origin | Type | Variants | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | Arthurista |
UAV | ||
| RQ-11 Raven | Belfras |
Mini-UAV |
Radars
| Description | Origin | Type | Variants | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTAR | Arthurista |
Battlefield surveillance radar |