Royal Insert Name Here Rifles
| Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment (96th of Foot) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment (96th of Foot), referred to as RINH, of the Royal Kouralian Army is one of the currently active Infantry Regiments of the 1st Army group. The Regiment has been in unbroken service of the Kouralian Crown for 145 years, being in the service of the Crown of Chieti prior to that, and being disbanded in 1965 due to its association with the Monarchy by the incoming Republican Government. It was reformed in 2004 as part of the reformation and reconstitution of the Royal Kouralian Army on the orders of HM Queen Alyx Campbell, and has since then served in numerous conflicts.
History
The Insert Name Here Regiment was formed by the Chietan Crown to defend its kingdom against the bellicose Southern Neighbours, the Kouralian Kingdom, in 1767. It subsequently served in the 3rd War of Unification from 1767 to 1772 against Kouralian forces in a neighbouring country, at the time under threat of invasion. They fought in a few battles, largely without major distinction, and remained in active service from then onward. However, their first battle was the one which defined the regiment's history - having been formed from the remnants of previous regiments mere days before, all the men were trained, yet had not fought together.
They were placed in the rear of the Army, stationed in the small village of Baruli which was to form part of the Main Supply Route as the army advanced. However what the army hadn't counted on was the presence of a flanking Brigade by the Kouralians. This brigade attempted to bisect the MSR at Baruli, before hitting back against the flank of the Chietan Army, however it was stopped in a 24 hour-long battle by the Insert Name Here Regiment, which ended when the Kouralians withdrew as the Chietan King personally brought one of his Divisions back to the Village. For their fighting to the last man, the Insert Name Here Regiment were granted a Battle honour of the village, Baruli, being the only regiment in the army (in any army of Kouralia) to hold that battle honour.
At the end of the 3rd War of Unification, the Regiment was formed into a Rifle Regiment, being renamed the Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment, and having their cap-badge altered to replace the crossed swords with the current bugle. They served in a fighting retreat with the remainder of the Chietan Army in the 5th War of Unification, being defeated at the battle of Corvnna by the Kouralian Army. Following that point, under new leadership they served the Kouralian Crown in policing Chieti against looters or other criminals in the temporary anarchy that followed until the Kouralians managed to reestablish rule of law. Their law.
The Regiment served as a single Battalion until 1963, when it fought against the Republican Forces before being forced to surrender - again at Corvna. The Regiment was kept on the books, but with no soldiers to its name, and was finally abolished by Presidential Decree in 1965.
For fighting against the Republican Forces, upon its reformation, the regiment was renamed into the Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment, and has since served as a Light Infantry Regiment in the Kouralian Army. Following the debacle of April-June 2012, the Regiment was re-organised, gaining its current fourth Battalion (slated to finish training in early 2014) which is one of the small number of foreign service units of the Kouralian Military. These units are for foreign citizens to join and serve in, and at the end of six years service they become Kouralian citizens (though may continue to serve for longer if they choose to).
Name
The Name of the original Insert Name Here Regiment is a source of pride within the regiment, and of much ridicule without, but its origins are as odd as the fact that Kouralia has kept it so. When first created, the Regiment's name was to be the 57th of Foot, however when the cap badges were sent to be made an error occurred. Rather than the design containing the name 'Chietan Border Rangers', the artist had not removed 'Insert Name Here', and this is what was created by the smithy. While efforts were made to change it, the fact that they earned a battle honour (Baruli) mere days after creation sealed the name's fate - once the King himself had given a battle honour to the 'Insert Name Here' Regiment, they couldn't rename it without amalgamating it - which was something that never came up.
Since then, the Regiment has retained its name through careful application of Tradition as justification for its existence. When asked whether or not the newly-to-be-formed regiment should be renamed in 2004, the Lord Commander replied that, no matter how silly its name may seem, its glorious history on the field of battle meant that it would be a 'silly name to echo throughout the ages'. The Name has become a source of pride for the regiment, being an unusual thing to rally around, and it is recorded that at least one person has been killed for insulting it - being beaten so severely by a group of soldiers that he died on the way to hospital in 2008.
Motto
The Motto of 'Cvi' [kwi] ('Cwi'/'Qui') translates to 'Here', and refers both to the regiment's name and to the boast made by the Regiment's commander before the battle of Baruli. When asked by the experienced officer/scout passing through Baruli with news of the impending Kouralian assault 'where will you retreat to?', the Colonel merely pointed to where his men were formed for battle and said 'Here'.
Dress
As a Light Infantry Regiment, the Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment shares many of the accouterments with other Kouralian Rifles Regiments such as the Experimental Corps of Riflemen (95th of Foot), for example they do not carry colours. In the #1 Dress, the regiment has a rifle green jacket and cap, with black trousers. This cap is retained through all dresses. All buttons are of a dark grey hue - that of the musket balls originally used as buttons, and in #s 1 to 4, actual imitation musket balls are used. The beret worn is rifles green, and the cap badge is an outlined silver Maltese cross surrounding a bugle surmounted by a crown. The TRF of the regiment is that of a black rectangle, crossed by a single rifles green band, diagonally from left to right downward.
The Regiment's battle honours are worn on a filled-in Maltese cross, surrounded by a laurel wreath and surmounted by a crown. This badge is worn on the cross-belt by SNCOs, WOs and OFs.
Organisation
The Regiment has four Battalions, three of which are Regular and one of which is territorial. All of these battalions are, in fact, Light Role in some form, and none of them utilise IFVs or APCs to transport their men.
- The 1st Battalion, Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment is a Light Role infantry unit, motorised with the use of lightly armoured 6x6 trucks.
- The 2nd Battalion, Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment is a Paratroop Light Infantry Regiment, making little use of motorisation beyond Schiavi trucks when not fulfilling its primary purpose.
- The 3rd Battalion, Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment is a Territorial Army Air Assault Regiment, which uses helicopters and rotodynes to move rapidly about the battlefield.
- The 4th Battalion, Royal Insert Name Here Rifles Regiment is a Foreign Troop Force Light Role Infantry Regiment in the same vein as the 1st Battalion.
The 1st Battalion is a part of the 5th Light Infantry Brigade and as of December 2013 does not exist beyond its training elements at the Infantry Training Centre. The 2nd Battalion is a part of the 12th Air Assault Brigade and is currently serving in Crystal Spires as of December 2013. The 3rd Battalion is a part of the Territorial Army, and the 4th Battalion is currently undergoing initial-formation training before it takes a role in the 1st Foreign Force Brigade.