47th Internal Troops Regiment
| 47th Internal Troops Lancers Imperial Regiment "Emperor's Own Space Wolves" | |
|---|---|
 47th Internal Troops Regiment Coat of Arms | |
| Active | 2854 - Present |
| Country | Barrayar |
| Branch | Imperial Service |
| Type | Internal Troops |
| Size | 5 Battalions |
| Headquarters | Nokocroft, Sergyar |
| Nickname(s) | "Imperial Fists" "Old Boys" |
| Motto(s) | Death or Glory |
| Mascot(s) | Wild Mustang |
| Engagements | Liberation of Vorbarr Sultana Occupation of Vordarian District Conquest of Solstice City Dome Landing of Point 4662A4 (Escobar) Defence of Point 4662A4 Battle of Hassadar Purge of Solstice Black Mountains counter-insurgency operation |
| Decorations | Knight of the Imperial Military Order Gold Medal for Military Valour Silver Medal at the Valour of the Service |
| Battle honours | Vorbarr Sultana 2855 Solstice City Dome 2897 Escobar 2899 Hassadar 2900 Solstice 2905 Black Mountains 2969-2971 |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col. Macillan Duberstein |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Gen. Lexon Girad |
| Colonel-in-Chief | Emperor Serg Vorbarra |
| Chief of Staff | Lt. Col. Cromwell Custa |
| Insignia | |
| Regimental badge |  |
The 47th Internal Troops Lancers Imperial Regiment "Emperor's Own Space Wolves" is an elite military unit of the Internal Troops Command. The Regiment is known to have been refounded several times in its history, while fighting in all wars of Barrayar: it was activated for the last time in 2962 in order to counter the threat of a massive rebellion in the Southern Continent; after the late-XXX century crisis, it was redeployed on Sergyar, where it still serves as mechanized reserve of the Internal Troops under the direct control of the Sergyar Garrison headquarters..
History
The first establishment of the 47th Regiment dates back to the 1st Cetagandan War, the Regiment being among the first regular military units raised by the new Imperial Army to launch the final liberation camapaign to oust the Cegagandan invaders. During its history, the Regiment repeatedly suffered of heavy casualities; when the regiment has been reduced below effective strength, the survivors always rotated home to recruit new troopers and found the regiment anew.
First Cetagandan War
While keeping the traditions of the 47th Imperial Host "Vorbarra House Specials", the 47th Regiment in its modern form came into being in 2854 by combining 4th, 5th and 6th Vorkosigan Partisan Brigades (battalion-sized units), the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Rangers and two newly recruited battalions. After the Vorbarr Sultana liberation, occurred in the final stages of the campaign, the Regiment was granted with the attribute of "Imperial", marking it as one of the most glorious units at the time.
Late XXIX Century: Conquest of Komarr and Escobaran Campaign
The 47th Regiment was involved into the Komarran conquest, being granted the honour to caputre Solstice City Dome; the task was fullfilled without difficulty, and by 2897 the Regiment was moved back to Barrayar. The 120 Days War, which took place in 2899, saw Barrayar attacking Escobar; the 47th Regiment was part of the landing spearhead of the Barrayaran forces. The unit sustained heavy casualties from the very beginning but managed to capture an important Escobaran fortress and surrendered only after the direct order of Admiral Vorkosigan. Once repatriated, the Regiment was reduced to only a quarter of its nominal strength, and badly needed to be rebuilt or to be disbanded. Despite the wishes of then-Minister of Political Education, Emperor Ezar personally moved in and, during the rueful return parade, granted to all landing units the title of "Emperor's Own" to be added to their name, making impossibile for all to disband them. Subsequently, survivors were tasked with the refounding the Regiment anew.
Early XXX Century: Vordarian's Pretendership and Komarran Revolt
The 47th Regiment was rebuilt as a line infantry unit, during the restructuring of the Imperial Military Service; it fought under Regent Lord Vorksigan's orders at Emperor Gregor's side in the Vorkosigan District; in the early stages it was outmaneuvred by traitor forces which managed to cut the Regiment from the friendly supply lines. This resulted in sustained losses, although the Regiment itself held the line and eventually repealed the offensive, keeping safe the Khymber Pass passage for the loyalist personalities.
Following the restoration of the Emperor Gregor's rule, the 47th Line Infantry was converted into a garrison unit, in order to enable it to be stationed on Komarr. There, it faced the Komarran Revolt. The regiment was involved in the suppression of the Solstice Uprising, a battle which almost destroyed two entire boroughs of the domed city. Repression duties took an heavy toll from the soldiers' morale (also due to serious excesses) and the unit was subsequently hold back to Barrayar in order to reorganize its ranks and files.
XXX Century: garrison duty and 2970s crisis to present
In the following decades the regiment remained stationed on Barrayar, mainly on the Southern Continent as a garrison and protection force. The unit was transformed in a light infantry force, suitable for general patrol and/or surveillance roles. In 2945 two battalions were sent to Marilac in order to train and assist the Marilacan forces. The 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry was moved to Vorbarr Sultana where it served with the 25th Infantry Division until the late 2960s when the regiment was reunited. The 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry was reactivated in 2944 and assigned to the 32th Infantry Division. The 2nd Battalion served a one-year tour of duty o Marilac, and subsequently it was classified as a peacekeeping-ready unit to allow Barrayar to participate in regional securty operations. The other three battalions were stationed as part of the "spread divisions", designed to keep the military presence on the Southern Continent.
In 2951, Internal Troops were established; in 2952 the 47th Regiment was assigned to the newly formed command, being the most senior unit.
In 2969 protests and riots became increasingly violent, especially in the southern continent. There, the settlers demanded democracy and public funding, which were flatly rejected. In the second half of 2969, a group of criminals and political opponents fled to the Black Mountains and proclaimed a «Socialist and Egalitarian Republic», demanding democracy, demilitarization, republic, nationalization of industries, the abolition of Counts and the persecution of the Vors. The 47th Regiment was involved, being the core unit of the suppression force.
Demanour and recruitment
The 47th Regiment prides itself on its rigid discipline and professional officer corps; since its inception, officers had always received their commissions for merit, not family connections and, even in the less meritocratic times, promotions had always come from success in the field.
The 47th Regiment is, and has always been, recruited from the most rural regions of the southern coast of the Northern Continent; such regions have at least the 85% of their surface devoted to arid agriculture and their tiny populations is widely spread across them. For the most part, regiment's recruits are quite sturdy, hard-working people, mostly glad to can be off the farm. These combined factors produced a special interest to demonstrate the skill and steel of the home regions; on the other hand, the Regiment personnel is noted for being filled with the most prejudice-affected layers of society; almost as official doctrine, despite deeply antagonized by Political Officers, the 47th holds all off-worlders are unclean and as such it has been at odds with foreigners, strangers or simply people not coming from the Northern Continent of Barrayar.
On the professional side, the 47th Regiment prides itself on its urban warfare training and on its corporate knowledge in bringing to the heels an enemy insurgent force.
Organization
Being an Internal Troops unit, the Regiment is the operational level and it is organized as a mechanized infantry force. It consists of five Battalions, of a Support Company and of a Command Company. The 5th Battalion is devoted to advanced reconnaissance, while the other four Battalions are line units, although they are most often used as a riot-suppression force. Like most of the Internal Troops units, they do not have Service Security detachments assigned.