Tobory Guard
| Tobory Guard | |
|---|---|
| Active | 9th of June, 1936 – present |
| Country | Template:Country data Venadia |
| Allegiance | Graf Aleksei Pogodin Great Veche |
| Type | Light Infantry |
| Role | Counter-Insurgency |
| Size | 900 men |
| Patron | Saint Viktor of Venadia |
| Motto(s) | "Honoris Causa" For the Cause of Honour |
| Colors | Green, Red |
| Engagements | Second Ardanian Great War Venadian-Undreshistani Conflict |
| Commanders | |
| Lord-Commander | Graf Aleksei Pogodin |
| Captain | Boris Akulov |
The Tobory Guard (Venadian: Тоборская Гвардия, transcript: Toborskaya Gvardiya) is a private military unit in the Republic of Venadia under the command of Graf Aleksei Pogodin, count of Tobory in Viniya. The Tobory Guard is presently the only military formation under the command of a Great Boyar utilizing their right to form a regiment during times of war. As of 2016, the Tobory Guard is 900 men strong, and remains entirely funded by the Pogodin estate.
As a private noble-regiment, the soldiers of the Tobory Guard do not wear the uniforms of the Venadian Army or any other branch. Their uniforms remain similar to that of the Venadian Army during the Second Ardanian Great War, while their parade uniforms are in the resplendent green and red colours of the Pogodin family.
History
The Tobory Guard was formed in 1936 shortly following the outbreak of the Second Ardanian Great War by Graf Borislav Pogodin, as one of a hundred noble-regiments. The Tobory Guard would see service in the eastern front of the war against the Comintern forces of the People's Brigades and Arlelli. The regiment served with distinction, and became the most decorated unit of the noble regiments during the course of the war. By the end of the war in 1946, the Tobory Guard was one of the only noble-regiments to not disband, and by 1950 it was the only one left. Borislav Pogodin argued that the war was not over, as fighting continued in Undreshistan and Boldiria, meaning that as a Great Boyar he still had the right to fund, arm and command a regiment under the service of Venadia.
Between 1946 and 1951 the Tobory Guard was stationed in Ilveria, on the border to Undreshistan, and did not engage in counter-insurgency operations or battles as the Armed Forces of Venadia and the Great Veche were unwilling to tolerate a noble-regiment in times of peace. Pogodin was threatened that the Tobory Guard could be considered an illegal paramilitary group if they did not disband, and Pogodin took the matter to the Supreme Court. In 1951, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Pogodin, that the Great Boyars could maintain (if not create new regiments) in times with no declared wars if the regiment was founded during a declared war, and continued military threats existed on Venadian soil.
Since 1951, the Tobory Guard has participated as part of counter-insurgency measures in Undreshistan, and has participated in numerous skirmishes, battles and operations against the Undreshi Red Army and the Emirate of Undreshistan. The regiment has specialized in mountain and hill operations, and have been a small but important part of Venadian military presence in western Undreshistan.
Command structure
The Tobory Guard is structured into twelve companies of between forty and ninety men each. 2nd to 10th company operate as frontline units, 11th and 12th with logistics, sustainment & media and the 1st company as the command center. The head of the Pogodin family, presently Graf Aleksei Pogodin, acts as Lord-Commander while the Guard as a whole is also under the command of the regimental captain (presently Boris Akulov). Each company is headed by a lieutenant, and each company (apart from the 1st, 11th and 12th) is divided into squads of six soldiers each under the command of a sergeant.
The Tobory Guard operates outside of the regular Venadian chain-of-command and is not a part of the Armed Forces of Venadia, but the Lord-Commander answers to the Great Veche. Since 1951, the Tobory Guard have been under the command of the commander of Venadian military operations in Undreshistan. While the Lord-Commander is nominally the officer-in-chief, in practice the captain handles most military decisions.
Recruitment
The Tobory Guard historically recruited primarily from Tobory in Viniya, with men from the area being offered five-year contracts after finishing their national service.Initially the bulk of guardsmen were commoners, but by the 1960s the majority of Guardsmen have been from the Boyar families of Tobory primarily Tobory, but also a great deal of younger sons of Boyar families from the rest of Venadia. In 2016, 537 of Tobory guardsmen were boyars. Guardsmen sign on with five-year contracts, and the majority of Guardsmen serve one or two terms. The Tobory Guard requires potential recruits to have served with honour in the Armed Forces of Venadia. The Guard also exclusively recruits males.
The Tobory Guard reports that they annually have more than a thousand applications to enlist. The bulk of new recruits have only served the minimum national service, with a minority having served longer as professional soldiers. Officers are required to be of noble breeding, and are primarily recruited from cadets of the Viniyagorod officer school.
Financing
As a noble-regiment, the Tobory Guard receives no financing or logistical support from the Armed Forces of Venadia. Until 1974 the only source of revenue for the Tobory Guard was the Pogodin Estate, but starting in 1974 Radomir Pogodin established a charity in which individual Venadian or foreign citizens could donate to the Tobory Guard. While donations were low-to-moderate until recently, largely coming from other Great Boyar families, a successful social media campaign and donation drives starting in 2007 have seen the Tobory Guard's financial situation much improve. In 2016, only 16% of the Tobory Guard's financing came directly from the Pogodin estate, with the remainder coming from donations by Venadian and foreign citizens.
In 2015, the Tobory Guard declared a total income of 410,452,400 NSD. Of these, roughly sixty-five million were provided by the Pogodin estate (more than four fifths of the family's income) and the remainder by private donations. The three hundred forty five million provided by the Tobory Guard Association, the registered charity responsible for maintaining the Tobory Guard's financing, one of the largest registered charities in Venadia. This is a massive increase compared to just a decade ago, when the Tobory Guard was infamous for its low funding compared to Army equivalent military units.