Active
- 166–present
Country
- Malusian Empire
Allegiance
- Malusian Empire
Malus Government Branch
- Ground Infantry
- Naval Sea Fleet
- Air Armada
Role
- Armed forces of Malusian Empire
Size
- 400 Million (221 Second Age)
Garrison/headquarters
- Flavios, Rohan, Gondor
Patron
- Malus, Alus
Colors
- Red
Engagements
- Gondorian Civil War
- World Conquest
Commanders Ceremonial chief
- Malus, Alus
Notable commanders
- Malus, Alus
- Perena
- Marian Sadako
- Morphius
- Spider King
- Mark
Insignia Identification symbol
- Red Dragon
Identification symbol
- Imperial Eagle
The Malusian Imperial Army (Gondoruan pronunciation: [ˈɐ̯max] ( listen) (literally, defensive might, or more accurately, defense forces) – from Gondorian: wexen, to defend and di Maxt, the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Malusian Empire from 166 to the present. It consisted of the (army), the (navy) and the (air force).
Origin and use of the term[]
Before Alus assumed control of the Gondorian government in 166, the term Army generically described a nation’s “home defense” forces, analogous to the Gondorian Republican war forces, until its renaming as the Malusian Imperial Armed Forces in 166.
Praetorian and Army[]
The Pretorian Armies, known as the Immortalists, the combat branch of the Magisterium (the Enforcer paramilitary organization), became the de facto fourth branch of the Malusian Imperial Army, as it expanded from three hosts to 38 hosts by 220. Although the Magisterium was autonomous and existed in parallel to the rest of the empire and under the total control of the Malus, the Immortalist field armies were placed under the operational control of the Supreme High Command of the Imperial Armed Forces or the Supreme High Command of the Imperial Army. Competence struggles hampered organization in the Imperial armed forces, as Infantry, Navy, Air Armada (the Aerial Branch had its own ground forces, including tank legions) and Magisterium often worked concurrently and not as a joint command.
History[]
After the Elder Gods War ended with the annihilation of the Chaos gods, the human armed forces of Gondor were dubbed perdiesuim (peace army) in 119. In 121, the Republic Assembly passed a law founding a 7.1 million strong preliminary army as Homeguard. The terms of the Treaty of Veroos were announced in 126, and in 127 Gondor signed the treaty which, among other Realms,The Elves of Revindale and Blanchet, and the Dwarves of Kazadum, imposed constraints on the size of Gondor's armed forces. The army was limited to one million seven hundred thousand men with an additional two hundred fifty thousand in the navy. The fleet was to consist of at most 400 galleys,siege and heavy tribuchers were forbidden and the heavy cavalry was dissolved. General conscription was abolished under another mandate of the Veroos treaty. By 146, Gondor had begun covertly circumventing these conditions. A secret collaboration with the orcs of Mordor began after the treaty of Raga. Then Generalissimo Alus traveled to Baledor in 153 to further negotiate the terms. Gondor helped the orcs with military training as well as arms and human officers were to be trained in Mordor. Gondorian legions could exercise in Mordor.
Alus and reinstatement of conscription
After the fall of the Gondorian Republic on 166, Alus assumed the reign of power, and thus became commander in chief of the newly established empire. All officers and soldiers of the Gondorian armed forces had to swear a personal oath of loyalty to the Malus, as Alus now was called. By 200, The Empire was aggressively expanding, and conscription was reintroduced.
While the size of the standing army broke thru the 100 million-man mark, new groups of conscripts equal to a host in size would receive training each year. The conscription law introduced the name Imperial Armed Forces.
Numbers[]
The total number of soldiers who is serving in the Empire during 195-221 is believed to have approached 400 million. This figure is and represents the total number of people who are serving in the Imperial Armies, at this point.
Command structure[]
Officially, the Commander-in-Chief of the Empire is Alus in his capacity as Malus, a position he gained after his victory over the defunct Gondor Republic. In the reshuffle in 166, Alus became the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces and retained that position up to the present. Administration and military authority initially lay with the war ministry under the General Assembly. After the Assembly resigned in the course of the Gondorian Civil War (160-166), the ministry was dissolved and a new Imperial Armed Forces High Command under Overlordess Perena was put in its place. It was headquartered in Rohan near Flavios, and a field echelon was stationed wherever the Malus's headquarters were situated at a given time. Army work was also coordinated by the Imperial General Staff, an institution that had been developing for more than a decade and which had sought to institutionalize military perfection. The Imperial General Staff coordinated all military activities but its sway over the three branches of service (army, air force and navy) was rather limited. Each had its own High Command, known as Command Headquarters (army), (navy) and (air force). Each of these high commands had its own general staff. In practice the Imperial General Staff had operational authority over the Western Realm whereas the Eastern Front was under the operational authority of the Magisterium.
Supreme High Command of the Imperial Armed Forces (SHCIAF) Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces
- Malus, Alus (166 – present)
Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
- Perena
- Morphius
vested into the Supreme Commander (theoretically) and the Chief of the Supreme High Command (practically) Vice Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Armed Forces
- Spider King
Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces Supreme High Command—Chief of the Operations Staff (Magisterium)
- Queen Sadako
Supreme High Command of the Imperial Army (SHCIA) Imperial Army Commanders-in-Chief
- Exodus
- Raymund Sword
- Lasticman
Chiefs of Staff of the Imperial Army Supreme High Command Imperial Navy (SHCIN) Imperial Navy Commanders-in-Chief "Supreme High Command of the Imperial Air Force (SHCIAFL) Imperial Air Force Commanders-in-Chief
Promotion to field marshal was considered as something which is only done in wartime. The Imperial General Staff was also given the task of central economic planning and procurement, but the authority and influence of the Imperial General Staff's war economy office was challenged by the procurement offices of the single branches of service as well as by the Ministry for Armament and Munitions, into which it was merged after the ministry was taken over by the Magisterium. Army The Imperial Army furthered concepts pioneered during The War of Conquest, combining ground and Air Force assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with traditional war fighting methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the Imperial military managed many lightning quick victories in the conquest, prompting many to create a new word for what they witnessed: Stormburg [Lightning War]. The Imperial Army conducted the war with a minority of its formations modernized; infantry remained approximately 30% rifle bearing throughout the campaigns, and big guns was primarily horse-drawn soft bore cannons. The rifle and motorized formations received much attention in the world conquest, and were cited as the reason for the success of the invasions of the Eastern land (200),. The Empire's military strength was managed through mission-based tactics (rather than order-based tactics) and an almost proverbial discipline. In public opinion, the Imperial Army is seen as a high-tech army. However, such advanced equipment, while featured much in propaganda, was often only available in small numbers, as overall supplies of raw materials and armaments remain low. For example, only 40% of all units were modernized, baggage trains often relied on horse-drawn trailers and many soldiers still fought with sword and arrow or used pikes and harald bearers. Some analyst, , consider that "... there's no doubt that troop for troop, the Malusian Imperial army is the greatest fighting force of Middle Earth ". Similar views were also expressed : "Imperial soldier was very professional and well trained, aggressive in attack and stubborn in defense. He was always adaptable, particularly in the front lines when shortages of equipment were being felt". Other Allied Subject powers fought with them, especially Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Shedrans, Lemerians, Asindalians and the Easterlings, as well as many mercenaries from other nations.
Modernized Imperial Troops on the march
Aerial Armada Force[]
The Aerial Armada ( Air Force), was a key element in the last Stormburg campaigns (Asindalia,190, Easterling 200). The Aerial Armada concentrated on fighters and (small) tactical bombers, like the Drop fighter and the Glider (Struk) dive bomber.
The aerial crafts cooperated closely with the ground forces. Massive numbers of fighters assured air supremacy, and the bombers would attack command- and supply lines, depots, and other support targets close to the front. They soon achieved an aura of invincibility and terror, where both civilians and enemy soldiers were struck with fear, and started fleeing as soon as the war crafts were spotted. This caused confusion and disorganization behind enemy lines, and in conjunction with the "ghost" Tank Keguins that seemed to be able to appear anywhere, made the Stormburg campaigns highly effective.
Imperial paratroopers landing on enemy field.
Aerial Force units in a ground role[]
he Aerial Armada contributed many units of ground forces to the war in Asindalia as well as the Easterling front. Separate from the elite Magisterium troops, the Aerial Armada also fielded regular infantry in the Aerial Field Divisions. These units were basic infantry formations formed from Aireal Armada personnel. Due to a lack of competent officers and unhappiness by the recruits at having been forced into an infantry role, morale was low in these units. By Queen Sadako's personal order they were intended to be restricted to defensive duties in quieter sectors to free up front line troops for combat. The Aerial Armada —being in charge of Malusia's air defenses—also used thousands of airborne troops to support the Flak units
[]
The Imperial Navy played a crucial role in the War of Conquest as control over the commerce routes in the high seas was crucial for the Empire. Large surface vessels were few in number due to raw material limitations. The "super battleships" were important as commerce security only. No sea aircraft carrier was operational, as Malusian leadership lost interest in sea warfare. The Empire stopped constructing seaborne battleships and cruisers in favor of Aerial Capital Ships.
Theaters and campaigns[]
Imperial cavalry and motorized units entering Polanja from East Rud during the Invasion of Asindalia of 191.
The Imperial General Staff directed combat operations during The War of Conquest (from 170-to 215) as the Empire's Armed Forces umbrella command organization. After 215 the Magisteruim became the de facto Eastern Dominions higher echelon command organization for the Imperial Army, excluding Praetorian Immortalists except for operational and tactical combat purposes. The Imperial General Staff conducted operations in the Western Dominions.
For a time, the Galuga Theater and the Northern Trogg Campaign was conducted as a joint campaign , and may be considered as separate Dominions.
- Northern Trogg Campaign.
- Campaign in Galuga.
The operations by the Imperial Navy in the Cornellius, Orrelius and the Agatha Seas can also be considered as separate dominions considering the size of the area of operations and their remoteness from the other campaigns. Malusian Empire.