REPORT ON STATUS OF LAND FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF EUTOPIA
AND FURTHER SUGGESTIONS
Mj. Bartoleme Adál, 112. Armoured Regiment
p.1
The first thing we must acknowledge is that the Eutopian army is 1) large, clumsy and unwieldy, 2) has no particular "mission" or goal to devote itself to, and 3) is, at any rate, patently incapable of accomplishing any such goal should its leaders condescend to give it one.
Thus, I have used the following statement as hypothetical mission of the Eutopian ground forces and built upon it to suppose its future make-up:
"The Eutopian ground forces have the duty to protect the territorial integrity of the Eutopian mainland and by extension all citizens that live or are otherwise within the limits of its national borders in the case of aggression by an individual, group or army that is declared enemy of the nation by the Eutopian parliament."
p.2
I estimate that the Eutopian Land Army requires approximately 54 000 professional soldiers to ensure the defense of its nation. Our times taken into consideration, this force ought to be largely mechanized; this means the purchase of a great number of the various types of armour, and while our insular position and ensuing coastal fortification may dispense us from thoughtlessly steel-plating the army together, history reminds us not to rely only on static defense arrays. This is emphasized by the fact that, as we must alleviate the weight on the backs of Eutopian tax-paying citizens, we are not at leisure to build a massive army of fantastic proportions; and so, we must simultaneously ensure 1. the defense of the entire littoral and 2. that our forces are numerous enough to repulse an invader, and this with a limited manpower pool. All this means, of course, high mobility. I have already made much talk of the railroad network in this function, but I digress, and will now proceed with demands in matters of armament: the only thing I am saying is that we should not be lured to stack all our men in concrete bunkers by the seaside, attractive as the option may be.
Considering the numbers of our Regular land army ought to hover about 50 000, I consider that some 40 000 of these should be mechanized. Of these, I propose that 10 000 be armoured. Thus, if we use the convenient number of ten thousand to divide our forces, we would have our army organized as follows:
-1 (Coastal) Foot Infantry division
-3 Mechanized Infantry divisions
-1 Armoured division
I cannot venture to assign them anywhere or to divide them further as long as the question of the southeast quarter remains unresolved.
The additional 4 000 men I have previously mentioned would compose a corps of well-trained alpine troops to whom we would give the mission of preserving the peace of our mountainous districts (four of which are distinct on a topographical map: each of these would obtain the guard of a thousand men).
Remains the question of how these men and divisions ought to be equipped. I will not venture any precise numbers (ooc: after all, I really know mess-all of how a division is organized equipment-wise), but these approximations should allow Supply Branch to make accurate decisions about future weaponry purchases.
-MBTs to equip one division of ten thousand men. National interest will instruct us to purchase the Gorgon MkII, which I am assured is a viable warmachine.
-AFVs to equip three divisions of ten thousand men each. We are creating a new AFV alongside Mexico and Thailand... I will, in this case, propose a bold gamble for the Eutopian Army. We ought to not purchase any new AFVs until this project comes to fruition, taking the peaceful state of the world as guarantee of territorial integrity. Once it is ready, we will arm our forces with it. An alternative to this risky plan is to purchase a sure-fire safe-investment AFV like the American Bradley for the duration of research, then sell them off to the highest bidder once our own AFV is ready.
-We will then of course require light arms, such as rifles, machine-guns and mortar, as well as heavier weapons such as artillery, helicopters to assure command and control, and anti-tank and anti-air weaponry. All these must be bought new or built here; that is to say, our army's equipment is currently woefully inadequate to any and every task.
-I will add that our alpine troops need not be mechanized but would perhaps better be served by horses, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters.
This, and a general overhaul of the communications network, concludes the needs of the land army to perform efficiently. I have prepared a few miscellaneous articles, as follow.
1. I propose a simplifying reform to the command structure, from highest to lowest:
-General of Eutopia
-Colonel
-Major
-Captain
-Lieutenant
-Sergeant
-Corporal
-Private
(ooc: from the well-respected military source of Stratego )
I believe this system will allow for an appropriate repartition of troops around the nation, while minimizing useless and potentially dangerous bureaucracy within the military hierarchy.
2. The army should have an elite, rapid-response unit for various purposes (clearing the way for the regular army, defusing crises before they escalate and assisting the police, etc.). Five hundred of the best soldiers should be hand-picked from the Armed Forces manpower pool and trained into a surgical-strike commando team.
3. I propose that from now on the official name of the Eutopian ground forces be the Eutopian Land Army (ELA).
4. I have further studies about the assignment of troops about the country which I would presume to suggest should the commission pronounce its final decision on the overall makeup of the land army.
