Marhleim Army Star Forces
Background
This section actually covers three sets of Naval forces:
- The Naval Forces of MARARSTAR (the Marlheim Army Starforce), the main Navy
- The star forces of GRYMOV's BORFOR "border" patrol and SECFOR capitol security force
- The star forces of MINITOL's various intelligence and "justice" bureaux
Marhleim Army Star Force (MARARSTAR)
While the Marlheim Navy is quite large (for a relatively small state's star force), its record in battle has been fairly dismal.
Its few battles against Duncinaean, Aslan and Caledonian forces - mostly "border skirmishes" between light forces that the Grand Duchy has strongly disclaimed - have turned out badly for the Grand Duchy's Navy, with relatively heavy losses among fleets classified by observers as "very badly handled" in action.
Two theories exist:
- Some naval theorists and political observers hypoethsize that it's dangerous to be too successful an officer in the Marlheim fleet; being well-regarded enough to arouse the paranoia of the Army Navy's political or secret police overseers can be deadly to the officer's career, and often to the officer.
- Others speculate that the Marlheim fleet has sent small light-force fleets - patrol ships and escorts - with less-capable officers and poorly-trained crews to lull their potential opponents into a false sense of superiority; they're saving their best officers and ships, so the theory goes, for the "Real" war. In support of this theorists cite the fact that a large number of Duchy Navy casualties are in older (TL10) warships. The response: the Duchy deploys older ships forward to save its newer ones back at the Duchy's home worlds, where the bulk of the elite of the fleet is stationed, under close political and security control.
- Referee's Note: Both are true. The fleet's newest ships are best crews are held in reserve strike forces - but being too capable and popular can still be dangerous for an officer.
Doctrine
At TL11, Marlheim subscribed whole-hog to the idea of the "Battle Rider" - as much for the utility of keeping battle units under close political and security control as for any tactical benefit (the two are inseparable under Marltonian military doctrine).
The various classes of "Scout" and "Screening" cruisers will usually jump into a fleet's target first, to screen the arrival and deployment of the Battle and Escort carriers. Any significant deployment includes GRYMOV and MINITOL vessels.
Larger jump-capable ships include especially large contingents of Political and Security Police troops, to forestall the possibility of defections to other states. This was especially true after the Petronk Mutiny in 1068, and the Bdaarikhar Incident in 1099.
Ships in Service
The following is a list of Marlheim Army Navy ships:
Class Tech Level Tons Number in Service Notes Vdyank Class Battle Rider 11 70,000 144 Named after Colonel-Generals in MARLAR history. "Jossto" class Battle Rider Carrier 11 350,000 32 Jump-2. Designed to carry six Riders - in practice, usually carries 4 Grzying Class Battleship (Old) 10 150,000 10 Obsolete battleships, usually handed over to GRYMOV "Spul" class Raider (BC) 11 80,000 40 Designed primarily as a commerce raider Drag Class Screening Cruiser 11 30,000 120 Intended to serve as heavy close covering force for Riders. Jump-2 drive "Bidarkadarnk" class Scout Cruiser 11 10,000 320 Provides scouting and covering forces for main fleets "Bosq" class Screening Cruiser 10 20,000 80 Older vessels, now primarily used as border patrols (with large MINITOL contingents). The " Bdaarikhar was a member of this class. Pinq Class Scout Cruiser 10 5,000 80 "Belsh" class Escort Carrier 11 35,000 80 Each Belsh" carries 8-10 Escort Riders, which provide screens for Battle Riders in action "Vipnayalaylay" Rider Escort 11 2,500 1280 Carried on Belsh" class carriers. "Zupilfarhar" class Rider Escort 10 2,000 320 "Kranz" class Raider (BC) Escort 11 5,000 160 Monitors 10 100,000 20 Monitors 11 50,000 60 Light Figher Carrier 11 20,000 60 Light Figher Carrier 10 16,000 12 Fleet Tanker 11 20,000 100 Tanker 10 20,000 12 Assault Carrier 11 16,000 60 Heavy Auxiliary 11 12,000 50 Light Auxiliary 11 2,000 90 Patrol Escort 11 400 2000 SDBs 11 1,200 1200 SDBs 10 1,200 200 Escort 10 400 600 Large Utility Transport 11 800 2000 Scout/Dispatch 10 800 200 Medium Utility Ship 11 400 2000 Medium Utility Ship 10 400 1000 Disp (RN) 11 200 60 Small Utility Ship 10 200 200 Patrol Vessel 11 100 120 Dispatch Vessel 10 100 60
Secret Police (MINITOL) Ships
The vessels in this fleet provide service as noted below to the Marhleim Secret Police:
Ships
Class Tech Level Tons Number in Service Notes Vosh Class Security Cruiser 11 10,000 200 These vessels - manned by MINITOL crews - accompany Naval forces to prevent mutinies. See notes below. Large Utility Transport 10 800 600 These ships serve a variety of roles - spy ships, intelligence-gathering vessels, and prison ships. Courier 11 100 32 These courier vessels carry information between MINITOL branches around the Dutchy
Notes
The Vosh class security cruisers are rather lightly armed for their size against "enemy" warships. They are instead intended to serve as insurance against mutinies, defections and other insurrections on MARARSTAR and GRYMOV ships. The vessels include large "Marine" detachments equipped to board and pacify mutinous vessels (via entrances kept secret from the vessel's crews), and . More importantly, special MINITOL officers aboard these cruisers have access to the transponders that will detonate nuclear scuttling charges secreted aboard ships deemed to be mutinous or defecting. Thus, a Vosh may be mismatched in a battle against, say, a Caledonian destroyer - but is capable of vaporizing a Marhleim Battle Rider carrier and everything aboard it with the turn of eight keys by eight officers aboard the Vosh.
The following starships serve the GRYMOV's political ends.
Ship List
Class Tech Level Tons Number in Service Notes Grzying Class Battleship (Old) 10 15,000 40 These obsolete battleships are all detailed to guard the Capitol. Stenka Class Security Vessel 11 400 2000 These ships patrol the border zones. They are analogous, in some ways, to the Imperial Scouts - but their focus is almost entirely inward. Light Security Vessel 10 400 1000 These ships patrol the border zones. Dispatch Vessel 10 100 60 Typical dispatch "courier" ship, analogous to an X-Boat.
- Author: User:Mitchberg