The White Army is the name of the military forces of the Russian Coalition.
The White Army[]
The key to Russian military strength has always been the vast White Army. Always huge even at peacetime strength thanks to a compulsory draft, now that the Coalition is at war, it has expanded massively.
The quality of the White Army varies greatly. Many of its regular regiments which form the Rifle Armies, are poorly trained conscripts. Lightly equipped and with only days of training, these troops will nonetheless stand their ground when living in fear of their Oprichnina overseers. Nonetheless, even unsupervised Russian conscripts are renowned for their stubbornness and endurance.
At the other end of the scale are the armoured forces, the Tank and Artillery Regiments of the Shock Armies. Unlike the mass of the infantry, these troops consider themselves elite and are trained and equipped as such. They also include their own infantry, the regiments of Streltsi armoured riflemen.
This branch of the army has had the bulk of available military resources lavished upon it, including many of the fruits of Markov’s research. Driven by smokebelching engines their armoured vehicles are large and immensely strong. They use webs of interlinked wheels rather than tracks for locomotion, these being simpler to maintain and much harder to damage. In fact, the huge Sturginium-reinforced wheel arrays of the larger armoured units serve as additional armour in extremis.
The pinnacles of the White Army’s strength are the Land Ships and Dreadnoughts of the Armoured Battle Brigades. The Iron Heart of the Shock Armies, command of these units is seen as a high honour.
The Russian taste for weaponry is simple and direct – masses of large-bore cannons, mortars and bombards to smash the opposition. Russian weaponry tends to be short ranged, but makes up for this with enormous destructive power.
The White Air Armies[]
A branch of the White Army rather than an independent organisation, the Air Armies operate in support of ground and naval groups as directed by the Marshals of the Stavka, the Tsar’s General Staff. As with the army’s armour, size and strength are the guiding principles of Russian aerial equipment.
Markov’s Circle has made its greatest advances in this area, producing a series of highly unorthodox but sturdy Skyships and smaller craft. Utilising stolen Antarctican repulsine technology and Sturginium cell power units, these craft are surprisingly advanced. The Skyships are backed up by squadrons of bombers and heavy ground attack aircraft, utilising massed arrays of chain-guns.
Lastly, the infamous Steel Interceptor wings operate fearsome multi-role aeroplanes. Ferocious Cossack and Mongolian pilots, advanced aircraft and sheer numbers make flying operations against Russian Coalition forces highly dangerous.
Because the Russian Coalition is so vast the White Army Air Force currently shuns the use of Sky Fortresses. Instead, the Stavka arranged for the construction of hundreds of airfields across the Coalition’s territory to provide bases for its Interceptors wherever they need to operate.
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The third branch of the Russian military, the White Navy is subordinate to the Army command and mostly operates in support of Army Divisions in the Baltic, White Sea and Black Sea.
Russian naval craft are similar in principle to the White Army’s tanks and Land Ships; heavily constructed, often with ice-breaking bows and well armed with short ranged but powerful cannons. Even the White Navy’s carriers pack a considerable gun armament. Operating mostly in confined waters, all White Navy ships must be capable of defending themselves from surface attack.
The White Navy does use a number of unique technological innovations, including volatile Sturginium Thermal Pressure Engines. Their superfiring turrets tend to be arranged fully forwards, meaning that crossing the T of a Russian fleet is far more dangerous than many commanders realise. They also utilise a number of ingenious shallow-draft vessels with circular hulls. Propelled by multidirectional water jets, these gunboats can swiftly align their weaponry and are perfectly adapted for inland fire support missions on rivers.
The White Navy is split into Baltic, Black Sea, White Sea and Arctic divisions, with each fleet made up of several Naval Battle Brigades. These are composed of Battleships and Dreadnoughts, often with attached Fleet Carriers. They are supported by Naval Line Squadrons and Light Flotillas of smaller craft.
The bulk of the Navy’s strength is based in the west, but the fastest growing Russian naval force is the Far Eastern Fleet, based at Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk. It is responsible for protecting links between the Coalition mainland and the Oblast of Alaska, its only true overseas territory.
Behind the Scenes[]
In the real world, the White Army was the name of the military forces of the anti-communist movement of Russia. Their counterpart was the Red Army of the Bolsheviks that later suceeded in 1920 and formed the USSR and also played a major role in World War 2.