Bob's Anglican League Forces

 

The Anglican League (AL) has members in two types of areas:  Free Parishes, and Occupied Parishes (OP).  The former are in areas under full AL control, where it provides the government and all services.  These areas are under threat of Royalist and BUF attack, but those occur on the frontiers or in raids into the interior.  The Occupied Parishes are in areas under control of some entity other than the AL, but the Church leaders and members of the parish have taken allegiance to the League.  Many OP are in Royalist areas and some are in areas under control of socialist/communist organizations.  The military aspect is different between the two types of parishes.  In the occupied areas, there are only small para-military groups that try to protect the parishioners from day-to-day harassment of BUF thugs and other anti-Church groups.  These groups try to maintain communication with the AL hierarchy and will send men to join the military forces in the free areas.  The organization within the Occupied Parishes is similar to the Local Parish Militia, described below.  The size of the organization in each Occupied Parish is however, limited to only a few units.   

 

In the Free Parishes, the Anglican League military contingent is made up of 4 regular components.  These are the Local Parish Militia (LPM), the Regular Military Force called The Military Vicariate, a mobile force named " The Paladins," and foreign volunteers.  The LPM is made up of minimally trained local forces raised to protect their village, or town from outside attacks (especially in the frontier parishes), carry out sabotage raids, and deal with any internal problems. They may be called up to provide limited support to the regulars.  The Military Vicariate consists of ex-servicemen and other trained and uniformed soldiers who are organized in fashion similar to the British Army.  Besides rifles, they have automatic weapons, some artillery, and a few armored vehicles.  They will fight the Government forces in pitched battles.  The Paladins are a mobile force, with horses and vehicles, trained to keep the roads between parishes open and to deliver supplies to isolated areas.  Also, they try to keep the government forces off the roads. They can be used as a Rapid Deployment Force sent outside of the AL areas for raids and preemptive strikes to prevent forthcoming raids.  The foreign volunteers are regular or at least trained troops from outside of Britain who have come to help bolster the forces of the Anglican League in its fight against Fascism.  There are, as well, some various ad hoc units that are part of the Anglican League forces.

 

The Local Parish Militia is organized at the lowest level, into groups of three – a Trinity.  Each Trinity is headed by a Sub warden.  Three trinities plus a Warden make up a LPM Squad called a Ward.  Almost all Parishes have at least one Ward.  Larger ones will have more.  Three Wards plus a Deacon constitute a Deaconate.  In some areas the Deaconate is made up of Wards from a couple Parishes.  This is the largest unit for the LPM.  If more than one Deaconate is called on to fight together, officials from the Military Vicariate will be seconded to command, along with some support troops such as a Crucifer (ensign/standard bearer) and Custos (quartermaster) and heavy weapons.   Usually an Episcopes  (captain) will command with a Senior Poimen (sergeant major) to assist.

 

The Military Vicariate (TMV) is the primary fighting force of the Anglican League.  It is the complement of the Civilian Vicariate, which provides the governance to the area controlled by the League.  Members of TMV are ex-service men or recruits who have had extensive military training (as time allows in during the conflict).  Besides military training, all members of the TMV participate in religious instruction and are expected to be subject to the rules of the Church.  Each unit of the force has a clergy member – Chaplin – who will have co-command authority with the unit commander.  Other ranks and regular army equivalents are

 

TMV Ranks

Regular Army Ranks

Commands

Acolyte

 Private

 

Senior Acolyte

 Corporal

 

Poimen

 Sergeant

Kopathee (section)

Senior Poimen

 Sergeant Major

Kellion (squad)

Crucifer

Ensign/ Second Lieutenant

Sacristy (Platoon)

Sacristan

Lieutenant

Sacristy

Episkopos

Captain

Synod (Company)

Archepiskopos

Major

Synod

Exarch

Colonel

Military Congregation  (Battalion)

Sub Vicar-General

Brigadier

 

Vicar-general

Commander in Chief

 

Chaplain General

commands all Chaplains in TMV

 

 

A typical Synod consists of 2-3 Sacristies of riflemen, 1 Sacristy with light machine guns, 1 Kellion with a heavy machine gun and maybe a mortar, and a command Sacristy.   There are artillery units too, and a Sacristy of tanks or armored cars.  My current Military Vicariate collection consists of one Congregation of 2 Synods and assorted support units.

 

The second regular fighting organization is made up of TMV troops seconded to an elite force officially called Episcopi Vagantes, wandering or independent units, nicknamed "The Paladins."   This group is entirely mobile, on horses or motorized. It has light artillery; truck mounted or towed, and armored cars.

 

The fourth category of troops in the Anglican League is foreign volunteers who serve under the command of the Military Vicariate.  At present there are two such units.  First is the Norwegian Volunteers.  While these are armed and equipped by the Norwegian government, and seconded from that army, they are organized and paid by the Church of Norway.  This unit derives support from The Anglican-Lutheran Society, an outgrowth of the Archbishop of Canterbury's attempt to create a Communion of Churches among like-minded churches in Northern Europe.  Units are billeted in parishes where there is a twinning of churches in UK and Norway.  The unit calls itself the Haugeans in honor of that movement of piety in the Church of Norway.  The current force is one Gevaerkompani. 

 

The second foreign unit is from China.  These are volunteers from mission stations there who have come to support the Mother Church.  Known as the "Tin Hats" because of their French style helmets, they are lead by the son of Lord Stanley and "One-arm"  Sutton, the British advisor to Chinese Warlords, who was a soldier in the Great War.  It was Sutton who fabricated the special tank used by this unit, the Sutton Skunk.  It is converted from a Holt artillery tractor and shoots a Stokes mortar out the back end.  Unit is about equal to a Synod, with support weapons and a light tank.

 

Besides all the regular troops, there are some ad hoc units that serve in the Anglican cause.  One of these is Boys' Brigade.  Formed in late 1800's in Scotland, it is the religious equivalent to the Boy Scouts.   In the recent time of conflict, the BB severed its ties with the Boys' Life Brigade and returned to military training.  The Senior Section often provides scout and auxiliary services to the Military Vicariate units in their parish.  The Section in St. Albans has 12 members, and two leaders.  In addition to the Parish militia, there are some units of militia that are raised by independent landholders and citizens from among their own estate or household staff staff.   Col. Brandon has raised such a militia unit from his manor staff.

 

Roster of Available Troops

Military Vicarate

The current MV has two infantry Synods and support units plus the Paladins.  The premier Synod is the "Sanguis Christi, victor daemonum"  denoted by their Blood Red berets.  There are 5 Sacristies and machine gun Kellion.  The command unit is front left, with Archepiskopos in command. The table below shows roster of each Sacristy, reading left side back, the right side back.

 

 

 

Unit

Officer

NCO

Chaplin

Rifle

LMG

HMG

Command

1

2

1

1

BAR/ammo

 

1st

1

 

1

6

 

 

MG

 

1

 

3

 

1 (2 crew)

2nd

1(smg)

 

1

6

 

 

3rd

1(smg)

 

1

6

 

 

LMG

 

1

 

3

Lewis(2 crew)

 

     Total

4

4

4

25

2

1

 

Second Synod – The Grace of Heaven.  Command Sacristy, 2 rifle Sacristies and Mortar Kellion.

In the table below, the units are listed, left side, front to back, right side, front to back.

Unit

Officer

NCO

Chaplin

Rifle

LMG

Command

1

2

1

1

Lewis/ammo

1st

1

 

 

6

 

2nd

 

1(smg)

 

6

 

Mortar

 

1(pistol)

 

3

mortar(2 crew)

     Total

2

4

1

16

4

 

 

Episcopi Vagantes - The Paladins

2 Rifle Sacristies, LMG Sacristy, 2 MG Kellion.  17 rifles, 2 smg, 2 pistols, 1 LMG w/ ammo carrier, 2 MMG each with 3 crew.  Trucks to carry all.

 

Paladin Support

 

 

Norwegian Volunteers – Ò  HaugeansÓ

Gevaerkompani  =  2 gevaerstroppen (rifle squad) + 1 maskingevaer troppen (machine gun squad) + mortel troppen (mortar squad)

 

17 rifles. 2 LMG, 1 MMG, 1 Mortar, 4 officers with pistol.  1 sniper

 

 

 

Chinese Volunteers  - "Tin Hats"

1 company = HQ Company ( 2 LMG, 3 rifles, pistol), 1 rifle squad (8 rifles),  1 MG section, 1 mortar section, 1 light tank

 

 

Boys' Brigade, St. Albans,  Senior Section. 

Section Leader, Right, Priest Fallon (pistol), Left, Science teacher (SMG), 12 Cadets with carbines.

 

Col. Brandon's Estate Militia

3 rifle squads, including 2 LMG, and Machine Gun section.  Mrs. Bridges carries ammo for Hudson's Lewis, and is armed with only kitchen knife.

 

St. Albans Militia – Ward 1. Three Trinities (rifles and shotguns) and Warden (SMG)

 

Exarch (on foot) and Sub-Vicar General of St. Albans Diocese