| History: |
Empire of Vauhgray
Vauhgray is an empire comprised of over two dozen previously separate kingdoms and duchies which to form m a singular entity under one banner. united to fo The Vauhgran territories stretch across the hemisphere eastward of the Atlantic , with their homeland stretching from the Alps all the way the western coast in lands which they gained from conquering Eiregren during the Expansion War nearly two centuries prior.
The national symbol of Vauhgray is an osprey, which was the favorite bird and lineage symbol of their first leader, Kaiser Dietrich I. Dietrich was previously the king of Graylau, which was the largest of Vauhgray's proto-states which was the most instrumental for uniting the larger empire. According to Vauhgran royal records, the symbolic use of the osprey dates back at least a millennium, when Graylau was at the threat of losing a war with another kingdom. They were allegedly saved from defeat during a crucial battle when a messenger bird - an osprey- was able to send a letter calling for assistance. Ever since, the osprey has remained an icon of the Vauhgran people's fortitude, flying vigil over the land and its people.
Expansion War
Roughly 265 years ago, the Kingdom of Eiregren was making large advances into the research and application of Stratium gas. It was already theorized and put into small applications as a means for lift, with small wooden dirigible airships being used in limited capacity by multiple countries.
With other Nations withdrawing from foreign affairs due to a mounting likelihood of civil war, Vauhgray declared war on Eiregren and began a westward invasion into their land. The Empire had only come into existence less than a decade prior, and Vauhgray's first leader - Kaiser Dietrich I - refused to see it fall into ruin so soon.
The Vauhgrans utilized every resource available to them in their fight against the clock, including rudimentary, first-generation combat airships. The Eiregrenians were fierce in the defense of their homeland, but were unable to withstand the enemy's personal race against time. Despite three long years of strong defense, the kingdom of Eiregren capitulated to the Vauhgran Empire, who subsumed all of the kingdom's land and holdings in what became known as the Expansion War. |
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Vauhgran 8th Pioneers
Logistics are the backbone of every fighting force throughout history, and Vauhgray's 8th Pioneer Regiment can be considered one of their more crucial vertebrae. This particular regiment is an elite group of combat engineers who specialize in both reconnaissance and construction, often scouting out and establishing forward operating positions which can then be further fortified on-site by their same personnel. Given that they also double as light infantry, the Pioneers are also fully capable of holding themselves in a fight, either supplementing a larger movement of troops or deploying to areas where little to no resistance is expected.
Although not trained as shock troops, members of the 8th are drilled in the same rigorous Gun and navigational training as per standard Vauhgray raider training dictates. This is to ensure that they are able to construct fortifications in remote or hazardous environments with little outside help, such as within the skylands or other locations with particularly extreme conditions.
Osprey Commandos
Although most nations have their own special groups of pilots, the Vauhgran Osprey Commandos stand out as a unique form of airmen in their skillset and application. Members of the Osprey Commandos are most often pilots who simply applied or volunteered to undergo the specialized training expected of them. Along with above-average flight performance, members of this group must also undergo reconnaissance and saboteur training, because as their name may suggest- they are also meant to function as self-sufficient raiders if they are ever downed behind enemy lines.
Osprey Commandos typically don't display any aircraft markings denoting themselves as such, instead opting for a service cap fronted with a brass sigil of an osprey. If a commando ever finds themselves deplaned and grounded in enemy territory, they are encouraged to conduct a multitude of tasks to disrupt enemy operations. These include making note of enemy positions or movement of assets, destroying or tampering with equipment, and -in rare cases- even eliminating enemy officers or other field personnel.
Spearhelm
The singular piece of Vauhgran military attire which is synonymous with their triumph during their Unification War is the old model Spearhelm. Although outdated in terms of protection (though definitely not style), the Spearhelm is still widely used both in ceremonial situations in home guard regiments and parades, along with limited frontline usage from individuals who wouldn't mind giving up the protection of the standard-issued stahlhelms in exchange for something which reminds other soldiers they're facing that they've beaten their kind before.
The basic design behind the spearhelm's iconic appearance predates Vauhgray's formation as a country, with many precursor states utilizing helmets adorned with similar spiked toppers. Though the true reason behind the recurring design decision is lost to time, some have speculated that having multiple warriors wearing these types of helmet would give the illusion of a legion of spears and pikes at the ready, always prepared to strike at their enemies.
Gunther Rothmann
"My journey is like reading a pocket watch. Anyone can use it to tell time, but those who look closer may decide what that time tells us."
-Gunther Rothmann
Young gunsmith Gunther Rothmann is a rapidly rising figure within the Vauhgran military sphere, already having seen great success in his comparatively short tenure in the profession. Despite only deciding to take up weapon manufacturing a couple of years before the war broke out, Rothmann has made a name for himself and made friends in very high places. Just over a year into his new career choice, he was made a regular attendant at meetings held in the Vauhgran Imperial War Office, even rubbing shoulders with Kaiser Dietrich on a handful of occasions.
Rothmann is a plucky individual driven to solve problems by delving into every intricacy of the design process. His earlier life was as the son of a clocksmith, abandoning academic pursuits as his peers and professors were incapable of perceiving things the same way as himself. Undeterred by the lack of an official pedigree, Gunther was still able to put himself on the gunsmithing map after submitting a design to an open contract for a standard-issue sidearm for one of Vauhgray's allies. His proposed design was extremely successful, and jump started his journey as one of Vauhgray's great engineering minds.
Rothmann Automatic
The pilots of the Vaughgran Imperial Air Service were renown for their skills in the air, but their survival rates once shot down was a sizeable concern of high command. The agreed upon solution was to arm their airmen with automatic weaponry to improve their firepower and-by extension- their survival capabilities once dismounted. The primary issue with this proposal was the ergonomics associated with pilots having to carry a large automatic weapon and its ammunition, along with the associated training required to operate it.
A suitable weapon presented itself when Vaughgran firearms inventor Gunther Rothmann presented a modification to one of his widely-circulated pistols. He had previously designed and produced a 9 millimeter pistol as the standard-issue sidearm for their Tanfeldian allies. With the quick addition of an elongated barrel, extended magazine and slight modifications to internal mechanisms, Rothmann was able to convert the gun into a machine pistol possessing a respectable rate of automatic fire. After Vaughgran pilots found themselves issued this small and compact automatic weapon, it was found that in addition to survival rates once bailing out of their aircraft increased, they were able to perform on the ground within the same relative efficacy of raiders issued with dedicated submachine guns.
Entlein Light Tank
The Vauhgran Imperial War Office was late to implement a tank doctrine into its military portfolio, only seeing its potential while on a Military Expedition to other Nations. As their armored cars and cavalry units were not up to the task of fighting enemy armored tracked vehicles, it was decided to take a shortcut by sourcing a vehicle design from a neighboring country which they were on (moderately) good terms. Believing that it would not become an eventual issue to sell Vauhgray older equipment when asked by them, the Kingdom of Whitagne sold schematics for their highly revolutionary (when first built) Moineau light tank to their desperate neighbors for a hefty sum.
The Whiton design was adapted and manufactured in Vauhgray as the Entlein light tank, incorporating some much-needed modifications over the original foreign design. While the tank was the first to incorporate its main armament in a fully-rotating turret, said turret was rather cramped and only mounted a simply heavy machine gun. Vauhgran engineers created a re-designed turret which mounted a short-barreled 37 mm cannon with a coaxial machine gun beside it, allowing for the vehicle to combat multiple types of threat. Apart from the greatly improved standardized turret, extensive work was done to make several variants of the vehicle to perform various roles, as a means to maximize use out of the same chassis. Such variants included a close infantry support tank with an autocannon, turretless command vehicle with a long-range radio, and self-propelled gun with a fixed casemate-mounted 75 mm howitzer.
Mecklen LK-3 "Messer"
Vaughgray's Imperial Air Service possesses formidable amounts of aircraft at their disposal, but their strength has been challenged in recent years. The presence of newer fighter aircraft like the Triplex have resulted in unfavorable findings and shortcomings in contemporary Vaughgray fighters. The main issues found with Vaughgray fighter aircraft was their comparatively lower top speed compared to enemy aircraft of the same type. While a fundamentally new aircraft was not totally out of the question, such a time consuming endeavor was seen as unfavorable by Imperial high command, namely Kaiser Dietrich himself, who allegedly urged designers to "Fix the problem before those damn insects overwhelm our skies."
Premiere Vaughray aircraft manufacturing company Mecklen set about modifying their existing Luft Krieg -"Air War"-series of fighters without a complete redesign of more sophisticated components, such as the engine. Some claim the stroke of genius came when some designers were throwing darts whilst at a creationary standstill, but such a eureka moment is definitely reflected in the finished design. The Mecklen LK-3 "Messer" -"Knife" - was named as such due to its ability to slice through the air thanks to its novel dart-like fuselage to increase maximum speed, range and fuel efficiency without any modification to the aircraft's power plant. This streamlined design language has since been adopted by Mecklen's subsequent aircraft Designs. |
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