NS Military Realism Consultation Thread #3

[Themiclesia]

You know, some of these units of armed forces have their distinct names. While I struggle to think of one in RL, there are plenty of these, such as they appear here.

Why do these units of armed forces have their own names?

I'm thinking of giving some to my army divisions.

[Registug]

They're nicknames given to the division by the soldiers, commanders or other.

The US did it a lot in WWII.

[Themiclesia]

What about the number thingy? Like '1st regiment'

[Registug]

"1st regiment, etc etc" is their official army designation.

[Themiclesia]

So I could name them,

1st Regiment, "Woodstock"
2nd Regiment, "Snoopy"

.
.
.
ad infinitum?

[Registug]

Well remember to include things like "1st Regiment, 25th Armored Division, 3rd Army Group" etc.

[Boer Republics (Ancient)]

As long as one of your air defense regiments is named "Kite Eating Tree", the yes, this is acceptable.

[Samozaryadnyastan]

What's the practical size limit for machine guns mounted on a pintle, swing arm, or even on a tripod? Or really, any type of human powered mount?

It looks to be ~20mm. (based on the MG151/20 and M621)
Could the Madsen 20mm AA cannon and the Type 98 20mm be considered similarly?
What about any of the 23x115mm cannons?

I was thinking of going 14.5 for a tank coaxial, but looking at some pictures, the 14.5 has such a voluminous case that I'm thinking the step up to 20mm would be marginal - and the autocannon could have different variants for a pintle mount on a vehicle, swing arm for a helicopter door gunner, and some sort of mount for FOBs.

What type of advantages would I get from a 20mm vs. 14.5 (or the 15.5, or any of the other similar experimental rounds) considering that the 20mm shell only has a few grams of explosives anyways?

The 20mm HE will be effective against thin-skinned vehicles, infantry in the open and unfortified buildings.
The 14.5mm AP will be effective against most vehicles up to a few tonnes in weight.

From a military perspective, you should probably consider the 20mm and 14.5 roughly comparable. The 20mm is for use against all targets and soft targets, the 14.5 is ideal for when target penetration is required.

[The Akasha Colony]

You know, some of these units of armed forces have their distinct names. While I struggle to think of one in RL, there are plenty of these, such as they appear here.

Why do these units of armed forces have their own names?

I'm thinking of giving some to my army divisions.

It's usually a historical name, or sometimes an honor. A lot of UK units have unit names (in addition to a number) that traces their lineage or pays homage to their royal patron. US names are often based on lineage or another popular unit nickname, but were rarely considered official with the exception of the Americal Division, which was known until after WWII by its name rather than a number. A few other specific geographic divisions also had names, not numbers, such as the Hawaiian Division.

[Questers]

http://iiwiki.com/wiki/General_Social_R ... lican_Army

You can see my division names here (regiments are just given numbers as they are permanent attachments). Some of them get quite boring.

[New Tyran]

I'm flattered that you linked my factbook Themiclesia but also a bit embarrassed as sometimes I think the names I have for them are a bit cheesy...
Anyway, I just made that factbook and listed those regiments as they are the ones I feature most in role plays and are so the most prestigious in my military.

[Immoren]

I haven't named my peace time units there might be some lineage reason for some of them. Although giving special name for rifle company in the back end of nowhere seems silly.
My wartime units obviously don't have special names for obvious reasons.

[Purpelia]

Well since everyone is talking about it this is what I do. My regular units newer have any names only their army issued designation. At least not on paper. However those units that distinguish them self in combat are given the title Guards. And they get to keep this title for as long as the unit exists or they do not dishonor them self enough for it to be stripped away. In addition some of the most elite divisions and only divisions are given names officially. Like say the 1st Guards Tank Division Purpelia. And finally if a unit is lead by a noble there is a distinct chance that it will be named after him/her or his/her family or that he/she will even be given the freedom to name said unit at will. We are feudal after all. Than of course there is the regional naming system which dictates that the original designations must also include the region the unit is from (1st Tank Division Windir instead of just 1st Tank Division) meaning that numbers can and do overlap.

So simple enough.

[Anemos Major]

Depends entirely on *where* in the Army the formation is from - for the most part, the 'old' formations with the elaborate names are part of regional Armies rather than the new Mobile groups, so they get the Guards formations (which, in the Anemonian Armed Forces, isn't just a title) and the long names.

[New Tyran]

Sounds cool. I just add names as I think it adds some character to my regiments when I role play with them and there is a reason why they have names they aren't slapped on for no reason well maybe some were named the way they are just for laughs but even then there is a reason why they are named that.

[Samozaryadnyastan]

I just adopt the unit names of the Soviet Union's 1984 ORBAT verbatim.

[Immoren]

Only peace time unit I've made

Actually there's one differentiation in status. It's jaeger vs infantry brigades.
Jaeger brigades are mechanized and armoured brigades, have newer gear, are made of fresher/younger reservists and have more career personnel in their ranks.
Infantry brigades are motorized, have older gear, have older reservists and have less career soldiers in their ranks.

[Questers]

Only peace time unit I've made

Actually there's one differentiation in status. It's jaeger vs infantry brigades.
Jaeger brigades are mechanized and armoured brigades, have newer gear, are made of fresher/younger reservists and have more career personnel in their ranks.
Infantry brigades are motorized, have older gear, have older reservists and have less career soldiers in their ranks.

What's the difference between motorised and mechanised for you?

The Questarian Army just has "infantry" brigades and "infantry" regiments. They're either mounted in a BMP or a BTR ripoff (I use patria pasi for the marines) - tho the name doesn't change. In any case I have no divisions that are either "motorised" or "mechanised" only, so I don't bother with a distinction.

[Questers]

[San-Silvacian]

182nd Mechanized Shock Guards best unit name or gtfo

[Samozaryadnyastan]

182nd Mechanized Shock Guards best unit name or gtfo

Logically, wouldn't it be 182nd Guards Mechanised Shock?

[Registug]

Only peace time unit I've made

Actually there's one differentiation in status. It's jaeger vs infantry brigades.
Jaeger brigades are mechanized and armoured brigades, have newer gear, are made of fresher/younger reservists and have more career personnel in their ranks.
Infantry brigades are motorized, have older gear, have older reservists and have less career soldiers in their ranks.

What's the difference between motorised and mechanised for you?

The Questarian Army just has "infantry" brigades and "infantry" regiments. They're either mounted in a BMP or a BTR ripoff (I use patria pasi for the marines) - tho the name doesn't change. In any case I have no divisions that are either "motorised" or "mechanised" only, so I don't bother with a distinction.

Mech for tracked, and motorised for wheels?

[Anemos Major]

182nd Mechanized Shock Guards best unit name or gtfo

216th Noble Guards Rangers Brigade 'Lebivist Fyrkondierikanei' :<

[Questers]

Mech for tracked, and motorised for wheels?

That is normally how most people seem to do it, but everyone has their own idea.

[Samozaryadnyastan]

What does "mechanised" strictly mean, anyway?
What makes tracked vehicles and certainly tanks need a new classification that wasn't sorted by the term of "motorised"?

Not so much that they wanted a new term, I get that, but why mechanised?