HARM
HARMFOR or HARM was the primary armed force of the United Republic of Hawkwick from 2000 until 2015. It consisted of the Hawkwickan Army, the Hawkwickan Navy and the Hawkwickan Air Force. HARM was established immediately after the 2000 founding of the United Republic (known as the Phoenix Constitution). Beginning in February 2000, the unified armed forces had completely replaced the earlier free army, taking the official name HARMFOR. One of President Jensen’s prime accomplishments was the establishment of HARM, which he had described as a "global force for good". Fulfilling the Jensen administration’s long term goals of ensured military dominance in the north required massive investment and spending in the Hawkwickan armaments industry and a mandatory conscription to properly man the Hawkwickan military machine. In January 2000, General Erik Matterhorn was designated Supreme Commander of HARM.
Along with the Navy and the Air Force, the Hawkwickan Army formed the heart of Hawkwick's military apparatus. HARM generals successfully employed the army using innovative combined arms tactics (close cover air-support, mechanized armor, and advanced infantry tactics) to devastating effect by using several revolutionary military doctrines. HARM incorporated a new military structure, unique combat techniques, new-found weapons, and an unprecedented speed and brutality against their opponents. HARM is also credited as being the decisive land force in 2014 Blackwatch Invasion. During operations conducted in the war, it defeated 75%–80% of the Blackwatch land forces (Imperial Guard and Conscripts) deployed in the war.
Contents
Origins
Skepticism about the competence of the initial Hawkwickan Defense Force was not uncommon, with President Hans Jensen being quoted in 1989 as saying "the military is inadequate and outdated, and this leaves us open to international and national threats." The originally solution to this problem was the Military Equipment and Infrastructure Overhaul Plan of 1990, which hoped to greatly modernize and expand the Hawkwickan Defense Force's stock of vehicles, weapons, and bases. One of the primary improvements made upon the system by this plan was the total militarization of Blackhorn Island, formerly a Trinitat religious site. With the First Blackwatch War, Hans Jensen was again quoted as saying "Our army is too incompetent to get anything done". At the time, the Hawkwickan Defense Force had started to collapse. 23% (about 29 million) of the male population of Hawkwick were mobilized; however most of them were not equipped with any weapons and had support roles maintaining the lines of communication and the base areas. HDF general Marcus Notte estimated that there were 2 million deserters, 1.8 million dead, 5 million wounded and 2 million prisoners. He estimated the remaining troops as numbering 10 million.
With the partial reorganization of the Free Republic of Hawkwick in 1995, the council decided decided to form the Free Hawkwickan Armed Forces on 14 March 1995. They envisioned a body "formed from the most dedicated and most elite of Hawkwick's soldiers". All citizens of the Hawkwickan republic over the age of 18 were eligible. Its role being the defense "of the Hawkwickan people, of the Hawkwickan lands, and of the Hawkwickan nation.". Enlistment was conditional upon "guarantees being given by a military or civil committee functioning within the territory of the Free Republic." Once Hawkwick was liberated, doubts were once again raised about the validity and training of the largely civilian-based fighting force. When the new constitution was put in place in 2000, creating the United Republic, the armed forces also received a noted overhaul into HARM.
History
2012 Vandinium Civil War
Erik Matterhorn had warned of a possible civil war in Vandinium, noting the strained relationship between the Emperor of Vandinium, Treven Von Stien, and his wife, Elise Von Stien, especially among the rising Blackwatch paranoia in the western regions of Vandinium. In early 2012, HARM received permission from the Emperor to conduct anti-Blackwatch operations, even as the war began to escalate. Eventually, HARM also joined the war on Treven's side, after news of a possible return of Blackwatch resurfaced. General Matterhorn thought the civil war was staged by Blackwatch in an effort to create instability so that they could take control. HARM entered Vandinium on 2 June, in Operation Order. Initial results were in HARM's favor, with Elise's largely civilian militias falling easily to the mechanized machine of HARM. In September, General Cessius Tessari formed a faction for peace. Hawkwick initially responded favorably to the action, however with the revelation that the faction was seeking peace through superior firepower, all diplomatic offers were withdrawn, continuing the war.
At the time, the Hawkwickan Army consisted of 241 infantry regiments. All infantry were largely equipped with the Dragonplate Armor System in it's first proven combat usage, while the overall uplink system also caused many Hawkwickan lives to be saved. Slight concerns were raised about the state of Hawkwick's utility vehicles during the war, as the long trek to Vandinium had slowed logistics delivery greatly, leaving many units to be supplied exclusively by airdrops due to the speed of their operations. The air force also used the war as an opportunity to test and tune new technology. Both the HF-71 and the HF-77 had their first combat usage in this war.
In December, an diplomatic envoy in the form of President Erikson of Hawkwick was sent to Vandinium to negotiate peace terms for the war, however unbeknownst to them, their arrival coincided with the attempted assassination of Elise Von Stien by Hawkwickan operatives, ordered directly by Rickard Jensen. A Hawkwickan team sent to the capital managed to locate Elise and critically injure her in the neck but were forced to withdraw by the President's dropship being shot down and crashing into the palace. Both her and Treven were in critical condition, leaving their son, Fredrick Von Stien, to attempt negotiations with the survivors of the dropship crash, which included both President Erikson and former President Jensen. News of the attack on Elise, which was purported to have killed her, spread fast, leaving HARM to be forced to take Fredrick hostage after an attempted attack in the capital. Concurrently, General Marcus Notte of the 84th Airborne Division had been ordered to deal with Peace faction forces congregating near Karthspire, Hawkwick, which had taken several villages hostage in an effort to force HARM out of the war. While attempting negotiations, HARM attempted a trade, Fredrick for the villages, with the President landing to oversee negotiations himself, however they were all cut short by many of the Vandiniumite forces turning on both Cessius and the Hawkwickans, killing the President and former President, and critically injuring Fredrick and Cessius. Blackwatch then forced HARM out of Vandinium, along with a small number of Vandinium loyalists, which also retreated to Hawkwick. After recieving passage through Sad-States, Blackwatch turned it's eyes to Hawkwick.
2013 Blackwatch Invasion
In early 2013, Blackwatch entered Hawkwick and immediately met heavy resistance directly north of Karthspire, Hawkwick from HARM forces. This battle, known as the Battle for the South, lasted for two weeks, and was largely a stalemate. Eventually, the terrain was considered inadequate for prolonged fighting due to the very loose Earth and HARM forces retreated to directly south of Ostwind, where they rendezvoused with the 1st Shock Army, under the command of General Konahrik. A light defensive line of fortifications was set up around Ostwind, while Vandiniumite general Cessius, which had joined Hawkwickan forces after his own country was conquered, was given command over the 84th and 71st Airborne Divisions, which were lost in a surprise attack, during which Cessius fled back to Vandinium. The loss of the local airborne forces was a major blow to HARM operational capability in the area, and has often been blamed on Cessius himself, who Supreme Commander Matterhorn, as well as Parliament at the time, accused of prolonging the war.
HARM forces operating in southern Hawkwick often complained about their fairly standard camouflage patterns at the time hindering proper concealment in the largely deep green foliage of southern Hawkwick. A remedy was implanted almost immediately in the form of a digitized version of the pattern, the first use in Hawkwickan military history of such a pattern. However, both the Dragon and Wyvern networks continued to perform above expectations, as did the uplink system and the suits. Hawkwickan armored vehicles, although more then adequate for standard foes, were forced to adapt their tactics against the larger-than-average Blackwatch tanks. Meanwhile, HARM remained virtually uncontested by Blackwatch air threats outside of SAM sites and a sizable majority of captured HF-71s used by Blackwatch.
HARM launched a series of counterattacks into Blackwatch territory, with the final one north of Ostwind stopping Blackwatch in it's tracks and forcing them to resort to using the civilian population as makeshift hostages in order for HARM not to counterattack immediately afterwards. By November 2013, the stalemate in the south was still ongoing, likely due to the largely defensive stance undertaken by the Hawkwickan government at the time as well as pre-existing logistics issues with HARM that would have resulted from any further counteroffensives after Blackwatch was stopped at Ostwind. Parliament's initial negotiations were not successful, leading to some civilians dying in retaliation. Any further attempts at negotiation were blocked by the governmental structures' total destruction in very early 2014.
2014 Hawkwickan Civil War
Main Article: 2014 Hawkwickan Civil War
When Parliament was bombed by Communist revolutionaries in early 2014, HARM swiftly tried to retake the capital. Supreme Commander Matterhorn declared martial law due to the utter lack of governmental officials and proceeded to silence naysayers from throughout the country, occasionally using force. In New Altberg, attacking HARM forces opened fire on an advancing civilian crowd, sending the nation into shock as large amounts declared HARM, or particularly Matterhorn, incapable of sustaining a stable governmental system in the absence of the true government. Two of the more prominent in Hawkwick was the National Freedom Assembly of Hlymrek, a branch of the socialist party of Hawkwick, and the Hawkwickan Nationalist Authority, a branch of the Fascist party that had descended from the militias created during communist rule in the 20th century. HARM almost instantly declared war on both of these factions, starting the Hawkwickan Civil War. HARM's position was initially strained by high desertion rates. The National Freedom Assembly was predominantly Eld, while the Hawkiwickan Nationalist Authority seeked Altic domination, worldwide. Due to the profiles of both of the factions, many soldiers deserted to be with their families. However, due to the large pool of United Republic loyalists, HARM enacted a wartime draft, something that had not been reserved for the Blackwatch invasion due to it's confinement in the south.
Despite the fact, HARM was the most equipped, and enjoyed much success in the early days of the war, especially against the HNA, where HARM armored divisions and air superiority destroyed over twelve divisions of HNA in the first week of June 2014. Blackwatch also continued to be a hindrance, although the presence of decoy trench lines and HARM overall air superiority in the area, as well as internal struggles due to Vandiniumite revolutionaries caused them to stay on the defensive for a large majority of the war. The NFA however, recieved international support in September, at first from Heimar, and then from Artstotskza, greatly increasing the stakes of the war and causing many more HARM members to become disillusioned with their organization's escalating methods for keeping control. The first reports of chemical weapons use by HARM came out in November, which were shortly followed by more confirmed use, this time against civilians, in Blackwatch-occupied Ostwind around November. Janus Wulfar, Commander of HARM South, was present when they were utilized, and defected to the NFA, taking over a quarter of HARM's infantry manpower with him. Coccurently, the destruction of the HNA by advancing Heimarn forces caused HARM to feel more pressured. Supreme Commander Matterhorn especially was considered to have had some mental issues during this time. After defecting, Wulfar proceeded to drive Blackwatch out of Hawkwick, before mustering a counterattack against HARM-controlled Volunruud, where yet another stalemate ensued.
In the north, HARM won a major victory by retaking New Altberg from first the HNA, and then the Heimarn-Artstoskza force in the First Battle of New Altberg. General Jorik Narheim, in charge of the assault on New Altberg, then proceeded to layer the city's roads in bombs and retreat to a much more defensible positon 300km to the east. Concurrently, Erik Matterhorn found and crowned two Ulfbert twins, creating the Kingdom of Hawkwick under Magnus II Ulfbert. HARM also launched the Viirkun Orbital Defense station around this time, adding 127 kinetic rods to it's already formidable nuclear arsenal. After more counteroffensives in January 2015, HARM once again created a stalemate directly south of Volunruud and Rokir. By this time, a large majority of HARM was against Matterhorn, and a coup against him happened in February, turning control of HARM over to Jorik Narheim, who agreed to peace terms with the newly-crowned King of Heimar as the NFA was destroyed by leftover HARM forces. HARM was disbanded in March and incorporated into the Royal Altic Armed Forces.
