| Army of Revolution | |
| |
| Political Information | |
| Class: | Raider |
| Leader Title: | Colonel |
| Leader: | Martin Kruger |
| Motto: | Making America American again |
| Societal Information | |
| Location: | Detroit Wasteland |
| Historical Information | |
| Policy Information | |
| Goals: | Conquest |
| Allies: | The Foundry |
| Enemies: | Black Skull Company |
Key The Army of Revolution is a human supremacist organisation seeking to take control of the Detroit Wasteland through force and unify it under their rule. A militaristic and expansionist organisation, the Army has deliberately attempted to emulate the pre-war US military to the point of appropriating its symbology and terminology.
History
Formation
Officially, the Army of Revolution claims to be descended from a pre-war organisation formed during the 1970s, making it over three hundred years old. These claims have never been verified, and no evidence has been found to support them. The modern incarnation of the army was formed in 2245, born out of a collection of mercenaries and former soldiers with obvious military experience who had chosen to unify under a single banner to their mutual benefit.
Initially offering themselves purely as a mercenary outfit, the Army of Revolution sought to monopolise the market in the Detroit Wasteland. This was achieved through strong-arming other outfits or independent operators into either joining them or leaving the trade altogether. Those that refused the Army’s offers quickly found themselves under attack by them instead. This predatory behaviour allowed the Army of Revolution to not only quickly grow, but to also achieve a dominant position in the region. It also had the side effect of spurring on the formation of the Black Skull Company in 2249, which set itself up in opposition. Initially, the Army of Revolution were not concerned about this, seeing the Black Skulls as being a minor nuisance that they would deal with in time. This oversight would come to cost them in the long run.
Having established themselves, the Army of Revolution began to aggressively target raider bands on the fringes of the wasteland. This was done in order to expand their numbers, rather then out of any desire to eliminate them as a threat to various communities. Those raiders they targeted were given a choice of being conscripted into the army or killed, with many choosing the former option. This move allowed the army’s numbers to swell, even if it was with low-end cannon fodder troops.
Change of Tactics
With a considerable force at their disposal, the Army of Revolution began to change their approach towards mercenary work. While they did continue to take paid contracts, they also started a program of intimidating settlements or other groups into paying the Army for protection. Those that refused would find themselves under attack from the Army, or alternatively stripped of their defences and left to whatever other threats awaited them.
As these operations proved to be successful, the Army of Revolution began to move away from mercenary work and towards becoming a full-blown raider army. They began staging attacks in force against settlements and traders, simply taking whatever they wanted without the pretence of doing such under anyone’s employ. On occasion they would even seize control of smaller settlements or outposts, stripping them of anything of any worth. Those that they took captive would be conscripted into their ranks, allowing the army to make up the losses it suffered in its raids. The Army would often specifically target explorers and scavengers, looking for those who could lead them to caches of pre-war technology and equipment.
These efforts allowed the army to grow considerably, building a sizeable fighting force, even if much of it was of dubious quality. However, they would also have unforeseen consequences that would cost the Army in the long term.
Retaliation
Beginning in 2264, the Black Skull Company began a campaign that deliberately targeted the Army of Revolution in an effort to curb their activities. Not only did they offer their services towards those communities that the Army had attacked in past, but the mercenary organisation began going after the Army’s operations and territories.
At first, the Army of Revolution was unaware that they were being directly put under the spotlight, and simply assumed that they were facing retaliatory attacks for their own raids. A part of this came about due to the Army’s size; having grown so fast and occupied a fair swathe of territory, the lines of communication became somewhat tangled, making it hard to realise that these attacks were coming from a single, well-coordinated group.
As losses began to mount, the Army of Revolution attempted their own counteroffensive by stepping up their operations. Instead of eliminating the Black Skull Company as they had hoped, this plan instead wound up exposing their forces even more and increasing losses. Adding to their irritation, the Army’s leadership found that even the communities they targeted were putting up more of a fight, apparently buoyed by the idea that somebody was supporting them.
Rather than continue to exacerbate a bad situation, the Army’s leadership made the decision to scale back operations within the Detroit Wasteland and consolidate their remaining forces. Pulling back, they instead chose to restrict themselves to operating in the rural areas north of the city, rather than risk further escalation. As expected, the Black Skull Company responded in kind, apparently unwilling to overextend themselves.
The Long Winter
The 2270s were not kind to the Army of Revolution. All but expelled from Detroit proper, they found themselves instead going after scraps and smaller communities that had far less to offer them. Eastern Michigan proved to be slim pickings, which in turn saw numbers fall as members of the army deserted for more lucrative climes. A series of harsh moves by the leadership staunched the flow of losses, but it was clear that more needed to be done.
In order to aid in their rebuilding, the Army of Revolution returned again to mercenary work. Small units were hired out, often stripped of anything that would identify them as being a part of the Army proper. These operations helped to bring in caps, supplies and even raw recruits, the latter of which were signed up under the belief that they would be working for a smaller outfit and not realising exactly what it was they had gotten into.
By 2275, the Army of Revolution had begun to turn itself around. Numbers were again increasing, and the organisation had somewhat rebuilt its depleted stocks of weaponry and equipment. Tentative feelers showed that the situation in the Detroit Wasteland had remained largely unchanged, while their enemies in the Black Skull Company seemed to have lost interest in them and were instead focusing on their own mercenary operations.
However, it was two unconnected events that would prove to be the most beneficial to the Army of Revolution. The first was the savage defeat dealt to the Black Skulls during the battle of Zug Island, which cost them their leader and a number of their most skilled soldiers. It also meant that the largest and best organised force opposed to them had suddenly been substantially weakened without their needing to be involved at all.
The second was the rise of the Foundry in the Flint River region. While beyond the territories that the Army of Revolution operated in, the Foundry offered them a source of weapons and equipment that could be used to rebuild their forces. Seeing an opportunity, the Army’s leadership struck a trade deal with the Forgemaster, swapping weapons for food and other supplies. Soon Foundry-made rifles were finding their way into the hands of Revolutionary soldiers.
The Revolutionary War
With an expanded arsenal, the Army began a new recruitment drive, once again swelling its ranks. Confident in their growing army, and seeing that their enemies remained weak and unfocused, the Army’s leadership began work on an ambitious plan, one that aimed to bring the Detroit Wasteland under their control. While audacious in its scope, they felt that their numbers were enough to make their goals viable.
Launched in Spring 2284, the first stage of the Revolutionary War saw the Army drive in from the northeast in mass numbers. Sweeping through the largely abandoned outer suburbs, they encountered only scattered resistance from raiders and scavengers. Many groups surrendered after realising just what sort of numbers they were up against, with their members quickly conscripted into the army’s ranks.
With their numbers actually growing through such efforts, the Army then proceeded with their second stage and launched attacks on several of the communities in the northern portions of the Wasteland. Isolated and unable to coordinate their defences, these communities fell easily to their offensive. In each case, the Army occupied them and began stripping them of anything of worth. However, they also left existing trade networks and businesses intact in order to ensure their functionality after the war.
By this point, news of what was happening had spread to a number of other communities who were taking their own measures to prepare for the inevitable onslaught. The Army of Revolution had expected them to do such, and initially were not concerned. Instead, they stuck to their plan, which called for them to bypass downtown and instead swing to the south-east to attack a number of the communities present. Fully aware that this would put Black Skull Company in the line of fire, the army’s leadership remained confident that they would be able to overcome the mercenary outfit through the sheer weight of numbers that they fielded.
Instead of taking them on head-on, the Black Skulls chose to break up into platoon-sized units and pull the Army of Revolution into a protracted guerrilla war. Facing attacks on their supply lines and being pulled into the downtown district, the Army found it ever increasingly difficult to maintain their offensive. Morale plummeted as their forces faced constant, unpredictable attacks while insurgencies broke out across their occupied territories.
As efforts to contain the damage failed, the Army of Revolution was confronted with a new threat. Desertions became commonplace, especially among the conscript troops that had formed the bulk of their offensive. With their front crumbling, the Army also found themselves under opportunistic attacks from raiders and Super Mutants who saw an opportunity to pick at the carcass of their offensive.
Realising that they were now in severe danger of catastrophic losses, the Army’s leadership ordered a coordinated withdrawal back to their occupied settlements in the norther wastes. Instead, what occurred was a chaotic rout as their forces lost cohesion and broke, with many simply melting into the ruins rather than trying to make it back to friendly lines. By the time the smoke had cleared, the Army of Revolution had lost most of what it had captured, with very little to show for their massive losses.
Aftermath
With the war, an unmitigated disaster, the Army’s leadership engaged in a bloody purge aimed ad eliminating those that were seen as responsible for the debacle. The shattered morale of their army was ‘reinforced’ through public floggings and executions, designed to remind their soldiers of the consequences of their failures. However, nothing could disguise the scale of the losses they had suffered, forcing the army to once more engage in recruitment drives, trying to pluck warm bodies from its newly occupied territories.
At the same time, it has undergone something of an internal reorganisation as its leadership seeks to address the problems that lead to its crippling defeat. Key among those has been a newfound emphasis on intelligence gathering in order to get a better understanding of their enemies and their something that was somewhat lacking during the Revolutionary War. Likewise, efforts have been made to streamline the chain of command and untangle the mess that so hampered communication during the conflict.
In late 2286, the Army of Revolution approached the Foundry with eyes to expanding their relationship. Moving beyond simply trade partners, the Army sought a partner to help them build a pro-human state in Michigan, hoping that the Foundry’s success in the Flint River War would encourage them towards aid. As yet, these talks have not yielded any results, but the Army’s leadership remains hopeful.
Death to Mercenaries
By January 2287, Kruger felt that the Army of Revolution had rebuilt its strength enough to allow them to begin making more overt moves towards their goals. Despite the ongoing problems with Scrap Iron City, their situation had stabilised while many of their internal issues had been quietly dealt with. Several of Milton’s more vocal remaining supporters had stepped down, while some others had been won over through the results of Kruger’s intelligence gathering campaigns. Internally confident, Kruger began to move forwards with the next stage of his plans.
A key part of his plans for the future was a levelling of the playing field through the elimination of elements that could potentially interfere with any future conflicts. Primary among his concerns were the city’s considerable mercenary population. These independent groups and even individual had played a significant part in the army’s defeat in during the Revolutionary War and, as such he felt that their elimination or at least a reduction in their numbers would be a significant advantage to the Revolutionaries in any future actions.
Where possible, Kruger’s agents tried to simply buy off mercenary groups, or suborn them through third parties. However, there were also enough groups and individuals that they felt they would be unable to buy the loyalty of that would require the army to act more directly. Of course, Black Skull Company remained their chief threat, however the Army was wary about openly moving against the unit given their shared pasts. Their chief concern was that any such overt move might trigger a greater retaliation that could undermine all that Kruger had done so far.
One particular mercenary unit fell in the army’s sights. This group, which did not operate out of Park Lane like many others, had cost the Army of Revolution a golden opportunity to bolster their forces. They had apparently deliberately targeted a scouting team that were in the process of retrieving an intact Power Armour suit, a weapon that could have been a considerable asset to the Army’s forces. As such, the targeting of this group was aimed not only at eliminating them as a threat, but also with an eye to potentially retrieving the suit.
Unfortunately, this attack was also a failure, and only served to tip off the mercenary band to their intent. Wary of further aggrivating the situation while other elements were in play, Kruger ordered his men to back off for the moment.
Outbreak and Backlash
The start of 2287 bought an unexpected opportunity to Kruger, one that would ultimately have long-term consequences. A viral outbreak within the Foundry created a need for medicines to treat it. Fortunately, the Army of Revolution had a means to fulfil that need through the chem labs in Baggie High. However, Kruger felt that not only could he help his ally, but he could also strengthen his position and gain some degree of leverage over them.
Acting through messengers and Olivia Milton, his ambassador to the Foundry, Kruger offered the Forgemaster medicines they needed, but at an exorbitantly inflated price. He demanded more guns and ammunition from them while threating to withhold the medicines from them, in essence blackmailing the Forgmaster. While Milton protested, Kruger persisted, and eventually the Forgemaster, seemingly backed into a corner, relented.
For the next month, the Army maintained this one-sided deal. New weapons flowed into its arsenal, quickly offsetting the lost trade caused by the disruptions in Scrap Iron City. While the Foundry complained, they had little option but to go along with the bargain for the moment. In the Detroit Wasteland, the crews at Baggie High worked around the clock to fulfil demand, further compromising the settlement’s already unsafe conditions.
The seemingly inevitable occurred in February of 2287 when a fire broke out in one of Baggie High’s chem labs. Fueled by the abundance of material at hand and the poor conditions within the settlement, the fire spread quickly and soon engulfed the entire settlement. Efforts to stop its spread came to nothing, and overnight the settlement burned to the ground. Its population fled, with many of them effectively escaping the Army of Revolution’s grasp to Arsetown. Meanwhile, the garrison relocated to Scrap Iron City as a stopgap measure while they figured out what to do next.
The loss of Baggie High left the Army of Revolution’s leadership reeling. Abruptly, one of their conquered settlements, as well as their sole leverage over the Foundry had literally gone up in smoke. On top of that, they had overnight lost half their limited gains in the Revolutionary War without a shot being fired. The subsequent uprising in Scrap Iron City threatened to completely eliminate those gains, effectively risking pushing the Revolutionaries out of the Detroit Wasteland entirely. News of the two events spread quickly through the army’s ranks, creating an air of uncertainty and concern, and serving to sap morale.
Adding to their problems was that the Foundry somehow discovered what had happened (Despite Kruger’s efforts to keep a lid on matters) and quickly reversed their previous one-sided dealings. The Army of Revolution had suddenly found its biggest source of new weapons to be far less willing to deal with them, further jeopardising their situation.
Seeing a potential weakness, Kruger put several plans into motion to shore up the Army’s position and try to regain control of the situation. His first move was to distribute the troops who had retreated from Baggie High to a series of outposts. This move was aimed at relieving the pressure on the Scrap Iron City garrison by giving them back their space while also hopefully giving them more room to move in dealing with the insurgents while not having to trip over their comrades. It also established a buffer space between Scrap Iron City and Chryslus Castle to deter the latter from taking advantage of their sudden weakness.
Behind the scenes, Kruger began pouring over the intelligence that his agents had collected over the past months, looking for opportunities. He had always planned to move against the other settlements when the time was right, but fate had now forced his hand. Using the network of spies, agents and go-betweens he had at hand, he launched several plans into motion that were aimed at destabilizing their opponents and creating an opportunity for the army to expand its holdings.
Organization
While it styles itself as a professional military force styled on pre-war armies, the truth is that the Army of Revolution is anything but. It pays lip service to pre-war US military organization and ranks, but in many cases, these concepts are in name only. Many of its conscript units are ad-hoc in nature, with no fixed sizes or organization or even a coherent system of designations, while ranks are more arbitrary then indicative of any actual structure. More often then not, a unit will be composed of whatever men are available, lead by a single officer. Morale is enforced at the barrel of a gun, with these groups being more akin to large raider bands than anything else.
Within the Army’s ranks, there are clear divisions between the more professional soldiers and the raw conscripts that make up the bulk of their ranks. Those that have demonstrated clear skill and talent, joined the Army of their own volition or have family who are past members receive superior treatment. They are better organized, better trained, better equipped and usually reserved for more important operations. In these cases, the Army of Revolution more resembles the professional fighting force it claims to be.
Equipment
As with the quality of its soldiers and their leadership, the equipment used by the Army of Revolution is highly variable. Due to the necessities of arming such a large fighting force, many of their troops have to simply make do with whatever weapons are available. At the lower end of their ranks, this often means soldiers armed with scratch-built pipe rifles, civilian model shotguns or hunting rifles or even melee weapons. Likewise, those soldiers with armour often sport makeshift or scratch-built sets based on whatever they can find. Unit cohesion is rare, with soldiers equipped with whatever is at hand rather than any idea of standard issue.
At the higher ends of the army, the situation is somewhat different. The better equipped, more professional units are usually armed with reconditioned pre-war military weapons, such as R91 Assault Rifles, DK-501 Sniper rifles or even AER9 or Wattz Laser weapons. Heavy weapons and even more exotic energy weapons also appear, but many of these are issued on a case-by-case basis. These soldiers can also expect access to body armour, and usually will have their equipment built towards more functional units.
A Foundry-built assault rifle of the type supplied to the Army of Revolution
In recent years, Foundry-made rifles have begun to proliferate among the Army’s ranks, allowing a small degree of standardisation among their ranks. After some disruption caused by the Flint River War, the flow of weapons has continued, traded for caps and food. However, the losses suffered by the Army during the Revolutionary war also saw a number of these weapons fall into the hands of raiders and other forces.
Prior to the Revolutionary War, the Army boasted a number of robots that it used to supplement its forces. The bulk of these were destroyed during the conflict, and as yet they have not been replaced. Likewise, the Army has never possessed any operational Power Armour suits, and has sought to overcome this limitation.
Membership
The Army of Revolution has only one requirement for its recruits, and that is that they are human. Built on a core of human supremacy, the army does not allow Ghouls or mutants within its ranks. Other then that, the army has shown no biases in its recruiting. As long as a potential soldier can hold a gun and follow orders, then they are considered acceptable. Given how heavily conscription has played into bulking out its numbers, there is rarely any concept of minimum standards.
Training is overly harsh, aimed more at reinforcing loyalty and obedience than anything else. Punishments for infractions are severe, with the instructors showing little mercy to their charges. It is not uncommon for recruits to be killed during their training, which often serves to better motivate others lest they be the next to die.
Those that join the Army are considered to be ‘in for life’, with no concept of retirement or standing down. Usually, the only way to leave the Army is through dying, although the collapse of their forces during the Revolutionary War saw mass desertions among their ranks. Those that show genuine skill and loyalty can expect to advance through the ranks, especially if they joined the army by choice. Many of those at the upper ends of the orgnaisation are second-generation members, descended from the unit’s founders.
Facilities
The Army of Revolution's current headquarters
The Army of Revolution’s current headquarters is based in a pre-war mental hospital in the northern fringes of the Detroit Wasteland. While decayed, the buildings are still largely intact, and have been converted for the army’s purposes. The Army have cordoned off much of the grounds, which are now dotted with shacks and other makeshift structures to house their personnel. Other sections of the grounds remain open and are used for training and exercise.
In addition, the army maintains a number of outposts across its territory. These facilities are usually built into pre-war structures that have been fortified and are in at least passible condition. These outposts are used as forward operational bases for the staging of patrols and other such operations, as well as keeping an eye on the army’s enemies.
Finally, despite their losses in the Revolutionary War, the army was still able to hold two of the settlements that they occupied during the early stages of the campaign. While they have been fortified against any attempts to recapture them, they have been allowed to operate with a modicum of normality. However, the Army does skim a share off to top of all business activities, and confiscates any weapons or technology that it feels would be useful to them.
Allies
The Foundry
While not actually located within the Detroit Wasteland, the Foundry has become a key ally to the Army of Revolution. With its capacity to mass-produce weapons, the industrial city serves as a key supplier to the Army, allowing it to achieve some degree of standardisation among its disparate forces. Following the end of the Flint River War, the Foundry has supplied the Army of Revolution with a constant stream of weapons, which has helped speed up their reconstruction.
On top of all this, the leadership of the Army of Revolution sees the Foundry as being more then just an arms supplier. The two of them do share a human supremacist philosophy, even if the Foundry’s is more opportunistic based on creating an enemy rather then an underlying goal. Ideally, the Army of Revolution’s leadership would like to expand the alliance between the two, and combine forces to build a human nation in Michigan.
Enemies
Black Skull Company
Black Skull Company
The rivalry between the Army of Revolution and Black Skull Company goes back to the formation of both groups. The Black Skulls have always positioned themselves as being in opposition to the Army of Revolution, and in past managed to drive them out of the Detroit Wasteland. During the Revolutionary War, it was the Black Skulls who lead the counterattack against the Army’s advance that ultimately resulted in their defeat.
At present, the Army of Revolution sees Black Skull Company as being the single greatest threat to their future operations. With this in mind, the Army have developed plans to eliminate them as a threat, if not destroy them outright, as a prelude to any future action. However, they also understand that the Black Skulls are well armed, well trained and coordinated, and that any move against them will be costly, regardless of the outcome.
David David David David David David Plop
While on the surface he may seem to be just another deranged, drug-addled raider, the Army of Revolution sees David David David David David David Plop as being a considerable threat. During the Revolutionary War, he managed to inflict considerable damage to their forces. Whether this was by accident or design remains unclear, but his crazed and unpredictable nature makes him a threat to them regardless. Added to this is his use of a Power Armor suit, an asset that the Army does not possess themselves. Ideally, the Revolutionaries want to eliminate David Plop while being able to salvage his suit for their own.
Notable Members
Martin Kruger
Colonel Kruger
The current leader of the Army of Revolution, Martin Kruger ascended to the position after the Revolutionary War. Faced with the staggering losses the army had suffered, he and a group of other officers confronted then-leader Olivia Milton and essentially forced her to step down. Having inherited a shattered and demoralised unit, Kruger engaged in a program of rebuilding and restructuring, while also taking steps to staunch losses and bring what was left back up to fighting condition.
The son of one of the Army’s founding officers, Kruger genuinely believes in its goals of creating a human state in the Detroit region. He is unashamedly opposed to Ghouls and Super Mutants, and sees them as being a blight on the earth that must be eliminated. His manner is usually blunt and to the point, leaving little room for niceties or small talk. It is only in negotiations with potential allies that he shows any degree of tact or diplomacy. Quietly, he somewhat admires the Forgemaster both for the state that they have built and the degree of blind loyalty they receive from their followers.
Kyle Bleaker
Lt. Bleaker
A lieutenant in the Army, Kyle Bleaker commands one of its forward outposts in the Detroit Wastes. One of those who voluntarily joined its forces, he does not entirely embrace its beliefs. While he does feel that the Detroit Wasteland needs the strong guiding hand and order that the Army would bring, he does not feel that they need to do such at the expense of Ghouls and others who do not fit the army’s ideals of human purity.
Bleaker fought in the Revolutionary War and was one of the few survivors of his unit. He feels that their deaths were as much due to enemy action as they were the poor decisions made by the Army’s leadership. As such, he has become a vocal supporter of Kruger’s reforms to the Army’s structure and operations.
Shelbie Grande
One of Colonel Kruger’s greatest assets, Grande does not appear on any of the army’s rosters, nor is she a part of any given unit. Rather, she is an intelligence agent, given broad discretionary powers to roam the Detroit Wasteland in the name of gathering information for the army’s use. Usually posing as a free trader, she can easily enter settlements and use her position to accomplish her goal. This is aided by her somewhat friendly and outgoing persona, which encourages others to engage with her.
Mister Asakai
Listed in the Army of Revolution’s inventory as an ‘external client relations manager’, Mister Asakai (His first name is known only to a few) serves as a liaison to mercenaries and other freelance agents that are hired by the Army of Revolution. He has no overt connection to the Army, wears no uniform, rarely uses a gun and would be just about completely useless on the battlefield. However, he also has the combination of charisma, quick wits and deep pockets needed to hire a man to do horrible things to his fellow man in the name of earning a few quick caps.
While he often works out of Park Lane, Asakai spends his time rotating between different communities depending on the needs of his current assignment. He has used his skills to ensure that he is well protected and never wants for anything, while still managing to remain largely anonymous.
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