Stormwind Royal Infantry

== Introduction ==
Sworn to the House of Wrynn, the stoic Royal Infantry serve as the first line of defense for the Kingdom of Stormwind. After suffering complete decimation during the First War, the Royal Army of Stormwind has rebounded and now stands as Azeroth's premier fighting force. Footmen, archers, handgunners and armsmen make up the bulk of the regiment's melee and missile troops. Held to strict standards of discipline and issued high quality equipment, the Stormwind Royal Infantry will win the day with loyalty, steel, and gunpowder. 
== History ==
As one of the most prominent fighting forces in Azeroth to date, the Stormwind Army has a long and storied history. While some consider the founding of the Stormwind Militia at the beginning of the War for Stormwind's Independence to be the beginning of the Stormwind Army in 627 P.C., it was not until Samson Wrynn's return to the throne after his exile during the Ten Years' Strife decades later that the army received its namesake - the difference between the militia and the army being that the soldiers of the army were required to swear fealty to the House of Wrynn over their provincial lords. The Stormwind Army has served the House of Wrynn since its founding, keeping the realm secure and fending off any powers that might threaten the kingdom from abroad.
During the War of the Three Hammers in the late 4th century K.C., King Charles Wrynn sent a contingent of cavalrymen of the Brotherhood of the Horse along with several units of the army to fight the Dark Iron Clan of dwarves in the Red Steppes. The forces of Stormwind suffered heavy casualties when Tharussian summoned the firelord, Ragnaros, sundering and destroying the Red Steppes into the charred state they are known for today. 
After the shock of the destruction of the Red Steppes settled, the kings of the late 4th and early 5th centuries set their sights on expanding the realm of Stormwind through colonization and conquest. The Stormwind Army was at the front of such aspirations, clearing arable land in Stranglethorn Vale and the Black Morass for Stormwind settlement. 
During the First War, the Stormwind Army fought valiantly against the Orcish Horde when they surged through the Dark Portal in 582 K.C. While the first attack on Stormwind City was repelled, King Adamant Wrynn III fell in battle. For years the Stormwind Army fought a bloody battle of attrition against the Horde, eventually collapsing and making a mass exodus to the Kingdom of Lordaeron under the command of Lord Anduin Lothar. 
After the founding of the Alliance of Lordaeron in the Second War, the remaining soldiers and officers of the army imparted their knowledge of orcish warfare upon the armies of Lordaeron, helping prepare the continental defenses as the Horde launched its attack on the remaining bastions of human power. Fighting primarily in eastern Lordaeron, Quel'Thalas, and Khaz Modan, the armsmen of Stormwind fought bravely in critical missions that would eventually lead to the Horde's collapse. Under command of Lord Lothar, the army lead the charge in the Siege of Blackrock Spire, eventually toppling the orcish stronghold and breaking the orcish war effort, leading to the liberation of the Kingdom of Stormwind. 
Under King Varian Wrynn, the Stormwind Army was sent forth to rebuild the ruins of the kingdom destroyed by the Orcish Horde. Spending several years, much gold, and the lives of countless men, the Army stamped out the last pockets of land held by the orcs and rebuilt much of the kingdom - though the kingdom never recovered the grandeur it held before the orcs razed it.
Stormwind sent aid to the crippled Kingdom of Lordaeron during the Third War in attempt to secure it from destruction by the Undead Scourge, but its efforts were ultimately in vain. Stormwind's troops were forced to pull back to Chillwind Camp in western Lordaeron, where they continue to fight for Lordaeron's liberation to this day. 
After King Varian's mysterious disappearance in 617 K.C., the Stormwind Army fell into disarray and was pulled from most of the kingdom's holdings in Azeroth by Highlord Bolvar Fordragon and Lady Katrana Prestor. The kingdom buckled as the Defias Brotherhood took control of Westfall, the Blackrock Clan of orcs besieged Stormwind's holdings in the Redridge Mountains, and undead and worgen surfaced and ran rampant in Duskwood. The army itself was stretched to nearly its breaking point, sent to far-flung battlefields across the world while Lady Prestor sought to stir conflict with the New Horde.
When the Dark Portal was reopened in January of 618 K.C., the Stormwind Army was immediately rallied for a return to the world of Draenor to push back and crush whatever forces would threaten the world of Azeroth. This conquest was to be known as the Burning Crusade. Upon re-establishing supply lines to Honor Hold, the army laid siege to Hellfire Citadel alongside the New Horde, pushing the forces of the Burning Legion back as adventurers among the rest of the Grand Alliance took the fight to the leadership of the demonic hordes.
Soon after King Varian Wrynn returned to his throne in October of 619 K.C., the army was forced on the defensive as the Lich King launched attacks upon the kingdom and its colonies. At the king's command, the army landed upon the frozen shores of Northrend and established Valiance Keep in his honor. The Stormwind Army fought the forces of the Undead Scourge and the Horde throughout the continent during the War Against the Lich King, aiding the Argent Crusade in the push towards Icecrown Citadel - leading to the ultimate defeat of the Lich King at the hands of adventurers on February 16, 620 K.C. 
After victory against the Lich King, the Kingdom of Stormwind surged with growth and pride - its armies set to bring order back to its provinces. Several new fortifications were constructed and fortified throughout the realm. A number of units of the Stormwind Army were sent abroad to do battle with the remnants of the Cult of the Damned and the Horde across the entirety of Azeroth.
The kingdom was shaken to its core when Deathwing erupted from the earth in the great Cataclysm. The Stormwind Army heeded the call to stem the destruction the dragon left in his wake. Conflict with Garrosh Hellscream's Horde erupted during the War Against the Twilight's Hammer, plunging Azeroth into a state of unmitigated strife. Only when the dragon aspects banded together with Thrall and a number of adventurers did Deathwing and his cult fall, allowing the army to focus its efforts on the Horde.
The discovery of Pandaria and its subsequent conquest by both sides of the Alliance-Horde War pressed the army to maintain the upper hand as new enemies emerged. After joining the forces of Vol'jin's Rebellion, the Stormwind Army led the charge alongside the forces of the Grand Alliance to lay siege to Orgrimmar and oust Hellscream from power. 
After Garrosh's escape and the subsequent invasion of Azeroth by the Iron Horde, several units of the Stormwind Army deployed to Old Draenor after Khadgar and the heroes of the Alliance established the fortresses of Lunarfall and Stormshield. While initially the might of Stormwind was evenly matched by both the Iron Horde and the savage environment, Draenor was eventually liberated from the clutches of evil at the close of the War Against the Iron Horde. Gul'dan escaped after his climactic defeat at Hellfire Citadel, and planned his revenge on the broken isles.
King Varian Wrynn led the vanguard of the Royal Army to attempt to capture Gul'dan on the broken isles, but were overhwhelmed by an onslaught of demons summoned by the Burning Legion. King Varian gave his life so that the Alliance might escape. Under King Anduin Wrynn, the Royal Army battled on the Broken Isles and throughout Azeroth in the War Against the Burning Legion, eventually travelling to the demon world of Argus where Sargeras was defeated once and for all.
Upon their return to Azeroth, the Royal Army was faced with the tensions and open conflict spurred by the material known as Azerite. When Lady Sylvannas Windrunner burned Teldrassil with Azerite-powered weapons, the Royal Army was sent to join the Blood War against the Horde and in support of new allies in Kul Tiras. 
To this day, the Stormwind Army battles the enemies of the kingdom across the entirety of Azeroth and beyond alongside its allies in the Grand Alliance. 
== Structure ==
Within the First Regiment of the Stormwind Army, the 7th Royal Infantry Battalion provides the hard fighting armored men and women who serve on the front lines. Comprised of four distinct infantry companies, the 7th Battalion provides the raw bulk of the Regiment’s forces and is one of the original founding military units of Stormwind.
The details of how the 7th Battalion is broken down into individual units can be found in Unit Composition.
== Division Leader ==
Lord-Marshal Maxen Montclair is the current commanding officer of the first regiment of the Elwynn Brigade; a decorated war hero and veteran of the Orcish Wars and high noble of the kingdom's courts.
A close childhood friend of King Varian Wrynn, Maxen was raised as the heir to the Duchy of Westridge, a mountainous land directly south of Stormwind City. After his father was killed during the initial orcish invasion of the Kingdom of Azeroth, Maxen inherited the title of Duke and the command of Westridge's armsmen. He became a well-known military strategist who secured several victories during the Second War in Northeron and Khaz Modan. Following Stormwind's liberation from the orcish horde, he was a key leader in the reconstruction of the realm.
After suffering a disastrous defeat against the Undead Scourge in Lordaeron during the Third War, Maxen fell into a deep depression that was compounded by the deterioration of the kingdom during the absense of King Varian Wrynn. Only after the king's return did Maxen return to the front lines of the kingdom's service, where he found new purpose and success as a wartime diplomat and force commander during the War Against the Lich King.
Maxen continued his service through the Cataclysm and the War in Pandaria, securing personal allies amongst the Ashenvale Sentinels, Magocracy of Dalaran, Wildhammer Dwarves, and Tushui Pandaren. Maxen currently marshals the first regiment in the aftermath of the War against the Burning Legion.
== Roles ==
The various Combat Roles that members of the Royal Infantry may take on and their associated requirements shall be listed below.
Armsman and Spearman
On the battlefield, light infantrymen and skirmishers are often called upon to charge ahead and disrupt enemy movement while the main force organizes for battle. Armsmen are the primary units that fill this role in the royal army. Equipped with light armor and weaponry, they are trained to distract and impede enemies while avoiding being overwhelmed as agile individual combatants.
Equipment:
Chainmail Armor or Munitions Plate Armor
Spear
Shortsword
Wooden Shield or Heater Shield
Requirements:
• Recruit Initiate Role.
Footman
In the decades that have passed since the armies of the Kingdom of Azeroth were annihilated by the Orcish Horde, new heroes have risen amongst the subjects of the Kingdom of Stormwind that now take up arms in defense of their homes. Swordsmen make up the bulk of the royal army as its primary infantrymen, equipped with the shining plate armor and steel weapons of their forebears. They are trained to utilize their shields in various formations when in groups and to be durable fighters on their own.
Equipment:
Plate Armor
Broadsword
Heater Shield
Requirements:
• Promotion to Private and Pass the Basic Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam.
Pikeman
Pikemen are frontline infantrymen that specialize in formation combat. They are often dispatched to counter enemy cavalry – whether through using their points to doom charging horses, or the axe blades of halberds to rend the beasts from their limbs. Given their weight, they are also the bane of even armored troops who find their helms and spaulders inadequate to stop their blades. 
Equipment:
Plate Armor
Spear
Halberd
Requirements:
• Promotion to Private and Pass the Basic Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam.
Linebreaker
Linebreakers are those soldiers who utilize large, two handed swords, maces and axes. They are devastating offensive fighters that seek to destroy enemy formations and scatter the opposition's defensive strategies through sheer force. These soldiers are the absolute bane of any organized defense, hence why they are called Linebreakers. 
Equipment:
Plate Armor
Greatsword
Battleaxe
Two Handed Mace
Requirements:
• Promotion to Private and Pass the Basic Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam.
== How to Join ==
Humans, dwarves, gnomes and high elves are automatically placed in the Royal Infantry at the rank of Recruit if they have shown a particular affinity for direct combat without magic. 
==Progression in the Royal infantry==
===Armsman and Spearman===
Recruits in the Royal Infantry join as either Armsman or Spearman. Armsman are those recruits who opt to use a sword and shield, or a two handed weapon that's not a spear, and Spearman are those recruits who opt to use a spear. This is the training phase of the Royal Infantry where recruits learn the basics of their weapons and armor. During this phase, the recruits must train and learn all of the following:
====Basic weapons training====
#Stance Training
# Basic Physical Conditioning
#Basic Armor Utilization
#Basic Strikes
#Basic Blocking/Parrying Techniques
#Strengths and Weaknesses of the Weapon Type
#Firearms Training and Qualification
====Basic weapon proficiency combat exam====
Once the recruit becomes a private in the Royal Army, they are eligible to take their first proficiency exam. A higher ranked member of the Royal Infantry or Ducal Guard will administer the exam, to test what they've trained for and learned as a recruit. The recruit will fight against the instructor in one on one combat, the instructor having a weapon that is at a disadvantage to the recruit's choice. This will test their stances, basic strikes and basic blocks/parries. Success will entail the Armsman/Spearman performing those three elements through several rounds of combat as directed by the opponent/instructor. An additional test will be administered to test their basic physical fitness and firearms proficiency.
=== Footman, Pikeman and Linebreakers===
Once the private passes their Basic Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam they become a Footman if they use a sword and shield, a Pikeman if they utilize a spear, or a Linebreaker if they use another type of two handed weapon. The soldier then begins more advanced training, further perfecting their fighting style and becoming the typical soldier of the Royal Infantry seen on the front lines of combat. They are the bread and butter of the Infantry and are highly valued for their roles.
====Advanced Weapons Training====
#Advanced Level Stance Training
#Advanced Level Physical Conditioning
#Advanced Level Armor Utilization
#Advanced Level Strikes
#Advanced Level Blocking/Parrying Techniques
#Strengths and Weaknesses of the Weapon Type
====Advanced Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam====
If the soldier wishes to advance, they may request to take the Advanced Weapon Proficiency Combat Exam. This is a one on one combat trial against an equally equipped opponent. This will test their advanced -and- basic stances, strikes, blocks and parries. Success will entail the soldier successfully performing those elements through several rounds of combat as directed by the opponent/instructor. An additional test will be administered to test their physical fitness which will be more difficult than the basic version.
Once a soldier has completed this exam, they are eligible to join the Westridge Ducal Guard and may approach one of the First Guard regarding this. 
== Additional Readings ==
* Royal Infantry Forum
* Stormwind Army Field Manual
* Conquest: Medieval Broadswords
* Conquest: Weird Weapons of the Middle Ages
* Conquest: Medieval Crossbows
* Conquest: Early Firearms
Category:Stormwind Royal Infantry
Category:Organizations