August Sask

Augustus IX (born Fryderyk August Stanisław Jozef Sask on 17 January 2611) is a Terran nobleman, military commander, and is the 128th and current King of Poland. Descended from the senior Albertine Saxon line of the House of Wettin, whose junior Saxe-Gessaphe line hold the title King of Saxony, August Sask was born into Terran aristocracy as the heir to the Polish royal titles, and was conferred the title Grand Duke of Krakow. He is known professionally as August Sask.
However, he shunned the privileged lifestyle of famed nobility in favor of a military career. Enlisting in the Imperial Navy, he attended the Space Academy and became an operations officer on a combat craft. He was given command of his own vessel, and later of a destroyer squadron, and proved himself in battle during the Cruxite War and established his reputation as a fiercest and capable combat leader. He was promoted to Counter Admiral in 2648, among the youngest admirals in the Space Navy.
He served in command of a naval squadron until 2650, when his father passed away. He volunteered for transfer to the Imperial Army to serve in and command the 7th Guards Uhlans, the "Polish Lancers" regiment. He later was made a Major General in charge of the illustrious 12th Guards Cavalry Division. At the outbreak of the Great War, he was appointed to a joint-service theater command including the 3rd Army and the 99th Strike Fleet, achieving a decisive victory at the Battle of Khoz. He continued to command these units until the close of the war, and was lauded as a hero. His style of command and control, the methodology of combined space-ground forces, was implemented as a major operational reform in the postwar CGDF.
After the war, he was appointed combatant commander for the occupied Central Kas sector, and the Aquila Stream sector. In this latter position, he commanded fleet anti-piracy forces in the Pirate War. In between these commands, and from 2687 to his retirement, he also served as Superintendent of the Army Staff College in Berlin. He retired from military service in 2695.
Sask is considered an icon of the Late Empire's military establishment.
== Early life and education ==
Sask was born on January 17th, 2611 in the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland to Princess Frederika of Denmark and King Casimir V of Poland. He was followed by six siblings, all sisters.
Sask grew up primarily in his family's estates in the Poland province. From autumn 2617 to spring 2625 he attended the Royal Basic School in Krakow, matriculating with high marks in history and the astrosciences. He then attended the Warsaw Crown Lyceum from 2625 to 2627 with a focus in military and history studies and astronomy, passing the local Matura Exam and entering qualifications for higher education under Polish provincial standards.
He enlisted in the Imperial Space Navy upon matriculation in early 2629, and began correspondence studies with the Rhode Island Space Officer Candidate School while attending the Jagiellonian University. He departed JU before he could graduate.
== Military career ==
=== Early career ===
Sask enlisted for military service at age 16 in early 2627. He desired to become an officer in the space forces, but was under the age limit to qualify for attendance at a service academy. So he attended a research university and took distance education courses in an officer training corps program, the courses provided by the Rhode Island Space Officer Candidate School.
In early 2630, he began education in military arts and sciences and in astrophysics at the Space Academy in Cape Canaveral, Florida Province. He attended the Space Academy for two years, while travelling between semesters to Rhode Island to attend leadership courses at the Space OCS as well as specialist classes in weapons systems. He matriculated in late spring 2626 with an academic degree in military studies and a commission as a Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Sask began service during the Cruxite War and was deployed on the destroyer HMSV Jockey in a 'wolf pack' unit, the 11th Destroyer Squadron, in July 2632. He participated as a junior weapons officer in fourteen combat engagements with enemy spacecraft before being receiving a field promotion to Lieutenant and being made ship operations officer in December 2633. In a skirmish on 11 June 2634, the Jockey was badly damaged and both the ship's captain Commander Mark Prescott, and its first mate Lieutenant Commander Philip Auvergne died during attempts to assist with repairs in engineering from radiation poisoning, severe burns, and decompression injuries. Sask, as the ranking operations officer, was made acting captain of the Jockey. After reaching safe harbor, he was promoted to Commander and formally appointed the ship's commanding officer.
Sask commanded the Jockey through the end of the war, and continued to hold command afterwards. He was promoted to Counter Admiral in April 2648, one of the youngest flag officers in the fleet, and appointed to command a destroyer squadron. In 2650, his father Casimir died and he became holder of the Polish royal titles. He was appointed honorary colonel-in-chief of the 7th Guards Uhlan Regiment "Polish Lancers", as per his family's hereditary honors. He expressed a desire to be the unit's commanding officer in fact, not merely through ceremony. In later interviews, he stated that his war experience "soured [him] to empty honors". He applied for an inter-service transfer, and was enrolled in the Imperial Army.
He was enrolled at one grade lower, as a Colonel, and attended Armor School at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by Harsh Environment Training on Luna, training until end of August 2650, despite his age. He was placed in command of the 7th Uhlan Regiment and led the unit for four years, but never saw combat during that time. He attended the Army Staff College in Berlin for two years and was commissioned a Brigadier General in December 2656. Submitting a request for combat duty, he received an appointment in command of the 12th Cavalry Division, an elite armored unit stationed in the colonies, and with it a promotion to Major General.
He led the 12th Cavalry during the tumultuous peacekeeping mission in the Outer Colonies and the marches, including the Banat region, in the late 2650s and early 2660s. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2660 and placed in command of the 33rd Cavalry Corps.
=== Great War service ===
In September 2665, the Great War broke out between the Terran Empire and its allies and the Soviet Republic and its allies, joined later by the Free Interstellar Group of Nations in a three-way conflict. Recognizing the severity and scope of the conflict, and the duty he had towards the Empire, General Sask requested a field command and in October was appointed commander of the III Joint Field Force, a joint-service theater command responsible for forward operations in the Soviet front, and promoted to General. Sask undertook an experimental combined arms approach to commanding his battle units, and was tasked with capturing planets. Several times his command doctrine was tested, and he never lost a battle during the war. He instituted the thorough use of orbital artillery in support of ground forces, as well as the integrated use of air assets and brown-water sea navy squadrons to take total control over an area of operations.
He was criticized by some for overextending his personal command. General Sask defended his operational strategy with assertions that the a good commander involves himself personally in running operations, and should not be an "armchair general". He delegated authority to appropriate sub-unit commanders at the Field Army level or the Squadron level, but compelled their cooperation. His basic strategy for capturing a planet was to rush in with assault squadrons to completely eliminate an enemy's space defense before seizing orbital satellites and crashing them into surface defense installations, eliminating their ability to 'swat' landing troops out of the sky. His forces would then deploy successive waves of ground troops, including Marines and Army shock troops, followed by armored units, and then infantry divisions to 'mop up' and control. His doctrine was successful many times, and it is in the Battle of Khoz in the summer and autumn of 2667 that the 'classical' demonstration of it can be seen. Other commanders began adopting his operational doctrine and rapidly saw success in defeating the Soviets by the middle of 2670; he was promoted to Colonel General and the scale of his command was increased, with operational control over the Vryst Theater of Operations.
In the second half of the war, his forces continued to be a spearhead unit and were among the first space fleets to employ the Beaumont Doctrine in combat. In the Vryst Campaign from July 2671 to April 2672, his strike fleet conducted 173 orbital bombardments which resulted in the 'glassing' of a planet's surface from combined kinetic impactor, nuclear weapon, and beam weapon strikes. In only thirty of these, soldiers were deployed on the ground; his units suffered the lowest casualty rate of any combat force in the campaign.
=== Postwar service ===
General Sask continued after the war to serve in the Central Galactic Defense Forces. In the immediate aftermath of the war, he was promoted to Field Marshal and appointed as combatant commander for the occupied Kasian Sector, tasked with securing the region from any organized goliath remnant forces. Despite widespread speculation that he would be the next Chief of Staff of the Army, in 2678 he was appointed Superintendent of the Army Staff College, tasked with disseminating his ideas and methods of combined arms warfare to the next generation of senior commanders. He was recalled to active field service as combatant commander for the Aquila Stream sector from 2684 to 2686, and excelled in anti-piracy operations in the Pirate War. His expectation to be Army Chief of Staff was again disappointed, as Field Marshal Lanning was appointed to the post instead in 2686. Instead, after his two-year term in the Aquila Stream, Marshal Sask was reappointed to his post at the Staff College. He retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age in early 2695.
== Post-retirement ==
After reaching the mandatory retirement age on 17 January 2695, he retired from the Army on 1 February 2695. In June 2695, he was appointed Chancellor of the Jagiellonian University, a position he continues to hold. Sask also possesses the right to sit in the Central Galactic Congress.
== Personal life ==
Sask, in line with his overall philosophy as a career military officer, has shunned the public spotlight in spite of his high title and his fame as a war hero. His conduct has been the subject of academic study at various military academies.
Sask married the princess Maria Christina of Denmark in 2640. They have four children: Crown Prince Francis, the Grand Duke of Krakow (b. 2641); Charles, the Duke of Masovia (b. 2643); Christina, the Duchess of Silesia (b. 2645); and John, the Duke of Sandomierz (b. 2647).
Like his family and many other native Poles, Sask is a Roman Catholic and attends mass regularly. His royal duties in Poland are generally conducted by his son and heir, the Grand Duke of Krakow. Because the King and the Crown Prince hold separate seats in the Central Galactic Congress, Sask is compelled to teleconference in sessions of the Congress to fulfil his legislative duties.
== Summary of military career ==
Enlisted in the Terran Imperial Space Navy 25 April 2628. Went to Basic Training 1 June 2628 to 1 August 2628. Attended distance learning courses for Rhode Island Space Officer Candidate School 2628 to 2632. Attended Space Academy Cape Canaveral 20 January 2630 to 3 May 2632. Commissioned an Officer of the Imperial Space Navy 3 May 2632. Assigned to HMSV Jockey from 15 May 2632 to 15 April 2648.
Commissioned an Admiral of the Imperial Space Navy 15 April 2648. Assigned to command 11th Destroyer Squadron from 15 April 2648 to 3 May 2650. Appointed honorary Colonel-in-Chief of 7th Guards Uhlan Regiment "Polish Lancers" on 6 March 2650. Requested and granted transfer to the Terran Imperial Army on 17 April 2650.
Commissioned an Officer of the Imperial Army on 3 May 2650. Went to Armor School from 3 May to 3 August 2650, and Harsh Environment Training from 15 to 30 August 2650. Assigned to command 7th Guards Uhlan Regiment from 1 September 2650 to 16 April 2654. Attended the Army Staff College Berlin from 5 May 2654 to 10 December 2656. Commissioned a General of the Imperial Army 10 December 2656. Assigned to command 12th Guards Cavalry Division from 6 January 2657 to 26 December 2663. Assigned to command 33rd Cavalry Corps from 26 December 2663 to 1 October 2665. Assigned to command III Joint Field Force from 1 October 2665 to 1 October 2675.
Appointed as High Combatant Commander for Central Kas from 1 October 2675 to 1 January 2678. Appointed as Superintendent of the Army Staff College from 1 January 2678 to 15 May 2684. Appointed High Combatant Commander for the Aquila Stream from 1 June 2684 to 1 December 2686. Reappointed as Superintendent of the Army Staff College from 1 January 2687 to 1 February 2695.
Retired from military service 1 February 2695.
=== Dates of rank ===
==== Space Navy ====
* Astronaut (OR-1) 25 April 2628
* Midshipman (OR-5) 20 January 2630
* Lieutenant Junior Grade (OF-2) 3 May 2632
* Lieutenant (OF-3) 17 December 2633
* Captain (OF-6) 11 June 2634
* Counter Admiral (OF-7) 15 April 2648
==== Army ====
* Colonel (OF-6) 3 May 2650
* Brigadier General (OF-7) 10 December 2656
*Major General (OF-8) 6 January 2657
* Lieutenant General (OF-9) 26 December 2663
* General (OF-10) 1 October 2665
* Colonel General (OF-11) 1 September 2671
* General Field Marshal (OF-12) 1 October 2675
=== Notable decorations ===
* Grand Star of the Iron Cross
* Order of Victory
* Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
* Grand Cross of the War Merit Cross
* Distinguished Command Cross
* War Merit Cross
* Navy Cross
* Military Spaceflight Badge
* Panzer Badge
* Army Service Medal (with Eagle)
* Cruxite War Service Medal
* Perseid Frontier Police Action Medal
* Kalabaska Campaign Combat Service Medal
* Sigarit Campaign Police Action Medal
* Urahaz Campaign Police Action Medal
* Baharat Campaign Police Action Medal
* Annos Campaign Police Action Medal
* Khoz Campaign Combat Service Medal
* Vryst Campaign Combat Service Medal
* Final Campaign Combat Service Medal
== Titles, honors, styles, and arms ==
=== Titles ===
* 17 January 2611: Grand Duke of Krakow
* 6 March 2650: King of Poland
=== Styles ===
* His Highness the Grand Duke of Krakow (17 Jan 2611)
* LT JG August Sask (3 May 2626)
* LT August Sask, KIC (11 June 2634)
* KADM August Sask, KMT KIC (15 April 2648)
* His Majesty The King of Poland (6 March 2650)
=== Honors ===
* Honorary Colonel-in-Chief of the 7th Guards Uhlan Regiment "Polish Lancers"
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Mary of Terra 
* Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Michael
* Grand Master and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle
Category:Army generals
Category:Army personnel
Category:House of Wettin
Category:Kings
Category:Living people
Category:Military personnel
Category:Military personnel of the Colonial Wars
Category:Military personnel of the Cruxite War
Category:Military personnel of the Great War
Category:Space admirals
Category:Space Forces personnel
Category:Terran Catholics