Grozovian Armed Forces

The **Grozovian Armed Forces** (short form: **GAF**) serves as the nation's primary air, land, and sea defence force.

## Grozovian Armed Forces

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## Overview

> In the name of freedom, equality and brotherhood of nations of the Motherland, we swear to fight for the freedom and independence of the Republic of Grozovia. - GAF Oath of Enlistment
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## Background

Grozovia maintains a standing military in the the form of the Grozovian Armed Forces, which serves as the nation's primary air, land, and sea defence force. Prior to 2021 reforms, the G.A.F. consisted primarily of conscripted citizens and loosely-organized militia groups. As of 2023, the Government of the Republic of Grozovia has put an end to selective service mandates, though some citizens have reported being visited in the night by intimidating men in black suits.

## History of the G.A.F.

### 1913-1917. Grozovian occupation under the Russian Empire & The Great War

#### Section A. Integration into the Imperial Russian Army (1913)

Following 1733, an independent Grozovian state no longer existed following its incorporation into the Russian Empire. There was no standing army, rather a loosely organized set of local militias each individually commanded by a local leader. This decentralized combat force maintained the role as Grozovia’s primary means of defense until its integration into the Russian Empire. The militias were promptly disbanded, with most of their members being recruited into the 1st Grozovian Rifles battalion under the 1st Caucasus Kuban Cossack regiment. This relatively small force was maintained until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.

The treatment of Grozovian’s under the Imperial Russian Army is highly disputed. Grozovian sources claim that the commanders of the Caucasus Army regarded the 1st Grozovian Rifles as “...an unruly set of Turkish mutts who couldn’t shoot and hit a dog from 20 paces.” (Boslan 317) However these claims, even until modern days, are often dismissed or refuted by Russian historians and politicians alike. Rare Russian pre-war reports from 1914 on Grozovians often cite that, “[Grozovians] are quite a disciplined peoples… if you gave a Grozovian a rifle, he would be one of the deadliest men North of the Caucasus’...” (Mikhailovich 14.)

#### Section B. Service during The Great War (1914-1917)

In October of 1914, the 1st Grozovian Rifles battalion along with the rest of the Caucasus Army were deployed to the Southern border with the Ottoman Empire for the Caucasus Campaign. However after the Bergmann Offensive, the 1st Grozovian Rifles battalion suffered major casualties with their effective combat force being reduced by nearly two-thirds. General Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov, Commander of the Caucasus Army (1914-1915), recognized the need for a larger Grozovian unit in participation with the Russian Offensive.

On December 1st, the 2nd and 5th Grozovian Rifle Brigades were commissioned and deployed to the Ottoman front. They took part in the defense Battle of Ardahan, however due to inadequate training under the Russians and lack of rifles and munitions resulted in their ultimate defeat. The failure to defend Ardahan resulted in a worsened perception of the Grozovians to the Russian High command. Already bitter relations resulted in multiple violent incidents of infighting between Grozovian troops and their Russian and Armenian counterparts. This however did not falter the Grozovian’s fighting spirit who went on to engage the Ottomans at later battles such as the Siege of Van and later counterattacks in 1915, and Battle of Bitlis in 1916. Due to personal bias towards and increased incidents among the Grozovians, Russian Command of the Caucasus Army disbanded all predominantly Grozovian units. By the end of Russian involvement in The Great War in 1918, the 2nd and 5th Grozovian Rifle Brigades had suffered over 10,500+ casualties in the four-year span.

#### Section C. Participation in the Russian Revolution of 1917 & Civil War (1917-1923)

As protests insinuated and grew in Petrograd, Grozovian nationals such as Andrij Yildizoglu rose to the podium as a prominent figure in the Russian Revolution and eventually the forming of the Soviet Union. Andrij rallied over 300 Grozovians to form a volunteer militia unit that would fight alongside the Red Army during the Civil War. However, separatist movements within Grozovia itself rose and clashed multiple times with Andrij’s militia’s. By 1924, the separatists were defeated and Andrij assumed local governance of Grozovica. And in 1922, the Grozovian S.S.R was established, and Andrij was sworn in as the Head of State.

### 1923-1991. Grozovian occupation under the U.S.S.R. & The Great Patriotic War

#### Section A. Creation of the Grozovian S.S.R. (1923)

As the newly established Grozovian S.S.R. was ‘legitimized’, the people expressed discontent and outrage towards Andrij Yildizoglu’s administration. His failure to put down the separatists movements in a timely manner resulted in the devastation of numerous villages across Grozovia. Paired with a reconstruction effort, famine was widespread due to poor environmental conditions and a lack of infrastructure to sustain year-round agriculture. Andrij’s government was mostly composed of Russian officials that he had befriended during the Civil War. Like Andrij, these men lacked any political experience, nevertheless they still managed to position themselves into such roles.

With the shortcomings of Andrij’s interior coupled with the anarchy in the countryside, protests became widespread in all regions of Grozovia. Militias that were serviced during the Civil War were deployed to Zagorsk to disperse the protests that would eventually become riots. On February 9th, 1925, Militia opened fire on a crowd after a molotov cocktail was thrown at them. Over 46 were killed and many more were wounded. This incident ignited what would become an insurgency that would last until 1951.

#### Section B. Establishment of a standing Grozovian Military (1926)

The insurgent attacks that ensued following the February 9th incident sparked the creation of an official Grozovian military. Andrij Yildizoglu commissioned the creation of the 1st Rifle Division consisting of two rifle brigades, a singular artillery battalion, and an engineering battalion. Andrij’s militias were disbanded and assimilated into the 1st Rifle Regiment. Conscription laws were passed to fill the ranks and a military academy was created in Zagorsk. Conscription laws were loosely enforced however, with most bribing conscription officers. The Grozovian army had its own shortcomings as well, with a shortage of officers and experienced NCO’s. While Andrij had two brigades worth of men planned, reality conceded that two regiments was the extent that any unit was able to operate at full strength. With the lack of a bureaucracy and government oversight, equipment was often sold off to any willing buyer. Shortages of gear and manpower led to an understrength and ineffective fighting force, which would reflect itself in the coming years.

#### Section C. Grozovian Resistance to Soviet occupation (1926-1955)

The inadequacies of Andrij’s government and the February 9th incident ultimately led to a full-blown insurgency in the nation's central mountain ranges. Led by a veteran of the White Army, Kilesso Zdanowicz, the ‘Lybor Insurgency’ would rage on from 1926 through 1951. The insurgency was estimated to have roughly 4,000 in manpower including non-combatants. The militias that comprised the insurgency most consisted of veterans of The Great War and the Civil War. Compared to the Grozovian Army, which had roughly 2,500 worth of combat-ready soldiers, Zdanowicz’s militia had a significant advantage over the government forces. In the early stages of the insurgency, Zdanowicz gained significant ground, effectively controlling half of the nation; these territories included, Lybor, Pecher and Korsac. As government forces were beaten back to Zagorsk, Andrij pleaded with the Soviet’s for aid in suppressing the resistance. On September 24th, 1925, two battalions of the 3rd Caucasus Infantry division arrived in the Lybor region to aid in the anti-insurgent operations. However these operations were extremely ineffective in causing any significant damage to the Lybor insurgents. This would continue until the insurgency’s ultimate demise in 1951.

#### Section D. Service during The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

During Stalin’s Great Purge, a significant number of Grozovian government officials were killed or sent to labor camps under the guise of ‘political opposition.’ Among these officials was Andrij Yildizoglu. Russians were promptly called in to fill the positions left in the aftermath of the purge. This decision increased heightened insurgent activities and anger among the populace in Grozovia. However, at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Grozovian 1st Rifles Division was deployed to the Southwestern front under 37th Rifle Corps of the 6th Army. Soviet commanders recognized the inadequacies of the Grozovian division and promptly began to fill the ranks with Russian conscripts. Parallel to 1913, tensions between Grozovian and Russian’s within the 1st Rifles Division were tense. Previous precedent from The Great War and the historical rivalry between the ethnic Grozovians and Slavs further fueled the already deep distrust they had for each other. However this did not falter the Grozovian fighting spirit. Exclusively Grozovian units under the 1st Rifles division such as the 1st, 2nd and 4th Rifles Regiments served with distinction as multiple Grozovian soldiers were awarded for their valorant acts. However, most of the 1st Rifles division would be captured or killed in 1942 during the Second Battle of Kharkov where they were encircled by the German invaders.

It wasn’t until January of 1943 when the 1st Grozovian Rifles division was fully replenished. As they were pushed back to the frontlines, Operation Little Saturn was given the go-ahead. With the rest of the 6th Army, the 1st Grozovian Rifles division smashed through the Italian defensive lines. Soldat Glinin Ilyich was posthumously awarded the ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ medal after singlehandedly halting a German armored counter-attack. Grozovian actions would continue until the Battle of Breslau where a large portion of the unit would be effectively eradicated in the siege. The unit would still be recovering until the end of the war from the blow taken at Breslau. Grozovian service during the Great Patriotic War was widely recognized among Soviet officials, sweetening the bitter relations between the two.

#### Section E. Development of the 1st Grozovian Rifles Division (1966)

Following the end of The Great Patriotic War, Grozovian commanders recognized the fact that the structure of the 1st Rifles Division needed to be reformed. The lack of support elements on the brigade level were reflected in the deficiencies seen through previous combat. In 1966, the 1st Grozovian Rifles Division underwent a complete reformation. Among these changes were the modernization of the infantry brigades. These were converted into motorized units utilizing the newly designed BTR-60. The introduction of an armored regiment was accepted, donning the first batches of T-64 tanks. The final major change was the addition of an air assault brigade that could act independently from the division with its own artillery and field hospital element. The previous neglected the need for any support elements besides an engineering battalion. To remedy this, maintenance and engineering companies were added to each brigade along with a battalion sized logistical unit that acted as the division's distribution and medical center. These changes allowed for an extremely effective unit with its flexibility and mobility. The 1st Grozovian Rifles Division would be rebranded as the 1st Combined Rifles Division.

#### Section F. Independence from the U.S.S.R. (1991)

The end of the Lybor Insurgency in 1951 too saw the end of any official movements for Grozovian independence. However throughout the 1970’s and 1990’s, a resurgence in these calls for freedom resonated throughout Grozovia. During the Soviet-Afghan War, the 43rd and 48th Grozovian Air Assault Regiments were deployed to aid in the initial invasion. Within the 43rd Air Assault Regiment served Captain Perminov Zdanowicz; commander of Company B. His experiences throughout the duration of the war inspired him to write what would become his award-winning novel, Oppression, no more! His book was not publicly published when it was finished in 1990. It highlighted the underlying Grozovian belief of independence from the decades long Russian oppressors. Its political commentary would’ve served fatal had Zdanowicz released it to the people. However it began to gain traction in 1991, towards the end of the U.S.S.R. he read excerpts in mass gatherings outside the Presidential palace in Zagorsk. These readings became extremely popular throughout the country, giving traction to later protests. On June 1st, Zdanowicz led a march on the Parliamentary building in Zagorsk calling for the resignation of Seryogin Yanovich, the acting leader of Grozovia at the time. He, among several-hundred others, stormed the gates and broke into Parliament with no resistance. They seized control of the nearby military garrison and armed themselves. They held out in the Parliamentary building for five days. Occasional firefights broke out between the protestors and Grozovian troops over the course of those few days. On June 7th, they held the first impromptu election in Grozovia for the first time in decades by a council of 154 representatives. Vasya Mikhaylo was elected by popular vote, with 149 votes out of 154. Later that day, President Mikhaylo would declare independence from the U.S.S.R. Local Soviet units were rapidly deployed to Zagorsk, engaging in firefights with local militias and rogue Grozovian soldiers in the streets. Standoffs outside the Presidential palace and Parliament building occurred, but on June 12th, Russian troops were given the word to withdraw from all Grozovian territory.

## Mission

The Grozovian Armed Forces acts as the nation’s bulwark against enemies of freedom, prosperity and individual liberty, both foreign and domestic. We stand to preserve the Grozovian way of life and uphold our values without compromise. Grozovian soldiers are the only soldiers on earth that enjoy a “no return policy”. We fight until dead, without expectation of home burial. In every foreign field we fight, there is a corner that is forever Grozovia.

The G.A.F. has a history of flexibility in warfare, both in strategy and in practice. We field aircraft, armor and infantry, able to take on any threat, up to and including feral dogs. There are many who say the deadliest weapon in the world is a Grozovian and his AK… time has proven this saying to be true.

### Core Values

Our Core Values are Honor, Courage and Charisma, and if you are to become one of us, they will be the values you live by and fight with as well. They are the building blocks that will aid you in making the right decisions at the right time, both on the battlefield and in our Nation’s communities.

Many people know what these words mean, but how often do you see someone actually live up to them? Grozovian soldiers learn these values in detail during Basic Military Training (BMT), from then on they live them every day in everything they do — whether they’re on the job or off. In short, these three values listed below are what being a soldier in the Grozovian Armed Forces is all about.

#### Honor

Honor guides soldiers to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior. Never lie, never cheat or steal; abide by an uncompromising code of integrity; respect human dignity and respect others. Honor compels soldiers to act responsibly, to fulfill our obligations and to hold ourselves and others accountable for every action.

#### Courage

Courage is the mental, moral and physical strength ingrained in soldiers. It carries us through the challenges of combat and aids in overcoming fear. It is the inner strength that enables us to do what is right, to adhere to a higher standard of personal conduct and to make tough decisions under stress and pressure.

#### Charisma

Charisma speaks to the spirit and determination and dedication found in soldiers. It leads to the highest order of discipline for individuals and units. It is the ingredient that enables constant dedication to comrades and country. It inspires the unrelenting determination to achieve victory in every endeavor.

## Structure

The infantryman is the backbone of Grozovia and an integral part of the Grozovian Armed Forces, however, there are multiple ways to serve your obligation to the glorious Republic of Grozovia and its citizens. Foreign nationals looking to live and work in Grozovia can earn their citizenship through a minimum 4 years of service in the Grozovian Armed Forces.

### Order of Battle (ORBAT)

The Grozovian orbat stands as a meticulously crafted military hierarchy, showcasing the nation's formidable armed forces. Within this intricate structure, divisions of infantry, armored regiments, air squadrons, and specialized units harmoniously operate. Led by ~~skilled~~ commanders and strategists, each unit in the Grozovian ORBAT is uniquely tailored, equipped with cutting-edge technology and unwavering dedication. The Grozovian ORBAT represents a fusion of tradition and innovation, where ancient military tactics intertwine with state-of-the-art weaponry, ensuring Grozovia's defense is both robust and adaptive. This ORBAT embodies the nation's resilience, preparedness, and unity, serving as a testament to Grozovia's commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty and fostering peace in its realm.

### Ranks

Promotions are given out based on time served and automatic points given for attending operations, NOT personal interpretation of performance. We also restrict how far someone can be promoted in any billet, so you won’t see any Sergeants or Staff Sergeants running around as regular team members. Additionally, you are free to turn down any promotion beyond the rank grade of E-3, G.A.F. does not force people into leadership positions who do not wish to be or do not have the time to be leaders.

View all **Ranks** of the Grozovian Armed Forces.

## Enlistment Process

The growth and vitality of Grozovia relies heavily on our ability to recruit new members who can contribute fresh ideas, diverse perspectives, and unwavering enthusiasm. We recognize that the strength of our community lies in its people, and by welcoming new members, we not only expand our community but enrich our collective experiences.

In the old days, recruitment officers would visit 16 year-old men on their birthdays and congratulate them on their new-found service commitment. Nowadays, enlistment is just one click away.

### Enlistment Form

The recruitment of new soldiers stands as an imperative cornerstone for the success of Grozovia, fueling the nation’s defense with fresh talent, unwavering dedication, and diverse skills. These new recruits bring not only their youthful vigor but also a sense of patriotism and a desire to serve their homeland. As they undergo rigorous training, they transform into disciplined and skilled warriors, ready to defend their nation against any threat.

**ENLIST TODAY.**