General Defender

**Key Features** |  » 7.62mm AVT-72 Rifle (New) » MY-203 Underslung smart grenade launcher (Marked with kill tallies) » Tactical Combat Bayonet (Serrated) » Defender Body Armor (Classified composition) » Mark 9 Helmet and Mark 9 facemask (Usually painted)

## Tactical Analysis

* *First line of the people*: The General Defender serves as the line infantry of the Communist International. Their rifles are reasonably potent against all infantry targets; particularly with their skilled marksmanship, and their HE grenades can provide a powerful punch against slow moving or immobile targets.
* *Only so much we can do*: The General Defender, while well equipped; is ultimately just another infantryman who is going to get shredded by dedicated anti-infantry fire, and their ability to fight heavy vehicles and aircraft is very strictly limited.
* *Storming the Bastille*: The General Defender's grenades are not only useful against slow moving, tightly packed, or immobile targets, but they are also excellent for flushing targets out of cover due to their arcing trajectory; which also serves well in the purposes of garrison clearing!
* *It's dangerous to go alone, take these*: General Defenders who have earned distinction in serving in the Workers and Farmer's Revolutionary International Army are equipped with the latest inventions of the Communist International, a particle rifle meant for mass production with an underslung proton bolt caster and high frequency bayonet that provides an all around improvement to firepower, allowing them to take on just about any opponent.

## Background

### Unit History

*"Freedom calls to all those who bend their will."*

-- Anonymous General Defender

In the Communist International, military service has become a way of life after two world wars and numerous efforts to defend revolution where it occurs from the forces of reaction. Created to make a soldier who could take the best out of the training regimens and the ideas of all the members of the International, the General Defender program has produced what is arguably the world's finest soldier. Whereas infantry in the second world war; generally named "rifle infantry" due to the widespread usage of the American M3 Carbine and Soviet AVT-39 Battle Rifle by the Communist International's forces, were largely still trained in the manner of the Spanish civil war and other such conflicts of the first half of the 20th century, it was decided that the next generation infantry man would need to be a warrior for the future.

Examining the second world war showed the leaders of the International Military that the paragdim of warfare had changed from the so called "single shot" era of warfare, started in the Franco-Prussian war, had definitively ended as a model for a modern infantry man, and that squads should be changed in reflection of that. When the entire squad could offer machine gun like firepower as needed; the rules of suppressive firepower had changed. Similarly, experiences in the second world war had showed that plentifully available explosives were essential for infantry to maximize their effectiveness on the battlefield. The VDV, Rangers, and other paratrooper formations also demonstrated that expanding the paratrooper training regimen so that all soldiers would at least know how to drop out of a plane without making a splat on the ground.

Similarly the increasing usage of infantry body armor had changed the paragdim of warfare again. Whereas armies in WWII at first had little protection beyond their helmets save for certain shock formations equipped with steel bibs, as the war progressed materials science had advanced to the point where bullet and fragment resistant armor could once again be carried comfortably and affordably. Towards the end of the war, troops were universally bringing flak jackets into battle and the first (primitive and clunky) battlesuits were making their appearance, and now soldiers could be much surer of surviving a thrown grenade or small arms fire. They might even come out of it with little worse than some sore bruises if they were lucky. Similarly, night vision became an increasingly indispensable part of the Infantry man's kit, and by war's end every infantry squad had at least one man with an infantry scope.

The Communist International also considered its likely threats. The "core" nations of the Alliance were likely as ever to rely on their armoured and airborne fist. Its soldiers would be optimized for mechanized and airborne deployment and thus would likely rely on large numbers of "heavy" infantry not meant to stray too far from their transport due to the weight of their gear. The Alliance's rear echelon troops would be deployed in largely the same manner, while the Empire of Vietnam's forces were light, swift, and highly destructive. ANZAC's forces had become reliant on increasingly heavy armor and short ranged firepower, all while becoming increasingly slower at the same time. The forces of the Arab Coalition would also largely be on the same lines of heavily equipped soldiers ill suited for foot slogging long distances. The Union of Anti-Communist's paramilitary forces however, would be more poorly equipped though all their vehicles could serve as transports.

Blue China's hordes would take trucks, half-tracks, APCs, IFVs, the backs of tanks, commandeered buses and cars; or just charge across the field and though the Indians had a less ramshackle army; they were no less reliant on sheer numbers. The Syndicate by contrast, would generally field small numbers of soldiers with "paper for vehicle support, nonexistent fixed wing air support, but plenty of helicopters, tough troops; hordes of drug addicts, and cyborg monstroisities". And the Confederacy of Nationalists would continue to use lightly armored but extremely fast irregulars, while the Chemical warfare loving Majapahits' troops and level of mechanization were of generally mediocre to decent quality. The Combine as far as Communist planners could ascertain; would stubbornly refuse to adopt the assault rifle, not out of cost reasons like India and Blue China who could only afford to give some soldiers automatic weapons; but out of an earnest belief that world war one style warfare was the best.

So the new Infantry Man would need to be trained and equipped to deal with as large a variety of enemies as possible. They had to preform against hard as nails Peacemakers (or Warmongerers as the Internationale quickly nicknamed the new formations of Alliance troops) or cheap as chips and fragile to boot Indian Sepoys. They had to contend with enemies with all manner of specialties and had to come out on top in a cost effective manner. Similarly, they had to be able to work alongside more localized armies of the Communist International as well as pro-socialist movements around the world and a number of specialized task forces. Given their need to be able to handle anything, the program came to be called the "General Defender" program because they had to be able to handle just about any situation under the sun.

Making their mark in the third world war as debate raged about who was truly at fault in starting the war between the Communist International and Allied States, but it became clear that the Communists were soon on the defensive. Living up to their moniker, General Defenders worked tirelessly to defend their homelands from the hordes of Thornley pouring into them.

#### Post-War Operational History

The science teams of the Communist Internationale are already trialing the weapons they believe will soon replace bullet firing fire arms with the distribution of particle caster weaponry to their special forces and their adoption by the People's Republic of Indochina and other national militaries' special task forces. Already being widely adopted by the American and Soviet militaries, the XADK-73 particle caster comes with the XM-7 Proton bolt caster and the XB-3 high frequency bayonet. A quantum leap in firepower that can always be entrusted to have ammunition so long as its powered; never an issue with the Tesla reactor technology employed by the Comintern and its attempts to study up on the energy generation techniques of other powers; these new weapon systems allow General Defenders who have been earmarked to receive them due to outstanding service to cut through enemies who would have confounded them before, particularly light vehicles and all but the heaviest of battlesuits. Due to the newness of the weapon system and the large numbers of General Defenders; only these veteran units can be expected to receive them before they undergo full mass production.

The third world war and the conflicts with Atomic China also demonstrated the need to improve on NBC resistance and new General Defender suits have markedly improved resistance to radioactive environments, Devastator and DDT fumes, rage gas (though large amounts will overwhelm their defenses), virus gas, and other such attacks. This has been particularly useful in continuing efforts to deal with WLA terrorist attacks and to push back the attempted Chinese offenses on members of the Communist international and in volunteer support of conflicts involving socialist movements such as the Indochina wars. Combined with recent refinements to the General Defender's arsenal, it is believed that the General Defender is likely to continue to remain the most well rounded and well balanced of the world's basic infantry, offering the world a measuring stick that they all continue to measure their soldiers against in one way or the other.