Imperial-Royal Cavalry Corps

"Junior Cuirassiers on the March," Gustav Richtenburger, 1733

## Commanders

Cavalier-General

Senior Horsemaster

The **Imperial-Royal Cavalry Corps,** also known as the **Kaiserliche-Konigliche Kavalerie Korps** in Heartlandish, was a branch of the Samsonite Imperial Armed Forces that was established in the 16th Century as the Samsonite Empire began making its final forays into the East Outlands. The Samsonite Army had traditionally scorned the use of cavalry, a tactic which held unpleasant ties to the Mokosh people, and viewed as uncivilised within Samsonist circles. As the Empire continued expanding eastward, the terrain grew increasingly unfavourable for traditional Imperial Armies, and the need for massive amounts of cavalry became too great to ignore.

In 1557, by an Imperial Decree, Kaiser Frederick I commissioned several new Military Academies to train a new generation of mounted troops of the highest standard. The new Imperial-Royal Cavalry Corps was formed from the first generation of these recruits, who nearly exclusively operated with lances and sabres. Shortly after, as gunpowder weapons became sufficiently reliable for personal use, the first *Cuirassiers* were formed, consisting of well-armoured cavaliers who would carry Heavy Sabres and pistols.

The Corps saw immense success in its early career, although whether that success derived from superior ability or the extreme relative logistical and technological inferiority of their enemies in the East Outlands, is highly disputed. Nonetheless, the success of the IRCC in the first campaigns convinced Kaiser Frederick that investing in Cavalry would yield tremendous results for the Empire. Given the questionable stability of the Empire following Kaiser Samson X's reign, all subsequent rulers were exceptionally paranoid of the risk of revolt, and these cavaliers provided a unique counter in Elgenean warfare that hadn't been explored by its major powers in centuries.

The public opinion of the IRCC remained mostly negative for over a century, until the reign of Kaiser Laurentz IV, who relied greatly on the support of the Cavaliers following his attempted assassination by his brother. Imperial-Royal Cavaliers became instrumental in keeping the peace and in quarantining supporters of his brother, Willem, until such time as his reign was indisputable. Laurentz spent much of his reign elevating the prestige of the IRCC and turning it into the most reputable institution in the Samsonite military, so much so that it quickly became emblematic of Imperial Power and in popular culture, symbolic of the ideal Samsonite Lifestyle.

The IRCC reached its peak during the War of Intrigue, under the reign of Kaiser Samson XIII. By this point, the institution had been elevated to equal stature as the Samsonite Imperial Army, and was only symbolically subordinate to it. The office of the Cavalier-General was equally paid, and held all the same responsibilities as the Imperial Marshal. This decision had been made by Kaiser Samson XII, who believed that Certain Campaigns were best accomplished by armies composed predominantly by cavaliers, as they were faster and more manoeuvrable than large forces of infantry. Samson XIII held the same view regarding his campaign into Translavia, and believed that the terrain in the northern kingdoms of the Slavic Confederacy would be best suited for what was, by that time, the traditional tactics of Samsonite warfare. The Corps reached a total manpower of 600,000 men including supporting roles such as wagoners and messengers, of which nearly three-fifths were combat personnel.

Of the 360,000 Cavaliers at the Empire's disposal, the Kaiser had wished to deploy 200,000 to Translavia. This move was repeatedly blocked by the Herrenversammlung, as the Nobility believed that committing that many cavalrymen would leave the Empire inflexible to react to any counter campaigns by the Sasagian military, as well as be too great of a loss in the worst-case scenario. This forced Samson to halve his intended force, dividing 100,000 Cavaliers for the entirety of the campaign. This ultimately resorted in Cavalier-General Arnold von Dürkich having to spread his forces thin, and ultimately resulted in the Samsonite having fewer cavalry than the Sasagians on the battlefield for most major engagements of the war.

Despite this, the IRCC continued to perform at their usual effectiveness, and their charges remained incredibly lethal to Sasagian lines and Artillery crews. Their lethality, in fact, was of chief concern to the Sasagian Marshal E. L. Dorne, who unexpectedly ended his march toward Karlilych to pressure Tezina and Slohul early in the war. Severing Samsonite supply lines was deemed critical to Sasagian success, and ultimately was the killing blow of the Samsonite Expeditionary force in Translavia. Ammunition became increasingly rare, and prioritised to the Army, making the Cuirassier-centered tactics of the IRCC impossible to put into action.

The Siege of Karlilych resulted in total exhaustion of the remaining Samsonite ammunition and forced the Cuirassiers to retreat into the city until the arrival of Kaiser Samson XIII and the King's Hussars.