The Royal Army Corps of Sahrani (short form: RACS) is an INDFOR faction in ArmA: Armed Assault.
Overview[]
| « | In my opinion, the Sahrani troops still look more like a pack of recruits than real soldiers, but I guess they are as skilled as we were going to make them in the time we had. U.S. Army Private William Porter describing the RACS on his blog
|
» |
Background[]
Representing the military might of the Kingdom of Sahrani and its predecessor, the Kingdom of South Sahrani, the RACS serves as the nation's primary land, sea and air defence force. An elite Royal Guards unit, consisting mostly of former law enforcement officers and paramilitary fighters[1], also serves as the personal protection detail for Kingdom officials and high-ranking RACS officers.[2]
Though the military has received extensive support and training by advisers from the United States, they are neither a well-disciplined nor formidable fighting force. U.S. Army personnel regularly deride RACS soldiers for being better suited to the parade ground rather than being on the battlefield.[1][2]
History[]
Formed after the creation of the Sahrani monarchy and subsequent withdrawal of the British Empire's hold over the island in 1898, the RACS have served as the southern Kingdom's armed forces for well over a century.[1]
After separatists in the North broke away from the Kingdom sometime during the Cold War to form their own nation, the RACS would become involved in an uneasy stand-off with the Kingdom's former territory.[3] Long after the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, tensions continued to remain unsteady between the Southern and Northern governments, with the RACS remaining in a constant state of high alert.[4]
In 2002, U.S. military forces were invited at the request of the Kingdom to establish bases in the South.[4] Advisers from the U.S. Army were also dispatched to assist in the training of the fairly large but inexperienced RACS.[5]
Events of Armed Assault (2006)[]
As their mission approached the end of its four-year long mandate, the U.S. Army gradually withdrew its forces from the Kingdom. By mid June 2006, most foreign troops had already departed from the island nation, leaving only a small skeleton force to serve in an advisory and logistics capacity to continue supporting the RACS.[4][6][7]
| SPOILER ALERT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
NOTE: This section contains spoilers from ArmA: Armed Assault's 'Armed Assault' campaign. Unbeknownst to both U.S. forces and the RACS, the North were actually in the final stages of preparing a full-scale invasion of the South. On June 10th, 2006, the Northern military, the Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA), conducts a massive assault across the border. They easily overrun the RACS forces manning the border posts[8], and force them (along with the U.S. Army advisers) into a full retreat back from the border cities and deep into Southern territory.[4][9][10]   In a desperate attempt to halt the SLA's advance, U.S. troops demolish the bridges into Dolores. With the help of American soldiers, the SLA are temporarily delayed at the city of Ortego and Dolores after the latter's bridges are destroyed (albeit at heavy cost to U.S. forces). However, the SLA continue their invasion undeterred, and eventually corner the RACS along with remaining U.S. troops at the capital of Paraíso.[4][11][12] Forced into a desperate last stand, allied troops attempt to hold out long enough in the hopes of reinforcements.[13][14] The SLA conducts an amphibious landing and almost overruns the defenders but at the last moment, backup arrives just in time to drive back the SLA completely.[15] Bolstered by fresh U.S. reinforcements, the RACS succeed in driving the SLA out from the Kingdom, liberating numerous cities and forcing them all the way back to their territory.[4][16][17] At the same time, special units of the RACS were actually using the opportunity to dispose of political dissidents that the monarchy had deemed as being "disloyal" to the crown. One town that suffered such a fate was Cayo, as well as other border cities like Tiberia. Those who were not executed by RACS personnel were instead taken away to be disposed of in due time.[18] After the mass graves are eventually "discovered" by RACS personnel, the massacres are quickly blamed on North Sahrani. Northern Sahrani officials disavow any involvement but the "evidence" overwhelmingly favours the South's claims of genocide, decisively shifting international opinion towards the South and turning Northern Sahrani into a pariah.[4][19][20]   Supported by American tanks, the RACS pushes northward into the Democratic Republic of Sahrani.
With the Southern populace angered by the "massacres", King Joseph III demands a counterinvasion of the North.[21][22] With full U.S. support, the RACS crosses over the border and seize several Northern cities all the way to the capital Bagango.[4][23][24] For the survivors of Cayo and the other border cities, they were then transferred to camps at Mercalillo whereupon they would be executed shortly.[18] However, after American jets fly over the camps, the RACS guards quickly flee in the hopes of avoiding discovery. But they were already too late: a small detachment of U.S. soldiers were soon ordered to break off from the main assault force and to investigate the camp.[25] The RACS troops eventually return but spot the Americans. In a panic, they open fire on the Americans, hoping to cover up all evidence of their atrocities from the public.[26] Though the U.S. troops at the site report their findings back to command, both the American and Sahrani government secretly come to an agreement to maintain mutual silence over the incident and resume normal relations. Instead, the "incident" at Mercalillo is blamed upon the North yet again. The official excuse was that Northern troops had disguised themselves as RACS personnel and had attempted to sow discord within allied forces.[4][27][28] After a fierce battle, U.S. troops surround and enter the presidential palace itself, capturing Northern Prime Minister Torrez in the process and putting an end to the Northern threat once and for all.[4][28][29] As for the remaining survivors of Cayo and the border cities, all were systematically exterminated by the RACS. Once again, the destruction of the "refugee camps" was covered up and blamed on the North.[30] |
Events of Royal Flush (2007)[]
| SPOILER ALERT |
|---|
NOTE: This section contains spoilers from ArmA: Queen's Gambit 'Royal Flush' campaign. Following the death of her father and brother, former Princess (and second in the line of succession) Isabella Ximénez assumes the reigns of leadership over the Kingdom as its Queen.[31] She immediately mandates the withdrawal of all U.S. forces out of the country, leaving the RACS mostly undermanned and in short supply of tactical leadership.[32][33]   Black Element PMC team, callsign Royal Flush, are transported into the North An insurgency begins to brew in the North of the country however, as tensions rise over her unfair economic policies which only benefit the South.[31][33] Lacking the capabilities to put a stop to the insurgency, the Queen orders the Chancellor to enlist the services of private contractors, codenamed Royal Flush. They were hired to assist in suppressing the rebels after the former are reported with being in the possession of biological weapons.[4][34][35][36] However, the mission quickly falls apart after the contractors "betray" the Chancellor, resulting in his death and the loss of several Royal Guards.[37] To make matters worse, the mercenaries are found supporting the leader of insurgents, revealed to be the former Crown Prince Orlando, who was alive and well and was attempting to overthrow his sister.[4][38] A few days later, the Prince's forces seize control of the Kingdom's largest TV station and begin to transmit a live broadcast of his survival and denouncement of his sister's reign.[39] The Queen orders the Royal Guards to assault the TV station[40][41], but are unsuccessful in putting a stop to her brother's broadcast after they are repelled by his mercenary supporters.[4][42]   Royal Guards move into position to ambush the "false" Prince Desperate to put an end to his "coup", the Queen arranges a secret meeting to negotiate with her brother the next day but was actually planning to assassinate him.[43] Royal Guard troops surround the site of the planned meeting location and successfully silence the Crown Prince.[4][44] She sends additional troops to hunt down his remaining supporters, and issues a shoot-on-sight order for the fugitive mercenaries who had supported her brother.[45] |
Post-Royal Flush[]
The RACS are subsequently mobilised by the Queen to enforce martial law throughout the country. Troops are also dispatched to quell the remaining insurgents in the North, putting an end to the rebellion and securing a definitive "peace" for the Kingdom.[45][46]
Equipment[]
RACS Six-Color Desert Pattern camouflage (Armed Assault)
As of 2007, RACS soldiers wear U.S.-style Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU) fatigues camouflaged in the Gulf War-era Six-Color Desert Pattern. Regular infantry utilise the American-made M16A2 assault rifle as their service weapon, while elite Royal Guards wield the German-made G36 family instead.
Prior to the country's reunification, the RACS did not have access to heavily armoured vehicles and was largely a mechanised force that relied on a fleet of M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers and British-made 4x4 off-roads.
Post-unification, the RACS has absorbed a fair number of, albeit outdated, Cold War-era T-72 tanks from the now-defunct SLA.
They have no sizeable air force or navy and instead rely on a small number of rotary-wing helicopters and inflatable boats for air transportation and littoral patrols. However, the RACS were able to acquire a few Black Hawk helicopters from the U.S. post-reunification, which has helped to expand their air mobility options.
Arsenal[]
Armoury[]
|
Image |
Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Surface-to-Air Missile Launcher Diameter: 70 mm | |
|
Assault Rifle Calibre: 5.56×45 mm NATO | |
|
Carbine Calibre: 5.56×45 mm NATO | |
|
Carbine Calibre: 5.56×45 mm NATO | |
|
Handgun Calibre: 9×19 mm | |
|
Assault Rifle Calibre: 5.56×45 mm NATO | |
|
Rocket Launcher Diameter: 84 mm | |
|
Sniper Rifle Calibre: 7.62×51 mm NATO | |
|
General-Purpose Machine Gun Calibre: 7.62×51 mm NATO | |
|
Submachine Gun Calibre: 9×19 mm |
Motor Pool[]
| Vehicle | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 AH-6 |
Light Attack Helicopter | - Can transport a single passenger |
 Army 4x4 |
Light Utility Vehicle | - Variable transportation capacity depending on variant |
 CRRC |
Rubber Inflatable Boat | - Can transport up to 4 passengers |
 M113 |
Armoured Personnel Carrier | - Amphibious - Variable transport capacity depending on variant |
 MH-6 |
Light Transport Helicopter | - Can transport up to five passengers |
 T-72 |
Main Battle Tank | - Queen's Gambit DLC-only vehicle - Cannot transport any passengers |
 UH-60 |
Utility Helicopter | - Queen's Gambit DLC-only vehicle - Can transport up to thirteen passengers |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Towards the end of the expansion's main campaign, some RACS forces stationed in the former north can be seen operating BMP-2 IFVs and even UAZs alongside their standard vehicles.
- However, they do not actually utilise or have access to these vehicles outside of the campaign. Furthermore, many of these assets lack dedicated RACS textures and simply reuse the default SLA camouflage scheme.
Notes[]
- ↑ Full name unknown. Killed by rogue Black Element contractors during the events of Royal Flush (2007).
References[]
|
See also[]
- United States Army
- Sahrani Liberation Army (INDFOR counterpart)
| Factions of ArmA: Armed Assault | |
|---|---|
| BLUFOR | U.S. Army |
| REDFOR | SLA |
| INDFOR | RACS |
| Factions - INDFOR (ArmA: Armed Assault) | |
|---|---|
| RACS | |