Takistani Army flag
The Takistani Army is an OPFOR faction in ArmA 2. It was added with the release of the Operation Arrowhead expansion pack.
Following its reformation, it was renamed into the New Takistani Army (short form: NTA) and serves as an Independent faction.
Overview
| « | We, soldiers of the Revolutionary Army, formed in the glorious days of the restoration of our true and only motherland, forever shatter the chains that have bonded us in subjugation. We pledge to remember the unavenged harms of centuries past, and now, in front of our beloved nation, we take this vow. Foreword to the Oath of Allegiance of the newly formed Takistani Army in 1992
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Background
Formed out of the Socialists who prevailed in the civil war, the Takistani Army does not merely serve as the armed forces of Takistan; it is the very will and right arm of the nation's government itself.
Led by its ruthless commander Colonel Muhammad R. Aziz, the self-proclaimed leader controls the country with an iron grip. Regional commanders loyal to the Colonel also serve as political leaders; particularly those who participated in the 1992 coup d' état.
The Army is mainly composed of conventional ground forces supported by a few air assets, and is funded by the steady flow of income generated by crude oil, natural gas, as well as mineral exports. Though their hardware is incomparable to modern Western armies, Takistani soldiers are well accustomed to fighting and surviving in the barren hills of Takistan.
Many militia groups and pro-Socialist warlords are also allied to the Army, and help to "enforce" Aziz's rule over the wide expanses of Takistan.
Reformation
Following the dissolution of Aziz's hardline regime, the Takistani Army was eventually reformed into the New Takistani Army (NTA). Supported by Western coalition forces, the NTA's priority is the stabilisation of postwar Takistan and rooting out the last remnants of the old Army still loyal to the former dictator.
History
Army insignia.
Following the fall of the incumbent monarchy and second exile of the royal family, Socialist and Royalist groups fought for supremacy over control of Takistan at the height of the Cold War in 1988.
Its huge deposits of precious metal ores and crude oil reserves did not go unnoticed by the superpowers. Both factions were covertly and overtly supported by the Soviet Union and the United States (respectively), with each providing support to their sides to obtain strategic dominance over the stockpile of resources that the nation sat on.
The Soviet government directly supported the Socialists with an influx of military hardware and advisers however, which greatly helped to turn the tide against the Royalists. In 1992 after more four years of violent civil war, the Socialists were finally able to prevail and succeeded in crushing the Royalists completely (though some pockets of resistance and the tribes that supported them continued to survive).
Post-civil war, the Army is bolstered by the addition of numerous tactical ballistic missiles and other heavy weaponry.
The leader who had brought the Socialists victory - Colonel Aziz, quickly took advantage of the profits from Takistan's crude oil exports to expand and strengthen the state police and build up its armed forces.
Extensive research into chemical weapons also underwent much development under the new regime to help bolster its grip over the region and to an extent, that of the Soviet Union (in light of the latter's declining influence on the world stage).
On April 17th, 2012, Royalist tribes were covertly assisted by American CIA operatives in helping to destabilise the regime's power base. They had succeeded in destroy many of the major refineries that were being used to funnel the production of crude oil and essentially, Aziz's power base.
The well-coordinated raids on key oil fields dealt three critical blows against the regime: the loss of a entire year's worth of crude oil production, the destruction of 68% of the country's oil wells, and the sudden lack of resources required to maintain the Army's hold over Takistan.
Power structures begin to crumble; voices of discontent continue to spread all across the country. In a desperate bid to cling onto his reign, Aziz's Socialist Supreme Bureau directly threatened the nearby country of Karzeghistan with chemical weapons attacks if the oil-rich Sharig Plateau; an integral part of Takistani territory usurped by the British during the times of the Takistani monarchy, was not "...immediately returned to the people of Takistan".
Events of Operation Arrowhead (2012)
A few days after the ultimatum is issued, a UN-mandated NATO coalition led by the United States deploys forces in rebel-held territories and carries out Operation Arrowhead on June 1st, 2012, following Aziz's continued refusal to back down from his threats.
For the first time in its existence, the Takistani Army would face its greatest challenge in a fight for survival against overwhelming odds.
| SPOILER ALERT | |||
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NOTE: This section contains spoilers from ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead's 'Operation Arrowhead' campaign. Western forces were able to seize large portions of the country in the span of less than two days. Control of the south-western regions were quickly lost to British special forces and conventional troops. Government-held cities such as Karichar as well as the key ports of Bandar-e-Ghazmi and the capital Takmyr, were seized by American Marines and Army forces advancing from the east. Two of the Navy's gunboats were sunk by a combination of British and American airstrikes with the cruiser, the Pride of Chalang, suffering a fatal hit while on patrol in the Salak Darya delta. Its crew did however, manage to inflict light damage against the USS Khe Sanh before going down. Having been completely overrun, the Takistani Army was forced to withdraw back into the central highlands and mountainous regions to regroup their remaining forces. To cover their retreat, several SCUD missile strikes were launched in retaliation against the Mazargan suburbs of neighbouring Karzeghistan, though they only inflicted minor damage and lacked chemical warheads.   The Army is forced to fight a losing battle of attrition against the technologically and numerically superior Western coalition. Though their backs were against the wall, Aziz had hoped that his remaining SCUDs not yet discovered by coalition troops would be enough to deter further advances. They did not however, and barely hours after the fall of Takistan's coastal cities to the foreigners, NATO forces began their relentless push into the central region. The airfield of Loy Manara is soon overrun and more of the Takistani Army's air force and ground armour are destroyed in the process. Unexpectedly, the Army's militia allies had managed to shoot down a cargo plane that was attempting to land at the former Army airbase. Takistani soldiers raced to reach the crash site before NATO forces could reach the wreckage. They managed to find four survivors and quickly stowed them away to a coltan mine near the city of Feruz Abad. Though the survivors were actually aid workers and journalists, the Army nonetheless interrogated them for answers. One of the survivors perishes in captivity, but the Army knew full well that the soon-to-be hostages would serve as useful bargaining chips. As NATO forces scrambled to find the other three survivors, the remaining three are quickly shuttled away to the regional capital of Zargabad; Aziz himself also retreating to his presidential palace.
The soldiers left "guarding" the mine had set up a trap to destroy it, which they hoped would scapegoat Western forces as being rampant marauders destroying their livelihood and therefore, the "true" aggressors. Unfortunately, U.S. special forces are able to eliminate the remaining guards and disarm the explosive in time. Feruz Abad soon falls to NATO forces, leaving the way to Rasman and the remainder of the Air Force wide open to attack. In the hopes of at least delaying or preventing an attack altogether, Air Force jets are scrambled to assault the U.S. troops at Feruz Abad. However, they are once again intercepted on the flight in and are shot down. Having failed to prevent the coalition from massing its forces, Rasman comes under heavy attack later that night from all sides and quickly falls to the foreigners, resulting in the total destruction of the Air Force and almost all of its remaining heavy armour assets. With the foreigners now closing in onto the Army's sole remaining stronghold of Zargabad, Aziz hatched a desperate plan to ready the remaining SCUDs in an attempt to inflict as much damage as possible; both against the coalition and on neighbouring Karzeghistan. As the coalition lay siege to the city, they discovered the Army's remaining three SCUD launchers and quickly destroyed them one by one before they could finish being fuelled. To make matters worse, the remaining hostages were found and freed by the Americans. Entirely out of options, Aziz made plans to flee from the country but was intercepted before he could even reach his escape vehicle. U.S. special forces and ground troops surround his presidential compound and in a swift stroke, fatally wound the defiant leader who went down fighting. |
Events of Crimson Lance (2012)
With the loss of its leader and most senior officers either dead or captured, the Army was shattered and forced to disband completely.
Despite this enormous setback, remnants of the Army who remained loyal to the deceased leader continued to defiantly rebel against the foreign "occupation". With the help of its remaining militia allies, the Army scattered into the countryside and terrorised the civilian population. They particularly focused on those who received foreign aid and targeted Western forces whenever they could.
With the help of NATO forces, the NTA succeed in destroying the last remnants of Aziz's regime.
At the same time, the former Takistani Army had been replaced by the new civilian government and was restructured into the New Takistani Army (NTA). NTA forces were also priority targets of the Army remnants, though they could only launch minor raids rather than full scale attacks.
One month later, additional coalition forces are shipped into the country to assist the NTA in rooting out the Army remnants.
The troop surge greatly helps in countering the threat posed by the militia-backed insurgent army and barely days after their arrival, the only remaining stronghold used by the remnants is discovered and finally razed to the ground by a combination of NTA, British, and American troops, putting a decisive end to the old regime once and for all.
Post-Crimson Lance
Civil war erupts yet again as the NTA battles for control over the country against formerly pro-NATO tribal groups and warlords.
Though the civilian-led NTA had succeeded in restoring some form of order to the country, this was only the beginning of what would be a downward spiral into chaos.
Barely one year after the end of the foreign intervention, the NTA faced civil war with local tribes and various regional warlords who sought to overthrow the NTA and take control of the country for themselves.
Despite the support provided by its Western allies, the NTA had become bloated and corrupt; many officials were secretly working against each other and the civilian government itself was in utter shambles. Order was practically non-existent while those in authority crushed all opposition with brutal force, which helped contribute to the disenfranchisement experienced by the various tribes throughout the country.
| « | Tanny says that the best we have to rely upon is the NTA - and that's certainly the most worrying piece of information I've received today. ION contractor Brian Frost comments on the NTA's "reliability"
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NATO forces were also beginning to withdraw out of the country, further leaving the NTA in dire straits. They were however, assisted by a growing number of private military companies offering to assist in reverting the nation's instability. Both PMCs and NTA held intense misgivings about the other side however, and only begrudgingly agreed to "work" together.
What happens to the NTA in the aftermath of the NATO drawdown and PMC surge is not known, though the country would remain in a state of near-anarchy for many more years until the early 2020s.
Equipment
Camouflage patterns utilised by Takistani Army forces:
- Olive Drab Green (Left)
- Tiger Stripe (Right)
While vastly inferior to its Western coalition counterparts that it faced, the Army was nonetheless considered a regional power in its own right. The Takistani Army was decently equipped to handle most threats, and possessed a considerable range of outdated/modern assets.
However, only professional soldiers - specifically Aziz' elite bodyguards, had access to this hardware; most conscripts only wore simple olive drab green fatigues with chest rigs and rucks adorned in a Tiger Stripe pattern.
They did not retain access to body armour or modern combat helmets aside from obsolete Soviet-era SSh-68 steel helmets. Most preferred a simple kufiyah and turban not for ballistic safety or concealment, but rather for protection from Takistan's hostile environment and weather conditions.
Unlike the neighbouring Chernarus, the Army had access to a mixture of both Eastern and (older) Western-made hardware; the latter used alongside relatively newer Soviet/Russian-made weapons. For example, the main assault rifle of the Takistani Army is the Belgian FN-FAL 7.62 mm battle rifle, which is supplemented by smaller numbers of American-made M16A2s and Russian AK-74 5.56 mm/5.45 mm assault rifles.
Likewise, their vehicles are also a mixture of Cold War-era designs of both Eastern and Western in origin. The Takistani Air Force (at the height of its power) utilised Soviet-made export Mi-24D gunships and Su-25 attack jets, supplemented by a small number of Czech-made L-39ZA light attack jets.
Arsenal
Gallery
Video
Trivia
- The Takistani Army's composition is obviously inspired by the real-world Iraqi Armed Forces at the time of Saddam Hussein's rule, with Col. Aziz himself being a caricature of the former Iraqi leader.
- Despite being replaced by the NTA following the events of Operation Arrowhead, the remnant Army forces reuse the exact same uniforms and equipment as their pre-invasion counterparts while the NTA appear unchanged as "guerillas".
- Likewise, the NTA never appears in-game as a "proper" faction during the events of Crimson Lance. It is only during Operation Black Gauntlet that NTA military units actually show up, though they are merely reused OPFOR units due to the ION PMCs being categorised as Independent (for engine reasons Independent factions cannot be made to fight against each other).
External links
See also
- Takistani Republican Militia (OPFOR sub-faction)
- United States Army
- British Armed Forces
- Takistani Rebels
| Factions - REDFOR (ArmA 2) | |
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| Russian Armed Forces • ChDKZ • Takistani Army • Takistani Militia | |
| Operation Arrowhead | |