Gilgamesh Free State

The Gilgamesh Free State was an secessionist government on the colony of. Initially established in as the Gilgamesh Free Army, it was composed mainly of  personnel who had been separated from the CMA after the organization's involvement with the Insurrection went public. Quickly incorporating other small rebel groups, by, the organization had control over many of the frontier settlements on the colony, and was rechristened as the Gilgamesh Free State in. With the diverting the attention of the  elsewhere, Gilgamesh became almost completely lawless, and the GFS began expanding, coercing the various criminal syndicates into working to keep order within the Free State's new territory.

In, the GFS joined the , whose member organizations aided the Free State by supplying equipment and machinery to outfit the Free State Armed Forces, as well as advanced training on various rebel-controlled planets for specialized personnel. This was augmented by cooperation with some the larger criminal syndicates by the GFS, the former helping smuggle equipment to the latter, with the latter in return legitimizing them as local government authorities and permitting them to continue their operations, so long as they stayed within guidelines set by the Free State.

When the UNSC began retaking rebel-held worlds, starting with defeating the Victorian Independent State in, and the Glabetovan People's Republic in , the GFS mobilized its military reserves and militia units to counter an expected invasion. Taking pointers from survivors who had escaped the defeats of the VIS and GPR, the GFS prepared accordingly, and in March, the UNSC attacked. The bloody war that ensued saw the end of the Gilgamesh Free State/

Expansion
"I'll be a raider until I die/With five years to go in the GLI"

- An excerpt from the song I wish I was a Spacer

Planning and Preparation for Invasion
"To arms!"

- The text of a poster urging enlistment in late

In, with news of the invasion of the Victorian Independent State reaching the Gilgamesh Free State, the Free State's government and military high command, their paranoia spurred on by the invasion of the VIS, immediately began preparations for an invasion. After several personnel had been killed in battle against UNSC operatives, the entire GFS military was mobilized for four weeks or until the Independent State fell.

Fearing an invasion in the near future, the Free State began hiring outside aid to bolster its own military. The first concern was obtaining a proper naval force to patrol around the colony, as the Free State had no extraterrestrial navy of its own. This was achieved through the intervention of Jonathan Ulan, a former member of the Victorian Airborne Forces and MINUTEMAN operator who had been assigned to the Gilgamesh Light Infantry as an officer and advisor. Ulan contacted leader of the pirate fleet Campbell's Marauders, Jerrold Campbell, who had previously aided him in his hunt for the members of Project: FREELANCER in. With the Free State promising payment through a share of whatever cargo was seized from merchant shipping and safe haven on the planet for the operations of his fleet, Campbell accepted the offer.

The next priority was finding something to act as a force multiplier against the UNSC. The answer to this was found in the private security firm Baal Defense Solutions. While BDS mainly took part in advising the troops of the Free State and helping equip them with proper modern equipment, some of its operatives, under the command of Jonathan Ulan, took part in a series of strikes to destroy pro-UNSC settlements just outside the borders of the Free State.

As the news from Victoria became grimmer regarding the VIS, the military high command of the Independent State realized their previous plans to counter the inevitable invasion needed to be refined and changed, or else they would risk a defeat as had happened to the Independent State. While the new plans were marked simply as Secret to deceive any agents that were in the high command, they were treated as being of Most Secret status, with the copies only being permitted to be written down by hand, for fear of the possibility of a UNSC artificial intelligence breaching the digital system or a logging program surreptitiously installed on a computer obtaining copies of the plans.

The plan that was finalized in early called for several stages. First, the great majority of the Gilgamesh Free Army was to be kept hidden in secluded areas shielded from surveillance, and fake units were to be created to divert attention. Second, the elements of Gilgamesh Free Army kept on the line were to allow the UNSC to make initial gains, only making stands if necessary or if ordered to keep enemy commanders from suspecting a trap. At the same time, the local so-called Auxiliaries, in reality criminal syndicates who had their activities sanctioned by the government in return for loyalty, as well as militia units, would launch attacks behind UNSC lines, particularly with an eye towards preventing the movement of troops, and especially attacking enemy airfields, in order to continue keeping attention off of the final stage of the plan.

The plan's final stage was to only come after the UNSC considered the remaining operations to be carried out of a low-intensity nature. On orders relayed through a rebel propaganda radio station, the remaining units of the GFA and its auxiliaries would launch a massive offensive and uprising, respectively, sweeping across the captured territory before an organized response could be mounted, with the hope of causing the UNSC, through public opinion and strategic concerns, to give up and leave Gilgamesh to its own devices.

In order to make the plan viable, the GFS military high command began radical restructuring of the military. Most large tracked vehicles with were stripped of their armament, which was transferred to more mobile vehicles. Some larger guns, such as the 90 millimeter cannons on were turned into anti-tank guns, pulled by vehicles such as. The GFA's infantry also became increasingly motorized, with vehicles obtained by any means, with the main two being voluntary, though sometimes forced, acquisition from farmers, and through black market via the Auxiliaries. Along with this, perhaps just as importantly, large stocks of food, either sourced from farmers and freeze-dried, or from the black market, in order to accommodate the rebel troops during their time hidden away.

The Gilgamesh Free Air Force also began its own restructuring, selling many of its more advanced fighter aircraft on the black market in return for armed STOL aircraft. Those vehicles that had been stripped of their armament and aircraft that were deemed unable to be hidden were moved to various positions to help form a shadow army. To further ensure security, it was ordered that all communications for units once the plan was put into effect was to be done through antiquated methods like dispatch riders and even light signals for air traffic control. All of this was done in the utmost secrecy, with only high-level individuals who had been extensively screened allowed to know what the true purpose of the restructuring was. In the meantime, specially screened GFS personnel began being trained for their roles within the plan. The cover story was that prior events on Victoria had proven that standing against the UNSC in a conventional fashion would only lead to defeat, and that the Free State was simply preparing for a different kind of war.

In December of, with the invasion of Glabetov, the Gilgamesh Free State began mobilizing its troops in preparation for what they believed was the inevitable invasion, as Glabetov was effectively on Gilgamesh's galactic doorstep, being only several hundred light years away. Orders were immediately dispatched to all GFS Armed Forces reservists to report to the nearest station for mobilization on several specified dates and times. Most reservists were dispatched to units intended to be hidden away for the planned counterattack. Upon arrival at their camps, these troops were finally informed of their roles in the upcoming battle plan. Meanwhile, regular military troops were moved into defensive positions and issued orders regarding their objectives.

In late February 2555, the GFS began hearing rumblings of a UNSC task force being assembled, with the purpose of taking back Gilgamesh. Upon receiving this intelligence, those units that had been assigned to remain behind and resist the initial invasion were ordered to move to their preassigned defensive positions. The ships of Campbell's Marauders were ordered to pull back and stay safely away until the counteroffensive was launched. The operators of Baal Defense Solutions received similar orders, to stay in reserve with the majority of the GFS's troops, and launch commando raids on the eve of the planned counterattack, now named Operation: TIDAL WAVE.

Invasion
In March of, the awaited invasion came. At 0300 hours, local time, the first forces arrived in-system, and at 0500, they began to land on the planet's surface. As expected, the UNSC aerial forces immediately swarmed the shadow armies, destroying what were effectively useless vehicles to the GFS. However, this did not buy the units that had remained any respite, as the UNSC, not wanting to give any warning, struck every unit they knew the position of nearly simultaneously. The remaining GFA troops, as per their orders, made their stands in the capital of New Belgrade and on the borders for two weeks, before the garrison at New Belgrade, the last active unit the UNSC knew of, surrendered on March 16th. With images of hundreds of rebel troops marching into captivity, the UNSC declared Gilgamesh taken.

On May 6th with the majority of the fleet having been moved towards quelling other rebellions or into position to take back other rebel-controlled worlds, the coded message was sent out by Gilgamesh Free Radio and the GFS Auxiliaries immediately launched their uprisings, as per their orders. Coincidentally, this came at the same time as the 2555 Glabetovan Uprising and an operation to take back the rebel-held colony of, which further divided UNSC attention. Those forces on Gilgamesh were taken completely by surprise, having thought the GFS's ability to resist totally destroyed in the initial invasion. Simultaneously, the operators of Baal Defense Solutions launched their raids on the headquarters of the UNSC units still planetside and other high priority targets, while the ships of Campbell's Marauders destroyed what UNSC presence remained in orbit.

At the same time as the uprising and raids, the remaining units of the Gilgamesh Free State Armed Forces emerged from their hidden camps, and began taking back almost all of the territory that had been lost in the span of just a week, their rapid advance made possible through the increased motorization that had been central to the military's restructuring. With enemy airpower the first targets for the Auxiliaries and BDS, the rebels' advance was initially stymied only by UNSC troops who had managed to weather the initial shock of the rebellion and massive offensive. With images of captured and dejected UNSC troops hitting the ChatterNet, public opinion quickly began turning against the war on Gilgamesh. As a result, the UNSC became determined to end it as quickly as possible. Units initially slated for the invasion of  and other units taking part in police actions on colonies were redirected to the Free State. However, this became more difficult than anticipated, as Campbell's Marauders constantly raided and harassed any UNSC ships that came near the planet, making it nearly impossible for the UNSC to bring in any new troops.

Equipment
The Gilgamesh Free Army made up the majority of the forces for the defense of the Gilgamesh Free State. Initially established as an underground secessionist organization on October 7th,, its official establishment as an organ of the Gilgamesh Free State was on April 19th,. With the military requiring a great deal of standardization, several standards were decided. First, the standard service arms would be the MA-series rifle and the M6 series of pistol. Second, the uniform was an open collar jacket with epaulets, field cap, and pants made from a green drill fabric, which sometimes faded over time to a khaki. The collar of the uniform was generally left devoid of insignia for infantry, though cavalry were permitted to wear their regimental pennant colors on it. The footwear was a pair of real or synthetic leather boots, though with the shortage of any animal products, generally the latter was seen far more than the former. Personal equipment and combat gear was generally UNSC or CMA surplus acquired off of the black market, however, when Baal Defense Solutions was hired by the Free State in, along with aiding the GFS through military and advisory actions, BDS also acquired modern arms and equipment for the Free Army.

Structure
The second issue of standardization was how units were to be organized. Until, the only standardization was that there were to be 1,500 men to a regiment. However, in 2535, advisors from the aided the Free Army in coming up with a standard model for an infantry regiment. A standard infantry regiment still consisted of about 1,500 men, divided up into the following: Each infantry regiment was also provided with a number of motorized vehicles if possible. The Free State also standardized the composition of cavalry regiments, though these were dissolved and folded into the preexisting infantry regiments during the military's restructuring in. A cavalry brigade consisted of 1,000 personnel in: By the time of the end of the in, the Gilgamesh Free Army had 1,000 active personnel, as well as another 1,000 as reservists in the following units:
 * 1 headquarters platoon
 * 1 administrative platoon, composed of the regiment's cooks, armorers, and other support personnel
 * 1 communications platoon
 * 3 rifle battalions
 * 1 field artillery battery
 * 1 headquarters platoon
 * 1 administrative platoon
 * 1 communications platoon
 * 3 motorized companies
 * 1 armored company
 * 1 motorcycle platoon
 * I Corps
 * 1st Infantry Division
 * 1st Infantry Regiment
 * 3rd Infantry Regiment
 * 2nd Infantry Division
 * 4th Infantry Regiment
 * 8th Infantry Regiment
 * 1st Cavalry Division
 * 1st Cavalry Regiment
 * 2nd Cavalry Regiment
 * 3rd Infantry Division
 * 12th Infantry Regiment
 * 16th Infantry Regiment
 * 18th Infantry Regiment
 * II Corps
 * 4th Infantry Division
 * 19th Infantry Regiment
 * 23rd Infantry Regiment
 * 25th Infantry Regiment
 * 2nd Cavalry Division
 * 1st Dragoon Regiment
 * 1st Lancer Regiment
 * 5th Infantry Division
 * 26th Infantry Regiment
 * 27th Infantry Regiment
 * 28th Infantry Regiment
 * Gilgamesh Light Infantry Regiment
 * Mountain Rifles Brigade

By the time of the UNSC invasion of the Free State in 2555, the four cavalry regiments of the Free Army had been dissolved, with their personnel and equipment folded into the remaining regiments, or used to help form five new infantry regiments in the period of military buildup, the 7th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 17th which were used to form the 6th and 7th Infantry Division. This brought the Gilgamesh Free Army's total manpower up to 34,000 active and reserve soldiers.

Like the Victorian Independent Military, the Gilgamesh Free Army was, for citizens of the Free State, a fully volunteer force. However, this was not entirely true for all colonists on Gilgamesh. In order to obtain citizenship, individual refugees from outside the territory of the Gilgamesh Free State were required to serve one year in the GFA, and, as with GFS citizens who volunteered, be part of the reserves until they were 55, when they could leave the reserves or continue to remain, but in a support role. With regards to families, the GFS allowed any able-bodied member of the family seventeen or above to serve, and if more than one volunteered to serve, the time necessary was evenly divided among them. For example, if three members of a family volunteered to serve, each would only have to serve four months in the military. If one had certain skills, they would also be offered the opportunity to serve their time in the Gilgamesh Free Air Force.

Gilgamesh Free Air Force
The Gilgamesh Free Air Force was the younger of the two military services in the Free State. Established in with the aid of the GFS' new allies in the, the GFAF was initially composed of lightly armed personal jets initially designed for the civilian market like the M-3. However, by, these aircraft were being augmented by knockoff F/A-440 fighters from. With much of the GFS' funding going towards the Gilgamesh Free Army, no planetary training schools were developed for the Air Force. As a result, pilot training took place on the Victorian Independent State at Agley Airfield, and navigator/observer training took place at the Glabetovan Aerial Training School on Glabetov. The smallest unit for the Gilgamesh Free Air Force was the escadrille, composing 10 aircraft each, which in turns composed squadrons, which finally composed the largest unit, the brigade. By, the GFAF had about 90 fighters, 120 attack aircraft, and 40 reconnaissance/liaison aircraft in the following units: After the military's restructuring, in the GFAF had sold or traded most of its high-performance aircraft like F/A-440s and armed civilian personal jets, as neither had STOL capabilities for larger numbers of low-cost civilian bushplanes turned into attack aircraft in order to support the military's new strategy. The remaining aircraft that had not been sold or traded were placed in plain sight to help form fake decoy units or assigned to the units left behind to fight the initial UNSC invasion.
 * Pursuit Brigade
 * 1st Fighter Squadron
 * 1st Fighter Escadrille
 * 2nd Fighter Escadrille
 * 3rd Fighter Escadrille
 * 2nd Fighter Squadron
 * 4th Fighter Escadrille
 * 5th Fighter Escadrille
 * 6th Fighter Escadrille
 * Capital Defense Brigade
 * 4th Attack Squadron
 * 4th Attack Escadrille
 * 5th Attack Escadrille
 * 6th Attack Escadrille
 * 3rd Fighter Squadron
 * 7th Fighter Escadrille
 * 8th Fighter Escadrille
 * 9th Fighter Escadrille
 * Attack Brigade
 * 1st Attack Squadron
 * 1st Attack Escadrille
 * 2nd Attack Escadrille
 * 3rd Attack Escadrille
 * 2nd Attack Squadron
 * 7th Attack Escadrille
 * 8th Attack Escadrille
 * 9th Attack Escadrille
 * 3rd Attack Squadron (Unmanned)
 * 14th Attack Escadrille
 * 15th Attack Escadrille
 * 16th Attack Escadrille
 * 1st Army Cooperation Squadron
 * 1st Liaison Escadrille
 * 2nd Liaison Escadrille
 * 1st Reconnaissance Squadron
 * 1st Reconnaissance Escadrille
 * 2nd Reconnaissance Escadrille
 * New Belgrade Air Defense Battalion
 * Peachbrook Air Defense Battalion

The GFAF was not solely composed of flying units. Beyond the units working in support of the flying units, the other main responsibility of the Air Force was for ground-based air defense. While most of these units were stationary batteries based in and around the major settlements like the capital of New Belgrade and Peachbrook, the other major center in the Gilgamesh Free State, the Air Force also had some self-propelled anti-aircraft gun batteries that were placed under Army control. However, most of these units were equipped with obsolete radar-guided anti-aircraft guns. Advanced SAM systems, being far too costly to widely issue, were few and far between. With the reorganization of the military in 2555, most of the self-propelled anti-air systems under Army command were stripped of their armament, which was distributed to help arm the military's new motorized units, with the chassis then being used to help create shadow units in advance of the UNSC invasion, and the personnel were reassigned.

Frontier Defense Corps
The Frontier Defense Corps was a special unit of the Gilgamesh Free State, assigned to patrol the borders of the Free State. Culled from frontier militiamen volunteers, the Defense Corps mainly patrolled the border of the Free State up against the settled areas of Gilgamesh not under the control of the Free State, which were almost entirely lawless. The Frontier Defense Corps was assigned several tasks, the first of which was to prevent incursions by bandits, spies, or other hostile forces into the Free State. As part of this mission, the FDC was also assigned to screen incoming refugees or immigrants from elsewhere on Gilgamesh, as well as detaining those attempting to cross the border somewhere other than the prescribed checkpoints, before releasing them to the local Free State authorities. However, due to cost of the military the Free State had raised and was maintaining, the Defense Corps was constantly undermanned and underequipped, meaning it was often forced to rely heavily on the local auxiliaries to help carry out its mission

Gilgamesh Free State Auxiliaries
The Gilgamesh Free State Auxiliaries were the paramilitary units of the Free State, under the command of the local provincial authorities. While some of these units had formerly been rebel militias before the advent of the GFS, many of them had been criminal bands. These bands had been given a choice when the Free State took over their territory. They would be allowed to continue their illegal operations outside of the Free State's borders and would have a safe haven to base their operations and free passage of any contraband inside the borders, so long as they did not conduct criminal activity inside of the GFS. In return for this, they were to give the government a cut of the profits from their operations, help them acquire needed equipment and otherwise keep order where they were based. The other choice was to be arrested or killed. Almost all criminal bands chose the former, and became auxiliaries of the Free State. All auxiliaries, regardless of their origins, were expected to keep law and order in their areas, and to aid the military in time of war.