Army of Belmont

The Army of Belmont (in French; Armée de l'Terre, known informally as the Belmontien Army) is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the Belmont. It came into being with the establishment of the Kingdom of Belmont in 814, when King Philippe I banded together the many militias in the duchy of Montaigne. The army is also the oldest branch of the armed forces and has been in continuous service of the monarch since its establishment.

As of October 1, 2010, the Belmontien Army employs 299,750 active personnel and maintains a reserve force of 106,110. The army has deployed to many war zones in the past as part of, both, Expeditionary Forces and in Council of Nations Peacekeeping Operations. The Belmontien army is currently deployed in active operations in Abruzicstan and maintains a base in Hajr.

The professional head of the army is the Chief of Army Staff, currently General Philippe A. Villevois.

History
The 814 edict by King Philippe I, which established the army, called for all able bodied men in the Realm were bound to join the standards at a given moment to repel an attack or make an invasion. This primitive state of affairs proved to be a nightmare in the war against the rebelling duchies and showed that the army needed to be reformed. In 821, King Philippe issued another decree which called for the creation of a permanent army.

Throughout the middle ages, the army has taken part in all the crusades, except one, and spent much of the first couple of centuries of the first millennium quelling regular revolts organized by various nobles in the southern realms.

Marquen invasion 1799
The first major offensive undertaken since the war against the rebelling duchies in 814, the Marquen invasion of 1799 came as a surprise to the army and for the first two years the army suffered catastrophic defeats and the invading Marquen forces got within 3km of Paris. By 1806, the tide of war had turned in their favor and within four years the war ended with the status quo maintained. Since the war, the armed forces have maintained a policy of constant readiness.

Current Deployments
The army is currently involved in only one active operation, which is currently in its withdrawal stages.