1 DRAGOON PLT "Baboona Dragoona Platoona" (R) Now a mechanised infantry unit equipped with 3 German Marders (i.e., "Martens") and other APC's and attached to GDH.  The plt is paired with Count Przhevalsky's Horse GDH for training and operations.

 

2 (PRINCE BRENDAN'S OWN) (SASKATOON) DRAGOON PLT "Gift Horse" (R) Now a mechanised infantry unit equipped with 4 Canadian Grizzlies  (see also here) and attached to GDH. The plt is paired with Prince Brendan's Own Horse GDH for training and operations. [The Grizzlies were given to the Wotanberger Army by Canada in appreciation of its long assistance to the Canadians serving at the nearby CFB Lahr. The appelation "Saskatoon" was added in honor of Major (Ret.) Angus McKenzie--born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan--whose efforts were largely responsible for the gift.] 

 

The Muskatoon Dragoons were among the Wotanberger army units sent to the Mustela Islands when Germany and Britain transferred their respective holdings in the islands to the Grand Duchy in 1890. 2 PLT returned to the Grand Duchy in 1919, but 1 PLT remained in the islands until 1952, two years after the islands gained full independence. The current nickname for 1 PLT reflects the fact that in its last ten years on the islands it was attached to the Kikundi cha Nyani ("Baboon Batallion") of first the Grand Duke's African Rifles and then the Mustela Rifles.

3 DRAGOON PLT "Iron Horse" (R) Now a railway security unit attached to GDH. Includes a railway recce sec ("Train Recce").

 

4 DRAGOON PLT "Doubloon (Dragoons)" (A) Now a motorised infantry plt attached directly to GHQ, with primary responsibility for protecting the Siebenzwerge gold mines. [This unit was originally composed of some of the other "foreigners" who had served under Sir Trevor in 1815 and remained in Wotanberg after Waterloo. The plt was so named because during their service under Sir Trevor in 1815, the plt's original members were paid in Spanish "doubloons" acquired by Captain (later Admiral) Horatio Hornblower while commanding the HMS Lydia during its famous voyage to South America during the Napoleonic Wars.]

THE DOON DRAGOONS:  [So named because it was originally composed largely of Scots from the valley of the River Doon.] 

5 (BRIG O' DOON) DRAGOON PLT "Pontoon (Dragoons)" (or "Foot Bridge" if attached to one of the infantry regiments) (R) Now a bridging unit attached directly to GHQ, it is scheduled to be re-equipped with 2 British M3 Amphibious Rigs in FY 2001-02. [When the plt was converted to a pontoon bridging unit, it was renamed "The Brig O' Doon Pontoon Dragoon Platoon"in honor of the bridge made famous by Robert Burns in his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Many of the current members of the plt are their descendants of the original members.]

6 DRAGOON PLT "Dune (Dragoons)" (sometimes "Arakis"or "Rat Patrol") (R) Now a motorised reconnaissance ("recce") unit equippped with Jeeps and other light vehicles and attached directly to GHQ. The plt is often paired with the Rifle Plt STOF for training and operations. (The Grand-Ducal government will neither confirm, nor deny, that these units assisted Coalition forces during the Gulf War.)

In the 1860's, the unit was equipped with hot air balloons, which stayed in service until they were replaced by a German dirigible acquired in early 1919. During this period, the unit was known as the "Doon Balloon Dragoon Platoon". Having acquired a "modern" airship to replace the balloons, the Grand Duke decided that it needed to part of a "modern" force--an "Air Force". So the plt was disbanded and its equipment and most of its personnel transferred to the new organization. In 1945, the plt was "raised from the dead" to serve as the new home for surviving members of a group of "Wotanberger Volunteers" who had served with the British Eighth Army in North Africa as a recce and special operations unit similar to the Long Range Desert Group. (By special order of the Grand Duke, former French Army Capt Louis Renault, French Army Lt Rick Blaine, former American Army Sgt Sam Troy, and former German Army Hauptman Hans Dietrich were allowed to become members of this plt instead of the Foreign Coy of Foot STOF in 1945.) Unit Insignia.

THE MAROON DRAGOONS: [So-named because of the colour of the unit's original uniforms. The members of both plt still wear maroon berets.]

7 (AERO-)DRAGOON PLT "Lagoon (Dragoons)" (R) Now an airmobile anti-tank unit equipped with Dragon missiles and attached to GDAC as part of Wotanberg's "Rapid Deployment Force". 

From the 1938 until 1950, when the Seiber Islands was granted independence, this plt was attached to the colonial administration there. During this period it became known as the "Lagoon Dragoon Platoon". In 1940, the plt was especially trained and equipped to be transported into combat by various amphibious aircraft owned and/or operated by the Wotanberger Overseas Airways Company (WOAC).

8 DRAGOON PLT "Horse Marines" or more commonly now, "McHale's Navy" (A/R) Now an unusual "infantry" unit attached directly to GHQ which protects the Drachenrücken Reservoir (and its seaplane landing area).

1 SEC "Peg Leg" is equipped with GDGB ("Grand Ducal Gun Boat") McHale and two other smaller boats.

 

2 SEC is equipped with Ducks ("Web Foot").

 

Sometimes this unit is called the "Picaroon Dragoon Platoon" because this unit was originally composed largely of men claiming to be pardoned members of Jean Laffite's band of pirates (whose exploits were fictionalized in the motion picture "The Buccaneer"). From the 1881 until 1945, this plt was attached to the colonial administration in the Seiber Islands. During World War II, the unit provided security for the American P.T. boat base on Taratupa and occasionally carried out joint operations with AmConSportMtbRon3 under the command of LtCdr Quinton McHale. The GDGB McHale, named in honor of McHale, was formerly PT 13 and given to the Grand Duchy (along with 4 other boats which remained in the Seiber Islands) in appreciation of all the support provided to the Americans during the war. However, the Grand-Ducal government will neither confirm, nor deny, that PT 13's famous crew actually trained the initial Wotanberger crew upon the vessel's transfer to the Grand Duchy in 1945.

 

The nickname of the unit was "Horse Marines" until the American television series McHale's Navy debuted in 1962.

 

The unit is also the administrative "home" for those Wotanbergers who are attached at their request to serve with the naval components of the armed forces of either Tarafu or the Mustella Islands.

 

BOONE'S DRAGOONS: [So named because the plt was originally equipped with American rifles reputedly of the type used by the famous Daniel Boone.]

9 DRAGOON PLT "Dan'l Boone" (A/R) Now an anti-tank plt with 4 TOW-equipped Weasels, attached to STOF.