| By Knight of Malta | See other fanon and fan fiction works from Knight of Malta. |
The Royal Navy was the naval service of the military of the Earth Kingdom until the fall of the ancien régime in 171 AG. It had been the oldest organized navy in the world, predating even the Water Tribe fleet, but it was neglected by Earth Monarchs over the centuries and by the Hundred Year War it was vastly surpassed by the Imperial Navy of the Fire Nation. At its peak around the time of the Peasant Uprising in Ba Sing Se the Earth Kingdom Royal Navy included a dozen men-of-war, a hundred galleons, and hundreds of smaller vessels. It dominated the Mo Ce Sea and the rest of the world's oceans until the development of the ironclad warship by the Fire Nation, and as a result much of the wooden Royal Navy was destroyed at the outbreak of the Hundred Year War. Having remained in port for much of the conflict, it underwent development during the restored reign of Earth King Kuei, quickly adopting modern technology, including battleships and submarines by the time of Queen Hou-Ting.
The navy played only a minor role under Kuvira. Under the successor Earth Confederation, the former Royal Navy assets became the Confederate Navy, although much of the fleet was divided up among the Confederation's constituent republics.
Organization[]
For centuries the Royal Navy had no central leadership body. A few centuries before the Hundred Year War, the fleet came to be administered from Ba Sing Se by the Board of the Admiralty, a body of civilian officials led by the Commissioner of the Admiralty, appointed by the Earth King. The Board was responsible for all administrative and logistical aspects of managing the fleet, and the lack of a staff to perform operational planning was crucial to the Earth Kingdom Royal Navy's defeat against the superior organization of the Fire Nation Imperial Navy. In 100 AG, to rectify this Earth King Kuei issued a decree establishing within the Board an Admiralty War Staff, and also abolishing to office of Commissioner and replacing it with First Naval Lord, to manage all operational and long-term strategic planning. The War Staff was essentially the equivalent to the Council of Five, although as the Army was regarded as by far the most important branch it was not as influential on overall military policy.
For much of its history it was organized into three main fleets, and each one was led by an admiral that answered to the Board of the Admiralty.
- Home Fleet (Ba Sing Se)
- Western Fleet (Taku)
- Eastern Fleet (Chameleon Bay)
After the beginning of the Hundred Year War and the Fire Nation invasion of the western Earth Kingdom, the Western Fleet was largely destroyed, and so the two remaining fleets were amalgamated into one command known as the Surface Fleet (or The Fleet). It was reorganized into a number of constituent formations as part of an effort to modernize the Royal Navy for it to compete with the Fire Nation in 100 AG under King Kuei. Operational command of all units fell to the new post of Fleet Commander, usually an admiral of the fleet.
- Surface Fleet
- First Flotilla
- Second Flotilla
- Third Flotilla
- Submarine Flotilla
- Naval Flying Corps
This structure remained in place until 171 AG when the death of Queen Hou-Ting began the anarchy in the Earth Kingdom. The navy largely remained intact and eventually pledged loyalty to Kuvira. However, she primarily focused on Army development and neglected the Navy. After her fall and the abdication of King Wu the fleet was greatly downsized by the succeeding Confederation.
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