Leib Guard (The Green North)

The Leib Guard (Лейб-гвардия, leyb-gvardiya) of Romanova refers to the elite segment of the Romanovan Armed Forces dedicated to protecting the Tsar and his close relatives as well as most major government officials and buildings within Pelevievo. The Leib Guard of Romanova is a direct continuation of the Leib Guard present in the Russian Empire, with relatively few changes.

History
The Leib Guard of the Russian Empire was created by Emperor Peter the Great to replace the politically unreliable Streltsy units for the protection of the Emperor and the imperial family. By the start of World War I, the Leib Guard had sprawled into a massive organization of well over seven divisions worth of infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments. The Leib Guards were stationed not only in St. Petersburg but also in Warsaw, Poland. They served in World War I as both frontline units and as reserves, maintaining their function of protecting the Tsar as well.

With the outbreak of revolution in Russia, the loyalty of the guard split. Some like the Pavlovsky regiment mutinied and joined the Bolshevik cause while others like the Preobrazhensky regiment remained largely loyal to the White cause. Even so, the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War ensured that the Leib Guards would be disbanded and the organization was no more by the end of 1917.

However, the near execution of the deposed Tsar and his family highlighted the need for a new bodyguard, and upon the Tsar's evacuation to Romanova by the it was decided that the Legion would also provide for the Tsar's defense until the new state was consolidated. When the concluded, the Russian-Greenland Legion was disbanded and reformed into a new Leib Guard for the Tsar's protection.

Presently, the Leib Guard consists of two infantry battalions, a cavalry battalion, and an artillery battalion. Because of the Guard's responsibility for protecting the government, it is rare for it to engage in armed combat with another state adversary. The last time it did so was during World War II during the attempted coup d'tat of and subsequent service in Allied operations post-Operation Overlord.