Squad E

Squad E emblem

Edinburgh Army 101st Division, 1st Battle Brigade, 32nd Armored Ranger Corps, 2nd Regiment, Platoon E; also known as "Easy Platoon" or "E Z Platoon", is the protagonist's unit in Valkyria Chronicles 4.

Squad E is a unit in the Edinburgh Army composed primarily of foreigners from Gallia volunteering to fight the Empire. Lead by Claude Wallace, the unit had many notable accomplishments during Operation Northern Cross.

Background

Main article: United Kingdom of Edinburgh#Military

While the Principality of Gallia practices a policy of universal conscription, and its armed forces had been effective at repelling Imperial invasion in the past, Gallia remained neutral between the two superpowers of Europa.

With their country only willing to fight defensively, Gallians who wish to take the fight to the Empire tend to join the armies of other countries. In particular, the Edinburgh army is reputed for its well-established regimen, and attracts many soldiers and mercenaries looking for a good fight.

History

Squad E was commissioned in May of 1934 EC with a batch of Gallian recruits that just finished their training. First Lieutenant Claude Wallace, himself a Gallian, was assigned as the commanding officer of this platoon. Wallace, wanting to take an active role in the fight against the Empire, convinced the entire platoon to volunteer for ranger training, so that as an elite unit he will be in a position to make strategic decisions in battles against the Empire. The platoon managed to complete the ranger training with no dropouts, a rare feat. The entire platoon was then assigned under the 2nd Regiment of the newly established ranger corps, keeping their original "Platoon E" designation.

The unit took a leading role in EWII in the Federation vanguard of Operation Northern Cross, playing a crucial role in the Federation's initial victories at the Battle of Reine and the Battle of Siegval. Even when the Blizzard of 1935, locally known as "The Winter Witch", completely destroyed Operation Northern Cross and allowed imperial forces to completely rout the Federation, Squad E's rangers conducted a fighting retreat that allowed a number of their fellow troops to escape back south to friendly territory.

After surviving the ambush at Lindbergh Base, Squad E and their fellow rangers retreated across the Achtzehn Mountains, aiming to regroup with a secret Federation Navy landing force that aimed to continue the drive to Schwartzgrad. While Squad E was late to the rendezvous (after assaulting an imperial supply base), this delay actually saved Squad E from destruction at the hands of the elite tank squad Ausbruch, as Squads D and F had suffered.

Their arrival coincided with the arrival of the Cygnus Fleet, a secret Federation Navy task force. With the destruction of Squads D and F, Squad E formed the nucleus of the Snow Cruiser Centurion's infantry squad as they drove toward Schwartzgrad. In the end, they succeeded in taking Schwartzgrad, forcing the Empire to sue for peace and saving the lives of Federation troops trapped in enemy territory.

Members

An asterisk indicates these are the members of Squad E when it was commissioned in May of 1934.

Some of the original members of Squad E. From left to right: Kai, Raz, Laurent, Jimmy, Viola, Aulard, Nico, Godwin, and Neige.

Squad Commander

• Claude Wallace* - Captain

Tank Crew

• Miles Arbeck* - Sergeant
• Ronald Albee - 2nd Lieutenant
• Dan Bentley - Private First Class

Scouts

• Curtis Blackwell*
• Godwin*
• Rosetta Valeriano*
• Teresa Leach*
• Nico Emery*
• Minerva Victor - 1st Lieutenant
• Jester Mooney
• Millennia Hudson
• Thomas Kevin
• Azusa Tsukikage
• Brian Haddock

Shocktroopers

• Raz* - Sergeant
• Zaiga*
• Scott Aldiss*
• Stanley Barclay*
• Viola Bryce*
• Emmy Mistral*
• Fleuret Valois*
• Stanley Barclay
• Simon Bale
• Lily Ashley
• Vancey Fioré
• Ferrier Blancheur

Lancers

• Laurent McCloud*
• Jimmy Frank*
• Jean Matrix*
• Keigel Hohmann
• Gertrude Albright
• Hanna Carroll
• Brittany Scarlett
• Sergio Mousquelaire

Engineers

• Aulard Abington*
• Rebecca Longhurst*
• Rita Raywater
• Eileen Blackwell
• André Dunois

Snipers

• Kai Schulen* - Sergeant Major
• Neige LePreton*
• Aladdin Ballard
• Norid Saarinen
• Leonhardt Strauch
• Mabel Drake

Grenadiers

• Riley Miller - 2nd Lieutenant
• Connor Doherty
• Aoife
• Jascha Alatt
• Louffe

Trivia

• According to the producer of Valkyria Chronicles 4, they wanted the squad to have the nickname "Easy Platoon" (presumably in reference to Easy Company of the American 101st Airborne Division from Band of Brothers and like Easy Company Squad E had every member succeed in elite training), and from there they came up with the name "Squad E". "Easy" is the WW2-era NATO brevity code for "E" (later replaced with the modern "Echo").
• As Edinburgh is the equivalent of the United Kingdom, Squad E's status as a foreign-born unit serving as part of their armed forces is similar to the real-life British military in WW2, which, as well as units from throughout the Empire such as the Gurkhas from Nepal, also operated military units from territories conquered by the Nazis, such as Czechoslovakia, Poland and France. The main difference is that most members of Squad E joined the Edinburgh Army before their country was invaded.
• The Armored Ranger Corps appears to be similar in purpose to the British SAS (even having a similar winged sword insignia), but with its roots as a paratrooper unit removed to account for the nonexistence of military fixed-wing aircraft in Valkyria Chronicles' setting.