Britannian Military

The Britannian Military includes all the Armed Services of the Holy Empire of Britannia. It is believed to be one of the largest, most powerful, and most technologically advanced military forces in the world.

Britannian Ground Force
Main Article: Britannian Ground Force

The Britannian Ground Force or the Britannian Army is the ground based warfare service branch of the Military. It is shown to be the largest of the serving military branches, with them appearing in almost every episode of the series. The Army is tasked with defeating enemy's of the Empire and defending its national interests, either at home or abroad. It comprises of both infantry soldiers and armored combat units, including Knightmare Frames, as such they are regarded as the face of occupation for Empire at large. This made the Army a prime targets for resistance groups the world over.

Britannian Foreign Legion
One of the problems of managing a world spanning empire is the need for more soldiers to protect the Empire's large territory, because of this the Empire allowed their conquered citizens to serve in the military to fill the gap needed in order to maintain a strong military presence in the Areas, although they were sometimes recruited to serve in an Irregular forces like the Camelot and the tasks they are assigned to are just as menial as they are dangerous. For example; during the first episode a group of Honorary Britannians were tasked with a finding a "Chemical Bomb" in hostile territory armed with only their knife as their means of protection, but their discrimination didn't just end there. Sometimes they are treated as a "Guinea Pig" to test out new technology by the Military. Despite their harsh treatment by the military they were also regarded as "traitors" by their own people and as such most terrorists groups have little or no reserve if they meet upon them in battle.

Britannian Search and Rescue
Main Article: Britannian Search and Rescue

The Britannian Search and Rescue or Britannian S&R duty is still essentially the same as their real world counterpart and that is to search and rescue any people who are in distress or imminent dangers. They work closely with the Medical Core to offer aid for those affected by the aftermath of conflict, or natural disasters which has left significant damage in its path.

Britannian Medical Corps
The Britannian Medical Corp are responsible for providing aid in a military operation. They are easily recognized by their yellow military truck with the Red Cross emblem on them. During active operation they are never too far away from the G-1 Base command center, or Army units, to ensure maximum protection and safety for the injured. They made their first appearance on the second episode tending Suzaku Kurugi's wound.

Air Force
Main article: Britannian Air Force Actual airplanes are rarely, if never, used in combat by the Empire, though VTOL gunships and Knightmare VTOL are often seen, the latter used as Knightmare drop ships. Since the development of efficient float systems, large hover ships like the Avalon started to dominate the Imperial skies. They serve much the same role land-cruisers do on the ground, though still heavily-defended and capable of reaching considerable speeds. Similar float systems are now being equipped onto Knightmare frames, rendering them capable of the same role that traditional combat aircraft would have served pre-invasion of Japan.

Navy
Main article: Britannian Navy While battleships are seen used by the Empire in early battles, ships do not seems to play an important military role in the Empire, usually delegated the role of transport and trade. This is possibly why the Black Knights chose a submarine as one of their first headquarters. However, the Britannian military is by no means incapable of aquatic or even deep-sea combat, as shown by effectiveness of the Royal Marine Infantry (RMI)-13 Portman series of amphibious frames.

Royal Guards
Main article: Royal Guards

Royal Guards are military units that serves the members of the Imperial Family, and it has also been shown that the Knights of the Round also have their own royal guards. However the full aspect of the royal guard is unknown. They wear a variety of uniforms depending on who they are affiliated with. The most commonly seen guardsmen are members of Cornelia's Royal Guard dressed in maroon-red tunics with gold trims, black shakos and high boots.

Lelouch's Royal Guard are presented in more detail: all members are dressed in white-and-gray uniforms vaguely similar to the Knights of the Round with black tricorn hats and grey half masks, the jacket and hat emblazoned in golden eye symbols similar to the ones on Lelouch's Imperial outfit. The tricorns also have drop-down visors similar to the one on Zero's helmet. Some members can be seen wearing a cape, implying they're commanding officers of the Guard. All officers are forced into loyalty as a result of Lelouch's Geass, and act as his personal enforcers. Jeremiah also comments that he subjugated a former noble, implying he is the leader. Most of them are present during the battle of Mt. Fuji as well as the parade during the Zero Requiem.

Knights
"Knights" as by their name sake are elite specialized armed forces units within Britannia, that generally operate outside standard Britannian military hierarchy. Many are under personal command of a member of the Royal family. They are known to wield swords along with firearms in combat, and are often seen wearing uniquely designed, elaborated uniforms. The Knights of the Round are considered the greatest of knights in Britannia, answerable to only the Emperor himself. Most Knight Orders of Britannia follow a strict code of chivalry, much like the real world knights of olden times.

Within the regular army rankings, the term is used for the pilot of any Knightmare frame, although as time passes it became increasingly associated with the more elite pilots and special forces. Unlike the traditional British system of knighthood, Britannian knights bear the title of "Sir" before their surname rather than their given first name. For example; In a British system, Guilford would instead be addressed as "Sir Gilbert".

It is known that there are several Knight Orders in Britannia that are not directly serving royal family members.

Here are the list of currently known Britannian knight orders:

Imperial Throne: Imperial Family members: Euro-Britannia:
 * Knights of the Round
 * Glinda Knights
 * Glaston Knights
 * Knights of Euro Britannia
 * Knights of St. Raphael
 * Knights of St. Michael
 * Knights of St. Gabriel
 * Knights of St. Uriel