Garrison Regiment - Attack on Titan
The Garrison makes up the bulk of the military in the Attack on Titan series and aims to protect and maintain order inside the walls. They play an important role in defending the walls against Titan attacks. The Garrison soldiers work closely with civilians and are trained to execute a variety of tasks such as providing defensive measures with artillery and rifles, gate control, crowd control, evacuation, urban combat, and more.
Garrison Information
- Name: Garrison
- Duties: Protecting and maintaining order within the walls. Defending the walls against attacks from Titans.
- Notable Members: Dot Pixis, Hannes, Mitabi Jarnach Kitz Weilman, Rico Brzenska, Anka, Gustav, Ian Dietrich, Floch Forster.
Responsibilities
A Garrison soldier holds the incredibly important task and responsibility of protecting the people within the Walls. They spend a considerable amount of time fortifying and defending their positions with cannons and rifles.
While they are tasked with reducing casualties within the Wall, they also play an important role in making decisions of when to open and close the gates. In the Fall of Shiganshina Arc at Wall Maria, Garrison members were seen debating whether or not to lower the gate. Lowering the gate meant leaving thousands of people to the mercy of the Titans but also not allowing Titans to proceed to the inner walls, protecting the lives within the inner gates (Season 1, Episode 2).
They are also seen controlling the massive crowds as they escape on ferries, manning cannons, and more. After the Fall of Shiganshina Arc was settled, they are seen distributing goods and food to refugees.
Organization
The Garrison is made up of approximately 30,000 men and women. This number also includes the Training Corps until each member is assigned to their position of choice. However, the official number of soldiers that are completely trained and battle-ready is closer to 10,000. Each regiment in the Garrison has about 1,000 soldiers. There are two to three regiments in a brigade, while a division is made of two brigades. Dot Pixis was the commander of the Garrison.
Qualities
The quality of soldiers within the Garrison vary vastly and were often likened to a commoner “given a spear and little else” when compared to the highly skilled Elite Guard who are on Wall Sheena. Joining the Garrison meant that you would be fed so it is quite common for a whole family to join the Garrison. Many Garrison soldiers were former refugees and many joined to avoid working in the labor service and on farms.
Before the attack on Shiganshina Arc and the fall of Wall Maria, the Garrison soldiers were often viewed as lazy, unreliable, and undisciplined, as depicted in Season 1, Episode 1, where Eren, Mikasa, and Armin catch Hannes and his Garrison friends drinking alcohol and playing card games while on duty. The relaxed nature of the Garrison during this time was due to the 100 years of time where a TItan breaching one of the Walls was unheard of.
However, since the fall of Wall Maria in the year 845, they have become more serious and disciplined with their duties to protect humanity from upcoming Titan threats.
Weapons
Garrison soldiers, like all soldiers in the Army, were equipped with vertical maneuvering gear and two blades made from ultra-hard steel. However, they also utilize artillery such as cannons to defend the Walls from Titans. Here is a brief list of some of the weapons available to the Garrison soldiers.
Cannons are the most effective weapon against stationary targets, as they are highly inaccurate. There are three main types of shells used for cannons: plain lead shells, grapeshot shells that release lead balls when fired, and high-explosive shells that are set off with a timed fuse. Other shells include flares, smoke bombs, and chain-shot shells, which are used to capture targets.
Sniper rifles and firearms are used to shoot at a Titan’s eyes to temporarily blind them, thus slowing them down considerably.
Redundant Weapons
Here are a list of weapons that were available to the Garrison soldiers but no longer used.
Exploding prisoner-soldiers consisted of strapping bombs to prisoner-soldiers and feeding them to Titans. This was deemed an inhumane practice that was also highly ineffective.
Hand cannons were handheld, yet considerably large firearms. They were made with modified rifle barrels, but ended up being too heavy for most soldiers to wield. Carrying enough ammunition was impossible. Their weight and design made them incredibly accurate and difficult to wield.
Members
- District Commanders: Orvud Garrison Commander
- Captains: Kitz Weilman
- Team leaders: Rico Brzenska
- Squad members: Anka, Gustav, Phil, Fugo
Former Members
- Territory Commanders: Dot Pixis
- Commanders: Lobov
- Unit Captains: Hannes
- Team Leaders: Ian Dietrich, Mitabi Jarnach
- Squad Members: Floch Forster, Sandra, Gordon