Pont Caprilieu

Pont Caprilieu Ground Forces School, in Neidong

Pont Caprilieu, formally Pont Caprilieu Ground Forces School, is a Laeralian military academy located in the town of Brissemer, Neidong. The academy educates and trains officers of the Laeralian National Security Force, enrolling roughly 300 cadets annually for four years of study. Pont Caprilieu dates to the early years of the Laeralian state, and is one of the oldest universities in Laeral. It produces the majority of the top officers of the LNSF, historically known as the Laeralian Army, and educated leading generals and statesmen in Laeralian history, including former president J.P. Salaun as well as Alain Mette, who sought to overthrow the Republic of Laeral alongside other conspirators during the Bloody Summer.

History

In 1865, the Laeralian government ordered the creation of an academy to educate army officers, setting aside funding for the academy's construction, which began in 1866. Pont Caprilieu was chosen as the site for its location easily accessible by the Zhongshui river, as well as the influence of political power broker Henri Laval, a Neidong native. The first class of 63 cadets was accepted in 1869, and by 1880, following the War of the Seven Provinces, Pont Caprilieu graduated over 100 cadets annually.

With the outbreak of the First Fellsian War in 1911, Pont Caprilieu graduates made up much of the Laeralian army's officer corps. During the subsequent Laeralian Revolution, a faction of pro-Republican cadets at Pont Caprilieu seized control of the academy and turned it over to academy alumnus J.P. Salaun's forces in 1921.

The academy survived relatively unmolested with the establishment of the Laeralian Republic, continuing as a major training academy for officers of the Laeralian Armed Forces. The class of 1930 is renowned as the "angels' class" for its numerous members who rose to prominence during the Great War.

During the Bloody Summer, Pont Caprilieu remained loyal to the Laeralsford government under its first Rén commandant, Matthieu Hsiao. In one infamous incident during that conflict, 16 unarmed Pont Caprilieu cadets were executed by Laeralian Front forces.

Since the 1970s, the academy has grown in size to its present cadet population of roughly 1,300 at any given time. The introduction of the standardized Laeralian Defense Forces Officer Exam in 1982 replaced the older system of appointment by local mayors and magistrates in determining admission. Pont Caprilieu's first female cadet graduated in 2005, while the current commandant, Angelique Leray, is the 19th person and first woman to hold the role.

Facilities and Curriculum

Pont Caprilieu sits several kilometers from the Zhongshui river, on roughly three square kilometers of land. The complex itself is built in a Colonial Revival style, and is entered via 1954 Memorial Gate, dedicated to the memory of the cadets killed during the Bloody Summer. It contains several barracks buildings, classrooms, a dining hall, and gunnery range, while the nearby Daixiu National Forest is occasionally used for wilderness survival and maneuvering exercises.

Upon matriculating to the academy, Pont Caprilieu cadets are assigned to single-gender groups known as squadrons, who live together and compete in exercises together for the duration of their education. The curriculum includes academic subjects such as history, mathematics, literature, and geography, as well as classes in military theory and practice.

Pont Caprilieu operates cadet exchange programs with military academies of various Laeralian allies, which since 2001 have been mandatory for cadets during their fifth semester. Among the oldest of these programs to be formalized is a semester-long exchange program with the Alejandro Vasquez School in Slokais Islands, which has existed since 1970.