September 23, 2024
Attack on Titan | The Survey Corps | Humanity’s Last Chance of Freedom
Read about the Survey Corps, the heroes of Attack on Titan, facing colossal foes, unearthing a world-changing history, and more.
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The Survey Corps is a military unit specialized for combat beyond the walls. With their devotion, courage, and skills in using the ODM gear, these are the soldiers responsible for eliminating the Titans and restoring humanity’s freedom.
Also known as the Scout Regiment, this branch recruits only the best of the best - those ready to give up everything for the greater good. They are mankind’s last hope, the only ones who can bring order into the chaotic world of Attack on Titan. They are the Survey Corps.
The Purpose of the Survey Corps
The leaders of the Eldian Country on Paradis Island created a diverse military that would benefit everyone within the walls and maintain their hard-won peace for years to come. Today, the Eldian army is divided into three battalions that still work hard to preserve these ideals of harmony.
- The Garrison Regiment - The unit with the most soldiers out of all three battalions. They are the ones that patrol the area within the walls where it’s thought to be the safest. So, the requirements for joining the Garrison Regiment are lower.
- The Military Police Brigade - The unit specialized for personally defending the king and the royal family. Only the most trustworthy ones are chosen for this task.
- The Scout Regiment - These are the bravest people who are fighting the Titans outside the walls. Not everyone wants to join them, and the ones that do, don’t do it not for the fame or the glory, but the pure intentions for freedom.
While the Garrison Regiment and the Military Police Brigade make appearances in the series, they hold minimal significance in the overall plot. It’s the Scout Regiment that takes the spotlight, playing a pivotal role in the series. They are the soldiers who will take matters into their own hands and eventually reshape the world.
Scout Regiment’s Roles in Attack on Titan
Known for their dark green cloaks with the iconic “Wings of Freedom” crest, the Scout Regiment is a unit that works tirelessly to explore outside of the walls. Unlike the other battalions, these soldiers spend most of their days in uncharted territory, living in camps and thinking about when and where the next Titan might appear.
Alongside gathering information about the world, the Scouts are equally committed to unraveling the mysteries of the Titans, striving to learn more about humanity’s enemies. In the first season, they finally did the impossible. Led by Hange, the Scouts conducted a titan study by capturing two Pure Titans, examining their physiology, and revealing intel that would later be crucial for humanity’s victory.
Being a Scout is basically a suicide mission and in the years before the show took place, this unit marked little to no success. However, with the addition of Eren and his Attack Titan, Mikasa with her Ackerman blood, and Armin with his brilliant mind, the scouts' role got much more important. And so, a new era began. An era of hope for a better future.
The Survey Corps' Defining Moments
Guided by the leadership of soldiers such as Erwin Smith, Levi, and Hange, the Scout Regiment formed a group of trustworthy squadmates ready to overcome every challenge and make the world a much better place for all humans.
However, this trust was quickly broken by the Marleyan traitors within the Survey Corps. In a surprising twist, Annie Leonhart revealed herself to be the Female Titan and tried to cause chaos within the walls. Luckily, her plan failed and the scouts managed to contain her, showing their composure and combat skills in times of need.
The betrayals continued as both Reiner and Bertholdt, who concealed their identities as the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan, finally revealed their true natures. Their actions wreaked havoc on Paradis Island and were the cause of much suffering within the walls.
As time went by, the Titans’ number slowly but surely started to go down. In one of the biggest triumphs humanity has ever seen, the Scouts successfully retake Shiganshina District and gain the Colossal Titan by taking Berthold out of the picture. With the heartbreaking loss of Captain Erwin Smith and countless other squadmates, this battle demonstrated the soldiers' readiness to face any danger on the battlefield, all in the pursuit of securing victory.
The Survey Corps’ Battle Strategy
Unlike the other much larger units, this platoon maintains a force of merely three hundred soldiers led by the Commander of the Survey Corps. To properly organize, this battalion is divided into 10 teams led by an experienced senior team leader. These team leaders, in turn, report to four other exceptional squad leaders, creating a hierarchical structure designed for optimal effectiveness and coordination.
Fighting the Titans without a plan is a very bad idea. So, to efficiently approach the Titans, all the great tacticians in the Survey Corps devised multiple tactics such as:
- Avoiding a battle in an open space where the ODM gear would be practically useless
- Giving different tasks to every team in order to gain strategic advantage
- Long-distance communication by using flares of different colors
- Using strategic formations
- Ambushing the target
- Using special weapons like the thunder spears
By implementing these tactics into their battle plan, the Scout Regiment ensures a higher percentage of success with as minimal losses as possible. It is said that since the Survey Corps became more organized, their loss rate has dropped by a third.
Final Thoughts on the Survey Corps
The Eldians settled well on Paradis Island and were unbothered for a long time. With the Titan threat seeming to lie quiet for many years, the Scout Regiment was largely overlooked and the primary concern was the maintenance of order within the walls. At least that was until “that” day when the situation got much worse.
The Titans conquered Wall Maria, unleashing chaos and fear while putting humanity’s survival into question. And sadly, it was then that the most neglected military unit would become the most important one. It was then that the only ones who could fight off this threat were the Survey Corps.
Fueled by skilled soldiers under the exceptional leadership of Erwin Smith, the Survey Corps devoted themselves to the protection of their country. In doing so, they proved their courage to the world and showed how a well-coordinated, trustworthy team can face even the most horrifying enemies such as the Titans.
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