12th Army (Star League)

12th Army (SLDF) 2765.jpg
Twelfth Army
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command Star League Defense Force

The Star League Defense Force's Twelfth Army was assigned to operations within the Lyran Commonwealth Military Region.[1]

History[edit]

The Headquarters of the Twelfth Army was located on Deia, from which the Twelfth Army was deployed throughout the border region between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Rim Worlds Republic. In addition to their assignment along the Rim Worlds border, the Twelfth was also assigned to monitor approximately half of the Commonwealth's border with the Draconis Combine.[2] As a result of this assignment, the Twelfth saw a lot of action during the Third Hidden War while engaged in "bandit hunting."[3]

The Twelfth Army's station along the Rim Worlds and Combine borders made it the most important Army in the Commonwealth Military Region. To insure they could protect the citizens of the Commonwealth the Twelfth worked and trained extensively with LCAF units. Though this working relationship allowed the two militaries to operate effectively on defense, the SLDF High Command worried that if the LCAF was ever an aggressor the Twelfth wouldn't be able to do their duty and stop the Lyrans. This potential problem hadn't reared up in 2764 however.[2]

The Twelfth saw a great deal of action during their bandit hunting activities. The Twelfth possessed an 80% success rate in responding to bandit raids; only one bandit group in five escaped their divisions. This was only possible because the Twelfth could count on the LCAF to perform defensive duties, allowing the Twelfth's divisions to operate in an aggressive manner. Most of the bandits were down on their luck forces as expected, but several of these groups were equipped with better weapons and had more training. The Twelfth was attempting to gather more information about these bands, but any prisoners were immediately picked up by the Star League Intelligence Command.[2] (Later events would suggest that these bandits were sponsored by either the Rim Worlds Republic, Lyran Commonwealth, or Draconis Combine.)

When the Periphery Uprising demanded the deployment of additional SLDF forces into the Periphery, the Twelfth was one of the Armies selected to move as reinforcements, due to how quiet the border with the Rim Worlds Republic appeared to be. The Twelfth deployed into the Magistracy of Canopus and spent two years engaged in operations there; the Twelfth took relatively moderate damage during the Periphery campaign, losing six Divisions and an Independent Regiment to combat losses and a seventh Division to disbandment, but the bulk of these casualties were concentrated within XLII Corps. As a result, XLII Corps was subsequently merged with II Corps, reducing the Twelfth Army to a three-Corps formation.[3]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 12th Army
General Eliud Felischhauer 2764 - 2765[2][3]

Tactics[edit]

Different per Unit.

Corps of the 12th Army[edit]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

  • 6 BattleMech Divisions[3]
  • 13 Infantry Divisions[3]
  • 9 Independent Regiments[3]

References[edit]

  1. The Star League, p. 145: "Twelfth Army"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 147
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 44: "Twelfth Army"

Bibliography[edit]