13th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)

Wolf Guards 13th logo.png
Thirteenth Wolf Guards
Formed 3051
Previous Designation(s) Fourth Wolf Guards
Nickname The Black Guards (3067);
The Wolf Spiders (3052)
Affiliation Clan Wolf-in-Exile (after the Refusal War);
Clan Wolf
Parent Command Beta Galaxy (3061);
Alpha Galaxy (3051)

History[edit]

Creation[edit]

The Thirteenth Wolf Guards were raised by ilKhan Ulric Kerensky as a ransom to Natasha Kerensky upon her successful reinstatement as a Clan Wolf warrior with the rank of Star Colonel. Continuing a practice she had first implemented with the Black Widow Company, Star Colonel Kerensky staffed the new unit with raw recruits, aging Trueborns and members of lesser Bloodname houses.

Operation REVIVAL[edit]

Upon her subsequent promotion to a Khan of Clan Wolf, Kerensky attached the Thirteenth to Alpha Galaxy as her personal command unit (the Golden Keshik that had previously been the command unit was detached to serve as the newly elected ilKhan Ulric Kerensky's personal guard). The Thirteenth fought most of its battles in Operation Revival as part of Alpha Galaxy.

Fifth Wave[edit]

Tamar[edit]

The Thirteenth made its combat debut on Tamar in November 3051. Fighting alongside the rest of Alpha Galaxy and the Golden Keshik, the Thirteenth spearheaded the Wolf drive on the capital of Tamar City upon landing. They ran into heavy resistance from the Twenty-Sixth Lyran Guards RCT at Shonick Dale, where they were held up for six hours before withdrawing to reassess the situation. Alpha Galaxy subsequently broke through in a twilight assault. After pushing the Lyran defenders back to the walls of the city, the Thirteenth finally routed the Twenty-Sixth, but were unable to finish the job when they ran into minefields.

The Thirteenth joined the rest of Alpha Galaxy in ferocious street fighting to take Tamar City.

Satalice[edit]

In an unusual move, Khan Natasha Kerensky and Star Colonel Jera Carns of the Fourth Wolf Guards chose to skip the bidding process in favor of wagers based on the number of trophies (defined as unit insignia torn from downed enemy 'Mechs) brought back by each unit.

During the campaign, Star Commander Phelan of the Thirteenth defeated and took as bondsman the commander of an opposing Third Drakøns Company - one Ragnar Magnusson.[1][2]

Bessarabia[edit]

The Thirteenth was once again part of a force consisting of the balance of Alpha Galaxy and the Golden Keshik that fought the Fifth Davion Guards for control of Bessarabia.

Gunzburg[edit]

Gunzburg was persuaded to surrender without a fight by a one-on-one meeting between General Tor Miraborg of the Gunzburg Eagles and Star Commander Phelan of the Thirteenth.

Suk II[edit]

The Thirteenth's final battle in the invasion prior to Tukayyid was at Suk II in January 3052, where once again Alpha Galaxy was committed as a whole against the Thirty-Third Avalon Hussars RCT. Again, the battle was hard fought, with the Galaxy almost exhausting their ammunition stores within the first week of battle, but Alpha won after its Elementals forced a breach in the Hussars' lines.

Tukayyid[edit]

The Thirteenth Wolf Guards played a prominent role in the Clan Wolf campaign on Tukayyid. After Wolf forces had forced the Tenth Army from their initial defensive line at Forest's End, the Thirteenth slipped behind the 166th Division, heading for the primary objective city of Skupo. They were countered by the 282nd Division, which had been held in reserve. Despite taking heavy casualties, the 282nd managed to force the Thirteenth to abandon their drive, and buy time for the rest of the Tenth Army to establish defensive positions about five kilometers from the objective cities.[3][4][5]

Clan Wolf hit the new line, bending it, but were unable to break it. The Thirteenth were ambushed by the 138th Division that briefly stopped their advance, but again at the cost of massive casualties. The Thirteenth persisted, and after midnight, they finally broke through, putting the 138th Division to flight, and eventually destroying the unit. During this time, they also engaged in hit-and-run battles with the 166th Division. In this battle, the Thirteenth threatened to close the loop around Skupo. Recognizing this, the Com Guards pulled out of Skupo rather than risk being trapped in the city, thus conceding it to Clan Wolf.[3][4][5]

Under cover of a fierce storm, the Wolf Spiders led the remaining Clusters of Alpha and Beta in quietly breaching the Com Guard lines in an attempt to bypass the nine divisions defending the secondary target of Brzo. While the Precentor Martial spotted the Wolves advance and sent the 39th and 222nd Divisions to separate and stall the Wolf Spiders until the divisions of the ad hoc 13th Army to could arrive, Star Captain Phelan's Ax Star instead held the 222nd trapped until the arrival of the rest of the 13th. While the rest of the Wolves stumbled after Khan Garth Radick was killed by the Com Guard 11th Army, Kerensky's Thirteenth Wolf Guards pressed on, crushing the remains of the 222nd and capturing Brzo for Clan Wolf.[3][4][5]

Refusal War[edit]

During the Refusal War the Thirteenth Wolf Guards were present on Twycross when Natasha Kerensky's force battled the Falcon Guards in December 3057. Bringing up the rear of the Wolf formation, the Wolf Guards covered their comrades' withdrawal into the Great Gash as the Falcons advanced. Ordering the surviving Wolves to join Ulric Kerensky on Wotan, Natasha Kerensky promoted Marco Hall to command of the Wolf Spiders before remaining behind to duel the incoming Falcons.[6][7]

Jihad Era[edit]

The Thirteenth Wolf Guards were present on Arc-Royal when the Word of Blake attacked the planet in 3072. They sustained several losses at that time.[8]

Participated in the liberation of Tharkad in January 3072.[9][10] They smashed the 37th Division, forcing the unit to retreat.[11]

In 3077 they raided Chara, facing the 13th Marik Militia and Chara Protectorate Militia. The operation was a fiasco, and the attacking Coalition forces had to retreat to Talitha. They joined with other Coalition forces and returned to the world, liberating it from the Word of Blake.[12]

Dark Age[edit]

The Thirteenth Wolf Guards worked with several mercenary and militia forces to oppose the Second Falcon Jaegers on Zhongshan in 3087. This conflict was the first time the Falcons employed the Eyrie BattleMech, and it was very effective. Despite this, the Falcons didn't take the world.[13]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 13th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf)
Khan Natasha Kerensky 3051
Commanding Officers of the 13th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)
Star Colonel Marco Hall 3057[14]
Commanding Officers of the 13th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)
saKhan Marco Hall 3061[15]
Star Colonel Darryl Kerensky 3067 - 3072[16][17]
Star Colonel Michael Conners 3145[18]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

Unlike most Clan formations, the warriors of the 13th Wolf Guards were handpicked by Natasha Kerensky without regard for their age, background, or experience. Warriors from solahma and second line garrison units were promoted to the front-line Cluster while the balance of the unit was staffed by some of the newest warriors from the Clan's sibkos. This mix of old and new provided the Wolf Spiders with a higher than average skill rating as the older warriors were able to impart their wisdom to the younger warriors.[19]

3051[edit]

As 3052 with the following substitutions

3052[edit]

[21]

Tukayyid[edit]

  • Trinary Alpha
  • Trinary Bravo
  • Trinary Charlie
  • Binary Delta
  • Battle Armor Trinary
  • Aerospace Binary

[22]

3057[edit]

  • Command Star (Star Colonel Marco Hall)
    • 5 BattleMechs
  • Trinary Alpha (Star Captain Thea Misjak)
    • Alpha Assault: 5 BattleMechs
    • Battle Star: 5 BattleMechs
    • Striker Star: 5 BattleMechs
  • Trinary Bravo (Star Captain Liston Whull)
    • Bravo Assault: 5 BattleMechs
    • Battle Star: 5 BattleMechs
    • Striker Star: 5 BattleMechs
  • Trinary Charlie (Star Captain Nigel Wallace)
    • Charlie Nova: 5 BattleMechs, 5 Elemental Points
    • Charlie Assault: 5 Elemental Points
    • Battle Elemental Star: 5 Elemental Points
  • Trinary Delta (Star Captain Thomas Ch'in)
    • Delta Assault: 10 fighters
    • Battle Star: 10 fighters
    • Striker Fighter Star: 10 fighters
  • Support

[14]

3061[edit]

13th Wolf Guards (4 Trinaries/Regular/Fanatical)[15]

  • CO: saKhan Marco Hall

3067[edit]

13th Wolf Guards (Elite/Fanatical)[16]

  • CO: Darryl Kerensky

3079[edit]

The Jihad reduced the 13th Wolf Guards to approximately 30% of their nominal strength.[8]

3145[edit]

13th Wolf Guards (Regular/Fanatical)[18]

  • CO: Michael Conners

Organization Structure[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The Thirteenth changed their nickname to "The Black Guards" after saKhan Marco Hall finally created a Keshik to lead Beta Galaxy from. He took the Wolf Spiders designation for his new Keshik.

References[edit]

  1. More Tales of Black Widow, p. 43: Campaign: Capture a Prince - Game Scenario setup for Ragnar's fight against Clan Wolf and information on his capture
  2. Wolf Clan Sourcebook, pp. 42–43, 65: Outline information for the battle for Satalice and Prince Ragnar's part in the battle with the Third Drakøn and the planet's two armored divisions
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tukayyid, p. 90: "Campaign: Clan Wolf"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 ComStar, pp. 71–72: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wolf Clan, pp. 50–51: "Days of Armageddon - Wolf"
  6. Bred for War, ch. 38 (PDF version)
  7. The Falcon and the Wolf, p. 30
  8. 8.0 8.1 Field Report: Clans, p. 22
  9. Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad
  10. Total Chaos, p. 48
  11. Total Chaos, p. 49
  12. Total Chaos, p. 167
  13. Technical Readout: 3145 The Clans, p. 34
  14. 14.0 14.1 The Falcon and the Wolf, p. 54
  15. 15.0 15.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 159: "Beta Galaxy - Clan Wolf-in-Exile"
  16. 16.0 16.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 80: "Warden Clans Deployment Table - Clan Wolf-in-Exile"
  17. Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad
  18. 18.0 18.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 174: "Clan Force Deployments - Clan Wolf-in-Exile"
  19. Era Report: 3052, p. 42
  20. More Tales of the Black Widow, pp. 26–27: "13th Wolf Guards, 6151"
  21. Wolf Clan Sourcebook, pp. 75–76: "13th Wolf Guards Cluster"
  22. Battle of Tukayyid Supplemental, p. 22: "Strategic Battles: Bloody Basin Pass"

Bibliography[edit]