15th Lyran Guards


Insignia of the 15th Lyran Guards
15th Lyran Guards RCT
Disbanded Destroyed in 3070
Nickname The Death or Glory Boys
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command Lyran Guards


History[edit]

The 15th Lyran Guards gained its regimental nickname for the many times it faced certain death, only to trick fate by surviving. In 2990 they fought elements of the Amphigean Light Assault Group on Sevren.[1]

Tenth Battle of Hesperus[edit]

The 15th defended the planet Hesperus II during the Tenth Battle (2997) against elements of the FWLM. The Guards, which were commanded by later Archon Katrina Steiner, performed a dangerous suborbital combat drop on top of the enemy forces. The difficult maneuver was successful, and the 15th Lyran Guards routed the smaller Marik force. Accordingly, they participated in the unsuccessful attempt to invade the planet Kalidasa.[2] The 15th was the main 'Mech force used to drive the 32th Dieron Regulars off of Sakhalin. They inflicted heavy losses on the DCMS unit before forcing them off-world.[3]

Thirteenth Battle of Hesperus[edit]

The 15th also participated in the Thirteenth (3019)[4][5] and Fourteenth (3057) Battles for Hesperus. During the Thirteenth battle the Guards used the mountains surrounding the Erewhon River floodplain to ambush Delta Regiment of Wolf's Dragoons and hold them in place while the Hsien Hotheads launched quick hit-and-run attacks and other Lyran regiments withdrew to defend the Defiance Industries factories.[6] The 15th was ultimately successful in slowing Delta Regiment's attempts to ford the Erewhon river and held up the Dragoons' advance long enough for the other Lyran defenders to block the Dragoons' attempts to reach the factories and forced them to withdraw.[7]

Fourteenth Battle of Hesperus[edit]

The Fourteenth battle was particularly difficult for the Guards, as it involved two-thirds of the unit's members betraying their oaths and declaring Hesperus II part of the Free Star Republic. The remaining elements of the unit were able to run a series of guerrilla operations that prevented the mutineers from attacking Defiance Industries. The LAAF High Command sent reinforcements and the rebels were quickly defeated. The action had been costly though and cost the 15th nearly half their number. Investigations by the Lyran Intelligence Corps reduced the unit still further as disloyal officers were removed.

Clan Invasion[edit]

Operation Bulldog[edit]

During Operation Bulldog the 15th served to secure rear areas, but also faced the 27th Garrison Cluster on Lonaconing.[8] Working with the 4th Arkab Legion the 15th was able to maul the Clan unit while avoiding damage.[9]

Fifteenth Battle of Hesperus[edit]

The Fifteenth Battle of Hesperus found the Guards on world and the target of several orbital bombardments. The Guards defended the main Defiance Industries complex, preventing the Free Skye Movement from taking over the factory.[10] They were vulnerable to these assaults because they had no aerospace assets.[11] They were fired upon by the Avalon-class Simon Davion, which destroyed much of Maria's Elegy spaceport. The spaceport was the home base of the 15th. Two thousand infantrymen and armor crews were killed along with several hundred civilians. Two weeks later the Guards destroyed the 22th Skye Rangers as they assaulted the Defiance complex, but the supporting Gray Death Legion suffered heavy losses.[12][13] With the support of Defiance Industries, the Fifteenth's equipment remained in excellent shape.[14] The 15th maintained heavy pressure on the Free Skye forces until the 36th Lyran Guards and 2th Donegal Guards arrived to reinforce them. The combined LAAF units forced the Free Skye forces to surrender.[15]

Sixteenth Battle of Hesperus[edit]

From March 3068 until early 3070 the Word of Blake ran Operation STEEL HAMMER, a series of heavy raids against the planet's defenders. The first raid fell between the 14th and 17th of March 3068, coinciding with raids on Coventry and Donegal; the three raids all featured support from Blakist WarShips or Pocket WarShips.[16]

In the first phase, the Sixteenth and Twenty-second Divisions conducted extensive raiding against the planet's defenders which began in 3068. Over the course of approximately two years, elements of the Light of Mankind were inserted on the planet, using the raids as a cover.

In 3070, a Blakist invasion force arrived in the form of the Thirty-eighth Division and the Fortieth Shadow Division. This force was escorted by the Lola III Class Destroyer, WoBS End of Wisdom, and a reinforced Level II of Pocket WarShips. The invasion's escort fleet overwhelmed and destroyed the Lyran Fox-class corvette LAS Melissa Steiner, effectively blockading the planet. The two divisions landed on Maria's Elegy and the Defiance Industries factory complexes. At the same time, the Light of Mankind teams enacted their long-awaited mission objectives, sabotaging defensive systems and assassinating key personnel. The Fifteenth Lyran Guards, who had also been infiltrated, failed to mount a strong defense and suffered horrendous casualties. The unit was forced to withdraw under heavy fire toward the factory's interior, with Gina Ciampa, the Fifteenth's commander, leading the last-ditch effort to barricade the South Gate. Though she tried to destroy her own 'Mech to close the entrance, Tau infantry was able to stop her and promptly executed her, seizing the gate. With only fourteen days of fight, Hesperus II was first conquered by an outside power.

During the Word of Blake occupation, the Word brought in Terran technician that supgraded and improved factory production on Hesperus II, and used the planet as a resupply/refit stronghold and a base for forces conducting strikes into their the Lyran Theaters of operations. In the first two weeks of November 3074, Coalition forces led by Devlin Stone launched an assault against the defending Word of Blake forces, determined to recapture the planet after the successful defense of Skye earlier in the year. The coalition forces, which included elements from Skye, ComStar and Clan Wolf, took on three Word of Blake Divisions; the battle for Hesperus II lasted for weeks, with the last Blakist fortifications around Maria's Elegy finally being shattered on the 20th of December.[17][18] Badly mauled, these units withdrew from the planet. It is speculated that survivors of the Fortieth Shadow may have gone to ground to conduct sabotage efforts against the planet's controls. However, the Word of Blake rendered many of their improvements to the factories unusable through sabotage before leaving.[19][20][21][22][23]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 15th Lyran Guards
Colonel Rafferty Jefferson 3025[24]
Marshal Gina Ciampa 3050 - 3054[25][26]
Leutnant-General Gina Ciampa 3054 - 3070[9][27][23][28]

Tactics[edit]

Since the battle for Hesperus II in 3057, the 15th Lyran Guards have resorted to conservative, risk-averse tactics.[9]

Composition History[edit]

2786 - 2821[edit]

15th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[29]

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Mizar. In 2821 the command was reduced to 46 percent of its strength and was deployed on New Earth.[29]

2830[edit]

15th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[30]

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on New Earth with an operational readiness of 0 percent.[30]

2864[edit]

15th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[30]

Note: At this point in time the assault-weight unit was stationed on New Earth with an operational readiness of 27 percent.[30]

3025[edit]

15th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)[31]

  • CO: Colonel Rafferty Jefferson
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Hesperus II.

3040[edit]

15th Lyran Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[32]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Hesperus II.[32]

3050[edit]

15th Lyran Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[25]

  • CO: Marshal Gina Ciampa[25]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Hesperus II.[25]

3054[edit]

15th Lyran guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[26]

  • CO: Marshal Gina Ciampa[26]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Hesperus II.[26]

3062[edit]

15th Lyran Guards (2 Battalions/Elite/Fanatical)[9]

  • CO: Leutnant General Gina Ciampa

15th Lyran Guards Armor Brigade (2 Regiments/Elite/Fanatical)[9]

15th Lyran Guards Infantry Brigade (3 Regiments/Elite/Fanatical)[9]

- The Aerospace assets were lost in the Fourteenth Battle of Hesperus.

3067[edit]

15th Lyran Guards[27]

  • CO: Leutnant General Gina Ciampa

15th Lyran Guards Armor Brigade

  • CO: Colonel Talbot Fayan

15th Lyran Guards Infantry Brigade

  • CO: Colonel Eva Kalunta

Though the 15th Lyran Guards were still Elite troops and fanatically loyal, the severe combat of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Battles of Hesperus reduced the command to one third of its nominal strength.[27]

Rules[edit]

3070[edit]

If fewer than 12 units are fielded, they suffer a –3 Initiative penalty. In deployments between a company and a battalion, the Initiative penalty is –2. Large deployments suffer a –1 Initiative penalty. In all cases, the Initiative penalties apply for the entire game.[33]

Reference[edit]

  1. Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, p. 34
  2. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 76 "Hesperus revisited"
  3. Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, p. 112
  4. Wolf's Dragoons, p. 24
  5. Hector, ch. 2
  6. Hector, ch. 7
  7. Hector, ch. 12
  8. Field Manual: Updates, p. 113
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 80: "15th Lyran Guards Unit Profile"
  10. Field Manual: Updates, p. 170
  11. The Dying Time, p. 39
  12. FedCom Civil War, p. 147
  13. The Dying Time, p. 128
  14. FedCom Civil War, p. 177
  15. FedCom Civil War, p. 178
  16. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 45: "The Jihad In Review"
  17. Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 55: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  18. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 53: "The Jihad In Review"
  19. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, pp. 103–104: "40th Shadow Division unit profile".
  20. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 24: "Operation: Steel Hammer" - History of Hesperus occupation up to 3074.
  21. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 48: "The Jihad In Review"
  22. Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II, p. 5: "The Battle for Hesperus II"
  23. 23.0 23.1 Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II, p. 7
  24. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 118: "Deployment table"
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 20 Year Update, p. 27
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Objective Raids, p. 19
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 177
  28. Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II, p. 7: "Fifteenth Lyran Guards RCT [Lyran Alliance] (March 3068–February 3070)"
  29. 29.0 29.1 First Succession War, p. 139
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Second Succession War, p. 99
  31. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth, p. 121
  32. 32.0 32.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 137
  33. Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II, p. 9: "The Crusades"

Bibliography[edit]