208th Division (ComStar)

208th Division IV-eta
Nickname Promising Dialogue (3050);
The Racice River Raiders (3062)
Affiliation ComStar
Parent Command 10th Army


The 208th Division is noted for its actions against Clan Wolf during the Battle of Tukayyid as well as it near destruction during Operation BULLDOG.

History[edit]

Immediately prior to the Clan Invasion, the green ranked 208th Division, then an eta-based formation referred to by the nickname of the Promising Dialogue, was assigned to the 10th Army, and was headquartered on the Federated Commonwealth world of Chahar.[1]

Battle of Tukayyid[edit]

Along with the rest of the 10th Army, during the Battle of Tukayyid the 208th faced the fearsome threat of Clan Wolf. Stationed within the city limits of the primary target city of Skupo alongside the 66th Division, when Natasha Kerensky's famed Thirteenth Wolf Guards overcame the 138th and 166th Divisions, and the 11th Wolf Guards shattered the elite 278th, Precentor Martial Focht ordered both divisions to withdrawal from Skupo, now lacking the troops to necessary to hold it. The 208th attacked the advancing Wolves before retreating in the hopes of luring them away, but the Clan forces did not take the bait and focused on taking Skupo.[2][3][4]

After ComStar Schism and Operation BULLDOG[edit]

Like many Com Guard Divisions, the now elite rated 208th Division chose a new nickname after their efforts on Tukayyid, calling itself The Racice River Raiders. The rebuilt 208th moved its headquarters to the Lyran world of Izar.[5]

The 208th's elite standing earned them a place in the Com Guard contingent that took part in Operation BULLDOG, launching from the Draconis Combine world of Herndon, passing through the contested system of Hyner during the first wave onto its second wave target of Luzerne.[6]

Assigned to take the relatively unimportant world defended only by the 4th Provisional Garrison Cluster[7] with the AFFS' 3rd Davion Guards, the 208th Division used a variant of the insertion used for the highly successful raid against the world in 3055, the SLDF taskforce traveling on the Sovetskii Soyuz-class CSV Harmonious Thought and Lola III-class CSV Leander and utilizing a Pirate Jump Point formed by a little known planetoid on the fringes of the Luzerne system on June 29th, proceeding to the planet under Emission Control conditions using an inertial transfer maneuver to bypass the Jaguar picket ships virtually undetected.[8][9]

The plan quickly unraveled when the SLDF forces discovered the newly formed and hitherto unknown frontline Sixth Striker Cluster was onworld with heavy naval support in preparation for a raid against Clan Ghost Bear. With the Smoke Jaguar forces placed on high alert after the first wave and pulling their patrol ships back to near orbit to prevent a repeat of the humiliating 3055 raid, after the Jaguars refused the SLDF's desperate request for safcon, both Com Guard WarShips were lost as they attempted to protect the DropShips of the 208th and 3rd Davion Guards.[8][9] The CSJ Storm Cat was lost while the CSJ Snow Leopard was crippled during this opening fight.[10] Ultimately only half of the heavily mauled DropShips made it through the Jaguar blockade, making scattered drops rather than the planned concentrated landing.[11]

Now heavily outnumbered and completely disorganized, the remains of the 208th and 3rd Davion Guards began to form up and congregate in three bastions, the largest formation an ad hoc combined arms force of two Battalions' worth of the troops[8] from the 208th and 3rd Davion located at the town of Thün. To get supplies, the 208th and 3rd Guards engaged in raids against Smoke Jaguar supply depots.[12] Thün became the largest SLDF supply depot, but was hampered by its remote location and lack of defenders. The Smoke Jaguars saw this as an opportunity to destroy the SLDF forces.[13] While the elite frontline Sixth Striker Cluster easily defeated any SLDF stragglers, their unfamiliarity with the world and fact they were still only partially complete greatly hampered their planned assault against the SLDF strongholds. Finally moving against now dug-in SLDF troops at Thün under cover of darkness on July 9th, the bloody battle cost the Thün base 75% of its supplies, but ultimately devolved into stalemate as the Jaguar commanders bickered among themselves and the Jaguars finally withdrew.[13] With both sides now settling into a siege mentality, broken only by the occasional raid, the SLDF forces waited for reinforcements.[14] In order to draw out the Smoke Jaguars, the 208th and other SLDF troops attempted an ambush. The Smoke Jaguars saw through the deception however, and quickly overwhelmed the troops. The SLDF had to withdraw to their DropShips with heavy losses.[15]

Landing on August 1st, while the Combine's elite Ryuken-roku encountered stiff resistance, their presence ensured the battle quickly shifted in favor of the SLDF forces.[14] The defending Sixth Striker and 4th Garrison refused to withdraw and fought to the last man, with the remains of the 208th Division and other SLDF units finally capturing Luzerne on August 8th, only a few short days before the Jaguar high command ordered a general withdrawal from the Inner Sphere.[16]

Post-BULLDOG to FedCom Civil War[edit]

After the conclusion of BULLDOG serious consideration was given to merging the shattered 208th and 3rd Davion Guards into a brand new Star League Defense Force unit, but disagreements over command structure and responsibilities led to the abandonment of the idea.[17] After the collapse of the merger idea, only the bravery of the survivors kept the 208th from being completely disbanded. The rebuilding of the division was slowed by the loss of Terra's factories, with the post-BULLDOG 208th's TOE being increasingly dominated by equipment manufactured in the Draconis Combine and Arc-Royal Defense Cordon, which has only worsened their relationship with the LAAF High Command after the selection of Victor Steiner-Davion as Precentor Martial of ComStar.[18]

Despite the large distance between them, both the 208th and 3rd Davion Guards remained in constant contact and even requested officer exchanges. While the requests were formally denied by the Katherine Steiner-Davion influenced AFFS High Command in the wake of the Second Whitting Conference,[17] a number of officers from each unit accepted lowly observer and liaison roles in the other unit to circumvent the restriction, with the 208th's Demi-Precentor III Chris Ludyan on paper a mere communications liaison but in fact fully assisting in the rebuilding and training of the 3rd's Armor Brigade and Demi-Precentor IV Tallulah Cloudwalker effectively in full command of the 3rd's hodgepodge Auxiliary infantry Battalion.[19]

Back to full strength[20] in time for FedCom Civil War, the 208th guarded Alliance supply lines during the Adam Steiner led counterattack against the Jade Falcon Incursion.[21]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 208th Division
Precentor IV Fancis Luckiesh 3050[1]
Precentor Gravely Zane 3055-3067[5][17][20]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

208th Division (Division/Green)[22]

Note: At this point in time the 208th Division was stationed on Chahar.[22]

3055[edit]

208th Division (Division/Elite)[23]

Note: At this point in time the 208th Division was stationed on Izar.[23]

3062[edit]

208th Division (The Racice River Raiders)[17]

3067[edit]

208th Division (The Racice River Raiders)[20]

Notes[edit]

  • The 208th's post-Tukayyid insignia shows a cartoon rat canoeing down a river[17]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 20 Year Update, p. 71: "10th V-nu"
  2. Tukayyid, p. 90: "Campaign: Clan Wolf"
  3. ComStar, pp. 71–72: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  4. Wolf Clan, pp. 50–51: "Days of Armageddon - Wolf"
  5. 5.0 5.1 ComStar, p. 85: "10th Army V-nu (The Red Legion)"
  6. The Dragon Roars, pp. 10–11: "Unit Summaries - Operation Bulldog"
  7. The Dragon Roars, pp. 12–13: "Unit Summaries - Clan Smoke Jaguar Defense"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Dragon Roars, p. 24: "Wave Two: Driving Forward"
  9. 9.0 9.1 The Dragon Roars, pp. 26–28: "Scenario 4: Fool Me Twice"
  10. Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 6
  11. Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 12
  12. Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 13
  13. 13.0 13.1 Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 14
  14. 14.0 14.1 The Dragon Roars, pp. 32–34: "Scenario 6: The Darkest Hour"
  15. Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 15
  16. The Dragon Roars, p. 44: "Wave Three: Bringing Down the Jaguar"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Field Manual: ComStar, p. 39: "10th Army V-nu: The Red Legion"
  18. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 38: "10th Army V-nu: The Red Legion"
  19. Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 81: "3rd Davion Guards"
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 98: "10th Army V-Nu - (The Red Legion)"
  21. Field Manual: Updates, p. 87: "10th Army V-Nu (The Red Legion)"
  22. 22.0 22.1 20 Year Update, p. 71
  23. 23.0 23.1 ComStar, p. 85

Bibliography[edit]