4th Army (ComStar)

4tharmy-v-iota.jpg
4th Army V-Iota
Nickname The Defenders of Honor
Affiliation ComStar
Parent Command Com Guards


Assigned to the Bryant Theater, from 4 to 5 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the Com Guard Fourth Army served as a reserve force during the Battle of Tukayyid facing multiple Clans, and as the primary SLDF peacekeeping force in St. Ives Compact, being known as The Defenders of Honor.[1]


History[edit]

Prior to the Liao-Marik Invasion of 3057, the Fourth's responsibilities included the Federated Commonwealth's Sarna and Capellan Marches, the St. Ives Compact and the Spinward portions of the Capellan Confederation.[1]

Elements of the Fourth faced multiple Clans on Tukayyid, the bulk most notably assisting the First against Clan Ghost Bear, losing units both to combat losses and the Com Guards reorganization in 3053. Four Divisions was deemed enough even in the face of increased Word of Blake activity in the wake of the formation of the so-called Chaos March.[1]

However the Fourth Army returned to the six divisions of the pre–Clan Invasion Armies when Precentor Martial Victor Steiner-Davion bolstered the amount of units in the hopes of preventing the Capellan-St. Ives War from escalating.[1] While ultimately unsuccessful, the Fourth retained its extra troops to guard against aggression in the Chaos March, prevent mistreatment during the reintegration of the St. Ives and Liao Commonalities, and secure the ComStar funded expansion to the Ceres Metals Industries facility on Warlock.[2]

After the beginning of the Jihad the Com Guard Armies were stretched too thin. To counteract this, the 7th-12th Armies were disbanded and used to reinforce the 1st-6th Armies. This gave each of the newly-reinforced Armies a full six Divisions. The 4th Army was one of the formations affected, receiving new reinforcements. The new 4th Army was supposed to be stationed in the Capellan Confederation, but political realities have kept them in the Federated Suns.[3]

As part of Operation SCOUR the Fourth Army was assigned to the Free Worlds League front as a part of Group III under the field command of Khan Santin West of Clan Nova Cat. In 3077 they invaded Wasat alongside the 20th Marik Militia and Clan Nova Cat's Alpha Galaxy. This allowed the rescue of the 7th Pesht Regulars and the remainder of Group II, who had encountered far more robust and intricate defenses on Wasat than had originally been anticipated.[4] They later liberated the world of Kalidasa, and briefly came under fire from resistance fighters on that world.[5] Early 3078 found the Fourth Army on Chertan, where they took serious losses from the 1st Chertan Protectorate Militia Division and the 2nd Chertan Protectorate Militia Division, but ultimately the Fourth took the world.[6]

Little more than a skeleton force after Chertan, the 4th Army was disbanded in 3078 with its surviving elements folded into Stone's Revenants by General Belle Lee. [7]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 4th Army (ComStar)
Precentor V Aryon Tolliver 3050[8]
Precentor Oscar Wetzel 3053 - 3067[9][1][2]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

3055[edit]

3062 to 3067[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The insignia of the Fourth Army is a white shield bearing the ComStar emblem.

References[edit]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Field Manual: ComStar, pp. 26-27, 125:"4th Army V-Iota: The Defenders of Honor"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Field Manual: Updates, p. 85, 98: "4th Army V-Iota: The Defenders of Honor"
  3. Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 210
  4. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 44, "Wasat Falls"
  5. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 47, "Mistaken Identity"
  6. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 78
  7. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 106 "What Lies Beneath - The Republic of the Sphere - The Com Guards"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 20 Year Update, p. 70, "Com Guards Deployment Table - 3050"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 ComStar (sourcebook) p. 85, "Com Guards Deployment Table - 3055"

Bibliography[edit]