7th Division (Word of Blake)

7th Division (Word of Blake).jpg
7th Division IV-Iota
Formed Early 3060s
Disbanded 3078
Nickname The Glorious
Affiliation Word of Blake
Parent Command Word of Blake Militia


The Word of Blake 7th Division was the newest division formed prior to the Blakist capture of Terra.

History[edit]

Pre-Jihad[edit]

Formed a few short months before Operation Odysseus, the newborn Seventh consisted of soldiers with wide range of skill-levels from all Blakist sects, the intense differences hampering the division's efforts to work as a unified whole. Despite the best efforts of the Seventh's officers and command staff, the situation worsened when the two largest internal factions, the Veterans consisting of warriors who had fought in the Battle of Tukayyid, and Moderns who were green graduates tried everything short of open violence to gain dominance over the other.[1]

Two weeks before Odysseus' scheduled beginning in early 3058, the Seventh's CO Precentor Anna Friel orchestrated a peace accord between the leaders of the Veterans and Moderns, showing that all factions had something to contribute to the division. Demoting the leaders of each faction, the Seventh finally became a viable unit just in time for the journey to Terra. The division's lack of unified training hampered its performance against the Com Guard forces on Terra, but ultimately the Seventh acquitted itself fairly well.[1]

Stationed at Koryo, Chryse Planetia on Mars after Odysseus, the Seventh became the garrison unit of the red planet, the perilous conditions helping to bond the unit into a cohesive whole as well as making them highly adept at low-gravity combat.[1][2] The Glorious engaged elements of Wolf's Dragoons and the Allied Mercenary Command that managed to land on the planet in late 3067.[3] The unit suffered heavy damage, but succeeded with other defenders in destroying the invading mercenaries. During this fight, intelligence showed additional Level III elements that had not been seen before; this marked the beginnings of the revelation of hidden or "phantom" military units of Word of Blake's armed forces.

Jihad[edit]

After the battle, the unit used the salvage from the Dragoons and AMC forces to rebuild. Bells of Faith III-Lambda commander Seth Smith-Solomon was promoted to command the entire 7th Division. The unit had been dispatched to the outer rim of the Blake Protectorate on an unspecified tour of worlds there in 3075.[4]

The Seventh Division returned to Terra in advance of the Coalition's invasion. Based in Sydney, Australia, they destroyed the 8th Dieron Regulars as soon as the Regulars landed, then withdrew to fortified positions in the Wild Dog Mountains.[5] The Seventh and 26th Division held the Wild Dog Mountain Castle Brian for a month, but eventually the Coalition was able to breach the fortress.[6] Survivors of the 7th may have relocated to the Sydney. Australia. Castle Brian only to surrender two months later;[7] history records the 7th as one of fourteen separate Militia Divisions to be destroyed on Terra in 3078.[8]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 7th Division
Precentor Anna Friel 3062[1]
Precentor XIII Carol Widegren 3067[9]
Precentor Seth Smith-Solomon 3068

Tactics[edit]

Due to its relatively late start as a fully functional division, as of 3062 the Seventh was still focusing on ensuring the effective use of combined arms, the fundamental skill of all Com Guard and Blakist divisions. Thanks to its posting on Mars, the unit however soon became highly adept at low gravity tactics.[10]

Composition[edit]

3062[edit]

Four Level III formations[1]

3067[edit]

  • Sacred Ashes III-delta (CO: Precentor XIII Carol Widegren)[9]
  • Keys of Hope III-kappa (CO: Precentor III Eric Von-Chambers)
  • Gordian Knot III-lambda (CO: Precentor IX Yun Kap Ju)
  • Bells of Faith III-lambda (Adept V Seth Smith-Solomon)

Notes[edit]

Reference[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Field Manual: ComStar, p. 57: "Word of Blake - 7th Division: The Glorious IV-iota"
  2. Field Manual: Updates, p. 90: "Word of Blake - Naval Assets and Militia Divisions"
  3. Tales of the Jihad: The Last Day of Zeta, pp. 4–5
  4. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 90: "7th Division Unit profile"
  5. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 104
  6. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 107
  7. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 115
  8. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 126: "Word of Blake Militia"
  9. 9.0 9.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 99: "Word of Blake Militia Deployment Table"
  10. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 140: "Force Specified Rules" - 7th Division
  11. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 142

Bibliography[edit]