8th Lyran Guards

8th Lyran Guards logo.png
Eighth Lyran Guards
Nickname Rüts[1]
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command Lyran Guards

The Eighth Lyran Guards were a regiment of the Lyran Guards brigade active during the Star League era.[1] Destroyed during the Succession Wars, the Eighth was reactivated during the Dark Age.[2]

History[edit]

Star League Era[edit]

During the Star League era the Eighth Lyran Guards was one of ten regiments within the First Lyran Guards Division, one of five Divisions of active regiments within the Lyran Guards brigade in the closing decades of the Star League's existence. By the mid-twenty-eighth century the First Division was the only Division of the Lyran Guards to be at full strength, and while the Lyran Guards were supposed to be loyal to the Lyran Commonwealth first and the Archon second, the various regiments of the First had been used at various points to keep powerful nobles in line.[1]

Like the other regiments of the Guards during this era, the Eighth lacked any particular political ties - either regional or familial - unlike regiments in other brigades; commonly assigned to garrison postings, the Eighth Lyran Guards and their sister regiments were postings of choice for those who wanted to work for the Commonwealth without either regional loyalties or particular ambitions. This led to the Eighth and her sister regiments being manned by soldiers who were professional, but without the close-knit ties found in more parochial regiments. The Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces was intent on generating more camaraderie and esprit de corps among the Eighth and the other Guards regiments, but with little success by 2765.[1]

In 2765 the Eighth was one of the more experienced regiments within the Lyran Guards, and was stationed on Koniz.[1]

The Dark Age[edit]

The Eighth was reactivated as a part of the Dark Age era military buildup of the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces initiated by Archon Andrew Steiner. Like other regiments of the Guards reactivated during this era, the Eighth was reactivated as a Regimental Combat Team; the LCAF avoided the treaty restrictions linked to the Republic of the Sphere by deliberately keeping the BattleMech forces in each RCT understrength.[2]

Stationed on Porrima, less than two jumps from the Republic border, the unit was organized along the lines of a RAF line regiment and used as an OpFor in training other Lyran forces. When questioned, Melissa Steiner publicly defended this setup by claiming that Lyran soldiers were being trained to fight more effectively in conjunction with their Republic counterparts, but few believed the anti-Republican Archon.[3]

The Jade Falcons also took note of the Eighth's forte, and decided to use it as an OpFor themselves (albeit in a bloodier fashion) prior to their desant upon the Republic. In April 3134 a Falcon force under the command of Galaxy Commander Aleksandr Hazen assaulted the Eighth at Allison City and destroyed nearly three-quarters of the unit; the survivors subsequently escaped off-world.[3][4]

Despite this disaster, the Eighth was strong enough by late 3137 to be directly involved in Operation HAMMERFALL, seeing action on Tamarind, the capital world of the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey.[5]

Many of the Lyran Guards regiments and RCTs were destroyed during the Clan Wolf invasion of the Commonwealth, or were disbanded with the remaining personnel and equipment reassigned to other commands. The Eighth was more fortunate than some of its sister commands; stationed back on Porrima during the brief tenure - described by some as the "Acting Archonship" - of Duke Vedet Brewer on the Lyran throne, the Eighth was reluctant to leave its post within the Donegal Province.[2]

Following the battle for Tharkad, the Sixth Lyran Guards was disbanded, with elements of the surviving forces merging into the Eighth in an effort to maintain the latter as a combat-ready formation. With the Commonwealth reeling from two Clan invasions, the Eighth was one of the commands assigned to defending a region known as the Enkoping Corridor, a narrow wedge of worlds between the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone and the Wolf Empire, and in 3145 the Eighth was based on Veckholm.[2]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 8th Lyran Regulars
Hauptmann General Paul Ramirez 3145[6]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

8th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[1]

- At this point in time the 8th was based on Koniz.[1]

2786 - 2821[edit]

8th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[7]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Koniz. In 2821 the command was reduced to 51 percent of its strength and was deployed on Koniz.[7]

2830[edit]

8th Lyran Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[8]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Koniz with an operational readiness of 76 percent.[8]The unit was destroyed during the war.[8]

3145[edit]

8th Lyran Guards (Regular/Reliable)[6]
CO: Hauptmann General Paul Ramirez

8th Lyran Armor Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)[6]
CO: Colonel Susan Richardson

8th Lyran Infantry Brigade (Regular/Questionable)[6]
CO: Colonel Chris McDaniels

- At this point in time the Eighth was based on Veckholm.[2]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 13-14, "Lyran Guards"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Field Manual: 3145, p. 126, "Lyran Guards"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Era Report: 3145, p. 59, "Eighth Lyran Guards"
  4. Flight of the Falcon, Chapter 7
  5. Field Manual: 3145, p. 120, "Andrew and Melissa"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Field Manual: 3145, p. 133, "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces - Donegal Province"
  7. 7.0 7.1 First Succession War, p. 139
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Second Succession War, p. 99

Bibliography[edit]