9th Division (ComStar)

9th Division IV-pi
Formed mid-3030s
Nickname Bountiful Words (3050)
DKK - Dark Kat Killers (3062)
Affiliation ComStar
Parent Command 7th Army


Having established a reputation for courage, thoroughness and ingenuity, the Com Guards' 9th Division faced both Clan Nova Cat and Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Battle of Tukayyid and survived.

History[edit]

Immediately prior to the Clan Invasion, the veteran ranked 9th Division, a Mu level mix referred to by the nickname of Bountiful Words, was assigned to the Seventh Army and was headquartered on the Free Worlds League world of Regulus.[1]

Battle of Tukayyid[edit]

As part of the 7th Army, during the Battle of Tukayyid the 9th was assigned alongside the 417th Division to defend the Nova Cats' primary target city of Joje. After the 417's aerospace assets savaged the landing Clan forces, the Nova Cats' Alpha and Gamma Galaxies brushed aside the 244th Division to try and reach Joje, unaware the 9th and 417th Divisions were luring the invaders to attack via heavily mined Vibrabomb fields on the approaches to the city.[2][3][4][5][6]

Stalling the attacking Nova Cat advance for three days thanks to the efforts of their sappers, aerospace fighters and armor elements, with the 244th and 467th Divisions attempting to cut the Nova Cats off from their landing zones, the weary forces of the 9th and 417th retreated in order to regroup. After the 244th and 467th fell into an ambush by the Nova Cats Beta and Gamma Galaxies which netted the Clan several ComStar supply depots, the renewed 9th and 417th Divisions finally succeeded in routing the Cats' Alpha Galaxy. [2][3][4][5]

Recognizing that the resupplied Beta and Gamma Galaxies could likely take the city the commanders of the 9th, 417th and 116th Divisions made the desperate gamble to leave Joje completely undefended and strike first. Still unpacking their captured supplies, the furious counterattack of the 9th and its fellow divisions recaptured the supply depots and forced the Nova Cats to withdraw to their DropShips in retreat, the Com Guard forces harassing them every step of the way.[2][3][4][5]

Operation BULLDOG[edit]

Like many Com Guard Divisions, the now elite rated 9th Division chose a new nickname after their efforts against Clan Nova Cat on Tukayyid, calling itself DKK-Dark Kat Killers. Rebuilt as a IV-pi based formation, the 9th became the command division of the 7th Army, transferring its headquarters to Talitha in the Federated Commonwealth's Sarna March.[7] After the Free Worlds League Military recaptured Talitha as part of Operation Guerrero in 3057, the 9th was transferred to Pasig on the border of the Lyran Alliance/Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone to try and prevent a repeat of the Jade Falcon Incursion in 3058.[6]

The 9th's elite standing earned them a place in the Com Guard contingent that took part in Operation BULLDOG, launching from Maldonado to strike the Clan Smoke Jaguar–held world of Hyner alongside the DCMS's elite 2nd Sword of Light and FWLM's 1st Regulan Hussars.[8] Like many of the engagements of the first wave, the unprepared Third Jaguar Cavaliers paraded out for battle straight into the waiting guns of the SLDF taskforce, with the 9th and Regulans seeing minimal action as the 2nd Sword of Light crushed the Cavaliers almost single-handed.[9][10]

The 9th Division then participated in the third wave liberation of Marshdale alongside the 1st Fusiliers of Oriente and the Combine's Ryuken-ni.[8] Initially the battle-ready Alpha Galaxy Command and the Ninth Jaguar Cavaliers inflicted heavy losses against the Fusiliers of Oriente and portions of the Combine unit, but by August 12th the Jaguars had begun to collapse under the relentless pressure of the bulk of the Ryuken-ni and the 9th,[11] both Jaguar units pulling out when their leaders ordered a full withdrawal from the Inner Sphere the next day.[12]

Post-BULLDOG[edit]

Returning to station on and around Pasig, the division's sterling service during BULLDOG was tempered by its response to the replacement of Anastasius Focht by Victor Steiner-Davion as Precentor Martial of ComStar, with more than a third of the troops that followed the 7th Army's commander Precentor Karina Vista in defecting to the Word of Blake in 3061 coming from the ranks of the 9th. While seeing few resignations after this initial burst and maintaining good morale compared to the other divisions of the 7th Army, the 9th's CO's refusal to declare for or against Victor prompted ROM to rank the division's loyalty as questionable.[6]

Converting Pasig into a killing ground to stop any Jade Falcon Clusters who landed during the Jade Falcon Incursion in the midst of the FedCom Civil War, while the 9th never saw combat during that conflict, the preparations helped the division recover from the post-Victor defections, solidly supporting his return to the post of Precentor Martial.[13]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 9th Division (ComStar)
Precentor IV Zuam Nicodemus 3050[1]
Precentor IX Narami Nichigama 3055 - 3067[7][6][13]

Tactics[edit]

The 9th excels at combined-arms tactics, utilizing a mix of air power, static defense and booby traps combined with tactical assaults to keep its opponents off balance.[6]

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

9th Division (Division/Veteran)[14]

Note: At this point in time the 9th Division was stationed on Regulus.[14]

3055[edit]

9th Division (Division/Elite)[15]

Note: At this point in time the 9th Division was stationed on Talitha.[15]

3062[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • Living up to its nickname, the 9th Division's post-Tukayyid unit patch showed the pelt of a Nova Cat. After 3060 this pelt was also joined by that of a Smoke Jaguar.[6]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 20 Year Update, p. 71: "7th V-kappa"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Tukayyid, p. 40: "Campaign: Clan Nova Cat"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Invading Clans, p. 117: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wolf Clan, p. 48: "Days of Armageddon - Nova Cat"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 ComStar, p. 70: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Field Manual: ComStar, p. 33: "7th Army V-iota: The Dark wave"
  7. 7.0 7.1 ComStar, p. 85: "7th Army V-iota (Grim Defiance, Talitha Theater, from 7 to 8 on the "Inner Sphere Clock")"
  8. 8.0 8.1 The Dragon Roars, pp. 10–11: "Unit Summaries - Operation Bulldog"
  9. The Dragon Roars, p. 15: "Wave One: The Katana Falls"
  10. The Dragon Roars, p. 17: "Scenario 1: Hunting the Hunter"
  11. The Dragon Roars, p. 44: "Wave Three: Bringing Down the jaguar"
  12. The Dragon Roars, p. 12: "Unit Summaries - Clan Smoke Jaguar Defense"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 86: "7th Army V-iota (The Dark Wave)"
  14. 14.0 14.1 20 Year Update, p. 71
  15. 15.0 15.1 ComStar, p. 85

Bibliography[edit]