1st Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps

Draconis Combine Aux Corps 2581.png
1st Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps
Formed 2581
Disbanded 2585
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command SLDF Task Force Outworlds


The Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps was one of a number of auxiliary formations formed by the various Inner Sphere nations to support Star League operations during the Reunification War. Unlike those forces the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery gave up to the Star League to form a part of the nascent Star League Defense Force the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps remained a discrete formation of comprised solely of DCMS regiments under the command of an DCMS officer - Sho-sho Masao Igushi for the bulk of the war - but the Corps as whole were under the operational command of the overall SLDF commander of the SLDF Task Force Outworlds. The Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps was one of a number of auxiliary corps formed to support SLDF operations in this manner, all of whom returned to full-time service within the DCMS at the end of the campaign.[1][2]

History[edit]

Formation[edit]

SLDF Task Force Outworlds was built largely around the SLDF II Corps and V Corps under the command of General Amos Forlough. SLDF Task Force Outworlds was the third of the task forces to be assembled, and reflected events in the war against the Taurian Concordat. Whereas it had originally been envisaged that the invasion of the Outworlds Alliance could be conducted by VI Corps, the escalating conflict in the Concordat led to VI Corps being redeployed to the Taurian theater and II Corps taking up responsibility for the Draconis Combine/Outworlds Alliance border.[3]

The Draconis Combine was called on to provide the Auxiliary Corps to form the third part of SLDF Task Force Outworlds, a call that the Combine initially resisted until it was made clear that the DCMS units would be commanded by a DCMS officer - who would answer to Forlough in turn - and that the corps would remain a homogeneous formation comprised solely of DCMS units.[4] With the commitment of the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps SLDF Task Force Outworlds was complete.[5][6]

Reunification War[edit]

Initially, only four regiments of troops from the Galedon Regulars were available from the Auxiliary Corps in 2581, as regiments from the Benjamin Regulars and Dieron Regulars were in the process of being moved forward from rear areas within the Combine.[7] The 17th Galedon Regulars had been deployed inside the Outworlds Alliance on the world of Santiago since 2572, when First Lord Ian Cameron issued Directive 21. Although the Directive was touted publicly as a measure to cut down on bandit activity, it was actually the deliberate occupation of three Alliance worlds as an attempt to provide more information on the covert military buildup the Alliance had recently begun.[8][9]

The 17th Galedon didn't care for their posting or the residents of Santiago, and had a highly antagonistic relationship with the civilian population. This eventually led to an event that would provoke widespread condemnation throughout the Inner Sphere and the various Periphery nations when troops from the 17th Galedon killed two dozen civilians and injured many more - including children - in what became known as the Santiago Massacre. The public backlash from the massacre delayed military operations against the Alliance for some years, and Santiago would be a hotbed of guerrilla resistance for more than 30 years.[10][11]

2581[edit]

War between the Star League and the Outworlds Alliance was declared openly in 2581; with the first wave of invasions being conducted by SLDF troops. Forces from the Auxiliary Corps were originally planned to stage a decoy raid on the world of Mitchella in support of a strike on Alpheratz.[12] Instead, the first combat action the Auxiliary Corps would see was on the world of Sevon, where units led by General Forlough had been tricked, ambushed and bloodied by a quasi-mercenary unit from the Federated Suns, the Pitcairn Legion, and troops from the Outworlds Alliance Militia. After weeks of combat, Forlough called the Auxiliary Corps in as reinforcements, and the three available regiments of Galedon Regulars - the 4th, 19th and 24th - landed on Sevon on the 26th of October. The additional brigade of DCMS troops was enough to force the defending forces to retreat, although they suffered casualties as a result of the brilliant rearguard action fought by the Alliance troops.[13]

The war took a darker turn in late 2581, when an enraged General Forlough ordered the SLDF troops conquering Medron to crush the stubborn resistance offered by the planetary garrison by decimating the population of the world. Acting under these orders, the SLDF troops executed one in ten of the civilian population of Medron and utterly destroyed the defending militia forces. As a result of the perceived success of this measure, Forlough issued standing orders for resistance on any Alliance world to be punished the same way, orders that the DCMS troops would apply zealously throughout the war.[14]

2582[edit]

In 2582 the Auxiliary Corps was reinforced by the 4th Benjamin Regulars and the 3rd Dieron Regulars, bringing it up to an operational strength of two brigades.[7] Combat operations for the Corps began with the occupation of Valentina, which turned into a bloody affair that would tie the 17th and 24th Galedon Regulars up for months. The population of Valentina had already voted to surrender to Star League forces if invaded, but the actions of the 17th Galedon on Santiago were an open wound for the Valentinian population, who engaged in a campaign of covert resistance against the invaders. The two DCMS regiments decimated the population of Valentina and destroyed every building suspected of being affiliated in any way with the resistance, as well as instituting strict curfew and group assembly laws that were enforced harshly.[15]

Following the poor performance of V Corps during the campaign for Haynesville,[16] Forlough came to rely heavily on the Auxiliary Corps to take on combat actions rather than V Corps. As a result, the newly arrived 4th Benjamin Regulars were dispatched to conquer the world of Budingen. The Regulars didn't know that elements of the Pitcairn Legion were on-world, and ended up with a protracted battle to conquer Budingen; the Regulars turned the tide of the campaign when they struck against the civilian population, forcing the Legion to concentrate on aiding the population before having to retreat in the face of the harsh Budingen winter. The Regulars then took advantage of an early thaw to suppress the population, breaking their will to resist before a relief force could arrive. The Regulars took heavy casualties in the campaign and a heavy raid from the Legion the following year, and as a result spent the entire of the war stationed on Budingen rather than engaging in any other combat operations.[7][17][18]

The Galedon Regulars regiments were due to be used in an attack on Ki Zoban alongside the SLDF during late 2582, but Coordinator Hehiro Kurita was so incensed by the annexation of a number of systems on the Outworlds Alliance/Federated Suns border by Davion troops that he withdrew the DCMS regiments from the planned attack. Instead, the Coordinator ordered the regiments to seize a number of worlds along the coreward border of the Alliance, as well as emptying the Task Force supply caches of all of the matériel supplied by the Combine to support the war effort. These supplies, intended to keep the entire task force operating for a year, were consumed by the Auxiliary Corps during their assaults on Kazanka, Nexus Ri and Zlatousi. The three regiments of Galedon Regulars - the 4th, 19th and 24th - faced the 1st and 2nd Alliance Armored Divisions as well as large local militias boasting armor and heavy infantry support. The brutal actions the Task Force had taken against the civilian populations of occupied and contested worlds had massively increased Outworlds Alliance Militia enlistment, and the Federated Suns was covertly supplying the OAM with experienced military advisors who were training and sometimes leading the Militia forces. The net result was three grueling planetary campaigns. Initially, the battles were exactly what both sides had been looking for: large-scale warfare with mobile Kuritan BattleMechs facing large quantities of armor and infantry. The Alliance forces were stronger and better fortified than the DCMS units expected, leading Sho-sho Igushi to call forward the 3rd Dieron Regulars as reinforcements, and while the DCMS regiments attempted to attack the civilian population they found themselves blocked by superior numbers of Alliance tanks and infantry. The DCMS made rapid gains, but faced constant, stubborn resistance from the Alliance forces. Ultimately, the greater supplies available to the DCMS made the difference, with the Alliance forces retreating in early 2583, but both sides had taken heavy damage and the DCMS had denuded the entire task force of its supplies.[19][20]

2583[edit]

2583 didn't have an auspicious beginning for the Auxiliary Corps. In addition to the raid on Budingen that badly damaged the 4th Benjamin Regulars, the Pitcairn Legion struck at the world of Bad News, mauling the 3rd Dieron Regulars there, reducing the effective combat strength of the regiment by at least a third and destroying supply and repair depot they had been guarding.[21] Forlough was furious with the DCMS forces, who continued to operate along the agenda set by Coordinator Kurita, rather than following the Task Force's plans;[19] the Auxiliary Corps had been cut off from the SLDF supply chain in punishment for their operations in 2582, but continued gains by the Federated Suns led the Coordinator to order Sho-sho Igushi to seize more worlds, in this case the worlds of Milligan's World, Prinis Prime and Quantraine.[22]

The 4th, 19th and 24th Galedon Regulars deployed again, but this time didn't have the depth of supplies that had sustained the constant battlefield tempo used to subdue worlds in 2582. The Alliance 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions were waiting for them again, and both Milligan's World and Quantraine had large militias extensively trained by Federated Suns advisors. This time, the Armored Divisions dug in deep, preventing the DCMS regiments from using the kind of mobile warfare that had netted them gains in previous campaigns; attempts by the various Galedon Regulars units to attack the civilian population and infrastructure were countered by Alliance anti-'Mech trained infantry, who crippled the Regulars advance units, slowing the attacks long enough for the Armored Divisions and militia to redeploy and blunt the Combine attacks. This time, the Auxiliary Corps just didn't have the strength and depth of supply needed to successfully conquer the worlds; their retreat was described by Sho-sho Igushi as the successful conclusion of reconnaissance raids that had badly damaged the Alliance Armored Divisions, but the Coordinator was angry with Igushi's performance and banished him him to the far coreward reaches of the Combine. Igushi was replaced with Sho-sho Rimas Nelsson, but the Coordinator gave the Auxiliary Corps no additional supplies or resources to draw on, limiting the combat actions that could be attempted by the Corps to little more than securing their hold over worlds already taken.[22]

2584-2585[edit]

Combat operations slowed dramatically in 2584, and the year was punctuated by the replacement of General Amos Forlough with Major General Franklin Barnex, who possessed a very different view of how the war should be conducted compared to his predecessor. Barnex repealed the orders allowing SLDF and DCMS units to attack civilians and allowed the Auxiliary Corps access to the SLDF supply chain again, on the condition that that officers and units abided by his new policies.[23]

While this gave the DCMS access to a considerable supply change and Barnex was able to persuade Nelsson to launch another attack on Quantraine - an attack that would last into 2585 - the Auxiliary Corps wouldn't manage to secure any additional worlds for the Combine beyond those seized in 2582.[24] Despite this, the Combine gained 14 Alliance worlds as a result of the official peace treaty signed between the Outworlds Alliance and the Star League.[25]

Disbandment[edit]

Although the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps served as an operational command for five years, it was a temporary organization just like the other auxiliary formations, and was disbanded at some point after the Reunification War.

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 1st Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps
Sho-sho Masao Igushi [5]
Sho-sho Rimas Nelsson 2583[22]

Tactics[edit]

Different per Unit.

Composition History[edit]

2581[edit]

2582-2585[edit]

Total force strength:[5]

References[edit]

  1. Historical: Reunification War, p. 33, "Additional War Preparations"
  2. Historical: Reunification War, p. 35, "Integration With The SLDF"
  3. Historical: Reunification War, p. 109-110, "SLDF Efforts"
  4. Historical: Reunification War, p. 36, "Integration With The SLDF"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Historical: Reunification War, p. 107, "Task Force Outworlds"
  6. Historical: Reunification War, p. 140-141, "Outworlds Alliance Front (Jump-Off-2585)"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Historical: Reunification War, p. 141, "Outworlds Alliance Front (Jump-Off-2585)"
  8. Historical: Reunification War, p. 108, "Something From Nothing"
  9. Historical: Reunification War, p. 110, "Fait Accompli(shed)"
  10. Historical: Reunification War, p. 111, "Santiago"
  11. Historical: Reunification War, p. 19, "Bloody Santiago"
  12. Historical: Reunification War, p. 116, "Sudden Halt"
  13. Historical: Reunification War, p. 116, "Sevon"
  14. Historical: Reunification War, p. 117, "Rage Unleashed"
  15. Historical: Reunification War, p. 119, "Valentina"
  16. Historical: Reunification War, p. 119-120, "Haynesville"
  17. Historical: Reunification War, p. 120-121, "Budingen"
  18. Historical: Reunification War, p. 122-123, "... And Military"
  19. 19.0 19.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 121, "The Dragon Responds"
  20. Historical: Reunification War, p. 121-122, "Kazanka, Nexus Ri and Zlatousi"
  21. Historical: Reunification War, p. 123, "Pitcairn's Raids"
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 125, "Kurita's Overeager Appetite"
  23. Historical: Reunification War, p. 125-126, "Year Four: Slow Grind"
  24. Historical: Reunification War, p. 126+, "Negotiation"
  25. Historical: Reunification War, p. 126, "Year Five: Peace In Our Time"

Bibliography[edit]