III Corps (Star League)


III Corps.jpg
III Corps
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command Eighth Army


Unit Description[edit]

The III Corps (or Third Corps) was one of the first corps organized at the foundation of the Star League Defense Force. Prior to the collapse of the Star League it consisted of 4 divisions and 8 independent regiments. 2 divisions and 3 regiments from the III Corps survived the collapse and left the Inner Sphere with the Exodus of 2784, while one division disbanded and joined the Lyran Commonwealth. The remaining units were destroyed during the New Vandenberg Uprising.[1]

History[edit]

Reunification War[edit]

The SLS Hancock, an Star League WarShip which acted in support of the SLDF III Corps, was in Diefenbaker during late 2584 or early 2585. Diefenbaker was a Taurian world which had been occupied by the SLDF and used as the headquarters for III Corps; the initial raiding force landed as most of III Corps were already aboard DropShips in transit to their JumpShips, following orders to attack Lindsay. As the raiding force prosecuted a spoiling campaign against III Corps, a full invasion force was prepared and arrived in-system n the 4th of February 2585, beginning an extended campaign to try and capture the world. The SLS Hancock was one of at least three SLDF WarShips involved in the resulting action, and was responsible for destroying the bulk of the Calderon Red Hand regiment via orbital bombardment while trying to assist Major General Natasha Azzi and two mixed regiments of SLDF troops during the four-hour Battle of Lost Valley.[2]

After the battle for New Vandenberg, General Lord Damien Onaga used III Corps to conquer Midale in 2590. Midale was spared the immense death toll and destruction that many other Taurian worlds suffered during the War; this was due to Onaga changing the strategy employed on Operation BULL RUN, taking a very different approach to that ordered by the previous theater commander, Field Marshal Amos Forlough. Onaga's approach to conquering Midale saw him deliberately rotating troops[3] from III Corps and XI Corps[4] in and out of battle, giving them an opportunity to blood themselves, while limiting his campaign to purely military targets, rather than cities and civilian infrastructure. This made the conquest of Midale a slower campaign than many previous planetary assaults, but inflicted far less damage, and with much of the planetary garrison having already been stripped away by the Taurian Defense Force to fight in other systems during earlier years of the war, the battle for Midale was over by the end of December 2590.[3]

Star League Era[edit]

In 2764 the Third Corps was part of the 8th Army, assigned to the First District of the Free Worlds League Military Region. At that time their headquarters was on Marik, and they made efforts to improve the cool relations between the SLDF and Free Worlds League. These efforts yielded little response, but they continued to make the effort. The Third lost a division in 2761 and another in 2763. These divisions weren't lost to combat, but were reassigned to reinforce units along the Periphery border. As a result, the Third Corps had a large number of independent regiments.[5]

However, in 2765 an uprising occurred in the Periphery, requiring a large portion of the SLDF mobilized to put down the rebellion. The Third's units were divided between the Second and Third Districts, filling in gaps left by other units sent to the fighting. However, the uprising had been secretly orchestrated by Stefan Amaris to accomplish his coup.

The Third would take part in Aleksandr Kerensky's campaign to reconquer the Terran Hegemony from Amaris, but in the process suffered heavy losses. Of those units which survived, only five would join Kerensky's Operation Exodus, with the rest disbanding or joining other military forces.

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the III Corps
Major-General Natasha Azzi Until May 2585[2]
Major-General Hampton "Breezy" Craige From May 2585[2]
Major-General Thea Lyons 2761-2784[5]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

2764[edit]

Divisions
Independent Regiments

Rules[edit]

Reunification War[edit]

  • All III Corps artillery strikes and orbital bombardment attacks receive a -1 bonus to the Target Number.[7]
  • III Corps receive a -1 penalty to Initiative when operating alongside Draconis Combine forces.[7]

References[edit]

  1. The Star League, p. 141
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 84, "Calderon's Response"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 91, "Cleanup"
  4. Historical: Reunification War, p. 143, "Taurian Concordat Front [2586-2596]"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 106
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 The Star League, p. 141
  7. 7.0 7.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 181, "The Star League"

Bibliography[edit]