17th Donegal Guards

(Redirected from Seventeenth Donegal Guards)
Donegalguards17th.png
Seventeenth Donegal Guards RCT
Nickname Cheshire Cats
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command Donegal Guards

History[edit]

Star League Era[edit]

The Seventeenth Donegal Guards were stationed on Trell I in 2765. They had survived extensive fighting prior to the formation of the Star League, which surprised several observers.[1]

Third Succession War[edit]

The Seventeenth was one of the most effective units available to the LCAF, but after the Third Succession War things turned sour. In 3002 the Seventeenth guarded Loric, fighting off Free Worlds League units. The extensive combat cost the unit nearly half its troops and took many years to rebuild.

Fourth Succession War[edit]

For Archon Katrina Steiner destroying DCMS 'Mech forces during the Fourth Succession War was as significant a goal as capturing territory;[2] as a result, the Seventeenth was deployed to destroy the Twenty-second Dieron Regulars on Dyev[3] as a part of Operation HOLDUR in June 3029.[2] The Regulars were a well-led, seasoned unit, and when the Guards landed they discovered that the Regulars held the two mountain passes that controlled the water supply to the Epsi River Basin, a prosperous region of Dyev. Colonel Tommy Gaherty made numerous attempts to dislodge the Regulars from their position, but the Guards were unable to pry them out of the mountain passes, and the battle for Dyev became a siege that only ended when the Gray Death Legion arrived to reinforce the guards in November. Although the Regulars' position remained highly defensible, defending both approaches would have spread the Kuritan forces too thinly, something the Twenty-second's commander knew. The Twenty-second staged a breakout, racing past the Guards to meet with their DropShips in the Basin before abandoning Dyev.[3]

Ten years later the Seventeenth spent the War of 3039 garrisoning Lyons instead of attacking the Combine. In 3044 the Seventeenth and the Fifth Lyran Guards were assigned to Skondia. There they took heavy losses (including the death of their command staff by Draconian special forces troops), but were able to withdraw in good order. The AFFC High Command then shifted the Seventeenth to the Draconis March; The Seventeenth took up station on McComb.[4] During the Clan Invasion the Seventeenth returned to Lyran space, taking station on Jabuka. In 3051 Clan Steel Viper's Alpha Galaxy landed on the world and shattered the unit, forcing the survivors to withdraw. The unit wouldn't reach full strength until 3057, when it was assigned to support the Sixth Lyran Guards on Rasalgethi.

FedCom Civil War[edit]

The FedCom Civil War saw the Seventeenth on Rasalgethi, where they cleverly eluded a trap set for them set by the Sixth Lyran Guards. Once free of the world the Seventeenth was reassigned to Fort Loudon, where it faced Clan Jade Falcon forces.[5] The fighting was bloody, but the Seventeenth kept the system.[6]

The Jihad[edit]

During the Jihad the Seventeenth landed on the Free Worlds League world of Shiloh and faced several FWLM units there. After a month of fighting the unit was effectively destroyed. Half the Seventeenth's troops were repatriated back to the Lyran Alliance after Operation Broken Fist finished, but the other half of the troops were still missing. As of 3079 the Seventeenth hadn't been rebuilt.[7]

The Dark Age[edit]

The Seventeenth supported Duke Vedet Brewer in his coup against Archon Melissa Steiner. However, they did not invade Tharkad with other forces loyal to Brewer. They remained on Donegal. This proved fortunate, as they were in position to harass Clan Wolf forces when they invaded Donegal. The Seventeenth engaged in so many strike and fade operations against the Wolves that eventually the Wolves had to leave the world. They remained as the Donegal garrison, surrounded by discreet LIC officers and the Third Royal Guards.[8]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 17th Donegal Guards
Colonel Tommy "Too Young" Gahertty 3025[9]
Leutnant-General Quitman Brown 3062 - 3067[6][10]
Leutnant Colonel Dorthey Kern 3145[11]

Tactics[edit]

The combination of well set traps and coordinated movements make the fight against this unit difficult.[10]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

17th Donegal Guard (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)[1]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Trell I.

2786 - 2821[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)[12]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Trell I. In 2821 the command was reduced to 28 percent of its strength and was deployed on Trell I.[12]

2830[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[13]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Trell I with an operational readiness of 61 percent.[13]

2864[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[13]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Trell I with an operational readiness of 23 percent.[13]

3025[edit]

17th Donegal Guard (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[14]

  • CO: Colonel Tommy Too Young' Gahertty[14]
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Carlisle.[14]

3040[edit]

17th Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[15]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Jaipur.[15]

3050[edit]

17th Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[16]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on McComb.[16]

3062[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[10]
CO: Leutnant General Quitman Brown
Aide: Colonel Ling Glayzer
- The unit is upgraded to 90 percent but only field refits with a few newly-produced machines.

17th Donegal Guards Aerospace Brigade (2 Wings)[10][6]
CO: Kaptain Brenden Coffey
- 651st Independent Air Wing
- 2112th Independent Air Wing
17th Donegal Guards Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Regular/Questionable)[10][6]
CO: Colonel Oberon Bradbury
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Julia Kleineman
- 143rd Donegal Heavy Armor Regiment: Colonel Greg Eeles
- 93rd Rasalgethi Panzer Regiment: Colonel Syd Chandler
- 302nd Donegal Light Tank: Colonel Ozdemir Lennox

17th Donegal Guards Infantry Brigade (4 Regiments/Regular/Questionable)[10][6]
CO: Colonel John Gray
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Detlef Fordham
- 688th Donegal Light Infantry: Colonel Cedar Rhodes
- 67th Donegal Mounted Rifles: Colonel Aaron Landthaller
- 79th Donegal Mechanized Rifles: Colonel Patti Langford
- 1st Rasalgethi Force Recon: Colonel Erick Reichmann

3067[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[6]
CO: Leutnant General Quitman Brown

17th Donegal Guards Aerospace Brigade (2 Wing/Regular/Reliable)[6]

17th Donegal Guards Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Veteran/Questionable)[6]
CO: Colonel Oberon Bradbury

17th Donegal Guards Infantry Brigade (4 Regiments/Regular/Questionable)[6]
CO: Colonel John Gray

3145[edit]

17th Donegal Guards (Regular/Questionable)[11]
CO: Leutnant Colonel Dorthey Kern

17th Donegal Armor Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[11]
CO: Colonel Wai Glynn

93rd Donegal Infantry (Veteran/Reliable)[11]
CO: Colonel Delois Hinds

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 11: "Donegal Guards" - Regimental Status
  2. 2.0 2.1 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 73: "Ryde Theater"
  3. 3.0 3.1 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 75: "Dyev"
  4. 20 Year Update, p. 19
  5. Field Manual: Updates, p. 169
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Field Manual: Updates, p. 177: "Lyran Alliance Deployment table [3067]"
  7. Field Report: LAAF, p. 11
  8. Field Manual: 3145, p. 127
  9. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 120 (PDF version): "Unit Deployment Table"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 73: "17th Donegal Guards Unit Profile"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Field Manual: 3145, p. 133: "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces - Donegal Province"
  12. 12.0 12.1 First Succession War, p. 139
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Second Succession War, p. 99
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 118: "LCAF Deployment Table"
  15. 15.0 15.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 137
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 20 Year Update, p. 19

Bibliography[edit]