10th Army (Star League)

Tenth Army
Affiliation	Star League
Parent Command	Second Army Group Twelfth Army Group (2766) Seventeenth Army Group (2772)

The Star League Defense Force Tenth Army was assigned to operations within the Free Worlds League Military Region's third district.

History

Based around the Army Headquarters at Fort Wilderness on Cirebon (though, frequently aboard the orbiting SLS Midway), the Tenth Army was a standard model army and responsible for the rimward sectors of the Free Worlds League. Historically, the Tenth Army had chosen not to work directly with the Free Worlds League government, but rather to build a close relationship with the provincial authorities in the Principality of Regulus and the Duchy of Andurien; this proved to be a much more productive relationship, and when the Tenth Army was deployed into the Magistracy of Canopus in response to the Periphery Uprising, it received a considerable degree of logistical support from the Free Worlds League Military. Despite that support, the Tenth would take moderate to heavy losses during the two-year campaign, losing eight divisions and two independent regiments.

Prior to the Amaris Civil War, the Tenth Army dealt with the many pirates, smugglers, and other border jumpers trying to capitalize on the confusion of the Phony War. The Tenth was the only army in the Free Worlds League Military Region that could respond rapidly to these conflicts; however, the High Command held concerns that the army's four component corps—spread throughout five provincial states—could be overwhelmed. Given that the Tenth Army had to defend the borders between the Free Worlds League, Capellan Confederation, Magistracy of Canopus, and the Periphery, these concerns were understandable. Nonetheless, the command maintained two corps prepared to invade the Magistracy, with the other two ready to respond to attacks from the Confederation. The Tenth Army worked with the 7th Fleet.

The Tenth formed the first wave of reinforcement sent to quell the uprising in the Magistracy of Canopus in 2765; their main task was to relieve the defenders of the besieged forts. As they moved forward, they were struck by the Secret Army and only further arriving troops prevented disaster. As the campaign progressed in-theater, combat operations commander Joan Brandt ordered the Tenth, along with the Ninth, to push deeper into the Magistracy to isolate the capital. By 2767, plans were underway to capture Canopus when General Aleksandr Kerensky ordered a cessation of hostilities.

During Operation CHIEFTAIN, the Tenth formed a portion of the Seventeenth Army Group. In July and August of 2772, the command attacked the worlds of Slocum, Azha, and Acamar, as part of the first thrust of the first wave into the Terran Hegemony. The subordinate IV Corps landed on Acamar, prepared for the world that was described as "a constant winter wonderland"; the combat force easily defeated the single RWA regiment, with the routed survivors fleeing for Woodstock. Similarly, XXVI Corps had little trouble with Azha. However, Slocum proved to be a consistent, years-long issue for XXXIX Corps, as the planet had two Castles Brian and four enemy regiments to displace. These challenges had been previously identified and for which the invaders had prepared, but what had gone unrealized was the planet's recent transition into a severe climactic event that was projected to develop constant snow, wind, and rainstorms for another twenty years. The planetary campaign was prolonged by 27 months, with the exacerbating factor of strong solar flares intermittently obstructing communications for long periods of time. In 2773, the available units of the Tenth moved onto Woodstock, where their efforts were aggravated by the defenders' strong defensive measures.

In early 2775, the Tenth Army was assigned the task of relieving the "salted" Sheratan, a world outside of the unit's assigned invasion corridor. The planet had been abandoned by the Amaris Empire Armed Forces (AEAF), but just as with eleven other worlds ringing Terra, it wasn't before the planet's ability to sustain the populace were eradicated by nuclear weapons, forcing Kerensky to respond.

Very early in the morning Terran Standard Time, the Seventeenth Army Group (along with most of the SLDF's Operation LIBERATION) descended on Terra. The group was assigned two regional targets in Europe: Germany (Berlin was the specific objective of the Tenth Army) and England (London and Sandhurst Castle) for the Fifteenth Army. Berlin-specific objectives were the capture and occupation of the spaceport and the Ruhr industrial centers, with the Castle Brian in Bochum. The 149th BattleMech, 210th Jump Infantry, and Fourteenth Infantry Divisions landed to the west and east of Berlin, promptly securing and expanding the beachhead. Further to the east, the 120th Jump Infantry and 146th Mechanized Infantry Divisions moved along the River Spree towards towards the city, encountering and engaging the Second and Nineteenth Hegemony Patriots, the latter a unit of conscripts formed mere weeks earlier. These engagements would be played out with feints and false retreats, and eventually urban combat, in the outskirts before the enemy was cleared. By 28 February, the objective was completed when an insurrection overthrew the final vestiges of the AEAF defenders. Bochum Castle Brian was only secured in mid-May, three weeks following the combat assaults that provided the SLDF entry. The rest of the Tenth would then move on to occupy Prague and Vienna and to link up with the forces handling the Italian landings.

No earlier than the northern hemisphere's 2779 springtime, Tenth Army (with the Seventeenth Army Group) was to target a drop into Iceland, followed by a move to Greenland, with minimal opposition anticipated.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the Tenth Army (Star League)
General	Abbey Bartlett	- 2746
Admiral	Agathe Feuntiaume	2746 - 2765

Tactics

Under the influence of Admiral Agathe Feuntiaume, the Tenth Army developed operational skills that were considered both unconventional and efficacious. The subordinate commands were well-practiced with close air support and the use of jump infantry, and could rely upon close coordination with the Seventh Fleet for naval support.

Corps of the Tenth Army

2765

• IV Corps
• XIII Corps
• XXVI Corps
• XXXIX Corps

2772

• IV Corps
• XXVI Corps
• XXXIX Corps

Composition History

The Tenth Army was one of only two SLDF armies to be commanded by an admiral in 2765, rather than a general. The command utilized extremely responsive ground units to counter border incursions, though this was tempered by Transport Commands availability.

2765

• 6 BattleMech Divisions
• 13 Infantry Divisions
• 9 Independent Regiments

2772

• 3 BattleMech Divisions
• 7 Infantry Divisions
• 2 Independent Regiments

Bibliography

• Field Manual: SLDF
• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1
• The Star League