11th Donegal Guards

Revision as of 05:43, 24 December 2014 by Doneve (talk | contribs) (updated Composition History)


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History

The Eleventh Donegal Guard was a Battlemech Regiment in service to the Lyran Commonwealth.

In 2765 the Eleventh is stationed on Bella I.[1]

As of 3025, the Guards were stationed on New Capetown.[2]

At the start of the War of 3039, the Guards were again based on New Capetown. They were briefly moved to Nekkar, but by the end of the war were returned to New Capetown. They would see no fighting.[3]

In September 3044, together with the Third Lyran Guards, the Guards participated in the liberation of Alphecca.[4]

As of 3050, they were based on Hyalite, in the House Davion half of the Federated Commonwealth.[5]

They returned to the Lyran half of the Commonwealth to help meet the threat of the Clan Invasion. They took heavy losses fighting Clan Jade Falcon, and by 3054, they had been reduced to a battalion in strength, and were based on Graceland alongside their companion unit from the assault on Alphecca, the 3rd Lyran Guards RCT. [6]

Cooperation between both units allowed them to easily counter Clan raids on Graceland and other nearby Lyran worlds, and would be expanded after the arrival of the Com Guards 388th Division, with the Lyran Alliance's increasing distrust of ComStar after Victor Steiner-Davion's rise to Precentor Martial resulting in both units moving to isolate the Com Guard Division along with their usual duties.[4][7]

FedCom Civil War

Despite the fact the 388th Division steadfastly maintained their sole interest in protecting the surrounding worlds from the Jade Falcons after Victor Davion's broadcast on December 8th 3062 that triggered the FedCom Civil War, the hot-headed Colonel Andes prepared the Eleventh Donegal to launch a preemptive strike against the Com Guard unit no matter the penalty, only held back by the level headed Leutnant-General Zardetto of the Third Lyran Regulars. Though stymied by the Regulars' efforts to hold the Eleventh Donegal in check, Andes fomented extremists with Brotherhood of Cincinnatus loyalties into staging two weeks of increasingly violent anti-ComStar protests to engineer a reason to eject the ComStar unit from the world, culminating in a protester-triggered incident that led to the death of twelve citizens and three Com Guards, along with hundreds of wounded. On January 7th 3063 Colonel Andes ordered the Eleventh to disarm the Three-Hundred and Eighty-Eighth in response to the massacre, despite the Com Guard division pulling back to ComStar defensive emplacements and the Third Regulars' best efforts to contain their fellow unit. The Eleventh Donegal launched near suicidal attacks on the 388th which provoked extremists to attempt to bomb Graceland's HPG compound.[8]

Angered that Andes' actions had now led ComStar to invoke a Communications Interdiction on the world, the Third Regulars CO Leutnant-General Paul Zardetto ordered his unit to push aside the Eleventh and completely contain the 388th. While apologizing for the Eleventh's action, Zardetto ordered the Three-Hundred and Eighty-Eighth to withdraw to prevent further escalation of the situation. Recognizing they had little choice to avoid fanning the conflict, with the stipulation that a mixed 'Mech and armored infantry Level III be left behind to guard the HPG compound from further attacks, the 388th lifted off Graceland on February 5th. Long an embarrassment for his outspoken views, three days later the commander of the Pandora Theater General Walter Gothard "rewarded" Andes for his disastrous actions with a promotion to a staff position, transferring command of the 11th Dongeal to Leutnant-General Zardetto's aide Colonel Kay Hanley. On February 14th, Tharkad ordered the 3rd Lyran Regulars to move out to Pandora, leaving the Eleventh Donegal as the sole defenders of Graceland.[8]

They would not remain alone for long. Despite the bad blood between both units, the threat of the Clan Jade Falcon incursion of the Lyran Alliance led Precentor Martial Pro-Tem Gavin Dow to order the 388th Division back to Graceland to reinforce the Eleventh Dongeal. Landing on June 1st, the Falcons' Seventy-fourth Battle and Twenty-second Provisional Garrison Clusters focused the bulk of their attacks on the Eleventh, breaking the veteran Lyran unit within two weeks before turning their full attention onto the 388th. The survivors of the Eleventh Donegal were saved from complete destruction when Archer Christifori's Archer's Avengers and sections of the Twentieth Arcturan Guards landed to assist in the defense of the planet, pushing the Falcons back.[9] [10] Remaining on Graceland and bolstered by the arrival of 1st Kell Hounds and Clan Wolf-in-Exile's Third Wolf Guards Cluster, as August 1st 3067 the rebuilding Eleventh Donegal Guards had returned to 20% strength.[11]

Jihad, Destruction and Reformation

Remaining on Graceland during the early part of the Word of Blake Jihad, the partially rebuilt Eleventh was destroyed by Free Worlds League forces during Operation Broken Fist.[12]

The story of the Eleventh would have ended there were it not for the Blackjacks, the renamed One-Eyed Jacks mercenary unit. Honoring the mercenary unit's long service to the Lyran realm and the losses it also suffered during Broken Fist, the mercenaries accepted the invitation to become a LAAF line-unit under the name of the Blackjacks. [13]

Originally assigned to the Lyrans' generalized "irregular" forces during the Jihad, [13] after that conflict's conclusion the LAAF high command chose to standardize the unit as an LCT, renaming it as the new Eleventh Donegal Guards. The new but combat-experienced Eleventh quickly exorcised their namesake unit's demons by recapturing Graceland. Admirably serving to protect the world from further attacks from Clan Jade Falcon, the ex-mercenary Eleventh's biggest problem has been integrating its new support elements. [14]


Dark Age

In 3145 the Eleventh was used as the only purely offensive formation in the Donegal Guards. They spent a great deal of time strike systems in the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone. The Eleventh went on a series of small raids on worlds that were formerly part of the Isle of Skye. The Falcons dispersed in an attempt to catch the Eleventh, and the Eleventh used this opportunity to raid Glengarry. While on the world they captured nearly sixty suits of battle armor from the Gray Death Technologies plant on that world, and sabotaged the GDT plant before retreating off-world.[15] They then returned to their garrison world, Gladius.[16]

Officers

In 3025 the unit is commanded by Colonel Jonathan Thurman.[2]

As of 3054, the commanding officer was Colonel Cyrus Andes.[6] Brash and self-confident, Andes previously commanded in the Eleventh Donegal's Alpha Battalion during the assault on Alphecca, earning a Commonwealth Star for his actions, holding command of the Eleventh since 3049. [5] While a natural leader who was skilled at getting the best from his troops, Andes was also one of the most outspoken members of the Brotherhood of Cincinnatus, a pro-Lyran extremist organization that reemerged after the breakaway of the Lyran Alliance. Considered an embarrassment by the LAAF High Command for his daily rhetoric encouraging war against the reformed Star League, the Alliance's neighbors and ComStar, Andes was able to retain his command thanks to tactical skill and close relationship with his unit until he put his words into practice during the FedCom Civil War when he was removed from command and "promoted" to a staff position.[4][8]

As of 3067, the commanding officer was Colonel Kay Hanley , the former aide of the 3rd Lyran Guards' CO Leutnant-General Paul Zardetto taking command of the Eleventh on February 8th 3063.[8][11]

As of 3085, the commanding officer was Leutnant-General Darrel Duke, former CO of the One-Eyed Jacks/Blackjacks.[17]

In 3145 the commanding officer is Leutnant-General Nathan Bergstrom.[16]

Tactics

The command take the lead from the beginning. The enemy must take a defensive position to react.[4]

Composition History

2765

Eleventh Donegal Guards (Regular/Reliable)[1]

3025

Eleventh Donegal Guards (Green/Questionable)[2]

  • CO: Colonel Jonathan Thurman

3040

Eleventh Donegal Guards RCT (Green/Questionble)[18]

3050-3054

Eleventh Donegal Guards (1 Battalion/Green/Questionable)[5][6]

3062

Eleventh Donegal Guards (1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[4]

  • CO: Colonel Cyrus Andes

95th Donegal Light Tank Regiment (1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[4]

  • CO: Colonel George Wildman

217th Donegal Commando Regiment (1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[4]

  • CO: Colonel Wyatt Vines

- The 217th includes a Platoon of battle armor

Eleventh Donegal Guards Air Wing (1 Wing/Regular/Questionable)[4]

3067

Eleventh Donegal Guards (Veteran/Questionable)[11]

  • CO: Colonel Kay Hanley

Eleventh Donegal Guards Air (Win/Veteran/Questionable)[11]

95th Donegal Light Tank (Regiment/Regiment/Questionable)[11]

  • CO: Colonel Wallace Hopper

217th Donegal Commando (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[11]

  • CO: Colonel Katrina Loess

3085

Eleventh Donegal Guards LCT (Regular/Reliable)[17]

  • CO: Leutnant-General Darrel Duke

Eleventh Donegal Aerospace (Green/Reliable)[17]

  • CO: Kaptain Viorel Sobol

Eleventh Donegal Armor Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[17]

  • CO: Colonel Pier Blackbourne

Eleventh Donegal Infantry Brigade (Regular/Fanatical)[17] (CO: Colonel Vidar Simpson

3145

Eleventh Donegal Guards (Elite/Reliable)[16]

  • CO: Leutnant-General Nathan Bergstrom

Thirty-third Gladius Reaper (Veteran/Reliabl)[16]

  • CO: Colonel Janel Gorman

Eleventh Donegal Infantry Brigade (Elite/Reliable)[16]

  • CO: Colonel Marty Willett

Notes

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 11, "Donegal Guards" - Regimental Status
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 121 (pdf version), "Unit Deployment Table"
  3. Historical: War of 3039 p.137
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 70, "11th Donegal Guards Unit Profile"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 20 Year Update, p. 22, "AFFC Deployment Table - 3050"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Objective Raids, p. 22, "AFFC Deployment Table - 3054"
  7. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 41, "11th Army V-Eta: The Honorable"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 FedCom Civil War, pp. 42-43, "Flashpoint - Graceland (7 January 3063)"
  9. FedCom Civil War, p. 115, "Jade Falcon Incursion - Graceland"
  10. Field Manual: Updates, p. 169, "Donegal Guards bio"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Field Manual: Updates, p. 177, "Deployment Table"
  12. Field Report: LAAF, p. 11 "Donegal Guards - Condition"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Field Report: LAAF, p. 18 "Irregular Forces - Mercenaries"
  14. Field Manual: 3085, p . 100 "The Lyran Commonwealth - Donegal Guards - Eleventh Donegal Guards"
  15. Field Manual: 3145, p. 127
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Field Manual: 3145, p. 133, "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces - Donegal Province"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Field Manual: 3085, p. 109, "LAAF Deployment Table - 3085"
  18. Historical: War of 3039, p. 137

Bibliography