18th Army (Star League)

18th Army (SLDF) 2765.jpg
Eighteenth Army
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command Star League Defense Force

The Eighteenth Army of the Star League Defense Force was assigned to operations within the Outworlds Alliance Territorial State.

History

Formed in the great expansion of the SLDF, the Eighteenth Army replaced the II Corps and V Corps who had defeated and maintained control of the Outworlds Alliance since the Reunification War. At its peak the Eighteenth consisted of twenty-four divisions which included six BattleMech divisions, fifteen infantry divisions and up to thirty independent regiments.[1] The Eighteenth faced a challenge in their garrison duties; the Outworlds Alliance had expanded to cover a large number of systems stretching out into the Deep Periphery, and the Eighteenth was stretched thin trying to cover such a large area.[2]

In 2765, most of the units assigned to the Eighteenth Army were in fact individual regiments that were used to garrison newly opened systems, support Department of Mega-Engineering projects, and engage in exploration activities. The full divisions and brigades of the Eighteenth were used to garrison more established systems near the Alliance's borders with the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine.[3]

When the Periphery Uprising erupted, the widely dispersed deployment of the Eighteenth was both a boon and a curse; many units were caught isolated and alone, and wiped out by rebel forces. However, to engage the Eighteenth the rebel forces were forced to disperse their own forces over a wide area, allowing many units within the Eighteenth to survive the weeks and months before other SLDF formations arrived to reinforce them virtually intact.[2]

Like all Territorial State armies, the Eighteenth initially attempted to stabilize tensions in the Alliance before Stefan Amaris' murder of Richard Cameron, suffering heavy losses in the assault on the Rim Worlds Republic and eventual recapture of the worlds of the Terran Hegemony. The Eighteenth Army was disbanded upon the collapse of the Star League.

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 18th Army
General Son Ok Kim 2764 - 2765[3][2]

Tactics

Different per Unit.

Corps of the 18th Army

Composition

2765

2767

  • 2 BattleMech Divisions[1]
  • 9 Infantry Divisions[1]
  • 21 Independent Regiments[1]

The Eighteenth lost eight divisions and seven Independent regiments outright as battlefield casualties, with another two divisions and two regiments lost to disbandment, leaving the Eighteenth at 55% of its pre-Uprising strength when the ceasefire began in mid-2767.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Star League, p. 156: "Eighteenth Army"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 45: "Eighteenth Army"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 211

Bibliography