1st Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps
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Contents
Unit Description
The Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps was one of a number of auxiliary formations formed by the various Inner Sphere nations to support Star League operations during the Reunification War. Unlike those forces the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery gave up to the Star League to form a part of the nascent Star League Defense Force the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps remained a discrete formation of comprised solely of DCMS regiments under the command of an DCMS officer - Sho-sho Masao Igushi for the bulk of the war - but the Corps as whole were under the operational command of the overall SLDF commander of the SLDF Task Force Outworlds. The Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps was one of a number of auxiliary corps formed to support SLDF operations in this manner, all of whom returned full-time service within the DCMS at the endof the campaign.[1][2]
History
Formation
SLDF Task Force Outworlds was built largely around the SLDF II Corps and V Corps under the command of General Amos Forlough. SLDF Task Force Outworlds was the third of the task forces to be assembled, and reflected events in the war against the Taurian Concordat. Whereas it had originally been envisaged that the invasion of the Outworlds Alliance could be conducted by VI Corps, the escalating conflict in the Concordat led to VI Corps being redeployed to the Taurian theatre and II Corps taking up responsibility for the Draconis Combine/Outworlds Alliance border.[3]
The Draconis Combine was called on to provide the Auxiliary Corps to form the third part of SLDF Task Force Outworlds, a call that the Combine initially resisted until it was made clear that the DCMS units would be commanded by a DCMS officer - who would answer to Forlough in turn - and that the corps would remain a homogeneous formation comprised solely of DCMS units.[4] With the commitment of the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps SLDF Task Force Outworlds was complete.[5][6]
Reunification War
Initially, only four regiments of troops from the Galedon Regulars were available from the Auxiliary Corps in 2581, as regiments from the Benjamin Regulars and Dieron Regulars were in the process of being moved forward from rear areas within the Combine.[7] The 17th Galedon Regulars had been deployed inside the Outworlds Alliance on the world of Santiago since 2572, when First Lord Ian Cameron issued Directive 21. Although the Directive was touted publicly as a measure to cut down on bandit activity, it was actually the deliberate occupation of three Alliance worlds as an attempt to provide more information on the covert military buildup the Alliance had recently begun.[8][9]
The 17th Galedon didn't care for their posting or the residents of Santiago, and had a highly antagonistic relationship with the civilian population. This eventually led to an event that would provoke widespread condemnation throughout the Inner Sphere and the various Periphery nations when troops from the 17th Galedon killed two dozen civilians and injured many more - including children - in what became known as the Santiago Massacre. The public backlash from the massacre delayed military operations against the Alliance for some years, and Santiago would be a hotbed of guerilla resistance for more than 30 years.[10][11]
2581
War between the Star League and the Outworlds Alliance was declared openly in 2581; with the first wave of invasions being conducted by SLDF troops. Forces from the Auxiliary Corps were originally planned to stage a decoy raid on the world of Mitchella in support of a strike on Alpheratz.[12] Instead, the first combat action the Auxiliary Corps would see was on the world of Sevon, where units led by General Forlough had been tricked, ambushed and bloodied by a quasi-mercenary unit from the Federated Suns, the Pitcairn Legion, and troops from the Outworlds Alliance Militia. After weeks of combat, Forlough called the Auxiliary Corps in as reinforcements, and the three available regiments of Galedon Regulars - the 4th, 19th and 24th - landed on Sevon on the 26th of October. The additional brigade of DCMS troops was enough to force the defending forces to retreat, although they suffered casualties as a result of the brilliant rearguard action fought by the Alliance troops.[13]
The war took a darker turn in late 2581, when an enraged General Forlough ordered the SLDF troops conquering Medron to crush the stubborn resistance offered by the planetary garrison by decimating the population of the world. Acting under these orders, the SLDF troops executed one in ten of the civilian population of Medron and utterly destroyed the defending militia forces. As a result of the perceived success of this measure, Forlough issued standing orders for resistance on any Alliance world to be punished the same way, orders that the DCMS troops would apply zealously throughout the war.[14]
2582
In 2582 the Auxiliary Corps was reinforced by the 4th Benjamin Regulars and the 3rd Dieron Regulars, bringing it up to an operational strength of two brigades.[7] Combat operations for the Corps began with the occupation of Valentina, which turned into a bloody affair that would tie the 17th and 24th Galedon Regulars up for months. The population of Valentina had already voted to surrender to Star League forces if invaded, but the actions of the 17th Galedon on Santiago were an open wound for the Valentinian population, who engaged in a campaign of covert resistance against the invaders. The two DCMS regiments decimated the population of Valentina and destroyed every building suspected of being affiliated in any way with the resistance, as well as instituting strict curfew and group assembly laws that were enforced harshly.[15]
Following the poor performance of V Corps during the campaign for Haynesville,[16] Forlough came to rely heavily on the Auxiliary Corps to take on combat actions rather than V Corps. As a result, the newly arrived 4th Benjamin Regulars were dispatched to conquer the world of Budingen. The Regulars didn't know that elements of the Pitcairn Legion were on-world, and ended up with a protracted battle to conquer Budingen; the Regulars turned the tide of the campaign when they struck against the civilian population, forcing the Legion to concentrate on aiding the population before having to retreat in the face of the harsh Budingen winter. The Regulars then took advantage of an early thaw to suppress the population, breaking their will to resist before a relief force could arrive. The Regulars took heavy casualties in the campaign and a heavy raid from the Legion the following year, and as a result spent the entire of the war stationed on Budingen rather than engaging in any other combat operations.[7][17][18]
Disbandment
Although the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps served as an operational command for five years, it was a temporary organization just like the other auxiliary formations, and was disbanded at some point after the Reunification War. The bulk of the troops became garrisons for the Alliance worlds annexed by the Combine.[citation needed]
Officers
The first commanding officer of the Draconis Combine Auxiliary Corps was Sho-sho Masao Igushi. The 4th Benjamin Regulars were commanded by Tai-sa Elliot Keita.[17]
Composition History
2581
2582-2585
Notes
References
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 33, "Additional War Preparations"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 35, "Integration With The SLDF"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 109-110, "SLDF Efforts"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 36, "Integration With The SLDF"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 107, "Task Force Outworlds"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 140-141, "Outworlds Alliance Front (Jump-Off-2585)"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 141, "Outworlds Alliance Front (Jump-Off-2585)"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 108, "Something From Nothing"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 110, "Fait Accompli(shed)"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 111, "Santiago"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 19, "Bloody Santiago"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 116, "Sudden Halt"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 116, "Sevon"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 117, "Rage Unleashed"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 119, "Valentina"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 119-120, "Haynesville"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 120-121, "Budingen"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 122-123, "... And Military"