295th BattleMech Division
Sarna News
Overview
The Two Hundred Ninety-fifth BattleMech Division was a part of the Star League Defense Force Regular Army.
History
Originally named for a military decoration signifying relatives lost in combat service, the 295th BattleMech Division's history stretches as far back as the Western Alliance. Originally a Royal division for the first few decades of its existence, the 295th lost this vaunted status after lapses in security and was reassigned from Royal Command. Despite this stain on its reputation, following its demotion in status to a "mere" Regular division the 295th had several excellent tours of duty and just prior to the Amaris Coup was largely considered XLIX Corps' premier division.[1]
Despite its reputation for excellence on the field of the battle, it was not enough for the 295th's CO General Leigh MacArthur. Assigned command of the Division in 2761, MacArthur made it her personal mission to win the Blue Star Division a place in Royal Command again. Unfortunately the best she was able to achieve was transferring non-Terran Hegemony citizens out of the 295th.[1] In 2764, the unit was assigned, as a part of the XLIX Corps, Eleventh Amry, to the world of Gallery in District 1 of the Lyran Commonwealth Military Region, before being transferred to District 2 by 2765.[2] The 295th survived the Periphery Uprising and the Hegemony Campaign, but it was one of a number of divisions that "vanished" in the period just before the First Succession War began.[2]
The 295th BattleMech Division's fate remained a mystery until the mid-31st century. In 2803 the Raymond's Redcoats mercenary unit appeared claiming to have been formed from survivors of the 295th, but it was later discovered this was a ploy to mask their less palatable origins as a ex-Rim Worlds Republic unit that had initially turned to banditry.[3] The mystery was ultimately solved in 3043 when an ComStar Explorer Corps vessel operating out beyond the Circinus Federation surveyed an uncharted planet and discovered the remains of the 295th.[4]
After the liberation of Terra, the 295th returned to its duty station in the Rim Worlds Republic. When Aleksandr Kerensky issued the order for Exodus, the division tried to comply, but its departure was delayed by problems with its space transports. By the time the 295th could travel, Kerensky and the bulk of the SLDF had already left the rendezvous point at New Samarkand.[4]
Without knowing the Exodus fleet’s course or destination, the 295th still tried to follow. The division left the Rim Worlds and vanished into the Periphery. Struggling with ongoing technical issues, the 295th made landfall on a distant, uninhabited world. Unable to repair their ships, the SLDF soldiers established a number of settlements. These communities survived almost 80 years, supporting themselves with fishing and farming. Their birth-rate never allowed for long-term survival, and by the late 2800s the last descendants of the 295th had perished. The Explorer Corps report states that the 295th had left behind “only a few scattered ruins”. It makes no mention of the military equipment the BattleMech division had taken into exile. [4]
Composition
As an SLDF BattleMech division the 295th would have been formed from two Brigades of BattleMech regiments and a brigade of Mechanized Infantry regiments.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 143 "Elventh Army - 295th BattleMech Divisions"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Star League, p. 144, "Eleventh"
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 98 "Raymond's Redcoats"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook), p. 91 "New Findings - New Discoveries - The Fate of the 295th"
- ↑ The Star League, p. 133