3rd Orloff Grenadiers

Revision as of 18:12, 22 June 2019 by Pserratv (talk | contribs) (→‎Officers: - table formatting)

Template:InfoBoxStateUnit

History

Reunification War

Formed before the Reunification War, the Third Orloff Grenadiers and their sister regiment the Second Orloff Grenadiers served as a part of the Marik Auxiliary Corps assigned to support the Star League Defense Force VII Corps during the invasion of the Magistracy of Canopus. VII Corps was the largest of the corps at the time, and was commanded by Captain-General Marion Marik; the Marik Auxiliary Corps was commanded by General Ian Marik, and while VII Corps took the lead on many of the planetary campaigns, elements of the Marik Auxiliary Corps were present on almost every campaign of the war between the Star League and the Magistracy. The Third Orloff Grenadiers were no exception to this, seeing service in no less than four planetary conquests.[1][2][3]

Scheuerheck

The first campaign for the Third Orloff Grenadiers during the war was the occupation of Scheuerheck, a relatively easy conquest; one of three former Free Worlds League worlds which had defected to the Magistracy in the 2550s, all three were conquered through a display of overwhelming force and agile diplomacy by Captain-General Marik. The defenders of Scheuerheck effectively offered no resistance to the SLDF landings which saw the VII Corps' Fifty-sixth Brigade deploy alongside the 401st Independent Regiment, the Second and Third Orloff Grenadiers, the Third Regulan Hussars and the First Defenders of Andurien. Within a very short period of time the planetary leader of Scheuerheck had not only surrendered but was actively petitioning for Scheuerheck to be readmitted into the Free Worlds League. The easy acquisition of three systems and their relatively peaceful incorporation back into the League was a propaganda coup for the Captain-General, and was used to great effect by her allies in the League Parliament.[1][4]

Fanardir

The MAF had managed to surprise and outfox the SLDF task force several times in the opening years of the war, and as a result the SLDF timetable slowed as Captain-General Marik built up her forces for the next major invasions. In addition to refitting and rearming VII Corps and the FWLM regiments acting in support, Marik targeted two worlds each year for invasion, consolidating gains as part of a slow encirclement of the Magistracy capital world of Canopus IV. Fanardir was one of these worlds. Augmented by the 403rd Independent Regiment, the Third Orloff Grenadiers and the First Defenders of Andurien, the strike force led by the Sixtieth Brigade was ordered to conquer the Magistracy world of Fanardir in March 2581. This would be a more difficult campaign for the Third Orloff Grenadiers than the occupation of Scheuerheck as the combined SLDF task force faced the Second and Third Canopian Fusiliers. Despite a significant advantage in numbers the Sixtieth Brigade and the various FWLM regiments couldn't pin the Canopian Fusiliers down; in a campaign typical of those fought in 2580-2581, the two Canopian regiments did their best to sting the strike force before retreating ahead of any effective retaliation, saving their strength for later battles.[1][5][6]

Zathras

Following the destruction of the bulk of the Magistracy Navy at Thurrock in mid-2583 a buoyant SLDF targeted a number of worlds for conquest, picking up the pace of the Canopian war sharply as they capitalized on the inability of the MAF to redeploy units quickly. Zathras was one of the worlds targeted for conquest during this hectic period, and was the only Magistracy world that would be conquered solely by units from the Marik Auxiliary Corps during the war. The Third Orloff Grenadiers joined the First Defenders of Andurien in occupying the world in late 2583 and faced no major resistance other than local defenders; the only major MAF presence in the Zatharas system during the war had been the deployment of the Magistracy Navy First Fleet in the system in 2579, and the system hadn't merited a garrison from any of the MAF line regiments. Occupying Zatharas helped the SLDF isolate the Magistracy capital, Canopus IV; by early 2584 every Magistracy world within 30 light years of the capital was occupied by SLDF or FWLM troops.[1][2][7][8]

Canopus

Landings began on Canopus IV in early April 2584 and the Third Orloff Grenadiers were one of five FWLM regiments chosen by the Captain-General to join the four assorted brigades' worth of VII Corps forces assigned to the invasion. As a result the Third Grenadiers fought alongside the 1st Defenders of Andurien, the Fourth Fusiliers of Oriente Brigade and the First and Second Marik Militia through several weeks of the most intense combat the Canopian campaign would see. The MAF had two ad hoc brigades of line regiments defending Canopus plus the home guard regiments and the defenders put up a fierce resistance; while the Third Orloff Grenadiers didn't see heavy action in the first days unlike some of the other FWLM regiments involved in the attack, they did by the end of the month-long campaign. The Third fought alongside the other FWLM and SLDF regiments as the Magistracy defenders were pushed back to the capital city of Delphi and finally defeated, although the final day of the battle resembled a meatgrinder with forces on both sides taking heavy damage before the MAF lines were broken.[9] The battle for Canopus was the last major battle the Grenadiers fought during the Reunification War.[2]

Star League Era

Swiftly building a reputation for excellence, the Third Orloff Grenadiers wanted for very little during the Star League era; the Third and the other regiments of the Grenadiers were provided with top-of-the-line equipment procured by House Orloff and had initiated an extremely stringent recruiting mechanism that included all members of the Third swearing oaths not to fight against the Grenadiers or House Orloff.[10]

Despite House Orloff's secession from the Federation of Oriente and although the Grenadiers were officially provincial forces of the Duchy of Orloff[10] - all of the forces associated with provinces officially having become provincial forces in 2650, decades before the founding of the Grenadiers, in what was at least partly an act of fiction to avoid disbanding a large number of regiments under the demands of the Star League Council Edict of 2650[11] - House Orloff and House Allison maintained a close relationship. As a result the Third could be - and often were - deployed throughout the Federation of Oriente, protecting worlds of importance to Oriente rather than just Kievanur and Semenyih, neither of which was of particular interest to pirates and raiders.[10]

The Grenadiers as a brigade chose to stand by House Allison during the Marik Civil War, a decision that resulted in the Grenadiers not being called on to fight, but which also strained the relationship between the Grenadiers, the Free Worlds League Parliament and the Captain-General.[10]

During the decade leading up to the Amaris Civil War the Third was very active, dealing with pirate raids against various Federation worlds; like its sister regiments, the Third displayed consistently rapid response times - which helped the Third limit collateral damage and casualties - and the high degree of operational latitude given to the commanding officer of the Third by House Orloff. Funded by House Orloff, equipped with the best equipment and given a great deal of operational latitude, morale was consistently high in the Third during this era despite the operational tempo. In exchange for this high level of support and operational freedom, to ensue that the high standards of the Grenadiers were met, the commanding officer of the Third enforced high standards of conduct and strict dress codes consistent with those being enforced across the brigade. These standards, whilst harsh and imposing, were supported by the Third, who felt that the discipline was a key part in allowing the Grenadiers to continue to outshine every other provincial and federal brigade within the Free Worlds League.[10]

It was during the Star League era that the Grenadiers established the tradition of regimental commanding officers being democratically elected by the personnel in their unit, with each commanding officer being elected for a two-year term. This tradition was a source of some concern for the Free Worlds League Military due to the risk that an elected commander might not agree with the policies and direction provided by House Orloff, in contrast with an appointed commander.[10]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 3rd Orloff Grenadiers

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition

2765

Third Orloff Grenadiers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[12]

- At this point in time the Third was stationed on Ling.[12]

2786 - 2821

3rd Orloff Grenadiers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [13]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Ling. In 2821 the command was reduced to 28 of its strength and was deployed at Ibstock. [13]

2830

3rd Orloff Grenadiers (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [14]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Ibstock with an operational readiness of 51 percent. [14] The unit was destroyed during the war. [14]

Notes

  • There is a discrepancy between Historical: Reunification War and other texts over the existence of the Orloff Grenadiers. According to sources such as Field Report 2765: FWLM the Orloff Grenadiers brigade was founded immediately after the creation of the Duchy of Orloff in 2691. This would preclude them from taking part in the Reunification War, which occurred a century earlier than this founding date. This has been flagged as errata on the official forums.
  • The Third Orloff Grenadiers were presumably destroyed during the Succession Wars.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 148, "Magistracy Of Canopus Front(Jump-Off - 2582)"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 149, "Magistracy Of Canopus Front (2583-2588)"
  3. Historical: Reunification War, p. 95, "SLDF Task Force Canopus"
  4. Historical: Reunification War, p. 100, "Ruschegg, Payvand and Scheuerheck (August-October 2577)"
  5. Historical: Reunification War, p. 150, "Magistracy Of Canopus Front(Jump-Off - 2582)"
  6. Historical: Reunification War, p. 101, "Gallis, Aspropirgos, Fanardir and Borgan's Rift (January 2580-October 2581)"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 103, "Endgame (2583-2584)"
  8. Historical: Reunification War, p. 151, "Magistracy Of Canopus Front (2583-2588)"
  9. Historical: Reunification War, p. 103-105, "Canopus (March-April 2584)"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named FR2765:FWLMp19
  11. Field Report 2765: FWLM, p. 4, "Circumventing Directive 30"
  12. 12.0 12.1 Field Report 2765: FWLM, p. 19, "Regimental Status"
  13. 13.0 13.1 ’’ First Succession War’’, p. 138
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 ’’ Second Succession War’’, p. 98

Bibliography