4th Army (Star League)

Army 04th (SLDF) logo.jpg
Fourth Army
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command Fifth Army Group (2764)[1]
Eleventh Army Group (2766)[2]
Fourth Army Group (2772)[3]

The Fourth Army of the Star League Defense Force was assigned to operations within the Federated Suns Military Region.[4] The Fourth was stationed at the "corner" border between the Taurian Concordat, Capellan Confederation, and Federated Suns.[1]

History

The Fourth Army had been active for some time prior to the Periphery Uprising; responsible for covering the rimward worlds of the Federated Suns and with the Army Headquarters located on Hobbs, the Fourth had spent a lot of time hunting down bandits during the escalating campaign of tit-for-tat raids that made up much of the Third Hidden War.[5]

The units of the Fourth Army were barely tolerated by the people along the Federated Suns border with the Capellan Confederation. These people were still upset that the SLDF didn't react more quickly during a border war. The Suns border with the Taurian Concordat was different, because each pirate raid along that border led to many people losing loved ones. Elements of the Fourth Army were responsible for driving off most of these bandits, leading to a positive relationship with the inhabitants of this border.[1] The Star League Intelligence Command also had many agents operating in this area, but the many individual groups and political factions here made it difficult for SLIC to detect patterns to protect the Fourth from terrorist actions.

In the wake of the New Vandenberg Uprising, the Fourth Army was deployed into the Taurian Concordat as the first reinforcement troops to be sent into the Periphery from the Inner Sphere. This exacted a heavy toll on the Fourth, which was reduced to almost half strength during the two-year campaign; XXXVII Corps took heavy damage, but particularly hard-hit was LXX Corps, which was effectively destroyed. In total, the Fourth lost eleven divisions and two regiments, with three of the divisions having been disbanded due to combat losses and the remaining forces destroyed on the battlefield.[5]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 4th Army
General Hunter Mellon [1]
General Tatjana Baptiste 2762 - 2784[6][7]

Tactics

Different per Unit.

Corps of the 4th Army

2765

2772

  • XXXVII Corps
  • LIV Corps
  • LXII Corps

Composition History

2765

  • 6 BattleMech Divisions[5]
  • 18 Infantry Divisions[5]
  • 9 Independent Regiments[5]

2772

  • 3 BattleMech Divisions[3]
  • 10 Infantry Divisions[3]
  • 1 Independent Regiment[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 67: "Fourth Army"
  2. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 94: "The Taurian Campaign"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 121: "Operation CHIEFTAIN Star League Defense Forces Order of Battle"
  4. The Star League, p. 152: "Fourth Army"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 42: "Fourth Army"
  6. Field Manual: SLDF, p. 68
  7. Land of Dreams, Interlude One

Bibliography