Commonwealth Guards
Sarna News
- HEXTECH Review - Wave 3 Brings More Urban Options To Your Battlefield
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For March, 2024
- Crashing 'Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy
- Getting The Word Out With Rem Alternis, Catalyst Community & Marketing Director
- Bad 'Mechs - Yeoman
- Read more →
| |
| Commonwealth Guards | |
| Formed | 3084 |
| Previous Designation(s) | Alliance Guards |
| Affiliation | Lyran Commonwealth |
| Parent Command | LCAF/LAAF |
Formed in the wake of the Jihad, the Commonwealth Guards are among the less glamorous brigades of the LCAF. Through its ties to Bolan and Buena Provinces, it is something of a regional brigade for the Commonwealth's border with the Free Worlds League.
Contents
History[edit]
Formation[edit]
Formerly known as the Alliance Guards, the brigade was reorganized shortly after the Lyran Alliance returned to its original name. While some officers recommended combining the remains of the two surviving RCTs into a single unit, General of the Armies Rebecca Simons instead devised a plan to form a new defensive brigade. Following the model of the 1st Buena Guards, Simons converted the units into three additional LCTs to represent the Bolan Province and Buena Province. While some soldiers, particularly those in the 2nd Bolan Guards, still felt resentful towards their status, many embraced the restructuring. Most prominently among these was Leutnant-General James Ito, formerly of the 5th Alliance Guards and now commander of the 1st Bolan Guards. The Bremond-born officer had come to embrace of the world Bolan and was considered a "Bolan native" as he planned his eventual retirement there. The LCAF hoped that, by posting these units near the worlds they represented, these soldiers would bond with their adopted homeworlds in the same way Ito did.[1]
Dark Age[edit]
The Commonwealth Guards as a formation found their attention split during the brief reign of Duke Vedet Brewer over the Lyran Commonwealth. With the First Hesperus Guards relocated away from the front lines to serve as bodyguards on Tharkad the remaining regiments were spread thinly as they tried to focus on multiple front lines.[2]
By the time Trillian Steiner had been declared Archon the First Bolan Guards had already been destroyed, fighting a desperate defense on Bolan against forces from Clan Wolf. The Archon inherited a Commonwealth Guards brigade that had been loaded with officers chosen for their loyalty to Duke Brewer, but which she couldn't afford not to deploy because of the huge pressure the Commonwealth was under. The actual combat readiness of the various regiments within the brigade varied considerably depending on how close they were to the remaining military production sites still in Lyran hands or how loyal they were to the Archon.[2]
Both the First and Second Buena Guards were considered highly loyal to the Archon in 3145, particularly after the commanding officer of the First was replaced; the First had extensive experience of fighting Clan Wolf forces, having fought on both Bella I, Dixie and Tharkad, whilst the Second had performed well on the border between the Commonwealth and the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey prior to the Clan Wolf invasion.[2]
The Second Bolan Guards escaped destruction at the hands of Clan Wolf forces because of its position at the time, deep in the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey; after fighting a rearguard action that bought time for numerous other Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces to retreat the Second was a respected command, but perhaps not entirely trusted. The Second's commanding officer took steps to change this by purging his command of officers of dubious loyalty and by swearing a personal oath of loyalty to the Archon.[2]
The least-trusted unit of the Guards was the First Hesperus Guards, who had taken part in the revolt against Archon Melissa Steiner before serving as Duke Brewer's royal guard - and who then fled with him into the far reaches of the Commonwealth ahead of the Clan Wolf invasion. The Archon couldn't afford to disband the First, but having been granted asylum on the world of Alekseyevka by the local Margrave the First hadn't answered a call to return to Tharkad for reassignment as late as 3145.[2]
Like the Commonwealth Jaegers the Commonwealth Guard were heavily dependent on defense manufacturers located in the Buena Province, with perhaps the largest source of new equipment being the StarCorps Industries facilities on Loburg and Son Hoa,[3] although the First Buena Guards was able to draw on salvage from the battlefields of Tharkad to help it rebuild.[2]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the Commonwealth Guards | |||
Tactics[edit]
Different per Unit.
Units of the Commonwealth Guards[edit]
- 1st Buena Guards
- 2nd Buena Guards
- 1st Bolan Guards
- 2nd Bolan Guards
- 1st Hesperus Guards (until March 3151)[4]