Robinson Chevaliers
Sarna News
The Robinson Chevaliers were the primary military formation of the Draconis March after the Davion Civil War, formed from the reorganised Vale Rangers brigade after the disestablishment of the Federated Suns Terran March. The Chevaliers were evidently destroyed during the Succession Wars.
Contents
History
Formation
The Robinson Chevaliers brigade formed in or around 2540 from the surviving elements of the former Vale Rangers. As the Vale Rangers, the brigade had been the lead combat formation of the Terran March Principality of the Federated Suns;[1] with the death of Prince Charles Leighton and his immediate family in a Terran Hegemony raid in 2515 the Vale Rangers went on to serve ably and well under General - later Field Marshal - Nikolai Rostov[2][3] in the 2515-2520 campaign against the invading Terran Hegemony forces,[2] a campaign which was nothing less than brilliant and cemented the loyalty of the Vale Rangers and other Terran March forces to Rostov.[4] The Vale Rangers were soon in action against the armed forces of the Draconis Combine in the 2523 border incursions.[4][5]
The Vale Rangers would continue to serve under Nikolai Rostov until his death during the Davion Civil War,[6][7] and then served under his son, Dmitri Rostov; under the superb military leadership of the father and son the Vale Rangers weathered the civil war in better shape than any other March formation in the Federated Suns. That soon changed, however.[1]
In 2540 Dmitri Rostov began an insurrection against First Prince Alexander Davion. Dmitri was violently opposed to the reforms Alexander intended to make, particularly the disestablishment of the Terran March and the consequent erosion of Dmitri's own power base. Dmitri's confidence in taking such a bold course was partly due to the good condition of the Vale Rangers, but his actions proved disastrous - he began by ordering Terran March troops to capture Cynthia Davion, Alexander's wife, only for the operation to be bungled and cause Cynthia's death from a stray shot. Grief-stricken and furious, Alexander launched an offensive against Dmitri, whose powerbase swiftly crumbled; to many in the Federated Suns, Alexander represented order, stability and continuity after two decades of civil war.[1][8][9]
Many amongst the Vale Rangers were horrified at Dmitri's actions, to the point that several regiments turned against him, declaring for Alexander's cause and fighting under his banner - even fighting against their own sister regiments on more than one occasion. Dmitri's death on Robinson ended the Davion Civil War for good; in the aftermath of the battle, Alexander declared that the survivors of the Vale Rangers as "soldiers of chivalry and honor". Drawing upon Alexander's words, the Vale Rangers brigade was renamed and reformed as a new brigade - the Robinson Chevaliers - and became one of the formations responsible for defending the newly-expanded Draconis March.[1]
Star League Era
The Robinson Chevaliers continued to serve the Federated Suns after the Davion Civil War, now as a part of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. Each of the regiments took its unit name from a chivalric order from the pre-industrial history of Terra, and the brigade observed the tradition of not reforming destroyed commands but instead starting an all-new regiment that would adopt the patron order of their fallen brethren. Some units were destroyed more than once with their colors being reborn each time, and by the time the Star League Council enacted the Council Edict of 2650 limiting the size of the military of each Great House twenty-four regiments had served on the rolls of the brigade.[1]
With the repeal of the 2650 Edict in 2572[10] the Chevaliers underwent a dramatic increase in size along with the other formations of the AFFS. The First Robinson Chevaliers had been the longest-serving regiment in the brigade until the few survivors of the unit opted to disband the command after the damage taken during the War of Davion Succession; ten years later in 2739 First Prince John Davion had ordered the creation of a new regiment, the Thirty-first Robinson Chevaliers, which had taken up the colors and order of the First. With the repeal of the Edict more regiments were formed swiftly; between 2755 and 2765 the brigade had expanded by nine complete regiments following the establishment of the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh.[1]
Units of the Robinson Chevaliers
Colors and Unit Insignia
The color scheme used by the Robinson Chevaliers was gold on black.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 Field Report: Federated Suns 2765, p. 16, "Robinson Chevaliers"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 41, "The Regency"
- ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 31-32, "Reign of Terror"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 41-42, "Varnay vs Davion"
- ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 32-33, "Hostage Prince"
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 44, "Alexander in Exile"
- ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 33-34, "Flames of War"
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 48, "Rostov Defiant"
- ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 36, "Putting Down Rostov"
- ↑ Field Report: Federated Suns 2765, p. 3, "Strategic Update"