XXVIII Corps (Star League)

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Unit Description

XXVIII Corps (or the Twenty-Eighth Corps) was one of the seventy-two Corps that made up the Star League Defense Force. Prior to the collapse of the Star League XXVIII Corps was one of the smaller corps and consisted of 4 divisions and 2 independent regiments.[1]

History

In 2764 XXVIII Corps was part of the Thirteenth Army, assigned to District 3 of the Lyran Commonwealth Military Region.[1] Assigned to an operational area that incorporated some of the border between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Rim Worlds Republic, the XXVIII Corps of the early 2760s was perhaps the most skilled of the corps within the Thirteenth Army. Although XXVIII had only a single BattleMech division, XXVIII was able to draw on some of the best equipment available to the SLDF through the 181st Royal Mechanized Infantry Division and it was considered likely that the two independent regiments assigned to the Corps were likely to be expanded into a new division at some point in the future, both regiments being line regiments and somewhat heavier than the independent regiments assigned to the other corps within the Thirteenth Army.[2]

XXVIII had been commanded by Major General Redgar Hamilton since 2759, and while Hamilton wasn't a brilliant strategist he was an excellent team-builder, leading his people well and creating teams that could work well together to achieve the desired results. Although Hamilton was a harsh taskmaster he enjoyed a good rapport with the personnel he commanded and he rewarded his subordinates well, ensuring that each had the opportunity to develop their careers further either within his own unit or in other units.[2]

In 2764 XXVIII Corps found itself in a rather mixed situation when it came to logistic support. The presence of the 181st - a Royal division with a long history stretching back to northern Europe on ancient Terra - ensured that there was a flow of top-of-the-line equipment into the Corps, equipment that included computers, medical equipment and advanced military equipment. Supplies of ammunition and food also arrived regularly, but everything else - in essence, all items not considered to be directly related to warfare - was subject to delays or simply didn't arrive. General Hamilton had raised these issues with the chain of command repeatedly, pointing out that being two months behind in supplies of items like toilet paper didn't help improve the combat readiness of the Corps. Hamilton continued to receive excuses and promises in response to his complaints, and was known to have printed out many of those responses in hard copy as a means of providing his troops with substitutes for certain comestibles in short supply.[2]

In addition to the distinction of being home to a Royal division, XXVIII Corps was also notable for including in its ranks a division raised and supported by the Free Worlds League. The 409th BattleMech Division, commonly known as the League Division, was formed as a gift from the Free Worlds League to the SLDF and was the only BattleMech division within XXVIII Corps. It was also something of a political problem for General Hamilton, as the presence of the Division provoked a mixed reception from the citizens of the Commonwealth, while the 409th's posting to the Commonwealth rather than the League was a sore point for many in the League - and a source of pride for others.[2]

When the simmering violence and rebellion building in the Periphery erupted with the New Vandenberg Uprising and subsequent Periphery-wide uprising in 2765 XXVIII Corps was deployed into into the Periphery Military Region along with the rest of the 13th Army.[1]

XXVIII Corps took heavy losses during the Periphery Uprising, with two complete divisions plus one independent regiment destroyed, and a third division was so heavily damaged that it was disbanded in 2766. This left XXVIII Corps with just one full division, The League Division, and a single independent regiment when the Hegemony Campaign began.[1]

All of the elements of XXVIII Corps that had survived the conflict in the Periphery were destroyed during the 12-year campaign to liberate the Hegemony, at which point XXVIII Corps ceased to exist as a combat formation.[1]

Composition History

2764

2766

  • 409th BattleMech Division (The League Division)
  • 203rd Striker Regiment

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Star League, p. 146
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 162-163, "XXVIII Corps"

Bibliography