10th Donegal Guards

Brigade Insignia of the Donegal Guards
Tenth Donegal Guards
Nickname Lilly Lancers
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command Donegal Guards

The Tenth Donegal Guards was an original Lyran Commonwealth BattleMech Regiment. When House Steiner merged with the Federated Suns, the unit was reconfigured into a Regimental Combat Team. The unit was lost during the Clan Invasion of the 3050s.

History[edit]

Formation[edit]

The Tenth first commanding officer was Colonel Lilly Stenman. She is famed for impaling a Draconis Combine Striker with a steel girder. She used this girder when a Combine BattleMech charged her and her own 'Mech ammunition was depleted.[1] After impaling the Striker BattleMech she led a charge against the Combine lines, which crumpled in the face of the Tenth's fury and retreated. During the Star League era, they held themselves to some of the highest standards for military prowess in the LCAF, and swiftly transferred out any soldiers below those standards.[2] In 2765 they were stationed on Alkaid.[3]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

The Tenth Donegal Guards and the Thirtieth Lyran Guards landed on New Caledonia. There they drove the Second An Ting Legion offworld after inflicting approximately 20% casualties on the DCMS unit.[4] Later the unit relocated to The Edge, and was still there when the Twenty-fifth Rasalhague Regulars dropped on the world.[5]

When the lull in major operations settled across the Lyran Commonwealth front in early 3029, Colonel George Donaldson found his Donegal Guards stalemated a few kilometers away from Bono, the planetary capital city. With Bono being both the capital city and the industrial heart of the planet the Twenty-fifth Rasalhague Regulars had fought a stubborn campaign of resistance, leaving the Donegal Guards with secure positions south and east of the city on high ground, facing pits, trenches and large minefields that the Regulars continued to expand. Unable to push into the city without destroying it and unable to launch a flanking attack without giving up the high ground, Donaldson's forces resorted to daily artillery bombardments and waited.[6]

In May 3029 reinforcements for the Tenth arrived, in the form of the First Lyran Regulars. Having conquered Harvest in the first wave of GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, the First had moved to Verthandi during the exploitation phase and rested and rearmed for several months.[7][6] The First dropped northwest of Bono and began advancing on the city, quickly clashing with the planetary militia. The militia responded with booby traps and suicide charges that caused a breakdown in cooperation between the BattleMech and conventional elements of the First, but which were insufficient to stop the First from pushing forward through superior numbers. By mid-July, the First had reached the outskirts of Bono, giving the Tenth an opportunity to make their own attack. Coordinating their attacks, the two Lyran RCTs pressed forward, with the Tenth crossing the minefields as the First broke through the defensive fortifications ahead of them before moving into Bono's industrial park.[6]

With a dominating victory in sight, the First Lyran Regulars 'Mech forces slipped, changing course to chase down a 'Mech company from the Twenty-fifth and leaving the Second Vulcan Mechanized Infantry Regiment exposed. The Twenty-fifth capitalized on that error, throwing forces at the Second Vulcan and using the opportunity to break for their DropShips. Even as the Twenty-fifth abandoned The Edge, a botched recognition sign between the Lyran regiments on the ground led to a blue-on-blue incident that cost them a 'Mech and twenty dead infantry, but the Commonwealth had secured The Edge.[6]

Clan Invasion[edit]

In March 3050 after heavy fighting on Chateau against Clan Wolf the Tenth Donegal Guards retreated with only two companies of 'Mechs and less than three conventional regiments left. In July 3050 those elements fought, together with Alpha and Bravo Battalions from the Third Regiment, Twelfth Star Guards, on Vantaa again against the Wolves this time under the rules of zellbrigen. After losing half of her troops Marshal Sarah Steiner request the allowance to withdraw with the rest of her forces. Surprisingly her request was granted by the Wolves. Between September and October 3050 the tenth, at this time down to about 25% strength, and the Able Battalion of the Third Regiment of the Star Guards was bluffed into surrender because the Jade Falcons positioned warships over Zoetermeer threatening the capital with an orbital bombardment.[8]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 10th Donegal Guards
Colonel Lilly Stenman 2765[3]
Colonel Quintin Moore 3025[9][1]
Colonel George Donaldson 3029[6]
Marshal Sarah Steiner 3050[10]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[3]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Alkaid.

2786 - 2821[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[11]

Note: At this point in time the mediummedium-weight unit was stationed on Alkaid. In 2821, the command was reduced to 21 percent of its strength and was deployed on Thorin. [11]

2830[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical) [12]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Thorin with an operational readiness of 65 percent.[12]

2864[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical) [12]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Thorin with an operational readiness of 38 percent.[12]

3025[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[9]

  • CO: Colonel George Donaldson
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Main Street.

3040[edit]

10th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[13]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Main Street.[13]

3050[edit]

10th Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[14]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Chateau.[14][10]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 70, "Regimental Nicknames" - 10th Donegal Guards nicknames' origin.
  2. Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 10
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 11: "Donegal Guards" - Regimental Status
  4. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 50
  5. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 61
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 68-69, "The Edge"
  7. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 44
  8. Jade Falcon Sourcebook, p. 43: "Zoetermeer"
  9. 9.0 9.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 120, "Unit Deployment Table" - 10th Donegal Guard's unit commander in 3025.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Tales from the Cracked Canopy: The Devil's Luck
  11. 11.0 11.1 First Succession War, p. 139
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Second Succession War, p. 99
  13. 13.0 13.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 137
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 20 Year Update, p. 25

Bibliography[edit]