2nd Fides Defenders
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| 2nd Fides Defenders | |
| Formed | approx. 3149 |
| Disbanded | 3150 |
| Affiliation | Republic of the Sphere |
| Parent Command | Fides Defenders |
The Second Fides Defenders were formed sometime between 3145 and 3149, the waning years of the Republic of the Sphere, on the orders of Exarch Jonah Levin as part of an attempt to infuse the flexibility and discipline of the Fidelis into a regimental size organization.[1]
History[edit]
The Second Fides Defenders would participate in the Republic’s Operation ERUPTIO in 3149, working alongside the Twelfth Principes Guards to rout the DCMS planetary militia and take control of the HPG during the Second Army Group's attack on Towne.
When the Second Army Group moved on from Towne to Addicks engaging the 4th Dieron Regulars, the Second Fides SpecOps battalion was employed to convince the population to stage several riots. The ensuing chaos allowed the Eleventh Triarii and Eleventh Principes to attack the distracted 4th Dieron from the flanks while the Eleventh Hastati conducted a head-hunting strike, causing a great deal of damage to the 4th and killing Tai-sa Gerald Nixon before departing the planet.[2]
Following the July 3149 Wolf Empire assaults that reduced the Republic Remnant to two remaining worlds, a battalion of the Second Fides Defenders was included in the second Republic task force sent to Callison to make contact with Damien Redburn and the Remnant. Arriving at the Fallosha spaceport, the Second found themselves surrounded by Seventh Hastati Sentinels 'Mechs and taken into custody. Escorted to a meeting with Damien Redburn and Tara Campbell, the Second's commander Colonel Cettina Laurentis was given the choice to join the Remnant forces in "carrying on the dream of the original Republic" or remaining in custody indefinitely. Laurentis chose the latter, though Redburn attempted to sway her and her troops several times, eventually succeeding with a few, but Laurentis and the balance of her command remained unmoved and thus incarcerated until Jonah Levin arrived with a third task force and captured the Remnant's leaders.[3]
By October of 3149, the Second Fides would again be called upon to assist with the capture of Robinson's capital Bueller during the final leg of ERUPTIO, through the unit would lose one of its primary Dropships to the Combine aerospace defense on the journey in. Employing the SpecOps battalion to infiltrate the city, Fides operatives would spend nearly a week hunting for the planetary governor Daimyo Adam Ogata with the goal of abducting him and bringing the conflict to a quick end. In the end, this effort would fail with only two of the twelve operatives returning alive. As the conflict dragged on, Combine reinforcements arrived and began to press the Second Army, with the 1st Ghost Regiment attempting to flank the Eleventh Principes while the Seventh Sword of Light held them in place. The Twelfth Principes and Twelfth Triarii were able to use their mobility to stop the flanking attack and push the First Ghost back, opening a hole for the Second Fides regular battalions to enter the city. The Fides troops took the government building within two hours, but missed Daimyo Ogata, who had already fled. With the loss of the city, the First Ghost and Seventh Sword attempted to overrun the Eleventh Principes, but were stopped when relief forces from the First Army broke through the offensive and the Second Fides crushed the Seventh Sword in a pincer attack just inside the Bueller city limits. The remaining Combine forces retreated to what Dropships were available and fled shortly after, though a deadly underground war would carry on on Robinson until the First Fides found and captured Daimyo Ogata some time after the planet had been declared liberated.[4]
In mid-April of 3150, following the First Army Group took several worlds from the Wolf Empire to cut their supply lines and halt their advance into Republic space, the now rested and refit Second Army Group would link up with the First Army group on Shiloh and attack Phecda. After a running battle lasting four days, the Wolves Eleventh Battle Cluster would retreat to Wyatt, with the Twelfth Principes and the Second Fides being left to hold the world. In short order the Wolf civilian castes took it upon themselves to sabotage the RAF forces, losing shipments and sabotaging weapons and repair facilities. By the time the Wolf counterattack, comprised of three frontline clusters, arrived in May the defenders could barely raise a coherent response, but held out for as long as was practical before surrendering the planet.[5]
The remains of the Second Fides and Twelfth Principes retreated back toward the Republic, making landfall on Pollux. They would encounter the Wolves again in October of 3150, during the Wolves third wave against the Republic, facing off against Anastasia Kerensky and elements of Alpha Galaxy. Following a similar playbook as was used against the First Fides on Graham IV, the Wolves used precision attacks against the Republic troops instead of overwhelming force, taking the most skilled as bondsmen and relegating the rest to the lower castes.[6]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 2nd Fides Defenders | |||
| Colonel | Cettina Laurentis | 3149 | |
Tactics[edit]
Game rules for the Fides regiments show the unit as having the Tactical Specialization(Combined Arms) and Tactical Adjustment Special Command Abilities.