25th Arcturan Guards

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards
Nickname	The Kewran Wolfhounds
Affiliation	Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command	Arcturan Guards

History

Fourth Succession War

The Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards were deployed alongside a sister regiment, the Twenty-fourth, and the Blackhearts mercenary unit for the invasion of Basiliano in the first wave of attacks that marked the beginning of the Fourth Succession War. Basiliano was a small, water poor world made significant purely because of its location on the border between the Draconis Combine and the Lyran Commonwealth. Garrisoning Basiliano at the time were the Night Stalkers, a DCMS regiment that had acquired a degree of notoriety for their raids into the Commonwealth, and the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces were keen to inflict some payback on the Night Stalkers.

Commanding the Night Stalkers was Colonel Lloyd McGavin; despite their superior numbers the Lyran forces were outclassed by the Night Stalkers, although the Lightning Companies of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth allowed the Lyran forces to keep the pressure on the Night Stalkers despite McGavin's efforts to outmaneuver the attackers. After three weeks the Night Stalkers finally ran out of room to maneuver near the city of Padua, after the Lightning Company from the Twenty-fourth managed to distract the Night Stalkers long enough for the Lightning Company from the Twenty-fifth to circle behind them. McGavin made the mistake of getting tied down with the two companies, allowing the heavier elements of the Twenty-fourth and the Blackhearts to encircle his command. With no hope of continuing to hold Basiliano, the Night Stalkers managed to escape, but only through sacrificing a company of heavier 'Mechs during their escape.

The Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards went on to attack Hohenems in the exploitation phase that followed the first wave of attacks during Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG following the order to begin the exploitation phase on 21 October 3028. The two RCTs were then deployed again in the final wave of Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, capturing Unzmarkt.

Clan Invasion

During the Clan Invasion the Twenty-fifth fought Clan Wolf on Sevren in 3051. The Twenty-fifth fought the Wolves Beta Galaxy to a standstill at first, but the Wolves were able to exploit weaknesses in the Guards' line and destroy a battalion headquarters unit. They later fought Clan Jade Falcon on Colmar. They managed to score some initial successes, but were forced to flee, evacuating civilians during the withdrawal. They were stationed on the Jade Falcon border after the Battle of Tukayyid. At this time the Wolfhounds also sponsored several commando teams to work behind the Falcon lines to foment trouble.

Civil War

The Twenty-fifth largely stayed above the FedCom Civil War. Their only participation was to pin the First Donegal Jaegers in place to prevent them from arriving on Tharkad. They also freed political prisoners from Garvinny Prison, including Duke Robert Kelswa-Steiner. They then took up station on Mkuranga.

Two companies of the Twenty-fifth faced the Fourth Falcon Striker Cluster on Mkuranga. The Falcon unit quickly destroyed these two companies then withdrew.

The Jihad

When Clan Jade Falcon struck at the Lyran Alliance in 3069 the Twenty-fifth was destroyed in the fighting, but the LAAF quickly rebuilt the regiment and had it back on the front lines by 3071, despite the chaos and confusion of the Jihad and the disruption to the Alliance's military infrastructure. The Twenty-fifth were soon back in combat, stopping an attack by the Falcon's Delta Galaxy dead in its tracks on Great X. The Twenty-fifth would continue to perform to this high standard throughout the remainder of the Jihad.

The Twenty-fifth served as a part of Operation SCOUR, the allied coalition to liberate the worlds of the Word of Blake Protectorate in 3077 and 3078, and survived in good order - Myra Kellison, a Lyran journalist syndicated by INN reported that the Guards were at full strength in mid-August 3078 as the coalition forces traveled towards Terra. For the invasion of Terra, the Twenty-fifth made up a part of Task Force SCYTHE, the Task Force assigned to destroy the Blakist SDS command centers and eliminate the Word of Blake command and control systems. More specifically, the Twenty-fifth served under the direct command of Commanding General Devlin Stone as part of a mixed brigade alongside Stone's Lament, the Third Free Worlds Legionnaires, the Seventh Pesht Regulars, Ryuken-ni and the Ghost Legion mercenary unit, with Hilton Head as their primary target during the initial attacks. The Twenty-fifth survived the battle for Terra in good order and at substantially higher strength than any of their sister regiments within the Arcturan Guards.

Post-Jihad

As the LAAF rebuilt in the wake of the Jihad, the Twenty-fifth was used as a source of men and matériel from which to rebuild or re-form other units within the Arcturan Guards. Giving up much for the greater good of the Alliance, elements of the Twenty-fifth were reassigned firstly to reinforce other Arcturan Guards regiments, then elements of the supporting forces were removed as the Twenty-fifth was converted into a Light Combat Team in the early 3080s. This was followed by some of the unit personnel being reassigned in 3083 to form both the newly re-formed Twentieth Arcturan Guards and the First Donegal Jaegers. Despite effectively being plundered as a source of manpower and supplies, the Twenty-fifth continued to perform to a high standard; when a large pirate raid possibly originating from the Rim Collection hit the planet Halifax in 3084 or 3085, only half of the Twenty-fifth were available to engage the pirates. Despite this, the Twenty-fifth smashed the pirate assault, breaking the battalion-strength combined arms pirate force and leaving the survivors to run with more than a third of their numbers dead on the battlefield.

In 3127 the Twenty-fifth was assigned to assault Sappir. The world's ruler, Graf Otto Bendler, tried to create his own Archonette. The Twenty-fifth was the response from the Lyran government. They fought well, but the Graf was able to escape.

Dark Age

When Clan Wolf attacked Tharkad in 3143, the Twenty-fifth came to relieve Tharkad alongside their sister regiment, the Twentieth. Both units were so badly damaged that they were disbanded, with most survivors joining the Twenty-sixth Arcturan Guards. One exception was Francine Ross, one of the unit's few surviving officers, who was instead promoted to command of the Seventeenth Arcturan Guards.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards
Leutnant-General	Gilda Felra	3050 – 3062
Leutnant-General	Randolph Geiger	3062 – 3085

Tactics

The command uses the fast elements to catch the opponent and circle around them to set a trap. Another tactic is to use commandos to cut communications and light 'Mechs for rear assaults.

Composition History

2786–2821

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight command was reduced to 70 percent of its strength and was deployed on Moore.

2830

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Moore with an operational readiness of 92 percent.

2864

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Moore with an operational readiness of 71 percent.

3025

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

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

3040

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Sevren.

3050

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Hauptmann General Gilda Felra

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Sevren.

3054

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Hauptmann General Gilda Felra

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Mkuranga.

3062–3067

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)
CO: Marshal Rudolph Geiger
Aide: Colonel Hans Alan Gruber

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards Aerospace Brigade (3 Wings)
CO: Kaptain Theo Gilyard
- Thirtieth Interceptor Wing
- 902nd Arcturan Fighter Wing
- 2433rd Alliance Independent Wing

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards Armor Brigade (5 Regiments/Veteran/Fanatical)
CO: Leutnant General Kristoff Bonn
Aide: Kommandant James von Homburg
- Seventy-seventh Arcturan Panzer Grenadiers Regiment: Colonel Tony Wisniewski
- 297th Arcturan Armor Regiment: Colonel Franco Doyon
- 400th Donegal Cavalry Regiment: Leutnant Colonel Marco Caccialanza
- Forty-fifth Pact Recon Regiment: Colonel Fritz Buhringer
- Twenty-fifth Guards Artillery Battalion: Kommandant Uli Leong

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards Infantry Brigade (5 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)
CO: Leutnant General Eddie Hayden
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Alexander Plewa
- Seventy-forth Chesterton Infantry Regiment: Colonel Heinrich Roberts
- 109th Arcturan 'Mechanized Infantry Regiment: Colonel Mitchell Landers
- 217th Arcturan Force Recon Regiment: Colonel Richard Thornburg
- Tenth Arcturan Rangers Regiment: Colonel Dwayne Thomas Robinson
- 588th Alliance Jump Infantry Regiment: Colonel William Clay

3079

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

Note: Based across Alioth and Menkent, the Twenty-fifth was at 70 percent of full strength and completely equipped with advanced equipment and matériel.

3085

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards LCT (Veteran/Reliable)
CO: Leutnant-General Randolph Geiger

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Aerospace (Veteran/Reliable)
CO: Kommandant Topi Noguerra

Twenty-fifth Artcuran Armor Brigade (Regular/Questionable)
CO: Colonel Gotthold Filippi

Twenty-fifth Arcturan Infantry Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)
CO: Colonel Tim Sokoloff

Notes

Every officer listed with the unit in Field Manual: Lyran Alliance is named after a character from the Die Hard movie series.

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Era Report: 3052
• Field Manual: 3085
• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Field Manual: Lyran Alliance
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Report: LAAF
• First Succession War
• Historical: War of 3039
• House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• Objective Raids
• Second Succession War
• Starter: Fist and Falcon
• Technical Readout: 3145 Lyran Commonwealth
• Wolf Clan Sourcebook