60th Brigade

Sixtieth Brigade
Formed	2571–2575
Affiliation	Star League
Parent Command	Twentieth Division

The Sixtieth Brigade was a part of the Star League Defense Force Regular Army.

History

The Brigade was originally formed during the creation of the SLDF between 2571 and 2575, and was a part of the Twentieth Division during the Reunification War, where it served in the Magistracy of Canopus campaign from 2577 to 2588.

As a part of the Magistracy of Canopus task force, the Sixtieth was stationed on Tellman's Mistake alongside the other elements of the Twentieth Division when military action against the Magistracy began. The Commanding Officer of VII Corps, Captain-General Marion Marik, would often assign a division or more of troops to the conquest of various worlds by drawing together brigades from across VII Corps. The Sixtieth often operated in conjunction with other brigades from VII Corps as well as fighting alongside units from the Free Worlds League Military assigned to the task force as auxiliary forces.

Butzfleth

The Sixtieth Brigade's assault on Butzfleth in October 2577 was one of the final battles of the year, and the penultimate battle of the first wave of attacks planned by VII Corps. The Sixtieth Brigade deployed alongside the 402nd and 403rd Independent Regiments; facing the Sixtieth was a skeleton force drawn from the Third Battalion of the First Canopian Fusiliers. Despite being heavily outnumbered the Fusiliers contested the invasion, but were easily overwhelmed by the Sixtieth in a campaign that lasted just two days, ending on Halsowen.

Bethonolog & Fanardir

The Sixtieth Brigade was deployed to Bethonolog after the conquest of the world in 2579 by the Fifty-ninth Brigade. The Sixtieth Brigade remained on Bethonolog until deployed to conquer the world of Fanardir in March 2581. The MAF had managed to surprise and outfox the SLDF task force several times in the opening years of the war, and as a result the SLDF timetable slowed as Captain-General Marik built up her forces for the next major invasions. In addition to refitting and rearming VII Corps and the FWLM regiments acting in support, Marik targeted two worlds each year for invasion, consolidating gains as part of a slow encirclement of the Magistracy capital world of Canopus IV. Fanardir was one of these worlds. Augmented by the 403rd Independent Regiment, the Third Orloff Grenadiers and the First Defenders of Andurien, the strike force led by the Sixtieth faced the Second and Third Canopian Fusiliers but didn't manage to bring their superior numbers to bear. In a campaign typical of those fought in 2580–2581, the two Canopian regiments did their best to sting the strike force before retreating ahead of any effective retaliation, saving their strength for later battles.

Adherlwin, Early Dawn & Brixtana

The lightly-industrialized world of Adherlwin was captured in a brief campaign in late April 2583 by the Sixtieth Brigade and the 403rd Independent Regiment as part of a strategic encirclement of the capital world of the Magistracy, Canopus IV. The MAF had no major units on the world to contest the invasion, leaving only the home guard regiments to briefly resist. The campaign for Early Dawn in late 2583 posed more of a challenge; whereas Adherlwin had only the home guard as defense, the garrison forces on Early Dawn had been bolstered by the presence of the experienced mercenary unit Samuelson's Slaughterers, who fought to contest the occupation of the planet by the Sixtieth. The Slaughterers couldn't resist the attention of a complete brigade for long though, particularly as VII Corps had been reenergized by the destruction of the bulk of the Magistracy Navy at Thurrock earlier in the year. The Slaughterers managed to escape off world though, and the Sixtieth Brigade would face them again in early 2584.

As VII Corps prepared for the invasion of Canopus various brigades were tasked with securing additional worlds; in the case of the Sixtieth Brigade, this meant being deployed to conquer the world of Brixtana in early 2584; this meant fighting Samuelson's Slaughterers for the second time in less than six months. In a repeat of the battle for Early Dawn the Slaughterers resisted the invasion, but couldn't stand up against the superior numbers fielded by the Sixtieth and had to retreat for a second time.

Canopus IV

The battle for Canopus IV was the last major campaign for the Sixtieth Brigade during the war with the Magistracy. In battle from the first day of combat, the Sixtieth battered the Canopian Cuirassiers, forcing the commander of the MAF forces on Canopus to fold the remains of the First Canopian Grenadiers into the Cuirassiers to bring them back up to strength. The Sixtieth continued to fight alongside the Fifty-eighth Brigade and the Sixty-second Royal Brigade - as well as a host of independent regiments and FWLM regiments - as the defenders were driven back to the capital city of Delphi. After the defeat and surrender of the Magestrix and the defending Canopian forces on Canopus, the Sixtieth wouldn't fight another significant battle before the end of the war.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the 60th Brigade

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition History

Despite the doctrine and organization originally defined during the creation of the SLDF, most SLDF brigades were a mélange of combined arms units. The breakdown for the SLDF element of the Canopian task force indicates that just under a half of the SLDF regiments were BattleMech regiments, one-third were infantry regiments and the remaining forces were a mix of armor and aerospace regiments.

Notes

The deployment tables in Historical: Reunification War contradict the text given for the conquest of Adherlwin. The text indicates that the Sixtieth conquered Adherlwin in April 2583, but the deployment table indicates that the Sixtieth invaded Adherlwin in 2582. A question has been raised on the Catalyst Game Labs "Ask The Writers" forum seeking clarification of this discrepancy.

Notes

• Special Rules for the Sixtieth Brigade can be found on Historical: Reunification War, p. 181.

Bibliography

• Historical: Reunification War