63rd Royal Brigade (SLDF)

(Redirected from Sixty-third Royal Brigade)
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63rd Royal Brigade
Formed 2571-2575
Affiliation Star League
Parent Command 21st Royal Division


History[edit]

The Sixty-Third Royal Brigade was a part of the Star League Defense Force Regular Army. It was originally formed during the creation of the SLDF in 2571 from units drawn from the Hegemony Armed Forces, which earned it the Royal designation. The 63rd Royal Brigade was a part of the 21st Royal Division during the Reunification War, where it served in the Magistracy of Canopus campaign from 2577 to 2588.[1][2]

Reunification War[edit]

As a part of the Magistracy of Canopus task force, the 63rd Royal was stationed on Watermael alongside the rest of the 21st Royal 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 63rd Royal 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. During the early years of the invasion the 63rd Royal was redeployed to the water-rich world of Umka after the 56th Brigade had conquered the border world in 2577; the first combat action of the war for the 63rd Royal would come in 2584 when the brigade was assigned to the attack on the Magistracy capital world of Canopus IV.[1][2]

Canopus[edit]

Landings began on Canopus IV in early April 2584 and the 63rd Royal Brigade joined the 58th Brigade and the 60th Brigade as the basis of an ad hoc division of SLDF troops that made up the core of the invading force. Expanding this temporary division were three regiments of independent VII Corps regiments - the 35th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment as well as the 402nd and 403rd Independent Regiments - as well as five regiments of FWLM troops from the 1st Marik Auxiliary Corps. The invading troops fought through several weeks of the most intense combat the Canopian campaign would see; the MAF had two ad hoc brigades of line regiments defending Canopus plus the home guard regiments, and the defenders put up a fierce resistance. While the 63rd Royal Brigade didn't see heavy action in the first days unlike some of the other units involved in the attack, they did by the end of the month-long campaign. The 63rd fought alongside the other task force regiments as the Magistracy defenders were pushed back to the capital city of Delphi and finally defeated, although the final day of the battle resembled a meat grinder with forces on both sides taking heavy damage before the MAF lines were broken.[2][3][4]

Cate's Hold[edit]

The battle for Cate's Hold was the second and last major campaign for the 63rd Royal Brigade during the war with the Magistracy, and would likely have been fought considerably earlier had an error on the part of an HCID clerk come to light sooner; Cate's Hold had been built up to be a supply and repair base and was supporting the last surviving MAF Navy vessels, and became a priority target for the SLDF task force in April 2587. The 57th Brigade and the 63rd Royal Brigade formed the bulk of the force tasked with conquering Cate's Hold, with the 403rd Independent Regiment and the 5th Marik Militia providing support. The 2nd Canopian Fusiliers had retreated to Cate's Hold after being forced from Lockton by the 57th, and had been joined by Samuelson's Slaughterers, and both units fought the invading SLDF troops until they were effectively destroyed rather than retreating again.[2][3][5]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 63rd Brigade (SLDF)

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

Despite the doctrine and organization originally defined during the creation of the SLDF, the 63rd Royal Brigade would most likely have been a mélange of combined arms units.[6] 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.[7]

Rules[edit]

Reunification War[edit]

  • VII Corps units may utilize Overrun Combat.[8]
  • VII Corps units gain a +1 bonus to repair rolls.[8]
  • The VII Corps commander may select half of the maps used in any battle, irrespective of scenario rules.[8]
  • VII Corps units adhere to the Ares Conventions.[8]
  • VII Corps units suffer a -2 penalty to Initiative if forced to fight on city maps.[8]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 148: "Magistracy of Canopus Front (Jump-Off-2582)"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 149: "Magistracy of Canopus Front (2583-2588)"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 151: "Magistracy of Canopus Front (2583-2588)"
  4. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 103–105: "Canopus (March-April 2584)"
  5. Historical: Reunification War, p. 105: "Mopping Up (2584-2588)"
  6. Historical: Reunification War, p. 27: "Divisions and Brigades"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 95: "SLDF Task Force Canopus"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Historical: Reunification War, p. 181: "The Star League"

Bibliography[edit]