37th Royal Brigade
Sarna News
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| Thirty-seventh Royal Brigade | |
| Formed | By 2575[See Notes] |
| Affiliation | Star League |
| Parent Command | Thirteenth Royal Division |
The Thirty-seventh Royal Brigade was a part of the Star League Defense Force Regular Army.
History[edit]
Formed as a part of the Thirteenth Royal Division during the creation of the SLDF, the Thirty-seventh Royal Brigade was a part of V Corps during Operation UNION HOLD, the five-year campaign to conquer the Outworlds Alliance. The Thirty-seventh Royal Brigade served as a part of the Outworlds Alliance Task Force from the start of the operation in 2581 until peace was declared with the Treaty of Cerberus in 2585.[1]
The Thirty-seventh was stationed on Pondicherry when the invasion of the Alliance began and was deployed forward to pacify the population of Bad News in 2581.[2] The Thirty-seventh was then tasked with the invasion of Haynesville in 2582, and landed on 7 February 2582. Initially, the Thirty-seventh appeared to make quick progress towards securing Haynesville, but these efforts stumbled over the 14th and 15th of February as local militia forces staged a series of attacks. Haynesville was one of a number of worlds pledged to become protectorates of the Federated Suns under the terms of the secret Tancredi Accord, and the local militia had been extensively trained in secret for four months prior to the arrival of the Thirty-seventh by Captain Joshua March, a trained AFFS officer.[3]
After these initial attacks by the militia, the Thirty-seventh halted combat operations for a week while infantry units were deployed forward alongside the 'Mech and armor forces, a week that the militia used to score a number of victories against the Thirty-seventh, including the defeat of a complete mixed company of 'Mechs and armor at the Braszos water plant, as well as twice deflecting attempts by the Thirty-seventh to follow the standing order issued by the SLDF Task Force commanding officer, General Amos Forlough, to punish resistance to SLDF forces by leveling civilian towns and cities.[3]
In early March, the Haynesville militia received reinforcements in the form of a detachment from the Pitcairn Legion, who immediately began working with the militia forces to generate the impression that the Thirty-seventh were up against substantial forces. By staging multiple attacks and disguising damage to Legion 'Mechs by cosmetic means, the Alliance forces successfully deceived Lieutenant General Thomas Sexton, the Thirty-seventh's commanding officer, into believing that he was facing a force with superior numbers. By the 27th of March, the Thirty-seventh was running low on supplies and had received no word of reinforcements, leading Sexton to formally surrender to the Pitcairn Legion on the 29th of March.[3]
Under guard, the officers and men of the Thirty-seventh built internment facilities for themselves, and were discovered there by reinforcements from the Thirty-ninth Royal Brigade, who landed on Haynesville in early April. General Forlough arrived on Haynesville soon after receiving reports on what had happened, and began an extremely harsh campaign of punishment against both the civilian population and the officers of the Thirty-seventh. Sexton was punished the most severely of all; he was convicted of cowardice under fire, and hanged on 29 March 2583.[3] Every officer in the Thirty-seventh of the rank of captain or above was demoted and imprisoned under convictions for cowardice and dereliction of duty; the commanding officer of the Thirteenth Royal Division was dismissed, along with the assistant commanding officer and operations officer, as well as Major General Laszlo Hooker, the commander of V Corps, and his second in command.[3]
Following their defeat on Haynesville the Thirty-seventh was moved back to Bryceland, where the brigade spent the remainder of the war trying to rebuild.[1] After the war, the Thirty-seventh Brigade and the bulk of V Corps formed the major part of the Outworlds Alliance Army of Occupation, establishing bases alongside the new Star League administration offices on each of the Outworlds Alliance worlds.[4]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 37th Royal Brigade | |||
| Lieutenant General | Thomas Sexton | 2582[3] | |
Tactics[edit]
Unknown.
Composition History[edit]
Unknown.
Notes[edit]
- Special Rules for the Thirty-seventh Royal Brigade can be found on Historical: Reunification War, p. 181.
- ^ The Star League and Historical: Reunification War state that in 2575, the SLDF had ten full corps with each divided into three divisions and nine brigades in a set organizational structure.[5][6] The Thirty-seventh was listed as being a brigade in one of those corps.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ a b c Historical: Reunification War, p. 140: "Outworlds Alliance Front"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, pp. 110–111: "Fait Accompli(shed)"
- ↑ a b c d e f Historical: Reunification War, p. 120: "Haynesville"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, pp. 157–160: "The Terms of Outworlds Freedom"
- ↑ The Star League, p. 47: "Battle Plans"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 27: "Image and Reality"