1st Division (Word of Blake)
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The first and most elite Word of Blake Militia unit, the 1st Division was the key to the Word's takeover of Terra. It primarily operated in the Word of Blake Protectorate's Protectorate Theater after the Terran takeover. The unit is noted as the only Word of Blake Division that still "prays" to their machines.[1]
Contents
History
Pre-Jihad
The unit was first deployed during Operation Odysseus, where the unit masqueraded as the 21st Centauri Lancers. The First and Sixth Division landed on the Lancer's homeworld of Nestor. There they quickly took the Lancers' families hostage. Precentor Suzanne Mulvanery then told the Lancers to keep a low profile and not interfere with the Word of Blake's mission or their families would be killed. Then the First Division reorganized itself to mimic the Lancers' organization. In 3058 these so called "Shadow Lancers" then landed at Bowling Green, Kentucky and began a series of wargames and familiarization exercises with ComStar's 201st Division.[2] In February, harsh weather confined many Terran Defense units to their barracks and the First Division struck.[3] Deploying quickly, the Shadow Lancer's armor element attempted to take control of ComStar's headquarters on Hilton Head island. They encountered heavy resistance, however, and settled in for a siege.[4] The rest of the First Division surrounded Salina, the headquarters of the 201st Division. After holding the Blakists off for several hours, the badly-outnumbered ComGuard unit broke free from the Shadow Lancers and escaped into a blizzard. Shadow Lancer AeroSpace Fighters struck ComGuard bases, barracks, armories, and other key targets, killing many ComGuard troops before they could reach their machines. These strikes, coupled with the destruction of ROM headquarters and the actions of Blakist sympathizers, paralyzed the Terran Defense Force.
Shortly thereafter, two lances of Shadow Lancers drove the ComGuards out of their Hilton Head facility, but lost many troops to booby traps left behind by the ComGuards. The remaining First Division units pursued the remains of the 201st Division into the Rocky Mountains. Eventually the First Division coordinated their movements with Blakist reinforcements from Washington State, trapping the 201st Division between the two Blakist forces.[5]
After retaking Terra from ComStar, the unit was stationed at the Salina, Kansas base in North America. During the early 3060s, the Fall of Night III-alpha was temporarily attached to the Free Worlds League's 4th Free Worlds Legionnaires as the unit's fourth battalion.
In the mid-3060s, the unit was spread out, providing protection to the Chaos March worlds of Keid, Ingress, Bryant, Caph, and Epsilon Eridani which had defense agreements with the Word of Blake. The unit became part what became designated Protectorate Theater.
Jihad
- 3069 - Taking advantage of the Hyper Pulse Generator Network's White-Out, the Division struck Tikonov and conquered the world for the Word of Blake. The world was not wholly secured after its conquest however.
- 3070 - A Level III of the Division was dispatched to Caph to train its newly forming Caph Protectorate Militia Division[6] While the majority of the Division is based on Tikonov, it deploys its Level IIIs on roving patrol through the theater as rapid-response unit.
Officers
In 3055 the commanding officer was Precentor Suzanne Mulvanery, who was killed along with former Precentor Martial Trent Arian by an assassins bomb in 3061.
In 3067 the commanding officer was Precentor XV Shin-Ichi Yoshizumi.
Tactics
The unit has been trained in conducting Tactical Surprises, while its on the defense it's able to deploy hidden units before the attacking force can deploy on the field.
Composition
3062
- Long Night III-Alpha (CO: Precentor XV Shin-Ichi Yoshizumi)
- Ring of Fire III-beta (CO: Precentor X Debra Hale)
- Signs and Portents-alpha (CO: Precentor X James Lundergain)
- Quality of Mercy III-delta (CO: Adept (Demi-Precentor XVII) Masayuki Hoshi)
- Hunter and Prey III-epislon (CO: Precentor XII Alexey Kotov)
- Fall of Night III-alpha (CO: Precentor IX Alex Nash)
Notes
Reference
- ↑ Field Manual: ComStar, p. 51 - "True Devotion unit profile".
- ↑ The Fall of Terra (scenariobook), p. 8
- ↑ The Fall of Terra (scenariobook), p. 9
- ↑ The Fall of Terra (scenariobook), p. 9
- ↑ The Fall of Terra (scenariobook), p. 10
- ↑ Jihad Secrets: Blake Documents, p. 103 - "Protectorate Militia Forces" - Designations & Deployments