201st Division (ComStar)

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Suffering grievous losses at the hands of Clan Jade Falcon on Tukayyid, the 201st Divisions was effectively destroyed during the Word of Blake's Operation Odysseus.

History

Formation

Prior to the initial Clan Invasion, the regular rated 201st Division was known by the nickname of Snow on the Mountains and was assigned to the 3rd Army. Then a IV-kappa based formation, the 201st's headquarters world was Robinson in the Federated Suns. [1]

Clan Invasion

Along with the rest of the Third Army, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht assigned the 201st to defend against Clan Jade Falcon during the Battle of Tukayyid. Hidden on the opsite banks of the Prezno River near Plough Bridge and Robyn's Crossing, when Com Guard sappers blew bridges as the Falcons attempted to cross, the 201st and 111th Divisions emerged to push the Clan forces back with long-range weapons fire and artillery strikes.

Weathering ceaseless strafing runs from the Clan's OmniFighters as they attempted to keep the Falcon's ground forces at a distance, the 201st and 111th were unprepared when the jump jet equipped OmniMechs of the Falcon Guards and 2nd Falcon Regulars succeeded in crossing the river and assaulting them from behind. Leaving the bridge heads in the hands of the Jade Falcons, both divisions retreated toward the primary target city of Olalla with the Falcon Guards at their heels, attempting to lure them into a trap set by the 77th Division in the heart of the city.

Unfortunately the Guard's CO Aidan Pryde refused to fall for trap, escaping the trap and shattering 111th and 201st Divisions as they withdrew to await aditional troops to attempt to take the city. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Operation Odysseus

Heavily rebuilding with BattleMechs in the aftermath of Tukayyid, the now veteran rated 201st was transformed into a IV-beta formation, being transferred to serve as the primary Com Guard defenders on Terra. Adopting the new nickname of the The Winged Warriors,[6] the 201st made up the ComStar half of the post-Tukayyid Terran Defense Force alongside the mercenary Brion's Legion.

After the soaring demand for mercenaries in the so-called Chaos March and the Legion's desire to stand on its own two feet resulted in the unit leaving the Order's employ, and the rebuilt 104th Division was transferred to boost the Free Rasalhague Republic based 12th Army, the 201st was left as the sole defenders of Terra, providing the Word of Blakist an opportunity to strike masquerading as the 21st Centauri Lancers who'd been contracted to take over the Legion's position.

Within days of the elements of the Blakist's 1st and 6th Division arrival on Terra in Janurary 3058 masquerading as the Lancers, the 201st's Alpha and Beta III's engaged in joint orientation exercises with the so-called Shadow Lancers, unaware as to their true identities. [7]

With the 201st's Alpha and Beta Level IVs serving as the main security force for North America until the 21st Centauri Lancers were ready for duty, the Shadow Lanchers targeted their base at Salina, Kansas as a priority target once the Blakists launched their assault against Hilton Head. Despite their numerical superiority, the Lancers CO Suzanne Mulvanery opted for a surprise attack, and on 14:00 hours February 28th a pair of Lancer fighters requested emergency landing clearance before dropping a two J91 Fuel-Air Explosive devices on the base, destroying the 201st's command stand and killing or injuring almost half its combat-ready troops. However the unit's junior officers under Adept Edelle Kearny rallied the survivors of the 201st against the Blakists, but badly outnumbered by the Shadow Lancers, the remaining 22 BattleMechs of the 201st withdrew under the cover of a raging blizzard and broke free of the encircling forces. [8] [9]

Even while the bulk of 201st fought for their lives in North America, other elements of the division across Terra fractured in response to the Blakist invasion. In one of the more notable incidents, at 2230 hours a Level II on patrol in the Saharan Desert split almost evenly between Blakist sympathisers and loyalist forces and turned their guns on each other. While the loyalist forces triumphed, the short but bitter skirmish had effectively destroyed the command. [10]

Heading toward the Gunnison Castle Brian in the Rocky Mountains, the remnants of 201st's Alpha and Beta IV's fought a number of rear guard actions at Sharon Springs, Ordway and Pueblo on March 1st as the Shadow Lancers pursued them, [11] until their luck ran out the next day. Harried by the Blakist forces through the Front Range, the 201st's survivors succeeded in reaching the Gunnison Castle Brian only to discover they could not enter, having been under attack and unaware of the Blakist computer lock-down of Com Guard facilities. Trapped in a box canyon, the 201st found themselves caught between the Shadow Lancers and Blakist reinforcements moving down from Washington state. While a number of Com Guard 'Mechs were able to flee, the bulk were destroyed, with the 201st effectively ceasing to exist as a unit, signalling the end of the Com Guards' battle for North America. [12] [13]

Those remnants of the 201st that survived Operation Odysseus launched a guerrilla war against the Blakist occupation of Terra, with the Rigel Kent based 283rd Division serving to resupply them. Even with her court-martial of several Blakist agensts discovered in her unit, after the 283rd's CO Precentor Christine Reardon openly opposed the selection of Victor Steiner-Davion as the new Precentor Martial, resupply of the survivors of the 201st was shifted to the New Earth based 34th Division. [14]

At least some elements of the 201st, most notably Edelle Kearny, would survive until the Devlin Stone led Operation SCOUR reached Terra. [15]

Officers

Composition History

3058

  • Alpha III
  • Beta III

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 20-Year Update, p. 70, "3rd V-iota"
  2. ↑ Tukayyid, pp. 58-59, "Campaign: Clan Jade Falcon"
  3. ↑ ComStar, pp. 70-71 "Battle of Tukayyid"
  4. ↑ Wolf Clan, p. 50 "Days of Armageddon - Jade Falcon"
  5. ↑ Jade Falcon Sourcebook, pp. 30-32 "Battle of Tukayyid"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 ComStar, p. 85, "Terran Defense Force V-Gamma (The Home Guard, Sol star system)"
  7. ↑ The Fall of Terra, p. 8 "Operation Odysseus - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"
  8. ↑ The Fall of Terra, p. 9 "Operation Odysseus - Homecoming"
  9. ↑ The Fall of Terra, pp. 14-15 "Scenario 2: When the Bough Breaks"
  10. ↑ The Fall of Terra, pp. 19-20 "Scenario 4: Out Come the Knives"
  11. ↑ The Fall of Terra, pp. 23-24 "Scenario 6: Nowhere to Run"
  12. ↑ The Fall of Terra, p. 10 "Operation Odysseus - Capricious Fate/The Tide Turns?"
  13. ↑ The Fall of Terra, pp. 50-51 "Scenario 16: End of the Line"
  14. ↑ Field Manual: ComStar, p. 39, "10th Army V-Nu: The Red Legion"
  15. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra

Bibliography

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