214th Division (ComStar)

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While well-regarded for their actions against Clan Jade Falcon during the Battle of Tukayyid, the 214th Division is held back by the actions of its outspoken commander.

History

Prior to the initial Clan Invasion the green-rated 214th Division was known by the nickname of Arrows of ComStar and assigned to the 11th Army. Then a IV-kappa based formation, the 214th's headquarters world was Fatima in the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth.[1]

Along with the rest of the relatively green Eleventh Army, the 214th faced Clan Jade Falcon during the Battle of Tukayyid. Assigned to defend the approaches to Plough Bridge from the advancing 305th Assault and 124th Striker Clusters, the dug-in 214th broke under the massed fire of the 305th's Assault weight OmniMechs. While suffering heavy losses, the Division did succeeded in delaying the Clan's advance long enough for Com Guard sappers to rig demolition charges to collapse the bridge when they tried to cross, sending a Trinary and two Binaries of the 305th to their deaths in the fast-moving Prezno River. [2] [3]

As the bulk of the Eleventh fought to prevent the capture of the target city of Olalla at the hands of Falcon Guards, the withdrawal of Clan Ghost Bear allowed the Fourth Army to assist the 214th and 388th Divisions to launch an assault against Falcon bases at Robyn's Crossing and Plough Bridge. While the Delta and Vau Galaxies held their ground against this counter-attack, a Com Guard air-strike succeeded in destroying the Gamma Galaxy's supply depot at Robyn's Crossing, forcing Clan Jade Falcon to withdraw off planet. [2] [3]

While less than a Level III of the 214th survived the hellish fighting on Tukayyid, the division's resilience and fortitude during the battle meant the Precentor Martial selected to rebuild it around the core of these survivors. Like many Com Guard Divisions, the rebuilt 214th chose a new nickname after that climatic battle, calling itself The Red Arrow Division, being transferred from the 11th Army to the 7th Army to recoup the heavy losses that Army suffered against Clan Nova Cat. Upon this transfer the now IV-eta based 214th made Sirius its headquarters world [4] before the Free Worlds League Military recaptured this world as part of Operation Guerrero in 3057, the 214th then transferring its headquarters to the Lyran Alliance world of Engadine. [5]

While well respected for its actions on Tukayyid, the reputation of the 214th was increasingly clouded by its infamous commander, Richard Pettigrew. Openly critical of the Com Guard high command for the horrific loss of life on Tukayyid, the demoted Pettigrew only retained his post thanks to the steadfast loyalty shown by the rebuilt division to him. While not showing any great inclination towards the Word of Blake, this led ROM to flag the division's loyalties as questionable in the early 3060's. [5] By 3067, only a lack of sufficient JumpShips kept the 214th on station on and around Engadine. [6]

After the beginning of the Jihad the twelve Com Guard Armies were stretched too thin, prompting Precentor Martial Steiner-Davion to disband the 7th-12th Armies, using their divisions to reinforce the 1st-6th Armies. Receiving troops from other divisions such as the 11th Division, the 214th was transferred into the Federated Suns based 2nd Army. [7]

As part of the 2nd Army, the 214th helped to liberate Word of Blake Protectorate worlds on the FedSun front including Hamal [8] [9] and Fletcher in the last months of 3077. [10] After ComStar ROM learned that Precentor Manei Domini Apollyon and his Fifty-second Shadow Division were using the supposedly abandoned Luyten 68-28 as a staging base, Devlin Stone gathered the 2nd and Third Armies to kill the high-priority target in July 3078. [11]

Instead Stone's task force discovered the intel was designed to lure him to Luyten where the 46th, 48th and 54th Shadow Divisions lay in wait at the Station 24 command post specifically to kill Stone. Losing their DropShips and suffering extremely heavy losses to the fanatical Manei Domini troops, the Com Guard forces headed deeper into the Toyama Highlands while the 214th Division pushed out to the scorching wastelands to the west. Staging a brutal forced march south that claimed over half the division back towards the now lightly defended Station 24, the 214th caught the Forty-Sixth Shadow Divison by surprise, capturing several DropShips including a tactical nuclear missile equipped Excalibur-class Pocket WarShip. [11]

Flying toward the besieged Stone, the 214th's CO Precentor Sharron Tang would use the Excalibur in a strike on Forty-Eighth Shadow Division, allowing the surviving Com Guard troops to head for an evacuation point. Despite the best efforts of the remaining Third Army were unable to prevent the Forty-Sixth from breaching their lines, attacking Stone's command lance and inflicting heavy losses. A desperate Tang would launch another tactical nuclear strike against the Forty-Sixth. Unfortunately while blunting the Blakist assault and allowing Stone and the survivors to finally escape, several Com Guards and Tang's DropShip were caught in the blast. [11]

Officers

The CO in 3067 was Demi-Precentor Richard Pettigrew. Originally holding the rank of Precentor, Pettigrew commanded the unit from at least 3049 [1], continuing to hold the post during the Battle of Tukayyid. One of the most infamous members of the Com Guards, Pettigrew was highly critical of the number of lives lost on Tukayyid and was demoted for insubordination, only avoiding a full court martial thanks to his performance at Plough Bridge. A staunch opponent of both the policies of Focht and "Tiny Tyrant" Victor, Pettigrew is large part of why ROM questions the loyalty of the 214th to ComStar. [4] [5] [6]

As of 3078 the 214th Division was under the command of Precentor Sharron Tang, formerly in command of the 11th Division prior to the Jihad. Tang was killed in tactical nuclear missile blast during the Luyten Debacle as she attempted to push the Blakists back to allow other Com Guards to escape off-world. [11]

Composition History

3050

214th Division - Arrows of ComStar IV-kappa [1]

3055-3067

  • Solid Foundation Ill-eta: Demi-Precentor IV Yan Zhang[4][5][6]
  • Lightning Strike lll-epsilon: Demi-Precentor VI Karl Haviland[4][5][6]
  • Guiding Light lll-theta: Demi-Precentor III Bass Deike[4][5][6]
  • River Raiders Ill-iota: Adept X Anthony Lux[4][5][6]
  • Steadfast Survivors Ill-eta: Demi-Precentor VIII Jason Neace[4][5][6]
  • The Breakout lll-zeta: Demi-Precentor IX Bong Ro[4][5][6]

Notes

  • The post-Tukayyid insignia of the 214th is flight of arrows, centered on a large red shaft.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 20-Year Update, pg. 71 "11 V-lambda"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tukayyid, p. 58 "Campaign: Clan Jade Falcon"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jade Falcon Sourcebook, p. 32 "Battle of Tukayyid"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 ComStar, p. 84, "3rd Army V-lambda"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Field Manual: ComStar, pp. 32-33, "7th Army V-iota: The Dark wave"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Field Manual: Updates, p. 86, "7th Army V-itoa (The Dark wave)"
  7. ↑ Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 210
  8. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 38-39 - "Snakes Still Snakes"
  9. ↑ Field Report: DCMS, p. 16
  10. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 39-40 - "Ingress, Fletcher Fall"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Total Chaos, pp. 237-238 "Luyten 68-28"

Bibliography

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