2nd Donegal Guards

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History

Formation

Dating back to the Terran Alliance, the Second Donegal Guards were originally the Eleventh Terran Rangers. Following the collapse of the Alliance, the Eleventh Rangers became mercenaries, contracting with the various worlds in the area that would become the Protectorate of Donegal for protection. When Seth Marsden formed his Protectorate, he offered the Eleventh Rangers, who had been serving as some of the finest mercenaries in the region for almost a century, a place in their nascent military. They accepted, becoming the Second Donegal Guard.[1] Having served the Lyran Commonwealth for almost a millennium, the Guard have fought in every major conflict in Commonwealth history save the Clan invasion.

Like the other early regiments of the Guards the Second were named for a regiment from Terran history that shared the largely Irish heritage of the Protectorate; in the case of the Second, this regiment was the Leinster Regiment.[2]

Star League Era

Like the other regiments of the Donegal Guards the Second enjoyed access to the best equipment found outside of the Royal Guards brigade during the Star League era, and was staffed largely with officers looking to advance through their leadership abilities and grasp of strategic skills, rather than through the political favoritism that often held sway in other formations.[2]

In 2765 the Second was positioned two jumps away from the border between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Rim Worlds Republic, in anticipation of any action involving the Republic. Stationed on Roadside, a world that was both a forward base of operations and an important logistics hub, the Second's position allowed it to react to a range of possible crisis fronts along the Republic border without leaving a gap in the overall defenses of the region. For some time the Second had habitually maintained at least one company of forces in an off-world rotation, working with local forces that required assitance and patrolling the local region.[2]

Third Succession War

In 3011 they mobilized to relieve the survivors of Winfield's Brigade on Sevren.[3]

War of 3039/Clan Invasion

The Second Donegal conducted the first offensive operation of the War of 3039 when they were tasked to take the world of Kessel alongside the Fourth Skye Rangers and Eleventh Lyran Regulars, defeating the Second Sword of Light, as well as the Fifth Sun Zhang Cadre and Twelfth Sun Zhang Cadre. During Operation Bulldog, they made history as the first Lyran regiment ever to be welcomed on to Luthien, and the first to land at all in almost three centuries. Only seeing mop-up action in Bulldog, the Second was nonetheless active in the FedCom Civil War, taking part in the brutal fighting on Giausar[4] before General Caesar Steiner called upon them to end the Skye Revolt on Hesperus II.[1][5][6] Prior to that, they moved from Gienah to Arcadia, where they intercepted the Kristen's Krushers mercenary force. Pursuant to their orders to "eliminate neutral or hostile forces" they engaged the mercenaries and inflicted heavy damage on them, leaving only two companies of mercenaries alive. They stopped their assault when the 6th Marik Militia landed on world and forced the Donegal Guards to withdraw.[7]

The Jihad

Heavily involved in the Skye-Bolan Offensive against the Free Worlds League, having been lead to believe them responsible for the assassination of their commander in 3068, the Second Donegal pulled back in the face of the Marik counter-offensive and focused on keeping the border secure. Having absorbed the remnants of the Third Donegal Guards following the liberation of Donegal, the Second made it through the Jihad cohesive enough to stage attacks in to the Blakist Hegemony.[8] At the end of the Jihad they found themselves rotated to the Clan front, garrisoning A Place.[8] One of the central pieces of the defense against Clan Jade Falcon, they found themselves faced with troops looking to keep an edge against worthy opponents, and found themselves fighting trials of possession over alcohol and contraband while rebuilding.

In 3099 the Second Donegal Guards defended Grauss from a raid by the Third Jade Falcon Talon Cluster. The Falcons bid away all their air support, and the Second Donegal's aerospace fighters inflicted massive damage on the Falcons. The Falcons were driven off, suffering heavy losses.[9]

The Second Donegal Guards refused to support Duke Vedet Brewster and instead focused on raiding Clan Jade Falcon forces as they came across the Commonwealth's borders. They also refused to respond to the LCAF High Command when Brewster was in charge. Despite being branded a "rogue unit" they defended the Commonwealth with distinction. After Trillian Steiner became Archon, the Second was redeployed to Crevidia.[10]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 2nd Donegal Guards
Colonel Caesar Steiner 3025 - post-War of 3039
Leutnant-General Delmar Voss pre-3049- 3067
General Caesar Steiner 3067
Leutnant-General Violet Gates 3085[1][5]
Leutnant-General Herman Henriot 3145[11]

Tactics

The Second Donegal Guard possessed a reputation for unorthodox, yet effective, tactics. They preferred high-speed combat over the usual Lyran "mountain of metal" tactics, as well as the heavy use of aerospace assets.[1]

Composition History

2765

  • 2nd Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[2]
- At this point the Second was stationed on Roadside.[2]

2786 - 2821

2nd Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical) [12]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Roadside. In 2821 the command was reduced to 41 percent of its strength and was deployed on Barcelona. [12]

2830

2nd Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical) [13]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Barcelona with an operational readiness of 109 percent. [13]

2864

2nd Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical) [13]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Csesztreg with an operational readiness of 34 percent. [13]

3025

2nd Donegal Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[14]

  • CO: Colonel Caesar Steiner
Note: At this point in time the Second was stationed on Pollux.

3040

2nd Donegal Guards RCT(Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[15]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Hyde. [15]

3050

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [16]

  • CO: Marshal Hiram Trainer [16]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Hyde. [16]

3054

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [17]

  • CO: Hauptmann General Delmar Voss [17]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Gienah. [17]

3062

2nd Donegal Guards (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
CO: Leutnant General Delmar Voss
Aide: Colonel Ellwood Goulding

2nd Donegal Guards Aerospace Brigade (2 Wing)[1]
CO: Kaptain: Grayson Pakes
- 4th Donegal Wing
- 112th Donegal Wing

2nd Donegal Guards Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
CO: Colonel Lionel McGruder
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Evelyn Basil
- 19th Donegal Light Tank: Colonel Narayan Iyer
- 13th Donegal Armored Cavalry Regiment: Colonel Denise McGreggor
- 4th Arcadia Panzer Regiment: Colonel Leonard Ward

2nd Donegal Guards Infantry Brigade (5 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[1]
CO: Colonel Nick Lucas
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Pitr Sarpong
- 9th Donegal Heavy Infantry Regiment: Colonel Patrick Tregana
- 21st Donegal Infantry Regiment: Colonel Grimnan Sloane
- 26th Light Infantry Regiment: Colonel Leslie Conway
- 92nd Mounted Rifles: Colonel Ashim Roy
- 109th Jump Infantry Regiment: Colonel May Zoega

3067

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (Elite/Reliable)[18]
CO: General Caesar Steiner

2nd Donegal Aerospace (Veteran/Reliable)[18]
CO: Kaptain Grayson Pakes

2nd Donegal Armor Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)[18]
CO: Colonel Lionel McGruder

2nd Donegal Infantry Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[18]
CO: Colonel Nick Lucas

3079

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (1 Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)
CO: Leutnant General Viktor Bedolodia

3085

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (1 Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)
CO: Leutnant General Violet Gates

2nd Donegal Aerospace (Green/Reliable)
CO: Kaptain Pramoda Tiraboschi

2nd Donegal Armor Brigade (Regular/Reliable)
CO: Colonel Elio Schuttman

2nd Donegal Infantry Brigade(Green/Fanatical)
CO: Colonel Dariusz Nicolescu

3145

2nd Donegal Guards RCT (Regular/Reliable)[11]
CO: Leutnant General Herman Henriot

2nd Donegal Aerospace (Regular/Reliable)[11]
CO: Kommandant Sergio Owen

2nd Donegal Armor Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)[11]
CO: Colonel Jimmie Collier

2nd Donegal Infantry Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[11]
CO: Colonel Maria Wood

Notes

  • The Second carried the unofficial nickname "Caesar’s Legion" while under the command of Caesar Steiner.
  • Often, members of the Steiner family not closely in line for the Archonship serve in this unit. The unit's logo, a Steiner fist holding a golden crown, represents this.
  • The The Leinster Regiment was a British Army unit formally raised in 1881 with the merger of the 100th (Prince of Wales' Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry). Strongly associated with Canada, the Leinster Regiment was headquartered in Leinster in Ireland, and was one of six regiments raised in Ireland to be disbanded in 1922 following the creation of the Irish Free State.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 63, "2nd Donegal Guards Unit Profile"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Field Report: Lyran Commonwealth 2765, p. 10-11, "Donegal Guards"
  3. Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, p. 10
  4. FedCom Civil War (sourcebook), pp. 89, 101, 102, 130
  5. 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 169, "Donegal Guards bio"
  6. FedCom Civil War (sourcebook), p. 178
  7. FedCom Civil War (sourcebook), pp. 38-39
  8. 8.0 8.1 Field Report: LAAF, p. 11
  9. Technical Readout: 3145 Lyran Commonwealth, p. 48
  10. Field Manual: 3145, p. 127
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Field Manual: 3145, p. 133, "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces - Donegal Province"
  12. 12.0 12.1 ’’ First Succession War’’, p. 139
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 ’’ Second Succession War’’, p. 99
  14. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 119, "Deployment Table"
  15. 15.0 15.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 137
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 20 Year Update, p. 27
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Objective Raids, p. 19
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Field Manual: Updates, p. 177, "Lyran Alliance Armed Forces"

Bibliography