2nd Mechanized Infantry Division
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| 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division | |
| Disbanded | 2765 |
| Nickname | Red Steel Guards Division |
| Affiliation | Star League |
| Parent Command | XLIII Corps |
Contents
Overview
The Second Mechanized Infantry Division was a part of the Star League Defense Force Regular Army.
History
Early History
In 2014 the survivors of the Twentieth Guard Army that had fought in the Second Soviet Civil War as part of the Soviet Ground Forces were formed into Second (Provisional) Russian Tank Division by the Terran Alliance Armed Forces. Restructured several times over the years, the unit eventually becoming the Red Steel Guards Division.[1]
The Twentieth Guards Army was originally raised in 1942 during the Second World War; designated as the Fourth Tank Army it fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, in the winter operations in the Ukraine and Prague. In March 1945 it was awarded Guard status as the Fourth Guards Tank Army, but with the war's end it was again reorganized as the Fourth Guards Mechanized Army in 1946. Further reorganization in 1960 saw it become the Twentieth Guards Army and stationed in Germany. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.[2]
Reunification War
Ridgebrook
During the Reunification War the Second Mechanized Infantry Division - then the Second Division - was a part of I Corps and would serve on the Taurian Concordat front as a part of Operation BULL RUN. The Second Division was one of the first units to see combat; the first two worlds to be attacked by the SLDF were Ridgebrook and Keuterville, and the Second Division joined the 1st Royal Division for the attack on Ridgebrook.[3]
The I Corps ground forces were joined elements of the 3rd Battle Fleet and the WarShip escorts assigned to I Corps. The attack began with the Third Battle Fleet taking the lead and engaging a squadron of Taurian WarShips orbiting Ridgebrook in what became a five-hour battle in which the Taurian WarShips attempted to destroy as many SLDF transports as possible while the 3rd Battle Fleet attempted to punch a hole through the Taurian WarShip picket to allow the First and Second Divisions to begin landing. By the time the Taurian picket was broken, four Taurian WarShips and three SLDF WarShips had been destroyed; of more importance to the ground campaign was the loss of ten SLDF DropShips along with more than a regiment of troops they had been transporting.[3]
Both SLDF Divisions were keen to avenge the people lost to the Taurian WarShips and set out to secure the planet quickly, with the 1st Royal Division landing on the 22nd of May and the Second Division landing on the 25th. Ridgebrook was a lightly populated world, with most of the settlements concentrated on the Westridge continent. The capital city, Estacada, was overlooked by the Goldenridge Mountains, and it was in and around these mountains that the bulk of the Taurian defenders had taken up station. The First Royal Division encountered only light resistance up until the Second Division began landing at a site chosen to put them within easy reach of Estacada. As soon as the Second's DropShips began grounding they came under heavy fire; the Taurian's had established missile and gun batteries in the Goldenridge Mountains where they could watch over the capital, and these batteries included some of the heaviest artillery available anywhere in the Concordat.[3]
SLDF losses on the 25th of May amounted to five DropShips and two battalions of 'Mechs and armored vehicles, and the SLDF would take more losses as it laid siege to the Goldenridge Mountains. While the SLDF possessed the only 'Mech forces on the planet, the Taurians had a significant armored force backed up by their artillery and had established several fortresses within the mountains from which they could cover the capital and the primary Ridgebrook transportation hub, with the defenses forming three distinct layers of overlapping defensive lines. Breaking through the defensive positions took the combined 1st and Second Divisions four months, and the Taurian forces were determined to make the SLDF pay for every inch. Most of the defenders fought to the death, and when the SLDF troops cleared out the last Concordat bunkers on the 12th of September fewer than a hundred Taurian soldiers had been captured alive in the mountains.[3]
Periphery Uprising
In 2764 the Second was a part of XLIII Corps within the Seventeenth Army, and was assigned to the Periphery Military Region.[4] The Second was destroyed during the Periphery Uprising in 2765.[4]
Officers
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division | |||
| Major General | Svetlana Kolesnikova | 2764[1] | |
Tactics
The Mechanized Infantry Divisions of the Star League were used offensively to exploit gaps in the enemy front created by the BattleMech Divisions. They also bore the brunt of defensive actions.
Composition History
1980
Twentieth Guard Army[2]
- 25th Tank Division
- 32nd Guards Tank Division
- 35th Guards Motor Rifle Division
- 90th Guards Tank Division
2015
Second (Provisional) Russian Tank Division
2577
Second Division
2764
Second Mechanized Infantry Division[1]
- 3 Brigades (each):
- Armor Regiment
- Infantry Regiment
- BattleMech Regiment
- Supported by an additional Regiment of airmobile infantry and a Regiment of mobile artillery.