4th Davion Guards

Fourth Davion Guards
Nickname	Dragon's Bane
Affiliation	Federated Suns
Parent Command	Davion Brigade of Guards

Primarily stationed on the Draconis Combine's border, the Fourth Davion Guards are configured to be a fast-moving unit. The unit primarily consists of light BattleMechs, with four regiments of armor units of fast tanks and hovercraft. Both First Prince Carl Davion and First Prince Ian Davion were killed fighting alongside the Fourth Guards.

History

The homeworld of the Fourth Davion Guards was Fort Loudon.

Star League Era

The Fourth Davion Guards were almost destroyed during the War of Davion Succession. In 2726 the Fourth Davion Guards were stationed on Breed. There they fought against the Fourth Sword of Light, but heavy losses resulted in their near destruction. Breed's civilian leaders surrendered to the Draconis Combine.

After Operation SMOTHER separated the combatants, the Fourth Guards were subjected to nearly constant border skirmishes that reduced their combat effectiveness and morale. In 2740, Colonel Mitchel Stopec took command of the Fourth Guards, and he made rebuilding the regiment's morale and replacing its aging equipment his top priorities. By the time First Prince John Davion inspected the Fourth in 2748, the regiment was one of the most skilled and finely honed in the AFFS. Its MechWarriors were so well-disciplined that during the '48 inspection, one of the regiment's MechWarriors performed a hand-stand with his Phoenix Hawk to demonstrate that the Fourth contained not only some of the best MechWarriors in the Federated Suns, but could also be on the same level as the most elite SLDF units.

Soon after in 2748, Colonel Stopec challenged the 2736 winners of the Martial Olympiad, the 320th Dragoon Regiment, to a challenge on Venus in order to demonstrate the skill of the Fourth. The Fourth Davion Guards would go on to defeat the SLDF regiment despite the serious wounding of Colonel Stopec. This event would also convince First Prince John Davion to appoint Colonel Stopec as the Prince's Champion.

First Succession War

During the First Succession War the Fourth Davion Guards fought in the five-way battle for Tyrfing. Landing in late August 2788, the Fourth and the Fifth Dragonlords regiments began searching for SLDF weapons caches. By late February 2789 the two units had left the world, after suffering losses to rampant nuclear and chemical weapons use. The Fourth had lost most of its supporting infantry and armor units to radiation sickness and chemical poisoning. Before their withdrawal, the Fourth Guards successfully captured SLDF Storage Site TV-9, which contained six companies of BattleMechs, three companies of combat vehicles, and vast amounts of ammunition and parts.

Third Succession War

The Fourth Davion Guards, led by First Prince Ian Davion, arrived on Mallory's World in 3013 to relieve the defending Seventeenth Avalon Hussars. They immediately attacked the Second Sword of Light regiment and broke their siege. The DCMS regiments withdrew in good order, but the Fourth pursued them. A bungled drop by the Seventeenth Avalon Hussars left the Guard's flank exposed, however, and the Guards were forced to take up a defensive position. After fighting off the Second Sword of Light on the Bastard Flats, the Guards moved to the relative safety of Desolate Pass. The First Prince defended the retreating Guards, destroying four assault 'Mechs, but was killed by Yorinaga Kurita. The Guards recovered the Prince's body. To avenge the Prince's death, the Fourth Guard and Kell Hounds pinned the Second Legion of Vega in place while the Seventeenth dropped on the Combine unit's positions. The Legion of Vega was wiped out.

In 3016 the rebuilt Second Legion of Vega attacked Mallory's World once again. The Fourth Davion Guards, though surrounded and having fewer 'Mechs available, was able to rout the DCMS unit.

During the sixth campaign for Bergman's Planet, the Black Widow Company and Rajhan's Company, Fourth Davion Guards fought.

The unit was stationed on world of Deshler as of 3025 in the Raman PDZ. The unit's commanding officer was lead commander of all forces in the PDZ. Deshler was attacked by Wolf's Dragoons Beta and Gamma Regiments to prevent the Fourth Davion Guards from reinforcing Galtor III. The Fourth heavily damaged two of the Dragoons DropShips and forced Beta to break off their main attack. The Fourth then led a series of ambushes against Beta Regiment, inflicting heavy casualties. These ambushes provided enough time for the employees of a nearby 'Mech plant to strip everything of use from their factory. The Fourth Davion Guards then joined the militia unit facing Gamma Regiment.

Fourth Succession War

Aldebaran

The unit fought in the first wave against the elite Warrior House Ijori on Aldebaran. Nearly all the RCT (the Fourth Davion Guards, the First Bellevue Armored Regiment and two battalions of Seventeenth Kestrel Mechanized Infantry) drove the First Battalion off-world. The supporting Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry and the Redfield Renegades together made short work with the Second Battalion of the elite CCAF unit.

Elements of the Aldebaran Planetary Militia, engaged elements of the Seventeenth Kestrel Mechanized Infantry in September 3029 while the Federated Suns infantry attacked the city of Chouchu on Aldebaran.

The Fourth Guard would remain on Aldebaran until December, when they redeployed to Basalt. On Basalt, the Fourth Davion Guards guarded a series of empty warehouses. The Maskirovka thought these warehouses were full of supplies for upcoming invasion waves. The Strategios assigned elements of Kerr's Intruders, McCrimmon's Light Cavalry, and MacGregor's Armored Scouts to attack the world. The Capellan forces fought their way to the warehouses, losing half their forces in the process. After Colonel Rasos, commander of the Fourth Guards 'Mech regiment, showed the Capellan forces that the warehouses were empty they surrendered to the Guards.

War of 3039

In the War of 3039 they were first assigned to attack Cylene, and expected to face the Ninth Dieron Regulars. However the Regulars had been redeployed to meet other threats, and the Fourth was able to take control of the world after fighting militia forces for two months. After this they reinforced the AFFS troops on Exeter. This was noteworthy because the Ryuken-go was on the world with Kanrei Theodore Kurita. Though they pushed the DCMS forces off world, the Fourth was unable to capture the Kanrei. Kurita was forced, however, to leave behind a rare collection of twenty-fifth century natural jazz in his haste to withdraw, much to the Kanrei's chagrin.

Clan Invasion Era

In 3050, the Fourth was stationed on the world of David in the Raman PDZ. Its soldiers were considered elite and highly fanatical.

The unit was stationed on Fort Loudon as of 3057, when Katherine Steiner-Davion assumed the throne of the newly formed Lyran Alliance. The unit commander Marshal Orsina denounced the usurpation of the throne from Victor, but the unit remained loyal to the Lyran people, and held in place to protect them from the Clans. Its neighboring unit, the Fifth Alliance Guards, were fanatically devoted to the new Archon, and supported her ascension to the throne. The LAAF began redirecting supplies away from the Davion unit in order to weaken it. However, the Fourth Guard's Marshal Orsina began raids against Clan-held worlds for supplies or taking the unit to different worlds to get supplies through friendlier sources. In the early 3060s, the world's people's loyalties began to divide, with the two unit commanders on planet mutually agreeing to keep each unit based separately from one another, including the Lyran mercenary support unit, Knights of St. Cameron.

FedCom Civil War

Fort Loudon

In December 3062, after the assassination of Arthur Steiner-Davion, Marshal Orsina called publicly for the resignation of the Archon-Princess. However, this call for the resignation of the Archon was a sign that forced the Fifth Alliance Guards' Lt. General James Ito into action. First integrating the Knights into his unit, he then activated Ft. Loudan's planetary militia forces and called marshal law on the planet.

He then ordered the Fourth Davion Guards to move to an arctic base 1,500 km from their current location near the city of Yulio on the 2nd of December. By the 7th, the Fourth Guards had not moved, and Ito was demanding that their Marshal Orsina resign. Refusing to stand down, the Marshal ordered her units to conduct a preemptive attack against the Alliance Guards and its planetary militia reinforcements.

The Fourth Guards hit Alliance's command and communication systems, to surprise Lt. General Ito. The elite Davion Guards were fortified by a brigade of mechanized battle armor units led by Major General Robert Davion-Zibler. After the initial assault, Alliance Guards held their own against the Fourths forces. For two weeks, the unit clashed, but made no headway. By this time Marshal Orsina detached General Zibler-Davion's battle armor forces to act independently. While the Marshal had her forces patrol their bases at Yulio and Carentan, the battle armor conducted raids against Fifth Alliance Guard bases, including Fort Loudan Prime, planetary capital and site of the Fifth's main base.

On the 12th, General Ito ordered his mercenary forces into action, forming a two-flanked front that was directed to attack the Fourth Davion's small base at the city of Carentan. He then had dispatched militia forces hold the Carentan forces from withdrawing to their base in Yulio. General Zibler-Davion's battle armor disrupted command and communications for militia forces, trying to allow for some Guard forces to slip in to aid besieged forces.

By 2nd of January 3063, the situation shifted. Lt. General Ito ordered his aerospace fighter squadrons to push back the Fourth Davion's heavy aerospace cover and hit the base at Carentan. A single squadron penetrated aerospace cover and successfully bombed the Fourth's Carentan base. With the successful bombing, Ito dispatched two battalions of Alliance/Knight of St. Cameron 'Mech forces into the base in a daring assault. This action successfully captured and neutralized the base and its two regiments of Fourth Davion troops. After two further weeks of fighting, Marshal decided that despite many civilians braving arrest to protest the Archon, she did not have enough support to take the planet. By February, she quietly had her forces regroup at Yulio in the guise of reinforcing their positions. The Fourth Davion Guards then departed the planet, only leaving behind special forces to keep occupation forces occupied.

After a couple of months of attempting to disrupt force, these special forces formed resistance cells which they used to disrupt Alliance's supply bases. Their largest operation was an attempt to capture General Ito. However, this ended in disaster, as half of the special forces were captured and the whereabouts of many of the surviving troops' locations were revealed. The remaining Special Forces that survived head-hunting scaled back their operations.

Rasalgethi

In late February, the Fourth Davion Guards RCT had arrived at Rasalgethi and rendered assistance to the Seventeenth Donegal Guards, who were fighting the Sixth Lyran Guards. The Sixth were held up in an underground complex at Ronne Air Base. With two RCTs poised to come down on them, many officers of the Sixth began to suggest surrender. The Sixth's Commander, Seth Alpert, would not hear of it as his unit endured air strikes and artillery fire in their positions. Alpert had his friends, who were former DMI operatives, murder those who rebelled on March 22nd.

Two days later, Brown and his senior staff were arrested by his officers after the entirety of command revolted. The Sixth's new commanding officer, Colonel Theodore Hess, signaled the Fourth Davion Guards and its allies with the Seventeenth that they were surrendering to them.

Yed Posterior

The Fourth Guards had been proceeding through Skye Province on their way to the Federated Suns, where they stopped on Yed Posterior.

On January 1st, 3064, the Fifth Lyran Regulars based out of Freedom assaulted the Fourth Davion Guards while they were on Yed Posterior. The Regular's commander, Colonel Jeanine Castro, believed the Guards were threat, her unit would be able hand a ragtag unit. The assault on New Year's Day was disaster of failure of Lyran intelligence. The Fourth Davion was near pre–Civil War strength and turn on Regulars as soon hit ground. The Fourth Davion's Doppelganger Company of Clan OmniMechs drove into Regular position causing major damage to the unit.

The Fifth Lyran had barely had battalion of ground forces left as withdrew from the planet. The Regular's Fourteenth Freedom Reserve Fighter Wing wiped out by the Davion Guard's two combat-hardened aerospace wings. Marshal allowed shattered remains of the Fifth to withdraw, upset that they broke their neutrality to attack them. From Yed Posterior, Marshal Orsina sent message to Prince Victor Steiner-Davion that they were offering to join his the allied force.

Dalkeith

On May 5th, the Fourth Davion Guards arrived to assist the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry on Dalkeith. The Cavalry, heavy with aerospace assets, but light on other forces were steadily losing a campaign against the Thirteenth Donegal Guards and the newly arrived Third Royal Guards RCT. The Fourth conducted an assault on the Thirteenth's position in a repair depot that was lost to the Cavalry in early fighting.

On the 2nd of December, 3064, the stalemate changed as the Fourth's old enemies, the Fifth Alliance Guards hard arrived after hearing of their presence on the planet. Tipping the odds towards Loyalists, Guards and its allies of the Cavalry had begun trying to resist loyalist drive into their control area. The Guards and Cavalry were forced back through mountain ranges suffering heavy bombardment and attacks by loyalist forces. On the 6th March, Lt. General Ito led his Loyalist forces into Allied front, causing heavy damage forcing them into the badlands.

However, probes forces of two battalions' worth of troops were destroyed by the highly mobile forces of the Guards and Cavalry. By April, pro tem Allied commander Marshal Orsina was force to order her forces withdraw from continent and utilized numerous commercial seagoing vessels to retreat to the landmass named Rockmeir. General Ito, now convinced that allies had traverse the straits to Rockmeir, dug in and begun to waiting DropShips to arrive so they could pursue the treating allies.

In early August 3065, the Guards and Cavalry had fortified and reinforced the shattered ruins of the capital of Newhaven. When the pursuing loyalist forces made crossing to Rockmeir, they found themselves being led into a series of traps. The Guards and Cavalry used companies of various units to bait loyalist into positions. Then utilized FASCAM Artillery, devastating the Third Royal Guards to third of their strength before they escaped.

In April 3066, fighting had been come to a stalemate between the Fourth Davion Guards forces and Fifth Alliance. This unfortunately changed for the Allies, as Twenty-sixth Lyran Guards arrived from Port Moseby on the 17th. Where they dropped on top of Davion Guard's allied unit position and devastated them. The Cavalry like wised caused heavy damage to the Twenty-sixth Guards, they themselves were reduced to a combined arms battalion. The survivors slipped back to the Guards' position, leaving the Fourth Davion in worsening situation. Loyalist forces begun surround the Newhaven, in form of three battle fronts.

Final assault begun in September 27th, where seeing no avenue survive unless they escape. The Fourth Davion Guards burst through weaken Third Royal Guard's front and devastated loyalist unit. The Fourth moved as quickly through path they had made, but failed fully escape. The Fifth Alliance and Twenty-sixth Lyran Guards jump on the beleaguer unit and destroyed them. With survivors that were only able to do token hit and run attacks in later months.

The unit was destroyed on Dalkeith during the FedCom Civil War and remained inactive as of 3067. Survivors were absorbed into the Third Davion Guards.

Dark Age

In 3139 the Fourth Guards were one of the first units to respond to the incursion by the DCMS into Federated Suns space. They joined the Second Robinson Rangers on Glenmora to oppose Wolf's Dragoons. The Fourth Guards spent the period between 3140 and 3143 fighting in the Draconis Reach. After three years of near constant attacks, they withdrew to Pattonsbrug to rebuild. The Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery assaulted the Draconis March in 3143, and the Fourth was able to avoid destruction on Palmyra only to be stranded on Pattonsbrug as Caleb Davion had stripped the unit of its JumpShips.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the Fourth Davion Guards
Colonel	Mitchel Stopec	2740 - 2748
Colonel	Elijah Wallace Mitrovich	2748 - 2788
First Prince	Carl Davion	2873 - 2876
Major General	Charlemagne Duncan	3013
Marshal	Eugene Drivers	3013 - 3025
Marshal	Alberta Orsina	3050 - 3062
General	Baxter Taft	3140 - 3150
Major General	Siobhan Sortek	3150

Tactics

The unit uses fast and lightning quick maneuvers to take down enemy forces. In the First Succession War the Fourth would outmaneuver their opponents and push them into the guns of their comrades.

Composition History

2765

Fourth Davion Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

Note: The Fourth Guards were stationed on Galtor III at this point in time.

2786–2821

Fourth Davion Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

Note: At this point in time the Guards were a light-weight regiment stationed on Galtor III and were operating at full strength. In 2821 the unit was stationed on Royal and had been reduced to just over half-strength.

2830

Fourth Davion Guards (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

Note: At this point in time the Guards were a light-weight regiment and had rebuilt to roughly ninety percent of full strength. The Guards were stationed on Royal.

2864

Fourth Davion Guards (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

Note: At this point in time the Guards were a light-weight regiment stationed on Cammal, and had been reduced to less than half a battalion in strength.

3025

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

CO: Marshal Eugene Drivers

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Deshler. The 'Mech regiment contains light and fast designs.

3028

Fourth Davion Guards RCT

Fourth Davion Guards Armor Brigade

• First Bellevue Armored Regiment

Fourth Davion Guards Infantry Brigade

• Seventeenth Kestrel Mechanized Infantry

3040

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Deshler.

3050

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

• CO: Marshal Alberta Orsina

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on David.

3054

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

• CO: Marshal Alberta Orsina

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Pandora.

3062

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (1 Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

CO: Marshal Alberta Orsina

Aide: Leftenant Colonel Korath Adams

Note: Equipped with Nineteen OmniMechs, structured like a Clan Trinary

Fourth Davion Guards Aerospace Brigade (2 Wings)

CO Rear Admiral Pallas Czaban

• Eighty-third F-C Fighter Wing
• Eighty-fourth F-C Fighter Wing

Fourth Davion Guards Armor Brigade (4 Regiments/Elite/Reliable)

CO: Leftenant General Hohiro Ma

Aide: Hauptmann-Kommandant Billy Lutz

• Seventh Zebebelgenubi Light Armor Regiment: Leftenant Colonel Francis Daebel
• Nineteenth Bolan Armored Regiment: Colonel Hetty Rutt-Steiner
• Fifteenth Chesterton Armored Regiment: Colonel Z. Alan Maloney
• Thirtieth Federation Light Armor: Colonel Dewey Simms
• Fourth Guards Artillery Battalion: Major Jeb Richelieu

Note: The Fifteenth and Thirtieth field hovercraft units

Fourth Davion Guards Infantry Brigade (5 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)

CO: Leftenant General Estes Malevannyy

Aide: Colonel Hak-Joong Kim

• 478th New Avalon Rifles: Colonel Kyle Elms
• Eighteenth Manassas Mechanized Infantry: Colonel Pam Kunin
• 177th F-C Mechanized Infantry: Colonel Alexander J. Beyer V
• 178th F-C Mechanized Infantry: Leutnant-Colonel Eugenia Bello
• Third Saginaw Jump Infantry - Leftenant-Colonel Zachary Rybacki

Note: the 177th and 178th each include a battalion of Cavalier battle armor.

3145

Fourth Davion Guards RCT (Veteran/Fanatical)

CO: General Baxter Taft

Fourth Davion Guards Aerospace Brigade (Elite/Fanatical)

CO: Vice Admiral William Tate

Fourth Davion Guards Armor Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)

CO: Major General Candace Warren

Fourth Davion Guards Infantry Brigade (Veteran/Fanatical)

CO: Major General Marguerite Walton

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• BattleTroops rulebook
• Black Dragon (novel)
• Era Report: 2750
• Era Report: 3145
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: Federated Suns
• Field Manual: Updates
• First Succession War
• The Fourth Succession War Scenarios Volume One
• Heir to the Dragon
• Historical: War of 3039
• Historical Turning Points: Mallory's World
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• Redemption Rift
• Salvage
• Second Succession War
• Turning Points: Tyrfing
• Wolf's Dragoons