7th Bear Guards (Clan Ghost Bear)

Seventh Bear Guards
Disbanded 3052 (destroyed)
Nickname Claws of Glory[1]
Affiliation Clan Ghost Bear
Parent Command Beta Galaxy


Honored for their heroic sacrifice in Holth Forest, the Seventh Bear Guards were destroyed during the Battle of Tukayyid.

History[edit]

Operation Revival[edit]

Originally not taking part in Operation Revival, the Seventh were called forward from the Clan Homeworlds to replace the tragically lost Third Bear Striker Cluster. Arriving to take the Third Striker's place in Beta Galaxy in the midst of the Bear's fourth invasion wave, detachments of Seventh were assigned to mostly-pacified Inner Sphere worlds taken by their Clan to give them some insight to the Spheroid combat style, seeing only limited combat prior to the announcement of the proxy battle for Terra on Tukayyid.[1]

Tukayyid[edit]

The Seventh was included among the Clusters of Beta Galaxy bid into the Battle of Tukayyid, deploying alongside those of Delta Galaxy and initially assigned the secondary target of Luk while the elite Alpha Galaxy proceeded to the primary target of Spanac. At first both Galaxies easily weathered the Com Guard First Army's attempts to halt the Bears' advance to Luk, with the Seventh decimating the 121st Division and clearing the way for their fellow Clusters, but when the Ninety-first Division ambushed and broke Delta Galaxy's Twentieth Polar Bear Attack Cluster, the tide was turned and Beta and Delta Galaxies were forced to withdraw.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

With the Ghost Bear Khans now opting to focus all three Galaxies on the assault on Spanac, the Seventh was selected to guard the redeployment of Beta and Delta, as the Com Guards desperately scrambled to prevent them linking up with Alpha, with the Seventh Bear Guards lured into an ambush by the Twelfth Division in the Holth forest. Setting fire to the forest, the Com Guard forces nullified the Clans' advanced heat sink technology and forced the Seventh towards clear escape routes that led directly to the dug-in forces of the Twelfth. While horrified by the waste of thousands of acres of woodland and the sure death that awaited, Clan honor forced the exhausted Seventh to attack the Com Guard unit and the overheated OmniMechs of the Seventh charged the massed forces of the Twelfth, being destroyed to the last man.[2] [3] [4] [5] [7] [8] [9]

Afterwards, the heroic sacrifice of the Seventh Bear Guards became a legend in Clan Ghost Bear, taught in sibkos. Although the Clan later occupied Tukayyid, the battle site in Holth Forest was left untouched and the numerous BattleMech wrecks were never salvaged. Instead, they were revered like a shrine.[9]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 7th Bear Guards
Star Colonel Gustaf Hall 3052[10]

Other Officers[edit]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown

Composition History[edit]

3052[edit]

In their last battle, the Seventh Bear Guards fielded mostly assault-class 'Mechs such as the Dire Wolf (Daishi), Executioner (Gladiator), Warhawk (Masakari) and Gargoyle (Man O' War), and heavy 'Mechs such as the Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) and Summoner (Thor). No medium or light 'Mechs are mentioned.[9]

Tukayyid[11][edit]

  • Supernova Heavy ’Mech with Elemental support
  • Heavy ’Mech Trinary
  • Heavy ’Mech Trinary
  • Heavy ’Mech Trinary
  • Aerospace Binary

Notes[edit]

  • A detailed account of the unit's destruction in the Holth Forest is given in a flashback scene in Ghost Bear's Lament, part II. This story establishes Star Colonel Gustaf Hall as the commander and names numerous individual warriors and their 'Mechs.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Era Report: 3052, p. 53 "Factions - Clan Ghost Bear - Seventh Bear Guards (Claws of Glory)
  2. 2.0 2.1 ComStar, p. 70-71 "History of ComStar - The Waterly Era - The Clan War - Battle for Tukayyid"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 82 "Clan Ghost Bear - History - Operation Revival - The Roaring Bear"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Invading Clans, p. 29 "Clan Ghost Bear - Wave Five: The Roaring Bear - Tukayyid: World of Fate"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Tukayyid, p. 48 "Campaign: Clan Ghost Bear"
  6. Tukayyid, p. 48 "Campaign: Clan Ghost Bear - Pummeling The Polar Bears [4]"
  7. ComStar, p. 71 "History of ComStar - The Waterly Era - The Clan War - Battle for Tukayyid - Heat of Battle"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Tukayyid, p. 51 "Campaign: Clan Ghost Bear - A Forest Inferno [14]"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Ghost Bear's Lament, part II
  10. Field Manual: Warden Clans
  11. Battle of Tukayyid Supplemental, p. 17 "Strategic Battles: Holth Forest"

Bibliography[edit]