VII Corps (Star League)

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Unit Description

The VII Corps (or Seventh Corps) was one of the first corps organized at the foundation of the Star League Defense Force. Prior to the collapse of the Star League it consisted of 6 divisions and 7 independent regiments.[1]

History

Formation

VII Corps was formed during the years between the founding of the Star League in 2570 and the onset of the Reunification War in 2577, and the first administrative centre for VII Corps after its founding was based on the world of Procyon. Unlike other corps such as II Corps and V Corps, VII Corps included a number of independent regiments alongside the three founding divisions within its order of battle and mustered a total of ninety assorted regiments when the Reunification War began: Thirty-one BattleMech regiments, seventeen armor regiments, thirty infantry regiments and twelve AeroSpace regiments.[2][3]

Reunification War

During the Reunification War VII Corps formed the core of the SLDF forces. The unit was largely hindered by lack of transport; It didn't launch any assaults until enough JumpShips could be leased, borrowed, or rented.[4] Operations began in 2577 and quickly took six systems.[5] After recovering from Magistracy Armed Forces attacks on their staging bases in the Free Worlds League, the next wave of assaults (running from 2578 through 2581) hit ten more systems.[6] In 2582 and 2583 the Seventh Corps garrisoned many of the conquered worlds, and also engaged in spoiling raids against Magistracy targets. This spread them thin and made them excellent targets for Magistracy raids. By 2583 however, the MAF had been locked down by the SLDF, and in 2584 the Seventh Corps landed on Canopus. After fighting for three months, the Magistracy surrendered.[7]

Amaris Civil War

In 2764 the Seventh Corps was part of the 8th Army, assigned to the First District of the Free Worlds League Military Region. The unit was one of the most active SLDF commands in the Eighth Army and as such was frequently under-strength. This was due to the large number of pirate activities in their area of responsibility. To counteract the pirate activity, the SLDF High Command attached multiple independent regiments to the Seventh Corps.[8]

However, in 2765 an uprising occurred in the Periphery, requiring a large portion of the SLDF mobilized to put down the rebellion. The Seventh's units were moved into the Second Destrict, filling in gaps left by other units sent to the fighting. However, the uprising had all been an elaborate plot by Stefan Amaris to accomplish his conquest of the Terran Hegemony.

The Seventh would take part in Aleksandr Kerensky's campaign to reconquer the Terran Hegemony from Amaris, but in the process suffered heavy losses. Of those units which survived, only three would join Kerensky's Operation Exodus, with the rest disbanding or joining other military forces.

Officers

During the Reunification War the commanding officer of VII Corps was Captain-General Marion Marik.[9]

Composition History

2577

  • CO: Captain-General Marion Marik[2]

Force strength: 31 BattleMech regiments, 30 infantry regiments, 17 armor regiments and 12 AeroSpace regiments.[2]

2764-2784

Unit 2764 2765 2766 2767 - 79 2784 Note
Divisions
316th Royal BattleMech Division active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Survived to join the Exodus
335th BattleMech Division active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
246th Mechanized Infantry Division active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
275th Mechanized Infantry Division active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
297th Mechanized Infantry Division active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Disbanded after suffering heavy losses
86th Jump Infantry Division active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Survived to join the Exodus
Independent Regiments
2004th Battle Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] joins Federated Suns
35th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Survived to join the Exodus
19th Light Horse Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
28th Light Horse Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Survived to join Draconis Combine
78th Hussar Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
81st Dragoon Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]
149th Dragoon Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] active [10] Survived to join Federated Suns
221st Dragoon Regiment active [10] active [10] active [10] destroyed [10]

Notes

  • The force strength for VII Corps during the Reunification War given in Historical: Reunification War is completely disproportionate to the size of the other established corps detailed in the same sourcebook; other corps at full strength consist of 9 regiments each of BattleMechs, armor and infantry plus 3 regiments of AeroSpace Fighters.[2][11]

A question was raised on the Catalyst Game Labs forum asking for clarification and received the following response:

Yep, it's high and suggests that each VII Corps brigade had the equivalent of 3 regiments of 'Mechs (plus conventional forces). There is a reference to the VIIth being overstrength in "The League's Might". The current force listing isn't explicit on the strength of each division though, so it's not always clear how big the VII is.

(As an aside, the size of VII corps is a conceit to reconcile the existing figures for the force sent against Canopus with this only being a single Corps; the assumption is that Marian 'used her authority' as a council member to best advantage and hoovered up a chunk of the reserves)

  — Chris Hartford, Historical: Reunification War writer


Rules

Reunification War

  • VII Corps units may utilize Overrun Combat.[12]
  • VII Corps units gain a +1 bonus to repair rolls.[12]
  • The VII Corps commander may select half of the maps used in any battle, irrespective of scenario rules.[12]
  • VII Corps units adhere to the Ares Conventions.[12]
  • VII Corps units suffer a -2 penalty to Initiative if forced to fight on city maps.[12]

References

  1. The Star League, p. 141
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 95, "SLDF Task Force Canopus"
  3. Historical: Reunification War, p. 150, "Magistracy of Canopus Front (Jump-Off&ndash2582)"
  4. Historical: Reunification War, p. 96
  5. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 97-98
  6. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 100-101
  7. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 103-105
  8. Field Manual: SLDF, p. 108
  9. Historical: Reunification War, p. 53, "Marion Marik"
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 10.33 10.34 10.35 10.36 10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 10.41 10.42 10.43 10.44 10.45 10.46 10.47 10.48 10.49 10.50 10.51 10.52 10.53 10.54 10.55 10.56 10.57 10.58 10.59 10.60 10.61 10.62 The Star League, p. 141
  11. Historical: Reunification War, p. 65, "SLDF Task Force Taurus"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Historical: Reunification War, p. 181, "The Star League"

Bibliography