XLIII Corps (Star League)

Unit Description

XLIII Corps (or the Forty-third Corps) was one of the seventy-two Corps that made up the Star League Defense Force. Prior to the collapse of the Star League XLIII Corps was a fairly large corps consisting of seven divisions, eight independent regiments, and an independent aero wing.

History

In 2764 XLIII Corps was part of the 17th Army assigned to the Magistracy of Canopus Territorial State. The largest challenge facing the soldiers of the Forty-third's component Divisions was maintaining military discipline in the face of the hedonistic culture of the Magistracy. The liberal use of leave requests and weekend passes was restricted, and soldiers who went AWOL were heavily disciplined. These actions were credited with preventing the Forty-third's complete dissolution as a military force. They also led to a great deal of grumbling among the soldiers, including some division commanders.

The Forty-third had many supporting regiments to respond to crises that could have erupted within the Magistracy. The Light Horse and Hussar regiments assigned to the Forty-third were constantly rotating their duty stations among Magistracy systems to scout for unrest. The other independent regiments were kept in reserve in the central part of the Magistracy to respond to any threat the recon units found.

When the simmering violence and rebellion building in the Periphery erupted with the New Vandenberg Uprising and subsequent Periphery-wide uprising in 2765 XLIII Corps were swept up in the violence along with the rest of the 17th Army.

The Periphery Uprising consumed more than half of XLIII Corps; four complete divisions were lost, along with the independent aero wing and five of the independent regiments. Two of the five regiments lost were disbanded due to heavy losses - the 605^th Battle Regiment and the 38^th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment - with elements of the 38^th joining the rebels.

In stark contrast to the campaign in the Periphery, all of the units within the Corps survived the Hegemony Campaign, and the vast majority followed General Aleksandr Kerensky when led the bulk of the SLDF on the Exodus in 2784. The only exceptions were some elements of the Thai Militia, who joined the Lyran Commonwealth, and possibly the 321^st Hussar Regiment, which is known to have survived the Hegemony Campaign but whose final fate is unknown.

Composition History

Unit	2764	2765	2766	2767 - 79	2784	Note
Divisions
219th BattleMech Division	active	destroyed
255th Royal BattleMech Division	active	destroyed
68th Infantry Division	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus elementa joined LCAF
2nd Mechanized Infantry Division	active	destroyed
16th Mechanized Infantry Division	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus
279th Royal Mechanized Infantry Division	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus
21st Royal Jump Infantry Division	active	destroyed
Independent Regiments
38th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment	active	active	disbanded			elements joined Periphery Fighters
43rd Royal Light Horse Regiment	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus
119th Light Horse Regiment	active	destroyed
321st Hussar Regiment	active	active	active	active	active	unknown
1st Dragoon Regiment	active	destroyed
16th Dragoon Regiment	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus
605th Battle Regiment	active	active	disbanded
114th Heavy Assault Regiment	active	active	active	active	active	Exodus
3687th Royal Independent Aero Wing	active	destroyed
589th Heavy Tank Regiment	active	destroyed

Bibliography

• The Star League
• Field Manual: SLDF