8th Dieron Regulars

(Redirected from 111th Dieron Heavy Armor)
Dieronregulars8.jpg
Eighth Dieron Regulars
Formed 2765 - 2779[1][2]
Disbanded 3078[3]
But restored somewhat in 3090
Nickname Wrath of the Spurned (3025)[4]
Wrath of the Dragon
Affiliation Draconis Combine
Parent Command Dieron Regulars

History[edit]

First Succession War[edit]

The Eighth Dieron Regulars were one of thirty-one regiments of Dieron Regulars to be created by the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery after 2765.[5] The Dieron Regulars expanded by ten regiments during the Amaris Civil War,[2] and a further twenty-one regiments were raised between the end of the Civil War and the end of the First Succession War. The Eighth was one of the ten regiments created between 2765 and the end of the Civil War in 2779.[2]

Third Succession War[edit]

During the final decades of the Third Succession War, the Eighth fell into disfavor after a dispute with the Second Sword of Light after failing to win an important objective. The Eighth's commander advocated attacking a weakly-defended portion of the enemy's line, while the Sword's commander demanded a frontal assault against the enemy's strongest position to satisfy bushido. The Eighth Regulars knew such an attack would invariably bog down, also realizing that they would take disproportionate losses compared the better-equipped Sword of Light. The Eighth attacked the weakly-defended sector and were repulsed anyway, but came much closer to achieving the objective than the Second Sword of Light. Despite this, the Eighth took the blame for the battle's ultimate failure because they had refused to follow the Second's leader.[6][7]

After the battle, the Eighth's commander was ordered to commit seppuku for disobeying the orders of superior officers and for the failed assault. When he politely refused, he was court-martialed by a scandalized DCMS High Command on charges of cowardice, and the unit as a whole was placed on the bottom tier for resupply on the direct orders of an incensed Coordinator Takashi Kurita.[6][7]

The Eight was stationed on the world of Al Na'ir with the Fifteenth Dieron Regulars in 3025.[8]

Fourth Succession War[edit]


War of 3039[edit]

As of 3039, the Eighth was still under this punishment, the unit never forgiving Takashi Kurita for the injustice.[6][7]

The Eighth wasn't an active participant in the War of 3039; stationed on Al Na'ir when the war began, the Eighth was redeployed to garrison Saffel after the war ended.[9]

Clan Invasion[edit]

The ascension of Takashi's son Theodore Kurita, first to the position of Gunji-no-Kanrei and later Coordinator, slowly began to heal the breach between the Eighth and House Kurita. When the DCMS Procurement Department sent two companies worth of Combine-built OmniMechs at the request of Warlord of Dieron Isoroku Kurita to the Eighth, the unit returned half the OmniMechs with the request that "the Coordinator find better use for these machines among those more worthy", symbolically offering to shoulder half the blame for the unit's dishonor if the Coordinator agreed to accept the rest on behalf of his family. Theodore responded by ordering they be sent to the Warlord of Dieron with the command: "Give these to warriors of the Dragon's wrath". Isoroku Kurita interpreted this to mean they should go the Eighth Dieron Regulars and promptly returned them to the regiment.[7]

Operation Bulldog[edit]

During Operation BULLDOG the Eighth Dieron Regulars joined with the St. Ives Cheveau-Légers, First Canopian Cuirassiers, and Eleventh Alshain Avengers to defend Meinacos from the Smoke Jaguar's 267th Battle Cluster. (The Seventh Pesht Regulars were also called in to reinforce the SLDF troops, but didn't arrive in time for the fighting.) The Eighth Dieron drove into the 267th Cluster's flank, while the Eleventh Alshain distracted them and the Canopian Cuirassiers cut off the Clan unit's retreat.[10]

Dominion War[edit]

The unit were held in reserve to counter any enemy movement with full force.

Federated Suns Incursion[edit]

The command secured Kuritan territory should Duke Sandoval's forces strike farther into the Combine.

Jihad[edit]

The Eighth Dieron Regulars served alongside a sister regiment, the Second Dieron Regulars, during the invasion of Dieron in 3077-8. Although the invasion was a joint effort between the Ghost Bear Dominion and the DCMS with the Dominion providing the larger contingent of forces - four Galaxies of troops and substantial WarShip support - the task force was officially led by the DCMS contingent, under the overall command of Tai-sa Cale Schultz-Tanaka.[11]

The Eighth Dieron Regulars took heavy damage during the combat drop,[12] but would play a significant part in the campaign. The invasion began in October 3077, and in late October the Eighth were involved in a firefight with their erstwhile allies, Clan Ghost Bear's Rho Galaxy. Rho Galaxy had been tasked with securing a number of secondary spaceports and outlying industrial facilities on Dieron during the initial landings on Dieron, and saw relatively little combat during the first month. Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron Regulars were encamped outside Fort Cross, where the Eighth had secured a number of Blakist prisoners of war, when a dispute between the two over the disposition and fate of those prisoners led to a pitched battle, interrupted by an attack[13][14] by the Twenty-third Militia Division.[14] The battle between the forces from Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron stemmed directly from the conflicting orders given to the two units; Galaxy Commander Michael Hawkins was determined to exterminate the Blakist prisoners - almost three hundred in number - in accordance with standing orders from the Khans; in contrast, the Eighth were under orders from their own High Command to cultivate intelligence assets.[14]

Rho's command structure was broken during the attack, leaving the Ghost Bear warriors striking back viciously but blindly, and in the process they left a gap in the line that allowed the Second Militia Division to break through near Newbury and escape.[15] Although the Eighth managed to evacuate one compound of Blakist POWs[16] - at least forty prisoners[14] - the Ghost Bears went on to destroy the compounds, Fort Cross and a nearby town in their efforts to exterminate every Blakist.[16] The incident became a public relations nightmare, and provided fodder for anti-Clan rhetoric for years after the battle.[14]

Later in the campaign the initial breaches of the outer wall at Fortress Dieron were established by the mercenary unit Gannon's Cannons and the Eighth ; the Cannons split their forces, with two companies concentrating on the wall while two more companies targeted turrets and individual Blakists. When the Cannons breached the wall they pulled back, engaging the defending forces; the Eighth then breached the wall in three places using Sniper and Arrow IV artillery before seizing the wall itself.[17] While the Eighth were desperately holding the gate, a Mammoth-class DropShip crashed into a nearby mountain lake;[18][17] venting its cargo bays,[17] the Mammoth acidified the lake and set the main causeway to Fortress Dieron on fire, slowing Alpha Galaxy as they attempted to force their way into the Fortress, and exposing them to extended artillery fire. The Asta Protectorate Militia attempted to attack, only to be charged by the battered remnants of the Eighth, who held off the Militia long enough for Khan Aletha Kabrinski and her troops to reorganize and crush the Militia before overrunning the nearby artillery positions.[18][17]

Although Tai-sa Jerry Simms had acted against the advice of his commanding officers and the Eighth were shattered by the Fortress Dieron defenses, the manner in which they held the main complex door open for Alpha Galaxy earned the Eighth the respect of Khan Aletha Kabrinski and her warriors.[12] The battle for Fortress Dieron lasted until mid-January 3078, with Tai-sa Simms falling in the final battle; by the end of the campaign, the surviving Blakists had largely gathered in the Fortress, and the combined Clan and DCMS forces faced elements of the Second, Fourteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-third Militia Divisions as well as the survivors from the Protectorate Militias. The bulk of the Blakist defenders died, although the attack wavered following Simms' death until Major Gannon Derer rallied the Cannons and the remains of the Eighth to keep pressing the attack. A small number of Blakists managed to escape on DropShips; by the time the Fortress Dieron complex had finally been seized, the Eighth Dieron Regulars consisted of just a company of 'Mechs, a lance of tanks, and three dozen infantry.[3]

The news agency known as the Voice of the Dragon included details of the Eighth's role in the liberation of Dieron in news broadcasts after the event. The Voice of the Dragon reported that there had been a brief friendly fire exchange between Ghost Bear second line forces and elements of the Dieron Regulars - for which it claimed the Ghost Bears had apologized to Gunji-no-Kanrei Kiyomori Minamoto - but dwelled more on actions within the campaign that highlighted the superiority of the DCMS troops within the task force.[19]

Dark Age[edit]

On the 12th May 3090, the border skirmishes between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine came to a head on Apostica. Elements of the Eighth Dieron Regulars were closing in on an underwater Lyran research station that ISF believed that Lyrans were using the facility to reverse engineer captured Blakist improved jump jet technology to develop an improved UMU and wanted to capture or destroy it. The attack on Apostica ultimately failed when the Lyran forces, though took heavy losses, destroyed the attacking Combine 'Mechs.

The Lyran Commonwealth though failed to develop an improved UMU system.[20]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 8th Dieron Regulars
General Harriet deLetereau 3025[8]
Tai-sa Jerry Simms 3067[21]

Tactics[edit]

The Eighth Dieron Regulars were skilled in night fighting. The regiment is split in 3 equal force. Two Battalions attack in company strength from different directions, while the reserve unit delivers the final blow.[22]

The special operations infantry is skilled to eliminate HQ, use sophisticated equipment to point targets for missile artillery and are well known for their extensive use of demolitions.

In 3025 the Eighth Dieron Regulars also had excellent training in Zero-G atmosphere combat, achieved through their garrison duty on Al Na'ir[23][24]

Composition History[edit]

2786 - 2821[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[5]

- At this point in time the Eighth was a medium-weight regiment operating at full strength and was stationed on Miyazaki.[5]In 2821 the unit was reduced to just over half-strength. The Eighth was stationed on Killbourn.[5]

2830[edit]

8th Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[25]

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Kilbourne with an operational readiness of 120 percent.[25]

2864[edit]

8th Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[25]

Note: At this point in time the assault-weight unit was stationed on Kaus Media with an operational readiness of 44 percent.[25]

3025[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[26]

  • CO: General Harriet deLetereau[26]
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Al Na'ir.[26] The unit is made of medium 'Mechs.[4]

3040[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[9]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Saffel.[9]

3050[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[27]

  • CO: Tai-sa Carlos Leighiar
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Fomalhaut.[27]

3054[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[28]

  • CO: Tai-sa Carlos Leighiar

3059[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[7]

  • XO: Tai-sa Kris Rusch
  • Second Battalion: Chu-sa Dean Wesley
  • Third Battalion: Chu-sa Kathy Sakura

-Note: The unit is made mainly of medium 'Mechs and had received 12 OmniMechs. A large portion of the regiment is upgraded.

Eighth Dieron Regulars Aerospace (Wing/Veteran/Reliable)[7]

  • Wing Commander: Sho-sa Taki Russo

-Note: Only a new attachment, the fighters build a good relationship to the other units of the battle group.

111th Dieron Heavy Armor (2 Battalions/Regular/Reliable)[7]

  • Armor Commander: Chu-sa Frederick Sato

-Note: The armor supporting units had changed in the past decades routinely, but the 111th Dieron will be attached permanently.

Eighth Dieron Regulars Infantry, Carmens Commando (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[7]

  • Troop Commander: Tai-sa Carmen Rodriguez

-Note: The CO is a former special ops and trained her first battalion to act like a commando unit

3067[edit]

Eighth Dieron Regulars (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[21]

-Note: Clan technology: 35 percent | Advanced IS technology: 55 percent | Omnis: 25 percent[21]

Eighth Dieron Regulars Aerospace (Wing/Veteran/Reliable)[21]

  • Wing Commander: Sho-sa Taki Russo

-Note: Clan technology: 15 percent | Advanced IS technology: 40 percent | Omnis: 10 percent

111th Dieron Heavy Armor (2 Battalions/Regular/Reliable)[21]

  • Armor Commander: Chu-sa Frederick Sato

-Note: Clan technology: 10 percent | Advanced IS technology: 50 percent | Omnis: 15 percent

Eighth Dieron Regulars Infantry, Usula's Commando (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[21]

  • Troop Commander: Tai-sa Ursula Loerring

Notes[edit]

Rules[edit]

In Alpha Strike, the Eighth can use the following Special Command Abilities: Environmental Specialization (Night), Enemy Specialization (Davion), Focus (Nightwalker).[29]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. First Succession War, p. 32: "Those Left Behind"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 First Succession War, p. 119: "House Kurita"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Total Chaos, p. 182: "Aftermath"
  4. 4.0 4.1 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 142: "The Dieron Regulars"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 First Succession War, p. 137: "Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS)"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Combat Manual: Kurita, p. 32: "Eighth Dieron Regulars"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Field Manual: Draconis Combine, p. 51: "Unit Profile"
  8. 8.0 8.1 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 133: "Mech Unit Deployment Table (as of 3025)"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Historical: War of 3039, p. 138
  10. The Dragon Roars, p. 41
  11. Total Chaos, p. 58: "The Campaign: 3068... (sidebar)"
  12. 12.0 12.1 Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 6: "Combatants"
  13. Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 9: "Combatants"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Total Chaos, p. 59: "Dieron (sidebar)"
  15. Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 8: "Combatants"
  16. 16.0 16.1 Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 15: "My Enemy's Enemy"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Total Chaos, p. 178: "Aftermath"
  18. 18.0 18.1 Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 16: "Climbing Mount Shanyu"
  19. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 34–35: "Official Update 4"
  20. Record Sheets: Prototypes, pp. 14–15: "Scenario One: Underwater Basket Weaving (Objective Raid)"
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 Field Manual: Updates, p. 118
  22. Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 6: 8th Dieron regulars
  23. House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 188
  24. House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 186: "Al Na'ir"
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Second Succession War, p. 97
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 133: "DCMS Deployment Table"
  27. 27.0 27.1 20 Year Update, p. 40
  28. Objective Raids, p. 28
  29. Combat Manual: Kurita, p. 32

Bibliography[edit]