323rd Division (ComStar)

323rd Division IV-nu
Nickname The Groundhogs of Tukayyid
Affiliation ComStar
Parent Command Third Army


Having faced two Clans during the Battle of Tukayyid, the 323rd Division is widely respected and honored in the Com Guards.

History[edit]

Prior to the initial Clan Invasion the veteran rated 323rd Division was known by the nickname of Negative Communications and was command division of the Fifth Army. Then a IV-theta based formation, the 323rd's headquarters world was Keid in the Federated Commonwealth's Sarna March.[1]

Tukayyid[edit]

Along with the rest of the Fifth Army, the 323rd was assigned to combat Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Battle of Tukayyid and along with the 299th Division were hidden inside the Dinju Pass, the only path to the Jaguars' Alpha Galaxy target city of Dinju Heights.[2][3][4][5]

Viewing the seemingly undefended pass as too good to be true, the un-Clanlike caution of Jaguar Grenadiers commander Star Colonel Brandon Howell led him to suspect it was an ambush, sending a probing action to smoke out any hidden Com Guard troops while ordering the rest of his OmniMechs to run along the pass walls at flank speed. While almost completely obliterating the probe force, the 323rd could only engage the bulk of the Grenadiers briefly before they raced past, inflicting heavy losses but unable to prevent a sizable portion of the Jaguar unit making it through.[2][3][4][5]

However when the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons attempted to make their own run, the 323rd and 299th had emerged from hiding and were crowding the floor of the pass, creating a gauntlet of overwhelming firepower and devastated the Dragoons. The 323rd, specialists in close combat, closed with the Jaguars and if they started to get overwhelmed they called for artillery strikes that destroyed the Jaguar units.[6] With Jaguar Khan Lincoln Osis seemingly killed during this melee by a MechWarrior from the 323rd and the death of their saKhan Sarah Weaver in the Racice River Delta, ilKhan Ulric Kerensky ordered Clan Smoke Jaguar to retreat from Tukayyid. Viewing this as a Clan Wolf attempt to dishonor them, the Dragoons refused and kept advancing, but the numerical superiority of the 299th and 323rd allowed them to completely overwhelm and destroy the Jaguar unit.[2][3][4][5]

With the withdrawal of the Smoke Jaguars, the relatively intact 323rd was among the divisions of the Fifth Army transferred to assist the Eighth Army and the green divisions of Second Army combat Clan Diamond Shark. Performing a combat drop behind the Sharks Alpha and Gamma Galaxies to cut them off from their DropShips, the desperate Diamond Shark Khans ordered the second-line Freeborn Omega Galaxy to rescue their frontline Trueborn units, the fresh BattleMechs of Omega successfully fighting their way past the 299th and 323rd.[7][8]

Relatively intact despite having suffered heavy losses, including its CO Precentor Mari Rennery, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht merged the survivors of the shattered 322nd Division into the 323rd, another division that had also faced the Smoke Jaguars but had retained command integrity. However, even with the merger the division remained below full strength, initially drawing survivors from other units shattered on Tukayyid but eventually filling out the bulk of its roster with green recruits, dragging the 323rd's overall experience level down to regular.[9]

Post-Tukayyid[edit]

Like many Com Guard Divisions, the 323rd chose a new nickname after that climactic battle, calling itself The Groundhogs of Tukayyid, being transferred from Fifth Army to the Third and making Sirius its headquarters.[10] After the Free Worlds League Military recaptured Sirius as part of Operation Guerrero in 3057, the 323rd transferred its headquarters to the Federated Suns world of Mermentau.

While suffering losses between Word of Blake adventurism in the nearby Chaos March and the FedCom Civil War, the 323rd avoided seeing major action. Absorbing survivors from the 299th Division, its companion unit from the Tukayyid, after its destruction in combat against Victor Steiner-Davion's Allied forces on New Avalon allowed the 323rd to quickly regain its full strength.[11] However, while loyal to ComStar as a whole, the survivors harbored a strong dislike for Victor and his resumption of the position of Precentor Martial saw the loyalty rating of 323rd as a whole downgraded to questionable.[12]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 323rd Division (ComStar)
Precentor Mari Rennery 3049 - 3052[1][13][9]
Precentor Charles Reanner 3052 - 3067[10][9][12]

Tactic[edit]

The 323rd Division is known for their defensive skills.[14]

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

323rd Division (Division/Veteran)[15]

Note: At this point in time the 323rd Division was stationed on Keid.[15]

3055[edit]

323rd Division (Division/Regular)[16]

Note: At this point in time the 323rd Division was stationed on Sirius.[16]

3062[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The insignia of the 323rd was a groundhog clutching a hand grenade.[9]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 20 Year Update, p. 70: "5th V-xi"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Tukayyid, pp. 29–38: "Campaign: Clan Smoke Jaguar"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 ComStar, pp. 69–70: "Battle of Tukayyid - Ace in the Hole"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wolf Clan, p. 47: "Days of Armageddon - Smoke Jaguar"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Invading Clans, pp. 61–62: "Tukayyid: The Crucible"
  6. Era Report: 3052, p. 32
  7. Tukayyid, p. 74: "In the Net (16)"
  8. Invading Clans, p. 141: "Baptism of Fire"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Field Manual: ComStar, p. 25: "3rd Army V-lambda: The Emerald Falconeers"
  10. 10.0 10.1 ComStar, p. 84: "3rd Army V-lambda"
  11. Field Manual: Updates, p. 83: "ComStar - Overview"
  12. 12.0 12.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 85: "3rd Army V-Lambda (The Emerald Falconeers)"
  13. Tukayyid, p. 34: "Ambush at the Dinju Pass"
  14. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 137
  15. 15.0 15.1 20 Year Update, p. 70
  16. 16.0 16.1 ComStar, p. 84

Bibliography[edit]