7th Amaris Legionnaires

7th Amaris Legionnaires.png
Seventh Amaris Legionnaires
Disbanded ca. 2596
Affiliation Rim Worlds Republic
Parent Command Amaris Legionnaires

A line regiment in the Rim Worlds Army, the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires were the first unit to defect to the Rim Provisional Government at the outset of the Rim Worlds Republic civil war in 2575.

History[edit]

Reunification War[edit]

Dissatisfaction at the rule of First Consul Gregory Amaris had been growing within the Rim Worlds Republic for some time prior to the civil war. Measures such as the Universal Act of Loyalty, which required citizens of the Republic to swear loyalty to House Amaris and, through House Amaris, the Star League,[1] were unpopular, as were Amaris' tax policies and economic governance, which favored industries and individuals from outside the Republic over domestic industries and citizens. Discontent grew sharply when Amaris passed the Manchester Directive in early 2575 that declared the Rift Republican Army to be an illegal body and gave the government powers to seize the assets and holdings of RRA members.[2] Extremist members of the RRA had been involved in incidents such as the seizure of the barracks at Efrimal Long in 2573[1] but in general the RRA was considered to be an honorable institution akin to a veterans association with many respected members. The tipping point that led to open civil war was Amaris' decision to attempt to use military force to end a workers strike at the Diplass Technologies BattleMech plant on Apollo.[3]

The workers were on strike in protest over Amaris' economic and tax policies, which were intended to boost the economy of the Republic and make the Republic a serious competitor to the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, but which saw foreign business receive preferential treatment within the Republic and saw managerial and technical posts within industries such as the Diplass plant given to Star League citizens rather than Republic citizens. Gregory Amaris' decision to use military force to quash the strike was entirely in keeping with his character, but he didn't reckon on the character of Colonel Catherine Dormax, Commanding Officer of the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires when he ordered the Seventh to attack the strikers.[3]

A capable but not inspired career military officer, Dormax had risen to command of the Seventh through hard work and determination; possessed of a strong personal moral code and known for displaying a mix of fairness and forthrightness, Dormax was held in high regard by the Seventh and held the personal loyalty of her troops. Amaris had already ordered the Fourth Amaris Dragoons to smash the strike, but the small detachment from the Dragoons had been speedily defeated by the workers. Faced with direct orders to execute everyone at the Diplass plant, Dormax instead chose to refuse her orders and put her troops at the disposal of the Rim Provisional Government,[4] the provisional ruling body organized by the strikers and the RRA in response to the actions of Amaris and the Fourth Dragoons.[3]

A furious Gregory Amaris promptly ordered the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers to subdue the Seventh Legionnaires and the strikers, only to have Colonel Dean Shields[5] and his command also defect to the RPG. With the unpleasant realization that fully half of the Rim Worlds Army forces on Apollo had sided with the RPG and with the Fourth Dragoons' loyalties unclear, Amaris felt he had no choice but to retreat to his island estates under the protection of the Republican Guard, his personal troops who could be counted on to be loyal to him. Amaris fled, ceding control of the capital and the spaceport to the RPG, while dispatching a courier to Terra requesting support from the SLDF; he would continue to issue directives and orders, but with the Provisional Government in control of both the capital city and spaceport, Amaris' actual direct influence and control extended little further than the waters around his estate.[3]

While Amaris' courier managed to leave for Terra before RPG forces could seize the spaceport, news of the formation of the RPG was a massive shock to the Republic; as the news rippled out from Apollo, the population of other planets within the Republic - and the local government - as well as the military began to split along partisan lines. Some chose to remain loyal to Amaris as First Consul, others sided with the RPG, some planets declared their independence and some military units fractured internally with soldiers supporting different sides. That the factions would come into conflict was never in question, and by July 2575 a de facto civil war was being waged within the Republic.[3]

The Seventh Legionnaires were then directly involved in the three-year siege of Camp Cameron, site of the small Star League Defense Force cadre on Apollo. Dormax was placed in charge of the siege, and despite indicating that any captives were to be considered prisoners of war, she was unable to stop extremists within the local RRA forces executing the prisoners taken when the siege was finally broken, something that led to considerable internal conflict within the RPG.[3] Dormax and the Seventh Legionnaires went on to spend most of the Reunification War on Apollo, where they were one of the more moderate rebel units.[6]

The Seventh kept those forces loyal to Amaris on Apollo contained throughout Operation MAILED FIST, the Star League intervention in the civil war, and when forces from Task Force MAILED FIST landed on Apollo in 2596 the Seventh joined the Eighth Fusiliers in the defense of the capital city, Terra Prime. Fighting against SLDF, Lyran Commonwealth and Free Worlds League forces as well as Amaris loyalists, the Seventh were directly involved in the fateful battle against the Fourth Royal Guards that saw Archon Viola Steiner-Dinesen take terminal wounds, and held out for several months after General Nathan Isaacson took command of the siege.[7]

The Seventh Amaris Legionnaires took heavy casualties during the siege of Terra Prime[6] including the loss of Colonel Dormax[4] and the Seventh was disbanded at the end of the war.[6]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 7th Amaris Legionnaires
Colonel Catherine Dormax 2575 - 2596[3][6][5]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

Unknown.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 127: "Descent Into Madness (2571-2580)"
  2. Historical: Reunification War, p. 130: "The Manchester Directive"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Historical: Reunification War, p. 130–131: "The Spark"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 61: "Catherine Dormax"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 131: "The Rim Worlds Army Loyalties"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 43: "Seventh Amaris Legion (RRA)"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 139: "Bitter Harvests (2591-2596)"

Gallery[edit]


Bibliography[edit]