Anna Gesicki

Anna Gesicki
Character Profile
Affiliation ComStar
Rank Precentor


Anna Gesicki was a Com Guard officer notable for her actions during the Battle of Tukayyid.

History[edit]

Commander of the 394th Division[edit]

As of 3049 immediately prior to the Clan Invasion, Anna Gesicki had reached the rank of Precentor, serving as commanding officer of the 394th Division. Then a IV-lambda based formation, the 394th was part of the Com Guard Twelfth Army with its headquarters world Otho in the Draconis Combine.[1] Gesicki remained in command of the 394th when Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht made its batchall with ilKhan Ulric Kerensky for the climactic battle on Tukayyid.[2]

While the bulk of the 12th Army faced Clan Nova Cat, Precentor Martial Focht assigned Gesicki's 394th to assist the divisions of the relatively inexperienced Third and Eleventh Armies combat Clan Jade Falcon, with the 394th being the closest division to the Falcon's assigned landing zones. Allowing them to land unopposed, Focht ordered Precentor Gesicki to pull her scouts back and have the 394th "strike and hiss", to engage in hit and run attacks that were shown to be most effective against the Clans. Venturing out in Level II groups, the troops of the 394th proceeded to launch endless ambushes on the Falcon advance, unleashing a massive hail of fire and retreating before the Clan warriors could effectively engage them. Suffering only minimal losses in return, the 394th's attacks convinced the overly cautious Jade Falcons that they were facing not one but multiple divisions from the Eleventh Army, successfully delaying their advance and buying the defenders of Plough Bridge and Robyn's Crossing vital time to prepare. Tying up the Falcons for almost a week, far longer than the Precentor Martial had anticipated, Focht ordered Gesicki and her exhausted 394th to withdrawal for rest and refit, holding them back in reserve to defend against a possible Falcon breakout.[3][2][4][5][6][7][8]

Commander of the Com Guard Fifth Army to Precentor of Infantry[edit]

Remaining with the secular ComStar, in response to her performance during the Battle of Tukayyid, Anna Gesicki was promoted to command of the Com Guard Fifth Army, holding the rank of Precentor as of 3055.[9] During Gesicki's tenure as 5th Army commander, increasing tensions that resulted in the transformation of the Sarna March into the so-called Chaos March negatively impacted the morale of the divisions under her command, including the strategic withdrawal of the 394th Division which allowed the Sirian Holds Massacres to occur and the decision to hold back two divisions that theoretically could have prevented the fall of Terra.

Now viewed by many as an excellent tactician but a poor strategist, Precentor Martial Focht chose the 394th's then-CO Harris Harvison to replace her as commander of the Fifth Army, promoting Gesicki to the position of the Com Guard Precentor of Infantry, overseeing the procurement of hardware, supplies and parts and the recruitment and training of ComStar's infantry forces.[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. 20 Year Update, p. 71: "12th V-nu"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Tukayyid, p. 58: "Campaign: Clan Jade Falcon"
  3. Blood of Kerensky Omnibus Epub, p. 921: "Lost Destiny - Chapter Thirty-One"
  4. Tukayyid, p. 59: "Hit and Run on the Prezno Plain [5] - First Strike"
  5. ComStar, pp. 70–71: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  6. Wolf Clan, p. 50: "Days of Armageddon - Jade Falcon"
  7. Jade Falcon Sourcebook, pp. 30–32: "Battle of Tukayyid"
  8. Era Report: 3052, p. 31: "Factions - ComStar - 394th Division (White Lions)"
  9. ComStar, p. 85: "5th Army V-omicron"
  10. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 28: "5th Army V-Omicron: The Mountaineers"
  11. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 15: "The Com Guards - Organization and Procedures - Command Structure and Operational Deployment"

Bibliography[edit]