13th Donegal Guards

(Redirected from Thirteenth Donegal Guards)
Donegalguards13th.png
Thirteenth Donegal Guards
Nickname The Black Cats
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command Donegal Guards

History[edit]

The Thirteenth Donegal Guards were formed some time between 2750 and the start of the First Succession War.[1][2] The light-weight unit, considered both green and questionable in loyalty, did not survive the conflict. The unit was then re-formed for the Second Succession War. It participated in the 2832 attack on Megrez, and earned a reputation for its luck, which gave it its nickname.[3]

Clan Invasion[edit]

At the start of 3050, the unit was based on Meacham.[4]

In 3053, a recon force from the unit aided by the prototype Hercules DropShip[5] raided the Clan Jade Falcon world of La Grave, the first report of an Inner Sphere attack on a Clan-held world.[3] While the attack itself failed, the small force extricated themselves successfully and the Falcons were forced to increase patrols.[6]

FedCom Civil War[edit]

During the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, the Thirteenth Donegal was deployed to Dalkeith to secure its facilities and resources for Archon Katherine Steiner-Davion and to force the garrisoning Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry out of its neutral position. General Stokoi and the Fourth Deneb's commander Fran Vidal's face-to-face meeting in early 3064 failed to achieve these goals, with Vidal declaring her intent to secure the planet for the good of the Lyran Alliance irrespective of political ideology. Initial fighting between the two units was inconclusive, with the Fourth Deneb's lightning raids failing to remove the Thirteenth Donegal from their fixed positions, but Stokoi's assault did result in the Fourth Deneb declaring their allegiance to ex-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion.[7]

By March, the Fourth Deneb's aerospace superiority and maneuverability began to tell, and Stokoi's request for reinforcements in order to stave off defeat was met with the arrival of the Third Royal Guards on 9 April. The Third Royal Guards pushed the Fourth DLC hard for the rest of April, wreaking havoc on the lighter unit's supply lines and nearly driving them off-world, but the arrival of the pro-Victor Fourth Davion Guards on 5 May once again swung the battle in favor of the Prince's forces. On 19 June, a flanking attack from the Fourth Davion forced the Thirteenth Donegal to abandon the world's repair complex, allowing the Allied troops to replenish their resources while denying the Loyalists any benefit from Dalkeith's strategic supplies.[8]

The meat grinder on Dalkeith was altered yet again when the Katherine-loyal Fifth Alliance Guards arrived on 2 December to break the ongoing stalemate and the Fifth's lighter units allowed the Loyalists to finally gain the advantage over the Allied forces, resulting in their mass withdrawal into the planet's wastelands. Unfortunately for the Loyalists, the Allies' heavy rearguard managed to hold the passes through the Alveria Range for a shocking five weeks, inflicting heavy casualties on the Loyalists before the Fifth Guards commander personally led a breakthrough assault on 6 March 3065. By the time the Loyalists reached Point du Raz on 19 April, the Allied troops' rearguard actions had allowed the remaining force to retreat to the neighboring landmass of Rockmeir, necessitating a cessation of the Loyalist advance in order to await DropShips for transportation.[9]

After waiting a month for transport, the Thirteen Donegal served the Loyalists as a pathfinder unit, which would spell the end of the regiment as an independent force. Already severely damaged by the fighting in the Alveria mountains, the death of Stokoi and his command staff when their DropShip was shot down, combined with the losses sustained during the Thirteenth's reconnaissance operations, left the remnants of the unit no choice but to be absorbed into the equally-damaged Fifth Alliance Guards.[10]

The fighting on Dalkeith smashed the Thirteenth, and it was merged with the Fifth Alliance Guards for the rest of the civil war.[11]

As of 1st August 3067, the Thirteenth was on Dalkeith and down to 15% strength.[11]

Jihad[edit]

The Thirteenth was dramatically understrength, and Word of Blake forces totally destroyed the unit in the Jihad.[12]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 13th Donegal Guards
Leutnant-General John Stokoi[13][3] 3054 to 3062
Leutnant-General Jon Bird[14] 3067

Other Unit Officers[edit]

Tactics[edit]

The unit has developed a wait and see tactic. They react to events.[3]

Composition History[edit]

2786[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Green/Questionable)[2]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Hyde.

2830[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[15]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Donegal with an operational readiness of 67 percent.[15]

2864[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[15]

Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Donegal with an operational readiness of 17 percent.[15]

3025[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[16]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Furillo.

3040[edit]

13th Donegal Guards RCT (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[17]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Meacham.[17]

3050[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[4]

  • CO: Leftenant General John Stokoi[4]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Meacham.[4]

3054[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[18]

  • CO: Leftenant General John Stokoi[18]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Meacham.[18]

3062[edit]

13th Donegal Guards (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[3]
CO: Leutnant General John Stokai
Aide: Hauptmann Kommandant Jon Bird

13th Donegal Guards Wing (Wing/Regular/Reliable)[3]
CO: Kaptain Andreas von Breunig

29th Donegal Combat Auxiliary (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[3]
CO: Colonel Archibald Jessie
- The 29th includes light and heavy armor, VTOLs and artillery

971st Lyran Heavy Infantry (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[3]
CO: Colonel Normandie Christie

References[edit]

  1. Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 11
  2. 2.0 2.1 First Succession War, p. 139
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 71: "13th Donegal Guards Unit Profile"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 20 Year Update, p. 26
  5. Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, p. 50-51
  6. Jade Falcon Sourcebook, pp. 33
  7. FedCom Civil War, p. 85: "Dalkeith- Wave Two"
  8. FedCom Civil War, p. 100: "Dalkeith- Wave Three"
  9. FedCom Civil War, p. 129: "Dalkeith- Wave Four"
  10. FedCom Civil War, p. 145: "Dalkeith- Wave Five"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 169: "Donegal Guards bio"
  12. Field Report: LAAF, p. 11
  13. Objective Raids, p. 23: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  14. Field Manual: Updates, pp. 177–179: "Lyran Alliance Deployment Table"
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Second Succession War, p. 99
  16. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 121
  17. 17.0 17.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 137
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Objective Raids, p. 23

Bibliography[edit]