VIII Corps (Taurian Concordat)
Sarna News
| VIII Provisional Corps | |
| Formed | 2584-2585[1] |
| Disbanded | 2587[2] |
| Affiliation | Taurian Concordat |
| Parent Command | Taurian Defense Force |
The Eighth Provisional Corps was both formed and destroyed during the Reunification War.
Contents
History[edit]
VIII Provisional Corps - referred to as the Eighth Provisional Corps - was founded between 2584 and 2585, with the formation of the Ninety-fourth and Ninety-ninth Concordat Chasseurs, two TDF BattleMech regiments. The Eighth was deployed on Taurus until 2587,[1] when it was deployed along with a task force commanded by Marshal David Santos, the commanding officer of the TDF navy, in a desperate attempt to achieve some much-needed victories for the Taurian Concordat against the Star League Defense Force. The Star League conquest of the Taurian Concordat, Operation BULL RUN, was overwhelming the TDF, and worlds close to the Hyades Cluster were under siege by the SLDF. Although Protector Mitchell Calderon had basically asked for a miracle, Santos took the remains of the Taurian Navy and the Eighth and attempted to enact a plan that would see his forces attack a string of Taurian worlds occupied by the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, hoping to inflict heavy damage on the garrisons and encourage uprisings among the local populations. At this point, the Eighth still consisted of the two Chasseurs regiments, plus three armored regiments and six infantry regiments, and the first stop for the task force was the Montour system.[2]
Montour was only intended to be a first stop on the way to a number of worlds occupied by the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, which Santos hoped to inflict heavy casualties on while sparking insurgencies and uprisings among the Taurian loyalists on each world. Unfortunately for the TDF, Santos hadn't taken into account the many SLDF intelligence-gathering ships that were in place around the Hyades Cluster, monitoring Taurian movements. When reports of Santos' expedition reached Admiral Yukiko Pequeno, the commander of the SLDF Fourth Fleet, she was supporting SLDF operations in the New Ganymede system. She set off in pursuit with two-thirds of the Fourth Fleet, sending messages via the political offices established on occupied worlds to the SLDF theater commander, General Amos Forlough, to update him on her plans. As the Taurian intelligence services weren't monitoring the SLDF political offices, her messages went undetected by the Taurians, and she gathered up additional SLDF patrol squadrons as she pursued Santos' forces.[2]
Santos' forces arrived at Montour in October, easily blew through the small AFFS naval pickets located in the system, and proceeded to blockade the main world. As he was preparing to dispatch the Eighth to capture the world, Pequeno appeared at a pirate point with her forces. Hot on the heels of Pequeno's SLDF naval forces, an AFFS naval task force under the command of Admiral Helden van der Geest arrived at the system zenith jump point, having encountered Pequeno's forces a week before and eagerly accepted her invitation to join the attempt to bring the Taurian navy to heel. Santos knew his forces were outclassed, and attempted to evade the SLDF and AFFS forces within the system while his ships recharged, in the hope that he could lead his forces out of the system. Despite Santos' best efforts, the forces led by Pequeno and van der Geest intercepted the retreating Taurians, and between the 11th and 16th of October there was a flurry of battles around the fifth and seventh planets in the system, as well as around numerous moons, a rogue planetoid and a number of asteroids. Santos tried repeatedly to break contact with his pursuers, but was unable to fend off the attackers for more than brief periods of time. Santos died along with his crew when the TCS Samantha Calderon was destroyed in battle; the Taurian naval forces were defeated comprehensively by their opponents, and the Eight Provisional Corps died in space without ever making planetfall.[2]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of VIII Corps (Taurian Concordat) | |||
Tactics[edit]
Unknown.
Composition History[edit]
2584[edit]
2585[edit]
- Ninety-fourth Concordat Chasseurs[1]
- Ninety-ninth Concordat Chasseurs[1]
2587[edit]
- Ninety-fourth Concordat Chasseurs[1]
- Ninety-ninth Concordat Chasseurs[1]
- Three armor regiments[2]
- Half a dozen infantry regiments[2]