1st Army (Star League)

Army 01st (SLDF) logo.png
First Army
Affiliation SLDF
Parent Command First Army Group (2764)
Twenty-second Army Group (2772)[1]

Overview[edit]

The Star League Defense Forces First Army was assigned to operations within the Terran Military Region.[2]

History[edit]

The First Army was the elite force of the SLDF. Many regimental and divisional commanders dreamed of commanding a force in the First. For example, the First Army was the defending force in 2757 during Operation PERSUASIVE FORCE. Three other SLDF armies simulated an assault on the Terran Hegemony in order to test their defenses. The First Army eventually fell, but held off the aggressor armies for a respectable time.[3]

The First was also the most well-equipped Army in the SLDF. Even its regular divisions received upgrades to a higher standard, though still below the capabilities of units in the Royal Commands. This maintenance and upgrade cycle was one reason that various SLDF divisions rotated through to be part of the First Army. The First Army's duties were often ceremonial, but a brutal training regimen kept the units highly skilled and ready to fight.[3]

In 2764 the First Army was the sole force assigned to guard the Terran Hegemony, with their headquarters on Terra and Mars. In response to the New Vandenberg Uprising of 2765 and the subsequent Periphery Uprising, an increasing number of armies stationed within the Inner Sphere were pulled into the Periphery reinforcements.[2] This soon left just a single Army responsible for garrisoning a nation; as a result the SLDF High Command redeployed X Corps and XXI Corps to other regions, moving a total of twenty-nine Regiments drawn from the two corps into each of the 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th and 14th Armies.[4][5][6][7][8]

To fill in the gap in the Terran Hegemony left by the deployment of two-thirds of the First Army, units of the Rim Worlds Republic Military were brought in to replace the reassigned units. However, this had been part of an elaborate plot by Stefan Amaris to overthrow House Cameron and assume control of the Star League, and on December 26 2766, he launched his surprise attack. Nearly the entire I Corps was destroyed in the opening hours of the coup; many units were wiped out through nuclear bombardment, though a few would survive for the next few years as guerrilla fighters. The rest of First Army, stationed outside the Terran region, would take part in its reconquest from Amaris, though at great loss of life. Of the initial 25 divisions and regiments assigned to the First Army, 13 would survive to 2784, with 7 of them joining Operation EXODUS and the rest either disbanding or joining other Great House armies.[2][9]

In 2776, First Army jumped into the Epsilon Eridani system.[10] Later, as part of the Twenty-second Army Group, they dropped on Terra and assaulted Madrid, Spain.[11] They quickly gained control of the Iberian Peninsula, and spent the next six months looking for small units of Amaris Empire loyalists.[12] They then deployed supporting units to the West African and Atlantic Ocean theaters to support other SLDF operations.[13] In 2779 First Army landed on the North American continent by moving up through the Florida District. The First then headed west along the panhandle to join up with elements of Ninth Army. After joining forces, the First Army moved northward by means of the Mississippi River and Atlantic Coast, smashing any Amaris loyalists between the two thrusts. The First Army sustained heavy losses during the campaign, and had to detach more forces in the Appalachian Mountains to destroy Amaris Dragoons.[14]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of 1st Army
General Aaron DeChavilier 2758 - 2760[15]
General Saina Kogo 2760 - 2765[3][9]

Tactics[edit]

Different per Unit.

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

2772[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 120-121, "Operation CHIEFTAIN Star League Defense Forces Order of Battle"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Star League, p. 140, "Terran Military Region - 1st Army"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 37
  4. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 42, "2nd Army"
  5. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 43, "5th Army"
  6. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 43, "8th Army"
  7. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 44, "11th Army"
  8. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 44, "14th Army"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 42, "1st Army"
  10. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 48
  11. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 69
  12. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 75-76
  13. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 88
  14. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 100
  15. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, pp. 59-60 "Personalities - Star League - Aaron DeChavilier"

Bibliography[edit]