331st Royal BattleMech Division

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Overview

The 331st Royal BattleMech Division was one of the most famous military units of the first Star League. Since the 331st was a "Royal" unit, it was part of the Terran Hegemony ruled by House Cameron. After the fall of the Star League, the 331st joined General Aleksandr Kerensky on his Exodus. When the Exodus Civil War broke out, the 331st left with Aleksandr's son Nicholas Kerensky in the Second Exodus and eventually formed the core of Clan Wolverine becoming the 331st Battle Cluster.[1]

History

The Star League

The 331st Royal BattleMech Division and its parent unit, the V Corps were founded in 2576. It was one of the first true combined arms divisions in the SLDF. It was unique in that it fielded designs from across the Inner Sphere. In addition, the regiments of the division contained four battalions, making it over-strength compared to most SLDF divisions.[2]

Early Years

In 2578, the Lyran Commonwealth threatened to secede from the Star League. The 331st was sent to that nation to make sure the Commonwealth remained in the League. Later that year, the Star League declared war upon the Periphery, namely the Magistracy of Canopus, the Outworlds Alliance and the Rim Worlds Republic to force those Periphery states to join the League.

The 331st was assigned to Operation Mailed Fist in 2581, the invasion of the Rim Worlds Republic, where the 331st took heavy losses during the invasion of Apollo. At the time, the 331st was only at brigade strength, and it would take nearly a half-century for the SLDF to rebuild the unit to full strength.[2]

Later Years

In 2764, the 331st was part of the Eleventh Army, with its headquarters on the Lyran planet of Zollikofen. In April of that year, the 331st was dispatched to New Vandenburg as a base of operations during the Star League's attempt to put down rebellions on seventeen Periphery worlds. The following year, the 331st was transferred to Zaprudy as the entire Periphery (with the exception of the Rim Worlds Republic) was now in open revolt.

In 2772, the 331st joined up with Task Force Commonwealth when General Kerensky planned his mass assault to retake Terra from the forces of the Usurper, Stefan Amaris. On September 30, 2779, the SLDF succeeded in overthrowing the Amaris coup and summarily executed the Usurper for crimes against humanity.

Exodus

After the fall of the Star League in 2781, General Kerensky began recruiting SLDF forces to join him in leaving the Inner Sphere; one of the many units answering Kerensky's call was the 331st. On November 5, 2784, 80% of the SLDF departed with Kerensky in his Exodus.

In 2786, the Exodus Fleet reached the Cloak of Kerensky and the later-named Pentagon Worlds. The 331st became part of the group that colonized the planet Circe. In 2801, the Exodus Civil War broke out and Nicholas Kerensky called for a Second Exodus. What remained of the 331st rallied to Nicholas' cause and departed with him to form a new society: the Clans.

Clan Wolverine

In 2821, the Clans returned and conquered the Pentagon Worlds, ending the Exodus Civil War. The 331st was part of the task force that retook Circe. At this time, the 331st was formally disbanded and its soldiers became part of the Clan Wolverine Touman as the 331st Battle Cluster.[1] Sarah McEvedy, daughter of the last commander of the 331st (James McEvedy[3]), was elected the first Khan of Clan Wolverine, and Franklin Hallis, a descendant of another previous commander of the 331st, was elected saKhan.

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 331st Royal BattleMech Division
Lieutenant General Frederick Hallis
Major General James McEvedy 2764[4]

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition

As an SLDF BattleMech Division the 331st would have been composed with two Brigades of 'Mech regiments and one brigade of Mechanized Infantry regiments.[5]

2764

331st Royal BattleMech Division - Elite[4]

  • 3311th Royal BattleMech Brigade
  • 3312th Royal BattleMech Brigade
  • 3313th Royal Mechanized Infantry Brigade

Game Rules

During the Star League era, the 331st is skilled at combined arms. Any time they field a force that mixes BattleMechs with combat vehicles or infantry, they gain a +1 initiative bonus. If the 331st's force only includes one type of unit in the scenario, the bonus isn't added. Since they have a wide variety of BattleMechs for every four units on the field ('Mechs or vehicles) the 331st player can choose two of them from the Star League Random Assignment Table instead of rolling for them.[6]

Notes

The SLDF Division's commander was always from the North American region of Terra, and its symbol changed depending on which socio-political region the commander was from. In the Case of James McEvedy his was Minnesota.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Betrayal of Ideals
  2. 2.0 2.1 Era Report: 2750, p. 57
  3. Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 115
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 139, "331st Royal BattleMech Division"
  5. The Star League, p. 133
  6. Era Report: 2750, p. 143

Bibliography