Editing Asta Protectorate Militia

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[File:WoB_Protectorate_Militia_Logo_All.png|250px]]
| Designation    = Asta Protectorate Militia Division
| formed         = 
| Disbanded      = 3076
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = 
| Affiliation    = Word of Blake
| Parent Command = [[Word of Blake Protectorate Militia]]
| Sub-Command    = 
}}

The '''Asta Protectorate Militia Division''' is one of the many militias raised by [[Word of Blake]] to defend the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]]. The unit was deployed in [[Asta]]. As of [[3075]] it was the only unit raised from this planet.<ref name="JS:BDp103">''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 103: "Protectorate Militia Deployment"</ref>

==History==
Prior to the [[Jihad]], Asta was a primarily agricultural world with an economy based on exported textiles and food. Tourism was also a smaller part of the economy, with tourists and geologists arriving to examine the strange crystal rock formations in the desert canyons of the main continent, Balerdo. The Blakists attacked the world via orbital bombardment, destroying the small Draconis Combine military unit stationed there, and forcibly integrated it into the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]]<ref name=DARWp230/> between the 19th and 21st of June [[3068]].<ref name="J:FRp45">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 45: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> Having occupied Altair the Blakists then established several "reeducation" camps on the planet.<ref name=DARWp230>''Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)'', p. 230: "Asta World Profile"</ref>

When new intelligence in late [[3076]] reported the [[Ghost Bear Dominion]]'s latest military forays would focus on [[Dieron]], Protectorate officials augmented the planet's defenses. Then in early [[3077]] additional reinforcements in the form of five [[Protectorate Militia]]s and two frontline divisions brought a level of military force previously unheard of in Dieron's history: a staggering twenty-two [[Level III]] formations and heavy orbital support. The exact WoB forces numbered [[2nd Division (Word of Blake)|Second Division]], [[3rd Division (Word of Blake)|Third Division]], [[8th Division (Word of Blake)|Eighth Division]], [[14th Division (Word of Blake)|Fourteenth Division]], [[19th Division (Word of Blake)|Nineteenth Division]], [[23rd Division (Word of Blake)|Twenty-third Division]], and five Protectorate Militia ([[Liberty Protectorate Militia|Liberty]], [[Fletcher Protectorate Militia|Fletcher]], [[Acamar Protectorate Militia|Acamar]], [[Asta Protectorate Militia|Asta]], [[Milton Protectorate Militia|Milton]]) which were moved from their planets in the Protectorate as a surprise to the invasion forces.

The Protectorate Militias from Acamar, Asta, and Milton kept their infantry regiments in their home planets.<ref>''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 8: "Protectorate Militia [Word of Blake] (March 3077)"</ref>

After nearly a month of fighting through the tight confines of the mountain passes leading to Mount Shanyu, the bulk of the [[Eighth Dieron Regulars]] arrived at one of the two gates to Fortress Dieron. It took two days of constant assault for the Eighth to breach the mountainous wall. The [[DCMS]] troops then held the gate from a concentrated Blakist counterattack while [[Clan Ghost Bear]]'s [[Alpha Galaxy (Rasalhague Dominion)|Alpha Galaxy]] rushed through the gap. But the Clan Caught in the open, the warriors of Alpha Galaxy became easy targets for constant [[artillery]] fire. In order to give more time to the Clan forces, the battered remains of the Eighth charged the oncoming [[Asta Protectorate Militia]], giving [[Khan]] [[Aletha Kabrinski]] and her warriors time to overrun the lower artillery
positions. With the destruction of their artillery nests and the arrival of the [[Second Dieron Regulars]] and [[Omega Galaxy (Rasalhague Dominion)|Omega Galaxy]], Blakist control of the Fortress's main gate fell apart.

By the end of the campaign nearly ninety percent of the Blakist occupying force had been wiped out, so this command was shattered as an effective unit.<ref name=TCp56>''Total Chaos'', pp. 56–60: "Dieron"</ref>

It was from a prison camp on Asta that the noted military officer [[Andrew Redburn]] was liberated on the 18th of March [[3077]]. Redburn had been presumed dead since the attack on [[Tukayyid]] at the beginning of the [[Jihad]], but was rescued alive by allied coalition forces led by [[Clan Ghost Bear]], and promptly joined the general staff of the coalition leader, [[Devlin Stone]].<ref name="J:FRp57">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 57: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> The forces from the Draconis Combine front of [[Operation SCOUR]] that liberated Asta were led by ''[[Tai-shu]]'' [[Isoroku Kurita]], and began by securing what was left of the planetary capital, Excaliba, in the face of stiff resistance that finally broke with the arrival of the [[Second Genyosha]]. The main Combine force then rolled up the remaining Blakist presence on the Balerdo continent while the Ghost Bear forces cleared the Moolai continent. The Combine forces benefited from an uprising in a Blakist reeducation camp near the port city of Logan which had spread through other camps a week or so before the coalition forces arrived. The uprisings, led by Andrew Redburn, weakened and distracted the Blakist forces, something the coalition forces were able to take advantage of, shortening the campaign for Asta by at least a week if not more.<ref name="JHS:Tp32">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 32: "Official Update 2"</ref> The infantry elements of the Asta Protectorate Militia were shattered during the fight.

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Asta Protectorate Militia Division'''
|-
|}

==Tactics==
Unknown.

==Composition History==
Protectorate Militia Divisions were equipped with enough [[DropShip]] capacity for transportation, but not [[JumpShip]]s.<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 103</ref>

<div class="gamerules">

== Rules ==
As long as a Protectorate Militia force is fighting on its homeworld and is acting as the scenario's Defender, the Protectorate Militia force receives the Force the Initiative and Off-Map Movement special abilities.
If deployed as the Attacker in a scenario, the Protectorate Militia force loses its Force the Initiative ability, but retains its Off-Map Movement capability.

If deployed on a world other than its homeworld (such as an Epsilon Eridani force being deployed on Genoa), the Protectorate Militia force not only loses all of its special abilities, but also suffers a −2 Initiative modifier.

Although Blakist-based, Protectorate Militia forces may use standard Inner Sphere force arrangements (Lances, Companies, and Battalions) rather than Word of Blake force arrangements.<ref name="JS:BDp143">''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 103: "Rules Annex"</ref>
</div>

==Reference==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''
* ''[[Jihad Turning Points: Dieron]]''
* ''[[Total Chaos]]''


[[Category:Word of Blake Protectorate Militia Commands|Asta Protectorate Militia Division]]