Editing Davion Brigade of Guards

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[Image:Davion Guards -Brigade logo.png|150px]]
| Designation    = Davion Brigade of Guards
| formed         = ca. 2418<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/>
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = Royal Brigade<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/>
| Affiliation    = [[Federated Suns]]
| Parent Command = [[AFFS]]
| Sub-Command    = 
}}
The '''Davion Brigade of Guards''' are the descendants of the personal bodyguard that [[Lucien Davion (23rd c.)|Lucien Davion]] created to defend the President of the Federated Suns. Over time the Brigade evolved into a modern military unit and was eventually integrated into the AFFS. Today, the Royal Brigade serves as the elite of the Davion military, and though its soldiers were once drawn solely from New Avalon, they now come from all over the realm and their loyalty to [[House Davion]] ensures the unit's devotion is to the Federated Suns as a whole.<ref name=HD-139>House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 139 (PDF Version)</ref>

==History==
=== Early History ===
The origin of the Davion Brigade of Guards lies in the personal house guard of the Davion family.  Originally responsible for protecting members of the family, the unit took on wider responsibilities as the [[Federated Suns]] evolved.  When [[Reynard Davion]]<ref name="FR:FS2765p13">''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', p. 13: "Davion Brigade of Guards"</ref> was elected President in [[2340]]<ref name=HBHDp107>''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 107: "Leaders of the Federated Suns"</ref> they were formally incorporated into the [[Federated Peacekeeping Forces]] and took on the responsibility of protecting the leader of the Federated Suns.  Once [[Simon Davion]]<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/> became the first to hold the title of [[First Prince]] in [[2418]]<ref name=HBHDp108>''Handbook: House Davion'', pp. 108–109: "Leaders of the Federated Suns"</ref> they were officially recognized as the Royal Brigade.<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/>

=== Star League Era ===
The Davion Brigade of Guards continued to grow in importance as time passed, occupying a more and more prominent role in the Federated Suns military. Along with the [[First Avalon Hussars]], they were the first [[AFFS|Federated Suns military unit]] to field BattleMechs.  Thanks to their prestigious reputation, the Brigade was able to draw on the best candidates for its manpower, often selecting the top of each academy class for assignment to the unit.  When the [[Star League]] first formed, every brigade within the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Suns]] contributed manpower or complete units to the nascent [[Star League Defense Force]] - with the exception of the Brigade of Guards. Such was the Brigade's collective loyalty to the Federated Suns and to House Davion that none of the personnel within the Brigade were even approached to join the [[SLDF]].  When the Star League Council enacted the [[Council Edict of 2650]], mandating the drawdown of each of the Great House's military, the Brigade was the only unit in the [[AFFS]] to escape untouched - not a single unit was deactivated.<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/>

The Davion Brigade of Guards differed from similarly prestigious units maintained by other state militaries, however, as they were very often the first into battle in every campaign.  During the Star League era the Brigade continued to enjoy access to the best recruits, the best equipment, and attracted many veterans mustering out from their time in the SLDF. By [[2765]], the Brigade was effectively the same size and strength of an SLDF [[Corps]], a size which it had achieved even before the [[Reunification War]].  The Brigade was also the first of the Federated Suns 'Mech formations to convert to the combined arms school of warfare, with each [[regiment]] serving alongside new, permanently-attached armor, infantry, artillery and aerospace assets.<ref name="FR:FS2765p13"/> While the Brigade did occasionally have issues with personnel, which was normal for a unit of its size, the ethos its members maintained was to solve problems amongst themselves.  It was thus the formation within the AFFS least likely to require action to be taken by the Judge Advocate during that era.<ref name="FR:FS2765p14">''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', p. 14: "Morale"</ref>

===Succession Wars===
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===FedCom Civil War ===
The entire Brigade being loyal to [[Victor Steiner-Davion]], the Davion Brigade were involved in every phase and every major operation of the [[FedCom Civil War]]. Because of this they took tremendous casualties, particularly during the final battle on [[New Avalon]], but were critical in winning the war for the [[Allies]]. Immediately after the Civil War almost all of its units were removed from the active duty rolls, but the brigade's position as the peak of the AFFS ensured that all but the Fourth and Fifth Guards were quickly rebuilt and restored to combat readiness by the time the [[Jihad]] broke out.<ref name=FMU-129>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 129: "Federated Suns - Davion Brigade of Guards"</ref>

===Jihad===
Of the Davion Guards units who survived the FedCom Civil War, two were completely destroyed by the [[Word of Blake]] during the Jihad while the rest of the units took heavy losses. The Davion Light Guards and Third Davion Guards were destroyed on New Avalon by Blakist forces. The First was damaged, but rebuilt quickly by drafting members of other units. The First then went on to participate in [[Operation SCOUR]]. The Second joined the First in facing the Word of Blake. After landing on [[Terra]], more than 95% of the unit was destroyed by nuclear strikes fired by the defending Blakists. As of [[3079]] the Second remained on the rolls as an honor guard, but was little more than a company currently attached to the First Davion Guards.<ref>''Field Report: AFFS'', p. 12</ref>

===Republic era===
Thanks to their elite position within the AFFS and the extreme sacrifice and dedication shown by them during the Jihad, the Davion Brigade was rebuilt in short order as full-sized [[RCT]]s rather than as smaller defensive [[LCT]]s sweeping across the Davion military. Even this composition varies from the pre-Jihad era, each RCT's [[BattleMech]] component reduced to a standard regiment but offset by a reinforced [[aerospace fighter]] [[wing]] and a complete regiment of [[battle armor]]. The brigade's units had ample opportunity to show off their new layout in the years directly following the fighting on Terra with two regiments taking part in [[Operation MATADOR]] with another helping to bolster the newly formed [[Periphery March (Federated Suns)|Periphery March]]'s border regions.<ref name=FM3085-60>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 60: "Federated Suns - Davion Brigade of Guards"</ref>

==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 Davion Brigade of Guards'''
|-
| [[Duchess]]||[[Matilda Davion]]||[[2900]]s<ref name=HDTFSp183>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 183</ref>
|-
| [[Duke]]||[[Christopher Payne]]||[[2999]] - [[3013]]<ref name=FM:FSp117>''Field Manual: Federated Suns'', p. 117</ref>
|-
| [[Field Marshal]]||[[Ran Felsner]]||[[3026]]<ref name=HD-189>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 189: "Ran Felsner"</ref>
|-
| [[Marshal (rank)|Marshal]]||[[Bishop Sortek]]||??? - [[3063]]<ref name=FCCW>''FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)''</ref><ref name=ER3062>''Era Report: 3062''</ref>
|-
| Field Marshal||[[Stephan Cooper]]||[[3063]] - ???<ref name=FMU-129/>
|-
| Field Marshal||[[Dixon Zibler (Davion Brigade of Guards)|Dixon Zibler]]||[[3080]]<ref name=FM3085-60/>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
Different per unit.

==Units of the Davion Brigade of Guards==
The Davion Brigade of Guards are a large combined arms brigade consisting of almost sixty regiments.<ref name=HD-139/>
* [[Davion Assault Guards]]
* [[Davion Heavy Guards]]
* [[Davion Light Guards]]
* [[1st Davion Guards|First Davion Guards]]
* [[2nd Davion Guards|Second Davion Guards]]
* [[3rd Davion Guards|Third Davion Guards]]
* [[4th Davion Guards|Fourth Davion Guards]]
* [[5th Davion Guards|Fifth Davion Guards]]
* [[782nd Davion Guards Auxiliary]]

==Color Scheme and Insignia==
The Brigade of Guards use the Davion family colors for parades and ceremonial duties, royal blue on the left and right side, bright red in the front and back, and white spacing the blue and red panels.
<gallery>
Camodavionbrigadeofguards.png|Atlas BattleMech of the Davion Assault Guards
Enforcer III (1st Davion Guards).jpg|''[[Enforcer III]]'' in parade colors of the 1st Davion Guards
Davion Guards Assault logo.png|Davion Assault Guards
Davionguardsheavy.png|Davion Heavy Guards
Davionguardslight.png|Davion Light Guards
Davionguards1.png|First Davion Guards
Davionguards2.png|Second Davion Guards
Davion Guards 3rd logo.png|Third Davion Guards
Davion Guards 4th logo.png|Fourth Davion Guards
Davionguards5.png|Fifth Davion Guards
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Federated Suns]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Report: AFFS]]''
* ''[[Field Report 2765: AFFS]]''
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)|First Succession War]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Davion]]''
* ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]''

[[Category:Federated Suns Commands|Davion Brigade of Guards]]
[[Category:Federated Commonwealth Commands |Davion Brigade of Guards]]