OBT Forum

Quite correct Irose, I was writing about involvement with the Periphery such as the Dracs being some of the biggest arms salesman and trainers of the Periphery BattleMech Divisions. It is a possible that the Star League didn't know or suspect this activity instead suspecting the Dragon of keeping everything for itself. Still the Rim Worlds Republic and the Outworlds Alliance border the Combine and I am hard pressed to find a mention of them in the Field Report.

Okay lets talk Sword of Light. The first unit covered in the Field Report gives us the canon answer to the long awaited resolution of the mess begun in Field Manual Draconis Combine. For those who aren't familiar with what I'm talking about the history of the Sword of Light regiments was originally began in the year 2475 when one of their units took on a Steiner Occupation Force at the Battle of Nox marking the first Mech vs. Mech conflict. This major event in BattleTech history was first documented in the House Sourcebooks but Field Manual Draconis Combine destroyed this precious tie to the past by stating Takiro Kurita first formed the Sword of Light during Kerensky's Regency (2751-2755). This screwed up the continuity of the BattleTech universe to say the least leading to speculation of what happened, in universe theories, and proposed solutions to this mess.

Field Report DCMS 2765 takes Takiro's formation of the Sword of Light regiments as a grand reformation of their numbers in the  2740s changing the way they were assembled and outfitted. Previously there were twelve regiments (which does feed off the old sidebar in HSSB) after Takiro there were five. Later in the write up it say Urizen II made it a tradition that Kurita heir's served in one of these units. Despite missing on the dates of the Regency and ignoring other older sources like the Galtor Campaign (I think??) which list higher number Sword units indicating more than 5 during the Succession War the solution sort of works. However it kind of bothers me especially when you look at Regimental Status.

In 2765 the 1st (Ivory), the 2nd (Steel), the 4th (Jade), the 5th (Gold), and the 7th (Teak) are listed as the active five. Yet during the 1st Succession War which is only 20 years later the 3rd Sword of Light is lead by Jinjiro Kurita himself leads the 3rd Sword of Light against the Davion held world of Cartago (June 2787). Almost 10 years later Coordinator Minoru Kurita leads the 6th Sword of Light against the Davion held of Kentares in the early summer of 2796. So its still a mess. I guess the 6th could have been a newly formed unit to replace a damaged/deactivated one but the 3rd? Your barely two years into the fighting. Its a clumsy attempt at best to me to seal the breach. Kinda disappointed.

Yeah, each has an extra battalion and some have two more companies, which nearly three instant regiments if you need them.

I think in 2765 the 5 pillers is a smoke screen for hiding additional regiments. In 3025 when mechs are scarcer, the 5 pillers is observed because the DCMS can't add a 6th (or more) SoL regiment since they lack the equipment needed to equip it.

Maybe there will end up being 15 of them, brigaded into five pillars.

I like that idea a lot

That is a definite possibility Blacknova but we know it never got above 12 which is a problem.

Maybe 15 was the target but they never achieved it due to the destruction of the SWs.   Interestingly one of the units is the 15th SoL - TR3025 P. 138 TR3039 P. 220

What is there strength in 2785? 8 regiments? Cause we know about the 3rd and 6th in time period already exist. The 8th is a common unit from 3025 and it could be fielded by the numbers we know now. What nicknames would we go with for these units? And would Otomo be included here or kept as a noble regiment till 3025??

I would put the strength at 7-8 regiments in 2785 that sounds about right.  I think the Otomo would be a separate unit.  Not sure what to do about nicknames, maybe they have names like the Shadow Teak Dragon, Shadow Jade Dragon, etc

The thing is the higher unit numbers could easily have been raised to replace the fallen "dishonoured" units so they might only have 4 or 5 active at a time but have high numbers

I think we will go with a cover story in Threat Assessments that the Five Pillars organizational doctrine for the Sword of Light, which is played up by the DCMS as much as possible, is a suspected guise for several Shadow (Hidden) Regiments. These are obviously the Combine's most dangerous hidden units for their possible capabilities. The Terrans will document 3 regiments and may suspect more while the AFFS discounts this possibility citing the 5 as sacred to the DCMS. The LCAF may believe some number in the middle but you get the picture.

And now on to the Arkab Legions whose entry is not all that earth shattering but nonetheless well done. We knew that the Legions were excellent raiders but what I liked was the family touch bought to this write up which was two fold. Many families serve together in the Legion and most are taught by their family bringing a strong sense of tradition to the unit. These close ties also bleed over to the organization which views each branch (Mech, Vehicle, Infantry, Aerospace) as part of the family (unit). I really liked this touch to the unit.

They kind of double down on the insular nature of the DCMS preferring to operate independently and with views like the DCMS as an ally you can see why. They acknowledge the Coordinator as the Supreme Allied Commander certainly but as you can imagine this doesn't go over well with many in the Combine. As a result their Procurement status is low with only their ability as warriors earning them supplies. The ISF's inability to infiltrate the tight knit Azami usually means they end up as part of the Regimental Liaison Team (RLT) which is a new reveal and makes sense. Despite some suspicion incidents between the two parties are few and all regiments are indicated as reliable.

For Threat Assessments we originally had the Legions as three regiments strong but the Field Report has them at five regiments in 2765. I really can't argue the numbers so I think BTSD will just bump it up to five with no additional units by 2785. Not sure if as the DCMS I'd really trust them with any Shadow (Hidden) Regiments. What do you think?