NOTE1: Hello, and welcome to a new chapter of the story! This is more of an interlude and reflections chapter. I never got to show many details of those who were there. I hope I get to do it with this chapter. Enjoy reading!
NOTE2: Oh yeah, regarding Andromeda! I opened the door there, but there is no guarantee that I will walk through that door. It is yet to be seen. No promises of a sequel taking place over there. Hell, I didn't even get through the story either (on YouTube 'cause my laptop doesn't meet the specs). I have other story ideas on my mind. You can check them on my profile.
Chapter 16: Accounts of the Terran Blitz (Interlude I)
"In peace, sons bury their father. In war, fathers bury their sons."
(Herodotus)
"I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell."
(Major General William Tecumseh Sherman)
Accounts of the Terran Blitz is a documentary about the short war that changed the galaxy. We don't aim to portrait a biased image of either side involved in the battles. Our goal is to showcase the feelings, the experiences, the loss and the tragedy of this conflict – or any other military conflict for that matter – through the testimonies of those who were there. The following interviews have been taken from veterans of the Battle of Shanxi and of the Terran Blitz prior to the Reaper invasion of our galaxy.
This documentary was made in close cooperation with the League of Hierarchy's Veterans organization. The League is known throughout Citadel space for its efforts to preserve the memory of Turian soldiers who fought their peoples' battles. From the battles between the clans of Palaven, to the Unification Wars, the Terminus Insurgencies, the Human – Council War, the Iron Coup, to Saren's Betrayal, the March through Terminus, to the Reaper War – they did their utmost for the Hierarchy's heroes, for their sacrifice to be immortalized and memory preserved for many years to come.
Accounts of the Terran Blitz: Part One
"We were in the forest to the west of the capital city. General Desolas sent our battalion along with the 5th to clear it of those Alliance mortar teams and militia squads that were harassing the landing zone and then flank around the city, open another front on the northern side of the town. A dropped company failed to breach the eastern flank earlier that day.
Everything was quiet at first. We were carefully advancing through the woods so as to not lose more troops to the traps. The Alliance militia units had set up multiple traps outside the city. We lost 7 soldiers to a fuel canister, a few mines and even a local predator. We were following a creek's course. The terrain there was easier to traverse in our heavy armor than through the muddy soil of the forest. It rained in large quantities that week on Shanxi. Then we made contact.
It all began with a loud cracking sound, lots of yelling and the Sergeant of my platoon went down in a blue pool of blood with a hole in his waist as large as my talon. A large caliber rifle, maybe a .50 caliber, had claimed him. The shooter was in a water ditch not even 150 meters away from us. We took cover immediately and retaliated.
I don't believe the Humans were numerous, a platoon at best. But they seemed to be everywhere around us. The foliage worked in their favor – our fighters and ships were unable to detect them through the forest's roof. We followed doctrine and immediately advanced on their last known spot with overwhelming numbers and firepower, only to find that they weren't there anymore. They never fired from the same spot three times in a row. The whole firefight degenerated into madness. Humans between us and us between Humans.
I remember the Captain ordering my platoon to evacuate the wounded back to safety. We were literally carrying them on our backs. I could hear the firefights behind us as we pulled out. We were again ambushed when we cleared the rearguard. Forus was shot in the back by a Human militiaman while he was administering medicine to Syhen, a fine woman and a hell of a comrade. She had part of her chest exoskeleton torn off by a mortar shell and shrapnel in her legs and chest. Her situation was critical.
Lieutenant Tanetil ordered us to dig in and defend ourselves and the wounded. He radioed in Legion Command for immediate backup… that backup came too late. A bunch of grenades killed Tanetil, Laeus and severely injured Kio. I saw the explosives bounce off rock and fall right among their ranks. I wanted to shout, to get their attention… they were engulfed in smoke and dirt in an instant.
Laeus' body leaked blood through multiple holes in his shattered armor. Tanetil's left leg was a total mess. Bone could be seen through the gore. His armor's articulations didn't stop shrapnel from piercing. Kio was dragging his own body through mud and fallen leaves in front of me… I was too paralyzed to move a talon to help him. His cries of pain fell on deaf ears. No matter how much they train you, no matter how much the military is part of your culture… nothing prepares you for that slaughter.
They always talk about the urban battle when they talk about Shanxi. They've forgotten us, those who fought and died in the surrounding area of the city. But at least we've fought honorably… unlike the crazy fanatic Eclipse mercenaries."
Private Agriius Natation, 4th Platoon, 2nd Company, 1st Reconnaissance & Disruption Operations Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 27th Legion. He would fight in Shanxi's forests for one more day before being injured by a bullet while assaulting positions held by the 7th Shanxi Militia Company on the western flank of the city, just 400 meters from the outskirts of the residential sector.
70% of his platoon was killed or injured during the first day of fighting. By the end of the day, two companies were merged together to compensate for the casualties. Private Natation was evacuated from the front line to an advanced FOB in the woods where he was given medical treatment. The battered FOB surrendered without a fight to the Alliance on the last day, thus saving the lives of the wounded soldiers, of the medical staff and the support personnel.
During 2180 – 2181 more than 300 Turian soldiers and Alliance militiamen have been dug out from the battlefield by workers who were expanding the city. They were given ceremonial burial in the Shanxi Military Cemetery. But at least 40 more Turians and Humans still lie beneath the forest's soil, swallowed by the autumn rains and winter snowfall, their remains not recovered to this day.
Agriius Natation survived the Reaper War and is currently living in a small apartment in the city of First Heaven, Harmony. He will publish a short book by the end of this year, Shanxi: Forest of the Dead.
"The column was advancing along a large street. We encountered heavy resistance along our designated attack line. Orders were to circumnavigate the resistance pockets and push on, the infantry coming behind us was to deal with the defenders. Everything went well in the morning – we were making solid progress. Mind you that that progress was measured in the number of blocks we secured.
When we reached the main crossroads we met the first heavy weapon emplacements of the enemy. The rain wasn't doing us many favors, and the fog only helped the defenders. A lightning fast tracer shot from the floor level of a building. It had impacted the leading hover tank. The tank's hatches flew 100 meters into the sky from the shell exploding inside the vehicle and the hover system failed. The concussive wave knocked me off my feet.
My back hurt from the force I hit the ground with. My ears were hurting and bleeding… the helmet didn't do a fantastic job at filtering the noise from the explosion. I opened my eyes and saw tracers big as plums flying through the air. I… rolled on my belly and dragged myself to the cover of the nearest wall. Carnage all around… It was clear as daylight. Damn Alliance Army units had dug in with a tank as support and a Spirits damned SPAAG. Damned thing's 40 millimeters mowed down the whole 9th company. The street was awash with blood from the rain and dozens of bodies.
I shouldered my sniper rifle and fired where I saw the faint light of a muzzle flash or where I guessed the tracers' origin. The few of our unit who had the concussive round mod fired a few. AT teams came forth but the bad visibility and well camouflaged tank gave them problems. I mean they hid the fucking thing in an underground parking lot! Only its cannon and upper turret were peaking over the ground. It shrugged off return fire like a Krogan's hide shrugs off spoons.
No support from the ships in orbit. Every time we tried to fall back and call in an orbital strike the Humans counterattacked to deny that advantage. I fought for 20 fucking hours at that damned crossroads and the surrounding buildings. Spirits, the Humans even attacked us with knives attached to their rifles when we tried to fake an attack while actually falling back. They came out of the buildings, guns blazing, and stuck their blades into my comrades. That's unheard of! We had to give up that block eventually. I passed out after midnight from exhaustion. Next thing I knew is waking up under armed guard in a cell."
Leading Private Herter Indalin, 1st Platoon, 1st Company, 3rd Assault Battalion, 1st Brigade, 27th Legion. He was one of the few participants to survive what's now dubbed the Battle for Tuscari Boulevard. Tuscari Boulevard is one of the main boulevards of the city. Three Apocalypse tanks, four Phalanx SPAAGs and the remaining 557 Alliance soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 120th Frontier Garrison Infantry Regiment, had set up defenses along the boulevard that leads to one of the bunkers full of civilians.
As the Turians fell upon the defenders, they only fought back harder. The fighting there was brutal and in many cases it came down to hand to hand combat. The soldiers of the Alliance 2nd Company counterattacked at bayonet the Turian 1st and 3rd Companies before nightfall and recaptured lost buildings. Turian officers and soldiers were wildly impressed by the courage and perseverance demonstrated by Human soldiers.
By 0500 hours of 30th June, the soldiers of the 27th Legion's 1st Brigade were unable to breach the fanatic defenses on the Tuscari Boulevard. Any attempt to flank around was met with an intense artillery barrage followed by ferocious counterattacks. More than 1,700 Turians died in 20 hours of combat. Most casualties were due to the first ambushes and the Phalanx's effectiveness at literally cutting down entire companies at once when caught on open ground.
The arrival of the 503rd Marine Regiment at 0730 hours marked the beginning of the end for the engagement. Paladin mechs were very effective at flushing out the now dug in Turians. Herter Indalin was taken prisoner with his surviving platoon members. He spent a month in a POW camp on Aurora before being repatriated.
Indalin would not survive the Reaper invasion of his home planet of Carthaan. According to the League's records he fell in the line of duty while defending an evacuation zone on the Turian colony. His sacrifice bought time for thousands of refugees to make it safely off planet.
"Being a doctor isn't an easy job. Especially if you're a doctor in the military. You get to see the Human being at its weakest point… when he lays on the table in front of you, bleeding from his wound, looking into your eyes for salvation… calling their mothers… I have done that for three days and it's enough for a lifetime…
It's exactly how it was on the first evening when the Turians came at Shanxi. I was working in the Tianxia General Hospital. We were still setting the place up and were lucky that we had only a few patients. A fresh colony doesn't see many sick people unless there's an alien virus in the air. When the sirens went on in the city we knew we had to pack. It's something they teach you in high school: when you hear the sirens, then you get to the nearest bunker. Army vehicles helped us ferry our stock of medical supplies and distribute it around the city.
And… as I said, the first wounded came to us in the evening. I think it was around 6 PM. A hastily established field hospital in three rooms of the bunker was soon occupied. Some of those who required medical attention received it and immediately left to fight again. The corridors were getting crowded. We ran out of space, so… we put the wounded soldiers, militiamen and civilians along the hallways.
There was this young lad… couldn't have been more than 25. He was an Army kid with the 120th. He was leaking blood through holes in the armor's skin suit. We immediately got his torso armor down and cut open the suit to get to the wound. The boy must have been shot at by a dozen aliens if the number of dents and broken plates were any indication. He had like 6 small entry holes in his abdomen's sides and his skin and armor were soaked in blood. The Corporal that accompanied him had administered morphine only. I immediately applied disinfectant, MediGel and bandages. But he died…
If they had brought him sooner we might have carried out an emergency surgery. But he had lost too much blood and his abdomen's insides was a mess from so many mass accelerated rounds. The saddest part was that he knew he was dying. A priest came by and gave him his last rites. He was the 1st person to die on me during those awful three days. Countless more followed… not as brave as he was.
Then civilians started to pour in. A father came with his child to emergencies. Turians bombed their street with that frigate in high atmosphere. The boy's legs were crushed by rubble. It's a miracle his parent got him out, the weight must have been enormous. Thing is… the father had a piece of metal stuck in his shoulder. They were a happy case. Most who didn't evacuate in time arrived from the bombed areas only to die in our hands…"
Doctor Fang Bao was a delegated surgeon at the Tianxia General Hospital on behalf of the Alliance Board for Extraterrestrial Medical Research when the Human – Council War started.
During the Battle of Shanxi, he operated more than 70 wounded soldiers and civilians, most of which have survived. He didn't sleep more than 6 hours in total in three days. In the months following the conclusion of the war he was awarded multiple medals for civic duty, including the honor of the Order of Asclepius Knight Class – one of the highest ranking honors in the Human Systems Alliance civilians are eligible for for saving lives.
Doctor Fang Bao went on to work at the Tianxia General Hospital after reconstruction. The Alliance Board for Extraterrestrial Medical Research sent him on multiple occasions to the Citadel to work with Citadel medical staff. He became famous among the Citadel's academic society when he stabilized a terminally wounded Elcor with applications of MediGel, thus prompting the other races to import the Human invention.
He continued to work at the Citadel and at Tianxia General Hospital in the following years. He survived the Reaper War by the skin of his teeth, evacuated by force from Shanxi. He would return to Earth at the end of the war to help the people of his hometown of Shenyang, China.
"I was 'scared shitless' as my husband would say. Gunfire resounded all around me. Alliance heavy infantry, a tank and Paladin mechs were pushing along the street and the apartment building's back alley. Those mechs' shields were constantly flaring from the Turians' constant fire. They remind me of the New Year festivities around Alliance space.
I was hiding with Alessia in my apartment. She was crying, she was afraid. I was too… but I had to be strong for her. Her parents died when the Eclipse swept through the area. I found her hungry and crying under a wet cardboard when I went looking for dextro food at the Quarian shop they set up. I took her in and cared for her.
Then I heard them fighting in the main hallway. I grabbed Alessia and hid behind the wardrobe. Two Turians broke the door and entered the small living room. I don't know if they noticed us at first but they sure did when Alessia started to scream. One of them looked our way from behind the corner while his buddy shouldered some heavy weapon and fired it into the street.
I have no idea what he hoped to achieve because just two seconds later the whole living room exploded. I think the tank shot at him with its cannon. I couldn't see or hear anything. My ears were ringing and the debris and dust filled the sleeping room we were in. Thankfully the wardrobe was thick enough to stop shrapnel from injuring us.
When the dust settled and I regained my senses I peeked over the overthrown wardrobe. My living room was gone, the wall and floor replaced with a huge hole. The bathroom wall gave in as well. I don't know what happened to the Turian who fired that weapon, but the second one looked critically injured. He had cracks in his armor. He dragged himself to the nearest wall and leaned against it. Then he took his mask off…
I won't ever forget those pained eyes he had… Regret, fear, despair. Those are feelings that transcend species. He looked our way and seemed to relax somewhat. I don't know what he said because it came as garbled chirping. Maybe his vocal cords were damaged. He reached for a compartment on the armor's chest and took out a small chip. He reached toward me but I never got out from my hiding spot. I shook my head to him. He got angrier and more desperate with each second until his arm fell limp against his body and his head fell down. I clutched Alessia tighter against me and gave a prayer for his soul."
Yeeni'Caalas nar Rayya was one of the Quarian engineers part of the exchange program set up by the Alliance and the Quarians. She was sent to Shanxi with others just like her to study Human architecture and construction technology. The Turian she watched die that day in her apartment was identified as Castis Luccedros – a Private of the Naval Infantry detachment from the THW Widow's Wrath. He only wanted her to pass an audio chit to his family on Taetrus.
Yeeni adopted Alessia, a 10 year old child who lost both parents to the Eclipse mercenaries, soon after the liberation of Shanxi and unofficially married an Alliance Marine – Lance Corporal Miroslav Vladimirovic, 502nd Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Shock Division. She helped rebuild the colony after both wars. Now she's living on Beacon with her Human family. She's part of the team of three architects that designed the Elegy to Heroes monument.
Elegy to Heroes is a 250 meters tall structure erected on Monument Hill near Tribute's capital city of Solace to honor every soldier and sailor fallen in the defense of Earth and Her Colonies, in the defense of Palaven, and in the defense of Citadel space at large. Be that soldier Human, Quarian, Turian, Asari, Batarian, Drell, Salarian, Geth, Elcor or Krogan. The other architects are Ludovic Calvet and Epignia Palitius. Smaller variants of the monument have been built on Palaven, Earth, Reach, Elysium, Taetrus, New Rannoch, Rannoch, and Illium, with plans to build one on every Turian colony.
The following audio file is a recording from the Zaria Dora's bridge, damage control station, between the commanding officer of the dreadnought, Matriarch D'linaria, Chief Engineer Artelyt, and Deck Operator Mereos.
"Report!" the authoritative voice said.
"We took a barrage of missiles from those bombers, Matriarch! We have fires on multiple decks including the hangar bay on the port side!" Mereos' younger voice said.
"We've got structural buckling all along this line!" Artelyt shouted.
"Get those fires out!" Mereos said just as loud.
"Automatic fire suppression is down! We're fighting it with hand held gear, Goddess dammit!" Artelyt retorted.
"Fire's spreading through the power lines. The port hangar bay will be affected soon."
"I know! I'm giving orders to the hangar bay personnel to take firefighting equipment. I'm redirecting four DC units to cut the power there and contain the fire before other systems blow up or burn!"
"No time!" D'linaria remarked. "Seal off everything in the affected area and start an emergency vent of all compartments."
"Wait, I've got 200 maidens there! I need a minute or two to get them out of there," Artelyt said.
"If we don't seal it off now we're going to lose a lot more than 200 maidens. Seal it off. Now!" D'linaria ordered.
"THEY JUST NEED A MINUTE!" Artelyt pleaded.
'WE DON'T HAVE A MINUTE! If the fire reaches the hangar bay it'll ignite the fighters' ammo and the fuel lines AND WE'LL LOSE THE SHIP! Do it!"
…
"All hands, seal off all bulkheads to decks C, D, E and F through lines 30 to 40," Artelyt ordered with a heavy heart.
"Start the emergency vent," D'linaria ordered.
"Yes, Matriarch," Mereos conformed. "Venting now…"
…
"Venting complete. Fires are out," she reported.
"If they remembered their training then they had their suits on and were braced for possible ventilation," D'linaria said.
"There was a lot of fresh blood there…" Artelyt said.
"No one's fresh blood anymore."
"We were so taken by surprise. We never expected it. Never seen it coming. Who could have? Thessia was the most defended planet in known space, second only to Palaven. But it did happen. The Humans attacked.
I was at my post when the order for combat stations came on the intercom. We were already geared up in our exoatmospheric suits. Damage Control parties were not normally geared up while at dock, but Matriarch D'linaria was strict and always wanted us at our top level. Maybe her rivalry with Matriarch Lidanya was part of the reason for that. We only had to put on our helmets when the order came.
Of course, we were surprised that we were ordered to battle stations. Even more so when the Matriarch said «This is not an exercise! We are under attack! ». I've never seen combat outside some exercises with the Turian Navy. Never had to do my job in real combat situations. It wasn't different than any other time the first two hours. We just sat at our post, talking, chatting… trying to relax while hoping that we'd never have to put out any fires, seal any bulkheads… seal hull breaches…
As our luck would have it, the ship was hit multiple times. A missile hit the deck below us and the blast blew the armor plating off the hull. Penetrated through the thick armor of a dreadnought and a dozen meters into the ship! Automatic damage control systems were unresponsive. Our DC unit was the closest so we acted. Had to plug the holes into the other main sections and cut power to the affected area.
We got to the deck below through the maintenance shaft. There was a hole the size of a large shuttle where the deck was breached. I could see the Thessia Ascendant kilometers from our ship taking a beating. Human bombers swarmed her and there were countless detonations on her hull. Luckily the mass effect field was still holding. It retained the air. We started to manually close bulkheads and put out the few fires that were raging.
Then… the second missile struck. The vibrations were violent for the first second. Then an intense white jet flame ripped another hole into the ship through the deck. Gelira and Atedri were caught right in the middle of it… they were vaporized in an instant. I could feel the intense heat through my suit from 30 meters away. When the light died… they weren't to be found. Only molten metal and huge scorch marks.
The jet must have hit the mass effect field generators 'cause they failed with a secondary explosion. If I didn't have my cable attached to the wall's railing I would have been sucked into space along with most of my fellow crewmembers… A big explosion… flames… and then the sounds on our radio channel of them simply dying in the empty void. I think Shegara's exosuit was punctured. Goddess… I never thought I'd be so helplessly assisting to my friends' death."
Trainee Engineer Inala Vate was part of the damage control parties on the dreadnought ARS Zaria Dora when Admiral Radoslaw Radovid lead his forces in the raid against the Parnitha System. Her task was to keep the ship in the fight by dealing with damage threatening the vessel's survival.
The novice maidens that made the bulk of the DC parties on Asari ships suffered the most casualties. Their training was good, but they lacked discipline. When Matriarch D'linaria, the commanding officer of the ARS Zaria Dora, ordered an emergency venting of the ship's port decks to put out a series of fires threatening to ignite a fuel line, most of the DC parties or crewmembers that were intervening to put out said flames were ejected into space. According to the more experienced crewmembers who were there, the maidens lacked the discipline to do their job properly. They panicked and they failed to follow safety protocols accordingly.
Only she and two other would survive out of her DC party by the end of the raid.
"The flotilla was escorting a big convoy shipping large Eezo quantities to the military staging point at Nasurn. Navy Command enacted defensive contingencies as soon as they learned about Human threat. The frigate I was assigned to, the Hialta, was the lucky one that day. If you can call it that. I had a feeling we were being stalked, kept seeing ghosts and echoes on LADAR and radio waves reflecting off Human ships at extreme range.
We were halfway between Annos Basin and fleet resupply outpost Tol when an Alliance frigate pack lead by a destroyer ambushed the convoy. Sensors picked them up roughly 1,500 kilometers to our starboard. Enemy fired missiles against merchant ships. Distress messages were sent out and reinforcements had been dispatched from Tol.
I was sensors operator and tactical officer. Coordinating with GARDIAN systems, the VI, and keeping the convoy within coverage was my task. Shot down some missiles, but there were too many. Merchant ships weren't quick enough to go into FTL. Flotilla Commander Bauhn ordered his cruiser and the other frigates to attack and force Human vessels to engage them and ignore the merchant vessels.
As expected the enemy focused on our military vessels. Not before launching a second salvo of missiles. We lost more than half of the convoy to missiles. Heard crewmembers die on radio. Extremely… unpleasant experience. Ship took a hit and lost GARDIAN grid. Quarter of the crew died from that explosion and subsequent decompression.
The captain ordered the ship to go into FTL, navigation officer rushed to prepare and spool up the FTL drive. I kept my eyes on the tactical situation. Flotilla Commander Bauhn was chasing Human ships away but lost a cruiser. Then our sensors have detected them. Radiological alarms were screaming at us. Somebody shouted «Nuclear weapons detected! ». I felt the fear grip me… Nuclear weapons were banned and not seen since the Krogan Rebellions. I've seen two nuclear detonations on the tactical display… Flotilla Commander Bauhn's command disappeared in two massive bursts of EMP. They looked like three dimensional spheres on my display…"
Station Officer Justarf Hulu witnessed firsthand how far the Alliance was willing to go. He took part in one of the few engagements where nuclear ordnance was deployed. Out of the 36 ships that set out to the Salarian colony of Nasurn, only 11 arrived. The Eezo they were transporting was vital for the naval force that was mustering at Nasurn. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich's attack on the convoy postponed Salarian readiness by at least one day. The reinforcements dispatched from fleet resupply outpost Tol arrived too late, but they were able to rescue the surviving crewmembers of the destroyed ships.
Mikhailovich's use of Shiva nuclear warheads sent a wave of antipathy among Salarian population, an antipathy directed toward Humanity. While some officers within STG and the military praised the Alliance at the time and during the Reaper War, the Union was openly opposed to this type of weapons, only surpassed by the Republics, especially after the March through Terminus and the Cleansing of Khar'Shan.
Justarf Hulu was promoted to Second Captain shortly after the Human – Council War and distinguished himself as a capable commander during the Iron Coup. This interview was the last he gave. He would not survive the Reaper War. He was aboard the dreadnought SNV Leralan when it was destroyed in an engagement with Reaper capital ships in orbit of Sur'Kesh.
CODEX ENTRY
TURIAN ARMY LEGION STRUCTURE
Just like the Systems Alliance Armed Forces, the standing military forces of the Turian Hierarchy are composed of three branches: Hierarchy Navy, Turian Naval Infantry, and the Hierarchy Legionary Corps.
The Hierarchy Legionary Corps (also referred to as Turian/Hierarchy Army) dates back to the unification of the people of Palaven and the Unification Wars. It was established as Palaven's unified military arm shortly after the discovery of Mass Effect technology and the dawn of the era of colonization. It became the extremely high disciplined and professional army that it's known for today during the Unification Wars when Turian colonies were warring with each other. It was ultimately the Legionary Corps of Palaven that crushed the militaries of the rebellious colonies and brought peace and unity where war raged.
Unlike its Human counterpart, it does not include auxiliary forces and fulfills the role of the standing Army. There are numerous active legions with an even bigger number of reserve (inactive) legions to be called upon since 30% of the Hierarchy's population represents the reserve military manpower.
A Turian Legion is the largest unit fielded by the Corps, numbering at an average of 20,000 soldiers. It's a very uniform unit and can be broken down into its constituent units to see that. A standard Legion is comprised of 4 brigades: two mechanized infantry brigades, one armor brigade, and one support brigade.
The first brigade of a legion is a heavy infantry brigade and it represents the tip of the spear in an attack or the iron core of the defense. On average, it numbers 8,000 troops and has the most transport vehicles of the legion. It can be broken down further into the 8 battalions with 1,000 men each.
The second brigade of a legion is a mix of heavy and light infantry. The six specialized battalions can be found here: the 1st Reconnaissance & Disruption Operations Battalion, the 2nd Special Operations Battalion, the 3rd Engineering Battalion, the 4th and the 5th Light Infantry Battalions, and the 6th Logistics & CBRN Battalion. The second brigade is normally tasked with flanking maneuvers, traversing hard terrain, scouting, attacking behind enemy lines and building fortifications/bridges or demolition missions.
The third brigade is the steel fist of the legion. Numbering around 3,000 Turians, it is formed of only three battalions: the 1st and 2nd Armor Battalion, and the 3rdArtillery & Support Battalion. The third brigade constantly coordinates with the first brigade in offensive operations, as well as defensive.
The fourth brigade is a mixed brigade. It numbers around 3,000 personnel and it isn't fragmented into battalions like the other three. The fourth brigade doesn't see frontline action unless the situation demands it. The men and women of the fourth brigade normally occupy themselves with communications, tactical and strategic analysis, intelligence analysis, medical attention, extra logistics management, etc.
As one can see, a standard Turian legion is a well organized and well rounded unit of professional soldiers. They are self sufficient for at least a week when cut off from supply lines. The Achilles' heel of the Turian Legionary Corps, as well as the Hierarchy Navy, lies in its rigid and hard to adapt doctrine to asymmetric warfare and new situations. A weakness shown and exploited with success by the Alliance during the Human – Council War.
After Humanity's emergence on the galactic scene with novel tactics and strategies, the Turian Hierarchy questioned the viability of its doctrine in face of this new and very possible enemy. The reforms adopted by Primarch Tiberius Fedorian's late administration sought to combat this by instilling a more dynamic thinking to the soldiers and offered field officers more autonomy in decision making. It is widely accepted that these reforms saved a good portion of the Turian military from total disaster in the opening months of the Reaper War.
BATLLE OF SHANXI
Part of: Alliance – Council War (The Shanxi Campaign)
Date: 28th June – 1st July 2180
Location: Shanxi, capital city of Tianxia and surrounding area of the city
Result:
Strategic Alliance victory
Destruction of the Turian 27th Legion and of the Turian Expeditionary Fleet
Belligerents:
Arcturus Federation: Human Systems Alliance, Quarian Republic
Citadel Council: Turian Hierarchy
Commanders and leaders:
Human Systems Alliance: Brigadier General Karl Dietrich, Colonel Ray 'Kilgore' Carley (KIA), Colonel Kain Hakey, Captain Ronald Taylor (KIA), Major General Joaquim Williams, Admiral Kastanie Drescher, Rear Admiral Leonard Averescu
Turian Hierarchy: General Desolas Arterius (KIA), Admiral Kaevus Eudorian, SPECTRE Tela Vasir (KIA)
Strength:
Human Systems Alliance: 501st Special Marine Regiment 'Devil's Specials', 120th Frontier Garrison Infantry Regiment, 1st Shanxi Tank Battalion, Shanxi Militia; 5th Marine Shock Division, Fast Reaction Fleet, 1st Heavy Reconnaissance Fleet, Shanxi Defense Force
Quarian Republic: one Quarian Marines company, 2 frigates
Turian Hierarchy: 27th Legion, 300 Eclipse mercenaries, Turian Naval Infantry detachments, Turian Expeditionary Fleet
Casualties and losses:
Human Systems Alliance: 90 warships (9,500 crew KIA), 7,500+ KIA, 5,100+ civilians
Quarian Republic: 2 warships (244 crew KIA), 144 KIA, 41 civilians
Turian Hierarchy: 500 warships (90,000+ crew KIA), 15,250+ KIA, 0 civilians
NOTE3: Thanks for reading! I still need to get around to answer to most reviews. I'm too lazy (and play too much Europa Universalis IV for the last week). Plus the shit tons of study I need to do and the job assignment. I hope to get out Ch 17 in a month or so.
NOTE4: Next in The Iron Heart of Man: we see the conclusion of the talks, the galaxy's reactions… and… I will see if I add the cultural exchange part. I will add it. I think. See you!
SPECIAL THANKS TO
TheOffensiveAussie (VRGL1337)
FOR HIS EARLY FEEDBACK ON THE CHAPTER