Army of the Southern Cross

The Army of the Southern Cross is a fictional military organization in the Robotech universe. In the series´ second generation, Robotech Masters, the Army of the Southern Cross is the force tasked with defending Earth from the Robotech Masters, who came to retrieve the Protoculture Matrix, following the failure of the Zentraedi during the First Robotech War. The ASC (as it is often abbreviated) took over the role of Earth´s defenders after the departure of the Robotech Expeditionary Force circa 2023. The leader of the ASC was Supreme Commander Anatole Leonard, a powerful military and political figure, and the de facto military dictator of Earth. The Army of the Southern Cross was crushed during the Invid invasion of Earth.

Origins of the Army of the Southern Cross
The origin of the ASC can be traced to the tumultuous years following the Zentraedi Holocaust (2011). During those years the primary military force on Earth was the Robotech Defense Force (RDF), whose leaders began a process of integrating the former Zentraedi soldiers into human society. Some Zentraedi rebelled against the Earth government in what became known as the Malcontent Uprisings. The Malcontents had their main strongholds in South America, especially in the Amazon region, thus leading to brutal fighting in this continent. Several political leaders in South America objected the RDF´s policy regarding the suppression of the Uprisings, and the most extreme ones favored the eradication of the Zentraedi. Among these was the Governor of Brasilia, Anatole Leonard.

Leonard decided to fight the Zentraedi (in his view, every Zentraedi was a potential Malcontent) by himself, outside of the efforts of the RDF. To that end, he rallied local mercenaries, former members of the South American militaries and disaffected RDF officers to form a private militia. The first public action of Leonard´s army was the infamous Brasilia Massacre, where 1100 Zentraedi civil rights activists were killed in a riot.

Even though the RDF disapproved of Leonard´s actions, some members of the United Earth Government began to support the proactive Governor. Viewing his private army as a means to further their own agendas, the United Earth Government deputized Leonard´s army as an ¨auxiliary¨ force of the RDF, giving Leonard some funds to organize his forces. Leonard then organized his forces under the name of Army of the Southern Cross, of which he appointed himself Field Marshal. The ASC then proceeded to deal with the Malcontents in its own way; brutally and without remorse. This led to some clashes with the alien-friendly RDF forces, which saw the ASC as an effort to undermine their position. Unlike the RDF, which relied upon expensive mecha, the ASC assembled a large force equipped with conventional military equipment, including pre-Robotech tanks and armored vehicles. Leonard´s star was on the rise, and he soon made powerful allies within the United Earth Government.

Ascension, Pinnacle and Downfall
When the Malcontent Uprisings were crushed, the effort was geared towards the forming of the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF), which was to prevent a war with the overlords of the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters. Most of the RDF was gutted to provide men and equipment for the new military force, substantially weakening it against the Army of the Southern Cross. Shortly after the departure of the REF, the United Earth Government established a new force, the Earth Defense Force, as the planet´s official military, combining the RDF and ASC. The tension between former RDF and ASC members led to the dissolution of the Earth Defense Force and the institution of the ASC as the Earth´s military force. The RDF became the Global Military Police, tasked with overseeing the ASC.

With the help of his allies, Anatole Leonard (now styling himself as ¨Supreme Commander¨, a historical irony considering that the late Zentraedi leader Dolza also was ¨Supreme Commander¨) became the most powerful figure in Earth politics. The Army of the Southern Cross expanded to incorporate mecha forces and the elements of the space fleet not included into the REF. Leonard´s grip over Earth was unchallengeable. His personal control became his own curse, as it would be seen during and after the Second Robotech War.

When the Robotech Masters arrived at Earth, the ASC bore the brunt of the fight. Leonard ordered costly and massive offensives against the enemy, disregarding the counsel of his military advisors, especially Major General Rolf Emerson, his Chief of Staff. Emerson, a former RDF officer, believed in a diplomatic approach to the aliens rather than Leonard´s ¨shoot first, ask later¨ policy, and despised Leonard´s careless offensives, which caused great loss of life and equipment to the Army of the Southern Cross.

Eventually, Leonard ordered a grand space offensive led by General Emerson himself and manned by many officers opposed to Leonard, as a way to get rid of them. The Southern Cross fared badly during the war, being defeated on many occasions, save for a few Pyrrhic victories.

In the final weeks of the Second Robotech War, Leonard launched a final offensive with most of his troops and some reinforcements from the REF. This force managed to defeat the Robotech Masters, but at a great price -reducing the ASC to shambles. During the Masters´ assault on Monument City (home to the ASC´s headquarters), Leonard was killed along with several of his top officers and political allies. Combined with the death of General Emerson, the ASC was left headless.

The Army´s new leadership was completely incapable of preventing mass defections and the feudalization of the military. Combined with the collapse of the United Earth Government, this led to a period of anarchy on Earth. When the Invid invaded Earth, the Army of the Southern Cross was only a shadow of its past glory and power, and was completely incapable of defeating the new invaders. As the Invid took control of Earth, the Army of the Southern Cross was completely destroyed, although some units continued to harass the Invid as members of the growing resistance.