Army of the Southern Cross

The Army of the Southern Cross (ASC) is a fictional military organization in the Robotech universe. In the series´ second part, "The Robotech Masters", the ASC is the force tasked with defending Earth from the Robotech Masters, who came to retrieve the Protoculture Factory, following the failure of the Zentraedi during the First Robotech War. This conflict is known as the Second Robotech War. The ASC is part of the larger United Earth Forces that took over the role of Earth's defenders after the departure of the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) circa 2022. The leader of the ASC was Supreme Commander Anatole Leonard, a powerful military commander from the Robotech Defense Force (RDF). The ASC was crushed during the Invid invasion of Earth.

The force apparently takes its name from the Southern Cross constellation in the story. In real life, the name came from The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, the Japanese animated series adapted for the Robotech Masters segment of Robotech.

History
This is the history of the ASC, as portrayed in the primary continuity source of the 1985 TV series, with additional information from the 2002 Wildstorm comic series.

Origins of the ASC
The origin of the ASC can be traced to the tumultuous years following the Zentraedi Holocaust in 2011. During those years the United Earth Government began a process to build a fleet to establish extra-solar colonies, setting up an expeditionary force and integrating the former Zentraedi soldiers into human society. The pioneer expeditionary mission was tasked with taking the war to the overlords of the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters, to spare the Earth from another holocaust.

Some Zentraedi rebelled against the Earth government (in what became known as the Malcontent Uprisings in secondary continuity materials). They had strongholds, including the Amazon river basin of South America. A group known as the Southern Cross Group operated in this area.

The Army of Southern Cross eventually came into being during this period, and Leonard became its supreme commander. Its equipment included the VHT-1 Spartas hovertank, the VF-8 Logan and VFH-10 Veritech AGAC Fighter/Helicopter.

The Second Robotech War
When the Robotech Masters arrived at Earth in 2029, the UEF bore the brunt of the fight. Following a series of attacks on civilian targets by the Masters, Leonard was forced by the leader of the United Earth Government to order massive offensives against the enemy, disregarding the advice of his military advisors, especially Brigadier General Rolf Emerson. Emerson believed in a diplomatic approach to the aliens rather than Leonard's "shoot first, ask later" policy, and was concerned about Leonard's offensive strategies, which caused great loss of life and equipment to the UEF. Eventually Emerson admitted that no other course of action was possible as a diplomatic approach was impossible with the invaders.

Towards the end of the war Leonard ordered a grand space offensive led by Emerson himself. The ASC had fared badly up to that point in the war, being defeated on many occasions by the Masters' superior technology, but the tide eventually turned against the Masters.

Downfall of the ASC
In the final weeks of the Second Robotech War, Leonard launched a final offensive with most of his troops and some reinforcements from deep space. This force managed to defeat the Robotech Masters, but at a great price, reducing the UEF to shambles. During the Masters' assault on Monument City (home of UEF headquarters), Leonard was killed. Combined with the death of Emerson, the UEF leadership was left in a state of disarray.

When the Invid invaded Earth, the UEF was completely incapable of defeating the new invaders. The fight with the Masters had drained the Earth's defenders and left the UEF little time to rebuild. As the Invid took control of Earth, the United Earth Forces was almost completely destroyed, although some units continued to harass the Invid as members of the growing resistance movement.

Pre-reboot history
The following is the history of the ASC from the Robotech novels by Jack McKinney. This history is considered secondary continuity and does not apply to the core continuity where they conflict.

Origins
The origin of the ASC can be traced to the tumultuous years following the Zentraedi Holocaust. During those years the primary military force on Earth was the RDF, whose leaders began a process of integrating the former Zentraedi soldiers into human society; however, some Zentraedi rebelled against the Earth government in what became known as the Malcontent Uprisings, with most of the fighting occurring down in South America. 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 frowned upon 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.

Rise of the ASC
After the Malcontent Uprisings were crushed, the effort was geared towards the forming of the 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 ASC. 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, a mission the new force embraced with gusto due to the bitter rivalry between the ex-RDF and the ASC.

With the help of his allies, 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 ASC 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.

Second Robotech War
When the Robotech Masters arrived at Earth, the ASC bore the brunt of the fight. Leonard ordered massive (and suicidal) 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 Emerson himself and manned by many officers opposed to Leonard, as a way to get rid of them. The ASC fared badly during the war, being defeated on many occasions, save for a few Pyrrhic victories.

Downfall of the ASC
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, Leonard was killed along with several of his top officers and political allies. Combined with the death of Emerson, the ASC was left headless.

The ASC's hastily-assembled new leadership was completely incapable of preventing mass desertion and the feudalization of the military, let alone replace the troops and units lost during the War. Combined with the collapse of the United Earth Government, this led to a period of anarchy on Earth. When the Invid invaded Earth, the ASC 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 ASC was completely destroyed, although some units continued to harass the Invid as members of the growing resistance.

Technology
The UEF employed a number of Veritech mecha and equipment against the Robotech Masters. Some of the equipment used by the ASC include the following:


 * VF-8 Logan Veritech Fighter
 * VFH-10 Veritech AGAC Fighter/Helicopter
 * VHT-1 Spartas Veritech Hovertank

The ASC also had Sylphid fighters and the Tristar cruisers.