Anatole Eli Leonard is the Supreme Commander of the Army of the Southern Cross and the United Earth Forces during the Second Robotech War.
Biography[]
Before the First Robotech War[]
During the Global War, Anatole was a supporter of the Anti-Unification League and an acquaintance of T. R. Edwards.
Prior to the First Robotech War, Colonel Leonard headed up Project Excalibur. It was Earth's early attempt at the application of the then-new science of Robotechnology. (From the Stars)
Malcontents[]
After the devastating Rain of Death, Leonard founded a military organization known as the Southern Cross Group during the Malcontent Uprisings in the period shortly before the Battle of New Macross City and the destruction of the SDF-1. At Christmastime, the Group was mentioned in a newscast, reporting on a downed Zentraedi battlecruiser. (Macross: "Season's Greetings")
Despite a reputation as a known anti-Zentraedi agitator, he had a secret affair with Seloy Deparra, fathering a son, Hirano Deparra. However both were killed during a crisis, killed in a crossfire while Miriya Sterling escaped a Malcontents band. Leonard was successful in covering it up, though rumors persisted. (Robotech: Rick Hunter)
In January 2019, after the warlord Zeraal launched a new campaign, Leonard contacted RDF command at Monument City and insisted that newly-promoted Rick Hunter lead a strike force to hunt down Zeraal, known as Pegasus Squadron. He deliberately underfunded it, a fact which led Vince Grant to blackmail the Southern Cross leader into giving them the VHT-Prototype-Zero. (Robotech: Rick Hunter)
The Sentinels[]
Before the SDF-3 departed from Earth, he was put in charge of the defense of Earth and rebuilding the Robotech Defense Force. Leonard was not optimistic of the mission, feeling that the REF's exit from Earth Defense would leave the Earth vulnerable to an attack from any alien forces which chose to invade the planet; Zentraedi or otherwise. He predicted that if the mission went through and the Spacefortress did not return home, war against another alien threat would be inevitable. (Robotech II: The Sentinels) It was a fear which would be proven correct within seven years.
The Second Robotech War[]
He was the leader of the Southern Cross Army that protected the Earth after the SDF-3 parted to Tirol, he was disliked for his "win-or-die" mentality that led to the deaths of many Southern Cross soldiers and pilots. During the conflict against the Robotech Masters, he was convinced that the Robotech Masters had to be exterminated in order to win the war.
This led to various internal problems and debates within the Southern Cross' high command where many generals knew that the only way to end the war was through peaceful means.
He was in Monument City during the Robotech Masters' final assault on the Southern Cross's headquarters, where he said that he would stay to the end. During the battle, a Tirolian Corvette identified the building and shot directly at his office, killing him instantly. (Robotech: The Masters)