Army of the Southern Cross

General

Novels

For further uses of the term "Southern Cross", see Southern Cross (disambiguation)

The Army of the Southern Cross (often referred to simply as Southern Cross and sometimes referred to as The Armies of the Southern Cross) was a semi-independent advanced military force within the United Earth Forces.

History[]

The military organization was founded as the Southern Cross Group by then-Colonel Anatole Leonard during the Malcontent Uprisings, 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")

The Army of the Southern Cross was originally named after the cross-like constellation of stars in which Tirol (the homeworld of the Robotech Masters) was located; a constellation that was only visible from the southern hemisphere on Earth. Under the command of promoted Field Marshal Leonard, it became one arm of the United Earth Defense Force alongside the REF, which embarked on the Pioneer Expedition. (Robotech II: The Sentinels)

They were styled in the ways of knights, using codenames and ranks out of the medieval age unlike the more practical Robotech Defense Force. While part of the Robotech Defense Forces, the Southern Cross under Anatole Leonard held a lot of influence in the RDF, essentially becoming the most powerfull man on Earth following the departure of the Pioneer Expedition to Tirol, this was most noted as the Southern Cross' more authoritarian and xenophobic attitude was the rule of law by the time of the Second Robotech War.

There was also a rivalry between Southern Cross and the Global Military Police as the latter was specifically formed to monitor, discipline and/or arrest both civilian and soldiers that defied any order from the United Earth Forces' high command.

With the exception of the Spartas Veritech Hover Tank, the mecha and battloids of the Southern Cross where of a considerably lighter fare than their RDF predecessors. The Veritech Logan and battloids, such as the Civil Defense Battloid, where less armored and much more maneuverable than much of the RDF's mecha from a generation earlier. All Southern Cross mecha were laser resistant. (Robotech: The Masters)

Although it was (technically) victorious against the Robotech Masters during the Second Robotech War, Southern Cross was decimated by the Invid due to being depleted of man power and equipment thanks to constant battles with the Masters. (Robotech: The New Generation)

As a result, many of the surviving Southern Cross personnel opted flee Earth during the initial stages of the Invid invasion and chose to meet up with returning REF forces at Space Station Liberty to fight another day. (Robotech: Love Live Alive)