Army Group "Knights of Saint Michael"

Symbol of the Knights of Saint Michael army group

The **Knights of Saint Michael**, also known as the **10th Volunteer Army Group** or the **Catholic Legion**, was an all-volunteer army group folded under the International Coalition Volunteer Corps, a wider command under the purview of the Interstellar Coalition Terrestrial Army during the Corporate Wars. It was formed following the failure of the Coalition of Congressional Republics' Operation STELLAR SHIELD in 2242, which had led to Outer Colonial Combine forces seizing control of the old Frontier (now comparable to the modern territory of the Periphery). Initially formed by Father Kapłański, a Catholic priest from Mera, the force was originally a division-sized militia unit composed entirely of Catholic men who were escaping with their families to the Core as a result of the wanton destruction. He convinced Pope Celestine VII to have the Roman Catholic Church sponsor the unit, which had been christened the "Knights of Saint Michael", and was also swayed to petition the Coalition government to induct the unit into the International Coalition Volunteer Corps.

The Knights of Saint Michael were officially folded into the ICVC and upgraded to an army group, becoming the tenth within the organization to do so. They were uplifted into a position alongside other religious volunteer army groups, such as the Islamic 8th Volunteer Army Group "Shabaan el-Masih" and Hindu 11th Volunteer Army Group "Maanav Mukti Sena". The Catholic Church and the Coalition government alike urged Catholics and other Christians to enlist, and their numbers soon swelled from the further influxes of Christian refugees pouring into the Core from all directions.

The 10th Volunteer Army Group saw action on planets such as Endymion Prime, Morus Prime, and Shekinah in the Azure Tidings system during Operation EARTH SHAKER in late 2242 and early 2243. Although these battles all ended in Coalition defeats, the Knights of Saint Michael were instrumental in evacuation operations, performing daring operations such as counteroffensives and delaying actions to buy time for refugees. Casualty rates were extreme for the Knights of Saint Michael, with multiple armies under their command being obliterated by Combine forces of higher quality. However, the Knights were noted by both sides for sporting an "almost inhuman fervor in combat", with entire divisions deciding to sacrifice their lives rather than letting rebel forces thrust into vital flank positions and possibly overwhelm the Coalition's various planetary evacuations.

During Operation COSMIC SHIELD in late 2243, armies under the Knights of Saint Michael were tasked with holding to the last man in various coreworld battles such as the Battle of Athpi in the Sehul system and Battle of Chokhmah in the Golder system. They were also participant in Operation ETERNAL VIGILANCE, which wholly centered around the monstrous Battle of Hyperion in the Hathor system. Following the Combine's flounderings in the battles for both Hyperion and for Earth in the last-ditch Operation FINAL JUDGEMENT of early 2244, the Knights of Saint Michael were turned to offensive operations. They assisted Coalition marines and army troopers to take back Euphemia Prime in the Second Battle of Euphemia Prime in the Coalition's Operation STELLAR VENGEANCE. In Operation STELLAR FURY of 2245, the Knights of Saint Michael aided in storming and retaking the systems of Mera and Angelique back from Combine forces.

Officially disbanded following the Tellus Protocol in late 2245, many "Knights" found themselves scarcely rewarded for their services. Over six million men and women, Catholic or other Christian alike, served and died under the Knights; the surviving soldiers were only deferred partial rewards, unlike those serving in the Coalition Forces Authority or armies under the Combined Member National Subcommand. As the Second Renaissance loomed, the repulsion of the Coalition "practically forgetting" the millions of Catholics and Christians killed or maimed during the wars led to veterans forming their own Catholic-rooted colonial militias and organizations, with many being considered criminal syndicates by the Coalition government. The Holy Army for the Salvation and Liberation of Humanity, a modern Christian terrorist organization, claims to be ultimately descendant from the Knights through these post-war veteran groups.