Sierran Loyalist Defense Force

  

Sierran Loyalist Defense Force
Participant in the Disturbances
Emblem of the Sierran Loyalist Defense Force
Active	November 15, 1968 - July 1, 1989
Ideology	Radical monarchism Anti-republicanism Right wing politics Political catholicism Sierran unionism pro-Jacobitism anti-Landonism
Leaders	Stephen Brannon † Donald Whitehorse
Headquarters	Bernheim, San Joaquin
Area of operations	Styxie (main operations) Federal Sierra
Strength	3,100 (1968) 10,100 (1977) 2,900 (1989)
Originated as	Jacobite Defense Force Sierran Loyalist Force King Charles Army Frémonters Association various other Jacobite and monarchist groups
Became	Sierran Loyalist Defense Association
Allies	White Rose Brigade
Opponents	Sierran Republican Army Sierran Liberation Army Revolutionary Continental Army San Joaquin Democratic-Republican Party Sierran republicans Sierran Landonists

The Sierran Loyalist Defense Force, colloquially referred to as simply the Defense Force or the Loyalist Army, was a Sierran ultra-monarchist and right wing paramilitary group in Sierra and was one of the primary belligerents during the Disturbances. Fighting primarily in the Styxie region of Sierra, the SLDF's ultimate goal was to protect Jacobite and Catholic communities from republican groups and promote Sierran monarchism and unionism within the Styxie. During its twenty-one years of existence, the SLDF fought alongside the White Rose Brigade and other monarchist groups primarily against the Sierran Liberation Army and the Sierran Republican Army.

The Sierran Loyalist Defense Force was founded in 1968 in response to increasing attacks on Sierran Jacobite neighborhoods by members aligned with the Sierran Republican Army and the Sierran Liberation Army. The SLDF was the result of the unification of a number of dissident monarchist and Jacobite militant groups, most notably the Jacobite Defense Force, the Sierran Loyalist Force, King Charles Army, and the Frémonters Association. Beginning in the late sixties, the SLDF would come into conflict with the SRA and SLA on a number of occasions, and would orchestrate a number of terror attacks, including the San Joaquin Provincial Building bombing and the Bernheim City Hall bombing in 1969, the Red Summer bombings in 1976, and the Bernheim Central Station shooting in 1980. At its height, the SLDF had around 10,000 members, making the organization the largest monarchist militant group during the Disturbances. Although officially designated as a terrorist group, the SLDF commonly associated with officials in Jacobite-majority towns and in some instances operated as an electoral organization, supporting Jacobite and anti-republican candidates in provincial and local elections. The SLDF, along with other combatants in the Disturbances, would begin to faulter as the Sierran Royal Army initiated more aggressive crackdowns against militant activity. Throughout the Disturbances, the SLDF was allied with the White Rose Brigade, with the two groups commonly assisting each other in attacks against Republican forces.

Outside of the Styxie, the SLDF would be involved in a number of terror attacks across Sierra, primarily against the federal government (Port of Porciúncula bombings of 1978) and secessionist movements (Honolulu bombings of 1983 and the Salt Lake City Temple bombings of 1985). The general decline in militant activity beginning in the mid-1980s, and an overall decline in public support for continuing the Disturbances on both sides, would lead to the SLDF signing the Concord Accords. As the largest militant group on the monarchist side, the SLDF agreed to dissolve itself once the accords were put into place, alongside the SRA. However, following its dissolution, many of its radical members would form the Sierran Loyalist Defense Association or would join the much larger White Rose Battalion.

The legacy of the SLDF is mirrored in controversy in contemporary times. The SLDF is viewed much more favorably by many Sierran Jacobites and monarchists living in the Styxie region, with some arguing their defense of Jacobite neighborhoods in Bernheim essential to the survival of the culture in the modern era. However, the SLDF, along with many of the Disturbances-era militant groups, are generally viewed much more negatively, especially in areas that had aligned with the SRA or SLA.