The Helghast Third Army, or the Third Shock Army, under the command of General of the Army Joseph Lente, was the most well-armed unit of all the Helghast forces during the Second Extrasolar War. They used vehicles such as light and heavy hover tanks, along with APCs. Their standard issue weapon is the StA-52 Assault Rifle. They were also the unit responsible for the executions of Helghast dissidents.
History[]
The Helghast Third Army participated in the invasion of Vekta in 2357. Thanks to Helghast collaborator General Stuart Adams, the Third Army bypassed the ISA's orbital defenses and made planetfall, quickly overwhelming unprepared ISA ground forces and capturing several strategic locations, including ISA Central Command.
However, even with their vast numbers, inside information on ISA forces, and equipment, ISA Captain Jan Templar and his squad with the use of asymmetric warfare and counterintelligence were more than a match for the Third Army. With the death of Lente at the hands of Colonel Gregor Hakha, the unit came under the command of General Armin Metrac, who managed to regain the initiative in southern Vekta before being pushed back and ultimately killed. In the end, most of the troops from the Third Army were annihilated, taken prisoner, or were the lucky few to escape back to Helghan.
The size of the Third Army was about 300,000 in the beginning of the invasion on Vekta. The ISA resistance drained these numbers more than the Helghast expected early on. Later the Helghast Command decided to use non-Helghast, to boost the strength of their ground forces. But these reinforcements consisted of only several hundred mercenaries and some ten thousand irregular Vektan sympathizers. In the end, most of them were sacrificed by the Helghast in hopeless combat operations against the ISA.
Trivia[]
- The Third Army was classified as the Third Shock Army by Colonel Mal Himeon in a feature article on the Killzone website. They are named after the Soviet 3rd Shock Army, of which their hatred towards Nazi Germany is the same as the Helghan's hatred for the ISA, and further drawing influence from World War Two.
- It is speculated that the Helghan Third Army is also inspired by the German 6th Army of World War Two. The Sixth Army was the most highly decorated German army unit until the Battle of Stalingrad, which also parallels the invasion of Vekta. Both armies were notorious for committing war crimes and met similar fates in that they gained great success initially, but were bogged down by a determined enemy who eventually besieged and defeated them. This also makes General Lente and General Metric the Helghast version of Walther von Reichenau or Friedrich Paulus, the commanders of the Sixth Army.
- It was also the name of the US Army formation led by General George S. Patton that played a huge role in the defeat and later occupation of Germany during World War II.
- The Third Army was arguably one of the most well-funded units of the Helghast military; they were for example equipped with high-tech hovertanks and superior weapons compared to the other Helghast armies, likely implying it to be poster unit for the new equipment that would eventually be used by all other Helghan forces. Unfortunately due to their defeat in Vekta and the ISA's eventual invasion of Helghan, it is likely production of the new equipment ceased due to Visari's full mobilization of his forces in defense of the invasion, leaving little time to finish full development.