1st Syrtis Fusiliers

Brigade Insignia of the Syrtis Fusiliers
First Syrtis Fusiliers
Formed 2300s
Nickname The Roughnecks
Affiliation Federated Suns
Parent Command Syrtis Fusiliers

History[edit]

Early History[edit]

The First Syrtis Fusiliers had relatively humble beginnings on New Syrtis; the regiment began as an ad hoc unit comprised of workers from various mining and drilling operations owned by the Hasek family. The unit was initially raised to protect the various work sites from those looking to raid the various claims and from competing companies.[1]

The Fusiliers became the private guard and personal army of the Hasek family, with their star rising alongside that of the Hasek family and New Syrtis; the Syrtis Fusiliers expanded, and as time progressed the brigade became the official guard of New Syrtis and then the perhaps the most important military command within the Capellan March Principality of the Federated Suns.[1]

Davion Civil War[edit]

The bulk of the Syrtis Fusiliers brigade supported Prince David Varnay and his wife Cassandra Davion loyally throughout the Davion Civil War, opposing first the combined forces of Laura Davion and Nikolai Rostov and then First Prince Alexander Davion. At the end of the war Prince Alexander offered an amnesty to the survivors from the brigade, and reintegrated the Syrtis Fusiliers into the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, the restructured military that replaced the Federated Peacekeeping Forces as the state military of the Federated Suns.[1]

Alexander's clemency towards the Syrtis Fusiliers and his subsequent actions in rebuffing the attempt by Richard Varnay to seize control of the Capellan March cemented the Fusiliers' loyalty to New Avalon and the wider Federated Suns.[1]

The Star League[edit]

The First Syrtis Fusiliers served the Federated Suns well in the two centuries following the Davion Civil War; when the Star League council issued the Council Edict of 2650, sharply limiting the size of the military each Great House was allowed to maintain, the First and her sister regiments were left untouched. The brigade would remain ten regiments strong until shortly after the repeal of the Council Edict of 2650. Four centuries after the antecedents of the First were brought together as a unit, the First would continue to revel in the rough-and-tumble origins of those miners and drillers and bear the nickname "The Roughnecks" with pride.[1]

The Dark Age[edit]

The modern First Syrtis Fusiliers were formed in mid-3079, a product of the rebuilding of the AFFS, although their formation owes much to the persuasion applied by New Avalon to Field Marshal Nathaniel Hasek to persuade him to stop attempts to rebuild the various Syrtis Fusilier units as RCTs and instead embrace the LCT concept. Stationed on Taygeta, by August the Fusiliers' equipment and personnel were mostly in place, although the unit was still shaking itself down. Despite the rapid construction process the Fusiliers underwent, they were soon expected to reach regular combat status thanks to intensive training with the Davion Assault Guards.[2]

Despite being newly formed, the Fusiliers would soon see combat; when Operation MATADOR, the Federated Suns counteroffensive against the Taurian Concordat began in May 3080, the Fusiliers were on the front lines. The Fusiliers took part in a lightning combat drop on the world of Flintoft alongside the Assault Guards, one of nine worlds being attacked by AFFS forces; together with the Guards the Fusiliers established and secured a beachhead to allow conventional forces to land on the planet.[3]

By 3085 the Fusiliers were stationed on Hadnall, although they were somewhat short of their effective combat strength compared to mid-3079.[4]

After the Victoria War in 3105 the First Syrtis Fusiliers have 25% losses of their command stuff.[5]

In 3144 the First Syrtis Fusiliers were stationed on Avigait before being forced off-world by the Dynasty Guards.[6] The First Syrtis Fusiliers took heavy damage from the Dynasty Guards, including the loss of their headquarters unit.[7] Half their 'Mechs were destroyed before battle armor and conventional vehicle support arrived and allowed them to disengage from the Guards.[8] The survivors took up station on Frazer.[9][10]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the First Syrtis Fusiliers
Colonel Francois Wang [2]
Leftenant General Wallace Hasek-Cole 3085[4]
Leftenant General Albert Gullam 3145[11]

Tactics[edit]

Star League Era[edit]

The First Syrtis Fusiliers preferred close-in fighting - something that was considered to be a legacy of the unit's beginnings - and the MechWarriors of the First trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat and 'Mech-to-'Mech melee combat.[1]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Elite/Reliable).[12]

- At This point in time the First were stationed on New Syrtis.[12]

2786–2821[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)[13]

- At this time the First was an assault-weight unit operating at full regimental strength, and was based on New Syrtis.[13] In 2821 the unit was operating at a sixth of full strength.[13]

2830[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)[14]

Note: At this time the assault-weight unit was stationed on New Syrtis with an operational readiness of 62 percent.[14] The unit was destroyed during the war.[14]

3079[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers LCT (Battalion/Green/Reliable)[15]

Note: At this time the unit was stationed on Taygeta.[15] The First Syrtis Fusiliers are an LCT at full strength and 90% of their equipment features upgraded technology.[2]

3085[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers LCT (Green/Regular)[4]

- The First Fusiliers were at 75% of full strength, but 90% of their equipment had been upgraded.

First Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade (Green/Reliable)[4]

- Less well manned and equipped than the BattleMech formation within the LCT, the Aerospace Brigade was at 65% of full strength with only 45% of the Brigade's equipment having been upgraded.

First Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[4]

- The most experienced element of the LCT at this time, the Armor Brigade was at 60% of full strength but 75% of their equipment had been upgraded.

First Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade (Green/Reliable)[4]

- The most heavily understrength element of the LCT, the Infantry Brigade was at just half strength in 3085.

3145[edit]

First Syrtis Fusiliers LCT (Veteran/Fanatical)[11]

  • CO: Leftenant General Albert Gullam

First Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade (Veteran/Fanatical)[11]

First Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade (Elite/Fanatical)[11]

First Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade (Regular/Questionable)[11]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 18: "Syrtis Fusiliers"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Report: AFFS, p. 15: "Syrtis Brigades"
  3. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 61: "Bearding The Bull"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Field Manual: 3085, p. 70: "Sirdar PDZ (Sirdar Command)"
  5. Historical: Wars of the Republic Era, p. 65: "Casualties of the Victoria War"
  6. Technical Readout: 3145 Federated Suns, p. 50
  7. Technical Readout: 3145 Capellan Confederation, p. 34
  8. Field Manual: 3145, p. 78
  9. Technical Readout: 3145 Federated Suns, p. 46
  10. Field Manual: 3145, p. 78
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Field Manual: 3145, p. 90: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns"
  12. 12.0 12.1 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 19: "Regimental Status"
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 First Succession War, p. 135: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns (AFFS)"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Second Succession War, p. 95
  15. 15.0 15.1 Field Report: AFFS, p. 14

Bibliography[edit]