Jonas Tyler
Sarna News
- Bad ‘Mechs - Sentinel
- HEXTECH Review - Wave 3 Brings More Urban Options To Your Battlefield
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For March, 2024
- Crashing 'Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy
- Getting The Word Out With Rem Alternis, Catalyst Community & Marketing Director
- Read more →
Jonas Tyler | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | 2729-2730 (see notes)[1] |
| Affiliation | Star League House Tyler |
| Profile | |
| Profession | Military Officer[1] Earl of Sherwood[1] |
| Family | |
| Spouse | Yulia Flyntham[1] |
Jonas Tyler was the last commanding officer of the 132nd Royal Jump Infantry Division, he was also ratified as the first Earl of Sherwood during the First Succession War.[1]
Contents
History[edit]
Military Career[edit]
In 2674, the Star League Defense Force responded to a request for assistance from the Council of Elders, the ruling body of the planet Sherwood, whose planet had been suffering for some time from criminal and bandit activity. This was in part due to the government's policies and laws that had been put in place centuries before, strictly limiting the size of the population of settlements and the impact they were allowed to have on the environment, leading to large areas of Sherwood remaining as pristine wilderness, ideal for criminals and bandits to operate from and within. Bandit activity had reached a level that the local militia, the Sherwood Jabberwockies, couldn't deal with. The Third Army deployment proved less effective than hoped, because the flora on Sherwood - which prominently featured large, tree-like plants that could grow to more than one hundred meters in height - blocked observations by satellite or other orbital methods, and the dense forests made BattleMech operations difficult. The Third Army units deployed to Sherwood struggled to deal with the bandits, despite operations continuing for almost a century.[1]
In 2759, the most dangerous of the bandit units - a group known as the Titanium Blade, backed by the Taurian Concordat - had grown from a company of BattleMechs to a demi-brigade-sized unit of 'Mechs and conventional forces, and successfully seized an SLDF forward operating base at Montfriar, destroying the garrison there. In addition to wiping out a company of SLDF 'Mechs, the Titanium Blade escaped with an SLDF Leopard-class DropShip loaded with Wasp LAMs, and millions of League dollars' worth of repair equipment, munitions and supplies. The infamous raid led to a year-long investigation by the SLDF, during which the Third Army forces were pulled back to their primary facilities near Marion, Sherwood's capital city, leaving the Blade to operate largely unimpeded other than the overstretched forces of the Jabberwockies. The investigation highlighted several failures on the part of regimental and divisional commanders caused by limited thinking and an overreliance on BattleMechs as the means for solving problems in a battle they were unsuited for.[1]
The SLDF responded to the findings by redeploying the 132nd Royal Jump Infantry Division to Sherwood in late 2761. At the time of deployment the 132nd had come under Jonas' command, Jonas having been recently promoted at the age of just thirty-one, making him the youngest Major General in the Third Army. Tyler was keen to prove himself, and took personal command of the 1321st and 1322nd Royal Jump Infantry Regiments during the deployment. For the next two years, Tyler would spend the majority of his tenure leading the infantry forces from the front lines as he used ambushes and aggressive tactics to dictate the strategic initiative of the campaign, deploying VTOLs at treetop level to support the infantry as they battled the Blade. One of the last major engagements between the 132nd and the Blade saw LAMs from the 132nd fighting light aerospace fighters from the Blade and the stolen Wasp LAMs directly over Marion, and by mid-2763 Tyler's tactics had seen the Blade defeated after nearly a century of banditry.[1]
The exploits of the 132nd during their campaign against the Blade had led to the media dubbing them as "Sherwood's Sheriffs", and their victory further endeared the division to the population.[2] In 2764, the 132nd was stationed on Brockton,[3] but in 2765 Jonas married Yulia Flyntham, daughter of one of the barons of Sherwood, and the Court of Elders named him an "earl" of the Court.[1] Tyler's campaign against the Titanium Blade made the 132nd a priority target for the Taurian forces they fought during the Periphery Uprising, and the Taurians used exceptionally brutal tactics against the Sheriffs. The division was destroyed as an operational formation[1] in 2765[4] and Jonas was crippled during the fighting. Tyler opted to retire back to Sherwood, along with a small number of other survivors from the 132nd and their remaining equipment. The SLDF equipment was integrated into the Jabberwockies, and the surviving members of the 132nd formed a new ad hoc planetary militia that they named "Tyler's Terrors".[1]
Civilian Career[edit]
Jonas' title of "Earl" was confirmed by the First Prince of the Federated Suns during the First Succession War. The formal recognition of the title of Earl by the First Prince and the subsequent enrolment of Jonas and Yulia's children in military academies on New Avalon and New Syrtis led to the virtual certainty that those children would be named to the Court of Elders. However, the Court chose to preempt this by amending the planetary constitution; Sherwood became a crowned republic, with the Tyler family representing Sherwood abroad and performing ceremonial duties, but holding just a single vote on the Court of Elders.[1]
Legacy[edit]
Jonas and Yulia's descendants would continue to be an important part of the aristocracy of Sherwood for centuries, with their direct descendant Jonathan Tyler serving as Earl during the Jihad and Dark Age. Tyler's Terrors would continue to serve the Federated Suns until at least the end of the thirty-second century, fighting in support of Victor Steiner-Davion under Jonathan's command during the FedCom Civil War, and Jonathan would go on to lead the Terrors across a wide range of the Federated Suns during the JIhad. A small unit of infantry, the Court Guard, was also established on Sherwood during the Succession Wars, continuing the tradition of the 132nd, and would continue to serve until at least the Dark Age.[1]
Notes[edit]
- A birthdate of 2729-2730 for Jonas is based upon the references to the 132nd deploying in 2761 under the command of the newly-promoted Jonas Tyler, and Jonas Tyler having been just 31 years old when promoted to Major-General. Depending on the timing of the 132nd's deployment in 2761, Jonas may have been born in 2729 or 2730.[1]