1st Tikonov Lancers

Brigade Insignia of the Tikonov Lancers
First Tikonov Lancers
Disbanded Destroyed during the Second Succession War[1]
Nickname Heaven's Swift Retribution
Affiliation Capellan Confederation
Tikonov Grand Union (previous)
Parent Command Tikonov Lancers


History[edit]

As a part of the Tikonov Lancers brigade, the First Tikonov Lancers can claim a line of direct descent from some of the first military units to be formed outside of the Terran Alliance. The First Lancers began as a garrison infantry unit, but when the Capellan Confederation began producing BattleMechs from the mighty Earthwerks Limited plant the most powerful of these war machines went to the First Lancers, transforming them into a shock assault unit.[2]

Diana's War[edit]

The Tikonov Grand Union was a sprawling interstellar nation by the middle of the twenty-third century[3] and would begin clashing with the neighboring Marlette Association began clashing soon after the founding of the association in 2278.[4]

By the dawn of the twenty-fourth century, these problems were coming to a head. The Marlette Association was the first to begin a campaign of active warfare, seizing the most significant of the independent worlds, Almach, Mesartim, Mira and Mirach between 2302 and 2306.[4][3] This left the Grand Union in something of a crisis; in addition to the conflict with the Marlette Association, war was looming between the nearby Capellan Hegemony and the Sarna Supremacy, and internally the rulers of the Grand Union, the Tetrarchs, were facing a succession crisis.[3]

Tetrarch Anton Carinus attempted to solve two problems in one fell swoop by adopting General Diana Chinn of the Third Tikonov Border Guards, a mediocre field commander but an outspoken beauty with strong anti-Davion sentiments and ten years of experience earned in combat along the border with the Marlette Association. Commanding a number of units including the First Lancers, General Chinn launched a counterinvasion that earned initial successes on Almach in 2308 and Halloran V in 2309; Chinn's forces were brought up to a full six regiments and launched a follow-up invasion of Mira in mid-May 2309, attempting to capitalize on the earlier successes.[3]

Chinn's troops spent several months capturing Marlette strongholds across Mira until Chinn's untimely death in mid-May under suspicious circumstances.[5] The death of Carinus' general and heir apparent stalled the campaign amidst an atmosphere of suspicion and superstition, and led to the Tikonov forces retreating soon after from Mira and simply consolidating on the worlds they'd captured earlier.[4][5][6][7] Despite the lackluster ending to the campaign, the First Lancers earned honors in every Grand Union victory of the war.[2]

Age of War[edit]

It was during the Age of War that the First Lancers earned the nickname "Heaven's Swift Retribution"; this was a direct result of their role in providing a swift and rapid counterstrike to nearly every effort made to challenge the sovereignty of the Capellan Confederation. It was during the Age of War that Franco Liao purged the noble trained bands that had been dominated by the families of the Tikonov Tetrarchs and sheng nobility, removing their influence with varying degrees of success.[2]

The First Lancers didn't have it all their own way during the Age of War, however; the disastrous combat action on Lee in 2363 that led to the end of the Capellan Commonality and the formation of the Capellan Confederation saw a number of the best regiments in the region destroyed or heavily damaged, including the First Lancers and their sister regiment, the Third Lancers.[8]

Star League Era[edit]

The First Lancers were one of eight regiments within the Tikonov Lancers by 2765, at which point the Capellan Confederation was in the process of rapidly rebuilding its armed forces. No Capellan Confederation Armed Forces units outside the Tikonov Lancers could claim the five centuries of martial history and tradition that the various Lancer regiments enjoyed; in common with the other Lancers regiments, the First was also more rigid in their doctrine and inflexible in character than the units of other CCAF brigades, a direct consequence of the huge emphasis played on maintaining continuity with the heritage and traditions of the Lancers.[2]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 1st Tikonov Lancers

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

First Tikonov Lancers (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)[2]

- In 2765 the First Lancers were stationed on Tikonov.[2]

2786–2821[edit]

First Tikonov Lancers (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)[9]

- At this point in time the Lancers were a heavy-weight regiment operating at full strength and were stationed on Tikonov.[9] In 2821 the unit was operating at below half-strength and were stationed on Mirach.[9]

2830[edit]

1st Tikonov Lancers (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[1]

Note: At this point in time the assault-weight unit was stationed on Ruchbah with an operational readiness of 104 percent.[1] The unit was destroyed during the war.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Second Succession War, p. 96
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Field Report 2765: CCAF, p. 15: "Tikonov Lancers"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 21: "The Tikonov Connection"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Handbook: House Liao, p. 12: "Timeline: Capellan Zone"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Handbook: House Liao, p. 13: "Timeline: Capellan Zone"
  6. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 22: "Diana's War"
  7. Handbook: House Liao, pp. 13–14: "Tikonov Grand Union"
  8. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 25: "The Aris Crisis"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 First Succession War, p. 136: "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces (CCAF)"

Bibliography[edit]