Brion's Legion

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History

Brion's Legion is a mercenary unit that entered the service of House Kurita in 3013.[1] The regiment fared poorly, often being in the wrong place at the wrong time,[1] and took a severe beating on Tancredi II because their Draconis Combine employers failed to adequately support them. As of 3025 they were reduced to two battalions (implied to be understrength), and trying to rebuild their strength. They were assigned to the Ashio Prefecture and stationed on the planet Murchison by 3025.[2][1]

Fourth Succession War

With the advent of the Fourth Succession War the Legion was paired with the Ninth Dieron Regulars for an attack on the Federated Suns planet David.[3] It is on this world that the fate of the Legion was changed forever.

During the action on David the Legion and the Dieron Regulars attacked the on-planet forces, specifically the Twelfth Deneb Light Cavalry, as part of the Draconis Combine's response to Davion aggression. Initially the attack went well, with the Kurita forces successfully landing all forces, but soon turned inconclusive as the Cavalry were augmented by local militia and civilian actions. Despite this the Draconis forces continued to push the Federated Suns' lighter units. Finally the Light Cavalry found a defensive position and turned to fight.[4]

The Draconis Combine's attack was spearheaded by the Legion, which advanced to engage. Due to a ploy by the Cavalry the Legion's leader, Colonel Pythonius Brion, was identified and his 'Mech was destroyed by the combined fire of an entire battalion. Demoralized, the Legion broke and fled the field of battle closely pursued by the Light Cavalry. Realizing their situation the Legion fled to the local ComStar station and appealed for sanctuary, which was granted. When told of this action by the Legion Coordinator Takashi Kurita was heard to say that he had no use for "that collection of cowardly daffodil-sniffers" and washed his hands of the unit forever.[4]

ComStar at this time desired a more visible military presence and preferred to keep the Com Guard forces still secret. With this in mind Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht contacted Colonel Octavius Brion, son of Colonel Pythonius, and offered the disgraced Legion a contract with ComStar. When the Legion agreed to the contract ComStar brought the Legion back up to a full Regiment using Star League era BattleMechs and upgraded the remainder using Star League era technologies. They also enrolled the Legion personnel in ComStar's rigorous MechWarrior training programs, resulting in an overall upgrade of the Legion's equipment and personnel. Over time the Legion was expanded to a second Regiment to better support their role as a garrison unit for ComStar assets.[5]

With the public revelation of the existence of the Com Guard Brion's Legion was assigned to the Terran Defense Force under Precentor IV Ralph Marchina as part of the Home Guard for the Sol star system. Though they spent many years as a ComStar mercenary unit the Legion has always held to the command and organizational structures of the Inner Sphere standard militaries.[5]

The Legion's status as a ComStar-contracted mercenary command ended in 3058. With the fighting in the Chaos March heating up and mercenary contracts in this region becoming more lucrative the Legion command decided to end its contract with ComStar and prove it had recovered from its disastrous showing during the Fourth Succession War. This decision would have grave impacts on the future of ComStar and on the Inner Sphere itself, with the Word of Blake masquerading as the 21st Centauri Lancers intended to replace the Legion, allowing the Blakists a foothold to successfully launch Operation Odysseus. [6] [7]

Their first contract was with the independent world Pleione in the Chaos March. Though they did well, their lack of experience in contract negotiation caused numerous issues, specifically in ceding command to local militia commanders. Though they were hampered by an insecure and tentative commander, they did eventually force the attacking Federated Suns 12th Vegan Rangers off world. This success went a long way in restoring the reputation the unit had been lacking since their actions during the Fourth Succession War.[5]

In the following years the unit gained experience in contract negotiations and retained increasing autonomy with each new contract. In late 3058 the Legion took a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth and was assigned to defend Tomans against Clan incursions into Commonwealth space.[5]

In 3064 Brion's Legion was rushed to the planet Rasalgethi in response to a Jade Falcon attack on this planet. There they supported elements of the Kelenfold PTM and Snord's Irregulars in some of the heaviest fighting they had faced since the fateful battle on David in the Fourth Succession War. The chaotic nature of the battle forced the Legion to abandon its preferred tactics of mass formation long-range fighting in favor of a more fluid and flexible approach. They became adept at the use of lures, traps and ambushes as well as battlefield deception tactics to hide the composition and placement of their forces. Though they took substantial damage in this campaign, primarily to the First Regiment, Brion's Legion came out of this trial with a renewed sense of accomplishment and a reputation as a stalwart band of mercenaries.[8]

With the beginning of the Jihad the 1st Regiment was assigned to defend the once hostile Marik border again. On Mizar they met the Steel Guard in combat and retreated after serious losses. In 3069 they returned prepared and defeated the Marik forces on planet. [9]

The 2nd Regiment was assigned at the beginning of the Jihad as a reserve to the Bolan Province. Stationed on Bolan, the mercs had difficulty calming the situation down. After losing some units to ambushes the command increased their cooperation with the local leader. This events led to the rumors of their being the "pet" mercs of the planetary leader.[10] When the 52nd Shadow Division struck at Bolan on the 17th of February 3074, the defending 2nd Regiment was shattered and Bolan City razed.[11][12]

After the Jihad ended, the First Regiment was assigned to garrison Son Hoa.[13]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Brion's Legion
Colonel Pythonius Brion 3013 - 3028[4][2]
Colonal Octavius Brion 3028 - 3085[14]

Notes

Unit Composition

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game, p. 123
  2. 2.0 2.1 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine) p.
  3. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1 p.80
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2 p.28
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Field Manual: Mercenaries pp. 44-45
  6. Shattered Sphere, p. 100 "The Fall of Terra - Opening Moves"
  7. The Fall of Terra, p. 7 "Operation Odysseus - Gathering Storm"
  8. Mercenaries Supplemental, p.24
  9. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 37
  10. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 37
  11. Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 48, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  12. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 52, "The Jihad In Review"
  13. Field Report: LAAF, p. 18
  14. Field Manual: 3085, p. 160, "Mercenary Forces Deployment Table - 3085"

Bibliography