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Hansen's Roughriders

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Template:InfoBoxMercUnit The unit's early history is somewhat confusing because of apparently conflicting information in several early sources; see Notes. This article depicts the definitive version that reconciles all available information.

Overview

Originally a House Marik line regiment (and a House Davion line regiment before that), Hansen's Roughriders (occasionally misspelled as Hanson's Roughriders) became a famous mercenary regiment of heavy troops. They have a good reputation for reliability despite their somewhat rowdy image, and are renowned for being always in the thick of the battle with their heavy fighting machines.

The original crest of Hansen's Roughriders

The unit changed their crest at some point between 3025 and around ca. 3059, although even in 3059 the old crest was still used on at least some 'Mechs.[1] It remained a white fanged and horned skull on a shield, but the details of both the skull and the shield were altered, and the background color of the shield was changed from blue to a dun color.

History

Inception

The Roughriders' regimental identity was born as early as 2961, when one AFFS Colonel Ludwig Hansen fled the Federated Suns for Steiner space with his BattleMech regiment, fearing they might (unjustly) be caught up in purges of units with questionable loyalty.[2] They did not enter Steiner service, however, but joined the Free Worlds League's 12th Atrean Dragoons, a unit led by Ludwig Hansen's distant relative Major-General Gerhardt Hansen.[3]

In 3014 the entire command of the 12th Atrean Dragoons under Colonel Francis Ferdinand, then a veteran regiment with several heavy companies, sided with Duke Anton Marik in his uprising against his brother, Captain-General Janos Marik.[4] Only a small portion of the unit chose not to support the Duke.[5] After taking control of McKenna and Semenyih for the rebels, the regiment was deployed against their sister regiment, the lighter and inexperienced 11th Atrean Dragoons, on Matheran, where they were bogged down and ended up on the defensive when Smithson's Chinese Bandits joined the fight on the loyalist side.[4] Later the 12th Atrean Dragoons were included in the attack against Calloway VI where they suffered heavy casualties including the loss of an entire company when the Union-class DropShip Laureles' Pride was destroyed.[6] The decimated unit's spirit was broken, and they reportedly surrendered in November 3014.[7] In fact, most of the unit's remnant abandoned the failing revolt for good. Together with elements from the 1st Atrean Dragoons heavy regiment, a similarly frustrated loyalist unit that had been decimated on Sophie's World, and possibly other disenchanted Marik forces they turned their backs on the Free Worlds League.[8] Following a final battle on Ilion V, an abandoned Free Worlds League planet in what was now Lyran Commonwealth space, they went into exile under the command of Gerhard Hansen, an influential Marik officer,[8] and re-formed as the mercenary regiment Hansen's Roughriders.[9] (It remains unclear if they fought Marik or Steiner forces on Ilion V, or possibly among themselves.)

Mercenary business

It is not entirely clear when Hansen's Roughriders were properly formed as a mercenary unit following the civil war. Although it is generally assumed that they went to serve the Lyran Commonwealth immediately, House Steiner officially hired the unit only some 3 years later ("two years" after hiring Miller's Marauders in 3016 and "seven years" prior to 3025[10]),[11] i.e. ca. 3018. Together with fellow mercenary unit Miller's Marauders, they quickly became media darlings in the Commonwealth as they embodied the archetype of the rowdy but successful mercenary.[11]

The Roughriders became famous for their attack on the heavily fortified League world of New Olympia at some point prior to 3025, where they annihilated two enemy regiments over the course of three weeks of intense fighting before they were forced to retreat.[9] The attack was especially humiliating for the Free Worlds League because New Olympia was the site of one of their major military academies.

In 3019, Lyran intelligence learned that the Free Worlds League had sent the elite mercenary unit Wolf's Dragoons against the invaluable BattleMech factories of Hesperus II. The Lyrans rushed reinforcements to Hesperus, including the Roughriders who were held on reserve at the factory perimeter as a last-ditch defense. In the ensuing 13th battle for Hesperus II, the Dragoon onslaught drove right through the Steiner defenders despite being outnumbered two to one. It was the Roughriders, together with Hsien's Hotheads, who finally pushed back the Dragoons within sight of the factories. This marks the Roughriders as one of very few units to ever beat the famous Wolf's Dragoons on the battlefield. They had also killed the commanding officer of the Seventh Kommando in an ambush during the fighting.[12]

In 3024 the Roughriders participated in the capture of the industry world Sevren from the Draconis Combine.[13][10]

While under contract to House Steiner the Roughriders raided the planet Shiloh at some point prior to 3025.[14]

At an unspecified time between ca. 3020 and 3027,[15] elements from the Free Worlds League including the 33rd Marik Militia and the mercenary unit Seguin's Strikers staged a raid against Solaris VII but were repulsed by stiff Lyran resistance which counted Hansen's Roughriders among the defenders.[16][17]

A Roughrider detachment was sent to the periphery world of Rosetta to retrieve a Star League era weapons cache, particularly a stash of valuable lostech Starfire Head-hunter missiles. They gained access to the cache and even found the missiles, but unfortunately could not secure its contents before a local environmental phenomenon flooded the entire site with liquid sulphur. The Roughriders lost an Atlas on this mission.[18]

Suk II

As of 3025 (at the latest), the Roughriders were based on Suk II[19] to defend the valuable mining world against frequent raids from the Draconis Combine. They garrisoned Suk II long enough to become virtually associated with that world.

Fourth Succession War

In the first attack wave of the Fourth Succession War, the Roughriders were assigned to invade Wheel together with Narhal's Raiders. The defending Tooth of Ymir mercenary command requested a ritualized battle to avoid collateral damage to the civilian infrastructure and the attackers agreed. They defeated the Tooth of Ymir in a battle that was noted to have been fought with skill, compassion and honor.[20]

In the second wave, the Roughriders conquered Hainfeld[21] and in May 3029 they attacked Satalice together with the Waco Rangers in what was noted as one of the most effective invasions of the renewed offensive.[22]

The 3030s

An apocryphal roleplaying campaign scenario named "Drachentrick" is set during this time, specifically in the timeframe between the conclusion of the Fourth Succession War in 3031 and the creation of the Free Rasalhague Republic in 3034. The campaign assumes that the Roughriders remained on Suk II until 3034 at least. Veins of precious ores have just been found on the smallest and hitherto least important continent of Alshaya on Suk II, and a minor mercenary unit is hired to defend the continent while Hansen's Roughriders look after the other continents. Over the course of the campaign, Draconis Combine Warlord Ivan Sorenson has the Tooth of Ymir regiment stage a raid against Suk II that secretly leaves the attackers on-planet while their DropShips stage a mock retreat, and then spirits further troops onto the planet until a full scale suprise invasion can be launched with parts of the invasion force already on the planet and poised to strike at the defenders.
The minor mercenary unit was implied to have been Cameron's Legion, with whom the Roughriders maintained a cordial relationship and executed joint training exercises such as Schwarzer Tag.

In 3035 the Roughriders crossed the Free Rasalhague Republic to attack the Combine world of Sternwerde where they attacked enemy reinforcements as they arrived, causing massive damage.[23]

Because of their regimental history, they still had a bad relation with House Davion, though Hanse Davion made peace with the unit following the Fourth Succession War.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag Her own Panther ("Toothpuller") fell into enemy hands.[24]

War of 3039

Just prior to the War of 3039 the Roughriders were stationed on Algol, and during the war they became part of the invasion force for Pike IV, jumping off from Lambrecht.[25] The Draconis Combine's counterattack prolonged the campaign on Pike IV and the Roughriders suffered considerable losses at the hands of the 5th Sword of Light regiment. On November 6, 3039, their contract lapsed and they withdrew from the battlefield (with recall orders having been issued to the LCAF forces in October already).[26]

Major Wolfgang Hansen, Gerhard Hansen's son, was slated to take over command of the unit after the war from his father Gerhard who had successfully led the unit since the battle on Ilion V, but because of his poor performance defending the city of Mercator on Pike IV this was pushed back for some years.

A year later they were stationed on Algol again, apparently re-hired by the Federated Commonwealth.

Bromhead

By 3050 the Roughriders were still stationed on Bromhead,[27] far away from the Clan invasion front. It was not until Katherine Steiner-Davion offered them an assignment on the Clan Jade Falcon border during Operation Bulldog in 3059 that they got a chance to fight the Clans, at which they proved rather successful during several fierce raids.[3][28]

Civil War era

At the onset of the FedCom Civil War, Wolfgang Hansen met with the commanders of the two AFFC units on Bromhead and declared for Katherine Steiner-Davion, resulting in the withdrawal of the 2nd Davion Guards from the world on 6 November 3062.[29] The assignment on the Jade Falcon border had endeared Katherine Steiner-Davion to the Roughriders, and they fought for her in the war.[3] In early 3064, the were redeployed to Taygeta[30] and in mid-3064 they took and held most of Panpour,[31]. They were eventually driven off by the Lexington Combat Group and retreated to Nunivak on 23 February 3065, inflicting heavy losses on enemy troops including the Fighting Urukhai.[3][32]

The Bromhead Massacre

While the Roughriders were fighting on Panpour in 3067,forces from the Taurian Concordat (the 2nd Taurian Lancers) attacked Bromhead where the remaining Roughrider infantry inflicted several embarrassing defeats on the attackers.[28] Incensed, the Taurians eventually overran the Roughrider base. The Roughriders' were massacred, including Colonel Wolfgang Hansen's wife and three youngest children; the Roughriders' dependants may have been mistaken for infantry though.[28] Hansen vowed to turn every battlefield into a Taurian mass grave and take no prisoners, and the entire unit followed him. Only the fact that they possessed no JumpShip of their own kept the Roughriders from going on a rampage in the Concordat immediately.

War with the Concordat

Except for a brief but intense battle on Midale in February 3070 the Roughriders had to wait for their vengeance. Finally, their near-constant harrassment of the AFFS's Capellan March command saw them sent against Electra in March 3071. However, the campaign was bogged down to low-intensity warfare against Taurian insurgents in the Tamoon Canyon, frustrating the Roughriders while at the same time Taurian pirate media portrayed them as a merciless Death Squad.

At one point during the fighting, the Roughriders saturated the site of an ambush with fuel air explosive bombardment from their artillery for several days, then overran the heavily mined Taurian position by sending armored infantry ahead to disable hidden explosives and base caves. The Roughriders captured a large stockpile of ammunition in this way including several Alamo-class nuclear weapons that the Taurians had allegedly prepared to use against them. When the Taurian guerillas attempted a fighting withdrawal, the Roughriders used several of the nuclear warheads against them. This resulted in a public outcry, but the origin of the nuclear weapons appears to be mitigating.

Fearing that the Roughriders would summarily execute them, the DMI took some guerillas prisoner, including a Word of Blake liaison from whom information was obtained that some prisoners may have been taken at Bromhead and taken to a re-education camp far away, giving the Roughriders hope that some of their dependents might still live (and casting aside warnings that this may be engineered intelligence to have them follow false leads).

Elements of Hansen's Roughriders were on Brusett when the 4th Taurian Lancers attempted to conquer the world in January 3075. Despite deploying nuclear weapons against the Brusett spaceport and capital city, the 4th Taurian Lancers were unable to destroy the Roughriders; the Roughriders went on to ambush and destroy the Lancers, leaving Brusett in Federated Suns control. The Roughriders saw action against the Concordat again a month later, when they were part of a counter-offensive to recapture the world of Hyalite; the Roughriders used fuel-air bombs against the defending Gordon's Armored Cavalry, shattering the Taurian mercenary command and easily recapturing the world.[33][34] On the 15th of April 3075 the Roughriders attacked the Taurian world of Amber Grove using both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons seized during the battle for Hyalite, obliterating the local militia as well as Amber Grove's central military headquarters and spaceport facilities. The Roughriders then spent several weeks on Amber Grove destroying any target of significant military or industrial value.[35][36]

On the 4th of May 3075 the Quixote-class TCS Vendetta bombarded Hyalite from orbit, targetting the planetary military facilities and the HPG compound which had been suborned by the Roughriders. This was the first of several orbital attacks the Vendetta would perform on several worlds as it attempted to destroy the Roughriders.[36][37] Despite the bombing of Hyalite, the Roughriders were back in action against the Concordat during the last week in July, when the Roughriders subverted the garrison unit of the Taurian world of Perdition, a mercenary unit named Longwood's Bluecoats, before razing the Perdition factory complexes.[36][38] The Roughriders struck at the Concordat again on the 7th of September, hitting the world of Grossbach.[36][39]

After hitting Grossbach the Roughriders struck deeper into Concordat space, hitting the world of Sterope. In contrast with previous attacks, the Roughriders left the factories on Sterope intact, although they did plunder the Sterope Defense Industries facilities.[40][41] The Roughriders returned to Federated Suns space after the Sterope raid, landing on Warren on the 5th of April 3076 to resupply.[41][42] The Taurians pursued the Roughriders, with a task force led by the TCS Vendetta arriving in the Warren system on the 13th of June; the Roughriders retreated to Keuterville, but their retreat didn't stop the Vendetta from bombarding the planetary capital and spaceports on Warren. The Taurians then bombarded Keuterville on the 7th of July, with the Roughriders retreating again, this time to Firgrove. In the Firgrove system a Federated Suns task force led by the Fox-class New Syrtis managed to intercept the Vendetta before the planet could be attacked, forcing the Taurian vessel to retreat.[43][44]

Conflict on Alkalurops

April 3134 a small force of Roughriders were under contract to raid the world of Alkalurops to snatch any BattleMech or IndustrialMechs that they encounter. Once the mission was completed, and the force was recuperating on Galatea; the person that owned the contract used some vague language to change what the contract entailed. Since the wording was there when it was originally accepted, they could do nothing but accept it for what it is. The new contract specifies that they will now seize and hold the planet of Alkalurops until the end of the extension.[45]

A battalion was sent to claim the world under the command of Major Loren J. Hanson. They were able to quickly take over the planet since they eliminated whatever defenses the planet had when they conducted their raid. They relieved control of the planet over to the contract holder, Alfred Santorini, who unleashed his Special Police force on the citizens. When the people of Alkalurops erupted in rebellion against the harsh rule of Mr. Santorini, the Roughriders along with the Special Police advanced towards the city where the resistance was based out of. Santorini's forces were utterly destroyed while the Roughriders advanced without casualties. As Hanson's men neared Falkirk, the leader of the resistance, Grace O'Malley, brought forward information about a plot concocted by Santorini which involved him killing the commanding officers of the Roughriders and take control of the rest of the battalion. With this information revealed, the Roughriders teamed up with the citizens to kill Santorini and eliminate the rest of his Special Police.[46]

Organization and equipment

The Roughriders field heavy BattleMech forces augmented by (usually) heavy Aerospace Fighters and heavy tanks[47]. Their armor was described to have always been "extremely heavy" (relying on Heavy LRM Carriers, Schiltrons and Alacorns[3] as of 3067, with Patton and Rommel tanks as "lighter" support); when the new Rommel and Patton tank designs were unveiled in 3020 by Defiance Industries, the LCAF put them through serious testing with the Roughriders' tank brigade.[48] Many companies within the Roughriders are composed exclusively of heavy 'Mechs,[9][10] and the unit is generally known for their prowess in and penchant for close range combat.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

Officers

  • In 3025 the unit was commanded by Colonel Gerhardt Hansen.[49] He commanded the unit from its inception in 3014 until several years after the War of 3039.
  • From 3054 to 3067 the unit's commanding officer was Wolfgang Hansen, the son of Gerhardt.[50] He was to receive command after the War of 3039, but his sub-par performance on Pike IV led his father Gerhard postpone his retirement for some years to improve his son't training.
  • As of 3134, the commanding office of the unit is Colonel Ludvig Hanson V, the grandson of Gerhardt Hansen.[51] (The name might be a misspelling for Hansen).

Dragoon Ratings

3067

Dragoon Rating: A

3071

Dragoon Rating: A

Composition History

3025

Hansen's Roughriders (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

Contract: LCAF [49]
  • CO: Colonel Gerhardt Hansen

3040

Hansen's Roughriders (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

Contract: AFFC[52]

3054

Hansen's Roughriders (Regiment/Veteran/Questionalbe)

Contract: AFFC [50]
  • CO: Colonel Wolfgang Hansen

3067

Hansen's Roughriders (1 Regiment/Elite/Questionable)

  • CO: Colonel Wolfgang Hansen
  • 2nd Battalion: Major Andrea Schmidt
  • 3rd Battalion: Major Catalina Fiore

Roughrider Armor Support

  • Armor Commander: Major Eugene Thomas

Roughrider Infantry Support

  • Infantry Commander: Captain Bruce Millis

Notes

Gallery

  • Camomercshansenroughriders.png

References

  1. ↑ Field Manual: Mercenaries, dated 3059, displays the new crest in the writeup on p. 59 and describes the shield as "dun" colored, while a Hansen's Roughrider Pillager in the color plates between pp. 80-81 clearly displays the older, blue crest.
  2. ↑ Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 59
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 37
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brush Wars, pp. 18, 23
  5. ↑ XXX
  6. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 29
  7. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 37
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 79
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 BattleTech 2nd Ed. rulebook, Hansen's Roughrider infobox
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game, p. 117
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 80
  12. ↑ Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook), pp. 24-25
  13. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), pp. 80-81
  14. ↑ Technical Readout: 3025, p. 66; Technical Readout: 3039, p. 289
  15. ↑ According to the Patton entry in Technical Readout: 3039, p. 80, this particular battle was the first combat action for the Patton prototype during its trials with the Roughriders. The Patton was unveiled in 3020 and entered full production in 3027, suggesting this timeframe for the battle. See also Notes section.
  16. ↑ The Race Is Not To The Swift
  17. ↑ Technical Readout: 3039, p. 80
  18. ↑ BattleTech: 25 Years of Art and Fiction, Starfire short story
  19. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), pp. 116, 172
  20. ↑ The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 48
  21. ↑ The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, pp. 45, 59
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named FSWA2
  23. ↑ Technical Readout: 3039, p. 68
  24. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 45
  25. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 141
  26. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 86
  27. ↑ 20 Year Update, p. 21
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 81
  29. ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 30
  30. ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 184
  31. ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 99
  32. ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 128
  33. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 14, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  34. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 53, "The Jihad In Review"
  35. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 15, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 54, "The Jihad In Review"
  37. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 16, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  38. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 17, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  39. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 18, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  40. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 19, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 55, "The Jihad In Review"
  42. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 21, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  43. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 22, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  44. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 56, "The Jihad In Review"
  45. ↑ Patriot's Stand p. 116
  46. ↑ Patriot's Stand p. 294
  47. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 80
  48. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 135
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p.118, "Unit Deployment Table"
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Objective Raids, p. 15, "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  51. ↑ Patriot's Stand, p. 115
  52. ↑ Historical: War of 3039 , p. 141

Bibliography

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