Illician Lancers

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History

Early History

The Illician Lancers brigade was formed in 2572 by members of the Illician Order, an ancient military brotherhood based out of Illicia on the island of Sicily. The Lancers were notable in that the majority of those who went on to form the Lancers left the service of their state voluntarily, rather than through being cashiered; when the brigade mustered, it took less than six months for the Lancers to reach the same size and strength as an oversize 'Mech division.[1]

The Lancers would work for every Star League member state and also for the SLDF for the next two centuries and would see their reputation grow to the point that applications for membership of the Illician Order vastly outstripped the number of available spaces and allowed the Lancers to charge a premium for their services. When the Amaris Civil War erupted, the Lancers continued to support the SLDF, generally in a support capacity, although two regiments from the Lancers, the First and Seventh Illician Rangers, were destroyed during the final assault on Terra. Those who survived the campaign journeyed to Illicia to pay their respects to the fallen, only to discover that the home of their order had been completely levelled.[1]

During the Succession Wars, the Lancers numbers were reduced further, first to half original strength and then in the 3rd Succession War the Lancers found themselves having to sell most of their JumpShip assets for normal operations to avoid bankruptcy after a disastrous contract with the CCAF. Since leaving Capellan employment the Lancers have been employed by the AFFS and subsequently the AFFC.[1]

The Illician Lancers began their service to House Davion operating on the Draconis Combine border, but after some initial successes suffered a series of defeats that cause the High Command to redeploy them to the Capellan March. After the death of Duke Michael Hasek-Davion the Lancers found allies in Duke Morgan Hasek-Davion and his son, which gave the Lancers a much-needed opportunity to rebuild. This relationship would later allow them to gain access to more advanced technologies, including the occasional item of Clan technology.[1]

The Jihad

The Lancers were heavily involved in Operation Sovereign Justice, the military campaign against the Capellan Confederation launched by Duke George Hasek during the opening stages of the Jihad. Fighting initially on the offensive, the Ninth Illician Rangers were responsible for capturing Sendalor from the St. Cyr's Armored Hussars, taking less than ten percent losses in the process; the remaining three regiments of the Lancers launched as a part of the second wave of attacks, with the Fourth and Twenty-First forming half of a four-regiment strong mercenary strike force that captured Gei-Fu, crushing the 3rd Capellan Defense Force in the process;[2] the other mercenary units involved in the assault on Gei-Fu were identified by some sources as being the 1st Federated Suns Lancers and the 1st Kittery Borderers.[3] The Fifty-Ninth Strike Regiment also faced little resistance initially when it captured Tsingtao.[2]

The war with the Confederation began to turn against Duke Hasek's forces with the third wave; while the Twenty-First Rangers managed to take Imalda and the Ninth Rangers captured Homestead, the Fourth landed on Hexare and found themselves quickly being battered as the planet's defenders were reinforced with the arrival of Renshield's Dragoons. The Fourth found itself in difficult straits because of the superior air support enjoyed by the Dragoons. This forced the Fourth into a defensive stance that became increasingly costly as Capellan forces became increasingly numerous and aggressive, culminating in Major "Rawhide" Francis leading his battalion to cover the retreat of the remaining Fourth Rangers' forces to Uravan after the command company broke in the final days of 3068.[2]

The Ninth Rangers found themselves being hit with a counteroffensive led by two Capellan regiments on Homestead, while Vong's Grenadiers landed on Tsingtao and established a beachhead from which the Fifty-Ninth couldn't displace them. General Bradley managed to hold the Grenadiers back, but the battles between the two forces became a grinding war of attrition that reduced both commands to half strength before the AFFS supply line to Tsingtao suddenly dried up, leaving General Bradley and the Fifty-Ninth with little choice but to retreat to Redfield. The Twenty-First Rangers had landed on Imalda and were forced to fight a guerilla campaign against elements of the Death Commandos and the 5th Confederation Reserve Cavalry until lack of supplies forced the Twenty-First to retreat just as the Fifty Ninth had, falling back to Sendalor and then Ikast.[2]

Trying to rebuild in the aftermath of Operation Sovereign Justice, all four commands within the Lancers faced difficult circumstances. The Ninth Rangers had been reduced to just two surviving companies, leading to speculation that the Ninth would be folded into one of the other regiments; Major Francis of the Fourth had adopted a take-no-prisoners approach to combat after the gruelling battle for Hexare, although the tenacity he inspired in his troops suffered from Francis' difficulty in dealing with complex strategical issues, while both the Fifty-Ninth Strike Regiment and the Twenty-First were undergoing changes in the command-level senior officers within the two regiments after various resignations and reassignments.[2]

During the Jihad the Ninth Rangers were completely destroyed. The Fifty-Ninth Strike Regiment and Fourth Rangers lost half their troops in combat before beginning to rebuild. In 3079 the Illician Lancers were stationed along the Federated Suns/Taurian Concordat border to supplement that area's defenses.[4]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the Illician Lancers
General Ellaine Steward 3025[5]
General Brenda Bradley circa 3029 - 3050[1][6]

Notes

A group of Elders selected a officer as leader and give them the title General. The General can reelect after a 6 year term. The Colonels are also elected by this group.[1]

Support

The Unit owns 1 Star Lord-class and 1 Invader-class JumpShip and must hire additional assets for the transportation of the entire Brigade. The Brigade has enough DropShips to support their full range of operations.[1]

Units of the Illican Lancers

3025

Illician Lancers (4 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[5]

  • CO: General Ellaine Steward

3040

Illician Lancers

3050

Illician Lancers (4 Regiment)[6]

  • Fourth Rangers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)(3rd Illician Lancers)
  • Ninth Rangers (Regiment/Green/Reliable)(4th Illician Lancers)
  • Twenty-first Rangers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)(2nd Illician Lancers)
  • Fifty-ninth Strike (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)(1st Illician Lancers)

3067

Illician Lancers (4 Regiments)[1]

  • Fourth Illician Rangers - Alicia's Lovers
  • Ninth Illician Rangers - Roadrunners - Destroyed in the Jihad.
  • Twenty-first Illician Rangers - Drop-And-Stop
  • Fifty-ninth Strike Regiment - Bradley's Bad Boys
  • - By 3067 the Lancers had been able to rebuild their strength from a bare four 'Mech regiments into a square brigade once again, with each 'Mech regiment being supported by a regiment of armor, a mechanized infantry regiment and a fighter wing.

3145

Illician Lancers (2 Regiments)[8]

  • Twenty-first Rangers (Veteran/Reliable)[8]
  • Fifty-ninth Striker (Veteran/Reliable)[8]
- As of 3145 both of the regiments within the Illician Lancers were "A"-rated units; the Twenty-first Rangers were at eighty-five percent of full strength and stationed in the Brundage system, while the Fifty-ninth Striker were at sixty-five percent of full strength and stationed in the Rosamond system.[8]

Notes

3067

3071

  • The same rule for unit availability applies in 3071, although many of the sub-unit rules have changed.[10]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 39, "Illician Lancers"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 73, "Illician Lancers"
  3. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 17, "Operation Sovereign Justice"
  4. Field Report: AFFS, p. 20
  5. 5.0 5.1 House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 136, "AFFS Deployment Table - 3025"
  6. 6.0 6.1 20 Year Update, p. 21, "AFFC Deployment Table - 3050"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Historical: War of 3039 , p. 141
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Field Manual: 3145, p. 182, "Notable Mercenary Forces"
  9. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 75, "Illician Lancers"
  10. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 125, "Illician Lancers"

Bibliography