Irwin Tyrell

Irwin Tyrell
Personal
Died	3067
Affiliation	Wolf's Dragoons
Profile
Rank	Colonel

Irwin Tyrell was a mercenary officer in service to Wolf's Dragoons who eventually rose to the command of Gamma Regiment.

History

Early Life and Career

As was the case with most of the "original" Dragoons, little is known of Tyrell’s early life. It is highly likely he was born on the Clan Homeworlds, almost certainly a freeborn birth. At some point, he would have been chosen to join Wolf's Dragoons, who were performing reconnaissance for the Clans in the Inner Sphere.

As of the Battle of Misery, Tyrell held the rank of Sergeant, and served in the Fire Lance of Booth's Company in Gamma Regiment's Able Battalion. Tyrell's 'Mech, a Wolverine, was destroyed on Misery, and he was assigned a Cataphract, along with a posting to the Command Lance of Gamma's Second Provisional Company. During the fighting on Harrow's Sun, Tyrell was wounded and his Cataphract was badly damaged. Tyrell nevertheless returned to action for the Battle of Crossing, where his 'Mech was destroyed in the fighting.

Rebuilding Gamma Regiment

After Gamma Regiment was nearly destroyed backing Elson's Challenge in 3055, their then-commander, Neil Parella, disappeared from Outreach. Gamma's future appeared very much in doubt before Tyrell, who was by now a veteran officer, took up the challenge of rebuilding the once-proud command. Tyrell made several bold moves to ensure that he would rebuild not only Gamma's personnel and abilities, but their morale as well. All three of the battalion commanders he selected were former Clan bondsmen taken on Luthien a few years earlier. Tyrell built a temporary boot camp outside Harlech City on Outreach, where Gamma personnel endured a regiment of calisthetics, marching drills and instruction in the Dragoons' Remembrance. Through all this, Tyrell instilled in his men and women a new sense of purpose and unity. When they began combat training, Gamma adopted a new dark-blue color scheme for its equipment. Tyrell worked to build Gamma Regiment into a command that could fight long campaigns with minimal support. Although back to full-strength on paper, Tyrell declined to form a separate Command Unit, preferring to attach himself to his troops as needed.

Coventry

In 3058, Tyrell and Gamma Regiment received their first true test as they, along with Delta Regiment, were contracted by the Lyran Alliance to help meet the threat of Clan Jade Falcon's incursions into Lyran space. The two Dragoon regiments were joined by the 71st Light Horse Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse, the Waco Rangers and the Crazy Eights to form the Coventry Expeditionary Force, a grouping of crack mercenaries who, it was hoped, would be able to stop the Falcons advance at Coventry. On 5 April, the CEF made planetfall on the besieged planet.

On 15 April, Tyrell met with the other CEF commanders at their headquarters in Leitnerton. There, he met Leftenant General Judith Niemeyer of the Coventry Militia and Hauptmann Caradoc Trevena of the Tenth Skye Rangers, who had effectively been leading the remaining LAAF on Coventry prior to the CEF's arrival. Tyrell rebuked Colonel Wayne Rogers of the Waco Rangers for his attitude towards Trevena, pointing out that the LAAF officer was more than qualified.

By 5 June, losses to the CEF forces were mounting. Tyrell's Gamma Regiment, perhaps because of their supporting role, was still at regimental strength on paper in terms of personnel but was down significant amounts of operational equipment.

The operation on Coventry finally to an end on 16 June when Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde accepted hegira.

Back in Service

It took Gamma Regiment some time to recover from the damage it took on Coventry, but by 3061, they were serving as the Dragoons' main Opposing Force for training at the Outback on Outreach. For the next several years, Gamma Regiment became one of the best-trained commands in existence, equally skilled at employing Clan or Inner Sphere tactics. In addition to their fellow Dragoons, Gamma Regiment also trained against trusted Allied Mercenary Command allies such as Lindon's Battalion. By the time they took the field again, Tyrell's Gammas had been expanded, with their armored, Elemental, and aerospace contingents each expanded to a full regiment.

In early 3067, Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao of the Capellan Confederation contracted the Dragoons to garrison Tikonov, which he had recently seized control over. The Dragoons deployed Gamma with two of their WarShips—the WDWS Athena and the WDWS Beowulf—to break the blockade that had been put in place by Duke George Hasek of the Capellan March. With their WarShips, accompanying assault DropShips, and screen of aerospace fighter, the AFFS navy realized it would have been futile to have opposed Gamma's landings. By September, House Davion had completely withdrawn from the Tikonov system.

Gamma relieved the First St. Ives Lancers, who had been on-planet since the end of the FedCom Civil War under the command of Kai Allard-Liao.

As of 1 October 3067, Tyrell continued to command Gamma Brigade from Tikonov. The unit could claim a veteran rating, and with its support commands, was effectively at 140 percent strength with 100 percent of their equipment being considered Clan-quality.

The Dawn of the Jihad

On 15 October 3067, rogue mercenaries led by Colonel Wayne Waco launched a surprise attack on Harlech on Outreach at what was effectively the beginning of the Word of Blake Jihad. During the fighting, Epsilon Regiment and most of the Home Guard ground forces were effectively destroyed, while Zeta Battalion, the Wolf Spider Battalion and Beta Regiment all took heavy damage before eliminating the rogue mercenaries. Jaime Wolf himself was killed while slaying Wayne Waco. Wolfnet intelligence soon concluded the attacks, thereafter known as First Harlech, had been sponsored by the Word of Blake in response to Dragoon opposition to the Blakist expansion in the Chaos March.

On 20 November, General Maeve Wolf activated the termination clause on Gamma Regiment's contract with House Liao. Tyrell and Gamma quickly departed Tikonov to help recovery efforts and to take command of the defense. Tyrell took command of Outreach's defenses upon his arrival on planet, rebuilding their defenses around Gamma Brigade, the still-recovering Wolf Spiders, the rememnants of the Dragoons' Home Guard forces who had not already been absorbed into other units, the First Dismal Disinherited and the Broadsword Legion. He then ordered all non-AMC units to leave planet in anticipation of a Blakist counterattack for the AMC's failed strike against Mars.

On 20 December, the Word of Blake attacked with their Sixth and Tenth Divisions, escorted by a fleet of WarShips armed with nuclear weapons. The Blakists crushed Outreach's orbital defenses, them landed their forces in and around Harlech. Gamma and the Dismal Disinherited held the line while the Wolf Spiders and Broadsword Legion flanked the Blakists, striking their rear. The battle was going well for the Dragoons and their allies when the Broadsword Legion turned traitor, destroying most of the Wolf Spiders and joining with the Word of Blake troops. The AMC forces continued to hold out, however, as General Maeve Wolf arrived with Alpha Brigade, quickly throwing the Word back on the defensive. Seeing that the battle was slipping away from them, the Blakists ordered a nuclear bombardment of Outreach. With the Dismal Disinherited destroyed and the Dragoons taking devastating casualties, General Wolf ordered a retreat on 28 December. Some surviving elements of Gamma Regiment stayed behind to run a guerrilla campaign against the Blakists. Second Harlech would go down as one of the darkest days in the history of the Dragoons.

Tyrell, like most of Gamma Regiment, did not survive the events of Second Harlech. Later the Dragoons would found the Tyrell School of Command on Arc-Royal in his honor.

It would be years before Gamma Regiment would be reconstituted.

Personality and Traits

Affectionately nicknamed "Taskmaster," Tyrell was considered a demanding but fair commander, a staunch disciplinarian who demanded the best of his people and himself and who valued hard work. That Tyrell worked through the enlisted ranks of the Dragoons to eventually reach the position of a regimental commander may be seen as a further testament of his personal dedication. He was physically described as tall and slim, with closely cropped brown hair. Prior to the Battle of Misery, Tyrell was already rated an Elite-level MechWarrior.

BattleMechs

Tyrell piloted a Wolverine up until its destruction on Misery. Afterwards, he employed a Cataphract until it was destroyed on Crossing. Retaining a fondness for his first 'Mech like many warriors, one of Tyrell's first acts upon taking command of Gamma Regiment was to requisition himself a WVR-7D model, enduring a great deal of good-natured teasing from the former Nova Cat commanders under him for piloting a 'Mech whose very name is unspeakable among the Clans.

Notes

Tyrell is first mentioned on a Dragoons' roster in Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook). He did not appear again until Mercenary's Handbook 3055 years later when he was listed as the commander of Gamma Regiment in 3055. He finally appears as a minor character in the novel Malicious Intent.

Bibliography

• The Battle of Coventry
• Dawn of the Jihad
• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised
• Field Manual: Updates
• Malicious Intent
• Mercenary's Handbook 3055
• Operational Turning Points: Falcon Incursion
• Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 18
• Wolf's Dragoons