Knights of St. Cameron


Knights of St Cameron logo.png
Knights of St. Cameron
Formed 2956
Affiliation Mercenary

Cult of the Saints Cameron

Parent Command Independent

The Knights of St. Cameron were a mercenary unit formed during the Third Succession War.

History[edit]

Founding[edit]

The Knights were founded in 2956 by Martin Gluck, a MechWarrior who had retired from the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces. The believer in the Cult of the Saints Cameron recruited soldiers who were descendants of Star League Defense Force troopers. Gluck was able to expand his unit to a two-regiment force that had a chivalric belief and behavior. That belief sometimes included defending the poor and otherwise defenseless for free. The unit spent the Third Succession War in poor financial shape because of their willingness to work pro bono. By 3025, General Stan Gluck was in command of the mercenary unit, which was under contract to House Steiner and based on Buena.[1][2]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

In support of the LCAF's efforts during the Fourth Succession War, the Knights were moved off of Buena. First Regiment headed to Poulsbo while Second Regiment moved to Pencader. Both were ensconced on the Free Worlds League border by 3028.[3]

The Sixth Orloff Grenadiers assaulted Poulsbo as part of Operation Dagger. The veteran House unit skirmished with the green mercenaries, which they easily won.[4]

War of 3039[edit]

At the start of the War of 3039, the two BattleMech regiments of the Knights of St. Cameron were on two different worlds. The 1st Knights were on Rastaban while the 2nd Knights garrisoned Domain. In the spring of 3039, both regiments crossed the Free Rasalhague Republic to raid the Draconis Combine, with the intention of forcing the DCMS to keep units stationed along the Rasalhague border.[5]

The First Knights left Rastaban and hit Ardoz on 19 April. They struck deeper into the Combine on 2 May when they attacked Kiamba. Only seven days later they struck Meilen. From there, they launched deep into the Combine with a raid on Baldur on 3 June. They could not overcome the second-line troops on Baldur, however, and had to retreat before the DCMS could respond.[5]

The Second Knights split into battalions to execute more raids. Alpha Battalion hit Eguilles and Toffen. Beta struck Rubigen and Najha. Gamma went after Pilkhua and Caldrea. The regiment regrouped to raid Shirotori and the Fifth Alshain Regulars on 19 May. The Second went to Trolloc Prime next, with the Eleventh Alshain Regulars as their target. There, they found an empty base, which they ransacked. The LCAF would later learn that the Eleventh Alshain had gone on the offense themselves. The Second prepared themselves to assist in the invasion of Buckminster.[5][6]

On 29 June, both regiments were ordered to Port Moseby to assist in defending the Lyran Commonwealth against a DCMS counterattack.[5]

Clan Invasion[edit]

In 3050, the Knights garrisoned Rastaban and Domain. First Regiment, on Rastaban, was all but annihilated when Clan Wolf invaded. The Second Regiment on Domain was pushed around by the Wolf 352nd Assault Cluster. They fled the Cassawarn Plain for the Kusson Mountains, but the Wolves beat them to the Zazz River. Colonel Dewey pushed for the city of Kusson instead. Though the Wolves took the city easily enough, the Knights gave them the slip.[7]

The Inner Sphere believed that the command was destroyed during the Clan invasion until they resurfaced in 3053. The survivors came back, led by Colonel Mortimer Dewey, and rebuilt until the FedCom Civil War, aided by a seemingly-endless war chest that allowed them to outfit the Dispossessed.[2][8]

FedCom Civil War[edit]

The Knights were garrisoned on the Lyran Alliance world of Ft. Loudon, a strategically vital world on the border with the Clans and the Draconis Combine, when the FedCom Civil War began. The Knights were pro-Katherine but wanted to remain neutral. The pro-Victor Fourth Davion Guards and pro-Katherine Fifth Alliance Guards came to blows on 7 December 3062. Alliance Guards commander Leutnant-General James Ito ordered the Knights into action on 28 December. The Davion commander Marshal Alberta Orsina did not view the merc unit as a threat, while Ito hoped the Knights would be a distraction. The combined Guards-Knights force attacked the Davion loyalists in their Carentan base. The Battle of Carentan Plain lasted less than a week before a battalion each of Alliance Guards and Knights executed a combat drop on the Carentan base. The skill with which Second Battalion performed surprised both House units and led to the Davion loyalists being dislodged from their base. The Knights captured two conventional regiments before the Davion forces evacuated on 3 February 3063.[2][9]

By 3067, the unit was stationed on Borghese.[10]

Jihad[edit]

In 3069, the unit supported Archer's Avengers (Thorin FTM) against the Seventh and Eighth Talon Clusters of Clan Jade Falcon during an assault on Baker 3. The fight was brutal. The mercenaries destroyed the Seventh Talon, and the Eighth took heavy damage. The mercenary unit retreated back to Deia, but the Falcons followed them.[11]

The defense of Deia from the Knights, Avengers, and the Second Wolf Legion was fierce. The Eighth Talon and the Fourth Falcon Dragoons fought the defenders to a standstill. Only the arrival of the First Falcon Striker Cluster changed the balance in favor of the Falcons. The Knights' aerospace contingent paid a heavy price so that the Inner Sphere units could mount another retreat, this time to Great X.[11] The Falcons claimed dominion over Deia on 15 August 3069.[12]

It would be almost a year-and-a-half before the Knights would have to meet the Falcons again. The four Clusters of Delta Galaxy invaded in early 3071, taking on the 25th Arcturan Guards, the Avengers, and the Knights.[11][13] The Lyrans were able to destroy the Gyrfalcon Solahma Cluster as the price for the Falcons claiming a beachhead on Great X. The Knights spent the defensive campaign as the mobile reserve. When the Lyran forces destroyed the Eighth Talon, Leutnant-General Geiger of the Guards ordered an assault. The Fourth Falcon Dragoons died so the First Falcon Strikers could retreat off-world in July 3071.[14]

In November 3075, a combined Com Guard-LCAF force assaulted Galatea, intent on liberating the Mercenary's Star from Word of Blake. The coalition faced off against the Blakist Eleventh Division with mercenary support. After a headhunter unit killed the ComStar commander, his successor Precentor Louisa Draga appealed for assistance. Morgan Kell sent the Knights and Tooth of Ymir, who arrived just as 3075 drew to a close. Draga used her own Com Guard forces, augmented by the mercenaries, to directly assault the largest Word contingent. The defenses around Pygmalion held for three days, after which the remaining Blakist forces retreated off-world.[15]

In November 3076, the Knights of St. Cameron seemingly disappeared. The unit was preparing to join in the liberation of the Blake Protectorate when a reported member of the Cult of the Saints Cameron arrived and met with Colonel Dewey and his command staff for three days. The guest left Galatea and the Knights followed him the next day. None of the JumpShips turned up at Alcor, the destination indicated in their flight plans.[16]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the Knights of St. Cameron
Martin Gluck 2956[17]
General Stan Gluck 3025[17][18]
General Felix Dewey 3050 - 3052[19][8][2]
Colonel Mortimer Dewey 3053 - 3076[8][16]

Tactics[edit]

The unit fights one-on-one, similar to the zellbrigen of the Clans, though they are not ritually tied to it in the same way.[2]

Support[edit]

During the Third Succession War, the Knights were barely able to keep their 'Mechs functioning, though they could count on DropShip support.[1] The post–Clan Invasion unit boasted techs that were experts and could meet all demands. In 3067, the unit had two Invader-class JumpShips and enough DropShips to transport the entire unit.[2]

Dragoon Ratings[edit]

3067[edit]

Dragoon Rating: B+[2]

Composition History[edit]

3025[edit]

Knights of St. Cameron (Two Regiments/Green/Reliable)[18]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Buena.

3040[edit]

Knights of St Cameron

  • 1st Knights (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[6]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Rastaban.[6]
  • 2nd Knights (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[6]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Domain[6]

3050[edit]

Knights of St Cameron[19]

1st Knights (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[19]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Rastaban. [19]

2nd Knights (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[19]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Domain. [19]

3054[edit]

Knights of St. Cameron (Regular/Fanatical)[8]

  • CO: Colonel Mortimer Dewey

3059[edit]

Knights of St. Cameron (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical) [20]

  • CO: Colonel Mortimer Dewey [20]
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Ft. Loudon. [20]

3067[edit]

Knights of St. Cameron (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[2]

  • CO: Colonel Mortimer Dewey

- The medium weight unit can count on heavy/assault designs if needed. Most 'Mechs are upgraded.

Angels of St. Cameron (Wing/Veteran/Reliable)[2]

- Like the 'Mech regiment, the Angels are a mostly medium-weight unit that is mostly upgraded.

Notes[edit]

In Wolf Clan Sourcebook, the locations of the two regiments of the Knights of St. Cameron are switched between the planets Domain and Rastaban. Other sources confirm that the references in Wolf Clan Sourcebook are in error.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 80: "Unit Profile"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Field Manual: Mercenaries Revised, p. 83
  3. NAIS: The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 45
  4. NAIS: The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 63
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Historical: War of 3039, pp. 59–61: "Lyran Operations"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Historical: War of 3039, p. 141
  7. Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2, p. 71: "The Knights of St. Cameron"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Objective Raids, p. 21
  9. FedCom Civil War, pp. 33–34: "Ft. Loudon"
  10. Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 68: "Lyran Alliance"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 79
  12. Jihad Hot Spots: 3072, p. 19: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  13. Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 12: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  14. Jihad Hot Spots: 3072, p. 48: "Falcons return to Great X, Zanderij"
  15. Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 63: "Galatea Secured"
  16. 16.0 16.1 Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, pp. 102–103: "Knights of St. Cameron Vanish"
  17. 17.0 17.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 80: "Knights of St. Cameron"
  18. 18.0 18.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 120: "LCAF Deployment Table - 3025"
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 20 Year Update, p. 26: "AFFC Deployment Table - 3050"
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 109

Bibliography[edit]