Narhal's Raiders

Template:InfoBoxMercUnit Narhal's Raiders are a medium-sized mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere. In the Third and Fourth Succession Wars the unit was employed by the Lyran Commonwealth. The Homeworld of the Raiders is Kilmarnock.

History

During the First Succession War, a Marik regiment fled from the League and into the Periphery. Teaming up with the remnants of a BattleMech regiment in the Rim Worlds Republic, the two formed Narhal's Raiders. The unit was named after both the commanding officer, Tyilik Narhal, and the Narhal Rover, a predator from Tyilik's homeworld. For nearly a decade, the unit plundered Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation worlds to sustain itself.

In 2799,[1] the descendant of Tyilik Narhal was ousted as commander of the unit by Ustinov Matthews. Matthews had soured of raiding and sought official contracts with the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns. Shortly before the Second Succession War, the unit signed a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth where they remained through the Fourth Succession War, except for a brief and disastrous contract with the Capellan Confederation from 2849 to 2859.

By 2866, the unit's finances were in shambles. In that same year, however, the unit's finances began to improve, primarily due to the intervention of Archon Elizabeth Steiner who wished to improve the unit's equipment and morale. By the beginning of the Fourth Succession War, however, the unit was still in a poor financial situation due to the previous manipulations by the Commonwealth and others to keep the unit in debt.

In November 3021, Narhal's Raiders defended New Ivaarsen under contract to House Davion. The inexperienced garrison commander, Lieutenant Commander Arlin Stuart, sought to conserve his forces in fortified positions and let the mercenaries do most of the strategically important fighting. When the 7th Crucis Lancers including McKinnon's Raiders arrived to relieve the defenders, Captain Lewis Gilbert of Narhal's Raiders and his battalion were on the verge of abandoning the defenders. Seeing how the mercenary's grievance was legitimate, a member of McKinnon's company challenged Gilbert to a one on one duel to return his unit to their duty.[2]

The unit was in the employ of the Lyran Commonwealth during the Fourth Succession War. The First Regiment landed on Wheel, and engaged the Tooth of Ymir in a series of honor duels. The Raiders won, and the Tooth withdrew.[3]

Narhal's Raiders took a pounding during the Clan Invasion; a pounding that reduced them to a reinforced regiment.

Following the secession of the Lyran Alliance from the Federated Commonwealth, Colonel Giraudoux was released from their contract after threatening to attack the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces in Prince Victor's name. They went to Outreach, where Giraudoux rather loudly--and publicly--explained to the LAAF's representative about his low opinion of Archon Katherine. They quickly accepted a contract with the Draconis Combine to garrison Kilmarnock so the veteran Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery regiments that were there could participate in Operation Bulldog.

They were reassigned to Rockland when Clan Ghost Bear invaded the Combine. The Raiders launched a counter-attack against the Bears on Thule, where they took heavy damage. Though they bloodied the Bears, Colonel Giraudoux was forced to disband the fourth battalion, so the Raiders began to look more like a traditional regiment.

Following the end of the Ghost Bear War, the unit was reassigned to the Draconis March front after that province attacked the Combine. Giraudoux still felt loyal to Prince Victor and had no desire to fight units that could be used to help against Katherine, so they garrisoned Fellanin II. Giraudoux was forced to watch as the FedCom Civil War raged just across the border. He accepted another contract with the Combine, as it was clear by that point that the war was winding down.

In December 3067, an operative from the Federated Suns' Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations alerted Colonel Giraudoux that there were prisoner-of-war camps located within the Draconis Combine. When Giraudoux attempted to confirm or deny these rumors with his employer, he was stonewalled and threatened. No longer able to trust the Combine, Giraudoux decided not to renew the Raiders' contract when it expired.

In July 3068, the MIIO operative made contact again and informed Giraudoux that there was actually a prison camp adjacent to the base of the DCMS regular unit on Fellanin II, the First Ghost Regiment. As the unit lifted off-world to redeploy, he ordered a reconnaissance flight to find out for sure. The flight took fire, but was able to confirm the information. Giraudoux ordered Narhal's Raiders into action. They were able to liberate the POW camp, while the MIIO team ordered an extraction. After fighting a brutal rear guard against the 1st Ghost, a Federated Suns JumpShip came in-system via a pirate point and took the Raiders and their charges across the border.

In the Draconis March, the mercenaries were hailed as saviors who heeded their consciences over their wallets. Duke Tancred Sandoval quickly offered them a new contract even as the DCMS lodged a complaint with the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission over their desertion. The Raiders have since had to fend off raids from Combine troops.

Tactics


Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Able's Aces
Tyilik Narhal
Tyilik Narhal'son 2799
Ustinov Matthews 2799
Leutnant-General William Matthews 3025[4]
Leftenant General Pedro Antonio Giraudoux 3054[5]
Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux 3071
Colonel Juan Pablo Diaz 3145[6]

Composition History

3025

Narhal's Raiders (2 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[4]

Note: At this point in time the units were stationed on Poulsbo. In 3025 both regiments were stationed on Poulsbo; they had DropShip and Armor support, but it is unknown if they had aerospace support.

3040

1st Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[7]

2nd Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[7]

3050

1st Regiment (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [8]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Imbros III. [8]

2nd Regiment (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [8]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Yorii. [8]

3054

Narhal's Raiders (1 Reinforced Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[5]

3059

Narhal's Raiders (1 Reinforced Regiment/Regular)

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux
    • XO/1st Battalion: Lt. Colonel Luigi Froeze
    • 2nd Battalion: Major Geraldine Tolly
    • 3rd Battalion: Major Brett Marionetti
    • 4th Battalion: Trey Sun Lok

Narhal's Flock (2 understrength squadrons/Veteran)

  • Wing Commander: Major Jesse Hastings

In 3059 the unit was stationed on Kilmarnock and only had auxiliary DropShip support.

3067

Narhal's Raiders (1 Regiment/Regular)

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux

Narhal's Flock (1 Wing/Veteran)

In 3067 the Raiders were stationed on Fellanin II and had full DropShip support.

3071

Narhal's Raiders (1 Regiment)

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux

In 3071 the unit was stationed on Royal and had both DropShip and aerospace fighter support.

3145

Narhal's Raiders (Veteran/Reliable)[6]

  • CO: Colonel Juan Pablo Diaz[6]
- As of 3145 the Raiders were a "B"-rated command under contract to the Federated Suns. Stationed in the Tybalt system, the Raiders were operating at eighty-five percent of full strength.[6]

Unit Emblem

Narhal's Raiders uses the stylized skull of a Narhal Rover for its emblem.

Gallery

Notes

References

  1. House Steiner Book, FASA, 1987, http://cf.sarna.net/docs/products/house_books/house_steiner_text_only.pdf  Note: The date provided in the House book of 2899 cannot be correct given the other information in the unit profile. The date given above of 2799 is an estimate of what may have been intended.
  2. The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders, pp. 22-23
  3. The Fourth Succession War Scenarios Volume One, p. 26
  4. 4.0 4.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 119
  5. 5.0 5.1 Objective Raids, p. 22
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Field Manual: 3145, p. 182, "Notable Mercenary Forces - Federated Suns"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Historical: War of 3039 , p. 141
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 20-Year Update, p. 26

Bibliography