8th Syrtis Fusiliers

Insignia of the 8th Syrtis Fusiliers
8th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT
Formed Age of War
Nickname The Snow Cobras
Affiliation Federated Suns
Parent Command Syrtis Fusiliers

The Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers used lighter 'Mechs, hovercraft, and VTOLs to move quickly throughout the battlefields.[1]

History[edit]

Early History[edit]

The Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers could trace its origins back to the Age of War or earlier and the private military force raised by House Hasek to defend its mining and drilling concerns on New Syrtis. The Syrtis Fusiliers became the private guard and personal army of the Hasek family, with their star rising alongside that of the Hasek family and New Syrtis; the Syrtis Fusiliers expanded, and as time progressed the brigade became the official guard of New Syrtis and then the perhaps the most important military command within the Capellan March Principality of the Federated Suns.[2]

Davion Civil War[edit]

The bulk of the Syrtis Fusiliers brigade supported Prince David Varnay and his wife Cassandra Davion loyally throughout the Davion Civil War, opposing first the combined forces of Laura Davion and Nikolai Rostov and then First Prince Alexander Davion. At the end of the war Prince Alexander offered an amnesty to the survivors from the brigade, and reintegrated the Syrtis Fusiliers into the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, the restructured military that replaced the Federated Peacekeeping Forces as the state military of the Federated Suns.[2]

Alexander's clemency towards the Syrtis Fusiliers and his subsequent actions in rebuffing the attempt by Richard Varnay to seize control of the Capellan March cemented the Fusiliers' loyalty to New Avalon and the wider Federated Suns.[2]

The Star League[edit]

The Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers served the Federated Suns well in the two centuries following the Davion Civil War; when the Star League council issued the Council Edict of 2650, sharply limiting the size of the military each Great House was allowed to maintain, the Eighth and her sister regiments were left untouched. The brigade would remain ten regiments strong until shortly after the repeal of the Council Edict of 2650.[2]

During the Star League era the Eighth was a complete contrast to her sister regiment, the Seventh, perhaps intentionally; whereas the Seventh was an assault regiment with a preponderance of slow, heavy 'Mechs, the Eighth was a lightweight regiment within which almost every 'Mech could reach a cruising speed of at least 60 km/h. As a consequence the Eighth was capable of maneuvering very flexibly on the battlefield.[2]

First Succession War[edit]

In February 2788 First Prince John Davion launched Operation SOLAR SHIELD, a desperate plan to try and disrupt the invasion of the Federated Suns launched by the Draconis Combine in May 2787. Prince John had been preparing to invade the Capellan Confederation when news of the Combine invasion reached him, and the forces he drew together for SOLAR SHIELD were based on those three 'Mech regiments nearby earmarked for the abortive invasion of the Confederation plus some six assorted regiments of armor and infantry provided by regional militias within the Marlette Combat Region. Prince John divided his forces into three groups and launched strikes at three occupied worlds on the Terran flank of the invasion, hoping to disrupt the thrust being led personally by Coordinator Minoru Kurita.[3][4]

SOLAR SHIELD proved to be flawed from the outset; the units assembled lacked time to train together, Prince John's forces were limited in number, and he had only a handful of WarShips available to use to escort his forces. Senior officers advised against the operation, but Prince John felt that speed was of the essence, and ordered that the operation go ahead. Elbar was one of the worlds targeted by SOLAR SHIELD, and in May 2788 the Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers jumped into the Elbar system, initially encountering no serious difficulties. While the transport JumpShips recharged, the Fusilier DropShips set off for Elbar, along with a small WarShip escort, but before the JumpShips could finish recharging the Narukami-class destroyer DCS Tsutsuji appeared and attacked the transports, supported by two squadrons of aerospace fighters.[3]

The Fusiliers realized that they were heading into a trap, and that the DCMS forces were well-prepared for any attack; their two-ship WarShip escort lacked enough docking collars to enable the Fusiliers to escape with all their DropShips, and the Tsutsuji had destroyed all eight Fusilier JumpShips, so the Fusiliers resorted to transferring as many of their DropShip crews, passengers and equipment into the Carrack-class transport FSS Port Victoria as they could before jumping out of the Elbar system, abandoning more than a dozen DropShips behind them. Combined with heavy defeats on Cartago and Schedar as well, SOLAR SHIELD was an abject failure that cost the AFFS men and resources it couldn't afford to lose.[3]

Third Succession War[edit]

The Eighth was based on Avigait in 3025.[5]

FedCom Civil War[edit]

In 3063 the Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers were stationed on their homeworld Lothair. Shortly after the outbreak of the FedCom Civil War, Duke George Hasek ordered them to New Syrtis.[6]

The unit was dragged into the FedCom Civil War in 3065 when pro-Katherine forces tried to conquer New Syrtis in an attempt to neutralize Duke Hasek. The Duke's forces eventually repelled the invaders but all units suffered heavy casualties.[6][7] The Eighth was forced to fight the 11th Avalon Hussars, 4th Donegal Guards, and the Ridgebrook CMM.[8] The unit was stationed to Genoa in 3067 to rebuild.[9]

The Jihad[edit]

After participating in Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE and Operation Thunderstrike the Eighth's personnel issues have downgraded the unit's experience level. The Eighth's soldiers were also having trouble learning the new tactics that are required by a Light Combat Team. Fortunately Brusett wasn't likely to come under attack soon, so this weakness cannot be exploited by the Capellan Confederation.[10]

During Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE the Eighth invaded Liao and fought the Dynasty Guard. The Guard inflicted heavy losses on the Eighth and forced them off-world.[11][12]

The Dark Age[edit]

As part of Operation MATADOR the Eighth teamed up with the Second Robinson Strikers to assault Hyalite. The two AFFS units drove the Third Taurian Lancers from the world. The Eighth then went on to secure Norman's World.[13] In 3082 they were able to rebuild their armor unit and gain the full complement of battle armor troopers. They were moved to garrison Talcott.[14]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 8th Syrtis Fusiliers
Marshal Iona Hasek 3025[5]
Hauptmann General Pollak Ramsey 3050[15]
Hauptmann General Deborah Palu 3054[16]
Marshal Entropy Richards 3062 - 3085[6][9][17]

Other Officers[edit]

Tactics[edit]

The Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers are a fast unit - deploying light Mechs, hover-tanks, and helicopters.[6]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[19]

- At This point in time the Eighth were stationed on Chesterton.[19] The Syrtis Hover Recon - a battalion of hover vehicles - had been attached to the Eighth for so long at this point in time that it was essentially a de facto part of the Eighth, although it was still listed as merely being "temporarily attached".[2]

2786 - 2821[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[20]

- At this point in time the Eighth were a light-weight regiment at full strength and based on Chesterton.[20]In 2821 the unit was reduced to just forty-five percent of full strength and were based on New Ivaarsen.[20]

2830[edit]

8th Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)[21]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Mirach with an operational readiness of 99 percent.[21]

2864[edit]

8th Syrtis Fusiliers (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[21]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Mirach with an operational readiness of 32 percent.[21]

3025[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)[5]

  • CO: Marshal Iona Hasek[5]
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Avigait.[5] The 'Mech regiment contains light-weight designs and machines with high maneuverability.[22]

3040[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Füsiliers RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[23]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Lothair.[23]

3050[edit]

8th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[24]

  • CO: Hauptmann General Poliak Ramsey[24]
Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Lothair.[24]

3054[edit]

8th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[25]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Lothair.[25]

3062[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[6]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade (One unnamed Wing)[6]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Elite/Fanatical)[6]

- The Eighty-eighth is reinforced to five Battalions, includes three VTOL Battalions

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade (4 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[6]

- Infantry regiments fields AFVs

3067[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[9]

  • CO: General Entropy Richards

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade (Elite/Reliable)[9]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade (Elite/Reliable)[9]

  • CO: Major General Dusty Bondo

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[9]

  • CO: Major General William James Rohm

3079[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers LCT (Battalion/Regular/Questionable)[26]

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Brusett.[26] Though at full LCT strength, the Eighth's armor contingent consists of mostly Succession Wars-era vehicles that were seized from the planetary militia.[10]

3085[edit]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers LCT (Regular/Questionable)[17]

  • CO: Marshal Entropy Richards

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade (Green/Reliable)[17]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade (Regular/Reliable)[17]

Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade (Green/Reliable)[17]

Notes[edit]

Since at least 2960, the Eighth have had a traditional drink: the "Sour Cobra":
Theoretically 2 shots of Bourbon, 1 spoon citrus juice, 1 spoon lemon juice, 1 cup crushed ice. But in reality on New Syrtis they often had to resort to: Bourbon, concentrated citrus or lemon juice, and ice, freshly chopped from a glacier.
The Sour Cobra is also recommended for cleaning purposes.[27]

References[edit]

  1. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 141
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 18: "Syrtis Fusiliers"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 First Succession War, p. 40: "Fighting The Tsunami"
  4. First Succession War, p. 41: "An Expensive Learning Curve"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 137 (PDF version): "Ridgebrook PDZ"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 107: "8th Syrtis Fusiliers Unit Profile"
  7. Field Manual: Updates, p. 132
  8. FedCom Civil War, pp. 141–142, 156
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Field Manual: Updates, p. 137: "AFFS Deployment Table - 3067"
  10. 10.0 10.1 Field Report: AFFS, p. 15
  11. Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade, p. 86
  12. Field Manual: 3085, p. 23
  13. Field Manual: 3085, p. 54
  14. Field Manual: 3085, p. 63
  15. 20 Year Update, p. 22: "AFFC Deployment Table - 3050"
  16. Objective Raids, p. 15: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Field Manual: 3085, p. 69: "AFFS Deployment Table - 3085"
  18. Imminent Crisis
  19. 19.0 19.1 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 19: "Regimental Status"
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 First Succession War, p. 134: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns"
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Second Succession War, p. 95
  22. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 139
  23. 23.0 23.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 136
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 20 Year Update, p. 22
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Objective Raids, p. 15
  26. 26.0 26.1 Field Report: AFFS, p. 14
  27. Imminent Crisis, p. 43

Bibliography[edit]