Beta Regiment (12th Vegan Rangers)

Beta Regiment (12th Vegan Rangers) logo.png
Beta Regiment
Formed 2865[1]
Disbanded 3077[2]
Nickname The Victories
(2900s-3057)

Metal Mayhem
(3057-3077)

Affiliation Mercenary
Parent Command Twelfth Vegan Rangers

History[edit]

Beta Regiment of the Twelfth Vegan Rangers formed in the single year of peace between the Second Succession War and Third Succession War, as the mercenary brigade grew larger. Hired by the Lyran Commonwealth, most of their early contracts pitted them against the Free Worlds League. They were so successful in their battles that the unit was nicknamed "The Victories" by the LCAF forces around they supported. They remained a perennial problem for the Free Worlds League until they were rotated back to the Federated Suns to fight alongside Alpha Regiment.[1]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

Beta Regiment assisted Alpha Regiment in its invasion of St. Andre during Operation RAT, facing down opposition from the Capellan Justinia's Cuirassiers and Blackwind Lancers units. Using a combination of false sensor data, tricky unit positioning, and misleading radio transmissions, they and the Davion Light Guards were able to lure the CCAF forces into a series of devastating ambushes and forced them to ultimately surrender. Alpha and Beta both remained as an occupying force on the planet for the remainder of the war.[3]

War of 3039 and Operation Guerrero[edit]

Like the rest of the Rangers, Beta Regiment earned a posting on the Capellan Border thanks to their actions during the Fourth Succession War. They were given the garrison world of Tsinghai, and remained posted there to ward off any counterattacks by the Capellans while Gamma and Delta Regiments saw action against the Draconis Combine during 3039.[4]

Beta Regiment held that world until September of 3057, when a combined Capellan-Free Worlds assault struck the Sarna March hard. Though they initially tried to put up a strong resistance, the two allied forces struck with such speed and ferocity that Beta and its sister regiments were cut off from each other and forced to fight overwhelming numbers alone. They began a fighting retreat, first to Corey and then to Second Try, each time being driven further back by Capellan and Free Worlds forces that had already occupied those worlds. Seeing how desperate the brigade's situation was, General Tom Stancel ordered the force to split into two units. Alpha and Beta both successfully retreated back to New Aragon, though they had suffered over fifty percent losses during their withdrawal. By the time Delta Regiment rendezvoused with the rest of the Rangers, it had been so badly gutted that Stancel made the decision to fold it into Beta Regiment in order to bring that unit back to combat strength.

In light of the extreme, harrowing defeats the unit had suffered, Colonel Miller al-Nahib felt that "The Victories" nickname the unit bore was disrespectful to the Rangers they had lost and announced that he would be renaming the unit. He opened the floor to his remaining troops and the survivors of Delta Regiment for suggestions. It was eventually decided that Beta would receive the nickname "Metal Mayhem," after the 'Mech that the fallen commanding officer of Delta Regiment had piloted, memorializing both him and the fallen.[5]

FedCom Civil War[edit]

The Rangers of Beta Regiment were stationed on Zurich when the FedCom Civil War finally ignited in 3062.[6] They remained there until called to reinforce Gamma Regiment on Algol, making landfall on 13 February, 3063. Unfortunately, the Third Tikonov Republican Guard arrived right on their heels to reinforce the Loyalist Second Republican.[7] The Rangers and Republican Guard units fought to a standstill that was broken with the arrival of the Loyalist Fifteenth Deneb Light Cavalry and the Allied Fifth Crucis Lancers. In the resulting brawl, the Second Republican sustained so many losses at the hands of the Lancers and Rangers that it was rolled into the bloodied Third Republican, while Gamma Regiment's Colonel Desantis chose to fold her ten remaining lances into Beta Regiment. Both she and Colonel al-Nahib found themselves at odds with the Fifth Crucis Lancers' aggressive commanding officer, and refused to commit their Rangers to several assaults that they felt would cost their men and women unnecessary losses.[7] Additional Loyalist reinforcements in late summer of 3063 brought both sides back to a grinding stalemate until General Tom Stancel arrived with Alpha Regiment to reinforce his beleaguered Rangers in September of that year. The now-united regiment aided the Fifth Lancers in driving the Loyalists off-world, but at the cost of significant losses of men and matériel.[8]

Using the salvage from the clash on Algol, Beta and the surviving elements of Gamma managed to rebuild the regiment to a point where they were able to redeploy to stop a Capellan-backed incursion into the Chaos March in October of 3066. Dispatched by Duke Hasek to Genoa to fight off Little Richard's Panzer Brigade, Beta took only two weeks to clear the ruthless Confederation mercenaries off planet, annihilating the Panzer Brigade's infantry and armor forces.[9] When the Brigade fled to Arboris, the Rangers followed, their ranks reinforced with a full battalion of salvaged Brigade 'Mechs. It took only a single week for the Rangers to oust the Panzer Brigade, who retreated back to Capellan space with a mere twenty-eight 'Mechs remaining from their entire regiment.[1][9] Beta Regiment was able to consolidate two understrength battalions of armor using salvage from the Panzer Brigade and volunteers from the citizen militias of Genoa and Arboris, which they dubbed the Vegan Tank Destroyers. One battalion was sent to each world, and by the end of 3067, Arboris and Genoa had rejoined the Federated Suns as part of the Capellan March.[1][9]

Jihad[edit]

Neither Beta nor the Rangers as a whole got much of a chance to catch their breath, as the Word of Blake's Jihad began just as the Civil War was winding down. In February of 3068, Beta deployed to New Avalon at the request of Jackson Davion, arriving in-system along with the Third Davion Guards using a pirate point. Once they made planetfall, they reinforced Federated Suns defenders in their efforts to repel Blakist invaders. Unfortunately, while their landing was unimpeded, the Thirty-sixth Division arrived a scant few days after their landing, and dropped right on top of Beta Regiment. In the ensuing fighting, most of Beta's First and Second Battalions were destroyed. The survivors, along with Third Battalion, managed to regroup with the Third Davion Guards and mount a desperate defense of Balright Pass in the Cris Mountains. With the Guards' help, they forced the Thirty-sixth to retreat, and prevented them from taking Avalon City.[10]

Beta and the Third Davion Guards continued to work jointly for the next five years of the New Avalon campaign, coordinating movements and strikes against the overwhelming Blakist numbers until, while defending an ammunition dump in 3073, half of the surviving Beta Rangers were lost. Now barely more than a few companies of survivors, Beta fell back to Rostock to regroup. While there, despite coming under attack several times, they were able to weather the storm through training, persistence, and pure chance.[10]

When New Avalon was finally liberated in 3074, Beta Regiment reunited with Alpha Regiment and the few survivors of Gamma Regiment, and by 3077 had formed a single merged brigade.[2]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Beta Regiment
Colonel Miller al-Nahib before 3028 - 3077[1]

Tactics[edit]

Beta Regiment specializes in open field warfare, speed, and expert unit maneuvers. A common tactic employed by them is to use First and Second Battalions as a unified formation to engage the enemy while probing the enemy's weaknesses or flanking them with Third Battalion. Additionally, Beta Regiment outfits a good deal of its 'Mechs with XL engines, surprising enemies with their unexpected mobility and speed.[1][11]

Support[edit]

Beta is known to have many skilled MechTechs on staff, and they easily able to repair and refit the unit's equipment.

Composition History[edit]

3025[edit]

Beta Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[12]

3040[edit]

Beta Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[4]

3050[edit]

Beta Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[13]

3054[edit]

Beta Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[14]

3067[edit]

Beta Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[1]

  • CO: Colonel Miller al-Nahib
  • XO: Major Sean Donovan
  • Base: Demeter
Second Battalion
  • CO: Major Christina Truscott
Third Battalion
  • CO: Major Alberto Riccetti

Second Vegan Attack Wing (Wing/Elite/Regular)[1]

  • CO: Major Melea Vogel
  • Half of the wing's fighters (mostly medium-weights) have been upgraded with advanced heat sinks, but only a few have ER Lasers

Second Vegan Armored Regiment (2 Battalions/Regular/Reliable)[1]

  • CO: Major Grady Poms
  • First Battalion comprises mainly light/medium vehicles for scouting and recon missions.
  • Second Battalion uses brute force to overwhelm an enemy with its Po and Brutus tanks.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised, p. 109: "Unit Profile"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 47: "FedSuns Mercenary Deployment"
  3. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, pp. 19–22
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Historical: War of 3039, p. 141
  5. Field Manual: Mercenaries, pp. 87–90: "12th Vegan Rangers"
  6. FedCom Civil War, p. 183: "AFFS & LAAF Mercenary Forces"
  7. 7.0 7.1 FedCom Civil War, pp. 54–56: "Algol"
  8. FedCom Civil War, pp. 80–81: "Algol"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 FedCom Civil War, pp. 172–173: "Genoa/Arboris"
  10. 10.0 10.1 Jihad Turning Points: New Avalon, p. 7: "Combatants"
  11. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 118: "12th Vegan Rangers"
  12. 12.0 12.1 House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 138
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 20 Year Update, p. 23
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Objective Raids, p. 17

Bibliography[edit]