Burton's Brigade
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| |
| Burton's Brigade | |
| Formed | 3057 |
| Disbanded | 3069 |
| Affiliation | Mercenary |
| Parent Command | Independent |
Contents
History[edit]
The mercenary unit known as Burton's Brigade was formed in late 3057 as a reinforced BattleMech company some five lances strong, built around a small core of veteran officers and a rather larger number of fresh recruits from Outreach and under the overall command of Captain Elly Burton. The Brigade's first commission came from Count Radcliffe McNally of Hall, who needed a unit to defend his holdings on the world from William Baranov - now calling himself "Emperor" William Baranov - and his Republican Guard, formerly the Federated Commonwealth Fourth Republican Guard.[1]
The Brigade's first contract proved to be a decade-long quagmire that nearly consumed the entire unit. Hall was being contested by no less than three separate factions, revolving around Count McNally, Emperor Baranov, and a rebel force built around Cater's Cohorts, a splinter faction that had broken away from Baranov's forces. Baranov's forces swiftly claimed the upper hand, seizing the planetary HPG, the primary spaceport and the planetary capital, and a few months after the arrival of the Brigade Cater's Cohorts were broken and shattered. With the Cohorts gone, the campaign for control of Hall reached a precarious balance, with the Brigade being involved in six years of sporadic fighting; the Brigade received support from McNally's personal forces and other minor mercenary units like Critchley's Cavaliers that McNally managed to hire, but not enough to break that balance. The stalemate finally tipped in 3065, when Baranov managed to hire the Stealthy Tigers; with the Brigade and McNally's forces heavily outnumbered and the Tigers freshly rebuilt the struggle quickly intensified, with McNally and his forces resorting to a guerrilla campaign, aided by the survivors of the Cohorts and various other factions opposed to Baranov.[1]
The guerrilla war culminated in a direct attack on the planetary capital, Harney, in mid-3066, by the Brigade and the other guerrilla forces; although the attack initially went in favor of the Brigade, a combat drop directly into the city by the Stealth Tigers destroyed the majority of the McNally Guard and killed Count McNally, leaving the Brigade heavily outnumbered. The Brigade fell back, causing Critchley's Cavaliers to be overwhelmed and destroyed; the Brigade was saved from destruction itself by the arrival of the Third Dismal Disinherited, one of the commands affiliated with the Allied Mercenary Command assembled by Wolf's Dragoons, who had arrived on Hall to investigate suspicions that the Word of Blake were supporting Baranov.[1]
Burton's Brigade absorbed some of the survivors of the Cavaliers and McNally's Guard and Captain Burton linked her command with the Dismal Disinherited, as the Brigade was desperately in need of relief; this officially affiliated the Brigade with the AMC and forced Baranov to break off his pursuit of the Brigade to avoid drawing more powerful members of the AMC into the fight. Baranov responded to the change in circumstances by making a surprise call for Hall to be admitted into the Free Worlds League, prompting an attack on Harney in late 3067 by the Dismal Disinherited and Burton's Brigade in an effort to expose Blakist machinations behind Baranov's change in direction. The attack cost the Brigade all of its commissioned officers - including Captain Burton - with the exception of Captain Thanh Bondanza and reduced the command down to a combat strength of just six 'Mechs and two tanks, leading to an offer from the commander of the Third Dismal Disinherited to absorb the remains of the Brigade, in part to make up for some of the Dismal Disinherited's losses.[1]
Burton's Brigade ultimately disbanded after the losses on Hall, merging into the Third Dismal Disinherited; the survivors of the Brigade fought alongside the Third on Talitha in early December 3069, but both commands were trapped by the Blakist forces on the planet and their mercenary support; unable to escape, the Third was destroyed, along with the remains of the Brigade.[2][3].
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of Burton's Brigade | |||
| Captain | Elly Burton | 3057 - 3066[1][2] | |
| Captain | Thanh Bondanza | 3066[1][2] | |
Tactics[edit]
The Brigade became proficient at jungle fighting as a result of their year-long guerrilla campaign against Emperor Baranov's forces.[1]
Support[edit]
- Technical Support: 75%
Mercenary Rating[edit]
Dragoon Rating: D
Composition History[edit]
3057[edit]
Burton's Brigade (5 BattleMech lances)[1]
- CO: Captain Elly Burton[1]
3059[edit]
Burton's Brigade (1 company/Green/Reliable) [4]
3066[edit]
Burton's Brigade (5 BattleMech lances) (Green/Reliable)[5]
- CO: Captain Elly Burton[5]
- - At this point in time the Brigade was at seventy-five percent of full strength and featured upgraded technology in just over a third of its units.
3067[edit]
Burton's Brigade (1 BattleMech company)[1]
- CO: Captain Thanh Bondanza[1]
- XO: Lieutenant Amando Flock[1]
- Only six 'Mechs and two Tanks were functional at this point in time[1]
Rules[edit]
3066[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 27, "Burton's Brigade: In With Both Feet"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 12, "The Rolls of Honor"
- ↑ Blake Ascending, p. 239
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 110
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 65, "Chaos March"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 69, "Burton's Brigade (C)"