4th Avalon Hussars

(Redirected from Fourth Avalon Hussars)
Brigade Insignia of the Avalon Hussars
Fourth Avalon Hussars
Disbanded Third Succession War
Nickname The Thundering Herd[1]
Affiliation Federated Suns
Parent Command Avalon Hussars[1]


History[edit]

Founding[edit]

The Avalon Hussars were initially founded as a brigade of approximately eight regiments around the time of the founding of the Federated Suns in 2317; the first regiment to be founded following the destruction of an existing regiment was the Ninth Avalon Hussars, founded to replace the Third Avalon Hussars, who were destroyed in the 2360s.[1]

Age of War[edit]

In 2431 the Terran Hegemony captured the Kentares system, one of the systems within the Terran March of the Federated Suns.[2] The Prince of the Terran March spent eight years trying to recapture the world from the Hegemony Armed Forces without success before finally requesting assistance from the remainder of the Federated Suns, by which time not only was it too late for the Federated Peacekeeping Forces to easily recapture the world, but several other Terran March worlds had also defected to the Terran Hegemony in recognition of the Hegemony's obvious military superiority.[3]

Despite this, the Federated Peacekeeping Forces could and did attempt to recapture the system. One such attempt was in 2449, when the Fourth Avalon Hussars attempted to recapture the world; this led to the Fourth being the first hostile unit to see face the HAF's newly-developed Manatee-class DropShip, the first dedicated BattleMech transport. The Manatee quickly proved the validity of the concept of a dedicated 'Mech carrier, with the campaign initially going well for the HAF, but as the battle for control of the planet drew on, the Hussars took advantage of the light armor and weapons payload on the Manatee, targeting the vulnerable transports and destroying a number of them, along with their embarked units. The battles with the Fourth taught the HAF that they needed to deploy heavier fighter screens to protect their DropShips in future.[4]

Second Succession War[edit]

In 2838 the Free Worlds League Military was struggling under the combination of the ComStar interdiction of the Free Worlds League and Parliament's efforts to choke off funding to the military. Both the Capellan Confederation and Lyran Commonwealth had taken advantage of the League's woes to make military gains, with the LCAF expanding two major salients into the League with ruthless efficiency. However, in 2838 the FWLM forces fighting a tenacious defense in the League systems of the former Terran Hegemony found their LCAF opponents being hampered by expeditions from the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns, both looking to make gains of their own from the weakened League. Alula Australis was one of the systems caught up in this - the LCAF had landed the Ninth Lyran Guards on the planet and were well on their way to crushing the FWLM garrison when the Fourth Avalon Hussars arrived as part of an AFFS expeditionary force. Both competent and determined, the Hussars battled the Guards for six weeks, until both formations were battered and bloodied and forced to withdraw - leaving the remains of the FWLM garrison to resume control over the system.[5]

Third Succession War[edit]

Although the Fourth Avalon Hussars survived the Second Succession War,[6] only eight regiments of the Hussars were still active in 3025, all as Regimental Combat Teams, and the Fourth was not among them,[7] indicating that the Fourth was destroyed or disbanded at some point during the Third Succession War.

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 4th Avalon Hussars

Tactics[edit]

During the Star League era the Fourth was still a noticeably heavier unit than most within the Avalon Hussars, as was its sister unit, the Eighth Avalon Hussars; this was a direct legacy of the role both units had originally occupied during the formation of the Hussars, when they had been the assault backups to the rest of the brigade.[8]

All of the Avalon Hussars were required to focus on being both flexible and mobile, with every regiment required to be capable of deploying within eight hours, although many of the Hussars struggled to actually achieve this. The Fourth was supported by an aerospace wing, although the wing was primarily attached to the Second to provide ground support. Unusually for a Hussars regiment, the Fourth also maintained a permanent artillery battery, as did the Eighth, despite this being a deviation from the Hussars combat doctrine.[8]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

Fourth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[1]

- At this point in time the Fourth were stationed on Colia.[1]

2786–2821[edit]

Fourth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[9]

- At this point in time the Hussars were an assault-weight regiment stationed on Colia and were operating at four-battalion strength.[9] In 2821 the unit were operating at roughly four-fifths the strength of a standard regiment.[9]

2830[edit]

Fourth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)[6]

- At this point in time the Hussars were a heavy-weight regiment and had rebuilt to the point that they were almost half as large again as a standard regiment. The Hussars were stationed on Colia.[6]

2864[edit]

Fourth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[6]

- At this point in time the Hussars were a heavy-weight regiment stationed on Carnac, and had been reduced to approximately the strength of a standard regiment.[6]

Rules[edit]

Game Rules[edit]

First Succession War[edit]

  • Between 2786 and 2807, the composition of randomly-generated lances from the Fourth Avalon Hussars are determined using a single roll on the Random Unit Assignment Tables per lance, with all of the lance 'Mechs being the resulting type. Between 2808 and 2819, the lance composition is determined using two rolls on the Random Unit Assignment Tables per lance, and from 2820 lance composition is determined using one roll per 'Mech per lance.[10]
  • When generating Fourth Avalon Hussars forces using Random Unit Assignment Tables during the First Succession War, Fourth Avalon Hussars receive a +4 modifier to each roll on the appropriate table.[11]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Field Report 2765: AFFS, pp. 8–10: "Avalon Hussars"
  2. Handbook: House Davion, p. 28: "New Government, New Challenges"
  3. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 36: "The First Prince"
  4. Technical Readout: 2750, p. 190: "Manatee"
  5. Second Succession War, p. 44: "The Four-Front War: Operation COOKIE JAR and the ComStar War (2837-2842)"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Second Succession War, p. 94: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns (AFFS)"
  7. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 140 (PDF edition): "Avalon Hussars"
  8. 8.0 8.1 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 8: "Avalon Hussars"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 First Succession War, p. 134: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns (AFFS)"
  10. First Succession War, p. 147: "Force Compositions"
  11. First Succession War, p. 147: "RAT Die Roll Modifiers by Combat Command Table"

Bibliography[edit]