3rd Taurian Lancers

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3rd Taurian Lancers.jpg
Third Taurian Lancers
Formed 3063
Nickname Growing Pains
Affiliation Taurian Concordat
Parent Command V Corps (3063)
I Corps (3083)


History[edit]

Formation[edit]

The Third Taurian Lancers formed in or around 3063 as a result of Protector Grover Shraplen deciding that equipment slated to go to the Colonial Marshals within the New Colony Region could be better employed filling a hole in the ranks of the Taurian Defense Force, as could the people originally intended to join the Marshals. By combining the newly formed 3rd Lancers with the mercenary unit Vandelay's Valkyries within V Corps the TDF strength on paper increased substantially. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation didn't match up to expectations.[1]

To say that the Third Lancers and the Valkyries encountered some difficulties working together would be an understatement; the two regiments formed a jealous rivalry with each other almost immediately, which led to an increasingly violent cycle of one-upmanship, backbiting and finally an actual shooting match on what should have been a joint training exercise. By the time the smoke cleared the Third Lancers had destroyed 6 of the Valkyries' 'Mechs and had lost 11 'Mechs and 5 combat vehicles in return. To add insult to injury, one of the companies within the Third Lancers' armored vehicle contingent later took a detour, driving quite literally through the Valkyries' headquarters, destroying several hundred thousand C-bills worth of personal equipment and collapsing four buildings in the process.[1]

The Third Lancers were marked from the outset for lacking a sense of self as a regiment, something that made cooperation between the various battalions both difficult and rare.[1] Their deployments didn't help with this lack of identity. For example, in 3067 the Third Lancers had been broken into battalion sized formations and were stationed on Hyalite, Perdition, and Celentaro.[2] This deployment allowed the Third Lancers to defend against raiders from Pirates Haven and the Calderon Protectorate.[3] In September 3067 the Lancers forces were in combat on Hyalite, attempting to gain control of the planet, but discovered that the population was considerably less enthusiastic to see them than the inhabitants of the Pleiades Cluster. A force from the Third Taurian Lancers led by Brigadier Smallwood and a small mercenary command, Lennox's Light Horse, battled against forces from the Second Albion Training Cadre before the sudden departure of the Lancers back to Concordat space left the Light Horse high and dry. Despite the slaughter of civilian dependents on Bromhead by Taurian forces the month before, the Light Horse were allowed to surrender and depart after handing over the WHM-8D Warhammer piloted by the Light Horse's CO as ransom, due to their good conduct during the campaign.[4]

The Jihad[edit]

In 3068 the Taurian Concordat had initiated combat actions against the breakaway Calderon Protectorate and the Third Lancers had been tasked with the conquest of Marknick. The mercenary Black Angus Boys had been contracted to support the offensive operations against the Protectorate, but refused to defend the Third Lancers' landing zone when the Lancers found themselves the target of a counterattack by the 1st Taurian Pride. The Black Angus Boys refusal to support the Lancers effectively ended the entire campaign against the Protectorate.[5]

Post-Jihad[edit]

It was reported that as a result of the combat seen during the extended war with the Federated Suns and then in Operation MATADOR the Third Taurian Lancers had been reduced to less than a quarter of their established strength by mid-3081.[6] Split across the worlds of Hyalite and Lothair, the Third found themselves heavily outnumbered when the AFFS launched its counterstrike. On Lothair, the Third Lancers' First Battalion found itself facing two complete Light Combat Teams, including the Twenty-second Avalon Hussars; it was a testament to the Third Lancers that they managed to extract any forces at all from the battle. As it was, the last 5 'Mechs from the First Battalion escaped to Brockway less than two weeks after the initial AFFS landing, while the remains of Gordon's Armored Cavalry, who had been garrisoning Lothair alongside the Third Lancers, made a hasty retreat to Mithron.[7][8]

The Second Battalion, based on Hyalite, was equally unfortunate; facing the 2nd Robinson Strikers and the 8th Syrtis Fusiliers Light Combat Teams, the Second Battalion was convincingly mangled before the remnants of the command were able to withdraw;[8] just 7 Lancer 'Mechs managed to escape to Atreus Prime. At the end of hostilities the few survivors of the Third Lancers were incorporated into I Corps and mustered at 40% of full regimental strength on paper, but the battered command lost many personnel due to discharges from post-traumatic stress, and by 3085 the Third Lancers was a weak shadow of its former strength, likely to fold quickly in combat.[7]

Dark Age[edit]

The Third Lancers raided a string of worlds between Brusett and Colorado in 3141. This raid was one of the deepest ever completed by the TDF. In 3145 the Third Lancers were stationed on Lindsay, a world that was originally claimed by the Concordat but was taken by the Federated Suns during the Reunification War. After five centuries of Davion control, Lindsay's population resisted the Taurian forces, and the Third became adept at countering the insurgents present on the world and fighting large infantry formations.[9]

ilClan Era[edit]

At the dawn of the ilClan Era, the Third was the main Taurian unit involved in the Pleiades War.[10]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 3rd Taurian Lancers
Colonel Teresa Danielle 3064[11]
Colonel Kalvin Hobbes 3067[2]
Colonel Abel Gabrielson 3085[12]
Colonel Linda Griffin 3145[13]

Other Officers[edit]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

3064[edit]

Third Taurian Lancers (1 Regiment/Green/Reliable)[11]

  • CO: Colonel Teresa Danielle
  • 1st Battalion: Brigadier Miho Katsuba
  • 2nd Battalion: Brigadier Kalvin Hobbes
  • 3rd Battalion: Brigadier Aaron Wells

- The 3rd Battalion is short a company of 'Mechs - a result of their squabble with Vandelay's Valkyries - and is of Questionable loyalty.

Third Taurian Armored Lancers (2 Companies/Green/Questionable)[11]

Third Taurian Foot Lancers (1 Regiment/Green/Reliable)[11]

  • Infantry Commander: Colonel Roman Waters

3067[edit]

Third Taurian Lancers (1 Regiment/Green/Reliable)[2]

  • CO: Colonel Kalvin Hobbes

Third Taurian Armored Lancers (2 Companies/Green/Questionable)[2]

  • Armor Commander: Subaltern Jessiah Hawkins

Third Taurian Foot Lancers (Green/Questionable)[2]

  • Armor Commander: Colonel Roman Waters

3079[edit]

Third Taurian Lancers (Regiment/Green/Reliable)[14]

- At this point the Third Lancers were operating at 60% of full strength, with 15% of their equipment using advanced technology.

3085[edit]

Third Taurian Lancers (Regular/Reliable)[12]

  • CO: Colonel Abel Gabrielson

Third Taurian Armored Lancers (1 Battalion/Regular/Questionable)[12]

  • CO: Subaltern Kato Tendaji

Third Taurian Foot Lancer (Regular/Reliable)[12]

  • CO: Colonel Virgil McGinnis

3145[edit]

Third Taurian Lancers (Veteran/Fanatical)[13]

Third Taurian Armored Lancers (Elite/Fanatical)[13]

Third Taurian Foot Lancers (Veteran/Fanatical)[13]

Notes[edit]

After their formation the 3rd Lancers operated a particularly strict policy on the display of unit crests on any of their machines. This markedly draconian stance was considered by outsiders to perhaps be a mark of the lack of actual combat experience on the Lancers' part manifesting as an overexaggerated sense of propriety. The 3rd Lancers' rules dictated that the Taurian Concordat insignia must always be larger than any other crest or insignia on the 'Mech or vehicle, and must be placed in the most prominent position, and that the regimental crest may be placed anywhere above the waist of a 'Mech but not on the rear. A MechWarrior may place replicas of any awards earned on his 'Mech, but only on the left leg.[1]

Rules[edit]

  • When using BV to determine the composition of forces, 20% of the BV allocated to the 3rd Taurian Lancers must either be spent on armor units or lost.[15]
  • When elements from different battalions of the 3rd Taurian Lancers are deployed together, the 3rd Taurian Lancers elements receive a -1 Initiative Penalty for the entire game.[15]
  • When elements from different battalions of the 3rd Taurian Lancers are deployed together, enemy units may not fire on infantry from the 3rd if a BattleMech from the 3rd is closer to the firing unit.[15]
  • Any characters assigned to the 3rd Taurian Lancers gain the Disadvantage Quick/Rivalry with Vandelay's Valkyries.[15]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 68: "3rd Taurian Lancers: Growing Pains"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Field Manual: Updates, p. 202: "TDF Deployment Table - 3067"
  3. Field Manual: Updates, p. 193
  4. Sound and Fury
  5. Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 31: "Black Angus Boys"
  6. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 115: "Taurian Concordat"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Field Manual: 3085, p. 142: "Third Taurian Lancers"
  8. 8.0 8.1 Field Manual: 3085, p. 54: "Operation MATADOR"
  9. Field Manual: 3145, p. 195
  10. Dominions Divided p. 41
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 66: "3rd Taurian Lancers Unit Profile"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Field Manual: 3085, p. 150: "TDF Deployment Table - 3085"
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Field Manual: 3145, p. 201: "I Corps"
  14. Field Report: Periphery, p. 12: "Taurian Concordat"
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 153: "V Corps"

Bibliography[edit]