Wolfgang Hansen

Wolfgang Hansen, ca. 3075
Wolfgang Hansen
Character Profile
Born 3013[1]
Affiliation House Hansen
Rank Colonel
Profession MechWarrior
Parents Gerhardt Hansen (father)
Spouse Freida Hansen[2]
Children Lars Hansen[3]
Alexi Hansen[2]
Dana Hansen[2]
Ulric Hansen[2]

Wolfgang "Wolf" Hansen (also sometimes spelled "WolfGang")[4] was the son of Gerhardt Hansen, and succeeded his father as commander of the famous Hansen's Roughriders mercenary unit.

History[edit]

Groomed as his father's successor to lead Hansen's Roughriders, Wolfgang—then a major—performed poorly in the costly defense of the city of Merkator on Pike IV during the War of 3039. The Roughriders suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Fifth Sword of Light, losing half a battalion of troops.[5] (Some attributed this to concern about his wife, who was giving birth to their first child on Algol at the time.[6])

Consequently, Wolfgang underwent rigorous extra training for another five years before taking over command of the unit.[6][7]

Although it was noted that he kept the unit in top form through his abilities and attention to detail,[8] the Roughriders saw little actual combat action for some twenty years during their plum posting to Bromhead. It was not until Katherine Steiner-Davion sent them against Clan Jade Falcon that they got a chance to fight the Clans.

The assignment on the Jade Falcon border had endeared Katherine Steiner-Davion to the Roughriders, and they would fight for her in the upcoming war.[4] At the onset of the FedCom Civil War, Wolfgang Hansen met with the commanders of the two AFFC units on Bromhead and declared for Katherine Steiner-Davion, resulting in the withdrawal of the 2nd Davion Guards from the world on 6 November 3062.[9]

The Bromhead Massacre[edit]

In 3067, while the Roughriders were traveling between contracts, Taurian Concordat troops attacked Bromhead and killed the Roughrider dependents at the base, including Wolfgang Hansen's wife and three youngest children. Ever since, Wolfgang was a dark, brooding officer leading a close-knit group of like-minded individuals. Under his leadership, the Roughriders embarked on a private war against the Taurians during the Jihad that knew no bounds, to the point where they razed Taurian infrastructure to the ground while the defending Taurians soon began to use nuclear weapons against the Roughriders not as a last resort but right from the start. Ultimately, the Concordat failed to catch and destroy the Roughriders even though they had sent an entire WarShip task force after them. It was during that campaign that Hansen incorporated The Old Guard, previously an unofficial comittee, into an active combat unit.[10]

Liberation of Terra[edit]

During the Liberation of Terra from the Word of Blake, Hansen's Roughriders were loaned to Stone's Coalition by their employer and saw action at the Texas lowlands where six cobalt-laced nuclear weapons were detonated by the Word of Blake. Though Wolfgang Hansen and a small cadre of troops survived, the Roughriders had to be rebuilt afterwards.

BattleMech[edit]

As of ca. 3039, Major Wolfgang Hansen and his father, Colonel Gerhardt Hansen, were noted for piloting the two CP-10-Z Cyclops 'Mechs with functional Tacticon B-2000 Battle Computers that the unit possessed.[6]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 234
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Blood Rage", ch.3
  3. "Blood Rage", ch.10
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 37
  5. Historical: War of 3039, p. 85
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Technical Readout: 3039, p. 164
  7. Combat Manual: Mercenaries, p. 44
  8. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 81
  9. FedCom Civil War, p. 30
  10. Unit Digest: Old Guard (Hansen's Roughriders) p. 85

Bibliography[edit]