14th Avalon Hussars

History

Star League Era

The Fourteenth Avalon Hussars was one of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns regiments suspected by the Star League Defense Force intelligence community to be involved in supporting the "bandit raids" that plagued the closing years of the Star League era prior to the Amaris Civil War. Despite being a high priority for supplies and equipment, the Fourteenth was observed to consistently be chronically understrength, sometimes by as much as a full battalion, with supplies and personnel being diverted to bandit forces backed by House Davion the most likely cause.

First Succession War

An AFFS raiding force drawn from elements of the Fourteenth with support from a battalion from the 1894th Light Horse Regiment, a former Star League Defense Force unit operating now as a part of the Blue Star Irregulars mercenary unit, struck the Combine world of David in February 2787. During the course of the week-long raid the Fourteenth battled elements of the Third Arkab Legion at the port city of Sassari in an hour-long engagement before forcing the Legion to withdraw and looting a number of warehouses of spares and munitions. The Fourteenth also conducted a number of air patrols across David during the course of the week, before withdrawing back to Federated Suns space, content that they had gained the measure of the Combine's border defenses.

Unknown to the Fourteenth or the Blue Star Irregulars, the Third Arkab Legion had deliberately only fought back using half their available forces and had withdrawn from battle intentionally, to give the raiders a misleading impression of the strength of the garrison on David and to prevent the Fourteenth discovering the presence of either the Third Dieron Regulars, concealed in hidden bases deep in the Northern Andropo badlands or the conventional forces hidden in bunkers constructed to look like transient villages dotted along the Fatima River Basin. The deception was conducted in accordance with orders issued by Warlord Jinjiro Kurita as part of widespread preparations for the upcoming invasion of the Federated suns.

Second Succession War

On the 19th of June 2828 Chancellor Ilsa Liao landed on Orbisonia in command of the Red Lancers and the Prefectorate Guard, intent on seizing an important AFFs supply world and preventing the defending garrison - the Second Ceti Hussars and Fourteenth Avalon Hussars in place, to prevent them relieving Chesterton - the overall focus of Ilsa's Operation CELT. The main Capellan forces consisted primarily of Marauder and Warhammer heavy 'Mechs and were soon threatening to overrun the main Federated Suns staging ground and overwhelm the defending forces.

With the initial assault going well, and the CCAF units driving the defending garrison hard, Ilsa Liao went to bed after receiving news of other CCAF units assaulting Chesterton, expecting to be woken with good news about assaults on the Demeter and Sanilac systems. Instead, she was woken early in the morning with the news that the Davion Assault Guards were dropping onto Orbisonia, having arrived at a pirate point close to the planet. First Prince Paul Davion had been moving troops in anticipation of his own invasion of the Confederation, Operation DAO, and Ilsa's offensive had run straight into the teeth of Paul's marshaling forces.

Ilsa ordered a general retreat, but the light forces of the Ceti Hussars and Avalon Hussars proved difficult to disengage from, and the Assault Guards landed across the CCAF positions, threatening to turn the retreat into a rout - or a massacre. Ilsa took to the field personally, taking command of the rearguard and refusing to retreat while she covered her withdrawing forces. The garrison was able to make good use of information provided by AFFS recon and intelligence assets - primarily Darter scout cars - to outmaneuver and outsmart the attacking Capellan forces. After four days of combat the Capellan forces were retreating from Orbisonia when the AFFS troops acted on intelligence indicating that Chancellor Liao was leading the rearguard personally to launch an aimed strike that killed the Chancellor. Ilsa Liao was the first Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation to die on the battlefield. Isla died having secured a safe retreat for almost four-fifths of her forces on Orbisonia.

The Fourteenth was one of seven Avalon Hussars regiments to be destroyed during the Second Succession War.

Officers

Ardan Sortek

Tactics

During the Star League era 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.

Composition History

2765

Fourteenth Avalon Hussars (Veteran/Fanatical)

- At this point in time the Fourteenth was stationed on Klathandu IV. In common with the other regiments of the Avalon Hussars the Fourteenth had an attached aerospace wing, although these forces were primarily tasked to provide ground support rather than escort duties.

2786

Fourteenth Avalon Hussars (Veteran/Fanatical)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment stationed on Klathandu IV and were operating at four-battalion strength.

2821

Fourteenth Avalon Hussars (Veteran/Fanatical)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment stationed on New Avalon and were operating at just over two-battalion strength.

2830

Fourteenth Avalon Hussars (Veteran/Fanatical)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment and had rebuilt to almost their full four-battalion strength. The Hussars were stationed on Orbisonia.

Rules

First Succession War

• Between 2786 and 2807, the composition of randomly-generated lances from the Fourtheenth 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.
• When generating Fourtheenth Avalon Hussars forces using Random Unit Assignment Tables during the First Succession War, Fourtheenth Avalon Hussars receive a +4 modifier to each roll on the appropriate table.

Bibliography

• Field Report: Federated Suns 2765
• First Succession War
• Second Succession War
• Technical Readout: 3075