1st Marik Militia

Marikmilitia01st.png
First Marik Militia
Formed 2238
Nickname The Avenging Angels[1]
Affiliation Free Worlds League
Parent Command Marik Militia

History[edit]

Formation[edit]

The first regiment of the Marik Militia brigade - which was formed along with the Free Worlds League in 2238 - the First Marik Militia would serve the League for centuries. Like the other regiments of the brigade, the First was dedicated to serving and defending the people of the League, rather than serving the Captain-General, a distinction that separated the Militia from other federal formations such as the Atrean Dragoons and Free Worlds Guards.[1]

Reunification War[edit]

At the start of the Reunification War the First Marik Militia was stationed on Rohinjan. The Militia was selected to support the VII Corps invasion of Cranston, one of the first worlds to be attacked in the opening stages of the invasion.[2]

Cranston[edit]

Cranston was expected to be a tough battle, and the SLDF Fifty-eighth Brigade had already been ordered to redeploy most of the brigade's fighters to the Fifty-seventh Brigade for their assault on the nearby world of Restitution. The First Marik Militia and the Second Orloff Grenadiers were deployed alongside the Fifty-eighth Brigade to bolster the invasion. Defending Cranston when the strike force landed in October 2577 were the First Canopian Grenadiers, who were soon discovered to be much better armed and equipped than SLDF intelligence had indicated - a result of an illicit trade in weapons and matériel with agents and companies within the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation. Although the Fifty-eighth and the FWLM units had the Canopian Grenadiers heavily outnumbered, the Canopians played to their own strengths by using maneuverability, speed and the local terrain to constantly harass the SLDF units, hitting hard and fading back before any of the task force unit could bring their superior numbers to bear.[3][4]

Hampered by a lack of AeroSpace forces to do any reconnaissance or gather intelligence and facing a foe that refused to engage in stand-up battles dragged the SLDF campaign out into November; events then took a turn for the worse when, on the 9th of November, the SLDF WarShip picket line in the system reported an unidentified vessel arriving at a pirate point in the system. The new vessel was inside the picket, and successfully deployed DropShips onto the northern continent of Cranston, from which emerged the Third Canopian Light Horse, fresh and supposedly the garrison for Restitution according to SLDF intelligence. Suddenly faced with twice the number of enemy forces and completely outmatched in the air thanks to the significant AeroSpace forces accompanying the Third Light Horse, the Fifty-eighth Brigade commander decided to split his forces; General Michael Martinnson deployed two thirds of his forces against the First Canopian Grenadiers, while ordering the other third and both Marik regiments to prevent the Third Canopian Light Horse from linking up with the Canopian Grenadiers. The next three weeks were a brutal campaign, particularly for the scratch company of AeroSpace pilots and fighters that were all the Fifty-eighth, the First Marik Militia and the Second Orloff Grenadiers could muster to defend them from the Canopian AeroSpace assets; by the time the MAF defenders had been forced to retreat from Cranston, three weeks after the Third Light Horse's arrival, the Fifty-eighth and both FWLM regiments had been bloodied, the MAF had proved that the war was going to be fought in a fashion entirely different to that predicted by the SLDF planners, and the surviving SLDF AeroSpace pilots from the scratch company were the first recipients of the Star League Medal of Honor in the Canopian theater.[3][4]

Granera[edit]

After the campaign for Cranston, the First Marik Militia were rotated through the supply and staging world of Granera, presumably for repair and resupply. Intelligence received by the commander of the MAF, Colonel Adam Buquoy, indicated that the second-line troops acting as garrisons on various supply worlds throughout the border region of the Free Worlds League were ill-prepared for any attack and that where plans for the defense of supply worlds existed, they weren't being practiced. Buquoy acted decisively on this information; in addition to personally leading four mercenary units against the important supply world of Meadowvale, he dispatched units to strike at three other supply and staging worlds - Ayn Tarma, Saonara and Granera. The Second Canopian Light Horse were dispatched to attack Granera, and did manage to successfully destroy their assigned targets, but the presence of the First Marik Militia on the world came as a complete surprise to the Canopians. The Militia used this surprise to deadly effect, brutalizing the Second Light Horse and destroying almost a battalion of Canopian 'Mechs before the Second could withdraw.[4][5][6]

Ruschegg[edit]

In contrast with the difficult campaign to capture Cranston, the deployment to capture Ruschegg in 2578 was relatively easy; one of three former Free Worlds League worlds which had defected to the Magistracy in the 2550s, all three were conquered through a display of overwhelming force and agile diplomacy by Captain-General Marik. The defenders of Ruschegg effectively offered no resistance to the SLDF landings, although it would have been difficult for any local militia to contest an invasion which saw the SLDF Fifty-eighth Brigade deploy alongside the Sixty-second Royal Brigade, the First and Third Marik Militia and the First and Second Brigades of the Fusiliers of Oriente. Within a very short period of time the planetary leader of Ruschegg had not only surrendered but was actively petitioning for Ruschegg to be admitted into the Free Worlds League. The relatively peaceful capture and annexation of Ruschegg, Payvand and Scheuerheck was an important publicity victory for the Free Worlds League, one that the Captain-General's allies in the Parliament used extensively against opponents of the Star League.[2][7]

Obrenovac[edit]

When the war began, Obrenovac was a key trade hub for the Magistracy of Canopus, and in March 2579 it was targeted for conquest by the Star League Defense Force task force. Following setbacks earlier in the war the task force was proceeding slowly but steadily in 2579, ensuring that planets were targeted with overwhelming numbers of troops to reduce the effect of any resistance; in a short campaign lasting from 19 to 25 March 2579, Obrenovac was conquered by the combined forces of the SLDF Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Brigades supported by the First and Fourth Marik Militia. With more than twenty assorted regiments of troops used in the conquest of Obrenovac the occupation itself was little more than a police action with the SLDF rapidly taking control of government buildings and infrastructure. By January 2580 the task force had also secured the worlds of Eleusis and Bethonolog alongside Obrenovac, and in doing so had secured the entire anti-spinward flank of their advance into the Magistracy.[2][8]

Tetski[edit]

The heavily industrialized world of Tetski was the site of one of the more important battles of the SLDF campaign against the Magistracy. In the twenty-sixth century, Tetski was one of the most rim-ward Magistracy colonies, and the site of some of the most extensive BattleMech repair facilities in the nation. As an important cog in the MAF war machine, battalions and regiments of Canopian troops were regularly rotated through Tetski and the system was one of the few worlds other than Canopus to merit a permanent naval WarShip picket. On the 3rd of September 2582 the defending planetary garrison, the Third Canopian Light Horse, were witness to two battalions of the First Marik Militia arriving in-system. The Militia harassed orbital traffic, and then made landfall near a major refinery close to the city of Sendai, where they promptly tore through the local garrison.[2][4][9]

The MAF responded quickly; the naval picket blocked attempts by the Militia's DropShips to link up with their JumpShips, while the Third Light Horse attempted to pin the Militia forces down and use their greater numbers to wear them down. The Militia responded the same way the MAF had since the beginning of the campaign - they refused to face the Third Light Horse directly, instead moving quickly and pulling the Third Light Horse further away from their established defenses. The Militia played hit and run for a week, and on the 10th of September, the second stage of the attack on Tetski began. An SLDF flotilla jumped in at a pirate point just ten hours out from Tetski and ripped through the two Magistracy corvettes in orbit before dropping more troops onto the planet - a lot more troops. The Third Light Horse made a cross-country race towards the capital city of Tokhai, arriving inside the city defenses just as the 'Mechs of the Fifty-eighth Brigade entered the atmosphere.[2][9]

Unable to catch the Third Light Horse out in the open, the Fifty-eighth were faced with a siege; bolstered by the Fifth Marik Militia and the Third Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente, the Fifty-eighth spent three weeks forcing their way into the city, but even when the task force had seized the industrial, economic and political centers of the city, the Third Light Horse refused to surrender. Instead, the Canopians fought until every man was down, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides. The loss of Tetski and the facilities there was a heavy blow to the MAF war effort.[2][9] A unit citation was issued to the First Marik Militia for their bravery in the campaign for Tetski, and the citation was added to the regimental standard; the Militia still carry the citation proudly today.[10]

Canopus IV[edit]

The Militia were largely inactive in 2583, but in 2584 they were a part of the Captain-General's massed assault on the Magistracy capital, Canopus IV. Three complete brigades of troops landed on Canopus in early May, the Fifty-eighth and Sixtieth Brigades along with the Sixty-third Royal Brigade. Bolstering the brigades were three independent SLDF regiments along with almost half the FWLM auxiliary division. The First Marik Militia fought alongside the Third Marik Militia for the first time since Ruschegg, as well as the Fourth Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente, the Third Orloff Grenadiers and the First Defenders of Andurien. The battle for control of the planet took several weeks before the MAF defense was routed at the city of Delphi, and the First Militia wouldn't take part in another planetary invasion until the final year of the war.[2][11]

Kossandra's Memory[edit]

Settled shortly before the outbreak of the war by the MAF for use as a redoubt and base of operations should Canopus IV fall, the outback world of Kossandra's Memory was the site of the final battle between the SLDF task force and the Magistracy Armed Forces. The MAF had managed to keep the existence of Kossandra's Memory secret for much of the war although it hadn't been able to evacuate the Magestrix to Kossandra's Memory when Canopus fell in 2584; when Captain-General Marion Marik finally invaded Kossandra's Memory in 2588 the Second Canopian Light Horse and Buquoy's Bandits were the only surviving major MAF units and were both on the world. Numbering just a few mismatched battalions, the MAF units still contested the landing, under the command of Colonel Adam Buquoy himself; Marik landed the First Marik Militia and the Third Regulan Hussars on Kossandra's Memory, along with the Sixty-second Royal Brigade and led them personally into battle.[12][13][14]

Marik used three regiments drawn from those who had landed in her assault against Buquoy's positions, and while Buquoy tried to trick Marik into making rash attacks that he could capitalize on, the Captain-General kept her cool and used her superior numbers to grind the Canopian forces down. With the last of the Magistracy forces finally defeated after eleven years of campaigning, the war between the Magistracy and the Star League finally ended when Marik accepted Buquoy's surrender with a firm handshake.[12] The part the Militia played in this final battle wasn't recognized with a unit citation, unlike their actions on Tetski, but their role still generated almost as much pride in the regiment. Hanging in the regimental mess on Marik is a painting of Marion Marik accepting Adam Buquoy's surrender with 'Mechs from the First standing overwatch.[10]

Star League Era[edit]

When the Star League Council issued the Council Edict of 2650 limiting the size of the military maintained by each Great House the First was one of nineteen active regiments within the Marik Militia. Like the other regiments of the Militia, the First remained a popular unit with both the commoners within the League and the peerage because of their public dedication to the people of the League, and like the other regiments of the Militia often acted as training grounds for troops across the League. A significant number of the personnel serving in other more prestigious federal units and various provincial forces within the League had actually begun their careers in the First or another of the Marik Militia regiments.[1] The First remained the most experienced of the Militia regiments[15] but was consistently posted to worlds far from the border with the Capellan Confederation because of the strong anti-Capellan sentiments within the regiment.[1]

Anton's Revolt[edit]

A loyalist unit in the Marik Civil War (31st c.), the First Marik Militia under Colonel Shanna del Rey was faced with rebel special forces and disgruntled workers who had seized the Soapstone Mountain BattleMech factory on Irian. Del Rey, unwilling to damage the factory, isolated it and attempted to negotiate.[16] However, when Janos Marik demanded an immediate resolution of the situation on Irian she abandoned the negotiations and staged a night assault. The rebels had no qualms about using heavy weapons within the factory, and as a result the plant was heavily damaged and virtually razed.[17]

The First Marik Militia remained on Irian throughout the civil war and was noted to have effectively vanquished their opposition in or by December 3014, suffering relatively light damage in the process.[18]

Third Succession War[edit]

Took part in two famous battles. The Battle of Skada Ravine on Megrez in 3018, where the Regiment's Third Battalion (better known as the Perth River Strike Battalion) saved the other two battalions from an LCAF assault.[19] Marcus Radatz, the commanding officer of the Perth River Strike Battalion, earned membership of the Order of the Silver Hand as a result of the battle, and his successor, Shanna del Rey, became a hero after defeating three LCAF 'Mechs that had threatened to flank the Battalion. Del Rey - an Orion pilot - became an overnight vidtape legend thanks to her homespun homilies, and would succeed Radatz as battalion commander.[20] One unnamed MechWarrior from the Perth River Strike Battalion, a minor noble piloting a Thunderbolt, was considered a sadistic sociopath by his own superiors. He was demoted after the fighting on Megrez for an incident that killed the family of Lyran Commonwealth citizen Simon Kincaid, but promoted back to lance commander only one year later in what was described as a recurring scenario. Kincaid wanted him dead so badly that he offered the Capellan Confederation secret technology in return for his death, and the Confederation delivered his frozen corpse to Kincaid on 18 November 3027.[21]

Fourth Succession War[edit]


Andurien Secession[edit]

In 3039, the unit was involved in operations on Andurien, north of the capital Jojoken. What started as a minor battle with the Sixth Defenders of Andurien trapping a Company of the First Militia in the city of Baroda escalated into a meeting engagement that became the pivotal battle on planet, shattering the First and Sixth Defenders.[19]

A key component of the victory at Baroda was down to the actions of Staff Sergeant Adrianna Chowla, a Mongoose pilot within a recon lance from the First Militia's Second Battalion. Left alone behind enemy lines when her lancemates were cut down by forces from the Sixth Defenders, Chowla elected to remain in place, gathering information on the various deployments of the Sixth Defenders and then the First Defenders of Andurien when they arrived to reinforce the Sixth. Chowla made repeated runs to transmit information to the First Militia, despite being spotted and engaged several times by the Defenders, who began referring to her Mongoose as the "Ghost 'Mech"; Chowla not only provided key information to the First Militia but also downed a Vindicator in a battle that became a teaching simulation in later years used extensively by the Allison MechWarrior Institute, and even went so far as to deactivate damaged weapons on her own 'Mech to ensure that the Beagle Active Probe continued to gather information.[22]

In later years the First staged a reprisal raid against the Capellan Confederation's Warrior House Ijori on Jasmine.[19]

War of 3039[edit]


Operation Guerrero[edit]


Operation Bulldog[edit]


Jihad[edit]

The First Marik Militia were stationed on Ohrensen when a Word of Blake task force struck at the planet in early February 3079. The Blakists used nuclear weapons to destroy the defending Essex-class destroyer FWLS Schrack and then attacked Ohrensen, inflicting severe damage on the Militia and destroying the planetary HPG; it would be a week before reinforcements would arrive arrive from the Kyrkbacken and Suzano, and the reinforcements took heavy damage in turn from the Word of Blake forces.[23]

The First Marik Militia were listed as destroyed as of 3085.[24]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the First Marik Militia
Colonel Shanna del Rey 3014 - 3039[25][26][27]
Colonel Howe Wilmarth 3050[28]
Colonel Siva Rashpurtey 3055 - 3067[19][29]

Other Officers[edit]

In 3025, the attached San Anselm Air Wing included not one but two notable flying aces, Alison Gould and Cassandra Blake.[20]

Tactics[edit]

Proved in reconnaissance missions and hit-and-run tactics.[19]

Composition History[edit]

2765[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[15]

- At this point in time the First was stationed on Hednesford.[15]

2786 - 2821[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical) [30]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Tamarind. In 2821 the command was reduced to 53 percent of its strength and was deployed on Tamarind. [30]

2830[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical) [31]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Tamarind with an operational readiness of 86 percent. [31]

2864[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical) [31]

Note: At this point in time the light-weight unit was stationed on Tamarind with an operational readiness of 52 percent. [31]

3014[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical), stationed on Irian[32]

  • CO: Colonel Shanna del Rey

3025[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[26]

San Anselm Air Wing[20]

- At this point the San Anselm Air Wing consisted of five Stingrays, two Cheetahs and a captured Chippewa - the latter piloted by young ace Cassandra "Sassy Cassy" Blake.[20]

3028[edit]

First Marik Militia(Regiment\Veteran\Fanatical)[33]

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Fletcher. [33]

3050[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[28]

  • CO: Colonel Howe Wilmarth [28]
Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Fletcher.[28]

3059[edit]

First Marik Militia (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)[19]

- The First and Second Battalions use fast light 'Mechs
- The First contains additional a lance of Owens OmniMechs

San Anshelm Air Wing (Wing/Veteran/Reliable)[19]

Fifty-third Fletcher Armored Brigade (2 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[19]

- Two light recon regiments

381st Garrison Division (Division/Green/Reliable)[19]

Gallery[edit]

  • A Stinger in the colors of the First Marik Militia

Notes[edit]

  • Special Rules for the 1st Marik Militia can be found on Historical: Reunification War, p. 183, and First Succession War, p. 147.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Field Report 2765: FWLM, p. 10: "Marik Militia"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Historical: Reunification War, p. 148: "Magistracy Of Canopus Front(Jump-Off - 2582)"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 98: "Restitution and Cranston (October-November 2577)"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 150: "Magistracy of Canopus Front (Jump-Off-2582)"
  5. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 99: "Meadowvale (January 2578)"
  6. ↑ Field Manual: Periphery, p. 34: "2nd Canopian Light Horse"
  7. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 100: "Ruschegg, Payvand and Scheuerheck (August–October 2577)"
  8. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 100: "Eleusis, Obrenovac and Bethnolog (March 2579–January 2580)"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Historical: Reunification War, pp. 101–102: "Tetski (September–November 2582)"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 38: "First Marik Militia"
  11. ↑ Historical: Reunification war, pp. 103–105: "Canopus (March–April 2584)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 105: "Mopping Up (2584–2588)"
  13. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 149: "Magistracy Of Canopus Front (2583–2588)"
  14. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 151: "Magistracy Of Canopus Front (2583–2588)"
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Field Report 2765: FWLM, p. 10: "Regimental Status"
  16. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 23
  17. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 27; House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 127
  18. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 35 (also pp. 33, 37)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 19.8 Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 54: "1st Marik Militia Unit Profile"
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 91: "1st Marik Militia"
  21. ↑ Proprietary, pp. 9f
  22. ↑ Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade, p. 188: "Notable MechWarriors"
  23. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 19: "Blakist Raids Savage Duchy Of Oriente"
  24. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 75: "Heroes of a Shattered House : FWLM Commands lost during the Jihad", the First Marik Militia is destroyed in 3085
  25. ↑ Brush Wars, pp. 23, 27
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 108: "FWL Deployment Table"
  27. ↑ Technical Readout: Succession Wars, p. 16: "MON-66 Mongoose"
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 20 Year Update, p. 56: "FWLM Deployment Table"
  29. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 160: "Free Worlds League Military Deployment Table"
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 First Succession War, p. 138
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Second Succession War, p. 98
  32. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 33
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Historical: Brush Wars, p. 86

Bibliography[edit]

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