2nd Oriente Hussars

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History

Reunification War

The 2nd Oriente Hussars were the only regiment from the Hussars battle group to fight during the Reunification War; they formed a part of the 1st Marik Auxiliary Corps commanded by General Ian Marik as a part of the SLDF Task Force Canopus. The 2nd Hussars fought on seven different worlds across the Magistracy, often fighting alongside the Juggernaut regiment of the Stewart Dragoons.

Gouderak

The invasion of Gouderak was the first combat action against the Magistracy following the declaration of war, and by the time the Hussars had left the staging world of Granera and joined the 5th Marik Militia in reinforcing the VII Corps' 55th Brigade in June 2577, the 55th had already seized the world, sweeping aside the limited resistance offered by the single company of 'Mechs from the 1st Canopian Light Horse assigned as a garrison. The 55th had already discovered another problem that would plague the SLDF campaign; Gouderak lacked the resources to support an SLDF garrison of any size, making it impossible for the occupying force to simply live off the land as had originally been planned, and similar problems would be encountered on other worlds.

Payvand

In 2578 the Hussars were assigned to the operation against Payvand. One of three former Free Worlds League worlds which had defected to the Magistracy in the 2550s, Payvand was a heavily industrialised world even at the time of the Reunification War, and when the SLDF task force invaded in July there was a significant level of resistance despite the lack of Magistracy Armed Forces units on the world. Although four regiments from the FWLM had been assigned to the invasion of Payvand - the Hussars, the 4th and 5th Marik Militia and the Juggernaut regiment, the Marik forces didn't get to make a major contribution. All four were 'Mech formations, assigned alongside the 35th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment to support the VII Corps' 57th Brigade, and the level of resistance was such that the 57th was forced to occupy both the city of New Barcelona and the PayMax Industrialplex, one of the very few occasions in the Magistracy campaign where the terms of the Ares Conventions were breached. Despite the need to operate in urban areas because of the local resistance, the Captain-General ordered that 'Mech troops must not operate in urban areas on Payvand, leaving the 57th Brigade's infantry regiments to clear buildings, stage riot control operations and deal with the urban guerrilla resistance. Although Payvand was declared to have been pacified by late November 2578 and the planetary governor had already begun the process of requesting readmission to the Free Worlds League, resistance to the SLDF garrison would rumble on until 2580.

Gallis

The MAF had managed to surprise and outfox the SLDF task force several times in the opening years of the war, and as a result the SLDF timetable slowed as Captain-General Marion Marik built up her forces for the next major invasions. In addition to refitting and rearming VII Corps and the FWLM regiments acting in support, Marik targeted two worlds each year for invasion, consolidating gains as part of a slow encirclement of the Magistracy capital world of Canopus IV. The Hussars were involved in one of these four campaigns; in January 2580, the SLDF 59th Brigade landed on Gallis alongside the Hussars and the Juggernaut regiment, clashing with the 3rd Canopian Light Horse and Buquoy's Bandits. The Bandits were the personal command of the MAF commander, Colonel Adam Buquoy, and in what would be the standard pattern of warfare for the MAF when defending worlds during 2580-2581, the two Canopian regiments did their best to sting the invading regiments before retreating ahead of any effective retaliation, saving their strength for later battles.

Lindenmarle

In 2582 the SLDF began to pick up the pace of the war, adopting MAF tactics and launching a series of raids as well as a new wave of planetary invasions. The world of Lindenmarle was guarded by two of the elite Chasseurs á Cheval regiments, the 1st and 2nd Canopian Light Horse; the task force deployed the 56th Brigade, the Hussars and the Juggernaut regiment to take control of the world in July, and while the Light Horse regiments weren't destroyed, they were forced to retreat, conceding the planet to the SLDF.

Afarsin

Afarsin was an agrarian world of little strategic importance and which hadn't merited a MAF garrison so far during the war, but its location as one of the most anti-spinward worlds in the Magistracy made it a stepping stone to other worlds, particularly those lightly defended worlds in the Canopian outback. The SLDF moved in force to capture the world in April 2583, deploying the 55th Brigade along with the Hussars, the 4th Marik Militia, the 2nd Orloff Grenadiers and the 3rd Regulan Hussars. The assembled strike force captured the world quickly, and the Hussars would be deployed alongside the 4th Militia and the Regulan Hussars again in their next campaign.

Candiear

The battle for Candiear was the last major engagement for the 2nd Oriente Hussars during the Reunification War. By the time the SLDF task force moved against the world in 2585, the ultimate fate of the campaign was already certain but the remaining MAF units continued to resist. VII Corps dropped an ad hoc division of troops consisting of the combined forces of the 56th Brigade, the 61st Royal Brigade and the 62nd Royal Brigade on Candiear. Augmenting the SLDF troops were the 2nd Hussars, alongside the 2nd Orloff Grenadiers and the 3rd Regulan Hussars for a second time. Although the defenders were heavily outnumbered, some of the best units in the MAF were on Candiear; the SLDF troops had to face both the 2nd and 4th Canopian Light Horse as well as Buquoy's Bandits. Although the SLDF strike force outnumbered the Canopian regiments, they couldn't pin them down and destroy them, and all three regiments escaped to fight again on other worlds.

The campaign was marred by the bitter argument that erupted between Colonel Anupan Shah, CO of the 3rd Regulan Hussars, and Westy McDowell, the 2nd Hussars CO, regarding the performance of their regiments. The war of words was a direct consequence of the general feeling amongst the 3rd Regulan Hussars that they had been slighted by not being selected for the assault on Canopus the year before, and resulted in the Captain-General smoothing the Regulan's feathers by assigning them to the assault on Kossandra's Memory, the final battle of the Canopian campaign. As for the 2nd Hussars, Candiear was their last battle of the war.

Andurien Secession

Seized the capital of the planet Wallacia after it followed Andurien's lead in seceding from the Free Worlds League. The government-in-exile responded by hiring the Black Widow Company of Wolf's Dragoons to liberate the planet, leading to battles throughout the autumn of 3032 which cost the Second a Battalion of 'Mechs and the planet.

In 3038, the Hussars were sent to defend against pirate attacks in the Abbey District. They saw heavy fighting and took losses, but were successful in driving off the raiders.

Officers

The CO of the 2nd Hussars during the Reunification War was Colonel Westbrooke "Westy" McDowell.

In 3025 the unit was commanded by Colonel Caleb Covaleski. As of 3050 to 3059 the Commanding Officer was Colonel Arthur "Cap" Rivernider, a winner of the Oriente Legion of Merit.

Tactics

The command have their difficults to operate at regiment level, but this changed in smaller engagements and during scout missions.

Composition History

3025

2nd Oriente Hussars (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Caleb Covaleski

3040

2nd Oriente Hussars (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

3050

2nd Oriente Hussars (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Arthur Rivernider

3059

2nd Oriente Hussars (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• CO/1st Battalion: Colonel Arthur "Cap" Rivernider

• XO: Force Commander Theofanis Nicholeu

• 2nd Battalion: Force Commander Orguz Celim
• 3rd Battalion: Force Commander Elizabeth Mills

2nd Oriente Aerospace (Archer's Arrows) (1 Wing/Regular/Reliable)

• Wing Commander: Commodore Stuart Archer

The Ponti (1 Battalion/Veteran/Questionable)

• Armor Commander: Major Harry Eldrige

- The Ponti is a mercenary unit under contract to the Hussars.

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League
• Historical: Reunification War
• House Marik (The Free Worlds League)
• Technical Readout: 3039
• Objective Raids