3rd Drakøns

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The 3rd Drakøns were among the first of Free Rasalhague Republic's KungsArmé units formed, seeing heavy action against the Clans during the initial invasion and Great Refusal.

History

Formation and the Ronin War

Of the various unit types in the Free Rasalhague Republic's KungsArmé, the Drakøns were designated as the Heavy 'Mech regiments. [1] Formed in late 3034, the Third was actually the first complete Drakøn regiment formed, and came into being as a fully functional combined-arms regiment with ’Mechs, vehicles, infantry and aerospace support. [2]

During the Ronin Wars the Third were assigned to attack Orestes, Warlord Vasily Cherenkoff's rally point for Johiro’s Regiment of the Night Stalkers, the Twenty-second Rasalhague Regulars, and the Altenmarkt Militia to launch attempts to reclaim breakaway worlds. The Third arrived and tied all three regiments up, aided by the Legion of the Rising Sun and Dismal Disinherited mercenary units on loan from the Lyran Commonwealth.

With mercenaries attacking the Rasalhague Regulars and Night Stalkers, the Drakøns rolled over the Altenmarkt militia and captured vital supplies, before gaining air superiority over the planet. Despite protests from the LCAF military advisers assigned to the Third, after it became apparent to Överste Jorges Ulbrecht that Johiro’s Regiment was attempting to protect the largely Combine citizens of Kiertenbach, the Överste made contact with Tai-sa Johiro and struck a deal to help evacuate the citizenry if the regiment would stand down. After watching for any treachery, the Night Stalkers stood down and surrendered to Republic forces in mid-August.

Now free to bring all its forces to bear against the remaining Twenty-second, the Republic forces sent the mercenaries on a flanking maneuver as the Drakøns hit the Twenty-second head on. After heavy strafing runs from the Drakøns air wing, the Regulars found themselves smashed between the fresh mercenaries and the revitalized Drakøns, surrendering after 50% losses. [3]

Clan Invasion

As of 3049, the veteran ranked Third were stationed on Skandia, capital of the Skandia Province. [4] During the Clan Invasion the Third were moved to Memmingen which Clan Wolf targeted in their fifth wave in late 3051. The battle initially favored the Drakøns when Star Colonel Marcos Radick was forced to bid only a small force to beat Khan Natasha Kerensky, so that the defenders had superior numbers. The highly mobile strategy adopted by the Drakøns worked well, but increasingly angered Radick. After the Drakøns slipped from his grasp during a battle at Danton, the enraged Radick ordered Danton and the neighboring village of Greenvale razed as an example to the planet, causing hundreds of civilian casualties. Fearing more casualties, the Third chose to retreat offworld to Satalice but not before broadcasting their vow to Radick that they would never forget Danton and Greenvale and would make him pay. [5]

Arriving on Satalice, the Third joined the 1st and 2nd Satalice Armored Division in defending the planet from the combined forces of the Fourth and Thirteenth Wolf Guards. Unusually the Clan forces dispensed with Bidding in favor of a competition to see which unit could claim more trophies (insignia ripped from downed enemy 'Mechs). During the early skirmishes, Överste McGalliard realized that both Clusters weren't working together and reorganized his defense toward using his 'Mechs to lure the Clans into ambushes. While effective against ground forces, it was quickly abandoned when OmniFighters were shifted to respond first.[6]

The fighting on the Blue Lava Fields was perhaps the most notable of the battle for Satalice, where a Company of Drakons led by Elected Prince Ragnar Magnusson was chased into the lava fields by the Wolf Spiders. There Star Commander Phelan defeated and captured Elected Prince Magnusson, shattering the morale of the Third, who again retreated offworld, this time to their homebase of Skandia.[6]

The Third's luck at escaping destruction ran out on Skandia in early 3052, when Clan Wolf placed top priority in targeting one of the few remaining Rasalhague 'Mech regiments to shatter the morale of the Republic. The Seventh and Sixteenth Battle Clusters were relentless from the moment they set foot on the planet, the tough and unforgiving battle ending with the destruction of the last Drakøn 'Mech two weeks later.[7]

Post-Clan Invasion

After the Battle of Tukayyid, the surviving pilots of the Third were assigned to garrison Ueda alongside the similar battered 4th Drakøns, the reconstructed unit reaching Battalion size by 3054 at the latest. [8]

The Third was the Republic's contribution to Operation Bulldog, the reborn Star League's assault on the Clan Smoke Jaguar invasion zone, the veteran unit eager for revenge for the invasion, uncaring about which Clan they exacted it on. The Third was part of the SLDF coalition force launched from Dumaring on May 13th 3059, joining the assault on the Smoke Jaguar held world of Kiamba alongside the DCMS's elite 1st Genyosha, the Com Guard's 11th Division and the Davion AFFC's 1st Kestrel Grenadiers. Caught off-guard due to the efforts of Operation Bird Dog, the commander of the 362nd Assault Cluster reacted too late to deploy his AeroSpace Fighters and the SLDF taskforce landed without incident. Facing overwhelming odds, the 362nd was easily destroyed, with the Drakøns and the other coalition forces suffering only minimal losses. [9]

After the collapse of the Jaguar occupation zone, the Third accompanied Victor Steiner-Davion to Huntress to save Task Force Serpent. The Third Drakøns fought on behalf of the Republic in the Great Refusal, facing Clan Hell's Horses Alpha Keshik in the rolling hills of the Breyan district. In the most surprising result of the Refusal, while the Horses initially repulsed the Rasalhague unit, this only spurred the Drakøns on to take control of the ridge that was their objective.[10][11]

In mid 3065 with the Wolves busy with the Jade Falcons and Ghost Bears, and hoping to repeat the 4th Kavalleri's successful deep raid of 3063, the Third were finally allowed to raid the Clans. Unfortunately the Third's agitation to raid had an ulterior motive, to locate Star Colonel Marcos Radick. While ComStar intelligence indicated his death in the Refusal War, the Third Drakøns steadfastly refused to accept that the odious Star Colonel and his unit had not survived and set out out to locate their hated foe.

Acting with poor intelligence and no support, the Third's berserker drive across Wolf Clan territory degenerated into a tense game of cat-and-mouse. Khan Vlad Ward positioned his forces to cover routes his opponent would logically take, only for the Third rampage off in an entirely different direction. Ultimately the Drakøns' luck could not last forever, and the Wolf Clan finally caught up with the Third on Thun. With Överste Dahlstrom's death, her second in command executed an impressive fighting withdrawal and pulled the battered Third Drakøns back to Rasalhague space.

The mauled regiment attempted to rebuild while reining in the hotheads who survived. The Third's loyalty rating was downgraded to reflect their disobedience.[12]

Jihad and Conversion to Clan Cluster

In 3073, the Free Rasalhague Republic officially merged with the Ghost Bear Dominion, reuniting the Inner Sphere nation with rest of Clan dominated domain. As part of merge, the Third was converted into a Clan Cluster assigned to the Tundra Galaxy.[13]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 3rd Drakøns
Överste Jorges Ulbrecht 3034[1]
Överste Adrian McGalliard 3049[5]
Överste Joan Dahlstrom 3062 - 3065[12]
Överste Gordon Jorgensson 3065 - 3067[12]

=Other Officers

  • Between 3062 and 3065, Gordon Jorgensson was the Third's executive officer.[12]

Tactics

The Third were best known for their headlong rush into battle, with Viking war cries blasting from their speakers, which worked well against an unprepared foe. When Joan Dahlstrom was the unit's commander the Third favored physical attacks so much that many MechWarriors traded some ranged weaponry for Hatchets, Swords, and other close-combat weapons. The physical attacks worked surprisingly well against the Clan units they faced.[14]

The pilots of the Holy Valkyrie Aerospace Wing used Shilone fighters exclusively, even repeatedly declining new Huscarl OmniFighters, making up for their antiquated equipment by employing four fighters per flight instead of the traditional two.

Composition History

3034

3rd Drakøns - 1 Combined-Arms Regiment

3049

3rd Drakøns - 1 Combined-Arms Regiment

3054

3rd Drakøns - 1 Battalion

3062-3067

3rd Drakøns - 2 BattleMech Battalions

Holy Valkyries - 1 AeroSpace Fighter Company

1st Ueda Cavaliers - 1 Combat Vehicle Battalion

3rd Ueda Infantry - 1 Infantry Regiment

Notes

  • The Third's insignia is a silver fox with the word "Memmingen" written underneath, honoring both the "Silver Fox" Haakon Magnusson and the civilians slain on Memmingen.
  • Like all other KungsArmé regiments save the 1st Tyr, the Third used the KungsArmé light blue paint scheme, highlighted by grays and reds when on parade, adopting appropriate camouflage as required. [15]

Gallery

  • Original 3rd Drakøns logo ca. 3039

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 20-Year Update, p. 48
  2. ↑ Brush Wars, p. 106
  3. ↑ Brush Wars, pp. 113-114
  4. ↑ 20-Year Update, p. 51
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 64
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 65
  7. ↑ Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 69
  8. ↑ Objective Raids, pg. 43
  9. ↑ The Dragon Roars, p. 11, 15
  10. ↑ Warriors of Kerensky, p. 25
  11. ↑ Twilight of the Clans, p. 15
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Field Manual: Updates, pp. 91-92
  13. ↑ Masters and Minions: The StarCorp Dossiers, p. 113 - Unit's rebirth as a BattleMech Cluster honoring old Free Rasalhague Republic's active and defunct Regiments by the same name including the Third.
  14. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 34
  15. ↑ Field Manual: ComStar, p. 67

Bibliography

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