Atrean Hussars
Sarna News
Founded in 2923, the Atrean Hussars were formed as a experiment by Captain-General Samuel Marik to try and get around the restrictions of the Home Defense Act. Despite their direct loyalty to the Captain-General, the relatively young age and the poor performance of the Hussars have led to the unit being close to disbandment for most of its existence.
History
Facing a contentious Parliament, with the provinces beginning to make extensive use of the Home Defense Act to withhold troop support from the Captain-General, Samuel Marik attempted get around this situation by forming a new regiment directly loyal to him and equipped using captured Capellan 'Mechs. However the Hussars low origins and, until the FWLM's expansion in the 3040's, status as the youngest regiment in the League prevented them from attacting competent leadership. While not lacking in supplies or equipment, they also did not get the best opportunities for combat or booty.
The Hussars appeared ready to throw off the lack of prestige when Janos Marik, then heir to the Captain-Generalrcy, took command of the unit, but they spent more time combating general strikes, terrorism, rioting and anti-government violence on their garrison world of Ling than fending off Lyran raids. [1]
True to their origins, the Hussars were one of many loyalist units that took part in the Andurien War. Being first committed to the assault on Shiro III, the overeager Hussars believed a 4-to-1 numerical advantage would carry the day against 5th Defenders of Andurien, but the battle-hardened Andurien's almost destroyed the Hussars until being pushed off-world by the 1st Marik Milita and 1st Fusiliers of Oriente. The Hussars then settled into a support role for these units against the 1st Defenders of Andurien. [2]
The near debacle on Shiro III was nothing compared to that of Conquista. Landing with the 2nd Free Worlds Guards to assist the Sixth Marik Milita, the three regiments methodically corraled the 5th Dfenders of Andurien. However Colonel Wansi wanted revenge for the brutal fighting the 5th had inflicted on the Hussars on Shiro III and advanced too quickly, allowing a gap to form which allowed the Fifth to savagely maul the rearguard of the Sixth Marik Milita. With the Loyalist plan in ruins and tensions with the Sixth rising to boiling point, the Hussars were deemed a liability and rotated out of the Andurien theatre. [3]
The Hussars poor performance continued when a raid on Solaris in 3043 ended in disaster. [4] The final nail in the Hussar's coffin seemed to have occurred in 3045, when a stray round killed Eleanor Wansi during the Forger '45 exercises on Abadan. Already suffering heavy losses in the war games, unit morale collapsed and the LCCC began organizing the paperwork to disband the unit. It was only then executive office Annya Baker who argued for one last chance to reverse the Hussars fortunes in the face of severe repercussions if she failed that kept it active.
Baker's response was the "Harrowing": a brutal purge of troublemakers and those unwilling to devote themselves to the Hussars. A third of the unit was dismissed within a month of Baker taking command, barely two battlions remaining, but those left were driven yet further by the "cast-iron bitch of highest order" to their limits and beyond. LCCC's trust in Baker was rewarded when Hussars faced the elite of the League forces in the Foresight '46 exercises, fighting like demons and taking down almost twice their number in Marik Milita and Free Worlds Guards regiments before being defeated. [4]
The first test of the Hussars after the "Harrowing" was a raid on Hsien to pin down the 2nd FedCom RCT long enough for SAFE operatives to access a research base there, which it ably achieved with only minimal losses. The Hussars next assignment, the liberation of Talitha during Operation Guerrero was also a success, but failed to garner any commendations from the other units taking part, the Iron Guards and Sixth Marik Milita, who specifically still blamed the Hussars for the losses on Conquista. [5] The Hussars became the main garison force for Talitha. [6]
However by the 3060's the LCCC had recognized the Hussars had failed to forge a distinct identity in the FWLM beyond their poor reputation. After receiving the resignation of Colonel Reber Bennundo, in 3062 the Captain-General ordered the Atrean Hussars and Atrean Dragoons amalgamated under a common command structure. While retaining their own name, the Hussars have become an effective fourth Dragoon regiment and fall under the general command structure of the Dragoons.
Initially the unit's reputation and moral plummeted back to pre-Baker levels, but the new commander of the combined Hussar/Dragoon brigade, Julian Langsdorf, made extensive efforts to integrate the Hussars, alternately helped and hindered by the Dragoons regiments parochial views of Hussars. Of all the units of the combined force the Hussars have under gone the most changes and gained the most benefits, including extensive expansion of its rolling upgrade program which has resulted in the unit being rated as 70% upgraded, as well as receiving a company of Achileus Battle Armor. [7]
Officers
Prior to becoming Captain-General, Janos Marik, commanded the Hussars, but this did nothing to improve the pedigree of the unit.
As of 3025, the Atrean Hussars were commanded by Colonel Eleanor Wansi. While a veteran 'Mech commander, the disagreeable and ill-tempered Wansi, only exacerbated the unit's problems by souring relations with other League forces and poor tactical decisions during the Andurien War which made the unit a laughing stock.
The unloved Wansi was replaced by Annya Baker in 3045. A Hussar Force Commander who argued against disbanding the unit, the newly promoted Colonel Baker brutally drove her regiment to excel and reverse the unit's fortunes until the aging Colonel suffered a stroke in 3048.
Though less authoritarian than his predecessor, Reber Bennundo maintained the strict discipline and highly regimented existence that became the rule under Baker. With flagging support for the Hussars among the LCCC, Bennundo eventually resigned in 3062.
As of 3067 the unit is commanded by Said Berridge.
Tactics
Being primarily a light-medium weight regiment, the Hussars favor offensive operations, where their speed and maneuverability can be used to best advantage, and to try and minimize being on the receiving end of return fire from other similar sized but heavier regiments. [5]
Composition
- Atrean Hussars - BattleMech Regiment - 1 Medium Battalion, 2 Light Battalions.
- Atrean Hussars Air Wing - 2 Aerospace Fighter Squadrons
- 52nd Armored Regiment - 1 Armor Regiment
- 23rd Marik Regulars - 1 Infantry Brigade, including one Battle Armor Company.