Editing Broadsword Legion

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[File:Broadsword Legion.svg|150px]]
| Designation    = Broadsword Legion
| formed         =
| Disbanded      = The [[Jihad]]
| Previous Designation =
| Nickname       =
| Affiliation    = Mercenary
| Parent Command = Independent
| Sub-Command    =
}}

Owing their formation to Unit-CO [[Kari Marita]]'s refusal to accept [[Victor Steiner-Davion]]'s elevation as [[Precentor Martial of ComStar]], the '''Broadsword Legion''' consists primarily of members of the [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] [[166th Division (ComStar)|166th Division]].<ref name=FMMRp49 />

==History==
Future unit CO Kari Marita was one of the survivors of the 166th Division's involvement in the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]]. The 166th defended Skupo in that engagement. They faced [[Natasha Kerensky]]'s famed [[13th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|Thirteenth Wolf Guards]], the so-called Wolf Spiders. The Spiders were able to slip in behind them.<ref>''Tukayyid'', p. 90</ref> The 166th was almost destroyed following a days-long, off-and-on battle against Kerensky's unit.<ref>''Wolf Clan Sourcebook'', p. 51</ref> The 166th was struggling to rebuild, and Marita was promoted to [[Demi-Precentor]] and assigned command of the unit.<ref name=CSp85>''ComStar'', p. 85</ref><ref name=FMMRp49 />

ComStar's efforts to rebuild the 166th suffered a mortal blow when Marita chose to resign upon Victor Steiner-Davion becoming Precentor Martial. Marita was unwilling to serve under the deposed House Lord. Unlike many Com Guard defectors, the ambitious but principled Marita did not choose to join the [[Word of Blake]] but instead traveled to [[Outreach]] with her battered ''[[Thug]]'' to become a [[mercenary]],<ref name=FMCp26>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 26</ref> with the 166th steadily shrinking as over 30 percent of her former soldiers chose to follow her,<ref name=FMUp85>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 85</ref> convincing their old CO to form her own command.

In [[3066]] the Broadsword Legion was undergoing training exercises and wargames with the [[1st Rim Commonality Guards|Chaos Irregulars]].<ref>''Crossroads at Outreach''</ref> As of [[3067]] the Legion were still undergoing months of training on Outreach to ensure the smooth operation of the new unit and host of new tactics.<ref name=FMMRp49>''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 49</ref><ref name=FMUp184>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 184</ref>

===Jihad===
Hired by the [[Allied Mercenary Command]] in the face of Word of Blake's assault against [[Outreach]]. They sided with the Blakists but only answered to the chain of command, and as Waco had killed his representative, [[Leopold Jenkins]], they did not respond to [[Wayne Waco]]'s calls for support.<ref>''An Ice-Cold Dish'' p. 171</ref> 

The Legion stayed out of the [[First Battle of Harlech (3067)|First Harlech]] battle, but sided with [[Wolf's Dragoons]] in a few isolated moments.<ref>''Mercenaries Supplemental Update'', p. 16</ref>

Initially, they stayed beside the Dragoons after the beginning of [[Second Battle of Outreach (3067)|Second Harlech]] battle. Then, when fighting alongside [[Wolf Spider Battalion]], legacy holder of Natasha Kerensky's [[Black Widow Company]], the Legion turned against the Wolf Spiders. They crushed [[Tarantula Trinary]] and lured the [[Black Widow Trinary]] into a trap, breaking the back of the Dragoons defense while suffering heavy losses in the process.<ref name=BAp35>''Blake Ascending'', p. 35</ref><ref>''The Day After''</ref>

However, their betrayal only enraged the Dragoons, who managed to defeat the Blakists on ground. The only known success of the Legion's attack was the almost total annihilation of the Wolf Spiders, almost destroyed before.
After that action, the unit was branded by the AMC as a Wanted/Rogue unit. The unit was branded "Wanted dead or alive for: crimes against humanity, war crimes, severe breach of faith", with its last known whereabouts being Outreach.<ref name="DotJp36">''Dawn of the Jihad'', p. 36: "MRBC Advisory: Updates to Rogue/Wanted List"</ref>

However, the Blakist's actions weren't approbated by all the Legion members: during the confusion, the Legion's captain [[Nicole Doles]] defected with the remainder of her company, unwilling to be part to that kind of destruction, abandoning Outreach.<ref>''Succession Wars Technical Readout'', p. 130: "The Condemned"</ref>
After Second Harlech, every Dragoon sworn to avenge the Legion's betrayal with blood.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', p. 17</ref>

A heavily-damaged Legion was left with [[Wannamaker's Widowmakers]] to garrison Outreach in [[3069]]. They opposed the landing of the reborn Black Widow Company in early [[3070]], led by [[Stacy Church]], leader and only known survivor of the Wolf Spiders. Though they were unable to stop them from going to ground.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', p. 18</ref> The Broadsword Legion was effectively destroyed in April [[3071]] as the remnants of the Dragoons on Outreach coordinated an assault on the treacherous mercenary unit. A handful of Legionnaires managed to escape and make it off-world, including Kari Marita.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', p. 19</ref> By [[3081]] the Broadsword Legion was considered to have been wiped out.<ref name="J:FRp120">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 120: "Excalibur"</ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Broadsword Legion'''
|-
| [[Colonel]]||[[Kari Marita]]||[[3061]] - [[3071]]
|-
|}

==Tactics==
The Legion prefers to operate in urban and nighttime settings, being noted for skills in close combat, ambushes and sniping tactics.

==Composition==
Created by former Com Guard officers, the Broadsword Legion has stayed true to its origins, organizing as a [[Level III]]-Rho unit and a good portion of the command's 'Mechs and vehicles are old Star League designs.

In Successor State military terms, the Legion is organized in three mixed companies, each comprised of two demi-companies each. They do not use lances but instead subdivide the demi-companies into three two-unit squads, an arrangement that gives them tactical flexibility to meet opponents who may underestimate the troop strength they are facing.

* ''Excalibur Company'' - Colonel Kari Marita
The Legion's command element, Excalibur contains a demi-company of [['Mech]]s and [[Hovercraft|Hovertank]]s. Only Colonel Marita's ''Thug'' is equipped with Clantech, two [[ER PPC]]s, the rest of her [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] use older designs with more mundane and reliable modifications.

* ''Toledan Company'' - Captain Nicole Doles
Toledan is made up of a demi-company of [[C3i]] 'Mechs and one of [[battle armor]], a mixture of [[Raiden]], [[Kanazuchi]], and a squad of [[Purifier]]s, carried on either [[Bandit]] or [[Blizzard]] hover transports or one of two modified [[Cavalry]] transport VTOLs. After the Word of Blake used nuclear weapons and orbital bombardment on Outreach, Captain Doles deserted from the Legion and took her company with her.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade'', p. 216</ref>

* ''Claymore Company'' - Captain Elizabeth Joyce
The Legion's heavy assault force, Claymore's 'Mechs are Star League era heavy and assault designs supported by a demi-company of heavy tracked vehicles and two Clan ''[[Jagatai]]'' [[OmniFighter]]s.

==Notes==
* All Legion units are painted gunmetal gray, with the unit insignia a bronze Roman legionnaire shield with the old ComStar logo on its face, a broadsword pointed down set on top of the shield.

* Thanks to their hatred of Victor, the Broadsword Legion steadfastly refused to accept any contracts with the [[Federated Suns]] or [[Lyran Alliance]].

* The unit's support section consists of former ComStar technicians equal to 50 percent support, and a single ''[[Triumph]]''-class [[DropShip]] named the ''[[Damocles (Individual Triumph-class DropShip)|Damocles]]'' modified to transport the entire unit.<ref name=FMMRp49/>

* As of [[3067]], the green ranked Legion had a solid C [[Dragoon Rating]] reflecting purely a lack of action as mercenaries, despite a level of actual combat experience far exceeding such a level.

==Unit Scheme==
Colonel Marita would order all her personnel to paint their equipment in gunmetal gray.<ref>''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 49</ref>

==BattleMech Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Broadsword_Legion_Atlas.JPG|''Atlas in company colors''
Image:Thug_1.jpg|[[Kari Marita]] in her ''[[Thug]]'' on [[Outreach]]
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
<div class="desktop-3-col">
* ''[[Blake Ascending]]''
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]''
* ''[[Crossroads at Outreach]]''
* ''[[Dawn of the Jihad]]''
* ''[[The Day After]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[An Ice-Cold Dish]]'' (in: ''[[Shrapnel (magazine)#Issue 5|Shrapnel, Issue 5]]'')
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Mercenaries Supplemental Update]]''
* ''[[Starterbook: Wolf and Blake]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Tukayyid (scenario pack)|Tukayyid]]''
* ''[[Wolf Clan Sourcebook]]''
</div>


[[Category:Mercenary Commands]]