McKinnon's Company

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Unit Description

The McKinnon's Company better known as McKinnon's Raiders or The Fox's Teeth is a Special Operations BattleMech Company. Originally a SLDF combat unit, the company defected to House Davion at the breakup of the League.[1] During the next three hundred years the Raiders became, as an independent part of the 7th Crucis Lancers, one of the most famous commands of the Federated Suns until they choosed to join the Republic of the Sphere after the Jihad.[2]

History

Founding

The Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 142nd Battle Regiment, 251st BattleMech Division under command of Captain Kieran McKinnon was stationed at the Star League depot on Kesai IV when they refused to follow General Kerensky into exile and choose instead to join the AFFS in return for titles and lands on Kestrel.[1]

The Succession Wars

At the beginning of the First Succession War in 2786 McKinnon's Company proved their determination by repeling a much larger force of the DCMS, who tried to sieze the Star League Depot. Though victorious, the unit left the planet for a first Tour of Duty on the Periphery border, that would last ten years and was quiet uneventful.[1]

However, that changed in 2796 when McKinnon's Company joined with the newly created 7th Crucis Lancers on Kentares IV to form the First Company of the First Battalion. The defense of Kentares against the Combine invaders did not went well and the 7th Lancers were all but destroyed. The few survivers, led by McKinnon's Company, fled to the mountains and fought a guerrilla war against the DCMS until they were finally rescued by an AFFS taskforce. But before their retraction an infantryman of McKinnon's troop shot Coordinator Minoru Kurita. This fateful incident led Minoru's son, Jinjiro, to order the death of Kentares' whole population during the infamous Kentares Massacre. Kieran and his company however fought on against the invaders - again as an independent command after the effective destruction of their regiment - until 2808 when he was killed on Harrow's Sun.[1][3]

During the Second Succession War the company, under command of John McKinnon, fought mainly on the Capellan front. There they advanced deep into enemy territory and conducted famous raids on St. Ives and in 2861 on the Forbidden City on Sian itself. This last raid, though costly for McKinnon's Company, helped to convince Dainmar Liao to seek an end to the hostilities between the Houses Davion and Liao and earned the unit the name of McKinnon's Raiders.[1][4][5]

After a short time of R&R, where the unit had to exchange their last Star League equipment for Davion-made material, McKinnon's Company spent the next century on the border to the Periphery, fighting against Pirates. This long-time service was rewarded with an assignment to House Davion's capital of New Avalon, sometime around the millennium. In 3013 the Davion intelligence service learned about a traitor, somewhere in the Davion Guards, who had been convinced by agents of House Kurita to kill the new First Prince Hanse Davion. The Raiders, under the command of Ross McKinnon, one of the few units on New Avalon which were no part of the guards, were tasked with a secret mission. Faking their depature from the planet, they executed an orbital drop and destroyed the corrupted Captain Bright and his men, who were about to attack the Royal Court. As reward for their loyalty the Raiders earned themselves the nickname of "The Fox's Teeth".[6][4]

The next assignment for the Raiders, now again a part of the 7th Crucis Lancers was the border to the Combine, where they arrived in 3015. For five years the company fought against the DCMS without a single defeat until their luck run out in 3020 on Harrow's Sun. Similar to the more famous battle on Galtor III five years later, it was planned to engineer a trap on this world for the Combine, but House Kurita invaded the planet with a much larger force than anticipated and overran the would-be ambushers. Ross McKinnon payed with his life to allow the Davion defenders to hide in the mountains. His son Ian took command of the Fox's Teeth and led them behind the enemy's lines to conduct a guerrilla war, that lasted four weeks until arriving AFFS troops forced the Combine forces to withdraw from Harrow's Sun. After this battle, the Raiders were allowed to rest, but they returned to the front in 3021. They would stay in the Draconis March for the remainder of the Third Succession War and beyond, where they acted as mobile reserve force and fought in countless battles against House Kurita, both as defenders on Davion worlds and deep behind enemy lines. During this time the Fox's Teeth clushed several times with the famous Wolf's Dragoons, at least once in 3027 on Udibi and once before on Misery, and always put up a good fight.[6][4][7]

In the Fourth Succession War, the Raiders joined the whole Crucis Lancers to conquer the fortress world of Tikonov in 3028, where the company secured the Rawlings Fusion Engine plant.[8]

Ronin War

During the formation of the Free Rasalhague Republic, the Fox's Teeth, who were already in the Lyran Commonwealth to teach the LCAF, were sent on as advisers and trainers for the newborn KungsArmé, assigned to train the newly formed 1st Drakøns on Tukayyid. Despite the expectation that the world devoid of all but farms and religious monasteries would not be targeted during the Ronin Wars, with Warlord Vasily Cherenkoff desperate for large quantities of food to supply his Ronin forces, in June 3034 elements of the Ronin 1st Altenmarkt Militia launched a supply raid against the breadbasket world. [9] [10]

Striking while half the Fox's Teeth were out on train maneuvers with the Drakøns, the Milita sent a small diversionary group against them while the bulk of their force moved towards the massive grain silos near the Davion unit's firebase in the Pozoristu Mountains. While the diversionary force was mauled by the Drakøns and Fox's Teeth command lance, led by Ian McKinnon, the rest of the Milita rolled over the troops at the Davion troop's base camp before being being forced to withdraw. But Mark McKinnon, Ian's brother, was killed holding off the attacking Ronin [9] [10] and Ian had to take care of Mark's only child, David. [11]

War of 3039 and Beyond

After another short time of rebuilding at Kestrel in 3038, where McKinnon's command lance was refitted with experimental advanced technology, the Raiders traveled to Breed to join the 7th Crucis Lancers again, for the impending war with the Draconis Combine. The 7th Lancers first (and only) target was the capture of Klathandu IV together with the 2nd New Ivaarsen Chasseurs. The taskforce under command of Marshal Winston Vaskursian arrived at Klathandu in May of 3039 and secured the planet, which was only defended by planetary militia, after the planetary government's immediate surrender.[12][13][14] But before the taskforce moved on to their next target of Proserpina, which was supposed to be attacked during the third wave of the invasion, Klathandu was counterattacked by the DCMS. A taskforce, consisting of the 3rd Benjamin Regulars, the 2nd Galedon Regulars and additional conventional regiments, landed successfully on the world in August. Although the Combine force, under command of Tai-sa Samuel Nelson managed to achieve several victories in the beginning, Marshal Vaskursian, who used the Fox's Teeth to keep track of the enemy's movements, was able to regain the initiative. He let his troops retreat from their garrisons if faced by an attack and attacked by force himself when he managed to catch the enemy in the open. The two armies fought again and again until by the beginning of October, the DCMS taskforce was all but finished. In the midst of the final assault to crush the remaining Combine forces, Marshal Vaskursian received the order to retreat to the Federated Suns, as the war was over, and frustraded did so.[12][15][16]

The next major assignment for the Raiders was a raid on the Capellan world of Menke in 3045 to punish McCarron's Armored Cavalry for the destruction of the supposedly indestructible Fortress Bourgogne - which was newly rebuild and upgraded since the MAC's last attack during their Long March campaign in the last years of the Third Succession War - and the Marlette CMM on Marlette the year before. The mercenary's regiments were dispersed along the Federated Suns' border leaving only a battalion to garrison their headquarters, which was still not completely repaired since the last raid, conducted by the Illician Lancers and the Sirdar CMM as reprisal for the MAC's attack during the War of 3039.[17] The Teeth, who completely outclassed the defenders, destroyed Fort McCarron, a company of BattleMechs and any of the mercenary's supply and recreation facilities before they left the world long before Marcus Baxter arrived with two additional regiments.[18]

Before following the rest of the 7th Crucis Lancers to their new base on Winter, Ian McKinnon and his company was stationed on Benet III in 3048. From there the Fox' Teeth conducted several raids to gauge the Draconis Combine rebuilt strengh. Among several other the Raider's major engagements during this time were the battle with the Ryuken-san on Valentina and the defence of Benet III against Sorenson's Sabres, who raided Davion worlds on a similar mission. Assured that the Combine was no threat for the years to come, the Teeth left the Draconis March for the Lyran Periphery in late 3049.[19][20][21]

Clan Invasion and FedCom Civil War


Jihad

In 3069, the Fox's Teeth under Captain Ross McKinnon field tested the Hauberk battle armor on Demeter against Word of Blake troops. They lured the 9th Division's Call to the Faithful III-delta into an ambush, inflicting heavy damage.[22]

The Fox's Teeth had raided Towne in February, and returned with Group I as a part of Operation SCOUR;[23] it had been identified by the Fox's Teeth[24] that the Word of Blake had established a new facility deep within a mountain range on the continent of Howell that was capable of performing major DropShip refits and possibly the construction of new vessels. Group I attacked the facility, but the Blakists had established defenses around the facility that were almost comparable to a Star League-era Castle Brian. Not only were the defenses capable of repelling the allied coalition attacks, they created the very real possibility that the campaign to liberate Towne might fail completely; a daring strike by the Fox's Teeth was performed as the Fox-class FSS Indefatigable moved into orbit, with the Fox's Teeth targeting the capital missile launchers defending the facility to allow the Indefatigable to launch orbital strikes at the Blakists. While the Fox's Teeth attack was successful, the Indefatigable was almost lost when other capital missile launchers hidden within the local asteroid field were activated, flinging thousands of missiles at the WarShip, heavily damaging it.[23]

The Fox's Teeth would then suffer heavy damage in the Hean system on the 3rd of May 3077, when Group I fell afoul of a layered SDS network that destroyed the Indefatigable and inflicted heavy losses on the Fox's Teeth, the accompanying 15th Arcturan Guards and the AeroSpace forces available to Group I. As a result, Group I retreated from the Hean system.[25] The Fox's Teeth would soon be in action again, raiding the occupied world of Hamal, a raid that would cost the Teeth their commanding officer, Ross McKinnon.[24]

The last campaign for the Fox's Teeth in 3077 would prove easier than many of their combat actions; working alongside the 5th Crucis Lancers under Major General Walter White-Davion, the Fox's Teeth and their new commander, David McKinnon, played a pivotal role in ensuring that the campaign for Ingress in late 3077 would be brief and relatively bloodless.[26]

The good performance of the Raiders bought them a place in Operation Scythe, the Coalition's invasion of Terra itself in 3078.[27] As part of General Andrew Redburn's taskforce, McKinnon's Company took part in the battle for Geneva and in the subsequent pursuit of the 4th Division across the alps[28], culminating in the tough battle at the Krupp Armaments Works factories near Bratislava. In a typical move for the Teeth, they succeded to break through a weak point in the Blakist's battleline, to bring the enemy into disorder, only to find themselves entrapped, when the 4th and 16th Divisions repelled Redburn's forces. When the troops of the Coalition, with great effort, finally succeded to drive the remaining Blakists off and reached the factories, they were astonished to find David McKinnon's Company, which had been under constant assault for over a week and was badly mauled, holding the main facility and still alive.[29]

Officers

Tactics


Composition History[30]

2788[30]

3027[30]

3038[30]

3049[30]

  • Command Lance
    • Captain Ian McKinnon BL-6-KNT Black Knight
    • Sergant Major George Lytton CTF-2X Cataphract
    • Austin Vorster HCT-3F Hatchetman
    • Daniel Waylen ENF-3R Enforcer
  • Medium Lance
    • Leftenant Paul Danton CN9-A Centurion
    • Hiro Chipender DV-6M Dervish
    • Dave "Tiny" Hill JM-6S JaegerMech
    • Henrik Dekker JVN-10N Javelin

3054[30]

  • Medium Lance
    • Leftenant Paul Danton CN9-A Centurion
    • Hiro Chipender DV-6M Dervish
    • Dave "Tiny" Hill JM-6S JaegerMech
    • Henrik Dekker BZK-F3 Hollander

3071[30]

  • Recon Lance

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Fox's Teeth, p. 6, "Brief History"
  2. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 59
  3. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 15, "History"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 15, "The Succession Wars"
  5. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 16, "McKinnon's Raid"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Fox's Teeth, p. 7, "Brief History"
  7. ↑ The Fox's Teeth, p. 39 - 48, "The Battle for Udibi"
  8. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 15 - 16, "The Wedding Gift"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Historical: Brush Wars, p. 113, "The Ronin Wars - The Dragon's Anger (May-July 3034) - Tukayyid"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 16, "The Fox's Teeth - History - Wedding Gifts"
  11. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 20, "The Fox's Teeth Personnel - Ian McKinnon"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 16, "War of 3039"
  13. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 42, "Klathandu IV"
  14. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 42, "Klathandu Throws off Combine Chains"
  15. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 17, "From the Journals of Daniel Waylen"
  16. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 90 - 91, "Klathandu IV"
  17. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 128 - 129, "Menke"
  18. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 16 - 17, "Best Served Cold"
  19. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 17, "Dragon's Den"
  20. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 74, "Touchpoint: Valentina"
  21. ↑ Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 80, "Touchpoint: Dust-Up"
  22. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3070, p. 75, (Blake Ascending, p. 235), "Fox's Teeth Still Sharp"
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 37, "The Tale Of Towne"
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 38, "Last Words Of A Legend"
  25. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 37, "Situation Report: Naval Defenses"
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 39-40, "Ingress, Fletcher Fall"
  27. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 96, "Operation SCYTHE"
  28. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 108 - 109, "Mainland Pursuit"
  29. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 109, "Breaking Krupps"
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, pp. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, "Unit Composition"

Bibliography

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