6th Armored Cavalry Regiment

Sixth Armored Cavalry Regiment
Affiliation	Mercenary
Parent Command	Independent

The Sixth Armored Cavalry Regiment was a mercenary unit that contracted with the Federated Suns during the Third and Fourth Succession War.

Unit Description

The Sixth was at least battalion sized and equipped primarily with medium and heavy hovertanks. By 3030 two lances of VTOL gunships were incorporated into the unit.

History

Founded sometime in the later days of the Third Succession War by former AFFS officer Morgan Graeme, the Sixth worked exclusively with the Federated Suns. When the Third Succession War ended in 3025 they were attached to the First Crucis Lancers on Tancredi IV. In 3028 all eight regiments of the Crucis Lancers brigade, totaling over eighty regiments, massed on Mira, with the Sixth among them in preparation for the Fourth Succession War. This massing of troops on Mira was unknown to the Capellan Confederation at the time (the public dissemination of Operation GALAHAD troop movements so as to "not provoke any unnecessary concerns among our neighbors" would not come until June) but they had detected an increase in traffic consistent with GALAHAD preparations. Concerned by the regional build up, but assuming Mira was still hosting only the Second Crucis Lancers, the Confederation still dispatched an ad hoc battalion of the Second Kearny Highlanders, administratively designated the 4th Battalion, under Ian Fraser for a reconnaissance in force. They landed on 7 April 3028 not in the polar regions where previous raids had targeted, but in the equatorial jungles where the Maskirovka suspected a base for GALAHAD was located. Fraser managed to come close enough to the base to see the size of it, and the regimental colors of each RCT before making a forced march back to the waiting DropShip when the untenable tactical situation fully dawned on him. It was then that the Sixth stuck, maneuvering in through the marshy swamp terrain that Fraser had deemed impassable to BattleMechs but hovercraft held no such limitations. A mixed company of Saracen, Whirlwind, and Drillson tanks harassed the Highlanders, causing enough havoc to fix the unit in place long enough for the ’Mechs to move in for the kill. Very few Highlanders escaped Mira, and those that did weren't believed when they spoke of the concentration of forces there.

The Sixth presumably accompanied the First Crucis to invade Tikonov in the second wave of Operation RAT, then Achernar in the third wave, and Bharat in the fourth.

Officers

The Sixth was commanded by Morgan Graeme, a respected military leader who literally wrote the book on modern cavalry tactics.

Insignia and Color Schemes

The Sixth uses an insignia of a "blue crest blazoned with a rampant gold unicorn" likely borrowed from the heraldry of the former United States of America's Sixth Cavalry on pre-spacefaring Terra. They painted their machines a grey and green camouflage.

Composition History

3028

At least a battalion strength consisting of at least

• 1 Drillson Heavy Hovertank
• 4 Whirlwind Heavy Hovertanks
• 2 Harrier Heavy Hovertanks
• 6 Saracen Medium Hovertanks
• 6 Scimitar Medium Hovertanks
• 6 Saladin Assault Hovertanks

3030

Two lances of VTOL gunships of unspecified type were added.

Notes

Both authors of BattleTech sources for this unit, Thomas S. Gressman and J. Andrew Keith have since passed but neither had an apparent connection with the real-world unit. William H. Keith, Jr. stated he believes this unit was first written up by the original FASA design team. This unit was also referenced in Shadowrun history, adding credence to his belief.

Bibliography

• BattleTechnology
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1