Clifton's Rangers
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Clifton's Rangers | |
Formed | 2990 |
Nickname | Pathfinders |
Affiliation | Mercenary |
Parent Command | Independent |
Contents
History[edit]
The command formed on Galatea in 2990.[citation needed]
War of 3039[edit]
Galtor was the symbol of a great loss of Combine honor against the Fox in the early thirty-first century and Hanse Davion knew how important it was to support the local resistance movement with matériel and men. Dozens of intelligence operatives and a 150-strong Special Forces team prepared the world for the coming liberation, and several months before the War of 3039 started the FedCom-backed insurgents attacked important Combine locations and personalities. The DCMS reacted with an increase in the local military presence, increasing the garrison force to five conventional regiments and placing the world under martial law. The resistance reduced their level of activity to lure the Dragon into a sense of false security by early 3039. That changed with the arrival of the Clifton's Rangers on 26 February, bringing in tow with them two regiments of "mercenary" mechanized infantry that had removed all evidence of their FedCom affiliation. The rebellion immediately struck every DCMS target, taking many high-ranking leaders prisoners and killing others, including Governor Hiroshi Tuu. The remaining DCMS forces, bereft of leadership, chose to engage in suicidal charges or hunkered down in their encampments. They were systematically destroyed over the next two weeks, and by the end of March the last holdouts had been wiped out and the planet secured.[1]
Though the 'unofficial' War had officially ended in January 3040, bureaucracy and military confusion surrounding the end of hostilities continued. In late October 3040, an expeditionary force from the Third Benjamin Regulars returned to Galtor III from Irurzun to find Clifton's Rangers following their last orders of assisting the people and dismantling the administrative structures built by the Combine since the capture of the planet in the Fourth Succession War. Both sides were stalemated with heavy losses until the Regulars were forced to retreat. Negotiations regarding the return of PoWs and the resistance to widening the conflict prompted the AFFS High Command to order the Rangers off-world. Instead, the Rangers broke their contract with the Federated Suns to sign directly with the planetary government. In December, the Third Benajmain returned, along with the First and Second Amphigean Light Assault Groups to end the resistance. After fifteen months, Clifton's Rangers and the Galtor Milita were destroyed, tens of thousands of civilians were dead, and anti-Kurita propaganda was rampant. Marital law was required to keep the planet under control, an order that did not end for fifteen years.[2]
Jihad[edit]
The Word of Blake hired them for an invasion of Keid. The planet was held by the Thirteenth Lyran Guards but with the support of the Hannibal's Hermits the Lyran force was doomed.[citation needed]
The command remains on planet as the garrison force from 3067 to at least 3071. Supported by a large Militia (3 regiments of mechanized infantry, 1 armor regiment, 2 wings of conventional fighters, and a 'Mech regiment) any invader will face fierce resistance.[3][4]
During Operation SCOUR, the Word of Blake responded to the loss of Marcus by dispatching a combination of hired mercenaries (in the form of the Canned Heat, Clifton's Rangers, The Furies and the Stealthy Tigers[5] to retake Marcus on the 11th of August; the coalition forces[6] including the Twentieth Marik Militia[7] had no choice but to retreat to the nearby world of Dieudonné.[6] Two teams of ComStar affiliated Blake's Wrath units destroyed the uranium mines to deny them to the Word of Blake. The mercenaries the Blakists had sent were not concerned with limiting collateral damage, and when word of the Coalition's conquest of Terra reached them, the natives (aided by ComStar) overthrew their mercenary overseers, though some of them had already escaped when the fall of Terra news had arrived.[8][5]
It is not known if the unit fled the planet or died there.
Officers[edit]
Rank | Name | Command | |
---|---|---|---|
Commanding Officers of Clifton's Rangers | |||
Major | Elias Clifton | 3025[9] | |
Major | Marc Clifton | 3050 - 3054[10][11] | |
Major | Jack "Mad Dawg" Burton | 3067 |
Notes[edit]
The command's officer corps was from all Successor states, which gave them a deep inside look at each military.
Tactics[edit]
The Ranger used the fast units to get the attention of the enemy and lured them in a trap where the heavier units wait to close it.
Support[edit]
They can use their Overlord-class DropShip for transport but can only cover 45% of technical support.
Dragoon Ratings[edit]
3067[edit]
Dragoon Rating: F
Composition History[edit]
3025[edit]
Clifton's Rangers (Battalion/Green/Questionable)
3028[edit]
Clifton's Rangers (Battalion/Green/Questionable)[12]
3040[edit]
Clifton's Rangers (Battalion/Green/Questionable)[13]
3050[edit]
Clifton's Rangers (Battalion/Green/Questionable)[10]
3067[edit]
Clifton's Rangers (Battalion/Green/Reliable)
- CO: Major Jack "Mad Dawg" Burton
- XO/Alpha Company: Captain Benjamin "Hawk" Hunter
- Bravo Company: Captain James "Grimlock" Grenon
- Charlie Company: Captain Roland "Ruger" Wilhelm
- 2 light/medium companies, 1 heavy company, 1 independent assault command lance
References[edit]
- ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 48
- ↑ Historical: War of 3039, pp. 100–102, "The Last Battle"
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 69: "Mercenary Deployment Table"
- ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 110: "Word of Blake Mercenary Deployment"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Total Chaos, pp. 164–165: "Marcus"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 57: "The Jihad in Review"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 59–60: "Chaos Eternal: Blood And Fury"
- ↑ Total Chaos, p. 165
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 109
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 20 Year Update, p. 20
- ↑ Objective Raids, p. 42: "CCAF Deployment Table - 3054"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Historical: Brush Wars, p. 87
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Historical: War of 3039, p. 140