Clinton's Cutthroats

(Redirected from Cutthroat Fiasco)
Clinton's Cutthroats
Formed 2794
Affiliation Mercenary
Parent Command Independent


Clinton's Cutthroats, also referred to as the Clinton Cutthroats, were a veteran mercenary BattleMech regiment operating during the Succession Wars era. The unit mysteriously disappeared in 2870.

The future Clinton' Cutthroats were a regiment-sized ad hoc group of former Star League Defense Force troops who declined to join General Aleksandr Kerensky's Exodus and soldiers from the collapsed Rim Worlds Republic who banded together and entered mercenary service in 2794.[1]

History[edit]

First Succession War[edit]

Accepting a contract with the Free Worlds League during the initial outbreak of the First Succession War, the Cutthroats would ultimately have a long history of honorable service to House Marik during both the First and Second Succession War. One of the more notable events during their service with the League was the strike against Lyran Commonwealth-held Solaris VII in March 2820. Seeking revenge for the Game World transferring its loyalty to the Commonwealth earlier that same year, a reinforced battalion each from the Cutthroats and the Red Eagles, supported by the Essex-class FWLS Despiser, emerged from a Pirate Point close to the planet's orbit. Without a Lyran naval presence to challenge the Despiser, the Cutthroats and Red Eagles landed without incident near the Bracken Swamps north of Solaris City. Facing the local Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces garrison, the Free Worlds League attackers were eventually forced to retreat after a three-day firefight, but not before they had destroyed a major water treatment planet and reduced a local industrial park to ash, the Despiser covering their escape from the system.[2]

At the conclusion of the First Succession War, Clinton's Cutthroats had been reduced to 47% strength and were stationed on Hamilton.[3]

Second Succession War[edit]

At the start of the Second Succession War the unit was stationed on Hamilton with an operational readiness of 84 percent.[4]

By the end of the Second Succession War they unit was stationed on Blue Sava with an operational readiness of 23 percent.[4]

Third Succession War[edit]

By the Third Succession War the Cutthroats had become so tired of the political wrangling endemic to the Free Worlds League that in they accepted a contract offered by Field Marshal Jerome Hasek of the Capellan March in the Federated Suns in 2869.[5][6][7]

Hasek hired the Cutthroats out of his own pocket and sent them to capture the Capellan world of Verlo together with seven other regiments and fighter wings. Privately planning the unsanctioned mission, Hasek had not consulted with the MIIO. As a result, the assault suffered from incomplete intelligence information on the defenders and was mired down, only taking up momentum after a year of fighting. The mercenaries became very frustrated with the situation, which they felt was a result of virtually the same House politics that had driven them away from the Free Worlds League in the first place.[5][6][7]

In March 2870 a JumpShip appeared and deployed a small courier vessel assumed to be of ComStar origin, from which a man and a woman in unmarked overalls emerged, asking to see the CO of the Cutthroats (instead of the Davion commander). Colonel Clinton talked with them for three days, refusing to explain the situation to the furious Davion commander. On the fourth day, three more JumpShips appeared with seven DropShips of a type not seen in the Inner Sphere since Aleksandr Kerensky's Exodus, all in pristine condition, and evacuated Clinton's Cutthroats.[5][6][7][8]

The Federated Suns forces attacked the rogue mercenaries, but it was an uneven fight as they had no 'Mechs at their disposal. Weakened without the mercenaries, they were subsequently overrun by enemy forces and lost three front-line regiments in their withdrawal.[5][6]

The mysterious disappearance of Clinton's Cutthroats, who were not seen or heard of again, caused many rumors linking them to everything from Kerensky's lost forces to the Minnesota Tribe and the Green Ghosts.[5][6][7][8]

Rumors of their destiny[edit]

Documents recorded in the secret journal of former Precentor ROM Victoria Parrdeau, secured by Chandrasekhar Kurita during the Word of Blake Jihad, included a snippet alleging that the embittered mercenaries were selected for hire as guardians of ComStar's five Hidden Worlds, following an incident on 15 October 2869 where a JumpShip accidentally discovered one of these worlds (ROM covered up the discovery and killed the unlucky captain). The Cutthroats were won over with a relaxing and high-paying garrison contract by ComStar negotiators intentionally "disguised as people trying to look like ComStar". Nearly a regiment in total strength after being outfitted by ComStar, half a battalion went to each of ComStar's hidden worlds to guard them. Some descendants of the Cutthroats guard these worlds "to this day" according to the undated note that was uncovered around 3072.[7]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Clinton's Cutthroats
Colonel Clinton 2870[5]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

2821[edit]

Clinton's Cutthroats (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[9]

Note: by 2821 the command was reduced to 46 percent of its strength and was deployed on Hamilton.[9]

2830[edit]

Clinton's Cutthroats (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[4]

Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Hamilton with an operational readiness of 84 percent.[4]

2864[edit]

Clinton's Cutthroats (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[4]

Note: At this point in time the assault-weight unit was stationed on Blue Sava with an operational readiness of 23 percent.[4]

2870[edit]

Clinton's Cutthroats (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

Note: When the unit assaulted Verlo.[5][6][7]

Notes[edit]

  • Note that Clinton's Cutthroats have nothing to do with The Bandersnatches, who formed the core of what was to become the secret ComStar Guards and Militia that evolved into the Com Guards.

References[edit]

  1. First Succession War, p. 35 "The Succession War (2786-2821) - Those Left Behind - Became Mercenary"
  2. First Succession War, p. 35 "The Succession War (2786-2821) - The War of Raids: House Steiner's War - The Solaris Bulge - Solaris VII"
  3. First Succession War, p. 138 "First Succession War Deployment Table - Free Worlds League Military (FWLM) - Mercenary Combat Commands (FWLM)"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Second Succession War, p. 98
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 House Davion (The Federated Suns), pp. 79-80 "History - Third Succession War - Private Little War"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Handbook: House Davion, p. 62 "History of the Federated Suns - Third Succession War - War Unleashed - Pendragon - Clinton's Cutthroats"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents p. 114 "Through the Looking Glass - Overview - Karpov's Legacy"
  8. 8.0 8.1 The Star League p. 98 "History - Aftermath"
  9. 9.0 9.1 First Succession War, p. 138

Bibliography[edit]