Fighting Urukhai
Sarna News
 | This article needs to be updated with material from Second Succession War (sourcebook). Once these titles clear the Moratorium period, or if they already have, please consider revisiting this article and updating it with the new material. |
| |
| Fighting Urukhai | |
| Formed | 2795 |
| Disbanded | 3067 (destroyed) |
| Affiliation | Mercenary |
| Parent Command | Independent |
| Sub-Command(s) | Eighth Striker Regiment
|
The Fighting Urukhai (also spelled "Uruk-hai," "Urakhai," or "Uraki" in different sources) is a mercenary unit that was most notable for being the unwitting instigators of the 3067 Pleiades conflict between the Taurian Concordat and the Federated Suns.
Contents
Unit History[edit]
Coalescing from three separate Star League Defense Force units that had elected to remain behind when Aleksandr Kerensky left the Inner Sphere, the Fighting Urukhai were employed by the Federated Suns for most of their history. Various Urukhai units fought for the pro-Victor faction in the FedCom Civil War.
FedCom Civil War[edit]
Al Na'ir[edit]
As part of Duke James Sandoval's assault upon the Draconis Combine, the Eighth Striker regiment was deployed with the Twelfth Deneb Light Cavalry to Al Na'ir. Throughout early 3063 the Eighth engaged the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars in a series of hard-fought clashes that resulted in the loss of the Eighth's commander General Bryan Holstead and at least two companies of 'Mechs. However the enraged mercenaries gave as good as they got, hunting and hammering the Dieron troops through Al Na'ir's treacherous terrain until April 24, when they received orders from Victor Steiner-Davion to return to the Federated Suns. The Eighth's new CO, Colonel Gerald DuBois, complied, angering the Twelfth Deneb's commander Major General Ariel Zibler.[1][2]
Panpour[edit]
The DeMaestri's Sluggers portion of the Fighting Urukhai were deployed to Panpour in 3063-3064 alongside the Second Albion Cadre.[3] There they kept Loyalist forces bottled up in the city of Kantara while securing the surrounding bases, until early 3065 when the Lexington Combat Group arrived to finish the Loyalists off. Angered at the new arrivals' assumption of command on Panpour, the Urukhai moved prematurely to engage the enemy forces escaping Kantara. The ensuing fight cost the Urukhai over half their strength, and resulted in bitter disputes with Lexington officers over friendly fire and battlefield salvage. The Urukhai eventually dealt with the situation by stealing a DropShip packed with salvaged 'Mechs and equipment and fleeing the world on February 28th.[4]
Addicks[edit]
On Addicks the Eighth Striker had languished as a 'strategic reserve' since their withdrawal from Al Na'ir, causing friction with Major General Ariel Zibler and the officers of the Twelfth Deneb Light Cavalry when that unit later arrived. The events on Al Na'ir soured relations between the two units to the point where Zibler and her officers refused to coordinate their actions with the mercenaries in early February 3065 when the Fifteenth Dieron Regulars and Tenth Ghost landed upon Addicks. At first prevented from aiding the DLC, the Eighth was abandoned by the AFFS troops when they withdrew to a more defensible position, and two weeks of heavy fighting alone against the Combine troops wore the Urukhai force down to breaking point. Only the unexpected arrival of the Davion Assault Guards saved the mercenaries from destruction.[5]
Garrison duty in Addicks' capital St. Randall allowed the Eighth Striker to recover somewhat, but a renewed DCMS assault on 10 November saw the remaining Urukhai troops on-planet crushed.[6]
Ballynure[edit]
Roman's Bar Hounds were destroyed on Ballynure in 3064, having held out against Clan Jade Falcon forces for almost six months. Hunted by the Jade Falcon Lambda Galaxy, the Bar Hounds finally conceded when they had been reduced to just two lances of heavily damaged 'Mechs; unable to rebuild, the regiment disbanded. Colonel Roman was badly burned while ejecting from his Cestus during one of the final battles, and was left unable to pilot a 'Mech due to nerve damage. After the Bar Hounds disbanded he was able to take up a training post with the militia on Morges.[7]
Taurus Incident[edit]
Departing Panpour in early 3065 with their stolen supplies, the DeMaestri's Sluggers decided to travel to the Periphery in search of a new employer. On 25 April 3066 an Urukhai JumpShip appeared at an irregular Jump Point in the Taurus system, and two DropShips were subsequently detected on a fast burn towards Taurus itself. Protector Grover Shraplen, believing the ships to be the vanguard of a Davion invasion force, ordered them destroyed. In short order, Taurian Defense Force fighters and assault DropShips took out both Urukhai vessels.
While the Taurian government thus claimed it had acted in self-defense against unidentified and potentially hostile intruders, the Urukhai maintained that their intentions had been to negotiate a new contract with a prospective employer. The rest of the Fighting Urukhai took revenge later that year, attacking Taurus' capital city in August and devastating both TDF defenders and the city's neighborhoods before the Urukhai were finally destroyed. No quarter was shown by the furious defenders to the surviving mercenaries, who were executed for crimes against the Concordat, though the bulk of Urukhai's support units did manage to escape Taurus and disappear. As a result, the unit was considered 'MIA' in the aftermath.
Despite being the unauthorized attack of a single angry mercenary command, the assault on Taurus gave Protector Shraplen all the pretext he needed to bolster his own flagging popularity by sending the TDF against the Federated Suns. Shraplen mendaciously argued that the Urukhai had been the vanguard of a Davion invasion sent to soften the Taurian capital; on this basis he launched the Taurian campaign to recover the Pleiades worlds from the Federated Suns.[8][9][10]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the Fighting Urukhai | |||
| General | Harold Greenspan | 3025[11] | |
| General | Bryan Holstead | 3050 - 3063[12][13][14] | |
Tactics[edit]
Unknown.
Composition History[edit]
The Fighting Urukhai were composed of various independently acting, smaller mercenary units (each roughly regiment-sized).
2821[edit]
- Eighth Striker (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)[15]
- The unit with the most experience is at 60% Strength and stationed on Crossing.[15]
- Bar Hounds (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[15]
- As a mobile force (many light 'Mechs) the unit lost nearly half of its fighting strength (54% operational status); the current garrison post is Klathandu IV.[15]
- Sluggers (Regiment/Green/Questionable)[15]
- The light unit suffered some casualties (60% operational strength) during the First Succession War and were stationed on Robinson.[15]
3025[edit]
The Fighting Urakhai (Three Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[16]
3040[edit]
The Fighting Urukhai
- Eighth Striker (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[17]
- Roman's Bar Hounds (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[17] (previously called Candelli's Bar Hounds)
- DeMaestri's Sluggers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[17] (previously called Jackson's Sluggers)
3050[edit]
The Fighting Urukhai
- Eighth Striker (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[12]
- CO: General Bryan Holstead
- Roman's Bar Hounds (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[12]
- CO: Colonel Randy Roman[12]
- DeMaestri's Sluggers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[12]
- CO: Colonel Frances DeMaestri
3054[edit]
The Fighting Urakhai
- Eighth Striker (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[13]
- CO: General Bryan Holstead[13]
- Roman's Bar Hounds (Battalion/Regular/Questionable)[13]
- CO: Colonel Randy Roman[13]
- DeMaestri's Sluggers (2 Battalions/Regular/Questionable)[13]
- CO: Colonel Ross DeMaestri[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 44: "Al Na'ir"
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, pp. 69–70: "Al Na'ir"
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 83: "Strategic Movements" - Wave Two
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, pp. 127–128: "Panpour"
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 135: "Addicks"
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 150: "Addicks"
- ↑ A Different Hope
- ↑ Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 67
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, p. 173: "Taurus"
- ↑ Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 183
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 138 (PDF version): "Islamabad Combat Region"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 20 Year Update, p. 22: "Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Objective Raids, p. 22
- ↑ FedCom Civil War, pp. 69–70: "Wave One - Al Na'ir"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 First Succession War, pp. 134–135: "First Succession War Deployment Table - AFFS"
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 138
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Historical: War of 3039, p. 140