Gamma Regiment (12th Vegan Rangers)

Gamma Regiment
Formed	c. 3025
Disbanded	3069 (destroyed)
Nickname	Velia's Dancers (3025) The Deadly Dancers
Affiliation	Mercenary
Parent Command	Twelfth Vegan Rangers

History

The Twelfth Vegan Rangers' Gamma Regiment and its sister unit, Delta, were formed sometime around the turn of the thirty-first century by the reigning Duchess of Verde, Sarah Nelson, out of the salvage gathered by the wildly successful Alpha and Beta Regiments.

Fourth Succession War

Poznan, Buchlau, Shipka, and Wei

During the events of Operation RAT, Gamma Regiment, led by Colonel Velia Delacroix, joined with Delta Regiment and assisted the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns in capturing several worlds from the Capellan Confederation. In Wave One, they secured Poznan by liberating the planet's majority of ethnic Hispanic citizens from the oppressive rule of the elite minority, who were mostly of Chinese extraction. By convincing the citizens to take up arms, Colonel Delacroix created a planetary militia that was willing to secure the planet and eager to join the fold of the Federated Suns when the time came. In Wave Two, Gamma Regiment's forces easily secured Buchlau from the hands of the meager planetary militia, then proceeded to capture Shipka in Wave Four. To their great fortune, they secured a valuable cache of JumpShip parts that was hidden on that world. As their string of proven successes grew, AFFS command sought to use their talents in different places. In Wave Five, Gamma's Second Battalion was detached to fight alongside other AFFS units on Zaurak, while the First and Third joined with Delta Regiment to attack the planet of Wei, held by the formidable Sung's Cuirassiers.

AFFS command made no effort to conceal the difficulty of the invasion of Wei, or the likelihood that the enemy would resort to desperate measures in their defense when they offered the job to the Rangers. Colonel Mitch Nelson, leading the detachment of Rangers slated for Wei, was undeterred, taking the job for triple the pay and the promise that any Rangers affected by any potential chemical or biological weapons encountered would receive the best medical care the Federated Suns had to offer. Nelson landed the Rangers in a scattered, unpredictable pattern across the planet's southern continent, catching the garrisoning Capellans off guard and allowing the Rangers to make rapid progress. The Capellans deployed chemical munitions several times in a desperate attempt to keep Delta and Gamma at bay but the AFFS medical forces on planet were able to quickly develop strategies to mitigate the effects of UrbStryc-A, keeping casualties low. Gamma and Delta pushed towards the planet's capital, Vandannis City, sending lance-sized elements down a massive raised highway towards their objective. The Cuirassiers, seeing the moment as a now or never opportunity, met the Rangers on the highway near a small town named Bonganville.

With air support stacked overhead to respond to any attempts to deploy chemical munitions, Nelson moved the Rangers ahead and met the Cuirassiers head-on at the impromptu barricades CCAF units had constructed. The Capellans used the height and broken nature of the terrain to marshal their tanks effectively, costing the Rangers many 'Mechs and infantry. Bombardment with improvised UrbStryc-A shells caused even more losses before one of them exploded at a Capellan battery, killing the crew. Aerospace fighters eliminated the remaining batteries, but not before the lethal toxin soaked the Ranger 'Mechs' air filters. Given a hard time limit before they were annihilated, the Rangers of Gamma and Delta Regiment fought with even greater ferocity, driving the Cuirassiers back and securing the planet. Despite securing the objective, the campaign cost the Twelfth Vegan Rangers almost two battalions of personnel, one of the most costly engagements of the Fourth Succession War.

Zaurak, Palos, and Tsinghai

Gamma's Second Battalion on Zaurak fared only slightly better thanks to the wildly unpredictable weather conditions of that world. Despite setbacks caused by blizzards one day and summer rains and mud the next, Gamma successfully captured the militia's headquarters within weeks.

In Wave Six, Gamma and Delta Regiments reunited after repairs and refits to attack the planet of Palos. While initially hampered by the loss of one of their DropShips and having to drastically restrict avenues of approach thanks to local complaints, the Rangers eventually tracked down and encircled the enemy. Although given ample opportunity to surrender, the Second Confederation Reserve Cavalry's commanding officer refused. Colonel Nelson, who had taken charge of both regiments for the attack, ordered the surrender offer and the resulting total annihilation of the encircled Capellans televised. The broadcast caused the planetary militia and remaining members of the Reserve Cavalry to surrender immediately after viewing.

After securing Palos, Gamma and Delta continued their advance in Wave Seven, joining the Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT to assault Tsinghai on 8 December, 3029. While the Hussars had some difficulties dislodging their opponents, the precise, bracketed landings of Gamma and Delta Rangers ensured that the Fifth Confederation Reserve Cavalry was routed almost immediately. After the peace treating ending the conflict was signed, Gamma Regiment returned to New Aragon, where it had first staged for the initial invasion.

War of 3039

See also: Battle of Telos IV (3039)

After proving themselves in the Fourth Succession War, Gamma Regiment was hired by the AFFS to assist with the ill-fated War of 3039. On 28 April, they, along with the Twenty-second Avalon Hussars, invaded the world of Telos IV. While they were very successful in capturing the planet, taking it by 5 May, the relief forces of military police and infantry units were severely delayed by an error in the quartermaster and requisitions corps and the two front line units were forced to assume a garrison posture against an increasingly hostile population.

By the summer, Kuritan reinforcements in the form of the Second Benjamin Regulars had arrived on planet and began to occupy the allied forces on the surface. While the frustrated Rangers and Hussars were occupied, the Forty-first Dieron Regulars, who had been hidden in system behind Telos's moon, launched a surgical strike on the allies' grounded DropShips and headquarters. Luckily for the allies, the commanding officers of both units were out in the field, and the defense of the DropShips cost the Forty-first almost a third of their strength. Cut off from their escape, the Hussars and the Rangers only increased the ferocity of their attacks and determination. Eventually the conflict devolved into two separate fronts, with Gamma Regiment facing down the Second Benjamin while the Hussars turned to deal with the bloodied Forty-first Dieron. The allies were successful in driving back the DCMS units and recapturing their DropShips, but ran critically low on supplies and manpower by October of that year. When requests for emergency resupply were denied by the front's marshal, General Lugo of the Hussars made the tough decision to withdraw from the planet, taking Gamma Regiment with them.

After their withdrawal, the war quickly came to a close and Gamma was able to return to their current homeworld of Old Kentucky.

Operation GUERRERO

The next seventeen years were relatively uneventful for Gamma Regiment, as the Rangers remained in their garrison worlds to anchor the Capellan March against any potential aggression. While other AFFC house units were rotated to the Clan Invasion corridor, Gamma and the Rangers as a whole were left to repel the occasional CCAF raid and continue to strengthen their numbers. This all changed in 3057, when Capellan and mercenary troops surged across the border en masse, surprising the relatively few forces stationed there with the ferocity of their assault. Operation GUERRERO had begun.

The CCAF and Marik-hired mercenaries had accounted for such a formidable foe as the Twelfth Vegan Rangers and struck all four regiments simultaneously, cutting them off from mutual support. Gamma Regiment faced overwhelming numbers in its defense of Old Kentucky and though it put up a valiant defense, it was ultimately forced to retreat or face total destruction. General Tom Stancel ordered the brigade to regroup at Corey, but they found that the Capellans had already leapfrogged their positions and secured that world. Gamma and the other regiments then attempted to establish a hold at Second Try but were again met with the same problem. Realizing that moving the brigade as a whole was two cumbersome, Stancel split the Rangers into two task forces, Alpha and Beta Regiments in one and Gamma and Delta Regiments in the other.

Gamma and Delta fled to Pleione, but found the system occupied by the mercenaries of Brion's Legion. Recalling the Legion's reputation for cowardice during the Fourth Succession War, Colonels Desantis and Green wagered that they could take the planet for the Federated Suns with a little effort. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Legion had improved significantly since the Fourth Succession War, with most of its pilots now graduates of training courses run by ComStar's prestigious ComGuards. The fighting on Pleione devolved almost immediately into a horrible, intense struggle. Already low on ammunition and supplies, and not having replenished anything since leaving Old Kentucky, Gamma and Delta struggled to make any headway against the remade Brion's Legion MechWarriors. Colonel Greene, Colonel Desantis and much of their command staff were killed in action during the campaign, leaving their regiments rudderless and on the verge of annihilation. Thankfully the command of Gamma's Second Battalion, Desantis' daughter Christie, stepped up and took command. Initiating a clever feint, Christie was able to open an opportunity for the Rangers to their way off-planet. Thanks to her tactics and interference in the Legion's advance by Pleione's planetary militia, a full two thirds of Gamma was able to limp to Algol, taking along with them the handful of survivors that remained from Delta. Stancel recognized Christie's leadership, determination, and courage and appointed her as the new commanding officer of Gamma Regiment.

Hardened by the tribulations of the Chaos March campaign, Gamma Regiment's veterans were now recognized as an elite unit, and the newly minted Colonel Desantis decided to be more selective of her applicants. She opted to recruit from the newly returning veterans of the Clan Invasion, who would only need a little bit of polish to meet Gamma's overall standards, rather than blanket hiring on Outreach.

Jihad

In 3069, Gamma fought the First and Second St. Ives Lancers on Jaipur and was destroyed there.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of Gamma Regiment
Colonel	Velia Delacroix	3028
Colonel	Timothy Riley	3028
Colonel	Connie Desantis	3039 - 3057
Colonel	Christie Desantis	3057 - 3069

Tactics

As the unit was still rebuilding itself by 3067, they had no standard tactics yet. Colonel Christie Desantis had opted to give her men and women a great deal of combined arms training while they recover from their losses.

Support

The extended technical staff of the brigade can repair any damage.

Composition History

3025

Gamma Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Velia Delacroix
• Base: Edwards

3028

Gamma Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Timothy Riley
• Base: New Aragon

3040

Gamma Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Connie Desantis
• Base: Old Kentucky

3050

Gamma Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Connie Desantis
• Base: Old Kentucky

3054

Gamma Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Connie Desantis
• Base: Old Kentucky

3059

Gamma Regiment (2 battalions/Elite/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Christie Desantis
• Base: Algol

3067

Gamma Regiment (Battalion/Regular/Questionable)

• CO: Colonel Christie Desantis

• XO: Major Lauren Marks

• Base: Wappingers

Note: The unit rebuilt itself after the recent heavy fighting. All three companies contain a C3 network and each machine is fully upgraded.

Third Vegan Attack Wing (Wing/Elite/Reliable)

• Wing Commander: Captain Jaclyn Illeani

Note: The wing is made up of Copper, Silver and Gold Squadrons.

Third Vegan Armored Regiment (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

• Armor Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Davidson

Note: The fighting on Algol cost them two complete battalions, but with the salvage they recovered, the Second rebuilt itself with Brutus and Po designs.

Notes

• Bonganville is spelled Boganville in NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2 and Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised. Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130) is the most recent canon publication and thus its spelling of Bonganville takes precedence.

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised
• Historical: War of 3039
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2
• Objective Raids