IV Legio

Legio IV logo.png
IV Legio Comitatensis
Formed 3058
Nickname Imperial Legionnaires
Affiliation Marian Hegemony
Parent Command Marian Hegemony Armed Forces

History[edit]

IV Legio was formed to act as a rapid response force for the Marian Legions. IV Legio contained more vehicles than any other BattleMech legion, deploying two vehicles for every 'Mech. The 'Mechs were typically faster medium and heavy models. The need to coordinate these fast vehicles and 'Mechs made IV Legio one of the most coordinated of the Marian Legions.

Deployed to Trasjkis, the Legion drove the Left Arm of Thor from the world, nearly eliminating half that battalion. Later they deployed to Trondheimal and encountered two battalions of light armor. These units inflicted heavy losses on the legion before they were destroyed.[1]

During the Hegemony's invasion of the Circinus Federation the defenders were disguised as members of IV Legio.[2] IV Legio actually spent most of the time of the Federation invasion pacifying worlds in the Illyrian district and fighting pirates.[3] The legion was used to garrison Illyria, Trondheimal, and Reykavis.[4]

In 3074 IV Legio were on Trasjkis attempting to put down local resistance forces when they were themselves the target of a heavy raid performed by Blakist-backed mercenaries.[5][6] The Blakists had hired Grandin's Crusaders for the raid and the Crusaders attacked on the 20th of March. The Crusaders dropped outside the planetary capital city - which the Marian Hegemony had renamed Nova Mediolanum - and made contact first with the various detachments IV Legio had set up in an effort to deter the local resistance. Unprepared for the sudden and unexpected arrival of an attacking force, the IV Legio detachments fell back to their temporary headquarters and called on reinforcements from elements of the legion that had been detached on occupation duties. Those reinforcements attempted to assist, but were ambushed by battle armor squads from the Crusaders, who exploited the lack of experience IV Legio MechWarriors had at fighting battle armor infantry, leaving the Marian forces flailing around while the bulk of the Crusaders' 'Mechs struck at the legion's headquarters. The Crusaders tore through a number of occupied buildings in an effort to achieve a level of surprise before attacking and destroying the IV Legio command center. A small number of security personnel attempted to attack the Crusaders, but were gunned down mercilessly by the mercenaries before the Crusaders went on to annihilate the Marian forces in the area. The Crusaders then attacked the remaining IV Legio detachments with their 'Mechs, armor and infantry. When the Marians fell back to regroup, Pierre Grandin disengaged his forces as his objective was complete, and the Crusaders lifted off from Trasjkis aboard the DropShip Tonnant even as a number of DropShips from the Circinus Federation arrived in orbit.[6]

On the 11th of November 3077, Lahti was one of four Free Worlds League worlds to be attacked by the Marian Hegemony.[7] Lahti continued to be harassed by forces from the Marian Hegemony, and finally the planetary government grew so sick of the raids by IV Legio that they hired the 1st Marik Protectors to launch a punitive strike against IV Legio's home base on Trondheimal. Colonel Kawamura accepted the contract, although he was unwilling to provoke the Hegemony. He attempted to fulfil the contract by subcontracting the work to Havoc, Inc.. Havoc, Inc. made a less than stellar impression when they arrived on Lahti; disreputable to begin with, the mercenaries made a drunken arrival on Lahti that prompted Colonel Kawamura to call off the raid. One of Kawamura's officers, Lieutenant Fiona san Marcos, convinced Kawamura to launch the raid as a false-flag operation, using a company of Protector forces painted in Havoc, Inc. colors and deployed using Havoc, Inc. transport assets. San Marcos led the raid personally, inflicting damage on IV Legio and deliberately leaving evidence pointing towards Lahti.[8]

Kawamura had deployed the Marik Protectors in anticipation of the inevitable IV Legio counterattack, and IV Legio arrived as anticipated, crashing into the Protector forces. Initially, IV Legio was able to tear through the Protector lines using Ravager battle armor, until Captain Doris Calhoun dropped a company of Kopis-equipped infantry onto the IV Legio battle armor and broke them. Kawamura's heavy armor successfully ambushed the IV Legio 'Mechs, pushing the Marian forces into the open for the Protectors' artillery forces to bombard; an attempt by IV Legio aerospace fighter forces to relieve the pressure on the 'Mech forces was countered with fire from Partisan anti-aircraft tanks. The commanding officer of IV Legio, Prefect Alberich Winograd, realized that his forces were in a trap, and led them in an orderly retreat back to their transport vessels; Colonel Kawamura, impressed with the Marian troops' discipline under fire, parlayed briefly with Winograd. During that parlay, the two established a degree of mutual respect for each other, as well as a détente between the Hegemony and Lahti. Encounters between IV Legio and the Protectors after the battle on Lahti were marked by relatively little bloodshed and an almost cordial or ceremonial attitude between the two commands.[8]

IV Legio was used to pacify the Landfall system in 3079.[9] They had an important role keeping the retreat corridor open for other legions to return to the Hegemony after raiding former Free Worlds League systems. They later returned to their previous garrison assignments by 3085. During the Bloody Tricentennial, members of the legion found several Blakist terrorists trying to poison Trondheimal's water supply. Thanks to the legion's efforts, the terrorists were quickly killed and a massacre was avoided.[10]

In the Dark Age, the Fourth Legion was stationed on Pompey, Ballalaba, and Horatius. These are heavily populated worlds and home to Hegemony industries. Being so heavily defended, the Fourth rarely saw action while garrisoning these worlds. They were responsible for driving away a Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey raiding force that hit Pompey in 3142.[11] Since then they have remained on those same worlds.[12]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of IV Legio
Principes Julie Gupton 3064[1]
Prefect Chakra Sunkehl 3067[13]
Prefect Alberich Winograd 3077[8]
Prefect Albert DeVereaux 3085[14]
Prefect Ferdinand Hurley 3145[12]

Tactics[edit]

IV Legio prefers to utilize hit-and-run maneuvers in striking logistical and weak points in order to bring down the enemy.[1] After their experience with putting down insurgents, they also became proficient in counterinsurgency operations.[3]

Composition History[edit]

3064[edit]

IV Legio (Veteran/Reliable)[15]

Prima Cohors (1 Cohort/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
- IV Legio Prima field the fewest upgraded 'Mechs in the Marian Legions.
Secunda Cohors (1 Reinforced Cohort/Regular/Reliable)[1]
  • CO: Legatus Lionel Mandrake
- The Secunda fields a both of fast hovercraft, like the Saladin and Saracen.
Tertia Cohors (1 Maniple/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
  • CO: Legatus Michael Hutchisson
- The bulk of older assault 'Mech designs are used by the Tertia.
Auxilia Comitatensis (1 Legion/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
  • CO: Prefect Jon "Bates" Battaglia

3067[edit]

IV Legio (Regular/Reliable)[13]

  • CO: Prefect Chakra Sunkehl
Prima Cohors (1 Cohort/Veteran/Reliable)[13]
  • CO: Legatus Onufry Sopczak
Secunda Cohors (1 Cohort/Regular/Questionable)[13]
  • CO: Legatus Terryl Mulberry
Tertia Cohors (1 Cohort/Veteran/Reliable)[13]
  • CO: Legatus Gorman Tuman
IV Auxilia Legio (1 Legion/Regular/Reliable)[13]
  • CO: Prefect Harry Ontkean

3085[edit]

IV Legio (Regular/Reliable)[14]

Prima Cohors (Veteran/Reliable)[14]
Secunda Cohors (Regular/Reliable)[14]
Tertia Cohors (Green/Questionable)[14]
IV Auxilia Legio (Regular/Reliable)[14]

3145[edit]

IV Legio (Regular/Reliable)[12]

Prima Cohors (Regular/Reliable)[12]
Secunda Cohors (Veteran/Reliable)[12]
Tertia Cohors (Regular/Questionable)[12]
Quarta Cohors (Regular/Reliable)[12]
Quinta Cohors (Veteran/Fanatical)[12]
IV Prima Auxilia Legio (Regular/Reliable)
IV Secunda Auxilia Legio (Green/Reliable)
IV Caelum Wing (Veteran/Reliable)

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 80: "IV Legio Unit Profile"
  2. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 194
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 195
  4. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 202
  5. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, pp. 40–41: "Chaos Overwhelming: Roman Candle"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Total Chaos, pp. 133–134: "Roman Candle"
  7. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Spotlight On: First Marik Protectors, p. 3: "Unit History and Description"
  9. ↑ Field Report: Periphery, p. 15
  10. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 143
  11. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 196
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Field Manual: 3145, p. 202: "Marian Hegemony Armed Forces"
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Field Manual: Updates, p. 202: "Marian Hegemony Armed Forces Deployment Table - 3067"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Field Manual: 3085, p. 151: "Marian Hegemony Deployment Table - 3085"
  15. ↑ Field Manual: Periphery, p. 143

Bibliography[edit]

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