Lyran Regulars

Insignia of the Lyran Regulars
Lyran Regulars
Nickname The Crucible
Affiliation Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command LCAF

Originally a Lyran national brigade that was only considered semipermanent, the Lyran Regulars frequently waxed and waned in size depending on the needs of the military. When the LCAF needed to move more capable units into combat positions, the Regulars would swell with a mix of reenlisting veterans and soldiers rushed through incomplete training.[1] The Lyran Regulars see themselves as the backbone of the LCAF, providing a capable, no-frills combat force that's more interested in getting the job done than playing the political games so common in the LCAF's upper echelons. Because of this, the Regulars have historically lacked patronage. This, combined with their emphasis on tactics considered "unorthodox" within the LAAF, has generally kept them on the low end of the supply chain and often assigned missions seen as hopeless or somehow below more prestigious brigades.[2]

History[edit]

First Succession War[edit]

As the House militaries grew in the last years of the Star League, the Regulars became a permanent part of the LCAF. In the rush to build up forces following Operation CHIEFTAIN and the collapse of the Star league, the Regulars were bolstered by a mix of mercenaries as well as former members of the SLDF and Rim Worlds Republic military. Consequently, they were regarded dubiously by the high command, who doubted their loyalty.[2] The unit expanded massively prior to the outbreak of the First Succession War, going from five regiments in 2765 to 22 at the outbreak of the war.[3]

Unlike their prior role as a defensive force, the Lyran Regulars were heavily involved in offensive operations at the start of the war, especially Operation ELBOW JOINT, the campaign in the Bolan Thumb.[4] They played a major part in the campaign for Bella I, when the Twelfth and Fourteenth Lyran Regulars attacked the world under the command of Colonel Raymond Hempsted, former commander of the Stealths, and his aide, Leutnant-Colonel Marcus Steiner, the Archon-Designate.[5] Throughout the war the brigade secured a number of impressive victories, earning them more of a positive reputation amongst the rest of the Lyran Armed Forces and were reluctantly accepted as being worthy of their status.[citation needed]

Second Succession War[edit]

The Regulars played host to two notable leaders in this time: Hendrik Grimm and Henry DeCalidore. Grimm was once a rising star in the LCAF, but his behavior became increasingly unstable. While his ties to House Steiner saved him from a court martial, they could not save his career, and he went from a battalion commander in the prestigious Third Lyran Guards to commanding the Sixth Lyran Regulars. Though the posting on Graham IV was considered "safe," a Marik force slipped over the border and attacked the world. Grimm believed the Archon had abandoned him and decided to lead his unit into piracy. After adding defectors from the damaged Fifth Lyran Regulars, the unit disappeared into the Periphery, and was used by Grimm to set himself up as king of the Oberon Confederation.

Henry DeCalidore, on the other hand, was given his post as a reward. A former Speaker of the Assembly for the Estates General and member of the Triumvirate Regency, DeCalidore was the architect of the plan to reactivate the LCS Invincible to save Hesperus II from a Draconis Combine attack. Consequently, he now fancied himself a military genius. Rather than deal with his self-aggrandizing behavior and strategic meddling, the new Archon Elizabeth Steiner mustered the Twenty-third Lyran Regulars and placed them under his command. Colonel DeCalidore was killed in action on Sakhalin in 2860 fighting against a Draconis Combine raid, though his unit was successful in blunting the DCMS attack.[6]

As with many brigades in the LCAF, the Lyran Regulars' casualties began to mount in earnest during the war and the number of active regiments within the unit began to decline. 10 of the 23 regiments were lost by 2864, either to defection or to combat losses.

Jihad[edit]

After the Jihad ended, most of the Lyran Regulars' units had more troops available than any other Lyran command, but these troops suffered from very low morale. This stemmed from their extremely high losses at the beginning of the Jihad, where the unit lost three regiments outright and suffered heavy casualties throughout the surviving units. Their fading morale was exacerbated by LCAF High Command leaving them in garrison, as they were seen as reliable defensive units, and they were forced to stand by while other Lyran units fought in all the major battles. The combination of older veterans coping with losses, inexperienced rookies being pumped into the brigade to replace them, and both types of MechWarrior eager to but disallowed from participating in the fighting, took such a toll that they were considered in 3079 as having the worst morale of any brigade in the LCAF. In an unusual twist for the brigade, the Fifteenth Lyran Regulars became the top choice of assignment for new graduates, likely due to that unit's service as the primary garrison force for Melissia and, as the Royal Court took up residence there during the Word of Blake's occupation of Tharkad, the opportunity to rub shoulders with nobility and people of importance.[7]

Dark Age[edit]

Their history as a defensive command was changed in Operation HAMMERFALL. The entire Regulars brigade was used during that attack, and though they initially were successful, the tides of war turned against them. The brigade lost four Lyran Regulars regiments to combat, and the rest of the Regulars were heavily damaged.[8]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the Lyran Regulars
Hauptmann-General Tellam Stellwar approx. 3052 - 3067
Leutnant-General Virginie Heuttel 3067

Tactics[edit]

Different per Unit.

Composition History[edit]

3062 - 9 commands[9]

Units of the Lyran Regulars[edit]

Notes[edit]

Color Schemes and Unit Insignia[edit]

The Lyran Regulars paint their equipment "drab green" (mottled between olive and pine green), with tan or khaki highlights.[2]

‎

  • Insignia of the Lyran Regulars Brigade

  • 3rd Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 4th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 5th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 7th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 8th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 9th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 10th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 11th Lyran Regulars Insignia

  • 15th Lyran Regulars Insignia

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 15
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 85
  3. ↑ First Succession War, p. 139
  4. ↑ First Succession War, pp. 70–71
  5. ↑ First Succession War, p. 75: "Humiliation Avenged"
  6. ↑ Second Succession War, p. 71: "The Second Succession War (2825-2863) - Running on empty (2850-2860) - Regency and Revenge"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Field Report: LAAF, p. 13
  8. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 128
  9. ↑ Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, pp. 124–125: "Alliance Guards Profile"
  10. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3070, pp. 16–17
  11. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 171
  12. ↑ Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised, p. 90
  13. ↑ Second Succession War, pp. 76: "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces (LCAF)"

Bibliography[edit]

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