1st Alarion Jaegers

First Alarion Jaegers
Formed	3057
Affiliation	Lyran Commonwealth
Parent Command	Alliance Jaegers

The First Alarion Jaegers were a House Steiner house unit formed during mid-thirty-first century under the reign of Archon-Princess Katrina Steiner-Davion. The unit was created to protect the Alarion Province of the Lyran Alliance after that province was organized.

History

Formation

Personnel for the First Alarion Jaegars, as were the Jaegers as a whole, were drawn from a variety of Lyran units as part of Archon's Order 573023, with extrovert unit CO Julie Hoffman one of the most popular commanders in the Donegal Broadcasting Corporation "Fighting for Peace" propaganda series and attracting steady public support for and applications to join her unit. Integrating such a large and disparate band into a single whole was a challenge to which the unit's command staff excelled at, with the newly formed Jaegers passing their combat readiness test in less than eight months, followed by reaching regimental status ten months later. With the permission of the LAAF high command, the First Alarion CO worked closely with her fellow officers to build a solid working relationship with the Alarion Naval Academy and the War College of Buena, allowing them to directly offer positions within the First to each academy's top graduates.

Operation CLEANSWEEP

The Jaegers first real action outside twice monthly exercises were civil defense operations intended to limit anti-Katherine rebellion on the seat of the Alliance's naval program, the most notable being code named CLEANSWEEP taking place in 3062 in the wake of increased tensions on Solaris VII. As rioting on Alarion's capital of Craiova escalated out of control, the Jaegers and Alarion APM were dispatched only to come under sniper fire resulting in the death of three infantry troopers before they could restore order. Colonel Hoffman ordered the arrest and incarceration of three hundred civilian suspects, which triggered an outcry from the public. Though the protests against the LAAF and Archon ultimately calmed down, while CLEANSWEEP was militarily sound, the actions of Colonel Hoffman and the First had undone most of the public relations benefits of "Fighting for Peace".

Feeling the formerly positive attention around her turn negative and believing that CLEANSWEEP showed her unit was ill-suited to civil defense and policing actions on Alarion, Hoffman requested the First Alarion be transferred to garrison the Mountain Wolf BattleMechs facilities on the nearby world of Vendrell. Provincial Commander Hauptmann-General Peter Zenger took this under advisement, but ordered the First to remain on station on Alarion.

FedCom Civil War

The Alarion Jaegers were not involved in the earliest stages of the Civil War, spending most of the early waves moving to reinforce strategic positions. It was after joining the Eleventh Arcturan Guards and their battlegroup when the First Alarion Jaegers became one of the involved and effective Loyalist units in the FedCom Civil War, seeing action in some of the most significant battles in the Alliance.

York

In March 3064, the Jaegers joined the Eleventh Arcturan Guards and its growing task force, where they participated in the attempt to trap Victor Steiner-Davion and his accompanying troops on York. There, they engaged the Outland Legion's second battalion and were part of a major Loyalist victory.

First Battle of Tikonov

The Jaegers were part of the Arcturan task force that attacked Tikonov on January 8th, 3065, in pursuit of Prince Victor. On Tikonov, the unit fought fierce battles against Victor's allied forces, which held key cities on the planet. Over the course of the brutal campaign, the Loyalists won several victories as the Allies' performance worsened due to the mental state of their commander, who had suffered a personal loss. By February, Victor and part of his task force departed Tikonov, followed closely by Loyalist units including the Jaegers.

Thorin

The Alarion Jaegers, as part of the Eleventh Arcturan Task Force, now one of the largest in the war, arrived on Thorin in August 3065, predicting that this was where Victor had fled to after Tikonov. The task force was unable to dislodge Victor's forces from the planetary capital of Ecol City despite waging a costly campaign for the next two weeks. The Task Force's commander, Linda McDonald had begun to fear that Victor was not on Thorin at all, and that their actions here, while pinning some of the Allies' best units, also tied up some of the most potent Loyalist forces to the planet.

In January 3066, Victor revealed himself, dropping into battle on the Sandstain Plateau. This turned the tide of battle for the 244th which was fighting the elements of the Arcturan task force. Days later, unbeknownst to the Arcturans, Victor left again.

Actions against Free Skye

In April, the Alarion Jaegers accompanied the Eleventh Arcturan Guards to the Skye system, undergoing a revolt with the assistance of the Eleventh's previous CO, Maria Esteban. A raid by the Eleventh reveal the strength and disposition of the First Skye Jaegers opposing them, and so McDonald felt that the units she brought with her would be sufficient. On May 13th, the Arcturans and Jaegers landed Skye, bringing the battle to the Skye Jaegers and their supporting planetary militia force. The Task Force easily took the capital city of New Glasgow, as the First Skye Jaegers, leery of the Eleventh Arcturans' reputation, had abandoned the city for a mobile defense. The Jaegers faced well-armed citizens defending the city. By June, after weeks of sporadic fighting, the Fourth Skye Rangers arrived in the system from Hesperus II, where they were defeated by Loyalist forces.

This gave General McDonald pause, worried about facing another regiment's worth of troops. However, General von Frisch, CO of the Fourth Skye Rangers, declared that he and his forces were neutral in this fight for the planet, stating that they had shed too much blood for the Free Skye movement. With relief, McDonald prepared to continue the pursuit of the elusive Skye Jaegers with her Arcturan Guards and Alarion Jaegers when she received a message from Regent Nondi Steiner. She signaled the task force to head to Tharkad, believing that coalition forces meant to take the capital.

The Battle for Tharkad

By late 3066, the First Alarion Jaegers were the only other unit attached to the Eleventh's task force. They arrived on Tharkad to reinforce Nondi Steiner's First, Second Royal Guards and the local ComStar Com Guard unit, the Sixty-sixth Division. The Alarion Jaegers took part in the fighting, waging a months-long mobile campaign against the Kell Hounds. This conflict led to the near-total destruction of the unit, with only two lances of 'Mechs left intact, while the supporting armor and infantry units were down to less than one-tenth and one-third of their original strength. All but destroyed by the Civil War, and despite its significant role in opposing him, the unit's performance led Archon Peter Steiner-Davion himself to authorize the First Alarion Jaegers be rebuilt. While the reborn unit and its CO pledged their support to Peter, the LAAF High Command questioned the credibility of these claims.

Jihad

The still rebuilding First Alarion Jaegers, a mere 15% of their pre–Civil War strength, were stationed on Alarion when a Word of Blake task force hit the planet. The unit's base of operations outside of the planet's capital city was totally erased by the Blakist nuclear strikes from orbit. The later sterilization of the planet by bioweapon attack left no survivors of the unit or the world's population.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the First Alarion Jaegers
Colonel	Julie Hoffman	3057–3067
Colonel	Helen Johannes	3067

Notes

• Colonel Julie Hoffman held the post since the First's formation. One of the principal focuses of the "Fighting for Peace" propaganda series, the charming if extroverted Hoffman was delighted with the positive attention she received initially, less so when the media turned against her after CLEANSWEEP. Hoffman successfully led the First through the maelstrom until she died in battle on Tharkad.
• Colonel Helen Johannes had been Julie Hoffman's aide.

Tactics

The unit has developed its combat doctrine around the use of Combined Arms. Using the unit's two infantry companies and single Armor Company to pin down the enemy combatants while 'Mech Battalions attack the pinned down foe from the flanks or rear. The integral Air Wing is highly proficient at supporting their land-based units with air-to-ground attacks.

Composition History

3062

First Alarion Jaegers (2 Battalions/Regular/Fanatical)
CO: Colonel Julie Hoffman
Aide: Leutnant Colonel Helen Johannes
- 1 Armor Company and 2 Infantry Companies

First Alarion Air Wing (Wing/Regular/Fanatical)
CO: Kommandant Kireyoshi Amuro
- Mixture of medium and heavy fighters.

Notes

Game Notes

Abilities as of 3062: The Alarion Jaegers may use the off-map movement special ability and it gains +1 to its initiative any turn that has the enemy using improved positions or gun emplacements. For RPG purposes, any player character in this force gains the Bad Reputation trait.

Bibliography

• Era Report: 3062
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: Lyran Alliance
• Field Manual: Updates
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3070
• Storms of Fate