1st Bannson's Raiders

The Scourge.png
1st Bannson's Raiders
Formed 3132[citation needed]
Nickname The Scourge
Affiliation Bannson Universal Unlimited
Parent Command Bannson's Raiders

History[edit]

The First Bannson's Raiders was a mercenary regiment in the employment of Jacob Bannson and part of the military arm of Bannson Universal Unlimited. Although the First is their official name, they were better known by their nickname The Scourge.[1]

The warriors of the Scourge are fiercely competitive with each other due in part to the rule laid down by Jacob Bannson that any 'Mech captured in battle by a Scourge warrior becomes that warrior's personal property. Although Bannson had the wealth to provide them with new and well-maintained equipment, they did not have access to the cutting-edge technologies of the day due to Bannson's lack of ties with the Republic military and his commoner status.[citation needed]

In September 3132, the Scourge raided a Belyakov-Ourobouros depot on Fletcher, overwhelming the defenders and escaping with a haul of valuable salvage.[2]

In October 3133, news of a secret operational BattleMech factory on Irian had made it to the Scourge's ears. The Scourge landed near the Kirin River Valley and executed an ambush on a factory supply train guarded by the Northwind Highlanders. The Raiders laid mines in the convoy's path and attacked from the cover of the surrounding woods. The Raiders did not expect the Highlanders' presence but attempted to loot the convoy despite the resistance. When the attack ultimately failed, they retreated into the forest with little to show for their efforts.[3] While the Raiders visibly pulled off-planet, they secretly left behind a contingent hidden in the Soapstone Mountains to await another chance to strike. In late November that year, as several factions were fighting over the factory complex, this small force made a lightning attack that quickly gained a foothold inside the complex. When they realized they could not take and hold the facility, they instead turned their weapons on their prize to deny it to anyone else. The Scourge caused extensive damage and retreated before being hunted down.[4]

After the Scourge's XO, Esau Stark, died in action at 3135, his successor, Stephen Wallace, vowed to keep the unit's cohesion.[citation needed] In August 3136 the Scourge, after Bannson attempted to renege on the unit's promised salvage terms, mutinied against Jacob Bannson and Colonel Tenclay, taking the first captive, to be turned over to Republic authorities. Bannson's final fate is unclear, but the RAF's lack of pursuit to the Scourge suggest they exchanged him for safe passage.[5][6]

After becoming independent, the Scourge, under Wallace's command, travelled to Irian, where Irian Technologies gave them dirty work for several years, mainly purloining technical specifications or working examples of military technology, usually from the RAF.[citation needed] After the Free Worlds League's reunification, the Scourge moved to the infamously corporate-friendly hiring hall of Son Hoa, where they quickly built a reputation of discretion for their work.[citation needed] In an unknown date, the Scourge began working for the pirate lord Abdoun Ricol, a.k.a., the Red Hunter, apparently after Colonel Wallace's death at the hands of Clan Nova Cat forces. The unit's new commander, Colonel Gerhard Stahl, appealed to Ricol to keep the unit from fracturing. The deaths of several claimants to command the unit helped to prevent it.[7]

The most recent operation of the Scourge was a raid on the Durallex armor fabrication plant on Unity in 3151, undertaken at the behest of Technicron Manufacturing. Since then, they appear to be headed to The Barrens, implied to make joint operations with Ricol.[8]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the First Bannson's Raiders
Colonel Meghann Tenclay 3132[9]
Colonel Hadrian Roth 3136[10]
Colonel Stephen Wallace 3136[11]
Colonel Gerhardt Stahl 3151[12]

Other Officers[edit]

In 3132 the unit XO was Lieutenant Colonel Esau Stark.[citation needed]

Tactics[edit]

The men and women of the unit were highly-trained professional soldiers but their temperament meant that they were more suited to smaller operations and hit and run attacks than to planetary assault and conquest. They generally worked best in Company size units. Their logistics setup was also optimized for this style of combat.[1]

Unit Organization[edit]

The Scourge was divided into two distinct organizational branches: the Combat Group, composed by all the unit's MechWarriors, composed as three slightly overstrenbgth companies, and the Engineer Group, which was a motley array of mechanized infantry and battle armor troops, part anti-BattleMech specialists, part salvage team, and part mob of looters. Any engineer which captures a Mech is immediatrely promoted to Combat Group, and disposessed MechWarriors get shunted to the Engineers.[13]

Composition History[edit]

3133[edit]

First Bannson's Raiders - (Veteran)[citation needed]

  • Equipment Level: D
  • Size: Regiment

Notes[edit]

The unit's motto is "Never Retreat".[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Turning Points: Irian, p. 10
  2. ↑ Technical Readout: Irregulars, p. 24, "Opossum SalvageMech MOD"
  3. ↑ Turning Points: Irian, p. 14
  4. ↑ Turning Points: Irian, p. 25-6
  5. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 19
  6. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge, p.113
  7. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge, p.113-114
  8. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge, p.114
  9. ↑ MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards, p. 40: "Meghann Tenclay profile"
  10. ↑ Loyalty, part.1 "When the Newness Wears Off"
  11. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge
  12. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge
  13. ↑ Unit Digest: the Scourge

Bibliography[edit]

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