1st Canopian Fusiliers

First Canopian Fusiliers
Formed	pre-2577
Disbanded	2584/2588, re-formed ca. 2765
Nickname	Defenders of the Realm
Affiliation	Magistracy of Canopus
Parent Command	Canopian Fusiliers

The First Canopian Fusiliers were formed shortly before the outbreak of the Reunification War. Though administratively they were a regiment-sized unit, in actual practice they were split into battalion sized units stationed along the Free Worlds League/Magistracy of Canopus border.

History

Reunification War

While facing the SLDF and Free Worlds League forces, the Fusiliers were often heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Despite this the Fusiliers were able to slow the invading troops and tie them down on Magistracy worlds. This allowed the Chasseurs á Cheval and Light Horse regiments to strike at the SLDF's flanks, destroying or capturing troops, supplies, and other logistical points. Unfortunately these hit and run attacks required the Fusiliers to face the SLDF directly, which led to heavy losses.

Butzfleth

Butzfleth was an early target in the initial Star League Defense Force campaign against the Magistracy. Tasked with capturing Butzfleth was the Sixtieth Brigade, one of three brigades that made up the Star League Defense Force Twentieth Division, supported by two SLDF Independent Regiments, the 402nd and 403rd. The defenders on Butzfleth consisted of a skeleton garrison drawn from the Third Battalion of the First Canopian Fusiliers, who were overwhelmed by the Sixtieth Brigade in a campaign that took just two days, ending on Halloween of 2577.

Aspropirgos

The Star League Defense Force task force commanded by Captain-General Marion Marik launched their attack on Aspropirgos in September 2580 and while the planetary invasion force was smaller than those used during 2578 and 2579, it still consisted of a complete SLDF brigade - the Fifty-eighth - supported by the Third Marik Militia and the Second Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente. Defending Aspropirgos were the First Canopian Fusiliers and the Second Canopian Grenadiers, who managed to contest the invasion, stinging the SLDF forces and then retreating before the SLDF could mount an effective pursuit, preserving their strength as part of a general refit and rearmament campaign both sides were conducting.

Leyda

Leyda was a Capellan Confederation world during the Reunification War, and was used as a staging area and supply world by the SLDF task force; as part of a campaign to force the SLDF to divert resources to garrisons and supply worlds, the MAF raided a number of worlds outside the border of the Magistracy of Canopus. While the First Fusiliers had primarily been a defensive unit up to the war and during the opening years of the campaign, they were tasked with raiding Leyda in 2581. The raid was a success, and Leyda was the farthest spinward world to be raided by the MAF; the range and breadth of the raids conducted by the MAF helped tie up SLDF resources and bought the Magistracy valuable time.

Canopus

The First Fusiliers were one of six MAF BattleMech regiments that fought to defend Canopus IV when the SLDF invaded the Canopian capital world in 2584. The battle for Canopus IV lasted four weeks, with the Canopian units resisting fiercely and both taking and inflicting heavy losses, despite being outnumbered more than three to one. By early May, all of the defending units had been destroyed or captured, and the Magestrix had surrendered - although she had refused to order the surrender of the Magistracy worlds still unconquered.

Hardcore

Although the First Fusiliers were one of the regiments listed among the defenders of Canopus IV in 2584, some records indicate that a battalion of the First Fusiliers either survived the Canopus campaign and managed to retreat to the world of Hardcore, or - and more likely, given the previous deployment of the First Fusiliers as battalion elements across multiple worlds rather than as a complete regiment - had been stationed on Hardcore while the other two battalions of the First had been assigned to Canopus. While the SLDF records indicate that Hardcore was invaded in 2588 by the Fifty-sixth and Fifty-ninth Brigades and the 401st Independent Regiment and that local forces put up a token resistance before surrendering, other sources indicate that a battalion of the First Fusiliers were butchered during the defense of the world.

Star League Era/Succession Wars

The Canopian Fusiliers were rebuilt before the Amaris Civil War, and the Magestrix Command Center quickly began to rely on the First and its sister units. In 2765 they were based on Luxani, using the terraformed world as a base of operations to destroy pirates in the area. The workhorses of the MAF, the First fought on more worlds than any other MAF unit. Prior to the Jihad their last major combat deployment found them attacking Marian Hegemony troops on Astrokaszy in 3028 to discourage Marian adventurism.

Thirty-first Century

In 3064, the Canopian Fusiliers were drawn from the Magistracy Armed Forces' best troops. The First Canopian Fusiliers rotated back to the Magistracy from their assignment in the Capellan Confederation. Taking up station on Bethonolog, the First desperately wanted to fight with the Sixth Oriente Hussars, who were stationed just over the border on Eleusis. To probe the FWL unit's defenses, the First Fusiliers masqueraded as pirates and smugglers and conducted several raids in 3067.

They fought the Word of Blake, eventually driving the Blakists off-world.

Jihad

During the Jihad the First Fusiliers were stationed on Bethonolog along the Free Worlds League border. Although they didn't participate much in the Jihad, the unit did hit Gallis and inflicted casualties on the Word of Blake forces there. After the Free Worlds League disbanded, the First was ordered to redeploy. Broken down in to smaller units on Dainmar Majoris, Dunianshire, and Addasar, the First Fusiliers faced off against several different pirate groups. However, unlike their time on the Free Worlds League border, the First hasn't raided into the Fronc Reaches. Instead they're content to engage any pirate forces that arrive near their duty stations.

Dark Age

After the Jihad ended, the First spent most of its time garrisoning the far rimward border of the Magistracy. The resulting decades of inactivity resulted in the unit losing a great deal of its experience. There was some discussion of disbanding the unit, but the unit was assigned to garrison Deschenes (a world absorbed by the Duchy of Andurien) as a favor to Magestrix Ilsa's husband.

In the Victoria War the First invaded Zanzibar along with the Second Canopian Cuirassiers. They fought the Sirdar CMM for several weeks, but eventually forced the AFFS unit to withdraw.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the First Canopian Fusiliers
Colonel	Kimathi	3020
Major	Sandra Aupriz	3025
Colonel	Sandra Aupriz	3050 - 3054
Colonel	Darlene McKinnon	3064 - 3067
Colonel	Robert Clark	3085
Colonel	Viviana Aranda	3145

Tactics

Specialists in small-unit actions, the regiment tends split in nine smaller commands of around company size and defeat the enemy through harassment.

Composition History

2765

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

- At this time the First Fusiliers was stationed on Luxani.

2786–2821

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Note: At this time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Luxani. In 2821 the command was reduced to 49 percent of its strength and was deployed on Luxani.

2830

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)

Note: At this time the medium-weight unit was stationed on Luxani with an operational readiness of 115 percent.

2864

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regiment/Regular/Fanatical)

Note: At this time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Luxani with an operational readiness of 56 percent.

3025

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Major Sandra Aupriz

3028

First Canopian Fusiliers(Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Note: At this time the command was stationed on Lindermarle.

3050–3054

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Sandra Aupriz

3064

First Canopian Fusiliers (1 Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Darlene McKinnon

• XO/First Battalion: Force Major Robert Clark

• Second Battalion: Major Leon Sanchez
• Third Battalion: Major Marie Robson

First Fusiliers Armor Guard (1 Battalion/Veteran/Reliable)

• Armor Commander: Major Mathew Prince

First Fusiliers Horse Infantry Guard (2 Companies/Regular/Fanatical)

• Infantry Commander: Major Feng Lin

3067

First Canopian Fusiliers (2 Battalions/Regular/Fan)

• CO: Colonel Darlene McKinnon

First Fusiliers Armor Guard (2 Battalions/Green/Reliable)

• Armor Commander: Major Mathew Prince

First Fusiliers Infantry Guard (1 Battalion/Veteran/Reliable)

• Infantry Commander: Major Feng Lin

3079

The First Canopian Fusiliers were at 80% of their pre-Jihad strength.

3085

First Canopian Fusiliers (Elite/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Robert Clark

First Fusiliers Armor Guard (Elite/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Mathew Prince

First Fusiliers Infantry Guard (Veteran/Fanatical)

• CO: Colonel Feng Lin

3145

First Canopian Fusiliers (Regular/Questionable)

• CO: Colonel Viviana Aranda

First Fusiliers Armor Guard (Regular/Questionable)

• CO: Colonel Garnet Utley

First Fusiliers Infantry Guard (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Nichol Yoder

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Field Manual: 3085
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: Periphery
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Report 2765: Periphery
• First Succession War
• Historical: Reunification War
• Historical: Wars of the Republic Era
• Objective Raids
• The Periphery (1988)
• Second Succession War