1st Federated Suns Lancers

First Federated Suns Lancers RCT
Formed	3028
Disbanded	3144 (destroyed)
Previous Designation(s)	First Federated Commonwealth RCT
Nickname	Guardians of a New Order
Affiliation	Federated Commonwealth (3028–3062) Allies (3062–3067) Federated Suns (3067 - present)
Parent Command	Federated Commonwealth Corps (3028–3067) Federated Suns Lancers (3132)

The first unit to be raised under the banner of the Federated Commonwealth, the First Federated Commonwealth Regiment saw action from the Fourth Succession War through to the conclusion of the FedCom Civil War and the eventual disbanding of the Federated Commonwealth Corps, when it was rechristened as the First Federated Suns Lancers.

History

Formation

The First Federated Commonwealth BattleMech Regiment, as it was then known, was formed in 3028 from Melissa Steiner's wedding gift to Hanse Davion of a regiment of Valkyrie, Enforcer, and Griffin BattleMechs. Part of the reason for its formation was to serve as a symbol of the two rulers' intentions to form the Federated Commonwealth and promote closer relations between the two nations. As such, the unit was built by recruiting the top graduates of both the Federated Suns' NAIS and Albion military academies, and the Lyran Commonwealth's Nagelring, with a full quarter of the unit's personnel being Lyran in origin. To further hammer home the message of joint cooperation, the unit's insignia was originally a circle divided into two halves, the rightmost being the Davion sword and sunburst and the left the Steiner mailed fist. Once it was deemed ready, the unit was assigned to the command of Marshal James Sandoval and posted to the Draconis March.

As the First FedCom was composed from a mix of green graduates and their military instructors from the various military academies, James was careful to ease his new regiment into combat slowly. The First FedCom was deployed to Klathandu IV around August 3029 to help repel Draconis Combine forces there. AFFS High Command was now concerned that, were Klathandu IV to fall, its loss would allow the DCMS to move on to worlds deeper in the Federated Suns. As it stood, the planet had been besieged by the Ninth Benjamin Regulars since November 3028, and had not yet been captured due of a combination of the well-equipped, fiercely resistant planetary militia, the arrogant belief by the Ninth Benjamin Regulars that the conquest would quick and easy, and the many sacrifices of the Raman Draconis March Militia. In their defense of the planet's capital city, Klanthis, the Raman DMM had taken horrendous casualties in a desperate bid to buy time for further reinforcements to arrive.

Marshal Sandoval initially had the First FedCom assume rear-area responsibilities, patrolling and garrisoning areas that had already been secured by the Raman DMM. This meant that the new unit's first few encounters with the Ninth Benjamin Regulars went well for them, and morale consequently skyrocketed. Their high spirits lasted until the First FedCom's First Battalion encountered the Ninth Regulars' Third Battalion in the light woods at Pheasant Run, where many of the battalion's young MechWarriors were killed or injured by the more hardened and experience Draconis personnel. Despite the casualties inflicted on them during that battle, the First FedCom survived as a unit, and through their fierce resistance eventually forced the DCMS to divert units slated to invade Xhosa VII to Klathandu IV to help face the threat.

War of 3039

Invasion of Nashira

On 1 May, 3039, the First FedCom and the Twelfth Vegan Rangers' Delta Regiment took part in the assault on Nashira. Although in theory the First FedCom was supposedly the superior unit, in practice it was the more experienced mercenaries who would quietly take the lead in the planning and execution of the invasion. The Rangers' Colonel Nelson suggested an orbital insertion of both units outside of Logan City, which was contested as being too dangerous by the First's current commander, Marshal Mira Tran. Tran had been promoted to fill the vacancy left by James Sandoval, who had been selected to oversee the entire FedCom Corps by that time. Although unwilling to commit her unit to the drop, Tran had no qualms about letting the Rangers proceed with their plan alone, despite the objections of her executive officer, Leftenant General Vonda DeGreer. DeGreer argued that Nashira would not be the easiest conquest, as it had a long-standing association with the Combine's Genyosha units that had resulted in even the planetary militia forces having a ferocious reputation.

Nelson, predicting that the militia would wait to ambush 'Mechs as they offloaded their DropShips, had his regiment's First Battalion conduct an orbital drop on a preselected landing zone twenty kilometers west of Logan City in order to secure the area first. As expected, the Rangers' BattleMechs were almost immediately set upon by the waiting militia forces- a regiment of infantry and a battalion of armor - but thanks to their hot drop they were more than ready and quickly dismantled the militia units. The First FedCom, whose leader didn't see the value of an orbital insertion and assumed the locals to be much less capable than her own unit, did not fare as well.

As their DropShips touched down fifty kilometers south of the Rangers' landing zone, outside Ogawa, they immediately came under attack by the locals, who along with conventional tactics, employed suicide bombers, booby-trapped buildings, and guerrilla tactics against them. Tran was taken completely aback by the attacks' ferocity and waffled about how to proceed all while her disembarking troops were gunned down. In the resulting five day brawl to secure the city, eight 'Mechs and two full companies of armor were destroyed, along with over two hundred infantry troopers. At its conclusion, Marshal Tran was quietly but firmly ordered to appear before High Command on Errai and DeGreer was given full command of the unit.

Occupation of Nashira

Now working together, Delta and the First FedCom managed to capture Logan City on 21 May, but were beset for months by nonstop insurgent attacks on their positions that severely damaged the morale of their men and women. Due to a communications error on the part of AFFS High Command, the two units were not relieved by garrison forces and had to shoulder the duties of police actions themselves. They struggled to contain the overtly hostile locals in an urban environment. On 19 July, their fortunes took another turn for the worse as the First and Second Genyosha arrived in-system and, on 22 July, began to assist the locals in their guerrilla campaign. They found the First FedCom scattered across the world, a dispersed formation that worked for policing the wide swaths of territory the Federated Suns unit had under their control, but not effective against the concentrated forces of the Genyosha. Within a matter of days, the First FedCom units were overrun and forced to fall back to Logan City to shore up defenses there.

Delta Regiment and the First FedCom repelled the DCMS assault on Logan City on 9 August and entered into an extended maneuvering campaign as the Genyosha captured key facilities and increased the tempo of their hit and run attacks. These battles continued throughout September and October, and reached a climax at the Battle of Raven Ridge, where a chemical weapons attack devastated the First FedCom. In response, the Genyosha attacked and subdued the locals, who they claimed were responsible for the attack. The Raven Ridge attack's horrors demoralized both the Draconis Combine and Federated Commonwealth forces and the fighting on Nashira slowed to a handful of small clashes. By the end of October, the FedCom forces were pulled off the world by orders from High Command in spite of their protestations that such a withdrawal would dishonor the memory of those who'd died at Raven Ridge. Although the DCMS denied involvement in the chemical attack, a claim which was supported by the FedCom forces commander on Nashira, both the Rangers and the First FedCom held a deep resentment and suspicion of the Combine troops and blamed them for their losses. Rumors circulated that the attack was orchestrated by the ISF, a thought which only solidified their beliefs.

Operation GUERRERO

After bloodying themselves in the Fourth Succession War and the War of 3039, the First FedCom had finally become a skilled, regular unit. When Operation GUERRERO launched in 3057, the unit was caught off-guard on its homeworld Gan Singh, in the Sarna March. The offensive was so fierce and sudden that the First FedCom could not coordinate with the Third Donegal Guards who were also stationed on the planet and was forced to fall back to Nanking. In their rush to evacuate, they even left behind some of their personnel, who along with stranded members of the Third Donegal and a small unit of Capellan irregulars eventually formed the Pandora's Box mercenary unit. After regrouping on Nanking, the First FedCom sent several raids into what was now termed the Chaos March, targeting Capellan-occupied worlds until supplies from High Command became limited. From 3061 to 3062, two of the First FedCom's 'Mech companies were listed as sidelined for repairs. But, when the companies were reactivated at the end of their maintenance period, they were equipped with brand new General Motors BattleMech designs. Unofficially, both of the units likely took part in the GM- and Johnston Industries-sponsored liberation of Acamar and Genoa and received the 'Mechs as compensation.

FedCom Civil War

Initially, the First FedCom made it general policy not to take sides with either Katherine Steiner-Davion or Victor Steiner-Davion in the brewing tension of the 3060s. However, as the Civil War broke out, they were forced to reevaluate this approach once the Nanking Sarna March Militia attempted to seize several important objectives across the planet. Their targets included the Kallon Industries factory complex, the AFFC command center, and the capital city of Yang-Ku, all of which the First FedCom was able to successfully defend. They focused their efforts on maintaining constant pressure on the SMM, but were forced to address several terrorist attacks against them, which allowed the SMM to break free of their cordon. Both the First FedCom and the Kestrel Grenadiers gave chase, and eventually cornered them the Huai River Valley, just twelve hours from the city of Qingjiang. After a five day battle, the Nanking SMM was forced to surrender, though some of its members fought on for almost six hours before accepting the ceasefire. The First FedCom took no further part in the Civil War other than putting down several smaller revolts and dealing with Capellan-sponsored terrorism.

The Jihad

After the FedCom Civil War ended the unit was renamed the First Federated Suns Lancers after the Federated Commonwealth Corps was disbanded and began the process of rebuilding as an independent command. By 3067 the RCT was moved to Hadnall and in June 3068 would take part in Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE when the Lancers and the First Kittery Borderers attacked Gei-Fu and scattered the Third Capellan Defense Force during the First Wave. Only the 'Mech and aerospace units participated in Sovereign Justice, with several free infantry and armor regiments supporting them; the Lancers' conventional regiments had remained behind on Nanking when the 'Mech and aerospace elements deployed on SOVEREIGN JUSTICE, and were still on Nanking when the Word of Blake hit the planet. The Lancers' conventional forces fought alongside the First Crucis Lancers as they attempted to defend the planet from the Blakists. Other sources identified that a four-regiment strong mercenary force hit Gei-Fu, with the Fourth and Twenty-first Illician Rangers as two of the four regiments, and indicate that Gei-Fu was hit during the second wave of Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE.

During the Second Wave in July 3068, the Lancers would move and secure Overton. During Wave Three and Wave Four the Lancers remained in place and were resupplied for a possible move against Capella. In October 3068, the Capellan Confederation counterattacked Overton and was able to push the First Lancers off the world, though it cost the Confederation both the Fifteenth Dracon and Warrior House Ijori. By July 3070 the First FedSuns Lancers were reported destroyed on St. Ives alongside the remnants of two other commands.

In 3077, the First Federated Suns Lancers had become part of the forces assigned to Devlin Stone's allied coalition, serving in Group III of the Lyran front, where it lost its Commanding Officer to a Word of Blake decapitation raid on Gacrux; the Blakists managed to kill the Commanding Officers of not just the Lancers, but also the Sixth Benjamin Regulars and the Thirty-first Marik Militia. As a result, the Lancers and the other commands within Group III found themselves under the overall command of Leutnant-General Thomas Hogarth.

The unit took part in the fighting on Wing but seemed unwilling or unable to aid much to the Sixth Benjamin in the fighting there against the Third Free Worlds Guards. In early 3078 the unit stood down on New Earth alongside the Skye Guards and the Seventeenth Arcturan Guards. On the 15th of August 3078 the First Federated Suns Lancers took part in the invasion of Terra under the overall command of General Belle Lee with the target Sydney. Upon landing the various units of Task Force Mallet came under intense fire with multiple units being spread over a 100 km area. The various units involved were chewed up and didn't see an end to the fighting until January 5th, 3079 when the WoB surrendered at Towra Point. The RCT was badly damaged in the brutal tunnel fighting at the Burragorang Castle Brian and later beneath Sydney.

In August of 3079, the First Federated Suns Lancers RCT was redesignated as an LCT specializing as a rapid response force, and transferred to Ozawa. By 3085 the Lancers were one of the most respected units within the AFFS, and also one of the most active; stationed within the region commonly known as the New Hessen thumb, the Lancers had been called on several times to deal with "pirates" operating along the border regions of the Republic of the Sphere, Federated Suns and Capellan Confederation. The quantity of equipment of Capellan origin used by these "pirates" the Lancers hunted was drawing attention from both New Avalon and Terra.

Palmyra

During the fighting on Palmyra, the First Lancers faced elements of the Seventh New Samarkand Regulars. The unit would be listed as destroyed following the Palmyra debacle.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the 1st FedCom RCT
Marshal	James Sandoval	3028–3033
Marshal	Mira Tran	3039
Leftenant General	Vonda DeGreer	3039 - 3050
Marshal	Vonda DeGreer	3050 - 3057
Marshal	Ally Swanson	3057 - 3064
Leftenant General	Dixon Zibler	3064 - 3067
Commanding Officers of the 1st Federated Suns Lancers
General	Dixon Zibler	3067 - 3085

Tactics

The First favored small unit tactics, rarely operating in units larger than battalion size. Through practice, the unit's battalions could easily swap positions during combat thereby making the unit seem to have more numbers.

Composition History

3028

First Federated-Commonwealth BattleMech Regiment (Green/Reliable)

• CO: Marshal James Sandoval
• Base: New Avalon

Note: At this time, the First FedCom was entirely composed of Valkyrie, Enforcer, and Griffin 'Mechs, as the unit had just been formed.

3039

First FedCom RCT (Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Marshal Mira Tran
• Base: Gan Singh

3040

First FedCom RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Leftenant General Vonda DeGreer
• Base: Gan Singh

3050

First FedCom RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Marshal Vonda DeGreer
• Base: Gan Singh

3054

First FedCom RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Marshal Vonda DeGreer
• Base: Gan Singh

3062

First FedCom RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Marshal Ally Swanson
• Base: Nanking

First FedCom Regiment (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Leftenant General Dixon Zibler

• Aide: Kommandant Beau Gentry

First FedCom Aerospace Brigade (2 Wings)

• CO: Leftenant General Demos McCarron

First FedCom Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Regular/Unreliable)

• CO: Hauptmann General Simeon Petrovich
  • Aide: Leftenant General LaSalle Shoshanna
• 1st FedCom Recon Regiment: Leftenant General Karen D'Erico
• 1st FedCom Heavy Armor: Kommandant Zurich Johann Meitzler
• 1st FedCom Armored Cavalry: Leftenant General Billy O'Connell

First FedCom Infantry Brigade (5 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Hauptmann General Carmen Azzuria
  • Aide: Kommandant Karl Yuan
• 1st FedCom Infantry Regiment: Leftenant General Grayson Applegarth
• 2nd FedCom Infantry Regiment: Leftenant General Skyler Pree
• 1st FedCom Mechanized Infantry: Leftenant General Burian Thi
• 2nd FedCom Mechanized Infantry: Kommandant Sandy Roland
• 1st FedCom Jump Infantry: Leftenant General Patrice Young

3067

First Federated Suns Lancers RCT (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

• CO: General Dixon Zibler
• Base: Nanking

First Federated Suns Lancers Aerospace Brigade (Elite/Fanatical)

CO: Major General Demos McCarron

First Federated Suns Lancers Armor Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)

CO: Major General Johann Meitzler

First Federated Suns Lancers Infantry Brigade (Regular/Reliable)

CO: Major General Grayson Applegarth

3079

First Federated Suns Lancers LCT (Battalion/Elite/Fanatical)

• Base: Ozawa

Note: At this point in time the First Federated Suns Lancers was only a full-strength battalion, though it was equipped almost completely with upgraded technology. Due to their heavy losses, they were redesignated as one of the new Light Combat Teams.

3085

First Federated Suns Lancers LCT (Elite/Fanatical)

• CO: General Dixon Zibler
• Base: Lee

First Federated Suns Lancers Aerospace Brigade (Veteran/Reliable)

CO: Major General Egbert Beresford

First Federated Suns Lancers Armor Brigade (Elite/Fanatical)

CO: Leftenant General Jezebel Kennedy

First Federated Suns Lancers Infantry Brigade (Regular/Questionable)

CO: Leftenant General Quasim Mohamed

Color Scheme and Unit Insignia

Prior to 3055, the unit's insignia was a circle divided into two halves, with the left half bearing half of the Steiner mailed fist and the right half bearing the half of the Davion sword and sun. Once the Federated Commonwealth was formed, the 1st FedCom displayed the FedCom Corps crest, with an additional regimental insignia: a dragon clutching at a sword, flanked by two lightning bolts. After being renamed to the 1st Federated Suns Lancers, the unit severed all ties with its Lyran heritage and, to demonstrate their loyalty to the Federated Suns, the First Federated Suns Lancers' units now only display the Federated Sunburst.

The parade colors of the First Federated Suns Lancers remain the same as when they were a part of the FedCom Corps: navy blue, with gold banding on the arms and legs of their 'Mechs and gold checkerboard pattern highlights on the upper torsos. Since the end of the FedCom Civil War, some MechWarriors have elected to add gray highlights to symbolize their uncertain place in the AFFS command structure.

• 

  Enforcer III in the parade colors of the 1st FedCom RCT

Notes

• BattleTech line developer Herbert A. Beas II stated on the CBT forums that at the end of the fighting against the Capellans, the First FedSuns Lancers had retreated--at 50% casualties--to Scituate. That was February of 3069. In April of 3069, the Word of Blake seized Scituate with forces from Kittery.

• The First Federated Suns Lancers reappear in Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, meaning that either the unit was rebuilt with new recruits between 3069 and 3077 or that members of the unit were freed from Word of Blake reeducation camps and were able to reunite, joining Stone's Coalition under the Federated Suns flag.

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: 3085
• Field Manual: Federated Suns
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Report: AFFS
• Historical: War of 3039
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3070
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2
• Objective Raids
• A Race to the End
• Technical Readout: 3145 Draconis Combine