20th Avalon Hussars

Twentieth Avalon Hussars
Formed	Twenty-fifth century
Nickname	The Sandbaggers
Affiliation	AFFS
Parent Command	Avalon Hussars

The Twentieth Avalon Hussars was a military command of the Federated Suns that achieved status as a regimental combat team.

History

Formation

The Twentieth Avalon Hussars was formed in the twenty-fifth century and went on to serve as the command force for all of the various Hussars regiments stationed on the border with the Capellan Confederation. By the end of the 2400s they were a BattleMech unit. The Twentieth built up an impressive record in the March, and when the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns deactivated a large number of regiments following the Council Edict of 2650 the Twentieth was the only Hussars unit within the Capellan March to not be deactivated.

Star League Era

During the late Star League era the Twentieth were actively engaged against the "bandit" forces that became increasingly active in the buildup to the Amaris Civil War, and the Twentieth proved itself adept at defeating the Capellan-style tactics used by the bandits.

Post–Star League

In 2902 the Twentieth had expanded to a regimental combat team.

Third Succession War

During the Third Succession War the Twentieth rarely acted as an entire RCT. They were more frequently employed in raids that required smaller formations. The Twentieth Hussars were involved in a twelve year prank raid on Capellan worlds. Every December between 3014 and 3026 the Twentieth would raid a Capellan world and leave behind neatly wrapped books that were banned in the Capellan Confederation. During this same time they frequently encountered the Second Ariana Fusiliers Third Battalion. The predictability of the Christmas Raid backfired in 3025 when the Fusiliers Third Battalion ambushed the Twentieth as they disembarked from their DropShips. The losses suffered by the Twentieth smashed their morale and humbled the unit.

Fourth Succession War

Wave One

The unit was stationed on New Aragon when the war began, having been there at least since 3025.

The unit was assigned to the first wave of Operation RAT to take Styk alongside the Davion Heavy Guards in August 3028. The planet's Air & Space Traffic Control Center was disabled by MIIO agents to prevent the planet's air wings from deploying against the multiple-regiment force. On their arrival, they faced an inexperienced battalion of the Capellan Reserve Cavalry and one battalion of elite BattleMechs and infantry from Warrior House Fujita. During the fight with the Cavalry, the Hussars lured them into pursuing them. The Suns unit ambushed the Capellans and forced them to surrender after surrounding them.

After the Heavy Guards and MIIO agents eliminated Warrior House Fujita, they secured the Tao 'Mechworks from the militia attempting to destroy it. The Twentieth detached two battalions of BattleMechs and single battalion of infantry to garrison the planet.

Wave Four

The Twentieth pushed on to Second Try. They encountered only militia units who largely refused to engage them in a stand-up fight. The militia forces melted into the blizzard-stricken wastes of the planet. The Hussars braved freezing temperatures, ice, and snow; spending two months tracking down the Capellans.

Wave Five

The FSS Orkney, a Star Lord-class JumpShip, jumped into the Corey system carrying the Twentieth. The JumpShip suffered a malfunction that forced the DropShips to execute emergency detachments. The Hussars command had little difficulty securing the Capellan system, while the Orkney was saved by the heroic actions of Sergeant Theodore Osson.

Wave Seven

On 8 December 3029, the Twentieth Avalon and two regiments of the Twelfth Vegan Rangers (Gamma and Delta) hit the Capellan world of Tsinghai. The former industrial world was defended by a battalion from both the Fifth Confederation Reserve Cavalry and Preston's Lancers. While the Ranger regiments ran the Cavalry off the planet, the Hussars surrounded the Preston's Lancers base. The Lancers broke the encirclement but not without difficulties, leading the Hussars' aerospace fighters and hover tank regiments to make an attempt at intercepting the Capellans. The Lancers turned and fled to a nearby river valley, with the entire RCT in pursuit. The Hussars were ambushed in the valley several times by the Capellan 'Mech battalion. The Hussars dispatched an entire armor regiment, with a battalion of BattleMechs into the river delta. The two forces fought for two days, with only a company of the Preston's Lancers managing to escape the planet.

Aftermath

Following the cessation of hostilities, the Hussars took up garrison in the newly minted Sarna March. In addition to guarding against the Confederation, the Sandbaggers went to work doing what they do best, rebuilding civilian infrastructure and military bases.

They also learned of the destruction of their longtime foes, the Second Ariana Fusiliers. The Crazy Eights held a wild party as a wake for their longtime opponents. This party eventually required every military police unit on the planet to break up the party.

War of 3039

The Twentieth Avalon Hussars were based on Freedom in 3038. They did not deploy from this world during the War of 3039, but, after the war concluded, they were reassigned to Truth.

Clan Invasion era

When the Marik-Liao invasion of 3057 cut the Twentieth Avalon Hussars off from their supply base on Sarna, the command cited emergency war powers to force civilian JumpShips to take them back into the Commonwealth. Though they thought they would be part of a counterattack, there never was one. One of the JumpShips was owned by Lockheed/CBM and that company brought a lawsuit against the Twentieth. Lockheed's attorneys alleged that a company of the Twentieth threatened the Lyran Commonwealth vessel to force them to comply, but the AFFS JAG corps was able to have the case tried on New Syrtis. The case was dismissed.

Civil War

Alcyone

As early as 3061, the Twentieth Avalon took up station on Alcyone, a polymorphous defense zone headquarters and supply depot along the border with the Capellan Confederation. The Hussars made no secret of the fact that they sided with Victor Steiner-Davion against his sister's usurpation of the throne. The Hussars garrisoned Alcyone alongside the Fifth Davion Guards RCT and the Alcyone Capellan March Militia. On 1 December 3062, the Hussars and Davion Guards RCTs received orders to redeploy, which would leave the strategic world in the hands of Katherine's supporters. Major General Jack Roberts and Marshal Linda Archer decided they would disobey those orders and remain on Alcyone.

As befits a depot world, the conflict began over supplies. Hauptmann General Galen Meinecke, second-in-command of the Alcyone PDZ, ordered the transfer of war matériel to two depots controlled by the Alcyone CMM. The Hussars and Guards stopped Meinecke's orders from being carried out, though not before thousands of tons of supplies had been spirited away. When they tried to reclaim their munitions from the Fort Gibson depot, they happened into PDZ commander Marshal Kinsley Crossburns. Crossburns had been detained by MPs who had been ordered to not allow anybody access to the base unless approved by Meinecke. The Twentieth recognized the marshal and tried to save him, but Crossburns was shot dead by a CMM MP in the ensuing firefight. When an investigation revealed Meinecke's role in the fiasco, he and his supporters were arrested.

With the commanding officer dead and his deputy imprisoned, Marshal Archer announced that she was assuming command of the PDZ on 12 December. The commander of the CMM, Leftenant General Dan Kendall, refused to recognize her authority. With fighting already having erupted on Kathil, there was nobody available to confirm Archer. The CMM continued trying to hoard the PDZ's supplies, sometimes forcing the other regiments to use force. Weeks later, Archer ordered attacks on the CMM's bases. The CMM only controlled their fortifications, but, as entrenched as they were, they would exact a heavy toll for any attack. Archer ordered the militia unit surrounded, leading to a standoff.

Reinforced by the Third NAIS Cadre in March, the Hussars attacked Fort Gibson in concert with the cadets. Having spent the last two weeks suborning the CMM's fortifications with the engineering expertise of the Sandbaggers, combined with four-to-one numerical superiority, the CMM was routed. The battle was over, with General Kendall captured, in under an hour and a half. The Guards assaulted the Hagarstown complex at the same time to keep the CMM commands from linking up. A combined regiment of Hussars and Cadre sprinted to reinforce Archer's push. The CMM broke out and went to ground in the mountains. Two weeks later, Roberts accepted the surrender of a significant CMM force. A force of seven 'Mech battalions eliminated the last CMM redoubt on 28 May.

After the CMM's capitulation, Marshal Archer took the Fifth Davion Guards to Kathil, and the Third NAIS returned to Lee. This left the Twentieth as the sole remaining garrison for Alcyone.

Marlette

When the Sandbaggers jumped into the Marlette system in late 3064, the Fifth Crucis Lancers was barely holding out against two commands loyal to Katherine, the Marlette Crucis March Militia and Fifth Federated Commonwealth RCT. The FedCom, under the command of Leftenant General Annette Leyland, had become infamous for using atomic weapons on Axton. Much to the consternation of General Olaf Richardson, the commander of the Fifth Crucis, Major General Roberts was not there for Marlette, he was there for the Fifth FedCom. Richardson ordered an assault while the Twentieth dropped in, allowing Roberts to add combat commands to his push for the Jedda Military Complex. The bulk of the Hussars, however, landed to oppose General Leyland's troops. With numbers on their side, the Allied commanders pushed the Loyalists. Almost a month in, the Hussars were able to corner a significant portion of the FedCom and devastated them with artillery and air strikes.

After almost two months of fighting, and on the brink of losing her command, Leyland turned to the atomic weapons she had brought with her. Despite, or perhaps because of, a warning shot, Roberts pushed to seize Leyland's command post. The FedCom air support dropped a dud on the Hussars, leading Roberts to eliminate all of the FedCom fighters with prejudice. When Hussars armored infantry seized Leyland's airfield, she sounded the retreat. Fewer than two total battalions fled on 11 March 3065. With their supporting line unit having fled, the CMM fell back into a defensive posture.

This was the situation when the Fifth Lyran Guards hit Marlette on 2 August 3065. The Guards attacked the rear of the Lancers formation, giving the CMM room to break out and link up with the line unit. The Allied commands made the Guards unit their priority. A DropShip accident hurt the unit, but did not stop Roberts from supporting a Lancers assault that found three-fourths of the CMM's DropShips sitting on the tarmac. A freakishly heavy winter storm stalled combat operations, giving the Loyalists some breathing room.

An assault in early 3065 caught the Guards trying to deal with record amounts of snow melt. Bottled up in their encampments or DropShips, the Fifth Lyran were out of position. The Allied commands badly damaged their forces. The remaining Guards retreated to the CMM with Allied regiments in pursuit. The Loyalist units fled from hill to hill, trying to avoid both the Allied commands and the flood waters. The CMM tried to flee off-world, but the flooded ground kept the DropShips from taking flight. By the end of June, victory was in sight. That is, until Loyalist commands Fifteenth Deneb Light Cavalry and First Republican jumped in-system, fleeing from Victor Steiner-Davion's assault of Tikonov.

The Loyalist units were quickly joined by Allied forces in the form of the Third Crucis Lancers, Blackwind Lancers, and the 244th Com Guard Division. These forces that had been part of Victor's vanguard led the charge, though the 244th left for New Avalon in late January 3067. With General Roberts in commands, the Allied force accepted the surrender of the First Republican on 5 February. The Marlette CMM was destroyed a week later. The two remaining battalions of the Fifth Lyran Guards RCT surrendered on 15 February, with the Fifteenth DLC doing the same five days later. While many of their fellow Allied commands continued on to the Commonwealth's capital, the Hussars remained on Marlette to deal with the aftermath, especially the thousands of soldiers who surrendered.

Aftermath

The Twentieth rebuilt using equipment from the Loyalist units. Due to his actions leading the Hussars command, General Roberts was promoted to Marshal and given command of the Kathil PDZ. FedCom Civil War veteran General Randy Hasek-Bills was given command of the Sandbaggers.

Jihad

Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE

The Twentieth Avalon was part of Field Marshal George Hasek's invasion of the Capellan Confederation in 3068. The unit was dispatched to Ares with the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers to take the planet as part of the war's first wave in the Lee Corridor as part of Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE. On-world they faced the Fourth McCarron's Armored Cavalry, who held out for three weeks.

During the second wave, the Hussars advanced on and took the House Liao world of Minnacora. There they fought mercenary forces for a classified myomer research and production facility.

The unit did not see action until October as part of the fourth wave, where they conquered Randar. While on Randar, the Twentieth was overzealous in putting down riots and ended up wreaking havoc in the planetary capital's business district.

The unit was attacked during the Capellan counterassault in October while on Randar. The Holdfast Guards, with the support of the WarShip Ilsa Hyung, nearly wiped out the Twentieth Avalon and killed its commanding officer, General Hasek-Bills. The survivors, who numbered about a company, retreated to Bethel.

Beid

In late 3070 a lance of the Twentieth Hussars led by Leftenant David McKinnon had been stranded on the world of Beid by a DropShip malfunction along with a number of walking wounded being repatriated to rear areas of the Suns. They collectively found themselves suddenly in the middle of a Word of Blake raid on Beid launched by a company from Blakist-employed mercenaries the Black Angus Boys and a detachment from the Word of Blake's Ninth Division, Transfer of Faith III-lambda. The commander of the mercenary forces, Captain Rico Iglesias, expected an easy fight against the Beid planetary militia, who were poorly equipped and not expecting an attack. However, as the mercenaries struck at the city of Newport, they found themselves under attack from a short company of 'Mechs based around McKinnon's lance and a contingent of walking wounded, many piloting already damaged 'Mechs. Fighting in and around Newport, the actions of the hastily assembled short company, combined with opportunity sniping from the Beid militia, quickly mowed down the Blakist mercenaries.

Decommission and Absorption

Only a company worth of troops survived the battle for Randar. The unit was so badly managed by the Liao conflict that the survivors were folded into the Twenty-second Avalon Hussars.

Reconstruction

In 3108 the Twentieth Avalon Hussars were reconstituted as a Light Combat Team. They were assigned an expanded combat engineering unit. In 3134 the Twentieth deployed their regiment of combat engineers on Cartago to help reconstruction efforts after a massive tsunami hit a large populated area.

They were present on Robinson when the Draconis Combine invaded the world. They faced the Second Sword of Light and the Seventh Sword of Light. They inflicted heavy losses on the Seventh Sword of Light, destroying a third of that unit, and destroying one of the Seventh's supporting regiments completely. Most of these losses were caused by the fortifications and minefields the Twentieth created. Despite the effectiveness of these defensive works, the Twentieth had to withdraw and was ground down to approximately a third of their strength. The Twentieth was garrisoning DeWitt in 3145. The Twentieth was able to destroy the command lance of the Eighth Sword of Light.

After Robinson was liberated by the Republic of the Sphere, the Twentieth Avalon Hussars were one of the AFFS units that were assigned to become the new garrison of the planet. In early February 3150 the Sixteenth Galedon Regulars landed on the world to try to retake it for the Combine. The two understrength battalions of the Twentieth, supported by some Davion Irregulars units, savagely attacked the Galedon Regulars. In the end, only a battalion of Galedon Regulars were able to retreat from Robinson.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the Twentieth Avalon Hussars
Marshal	Vivian Chou	3025–3029
General	Jack Roberts	3047–3067
General	Randy Hasek-Bills	3067–3070
Major General	Winston Waters	3145

Other Unit Officers

• Captain Ilyena Lamenkov at the start of the Jihad.

Tactics

During the Star League era all of the Avalon Hussars were required to focus on being both flexible and mobile, with every regiment required to be capable of deploying within eight hours, although many of the Hussars struggled to actually achieve this.

The command has a known reputation to build field fortifications. Their highly mobile elements frequently surprise their opponents.

Composition History

2700

Twentieth Avalon Hussars

• Charlie Battalion
  • Eighth Company "The Crazy Eights"
    • CO: Captain Lorelei Vongh

2765

Twentieth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

- At this point in time the Twentieth was stationed on Quittacas. In common with the other regiments of the Avalon Hussars the Twentieth had an attached aerospace wing, although these forces were primarily tasked to provide ground support rather than escort duties.

2786–2821

Twentieth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment stationed on Quittacas and were operating at four-battalion strength. In 2821 the unit were operating at approximately half a regiment below their prewar strength.

2830

Twentieth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment and had rebuilt to a strength of almost four and a half battalions. The Hussars were stationed on Quittacas.

2864

Twentieth Avalon Hussars (Regiment/Elite/Reliable)

- At this point in time the Hussars were a light-weight regiment stationed on Glenmora, and had been reduced to approximately half a regiment in size.

3025

Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

• CO: Marshal Vivian Chou

Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on New Aragon.

3028

Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT

Support Battalion HQ (Infantry Security Company, Vehicle Recon Company, Air Squadron)

• First Battalion
• Second Battalion
• Third Battalion

3040

Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Truth.

3050

Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

• CO: Hauptmann General Jack Roberts

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Truth.

3054

Twentieth Avalon Hussars RCT (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

• CO: Hauptmann General Jack Roberts

Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on Truth.

3062

Twentieth Avalon Hussars (1 Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)

• CO: General Jack Roberts

• Aide: Leftenant General Yuriy McConeghy

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Aerospace Brigade

• CO: Commodore Shemp Harrangue
• Sixth Avalon Airlift Wing
• Eleventh Federation Fighter Wing
• 442nd Avalon Attack Wing

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Armor Brigade (3 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Major General Juan Villanova-Petain

• Aide: Leftenant Colonel Catalina Jelinek

• Forty-fifth Avalon Panzer Regiment - Leftenant General Koko Nimkie
• 715th Federation Heavy Armor - Leftenant General Darwin Gramstadt
• Nineteenth Muskegon Scout Regiment - Colonel Soulou Iqbal
• Eighteenth Argyle Artillery Battalion - Major Jodi Noonan

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Infantry Brigade (6 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Leftenant General Louizio Martine-Holm

• Aide: Colonel K. Theodus Hasek-Osner

• 449th Argyle Infantry - Leftenant General Horatio Saveille
• Fourth New Valencia Rangers - Colonel Ren Hech
• Thirty-sixth Federation Mechanized Infantry Regiment - Colonel Sandra Zhen
• 200th Avalon Jump Regiment - Colonel Zenia Luciani
• 985th Combat Engineers - Colonel Tariq Moen

3067

Twentieth Avalon Hussars ('Mech Regiment)

• CO: General Randy Hasek-Bills

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Aerospace Brigade

• CO: Rear Admiral Shemp Harrangue

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Armor Brigade

• CO: Major General Darwin Gramstadt

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Infantry Brigade

• CO: General K. Theodus Hasek-Osner

3108

Twentieth Avalon Hussars LCT

• BattleMech Battalion
  • Eighth (Charlie) Company "The Crazy Eights"

3145

Twentieth Avalon Hussars LCT (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Major General Winston Waters

Twentieth Avalon Hussars Aerospace Brigade (Veteran/Questionable)

• CO: Rear Admiral Jessica Martin

Game Rules

During Reunification War scenarios, the Avalon Hussars may employ the following tactics. When attacking, they can either reduce the number of enemy hidden units by 50% or may deploy 50% of their forces in the first half of the map representing the Hussars starting (home) edge. When the defender, they can either put 25% of their units as hidden units anywhere on their half of the board, or they may deploy twice the normal number of conventional minefields AND if using artillery they can predesignate twice as many hexes as normal. The controlling player must choose which ability will be used BEFORE choosing any combat units.

Bibliography

• Blake Ascending
• Dawn of the Jihad
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: Federated Suns
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Report 2765: AFFS
• First Succession War
• Historical: Reunification War
• Historical: War of 3039
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3070
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents
• Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2
• Objective Raids
• Second Succession War
• Shattered Fortress
• Shattered Sphere
• Spotlight On: The Crazy Eights
• Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade
• Technical Readout: 3145 Draconis Combine
• Technical Readout: 3145 Federated Suns
• Total Chaos