22nd Benjamin Regulars

Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars
Formed	3040
Nickname	Perseverance of the Soul
Affiliation	Draconis Combine
Parent Command	Benjamin Regulars

Part of the Draconis Combine's BattleMech regiments of the Dieron District, the unit avoiding seeing action against the Clans, the green and untried Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars saw combat for the first and last time during the FedCom Civil War, destroyed in the failed defense of Marduk.

History

Formed after the War of 3039, the green Twenty-second was stationed on New Mendham in the Irurzun Prefecture of the Benjamin Military District prior to the Clan Invasion.

While the Twenty-second received shipments of advanced LosTech equipment as did the other Benjamin Regulars units during the Invasion, the DCMS held the unit back, unwilling to send a green and untried regiment against the invaders until given little choice. After the Battle of Tukayyid the Twenty-second was transferred to garrison Marduk, an important BattleMech producing world but far from the Clan front.

With little possibility the Twenty-second would face combat any time soon, the DCMS Procurement Department stripped the unit of its advanced equipment to rebuild other units, providing surplus standard PPCs, Large Lasers, AC/5s and AC/10s from units that upgraded with ER PPCs, ER Large Lasers, Ultra AC/5s and LB 10-X ACs in return. Taking a cue from the 9th Benjamin Regulars on nearby Proserpina, the Twenty-second spent increasing time in simulators developing interesting new BattleMech, aerospace fighter, and combat vehicle configurations, partly to stave off the boredom of garrison duty, but also an attempt to develop configurations and tactics that might allow them to survive against units armed with more modern equipment.

Federated Suns Incursion and Destruction

Still unwilling to send a green unit against the Clans, the DCMS high command left them stationed on Marduk rather than assign them to take part in Operation Bulldog or the Combine-Ghost Bear War. But with other DCMS units stripped from the Combine-Suns border to combat Clan Ghost Bear, the Twenty-second finally saw combat for the first and last time during the Draconis March's unauthorized invasion in the early stages of the FedCom Civil War.

Despite the value of the world, Duke James Sandoval selected a unit little better than the Twenty-second, the recently rebuilt and still green First Chisholm's Raiders stationed on Breed to capture Marduk. Landing on the planet on 22 December 3062, the Raiders' initial plan on striking the capital of New Pontiac was set aside when they realized that while the Twenty-second Benjamin defended the whole world, sole defense in proximity to the Victory Industries BattleMech plant was its own security forces, a combined arms regiment with a battalion of OmniMechs.

While taking heavy losses, the Raiders had secured tenuous control over sections of the Victory plant when the Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars finally learned of the attack. Striking out from New Pontiac, over 120 km from Victory plant, the Twenty-second Benjamin quickly discovered that the First Chisholm's CO General Neece had sent the Twenty-third Breed Recon Regiment to delay them. The dense Tillerbee Jungle allowed the Twenty-third to stage ambush after ambush, preventing the Twenty-second Benjamin from reaching the Victory complex before the Raiders finished securing it on December 26th. While the Raiders spent the next eight days recuperating and re-equipping from weapons and 'Mechs stockpiled at the factory, the Twenty-second had pushed within twenty kilometers of the Victory factories.

Splitting her forces, Neece dispatched two of her 'Mech battalions to perform an orbital drop on New Pontiac as the bait to lure the Twenty-second Benjamin out of the jungle while her infantry and armor prepared to encircle them in a pincer movement to trap and destroy the Twenty-second. Luck was with the Twenty-second, however, when animosity between the Chisholm 'Mech and Combat Vehicle elements boiled over and the First Chisholm Armor Brigade attacked before the Chisholm 'Mechs were in position, allowing the Twenty-second to escape the trap mostly intact and retreat west to a secondary base at Tauto.

The Twenty-second continued to reap the benefits of the FedSun forces' infighting as Tai-sa Dirks led the Regulars west, resulting in two weeks of frustrating hit-and-run battles as the Chisholm forces missed more and more opportunities to eliminate the Twenty-second. The odds finally turned against the Twenty-second Benjamin when a fed-up General Neece purged the command staff of her armored forces and on 19 January 3063 a finally coordinated attack caught two mixed battalions of the Twenty-second Regulars in the Guland River Valley, followed two days later by the surrender of another Regulars battalion after a particularly long and devastating artillery assault. With only one-third of the Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars left, compounded by the capture of Tai-sa Dirks on January 24th, the bulk of the Chisholm's Rangers pulled back to New Pontiac on the 25th, leaving a single mixed arms regiment to mop them up.

Initially able to stay ahead of these forces, the fate of the surviving battalion of the Twenty-second was sealed in March when FedSun reinforcements allowed the Chisholm's Rangers to focus their entire attention upon them. Finally cornered on March 21st on the edge of the freezing Ku'ulu Glacier as they attempted to cross and reach the relative safety of the Ko Nami'i Mountains, the Twenty-second easily weathered attacks from the Chisholm Rangers' few remaining fighters and VTOLs, forcing General Neece to reluctantly order in a battalion of jump capable 'Mechs. The Chisholm 'Mechs quickly caught up with the fleeing Twenty-second, half of the Regulars destroyed by the FedSun forces, the other half buried by avalanches or falling through the ice into deep water as the ice shelf weakened due to the shocks of the battle.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the 22nd Benjamin Regulars
Tai-sa	Sonjanee Rausali	3050
Tai-sa	John Ahrmram	3054
Tai-sa	Stephen Dirks	3059 - 3063

Tactics

The Twenty-second had no signature tactics. Its attached armor battalion, William's Wolverines, was known for its aggressive tenacity.

Composition History

3050

Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

• CO: Tai-sa Sojanee Rausali

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

3054

Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars (Regiment/Green/Questionable)

• CO: Tai-sa John Ahrmram

3059

Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars (Regiment/Green/Reliable)

• CO/First Battalion: Tai-sa Stephen Dirks

• XO: Chu-sa Thomas Payne

• Second Battalion: Chu-sa Joshua Siga
• Third Battalion: Chu-sa Kiato Massanumi

Note: Less than 60 percent of the 'Mechs were upgraded.

Twenty-second Benjamin Regulars Aerospace (2 Companies/Green/Questionable)

• Wing Commander: Dai-i Kalvin Hiato

William's Wolverines (Battalion/Veteran/Fanatical)

• Armor Commander: Chu-sa Makakie Williams

New Mendham 10th Militia (2 Battalions/Green/Reliable)

• Troop Commander: Tai-sa David Jibitsu

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Combat Manual: Kurita
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: Draconis Combine
• Field Manual: Updates
• Historical: War of 3039