59th Strike Regiment
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Contents
History
Formation
One of the founding regiments of the Illician Lancers mercenary brigade, the 59th Strike Regiment earned the nickname "Bradley's Bad Boys" three years after their founding. The 59th was deployed to the world of Valentina in 2575 to chase down rogue soldiers left unemployed as a result of the formation of the Star League and the Star League Defense Force. The 59th finally cornered the rebels, but discovered that not only was it a strong rebel force, but that the rebels had the backing of the SLDF division present on Valentina at the same time.[1]
Commanded by Colonel William Bradley, the first of nine Bradleys to command the regiment, the 59th were outnumbered from the outset, but Bradley devised an aggressive plan that saw the 59th concentrate their forces against a particular point in the SLDF lines. The 59th was able to punch through the SLDF lines and make fast gains against the opposing forces. First capturing the SLDF division commander, the 59th then struck a series of rebel supply camps before capturing an SLDF brigade and its staging base. The 59th then struck out from the base used by that captured brigade, using the brigade's own equipment, pushing the SLDF division into retreating; the Illician Lancers then crushed the remaining rebel troops and helped round up the remains of the rogue division. This earned the 59th the First Lord's Citation, the highest SLDF unit award possible at the time.[1]
Succession Wars
The CCAF learned to fear this regiment in the past decades, first in 3039 and later as opponent in the Capellan Civil War. The 59th was still rebuilding from losses taken during the Capellan Civil War and had to sit out the FedCom Civil War, remaining on Hadnall until the end of the war.[1]
The Jihad
The Fifty-Ninth Strike Regiment secured Tsingtao for Duke George Hasek during Operation Sovereign Justice but were unable to defend the planet against Vong's Grenadiers during the counter-invasion due to supply problems. General Bradley and the Fifty-Ninth fought a war of attrition against the Grenadiers, determined to hold on to Tsintgao for as long as possible; the Fifty-Ninth were finally forced to retreat to Redfield after both units had been ground down to half-strength and the AFFS supply lines into the Fifty-Ninth dried up. It was subsequently reported that as the Illician Lancers rebuilt, General Bradley was considering moving into a more active role involving the other regiments, leaving the Fifty-Ninth as command regiment under the command of Colonel Neal Grimm .[2]
After the end of the Jihad, the 59th Strike Regiment was stationed on Mandaree, a world along the Federated Suns/Taurian Concordat border.[3]
The 59th Strike Regiment deployed on the occupied world of Ridgebrook in May 3080 alongside the Syrtis Avengers as a part of Operation MATADOR, the AFFS counter-offensive against the Taurian Concordat. The campaign for Ridgebrook should have been short; the overall commander of Operation MATADOR, Field Marshal Nathaniel Hasek, was leading the Syrtis Avengers, his personal regiment. The defending Concordat Jaegers were heavily outnumbered, the AFFS was intimately familiar with Ridgebrook and there was an active local resistance against the Concordat on what had been a major world in the Capellan March. Instead, the AFFS forces were unable to capitalize on their advantages, and the death of Field Marshal Hasek in a Taurian ambush on the 14th of June led to a chain of command struggle between the Avengers and the 59th Striker. Adding to the AFFS' woes was the announcement from the Taurian forces on Ridgebrook that the major cities on the planet had been mined with nuclear weapons. The announcement came on the same day that Field Marshal Hasek was killed, and the Taurians stated that if the AFFs moved into any of the cities the nukes would be detonated, destroying the Federated Suns units and killing large numbers of civilians.[4]
This combination of events resulted in the battle for Ridgebrook becoming something of a stalemate, with combat operations limited to small engagements away from the cities; complicating things for the 59th Striker and the other AFFS forces was the arrival of the 1st Taurian Lancers in June, who managed to successfully run the blockade of the system and reinforce the Jaegers.[4]
Officers
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 59th Strike Regiment | |||
| Colonel | William Bradley | [1] | |
| General | Brenda Bradley | 3050 - 3067[5][1] | |
| Colonel | Ryan Bradley | 3145 [6] | |
Other Officers
- Colonel Neal Grimm acted as deputy commander for the Illician Lancers brigade and had operational command the 59th Strike Regiment since 3054.[1]
Tactics
Flanking maneuvers and quick mobile warfare are trademarks of the unit.
Dragoon Ratings
Dragoon Rating: Unrated
Composition History
2786 - 2821
59th Strike (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[7]
- Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on Alhena. In 2821 the command was reduced to 57 percent of its strength and was deployed on Zaniah. [7]
2830
59th Strike (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [8]
- Note: At this point in time the assault-weight unit was stationed on Zaniah with an operational readiness of 91 percent. [8]
2864
59th Strike (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [8]
- Note: At this point in time theheavy-weight unit was stationed on Zaniah with an operational readiness of 69 percent. [8]
3025
59th Strike Regiment (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [9]
- Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on Jonzac.
3040
59th Strike (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[10]
3050
1st lllician Lancers (59th Strike) (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable) [5]
3067
59th Strike Regiment (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[1]
- XO: Colonel Neal Grimm
- A medium weight, mobile unit, the 59th was being put through a demanding drill schedule as Colonel Grimm attempted to bring the regiment back up to veteran status after the heavy recruiting it had to undergo following the Capellan Civil War and the FedCom Civil War. - The 59th Strike Regiment had been almost completely upgraded to the use of advanced technology by 3067, with 90% of the equipment in use being Star League level technology and a further 5% being Clan technology. 15% of the 'Mechs in use by the 59th were OmniMechs.[11]
8th Illician Air Guard (1 Reinforced Wing/Veteran/Reliable)[1]
- CO: Major Dex "Vacuum" Tutuola
- The 8th includes a squadron of captured Capellan fighters gifted to the Air Guard by a grateful Duchess Candace Liao following their efforts on behalf of the St. Ives Compact during the Capellan Civil War.
38th Armored Strikers (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[1]
- CO: Lieutenant Colonel Arman Savignon
- Designed for high mobility and for harassing tasks and is equipped predominantly with fast light and medium units.
40th Mechanized Cavalry (1 Regiment/Green/Reliable)
- CO: Lieutenant Colonel Shannon Zuba
- The 40th took heavy losses during the Capellan Civil War and had only been rebuilt to ninety percent of full strength by 3067.
3079
The horrors of the Jihad had reduced the 59th to two-thirds of its pre-Jihad strength.[3]
3145
59th Strike Regiment (Veteran/Reliable)[6]
- CO: Colonel Ryan Bradley
Notes
3067
- When generating a force from the 59th Strike Regiment apply a -2 penalty when rolling randomly to determine lance weight.[12]
- The 59th Strike Regiment may use the Off-Map movement ability.[12]
- The 59th Strike Regiment may use the Overrun Combat special ability.[12]
3071
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 40, "59th Strike Regiment: Bradley's Bad Boys"
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 73, "Illician Lancers"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Field Report: AFFS, p. 20
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 27, "A World Held Hostage"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 20 Year Update, p. 21
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 182, "Notable Mercenary Forces - Federated Suns"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 ’’ First Succession War’’, p. 140
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 ’’ Second Succession War’’, p. 100
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 147
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 141 >Historical: War of 3039, p. 141
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 67, "Federated Suns"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 75, "59th Strike Regiment (B)"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 125, "59th Strike Regiment (B)"