5th Marik Militia

History

Reunification War

Formed before the Reunification War, the 5th Marik Militia fought alongside the 1st, 3rd and 4th Marik Militia in the Reunification War as a part of the Marik Auxiliary Corps assigned to support the Star League Defense Force VII Corps during the invasion of the Magistracy of Canopus. VII Corps was the largest of the corps at the time, and was commanded by Captain-General Marion Marik; the Marik Auxiliary Corps was commanded by General Ian Marik, and while VII Corps took the lead on many of the planetary campaigns, elements of the Marik Auxiliary Corps were present on almost every campaign of the war between the Star League and the Magistracy. The 5th were no exception to this, seeing service in no less than five planetary conquests.

Gouderak

The invasion of Gouderak was the first combat action against the Magistracy following the declaration of war, and by the time the 5th had left their garrison world of Cole Harbour and joined the 2nd Oriente Hussars in reinforcing the VII Corps' 55th Brigade in June 2577, the 55th had already seized the world, sweeping aside the limited resistance offered by the single company of 'Mechs from the 1st Canopian Light Horse assigned as a garrison. The 55th had already discovered another problem that would plague the SLDF campaign; Gouderak lacked the resources to support an SLDF garrison of any size, making it impossible for the occupying force to simply live off the land as had originally been planned, and similar problems would be encountered on other worlds.

Payvand

In 2578 the 5th was assigned to the operation against Payvand. One of three former Free Worlds League worlds which had defected to the Magistracy in the 2550s, Payvand was a heavily industrialised world even at the time of the Reunification War, and when the SLDF task force invaded in July there was a significant level of resistance despite the lack of MAF units on the world. Although four regiments from the FWLM had been assigned to the invasion of Payvand - the 5th, alongside the 4th Marik Militia, the 2nd Oriente Hussars and the Juggernaut regiment of the Stewart Dragoons - the Marik forces didn't get to make a major contribution. All four were 'Mech formations, assigned alongside the 35th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment to support the VII Corps' 57th Brigade, and the level of resistance was such that the 57th was forced to occupy both the city of New Barcelona and the PayMax Industrialplex, one of the very few occasions in the Magistracy campaign where the terms of the Ares Conventions were breached. Despite the need to operate in urban areas because of the local resistance, the Captain-General ordered that 'Mech troops must not operate in urban areas on Payvand, leaving the 57th Brigade's infantry regiments to clear buildings, stage riot control operations and deal with the urban guerrilla resistance. Although Payvand was declared to have been pacified by late November 2578 and the planetary governor had already begun the process of requesting readmission to the Free Worlds League, resistance to the SLDF garrison would rumble on until 2580.

Eleusis

The battle for the Magistracy world of Eleusis was expected to be more difficult than the majority of the previous planetary campaigns wagered by the SLDF task force due to the eight assorted regiments of defending forces expected to be on the planet, but the MAF upped the stakes considerably; the VII Corps' 57th Brigade and the 61st Royal Brigade were assigned to conquer the world, with the 401st Independent Regiment, the 35th Royal CAAN Marine Regiment, the 5th Marik Militia and the 1st Fusiliers of Oriente Brigade providing support. Unknown to VII Corps the MAF had played an elaborate shell game, moving regiments around and between planets, and had increased the defending force from eight regiments to twenty-two, including four BattleMech regiments - three of which were from the elite Chasseurs á Cheval, the premier Magistracy Mech unit. The MAF had sabotaged the computer records at the system cargo waystations and recharge station, giving the SLDF no information on traffic on the system and no intelligence on the forces gathered on the planet; the MAF Navy had also stationed an AeroSpace Fighter carrier in the system at a covert location, and the MAF AeroSpace squadrons waited until the SLDF DropShips were halfway through their burn to the planet before striking at the SLDF transport ships, savaging more than twenty vessels before being driven off. A large portion of the landing troops were effectively trapped in-system, and arrived on the planet only to find that a predicted two-week campaign for control of the planet would instead take four months as Colonel Ann-Britt McMillan led the defending forces on an extended cat and mouse game that let them inflict more damage on the SLDF strike force than they received in return, only finally giving up control of the world when ordered to retreat by the Magestrix.

Tetski

The performance of the 5th on Tetski is overshadowed by that of their sister regiment, the 1st Marik Militia. The heavily industrialised world of Tetski was the site of one of the more important battles of the SLDF campaign against the Magistracy. In the 26th century Tetski was one of the most rimward Magistracy colonies, and the site of some of the most extensive BattleMech repair facilities in the nation. As an important cog in the MAF war machine, battalions and regiments of Canopian troops were regularly rotated through Tetski and the system was one of the few worlds other than Canopus to merit a permanent naval WarShip picket. The 1st landed a week ahead of the other invading forces and fought a highly mobile campaign to draw the defending 3rd Canopian Light Horse away from their prepared defences. The 5th jumped in-system alongside the VII Corps' 58th Brigade and the 3rd Fusiliers of Oriente Brigade as a combined SLDF and FWLM WarShip flotilla tore through the defending Magistracy WarShips.

The 3rd Light Horse made a cross-country race towards the capital city of Tokhai, arriving inside the city defences just as the 'Mechs of the 58th Brigade entered the atmosphere. Unable to catch the 3rd Light Horse out in the open, the task force was faced with a siege against a determined foe with access to significant resources. It took three weeks for the assembled forces to push their ay into the city, but even when the task force had seized the industrial, economic and political centers of the city, the 3rd Light Horse refused to surrender. Instead, the Canopians fought until every man was down, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides. The loss of Tetski and the facilities there was a heavy blow to the MAF war effort.

Cate's Hold

The battle for Cate's Hold was the last major campaign for the 5th Marik Militia during the war with the Magistracy, and would likely have been fought considerably earlier had an error on the part of an HCID clerk come to light sooner; Cate's Hold had been built up to be a supply and repair base and was supporting the last surviving MAF Navy vessels, and became a priority target for the SLDF task force in April 2587. The 57th Brigade and the 63rd Royal Brigade formed the bulk of the force tasked with conquering Cate's Hold, with the 403rd Independent Regiment and the 5th Marik Militia providing support. The 2nd Canopian Fusiliers had retreated to Cate's Hold after being forced from Lockton by the 57th and had been joined by Samuelson's Slaughterers; both units fought the invading SLDF troops until they were effectively destroyed in one of the toughest campaigns of war's closing stages.

Early Succession Wars

Spent two years fighting a guerrilla campaign on Loric before ultimately being defeated by Lyran forces.

Anton's Revolt

The Fifth spent the revolt guarding their homeworld of Les Hallas.

Andurien Secession

In 3037 they were sent as reinforcements to Xanthe III during the Andurien War. There they mustered alongside the 12th Atrean Dragoons and faced elements of the rebel 3rd Defenders of Andurien and 5th Defenders of Andurien. Their victory here snapped the Fifth out of a defeatist mindset.

In 3038 the 5th Marik Militia defended Les Halles against a half-hearted CCAF attack.

Operation Guerrero

During Operation Guerrero, the Fifth attacked Marcus with the 7th Free Worlds Legionnaires and 12th Atrean Dragoons. Defending the world was the 12th FedCom RCT. The FedCom 'Mech regiment attacked the larger force in a suicidal attempt to provide time for the rest of the FedCom defenders to withdraw. This attack destroyed a third of the Seventh Legionnaires, but the Fifth Militia and Twelfth Dragoons circled behind the Twelfth FedCom's 'Mechs and destroyed them.

Jihad

In 3077 the Fifth replaced the 2nd Marik Militia on Vosloorus. There they were heavily damaged by the attacking 1st Regulan Hussars regiment. In addition to their combat losses, the Fifth lost many troops that wished to return to non-Marik Commonwealth nations. The Duchy of Oriente received two full companies of former Militiamen, and Andurien received at least three lances of troops. Several other former Militiamen joined the Regulan Hussars.

Officers

In 3025 the unit is commanded by Colonel Allyce Verschwunden.

As of 3050 to 3059 the commanding officer was Colonel Lavern Henden. She was still in command in 3067.

Tactics

The Fifth's tactics revolved around using their oversized aerospace assets in a ground-support role.

Composition

3025

5th Marik Militia (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Allyce Verschwunden

3050

5th Marik Militia (Regular/Reliable)

• CO: Colonel Lavern Henden

3059

5th Marik Militia (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• CO/1st Battalion: Colonel Lavern Henden
  • XO: Force Commander Alexander Zhuigien
• 2nd Battalion: Force Commander Wayne Faulkner
• 3rd Battalion: Force Commander Ludmilla Proulx

5th Militia Aerospace (1 Wing/Regular/Reliable)

• Wing Commander: Commodore Michael Longmore

- Reinforced to 4 Squadrons, one light and three medium

29th Oriente Assault Regiment (1 Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

• Armor Commander: Force Commander Guus Hiddink

- A heavy artillery armor, includes two Padillas
- The 29th fields also Long Tom, Sniper and Thumper batteries

3rd Les Halles Mobile Reserves (1 Regiment/Green/Reliable)

• Troop Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Nancy Isaacs

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League
• Historical: Brush Wars
• Historical: Reunification War
• House Marik (The Free Worlds League)
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Shattered Sphere