8th Amaris Fusiliers
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Template:InfoBoxStateUnit The commander of the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers refused orders to put down the Rim Republican Army's rebellion.
Contents
History
Reunification War
A line regiment in the Rim Worlds Army, the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers were the second unit to defect to the Rift Republican Army Rim Provisional Government at the outset of the Rim Worlds Republic civil war in 2575.
Dissatisfaction at the rule of First Consul Gregory Amaris had been growing within the Rim Worlds Republic for some time prior to the civil war. Measures such as the Universal Act of Loyalty, which required citizens of the Republic to swear loyalty to House Amaris and, through House Amaris, the Star League,[1] were unpopular, as were Amaris' tax policies and economic governance, which favoured industries and individuals from outside the Republic over domestic industries and citizens. Discontent grew sharply when Amaris passed the Manchester Directive in early 2575 that declared the Rim Republic Army to be an illegal body and gave the government powers to seize the assets and holdings of RRA members.[2] Extremist members of the RRA had been involved in incidents such as the seizure of the barracks at Efrimal Long in 2573[1] but in general the RRA was considered to be an honorable institution akin to a veterans association with many respected members. The tipping point that led to open civil war was Amaris' decision to attempt to use military force to end a workers strike at the Diplass Technologies BattleMech plant on Apollo.[3]
The workers were on strike in protest over Amaris' economic and tax policies, which were intended to boost the economy of the Republic and make the Republic a serious competitor to the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, but which saw foreign business receive preferential treatment within the Republic and saw managerial and technical posts within industries such as the Diplass plant given to Star League citizens rather than Republic citizens. Gregory Amaris' decision to use military force to quash the strike was entirely in keeping with his character, but he didn't reckon on the character of Colonel Catherine Dormax, Commanding Officer of the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires when he ordered the Seventh to attack the strikers.[3]
Faced with direct orders to execute everyone at the Diplass plant, Dormax instead chose to refuse her orders and put her troops at the disposal of the Rim Provisional Government,[4] the provisional ruling body organised by the strikers and the RRA in response to the actions of Amaris and the Fourth Dragoons.[3]
A furious Gregory Amaris promptly ordered the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers to subdue the Seventh Legionnaires and the strikers, only to have Colonel Dean Shields[5] and the Fusiliers also defect to the RPG.[5][6] With the unpleasant realisation that fully half of the Rim Worlds Army forces on Apollo had sided with the RPG and with the Fourth Dragoons loyalties unclear, Amaris felt he had no choice but to retreat to his island estates under the protection of the Republican Guard, his personal troops who could be counted on to be loyal to him. Amaris fled, cedeing control of the capital and the spaceport to the RPG, while dispatching a courier to Terra requesting support from the SLDF; he would continue to issue directives and orders, but with the Provisional Government in control of both the capital city and spaceport, Amaris' actual direct influence and control extended little further than the waters around his estate.[3]
While Amaris' courier managed to leave for Terra before RPG forces could seize the spaceport, news of the formation of the RPG was a massive shock to the Republic; as the news rippled out from Apollo, the population of other planets within the Republic - and the local government - as well as the military began to split along partisan lines. Some chose to remain loyal to Amaris as First Consul, others sided with the RPG, some planets declared their independence and some military units fractured internally with soldiers supporting different sides. That the factions would come into conflict was never in question, and by July 2575 a de facto civil war was being waged within the Republic.[3]
When forces from Task Force MAILED FIST landed on Apollo in 2596 the Eighth Fusiliers joined the Seventh Legionnaires in the defense of the capital city, Terra Prime. Fighting against SLDF, Lyran Commonwealth and Free Worlds League forces as well as Amaris loyalists, the Eighth were directly involved in the fateful battle against the Fourth Royal Guards that saw Archon Viola Steiner-Dinesen take terminal wounds, and held out for several months after General Nathan Isaacson took command of the siege.[7]
Officers
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 8th Amaris Fusiliers | |||
| Colonel | Dean Shields | 2581[5] | |
Tactics
Unknown.
Composition History
Unknown.
Notes
Rules
- During the Reunification War the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers receive a -1 penalty to all repair rolls as a consequence of the disruption caused to the logistical infrastructure of the Rim Worlds Army during the Rim Worlds Republic civil war.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 127, "Descent Into Madness (2571-2580)"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 130, "The Manchester Directive"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Historical: Reunification War, p. 130-131, "The Spark"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 61, "Catherine Dormax"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 131, "The Rim Worlds Army Loyalties"
- ↑ The Star League, p. 51
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 139, "Bitter Harvests (2591-2596)"
- ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 183, "Rim Worlds Republic"