Editing Grandin's Crusaders

{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = [[Image:Grandins_Crusaders.PNG|150px|Emblem of the Grandin's Crusaders - The unit's symbol is a bronze knight’s helmet hanging off the dexter corner of a red shield emblazoned with a white Cross of Lorraine, a simplified version of the Grandin coat of arms. Crusaders 'Mechs are painted steel gray, with black segmentation at joints to resemble a suit of plate armor. The three tanks go with a flat coat of gray or suitable camouflage for their current operating terrain. Infantrymen use a diverse array of kit, mostly taken with them following their abbreviated service elsewhere, but they wear standardized gray-green field uniforms with the Crusaders patch attached to the right shoulder]]
| Designation = Grandin's Crusaders
| Formed = [[2995]]
| Disbanded = 
| Previous Designation = [[Noble Order of Saint Louis on Hortense]]
| Nickname = 
| Affiliation = Mercenary
| Parent Command = Independent
| Sub-Command = 
}}

==History==
=== Unit's Genesis ===
When Jean-Paul Grandin, [[Baron of Hortense]] was forced into exile in the wake of a revolution in [[2995]]. The speed with which the [[Federated Suns]] government recognized the new democratic rule left no doubt that [[House Davion]] had sanctioned the baron's removal. Undeterred, the uprooted [[House Grandin|Grandin family]] resettled itself on [[Vaucluse]] and began preparing their return to power. Jean-Paul used his connections with the [[Outback]]-based [[Davion Warriors' Cabal]] to create an armed force of retainers to invade his former landhold once the opportunity presented itself.

Thus the "Noble Order of Saint Louis on Hortense" was born.<ref name=TC>''Total Chaos'', pp. 25–26</ref>

=== Noble Order of Saint Louis on Hortense ===
The newly established unit was loaned out to Jean-Paul's fellow Cabalists to provide political muscle. It became customary for the loyalist families who accompanied the Grandins to Vaucluse to serve in it, but the chance of recovering their homeworld was gradually lost. Eventually, the exiled community largely integrated on Vaucluse, and the memory of Grandin's rule on Hortense faded. The Grandins stubbornly continued to serve as part of the "patriotic opposition" but found it more profitable to focus on business ventures in the [[Crucis March]] than to lead their private army.

Changes came to the Order in [[3062]] when the baron's heir, Pierre Grandin the third, returned from [[Sakhara Academy|Sakhara Military Academy]]. He was given command of a largely ceremonial guard company and soon plunged into the murky world of corporate contracts. With the beginning of the [[FedCom Civil War]], the market for small, deniable mercenary operators exploded, and Pierre took full advantage. The unit worked for both [[Katherine Morgan Steiner-Davion|pro-Katrina]] and [[Victor Steiner-Davion|pro-Victor]] employers whose objective raids in the Outback destroyed critical economic assets, all in the name of "punishing treason" or "denying resources to the enemy".

Pierre soon grew bored with the small-time theater of the Outback and, over objections from his family, relocated the command to the tumultuous [[Chaos March]]. At the same time, he began heavy recruiting of [[AFFC]] deserters, without any consideration of their loyalties or past behavior. This influx of new personnel diluted the influence of the Grandin loyalists and changed the nature of the command to that of a more conventional mercenary organization.

=== Grandin's Crusaders ===
====Pre-Jihad====
Renamed as "Grandin’s Crusaders" and stressing its operational flexibility in negotiations with corporate brokers. The unit started a new career.

The unit accepted an action on [[Hall]] in January [[3065]] which involved securing the output of a uranium mine on Kinnock Island for a Terran-based mining corporation. The Crusaders rolled into the city of Chatham, where the miners had settled their families, and imposed martial law. With the town locked down, they went door to door, hunting down a list of anti-corporate "agitators" to be turned over to [[William Baranov|Emperor Baranov]]. When [[Wayland Minerals]] hired their own mercenaries to recover the mine, the Crusaders ambushed them and used the versatile skills of their infantry to take down the pure 'Mech force.

The surge of conflicts across the Chaos March sparked by the [[AMC]]'s undeclared war on the [[Word of Blake]] offered many similar contracts. The Crusaders served both sides with equal readiness and prospered for their calculated neutrality.

Pierre's succession as nominal Baron of Hortense in May 3065 came without even a perfunctory visit to Vaucluse, though the influx of funds provided by his father's investment funds were used to upgrade the unit's 'Mechs. Conflict over the Crusaders' direction saw the departure of the executive officer, Pierre's cousin Jenna, in February [[3066]].

For most of [[3067]] the Crusaders had operated on [[Liberty]], serving first as a cadre force for several of the planetary militias and later as security for an [[Interstellar Expeditions]] site, not accepting a contract offered by [[Wayne Waco]].<ref name=TC/>

====Jihad====
The unit then took a side contract to [[Outreach]] in the middle of the [[Outreach#First Battle of Outreach|First Battle of Outreach]], while spending safeguarding IE property in the outskirts of Harlech, and extorting surrounding businesses for protection from the rampaging TempTown forces. The 'Mech lance intercepted a small combat group from the [[Fifty-first Dark Panzer Jaegers]] at an intersection near the Harlech Mercantile Building. The unit was able to distract and delay the other mercenaries and allowed the commando platoon a squad escort [[Blackwell Industries]] Vice President Dameon Guillome to a secure corporate headquarters. The Jaegers withdrew after an hour of fruitless pursuit to reinforce their command's efforts elsewhere. The Crusaders survived Condition Feral by immediately surrendering to the frenzied [[Beta Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Beta Regiment]]. Baron Grandin did not forget that heavy-handed treatment from the Dragoons, or that the MRBC had refused to sanction them for attacking neutral commands.<ref name=TCp41>''Total Chaos'', pp. 41–43: "Another Day, Another C-bill"</ref>

While in contract with IE, they were asked to send their envoy to join a [[WoB]] fleet going to [[New Avalon]] to celebrate the faction's expected entry into the ranks of the [[Second Star League]], but when it was dissolved, the [[Jihad]] started. The initial landing of the [[31st Division (Word of Blake)|Thirty-first Division]] on New Avalon was a fiasco. The Blakists had intended to pin the [[Tenth Lyran Guards]] in place with a thin screening force while the bulk of the division occupied [[Avalon City]], but they were not fooled. At this moment Blakist commanders bypassed the IE representative to offer an on-the-spot contract to the mercenaries. Pierre Grandin's hate for House Davion still present made him say yes. So in the 12 of December 3067, Grandin and his officers had just enough time to deploy their infantry in the ripe grain fields of the McCarrel Farms before the Tenth passed through. Anti-'Mech infantry was able to take down the two leading Guards 'Mechs while they were distracted by supporting fire from the unit's vehicles. This sudden infantry ambush stopped the momentum of the marauding company. The arrival of reinforcements from the Thirty-first Division allowed Grandin to wipe out the detached force, leaving the Crusaders unidentified by the [[AFFS]]. The Crusaders withdrew right after the battle, their mission for Interstellar Expeditions accomplished and the Blakist [[C-bill]]s in hand.<ref name=TCp46>''Total Chaos'', pp. 46–47: "Unwelcome Guests"</ref>

IE loaned Grandin's Crusaders to the DCMS to assist the evacuation of [[Ninyu Kerai-Indrahar]], the severely injured head of the [[ISF]] from [[Dieron]]. So in the 8th of April [[3068]] they were dropped into the Scales of the Dragonet Mountains, where Kerai-Indrahar's convoy was taking a secret route to a secure DropPort. Unfortunately it was not so secret as elements from the WoB [[8th Division (Word of Blake)|Eighth Division]] were detected in pursuit. Grandin led his 'Mechs in a series of stalling actions to buy time for his infantry to prepare a position at a narrow pass ahead of them. Once the convoy had a large enough lead, the Crusaders withdrew in an orderly fashion. They kept the Blakists at bay with light skirmishing until the convoy reached the DropPort. Once there they turned over defense of Kerai-Indrahar to the DCMS and made their own way off Dieron. The Word attempted to intercept the ''Condor''-class DropShip carrying Kerai-Indrahar offworld and Grandin's DropShip, the ''Tonnant'', was in a position to support the defense, and their IE liaison encouraged the Baron to do so. After driving off the Blakist fighters, they were commended for "volunteering" to assist the DCMS a second time and were rewarded with a choice of military equipment.<ref name=TCp56>''Total Chaos'', pp. 56–58: "Running from the Devil"</ref>

Next, the Crusaders were posted to guard a [[Colmar Myomics]] scrap facility in [[Minnacora]] on a subcontract negotiated through their IE representative. The arrival of the [[Twentieth Avalon Hussars]] on the 7th of July 3068 turned what should have been a choice garrison contract into a three-way battle over a pile of defective 'Mech parts. The [[AFFS]] commander ordered the destruction of the yard, and Home Guard forces moved to intercept the invaders but failed to coordinate with the Crusaders or adjust their IFF transponders. This forced the Crusaders to engage both Davion and Capellan troops. Creative use of the scrapyard's heavy engineering equipment helped funnel the two House forces into each other, and the Crusaders concentrated their own efforts on defending the facility's administrative offices, disabling or driving off any hostile 'Mechs that approached. It was only after Colmar executives ordered the Crusaders to support the Home Guard that Grandin took a more active stance. The Crusaders surged out from around the headquarters and engaged the Hussars, tipping the battle against them. It turned out that while there was no hidden ammunition dump, the site concealed an underground [[Triple Strength Myomer]] production plant run by [[Cortide Magnetics]], an IE affiliate. Their allies in Colmar Myomics contacted the Davion command to "clear up the misunderstanding", and at least the Crusaders were dismissed to neutralize the facility, though negotiations ultimately failed, and shortly after the mercenaries left, a [[Rabid Foxes]] team destroyed the plant.<ref name=TCp63>''Total Chaos'', pp. 63–64: "Full Metal Press"</ref>

After several weeks waiting for IE to call them, the Crusaders began looking for their own side contracts. Grandin's Crusaders got a contract from the [[Capellan Confederation]] outside MRBC auspices. The job consisted of running reconnaissance on [[Kittery]]. The Crusaders landed their 'Mech force on the 22nd of October 3068 in the rugged jungles north of Can Fu City and probed the defenses of the capital, skirmishing with the [[First Kittery Borderers]] and the [[Kittery Training Battalion]]. The unit completed the request of their Capellan liaison by observing the fortifications around the capital city, gauge the militia readiness and conduct a series of quick probes at other sites that had been designated the CCAF. One of the areas of interest would later become the infamous RBMU 105 prison camp. Those probes failed to encounter any resistance, leaving the Crusaders free to leave Kittery. Somehow the information leaked or the contract was a fluke from the start as the Word of Blake made good use of the intelligence collected by the Crusaders, conquering the planet in November with little difficulty.<ref name=TCp69>''Total Chaos'', pp. 69–70: "Leading Edge"</ref>

During the next weeks, the Crusaders ran relief convoys into the hard-hit [[Rim Commonality]] for [[The Coterie]].<ref name=TCp75>''Total Chaos'', pp. 75–76: "Seed of Discontent"</ref>

In February [[3069]] the unit was contracted by the Magistracy of Canopus for "special operations" as they got their own DropShip. The loss of contact with the Magistracy had been a matter of concern to IE for some time, so Grandin's Crusaders liaison brought the contract to Grandin's attention and strongly encouraged him to accept. The mission: to escort [[MIM]] operatives in their [[Mark VII Landing Craft]] to [[Gambilon]]. The unit appeared at the planet's nadir point and started the insertion process. MIM had defined two of their Mark VII as decoys while the third one was to execute a HALO Drop to infiltrate the agents. So in the last day of February 3069 the mission was launched. Avoiding the system's ''[[Olympus]]''-class [[Space Station]], the ''Tonnant'' and the MIM Mark VII avoided the Thraxan militia and WoB mercenaries (at least one of those commands was recognized by the Crusaders as a [[Company Store]] victim of the Word) craft lifted offworld to engage the landing craft. The ''Tonnant'' received minor damage, but the contract payment covered repairs at an IE yard and some more. The unit learned afterward that the drop itself had been a distraction for an operation aimed at toppling the collaborationist local government.<ref name=TCp75/>

While returning from Gambilon, the unit passed through [[Talitha]] in December 3069 and got directly contracted by WoB [[Precentor]] [[Ibrahim Ghazni]] to defend the [[HPG]] compound. Rates were very good as because of a WoB issue that December had left the compound without defense. No combat was expected, but things happen. The [[AMC]], in the form of the [[Third Dismal Disinherited]] and [[Burton's Brigade]] merged into a single command after [[Hall]] made a combat drop right on top of the HPG Compound. Grandin's Crusaders were forced to fight alone until the militia arrived. Swarm attacks led by Mad Jack Cunningham brought down Disinherited commander [[John Marik-Johns]] and they were able to stall the AMC units until the arrival of militia reinforcements swept the remaining enemy mercenaries from the city. Grandin was repaid generously with salvage and came out at a new profit despite heavy damage to his 'Mechs.<ref name=TCp83>''Total Chaos'', p. 83: "Living Dead Men"</ref>

A lack of available military assets forced the [[LIC]] to turn to mercenaries for backup when it came time to infiltrate [[Donegal]]. Thanks to IE recommendations Grandin's Crusaders got the job. So the unit landed during April [[3070]] and located the target convoy of VIPs trying to escape Blakist pursuit in the badlands of the Nag's Head Plains. The Crusaders landed near the Goblin serving as an escape vehicle and discovered that the VIP was [[Ruth Kirkland]], CEO of [[ComPress]]. Then Blakist hunter-killer team including [[Manei Domini]] caught up with them. The unit's vehicle force was almost wiped out trying to stall them and Grandin was barely able to keep his 'Mechs from routing. It was only a suicidal stand by the unit's new battle armor platoon and aided by LIC personnel that bought him time enough to rally the company. Though the WoB forces were finally destroyed, they inflicted heavy damage to the entire command. The LIC obtained information about conditions on the planet, so they counted the mission a success.<ref name=TCp86>''Total Chaos'', pp. 86–87: "Click, Click, Boom"</ref>

In September 3070, the unit accepted a contract from [[Mr. Askai]] to join forces with [[Dragon's Breath (Mercenary Command)|Dragon's Breath]] in a diversion attack on [[Sian]] as part of an alleged Federated Suns contract, though they thought it was indeed a Word of Blake contract. The unit accepted, but just in case they adopted the Breath's colors just in case. The mercenaries were ordered to attack the port of Beilin in hopes of luring away some of the Forbidden City defenses. What they found was [[Naomi Centrella]] with her [[Third Canopian Fusiliers]] and some [[Death Commandos]] coming out of a hidden base in the High Crysanthides Mountains. Dragon's Breath folded under the pressure, breaking the command cohesion of the mercenary task force and leaving every small command to fend for itself. Grandin's Crusaders were able to escape the worst of the Canopian onslaught by fighting their way through Beilin rather than fall back and joining the WoBM in the assault on the Forbidden City rather than try retreating offworld.<ref name=TCp91>''Total Chaos'', p. 91: "Celestial Calamity"</ref> The [[17th Division (Word of Blake)|Seventeenth Division]] made a push for the Forbidden City and found [[Warrior House Imarra]] and the [[Red Lancers]]. Both sides fought like fanatics, but with the arrival of the [[24th Division (Word of Blake)|Twenty-fourth Division]] and Grandin's Crusaders with some other small commands shifted the tide of battle in favor of the Word of Blake. The Red Lancers were beaten back toward the Celestial Palace, and even the stubborn elements of House Imarra were forced to withdraw from their dearly held positions. Only the arrival of the Third Canopian Fusiliers stabilized the defensive lines south of the Palace and brought on a temporary stalemate within the capital.<ref name=TCp92>''Total Chaos'', pp. 92–93: "Signs of Things To Come"</ref>

The assault toward the Celestial Palace began with a heavy artillery barrage that reduced vast swaths of the Forbidden City to rubble. Then the Twenty-fourth Division drove toward the Palace through oceans of debris and waves of fanatical Capellan militia. The Word of Blake had greater numbers, but grinding through the Capellan resistance proved a brutal and tedious task as more and more reserves were tossed in their way. Grandin's Crusaders were assigned to cover the western approaches to the capital. They intercepted several small Capellan commands rushing to join the battle and avoided the worst of the urban combat. The Twenty-fourth might still have won had it not been for the surprise arrival of the [[Blackwind Lancers]]. The suicidal assault checked the Blakists despite the near total destruction of the Lancers and the death of their commander, [[Warner Doles]], while defending what appeared to be the [[Chancellor]]'s ''[[Emperor]]''. With their last chance to take the Palace thwarted, the Word began withdrawing shortly afterward, and Grandin's Crusaders with them.<ref name=TCp93>''Total Chaos'', pp. 93–94: "Final Stand"</ref>

Running escort operations for IE in the [[Periphery]] and taking the odd side job have helped the unit's recovery. And then, the unit was again contracted by the WoB. The missions was in [[Tharkad]], so in June 3071 the unit landed there as was put under the command of the [[Lowbräu]]. Using the same paint scheme, they helped battle on the Tatyana Island Chain against [[Twenty-fourth Lyran Guards]] RCT and the [[Royal Guards]]. The Lowbräu spies failed this time, and the battle devolved into a chaos until Precentor [[Gregory Kishimoto]] ordered Grandin's Crusaders to salvage the situation. Baron Grandin ordered all units to stand down, and destroyed a Lowbräu ''[[Wolverine]]'' to make a point. Lowbräu commander Major Parker managed to spin the engagement into a minor victory based on damage done to the resistance cell, and the Crusaders were able to leave the planet with a good bonus.<ref name=TCp104>''Total Chaos'', p. 104: "Reasserting Authority"</ref>

Grandin's Crusaders' next contract was to blow up an agricultural processing plant in [[Mercedes]]. The contract's backer was unknown, but after some information, the owner of the plant turned out to be [[Kalvin Strauss]], leader of the [[Democracy Now]] movement. The pay was suspiciously good, but the unit accepted nevertheless. So at the end of August 3071 the unit raided the place. Fighting against a local security force, some civilian defenders and supported by a network of AA platforms, the unit was finally able to take it. At that moment they discovered that the "agricultural complex" turned out to be an ammunition factory. Once the factory was secured, the Crusaders looted the ammunition with the intent of selling the surplus on the black market. After taking their fill the unit's engineers used the factory's explosive stores to demolish the facility as thoroughly as possible, leaving little more than a smoking crater in the ground. Grandin forwarded the pictures to his broker along with a sharp rebuke for lying about the target. Events afterwards (within weeks pictures of the devastated factory were circulating around [[Alarion Province]], tied to a manifesto by [[Lindon Ashley]] denouncing the lack of militia readiness that allowed "pirates" free rein to destroy economic infrastructure) showed the unit that their contractor must have been Lindon Ashley himself or somebody from his close team, as their actions created and upswing of support for Ashley's radical faction of Democracy Now and a decline in the fortunes of Kalvin Strauss, the nominal leader of Democracy Now, who had lost significant income from the destruction of the plant and found himself with fewer resources to fend off his challenger.<ref name=TCp106>''Total Chaos'', p. 106: "Oppression"</ref>

The unit participated in the liberation of Donegal. When the [[15th Division (Word of Blake)|Fiftieth Division]] emerged from secret positions and tore into the coalition forces, [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] responded by sending his mercenaries to attack the [[HPG]] compound and relieve the pressure on the [[Clan Wolf|Wolves]] and [[Com Guards]]. Grandin's Crusaders, who got prior experience on Donegal and recommendations from the [[LIC]], were a core command of the mercenary group and took point. The fighting inside Marsdenville proved nightmarish for the Crusaders. Their armored infantry found itself confounded by the superior Manei Domini of the Fiftieth Division, and they lacked the heavy firepower to plow through on brute force. Grandin resorted to grinding his way forward, calling up assistance from his fellow mercenaries and even begging the coalition headquarters for artillery support. While Steiner-Davion vetoed the use of heavy shelling to pry out the Blakists, the assault served its purpose. A renewed drive by the Com Guards and Wolves broke through resistance by the Eighteenth Division and forced the Blakists to retreat offworld. Their success even gave Pierre Grandin and Hilary Fletcher a place in the victory celebration.<ref name=TCp117>''Total Chaos'', pp. 117–118: "Corporate Ties"</ref>

David Styles, an IE Council member, pressured Grandin's Crusaders into taking a contract with Ashley outside IE auspices, even to the point of dropping veiled threats on the Baron. Grandin complied, but he was not happy. So the unit traveled to [[Novara]] where it joined other elements of the Democracy Now, in the form of [[Eriksson's Einherjar]] (a command formerly under Blakist contract in the [[Circinus Federation]] and some local units forming what Ashley was calling [[Democratic People’s Army]]. And in the 15th of August 3072, the planet was attacked by the [[Kaumberg Planetary Guard]] who were under orders from [[Erich Sheridan]] recently appointed as Kaumberg's regional [[Archonette]] and sworn enemy of Lindon Ashley. The Crusaders and the rest of the forces had only to defend the movement's compound against a ponderous attack. The Crusaders sent out their allies to be slaughtered, making the Kaumberg militia overconfident as it approached the DPA headquarters, and the out of the sudden, they used their modern battle armor supported with an efficient force of 'Mechs drove the Kaumberg Guard back. When Grandin discovered that that Ashley had already fled Novara, taking the mercenaries' payment with him, they left the battlefield.<ref name=TCp121>''Total Chaos'', p. 121: "Going Nova"</ref>

The unit joined a coalition of units led by [[Regulan Hussars]] and several mercenary units because of the big paycheck behind it sent to attack [[Gibson]] in August [[3073]]. The invasion force was shattered by the presence of the [[Forty-first Shadow Division]], the [[Forty-ninth Shadow Division]] and the [[Fifty-second Shadow Division]]. Most of the Regulan Hussars units were destroyed, and the small mercenary units, Grandin's Crusaders among them, only escaped thanks to the sacrifice of the [[Wild Geese]] and the [[13th Stalking Horse]].<ref name=TCp127>''Total Chaos'', pp. 127–128 "Dante’s Daydream"</ref><ref name=TCp129>''Total Chaos'', p. 129: "Escape Clause"</ref>

The unit accepted a contract from Mr. Askai to raid to [[Trasjkis]] in the [[Marian Hegemony]], most probably for the WoB. The unit conducted a magnificent job, setting off balance the defending [[IV Legio]] and routing them in several skirmishes. After achieving their objective, the unit left the planet in time to see the arrival of a [[Circinus Federation]] attack.<ref name=TCp133>''Total Chaos'', pp. 133–134: "Roman Candle"</ref>

Following the disbanding of SAFE's elite [[Eagle Corps]] special forces, the [[Dark Shadows]] staffed the defenses of the "The Eyrie" facility on Wendigo, the moon of the Free Worlds League capital world of [[Atreus (FWL)|Atreus]]. A scathing online tirade under a flimsy cover identity by [[Anne-Marie McCormack]], the unit's commander at the time, provoked [[Paul Marik (31st c.)|Paul Marik]] into having the unit destroyed. On 23 April [[3075]] and under a contract liaised by Mr. Askai Grandin's Crusaders lured away from their base the Dark Shadows. Even though Grandin's Crusaders were severely beaten, the subsequent ambush from the [[49th Shadow Division]] that was hidden there, destroyed the Dark Shadows to the last man. Precentor [[Dantalion]] condescendingly allowed the Crusaders to "pick the remains of the kill" but forbade them from disposing the SAFE pilots' corpses, who were left to root in the moon.<ref name=TCp139>''Total Chaos'', pp. 139–141: "Silencing the Shadows"</ref>

While resting on Atreus after their last contract and negotiating an extension of it, the unit was contacted again by IE to help [[Irian Technologies|IrTech]] in the fight on [[Irian]]. When they landed in December 3075, they united their forces with the [[HeavyHell Raisers]] and the two commands launched an attack against the massive BattleMech production complex underneath Soapstone Mountain against elements of [[Irian Corporate Security]] loyal to the WoB and the [[Irian Protectorate Militia]]. As soon as the Crusaders liberated the factory, they left Irian, though they saw the scorched earth tactics that the WoB militia unit used once it decided to leave the planet.<ref name=TCp146>''Total Chaos'', p. 146: "Iron Giants"</ref>

The command was back on Atreus when in [[3076]], [[Thomas Halas]] (formerly the false Thomas Marik), launched a raid, attempting to rescue survivors of the [[1st Knights of the Inner Sphere]]. His forces included the [[2nd Knights of the Inner Sphere]] and [[Romanov's Crusaders]], and they saw action against the [[15th Division (Word of Blake)|15th Division]] and supported by Marik Commonwealth forces of the [[2nd Free Worlds Legionnaires]] and the [[8th Free Worlds Legionnaires]] and mercenary support from Grandin's Crusaders themselves in a campaign that ran through [[Atreus City]] and into its southern suburbs. The battle ultimately left several million homeless and thousand dead. It left the city storied Interstellar Botanic Gardens and Technology Museum in aftermath of the conflict.<ref>''Jihad Turning Points: Atreus'', p. 5: Atreus - Thomas Halas (Marik)'s failed rescue attempt wrecks Atreus City</ref><ref name=TCp151>''Total Chaos'', p. 151: "Rescue Gone Wrong"</ref> Blakist and mercenary personnel scoured through the debris, dragging out the few survivors and shooting them on the spot. The involvement of Grandin's Crusaders in these executions led [[Captain-General of the Free Worlds League|Captain-General]] [[Corinne Marik]] to cancel their retainer in a largely empty protest.<ref name=TCp152>''Total Chaos'', p. 152: "We Are Your Friends"</ref>

The unit was though able to grab a garrison duty contract on [[New Kyoto]], near the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]], were the unit was stationed on when elements from the Word of Blake Militia's [[2nd Division (Word of Blake)|Second Division]] attacked near the city of Yonei. Not only did they destroy the University of New Kyoto, they also targeted the massive Alessandro Hydroelectric Dam Complex, with the intention of destroying this vital piece of planetary infrastructure. The Crusaders pursued the Blakists and engaged the main body of the [[Level III]] before it could reach the dam, and were pushing them back when some of those troops broke through and delivered enough damage to the dam's integrity to collapse it. The unleashed water washed away most of the Blakist force, and would have done the same to the Crusaders had they not fled to higher ground in time. The rushing flood and rising water levels almost completely submerged an entire city district. Afterward, the Crusaders hunted down the surviving Blakist forces and assisted local responders with rescue and relief operations. Though politicians tried to blame the catastrophe also on the Crusaders, they fought that with their contract, and wound innocent. The WoB had no possible defense, and several of the prisoners Grandin turned over to the government were accordingly tried and executed.<ref name=TCp156/>

The unit was blackmailed by the WoB to help them raid [[Marcus]], though their contact Mr. Askai promised they would delete all the records of their work with the WoB if the successfully completed the mission. So in August 3077 the unit hit Marcus as part of the DDD and engaged [[Twentieth Marik Militia]]. Grandin had adopted the colors of a [[Level III]] from the [[Second Division (Word of Blake)|Second Division]] to fool the Marik defenders who believed they were attacked by a large force. And he had another surprise as the other half of the task force hot-dropped into the city and attacked the Militia from the rear. Caught between two mercenary groups, the Twentieth Marik's desperate escape attempt leveled much of the capital. After the victory, several pirate formations took the opportunity to loot the ruins. Enraged by this, Grandin responded by bribing the rest of the mercenaries with salvage rights and launched a second battle against those pirates, operating now in small groups, that destroyed them all. Grandin then turned the world over to an arriving Blakist relief force. [[Cameron St. Jamais]] later commended the Baron for purging the unreliable elements.<ref name=TCp172>''Total Chaos'', pp. 172–173: "Blood and Fury"</ref>

The unit was then sent to [[Chara]], where they survived [[Operation SCOUR]]. While the bulk of the Word of Blake forces left Chara, a large portion of the [[Chara Protectorate Militia]] managed to escape into the wilderness while continuing to contest the advance of the coalition forces into the Myanmar Highlands and maintain control over the Scarlet Sea. Prompted by the Word of Blake ROM, the local Blakist forces used a natural disaster — a large earthquake which struck near the port city of Charon — to create a bastion from which the Protectorate forces could continue to operate. The recently deployed [[Chaffee|Chaffee Militia]] dispatched a relief column to Charon, but the Blakists, Grandin's Crusaders in disguise,<ref name=TCp176>''Total Chaos'', pp. 176–177: "Bridge to Oblivion"</ref> intercepted and engaged the column, destroying it and the only major bridge connecting the coalition forces to Charon. The Word of Blake then endeared itself to the locals by flying in relief supplies on [[Karnov]]s and [[Planetlifter]]s, securing their base of operations for the near future.<ref name="JHS:Tp61+">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', pp. 61–62: "Chaos Eternal: Bridge to Oblivion"</ref>

The Crusaders arrived to [[Liberty]] in March [[3078]], fresh on the heels of the planet's liberation by a pro-Liao uprising. The destruction of the planet's HPG compound allowed the Crusaders to masquerade as a Capellan-contracted unit to avoid conflict. When Stone's Coalition arrived and thanks to having restored some old Star League automated turrets, when forces from the Com Guard [[Fifth Army (ComStar)|Fifth Army]] and the [[Home Guard (Free Worlds League)|Stewart Home Guard]] they were able to disrupt Coalition efforts to storm their base of operations in Parris Island. A ceasefire was arranged, and Lin Murikami was dispatched to negotiate the retreat of the Crusaders. Baron Grandin soon handed over the world to the Coalition in the name of the Chancellor.<ref name=TCp186>''Total Chaos'', pp. 186–187: "Death to Tyrants"</ref>

After defeating two assaults against [[Pleione]], Precentor Martial St. Jamais withdrew the Blakist naval support from the Pleione system, redeploying the naval assets for the defense of Terra, but he ordered various small mercenary units including Grandin's Crusaders to support the [[Pleione Protectorate Militia]]. Grandin was able to use his position as the senior commander on Pleione to take on a leadership role in the defense of the planet, securing an equal partnership with the Militia.<ref name="TCp190">''Total Chaos'', pp. 190–191: "Pound of Flesh"</ref> A third attempt to seize Pleione was launched on the 30th of May, and this time the Capellans used [[WarShip]] support<ref name="JHS:Tp73">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 73: "News From Pleione"</ref><ref name="J:FRp59">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 59: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> in the form of the ''[[Feng Huang]]''-class cruiser [[Ilsa Hyung|CCS ''Ilsa Hyung'']]<ref name="JHS:Tp89">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 89: "Chaos Eternal: Pound of Flesh"</ref> as well as extensive orbital bombardment as a part of their battle plan.<ref name="JHS:Tp73"/><ref name="J:FRp59"/> [[Pierre Grandin]] convinced the various defending forces to follow his plan of allowing the Capellan forces to enter New Jericho, the planetary capital city, before engaging them at close range, thereby discouraging the ''Ilsa Hyung'' from firing on them. The defenders followed this plan when the [[Fifth Confederation Reserve Cavalry]] and the [[Fifteenth Dracon]] landed, supported by fire from the ''Ilsa Hyung''; the two CCAF commands entered the approaches to New Jericho before being hit by a ferocious, desperate assault by the mercenaries and the Militia. The battle consisted mainly of brutal, close-quarter fighting in the New Jericho suburbs, with the brutal slugfest pushing up casualties on both sides.<ref name="TCp190"/> Grandin's Crusaders timed their entry into the battle carefully, launching a sudden attack from the hills outside the city that shattered the Capellan advance and which gave the Crusaders an opportunity to break through and race for their DropShips, even as the Capellan forces in orbit began a heavy orbital bombardment. The Crusaders managed to reach their DropShips and escape, leaving House Liao in possession of the ruins of the city.<ref name="TCp190"/>

Grandin's Crusaders had retreated to [[Terra]] where they had been ordered to defend Rio. When they saw the arrival of Stone's Coalition forces they knew their end was near, and that they needed a plan to escape. After bribing a slot for a JumpShip for the ''Tonnant'', they prepared their positions to defend the place. The [[5th Crucis Lancers]] led the way into Rio, landing on the outskirts of the city and driving inward toward Governador Island and the [[SDS]] command center. Painted in TerraSec colors, the Crusaders stopped cold the leading elements of the Davion unit. As the Davion unit could not force the pass, [[Marshal (rank)|Marshal]] [[Jon Davion]] deployed the ''[[Excalibur (DropShip class)|Excalibur]]''-class ''[[Joyeuse]]'' to reinforce his attacking force. That disrupted and disgorged the Crusaders. That allowed the rest of the Crucis Lancers to arrive. Outnumbered, Grandin elected to fight his way free. He concentrated his forces in the historic Quinto de Bao Vista palace grounds and led them in a drive to the west, overwhelming scattered Coalition units off the main axis of advance. The unit was assigned after that to help in the capture of [[Devlin Stone]] in North America.<ref name="TCp200">''Total Chaos'', p. 200: "Barriers"</ref>

The mercenaries joined the [[21st Division (Word of Blake)|Twenty-first Division]] disguised as a brand new [[Level III]]. They fought against the [[25th Arcturan Guards]], [[7th Pesht Regulars]] and [[Stone's Lament]] trying to kill Devlin Stone while he and his troops retreated from Hilton Head after failing to take it. After several days, the pursuit had stretched the Twenty-first Division ahead of the main Blakist force. That was when Stone opted to maneuver and strike the exposed division with a sudden counterattack aimed at the industrial city of Little Rock. The Crusaders were slotted into a reserve position south of Little Rock while more reliable Blakist formations took the brunt of the assault, but the collapse of one Level III after a day of ferocious assaults by the Twenty-fifth Arcturan Guards forced the Crusaders into battle. The unit hold the Ouchita River outside Arkadelphia, and disrupted the Lyran [[RCT]]'s drive and bought time for the shell-shocked Blakist formation to withdraw. A midnight assault of Stone's Lament across DeGray Lake forced the Crusaders to abandon their position and fall back to Little Rock with the rest of the Twenty-first Division. The Seventh Pesht Regulars pushed and after crushing a Level III from the WoB division outflanked the retreating Blakists. That forced the weakened Twenty-first to retreat out of Little Rock, abandoning the city to the Coalition. Stone had survived and it was decided that both the Twenty-first and the Crusaders were later withdrawn to Beijing to serve as a strategic reserve.<ref name="TCp203">''Total Chaos'', p. 203: "Suffrage of Saints"</ref>

When Precentor [[Jarvis McKesson]], Blakist administrator of Singapore, contacted his superiors to launch a counterattack in 17 September 3078, Grandin’s Crusaders were dispatched as a mobile and expendable force to answer the call. The unit took on the guise of the Word's Nineteenth Division and linked up with the TerraSec survivors and a small group of Manei Domini. Using terrorist car bombings by surviving guerrilla cells to throw the Coalition into confusion, they infiltrated via the underground rail line to Batam and assaulted the zone's Castle Brian. Thanks to the chaos the Crusaders seized the fortress as asked, but one of the Manei Domini accompanying them entered the self-destruct codes into its computer core. The Crusaders evacuated without delay, barely avoiding total destruction from the nuclear charges. The devastation spoiled McKesson’s attack on Hogarth and led to the deaths of millions inside Singapore.<ref name="TCp210">''Total Chaos'', pp. 210–211: "End of Day"</ref>

In the 18 November 3078 the ancient cosmodrome at Baikonur was hastily reactivated in early October to further the escape of Blakist assets from Terra. The [[37th Division (Word of Blake)|Thirty-seventh Division]] was doing its best to delay the inevitable, but it was outmatched and outnumbered, so Precentor Martial St. Jamais reassigned the Crusaders to assist, promising them a release from the Word's service and assisting their escape if they could hold long enough for the final evacuation to take place. Grandin was given support in the form of several Manei Domini from the Fifty-first Shadow Division already on site protecting an illustrious VIP. They fought the [[First Crucis Lancers]] and the [[Twenty-third Arcturan Guards]]. Conducting a fighting withdrawal along the Syr Darya River, they drew the command elements of the Coalition force into an ambush by the Manei Domini. That action bought the time needed to evacuate, and though on the 20th Baikonur fell to the [[The Battle Corps|Battle Corps mercenary unit]], Grandin's Crusaders fled offworld that same day under cover of a heavy fighter sortie.<ref name="TCp212">''Total Chaos'', pp. 212–213: "The Final Countdown"</ref>

His files cleaned and thanks to IE backing, the unit got a short-term contract to investigate [[New Earth]] for a sweep of the world for hidden stockpiles of nuclear and biological weapons. The unit arrived there and during the 18 of March [[3079]] was finally able to corner elements of the [[New Home Protectorate Militia]] in the Great Spine Mountains. The battle ended with a victory for the unit. Several prisoners were taken by the unit, who confirmed the absence of Blakist WMD stockpiles on the world and provided valuable intelligence on the guerrilla movement. The unit though had to abandon most of their armor.<ref name="TCp230">''Total Chaos'', pp. 230–231: "Heavy Metal"</ref>

Pierre Grandin's cousin offered the unit to return to [[Vaucluse]], and the new [[Filtvelt Coalition]] to help hunting down pirates and maybe even settling in. The Baron was thinking on it.<ref name="TCp230"/>

====Post-Jihad====
=====The ''Avarice'' Contract=====
[[Kallon Industries]] hired the Crusaders to provide protection for weapons transfers on the disputed world of [[Nanking]]. One of their first missions was to handle the transfer of a large number of [[Partisan]]s to a client in the former [[Free Worlds League]] in the end of [[3080]]. Once the first group of Partisans passed the Kallontown spaceport, and attack began. Elements of a native mercenary unit, [[Aung's Chindits]], emerged from the outskirts of the city and attempted to hijack the vehicles. The mercenaries coordinated their attack well, with an aerial and land attack. This forced the Crusaders to split their forces and nearly cost them the APCs. But with the appearance of several flybys militia aircraft scrambled to drive the mercenary fighters away, the Crusaders were able to defend the convoy. After delivering all the cargo to the DropShip ''[[Avarice]]'', though the ship was later reported taken by pirates, which left Kallon reluctant to honor the contract.<ref name="TCp235">''Total Chaos'', pp. 235–237: "Jinx"</ref>

On their own initiative, the Crusaders were able to track the hijacked DropShip to a supply depot on Nanking and mounted an assault to reclaim it. The ''Avarice'' was supported by a motley band of Coalition renegades and anti-Liao partisans. Though caught by surprise used the DropShip as a natural strongpoint and savaging the Crusaders' assault team. The Crusaders kept enough force to smash through the defenders with the Crusaders' armored infantry storming the DropShip and forcing its surrender. Further investigation discovered that the "pirates" raid had been a carefully choreographed exchange orchestrated by one Kallon Industries division without the knowledge of the other half of the company, and with Davion involvement in the plot to sow disorder on Nanking and weaken Kallon Industries. The Crusaders sold the DropShip and the intelligence, which gave the unit big dividends and allowed the unit to relocate back to Vaucluse. Both the [[Filtvelt Coalition]] and the exile government enthusiastically greeted the Crusaders.<ref name="TCp237">''Total Chaos'', pp. 237–239: "Snow Job"</ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Noble Order of Saint Louis on Hortense'''
|-
| [[Baron (noble title)|Baron]]||[[Jean-Paul Grandin]]||[[2995]]<ref name=TC/>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Grandin's Crusaders'''
|-
| Baron||[[Pierre Grandin III]]||[[3062]] - [[3080]]<ref name=TC/>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
Unknown.

==Composition History==
===3067===
* The unit hosts one 'Mech [[lance]], a short [[combat vehicle|armor]] [[platoon]] (three armored vehicles), one [[aerospace fighter]], and an [[infantry]] [[company]] of five platoons.

* Each of the five platoons maintains a specialty, from anti-'Mech training to commando operations, and personnel are rotated throughout the company to attain additional cross-specializations.<ref name=TC/>

===3068===
* The unit added a DropShip, of unknown type: the ''[[Tonnant]]''.<ref name=TCp56/>

===3076===
* The unit was a [[battalion]] strong of a combined arms unit.<ref name=TCp156>''Total Chaos'', pp. 156–157: "Wave of Confusion"</ref>

==Rules==
<div class="gamerules">
Grandin and his Crusaders will retreat when they have taken a considerable amount of damage, unless prohibited by scenario/track rules. The Crusaders gain an initiative bonus when using combined arms tactics. If Grandin is a designated commander, his specific gunnery and piloted skills are noted, and the unit may seize the initiative at times.<ref>''Total Chaos'', p. 28</ref>
</div>

==Notes==
* Grandin's Crusaders was one of the three "poster child" units in which the [[Jihad]] events are explained in the ''[[Total Chaos]]'' campaign book. The other two units were [[Gannon's Cannons]] and [[Cumberland's Missiliers]].

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[Jihad Turning Points: Atreus]]''
* ''[[Total Chaos]]''


[[Category:Mercenary Commands]]