Narhal's Raiders

Insignia of Narhal's Raiders
Narhal's Raiders
Formed 2799[1]
Affiliation Mercenary
Parent Command Independent

Narhal's Raiders are a medium-sized mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere. In the Third and Fourth Succession Wars the unit was employed by the Lyran Commonwealth. The Homeworld of the Raiders is Kilmarnock.

History

First Succession War

During the First Succession War, a Star League Defense Force* regiment fled to the Periphery. There, they teamed up with the remnants of a BattleMech regiment from the Rim Worlds Republic and the two formed Narhal's Raiders in 2799*.[1] The unit was named after both the commanding officer, Tyilik Narhal, and the Narhal Rover, a predator from Tyilik's homeworld and was initially composed of two regiments. These were aptly titled the First and Second Narhal's Raiders. Under Narhal's leadership the Raiders lived a life of banditry, plundering worlds of the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation to sustain itself. After ten years of this piracy, however, the Narhal family member that was then commanding of the unit was ousted by Ustinov Matthews, who along with many of the Raiders' troops had soured of the raiding life. Under his new leadership, the Raiders sought official contracts with the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns. At some point during their employment by the two houses, the Second Narhal's Raiders were destroyed 2819 and their survivors folded into the First.[2] In 2821, they were listed as officially contracted with the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces.[2][3]

Second Succession War

Shortly before the Second Succession War in 2830, the unit signed a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth. They briefly returned to employment with the CCAF from 2849 to 2859, but this choice proved so disastrous that they returned back to the Lyran Commonwealth immediately upon the contract's conclusion. They remained in the Commonwealth's employ all the way up to the Fourth Succession War.[3][4]

Due to intentional interference from Commonwealth officials, the Raiders found themselves in increasingly poor financial shape. For several years they were trapped under a steadily growing mountain of debt that forced them to remain in the LCAF's "company store" and stay under contract to the Commonwealth. This changed in 2866, when Archon Elizabeth Steiner intentionally renegotiated the contract to be more in the Raiders' favor. Thanks to this intervention, the Raiders slowly grew in morale, equipment, and materiel.[3]

Third Succession War

By the time of the Third Succession War, the Raiders had enjoyed enough success that they were able to reform their second regiment and again operated as the First and Second Narhal's Raiders.[5] In November 3021, the Raiders defended New Ivaarsen while under a contract to House Davion. The inexperienced garrison commander, Lieutenant Commander Arlin Stuart, sought to conserve his forces in fortified positions and let the mercenaries do most of the strategically important fighting. This lead to heavy losses for the mercenaries, while the House unit remained untouched. When the 7th Crucis Lancers, including McKinnon's Raiders, arrived to relieve the defenders, Captain Lewis Gilbert and the battalion of Narhal's Raiders under his command were on the verge of abandoning their post and surrendering to the Kuritans. Acknowledging that the mercenaries' grievance was legitimate, Lieutenant Karl Ryder challenged Gilbert to a one on one duel to return his unit to their duty, with the promise that the wrongs done to them by Stuart would be corrected.[6]

Fourth Succession War

The unit had returned to the employ of the Lyran Commonwealth by the beginning of the Fourth Succession War. The First Narhal's Raiders landed on Wheel in support of Hansen's Roughriders and engaged the Tooth of Ymir in a series of honor duels. The Raiders and Roughriders won, and the Tooth withdrew.[7][8] The Second Narhal's Raiders faced off against the defenders of Volders in November 3028 alongside Snord's Irregulars.[8][9]

War of 3039 and Clan Invasion

The Raiders were not tapped to participate in the abortive War of 3039, and remained at their assigned garrison worlds throughout the duration of the conflict.[10]

In late 3051, Narhal's Raiders had been redeployed to Benfled to assist with efforts to defend worlds threatened by the invading Clans. Benfled was squarely in the path of the Clan Steel Viper invasion corridor and the Raiders engaged the Clan Steel Viper Alpha Galaxy's 400th Assault Cluster as they made planetfall. The Steel Viper attack was so fierce that the Raiders were forced to retreat in just four hours, losing an entire regiment to the Clan warriors' ferocious and wily tactics.[11] They were rotated back to the Federated Commonwealth's rear lines to serve as a garrison force on Clermont while they rebuilt.

Following the secession of the Lyran Alliance from the Federated Commonwealth in 3057, the Raiders were released from their contract after Colonel Giraudoux threatened to attack the newly-minted Lyran Alliance Armed Forces in Prince Victor's name. The Raiders rotated to Outreach, where they spent their contract fee upgrading and expanding their 'Mech roster. While on Outreach Giraudoux refused any and all attempted meetings from the LAAF's mercenary liaison. When the LAAF officer finally confronted him in public, Giraudoux loudly expounded upon his low opinion of Archon Katherine in a tirade that quickly spread across Federated Commonwealth news networks. The Raiders immediately accepted a contract with the Draconis Combine to garrison Kilmarnock, freeing up the veteran DCMS regiments that were there to participate in Operation Bulldog.[12]

Upon the conclusion of Operation Bulldog, they were reassigned to Rockland and were present on that world when Clan Ghost Bear invaded the Draconis Combine. The Raiders launched a counterattack against the Clan Ghost Bear forces on Thule, facing down Pi Galaxy. Though they bloodied the Bears, Colonel Giraudoux was forced to disband the fourth battalion, so the Raiders began to look more like a traditional regiment.[13]

Following the end of the Ghost Bear War, the unit was reassigned to the Draconis March front after that province attacked the Combine. Giraudoux still felt loyal to Prince Victor and had no desire to fight units that could be used to help against Katherine, so they garrisoned Fellanin II. Giraudoux was forced to watch as the FedCom Civil War raged just across the border. He accepted another contract with the Combine, as it was clear by that point that the war was winding down.

In December 3067, an operative from the Federated Suns' Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations alerted Colonel Giraudoux that there were prisoner-of-war camps located within the Draconis Combine. When Giraudoux attempted to confirm or deny these rumors with his employer, he was stonewalled and threatened. No longer able to trust the Combine, Giraudoux decided not to renew the Raiders' contract when it expired.

In July 3068, the MIIO operative made contact again and informed Giraudoux that there was actually a prison camp adjacent to the base of the DCMS regular unit on Fellanin II, the First Ghost Regiment. As the unit lifted offworld to redeploy, he ordered a reconnaissance flight to find out for sure. The flight took fire, but was able to confirm the information. Giraudoux ordered Narhal's Raiders into action. They were able to liberate the POW camp, while the MIIO team ordered an extraction. After fighting a brutal rear guard against the 1st Ghost, a Federated Suns JumpShip came in-system via a pirate point and took the Raiders and their charges across the border.

In the Draconis March, the mercenaries were hailed as saviors who heeded their consciences over their wallets. Duke Tancred Sandoval quickly offered them a new contract even as the DCMS lodged a complaint with the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission over their desertion. The Raiders have since had to fend off raids from Combine troops.

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Narhal's Raiders
Tyilik Narhal
Tyilik Narhal'son ? - 2799
General Ustinov Matthews 2799 -
Leutnant-General William Matthews 3025[5]
Leftenant General Pedro Antonio Giraudoux 3054[14]
Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux 3071
Colonel Juan Pablo Diaz 3145[15]

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition History

2786 - 2821

1st Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Veteran/Questionable)[2]

2nd Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Questionable) [2]

  • Note: The light-weight command was destroyed in 2819; no post was listed for 2786.[2]

2830

Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Elite/Questionable)[16]

2864

Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Elite/Questionable)[16]

3025

Narhal's Raiders (2 Regiments/Regular/Reliable)[5]

3028

1st Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular)

  • CO: Leutnant-General William Matthews[17]
  • Base: Poulsbo[8]
  • Note: General Matthews commanded the First Narhal's Raiders on Wheel during the Fourth Succession War.[17]

2nd Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular)

  • CO: Leutnant-General Thomas Gerould
  • Base: Poulsbo[8]
  • Note: General Gerould commanded the Second Narhal's Raiders on Volders during the Fourth Succession War.[9]

3038 - 3040

1st Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[10]

2nd Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[10]

3050

1st Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [18]

2nd Narhal's Raiders (Regiment/Regular/Reliable) [18]

3054

Narhal's Raiders (1 Reinforced Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[14]

3059

Narhal's Raiders (1 Reinforced Regiment/Regular/Reliable)[19]

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux[19]
  • XO/1st Battalion: Lt. Colonel Luigi Froeze
  • 2nd Battalion: Major Geraldine Tolly
  • 3rd Battalion: Major Brett Marionetti
  • 4th Battalion: Trey Sun Lok

Narhal's Flock (2 understrength squadrons/Veteran)

  • Wing Commander: Major Jesse Hastings
Note: In 3059 the unit was stationed on Kilmarnock and only had auxiliary DropShip support. [19]

3067

Narhal's Raiders (1 Regiment/Regular)

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux

Narhal's Flock (1 Wing/Veteran)

In 3067 the Raiders were stationed on Fellanin II and had full DropShip support.

3071

Narhal's Raiders (1 Regiment)

  • CO: Colonel Pedro Antonio Giraudoux

In 3071 the unit was stationed on Royal and had both DropShip and aerospace fighter support.

3145

Narhal's Raiders (Veteran/Reliable)[15]

  • CO: Colonel Juan Pablo Diaz[15]
- As of 3145 the Raiders were a "B"-rated command under contract to the Federated Suns. Stationed in the Tybalt system, the Raiders were operating at eighty-five percent of full strength.[15]

Color Scheme and Unit Insignia

Narhal's Raiders use a standardized brown and green camouflage pattern that is only changed when it significantly clashes with their operating environment. They use the stylized skull of a Narhal Rover against a blue disc outline in white for their emblem.[12]

Notes

  • House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth) states a fleeing Marik regiment combined with a RWR regiment in 2899. This date cannot be correct given the other information in the unit profile, and First Succession War (sourcebook) states that an SLDF and RWR unit merged in 2799, not Marik and RWR. Conflicting information found in First Succession War (sourcebook) supersedes the previous source, as confirmed by Line Developer, Ray Arrastia (as Adrian Gideon).

Gallery

  • A Spector in Narhal's Raiders colors.

‎

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 First Succession War (sourcebook), p. 35
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 First Succession War, p. 136, "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces (CCAF)"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 65
  4. ↑ Second Succession War, p. 96, "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 119
  6. ↑ The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders, pp. 22-23
  7. ↑ The Fourth Succession War Scenarios Volume One, p. 26
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 45, "Operation GOTTERDAMMERUNG"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Rhonda's Irregulars, pp. 34-35, "Tanks A Lot"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Historical: War of 3039, p. 141
  11. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 59, "400th Assault Cluster (The Diamondbacks)"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 77, "Narhal's Raiders"
  13. ↑ Field Manual: MErcenaries (Revised), p. 92, "Narhal's Raiders"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Objective Raids, p. 22
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Field Manual: 3145, p. 182, "Notable Mercenary Forces - Federated Suns"
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Second Succession War, p. 96, "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces"
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 NAIS Fourth Succession War Military Atlas, Volume 1, p. 48, "Wheel"
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 20 Year Update, p. 26
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 106

Bibliography

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