Difference between revisions of "Syrtis Scourge"

 
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The '''Syrtis Scourge''' was an understrength [[regiment]] created by the [[Capellan March]]'s [[Duke of New Syrtis|Duke]] [[Alexander Hasek]] and destroyed in the [[Pleiades War]].
  
The ''Syrtis Scourge'' was a understrength regiment created by the Capellan March's Duke [[Alexander Hasek]] and destroyed in the [[Pleiades War]].
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==History==
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The Syrtis Scourge was created on [[New Syrtis]] in 3151 by the new Duke of the Capellan March as part of his rearmament program. The Syrtis Scourge drew its personnel from the [[Syrtis Fusiliers]], drawing particularly heavily on the [[Sixth Syrtis Fusiliers]]. Membership was limited to the most elite and fanatical soldiers, who pledged personal loyalty to Alexander Hasak. As a household unit, it was outside the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Suns]] chain of command. <ref>''Dominions Divided'', p. 23</ref>
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At the time of its first deployment, the Scourge consisted of at least two [[battalions]] but had not reached its full size as a regiment. After an attempted assassination of the young duke failed, Alexander Hasek assumed the assassin was a [[Taurian Concordat]] agent. In response, he launched a personal war with the goal of conquering the [[Pleiades Cluster]] with the Scourge and the Sixth Fusiliers (who had not recovered their full strength after transferring personnel to the Scourge). Prior to the assassination attempt, Alexander had planned to harden the Scourge fighting [[pirates]] in the [[Periphery March]], but believed the Taurians would prove easy prey for the green unit.
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The campaign caught the Taurian Concordant off guard; the invasion force landed on [[Electra]], taking the planet easily. Leaving the Sixth Fusiliers behind as a garrison, the duke took the Scourge with him to their next target, [[Merope]]. Here, the Scourge disguised their IFF and a boarding party managed to capture the system's recharge station. Another contingent was sent to Merope itself, where they surprised a company of the Taurians' [[Pleiades Hussars]]. Forewarned of their coming, the Hussars retreated in the wilds, but the Scourge managed to locate them and made a combat drop on their camp, quickly eliminating them. Afterwards, the Scourge armed the pro-Davion resistance leaders on the planet before departing for [[Maia]], where they hoped to finish the remaining Hussars. <ref>''Dominions Divided'', pp. 34–35</ref>
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On Maia, the Scourge repeated their trick of hiding their IFF codes and achieved total suprise against the Hussars. The Pleiades Hussars' commanding officer, [[Colonel]] [[Heathrow Gullarson]], only knew they were under attack when the Scourge made a hot drop on Maia's capital of Subaru. Duke Alexander Hasek personally lead the Scourge in the attack and Colonel Gullarson was forced to lead his unit out of the city to regroup in the Theban foothills, sending couriers to warn Protector Doru of the invasion and plead for reinforcements while the Hussars began a guerrilla campaign.
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Alexander was so sure of the imminent victory that he ignored Colonel Hallett, the Scourge's nominal commander, about the unit's vulnerability: while most of the unit's pilots came from the various veteran Syrtis Fusiliers' regiments, they had barely had time to train together.
  
==History==
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After three weeks of Taurian harassment, Duke Hasek became impatient and mobilized the entire unit to hunt down the Hussars, engaging them in a forest. A Taurian counterattack nearly overwhelmed the Scourge and Colonel Hallett was forced to order his men to ignite the forest. The inferno created a no-man's land and, as neither unit had the force to dislodge the other, a week-long stalemate ensued.
In 3151, after returning to [[New Syrtis]] and taking the title of Duke of the Capellan March, Alexander Hasek began a rearming program, increasing military production, apparently thinking about initiating some conflict. In this program, the creation of a personal unit was one of its main steps. The new unit would be called by the Duke the ''Syrtis Scourge'', and it was created drawing soldiers from the the Syrtis Fusiliers, mainly of the [[Sixth Syrtis Fusiliers]], but only the elite and most fanatical ones, those which pledged personal service to Alexander. It was created as a purely offensive unit, and as it was a household unit, it was outside of the AFFS chain of command, responding only to Hasek.<ref>''Dominions divided'' pp. 23</ref>
 
  
The Scourge had at least two battalions, without reaching full regimental size. It saw action much sooner than expected: after an assassin apparently attempted to kill the duke, failing, Alexander guessed than it was a [[Taurian Concordat]] agent, so decided to launch a personal war, expecting to coqnuer the [[Pleiades Cluster]], and took only the Scourge and the Sixth Fusiliers, which hadn't still recovered their full strength. Alexander had planned to harden the Scourge fighting [[pirates]] in the [[Periphery March]], but, believing the Taurians also easy prey, believed they were prepared enough.
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At this point, Duke Alexander had also summoned reinforcements, but the Taurians' arrived sooner when the [[Third Taurian Lancers]] jumped into the system. Colonel Gullarson asked for the Scourge's surrender, but Duke Hasek ordered a nighttime attack against the Hussars, expecting to eliminate them. The attack failed and the Hussars counterattacked, forcing the Scourge to retreat while the Hussars remained in contact with them.
The beginning of the campaign, apparently, proved it: the invasion force landed on [[Electra]], taking the planet easily. After leaving behind the Sixth as garrison, the Duke took only the Scourge with him.
 
Their next target, [[Merope]], was also easy target: as they disgused their IFF, a boarding group of the Scourge captured the system's recharge station, and Hasek later sent a contingent of the Scourge to Merope itself. There, they surprised a company of the Taurians' [[Pleiades Hussars]]. Forewarned of their coming, the Hussars retreated into the wilds, but the Scourge located them and made a combat drop upon their camp, quickly eliminating them. After the Scourge armed the pro-Davion resistance leaders on planet, Alexander took the Scourge and departed again. Its next target: [[Maia]], to finish off the remaining Hussars.<ref>''Dominions divided'' pp. 34-35</ref>
 
  
Once in Maia, the Scourge, once again disguising their IFF codes, totally surprised the Hussars. The Pleiades Hussars' comanding officer, Colonel [[Heathrow Gullarson]], only knew they were under attack when the Scourge made a hot drop upon Maia's capital of Subaru. Alexander Hasek personally led the Scourge, and Gullarson had to order his unit to leave the city and regroup in the Theban foothills, sending couriers to warn the Protector Doru of the invasion and asking for reinforcements, while the Hussars began a guerrilla campaign.
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The next day, still unable to disengage, the Scourge was caught between both Taurian units and totally destroyed. The duke was taken prisoner—the only confirmed survivor of the Scourge.<ref>''Dominions Divided'', pp. 39–41</ref>
Alexander was so sure of the imminent victory than ignored Colonel Hallett, the Scourge's commander, about his unit's vulnerability: though most of their members came from various veteran Syrtis Fusiliers' regiments, they had barely had time to train together.
 
After three weeks of taurian harassment, Hasek, impatient, mobilized the entire Scourge, hunting for the Hussars, engaging them into a forest. A taurian counterattack nearly overwhelmed the Scourge, and Hallet had to order him men to ignite the forest. That created a no-man's land, and as both units lacked the force to dislodge the other, a stalemate a week long ensued.
 
Alexander had asked for reinforcements, but the taurian ones arrived sooner: the [[Third Taurian Lancers]]. Colonel Gullarson asked the Scourge's surrender, but Hasek instead ordered a nighttime attack against the Hussars, expecting to eliminate them. They failed, and the Hussars counterattacked.
 
The next day, the retreating Scourge, unable to disengage, was caught between both Taurian forces and totally destroyed. the Duke was taken prisoner. He was the only confirmed survivor of the Scourge.<ref>''Dominions divided'' pp. 39-41</ref>  
 
  
 
==Officers==  
 
==Officers==  
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| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Syrtis Scourge'''
 
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Syrtis Scourge'''
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Colonel]]||[[Jill Hallett]]||[[3151]]-[[3152]]<ref>''Dominions divided'' pp. 39</ref>  
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| [[Colonel]]||[[Jill Hallett]]||[[3151]] - [[3152]]<ref name=DDp39>''Dominions Divided'', p. 39</ref>  
 
|}
 
|}
  
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==Composition History==
 
==Composition History==
Six companies strong.<ref>''Dominions divided'' pp. 39</ref>  
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Six companies strong.<ref name=DDp39/>
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==Support==
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Hasek mentioned once his intention to assign several newly built [[Colossus (DropShip class)]] to the Scourge before his first and last campaign, but its presence and numbers remain unconfirmed.<ref>''The Damocles Sanction'' ch. 6</ref>
  
 
==References==  
 
==References==  
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==Bibliography==  
 
==Bibliography==  
* ''[[Dominions Divided]]'' (sourcebook)
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* ''[[Dominions Divided]]''
 
* ''[[The Damocles Sanction]]'' (novel)
 
* ''[[The Damocles Sanction]]'' (novel)
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[[Category:Federated Suns Commands|Syrtis Scourge]]

Latest revision as of 13:46, 28 October 2023

Syrtis Scoourge
Formed 3151
Disbanded 3152
Affiliation Federated Suns
Parent Command

The Syrtis Scourge was an understrength regiment created by the Capellan March's Duke Alexander Hasek and destroyed in the Pleiades War.

History[edit]

The Syrtis Scourge was created on New Syrtis in 3151 by the new Duke of the Capellan March as part of his rearmament program. The Syrtis Scourge drew its personnel from the Syrtis Fusiliers, drawing particularly heavily on the Sixth Syrtis Fusiliers. Membership was limited to the most elite and fanatical soldiers, who pledged personal loyalty to Alexander Hasak. As a household unit, it was outside the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns chain of command. [1]

At the time of its first deployment, the Scourge consisted of at least two battalions but had not reached its full size as a regiment. After an attempted assassination of the young duke failed, Alexander Hasek assumed the assassin was a Taurian Concordat agent. In response, he launched a personal war with the goal of conquering the Pleiades Cluster with the Scourge and the Sixth Fusiliers (who had not recovered their full strength after transferring personnel to the Scourge). Prior to the assassination attempt, Alexander had planned to harden the Scourge fighting pirates in the Periphery March, but believed the Taurians would prove easy prey for the green unit.

The campaign caught the Taurian Concordant off guard; the invasion force landed on Electra, taking the planet easily. Leaving the Sixth Fusiliers behind as a garrison, the duke took the Scourge with him to their next target, Merope. Here, the Scourge disguised their IFF and a boarding party managed to capture the system's recharge station. Another contingent was sent to Merope itself, where they surprised a company of the Taurians' Pleiades Hussars. Forewarned of their coming, the Hussars retreated in the wilds, but the Scourge managed to locate them and made a combat drop on their camp, quickly eliminating them. Afterwards, the Scourge armed the pro-Davion resistance leaders on the planet before departing for Maia, where they hoped to finish the remaining Hussars. [2]

On Maia, the Scourge repeated their trick of hiding their IFF codes and achieved total suprise against the Hussars. The Pleiades Hussars' commanding officer, Colonel Heathrow Gullarson, only knew they were under attack when the Scourge made a hot drop on Maia's capital of Subaru. Duke Alexander Hasek personally lead the Scourge in the attack and Colonel Gullarson was forced to lead his unit out of the city to regroup in the Theban foothills, sending couriers to warn Protector Doru of the invasion and plead for reinforcements while the Hussars began a guerrilla campaign.

Alexander was so sure of the imminent victory that he ignored Colonel Hallett, the Scourge's nominal commander, about the unit's vulnerability: while most of the unit's pilots came from the various veteran Syrtis Fusiliers' regiments, they had barely had time to train together.

After three weeks of Taurian harassment, Duke Hasek became impatient and mobilized the entire unit to hunt down the Hussars, engaging them in a forest. A Taurian counterattack nearly overwhelmed the Scourge and Colonel Hallett was forced to order his men to ignite the forest. The inferno created a no-man's land and, as neither unit had the force to dislodge the other, a week-long stalemate ensued.

At this point, Duke Alexander had also summoned reinforcements, but the Taurians' arrived sooner when the Third Taurian Lancers jumped into the system. Colonel Gullarson asked for the Scourge's surrender, but Duke Hasek ordered a nighttime attack against the Hussars, expecting to eliminate them. The attack failed and the Hussars counterattacked, forcing the Scourge to retreat while the Hussars remained in contact with them.

The next day, still unable to disengage, the Scourge was caught between both Taurian units and totally destroyed. The duke was taken prisoner—the only confirmed survivor of the Scourge.[3]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the Syrtis Scourge
Colonel Jill Hallett 3151 - 3152[4]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

Six companies strong.[4]

Support[edit]

Hasek mentioned once his intention to assign several newly built Colossus (DropShip class) to the Scourge before his first and last campaign, but its presence and numbers remain unconfirmed.[5]

References[edit]

  1. Dominions Divided, p. 23
  2. Dominions Divided, pp. 34–35
  3. Dominions Divided, pp. 39–41
  4. 4.0 4.1 Dominions Divided, p. 39
  5. The Damocles Sanction ch. 6

Bibliography[edit]