1st Battlemech Tercio - History past, present and future

The 1st Tercio has its origins with the Star League Defense Force, by 2765 it is part of the 29th Battlemech Division under Major General Eduardo de la Garza.

The 29th was destroyed during the Amaris Civil War, the Tercio was disbanded and surviving members under Major Melina Perez joined General Aleksandr Kerensky and two thirds of the SLDF in the exodus of 2784.

* In Operation Exodus six million men, women, and children followed General Aleksandr Kerensky into the Deep Periphery towards an unknown destination and future. This act effectively completed the collapse of the dying Star League. It was his dream that he and his followers, or most likely their children, would eventually return to rescue a devastated Inner Sphere and reunite it under a new Star League.

(*) sources:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/29th_BattleMech_Division
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Aleksandr_Kerensky

* In 2786, after years of traveling, the massive flotilla of Star League refugees came upon five marginally habitable worlds, the so-called Pentagon Worlds (due to their near-pentametric relation to each other). There Kerensky's followers tried to forge life as they knew it once again, and for a time it seemed the Star League would still exist, far away from Terra, although this was not to be. Within a year, cracks were beginning to form along faction lines and soon the Pentagon Worlds were at war: an eerie parallel to the carnage unfolding concurrently in the Inner Sphere, a conflict now known as the First Succession War. At this, Kerensky prepared to gather the precious few troops still loyal to him, when he suffered a massive heart attack and as his dying wish, Kerensky left the reigns of the Exile Star League in the hands of his son, Nicholas. Kerensky's son took 800 of his best warriors and 600 civilian families away to a planet known as Strana Mechty ("land of dreams" in Russian) where he forged a new order. This order was known as the Clans. Those who possessed exceptional military skill became the breeding stock of what would become a hereditary ruling class. They embodied the pinnacle of combat prowess, and were put through a variety of competitive and selective processes with each generation to produce virtual super-soldiers. They were charged to protect the weak and powerless, but primarily to take back the Pentagon Worlds and, some day, the Inner Sphere where they, the Clans, would reinstate the glorious Star League. The second exodus was finished on 11 June, 2802. On this day five years later Nicholas announced the foundation of the Clans.

Among the 800 warriors who choose to follow Kerensky in his second exodus, is Melina Perez. Years later, with the foundation of the clan society, Perez was among the 800 bloodnames of the Warrior caste, more common in the Smoke Jaguar clan.

(*) sources:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Clans
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/List_of_Bloodnames


3041* - The Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth are created in the aftermath of the War of 3039 where poor coordination had resulted in an embarrassing defeat.

3042* - With the creation of the AFFC, Ran Felsner became the first Marshal of the Armies. In addition to the traditional brigades of both realms, the Federated Commonwealth created a number of new commands to better streamline their military. Most notable among these was the Federated Commonwealth Corps, six new regimental combat teams with personnel drawn from all over the Commonwealth were created, with six others already active since the war of '39. Also expanded were the march militias, a system that had served the Federated Suns for hundreds of years. The Donegal, Periphery, Skye, Tamar and Tamarind March Militias were all formed to help protect the former Lyran Commonwealth. The Sarna March Militia was created to protect former Capellan Confederation worlds taken during the Fourth War. Dozens of long-serving Lyran units were also expanded into RCTs. To facilitate unity within the Commonwealth, many traditionally Lyran units were assigned to garrison the Federated Suns State Command while several Davion units took up postings in Lyran space.

Definition of a Regimental Combat Team: The AFFS' version of an RCT is a large multi-regiment formation that consists of a regiment of BattleMechs, three regiments of combat vehicles, five regiments of infantry, two AeroSpace Fighter wings, and a battalion of artillery. Unlike the task forces that had been used previously, these regiments are permanently assigned to work together. These RCTs are usually named for the BattleMech regiment.

3044 - Facing the need for increased security in the Sarna March region, a hot zone bordering Houses Liao, Marik and Kurita, First Prince Hanse Davion and Marshal Ran Felsner setup a program to fund the expantion of local mercenary units, in return of a five-year contract, mercenary units of the same region are joined together and re-organized to form a smaller version of an RCT.

With the 13th War Dogs and 4th Dispossessed at its core, and the Strata Merc Corp forming the Special Operations group, a new unit is formed. With command falling to Colonel Pérez, previously a Lt. Colonel, commander of the 4th Dispossessed battalion, he offers a sugestion that is quickly agreed upon by his fellow officers, to name the new unit after the one many of his ancestors and those of many of his comrades fought and died for during the time of the Star League, the 1st Battlemech Tercio.

Inspired by the ancient military history of the Iberic peoples of Terra where the Tercio military organization was first used, and to promote a sense of honour and pride with the majority of the unit's founding members, natives of Poznan with Iberic ancestors, the unit is renamed to the 1st Iberic Battlemech Tercio. It was setup as a fast response unit with small logistical needs, meant to reinforce planetary garrisons, perform hit and run raids behind enemy lines, and complement larger units in full-scale invasions.

The Tercio starts with a regiment of Battlemechs, commanded by Colonel Pérez, in its ranks are the battlemech forces of the War Dogs, Dispossessed, and Strata Corp, each at battalion size. The Tercio's second-in-command is Lt. Colonel Afonso Dias, previously a Major, commander of the 13th War Dogs armored and infantry forces, which became the core of the Tercio's second regiment, consisting of 2 battalions of combat vehicles and 2 battalions of infantry.

3045 - After its formation, the 1st Iberic Battlemech Tercio, was initially assigned garrison duty near the Draconis Combine border, never staying on the same planet for more than six months, its movements were unpredictable and some remain classified. It is believed that the Tercio actually was allowed to act independently, free to operate in Davion space. Between 3045 and 3050 it was located several times near the borders of both the Draconis Combine and the Capellan Confederation.

* In August of 3049, the Clans invade the Inner Sphere. Clans Jade Falcon and Wolf hitting worlds in the Lyran Commonwealth and Free Rasalhague Republic, while Clans Ghost Bear and Smoke Jaguar hitting the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Draconis Combine. This invasion is halted in 3050 with the death of the Clan's supreme commander, ilKhan Leo Showers over Radstadt, when a Rasalhague fighter hits the bridge of the Clans' Flagship, and the Clans return to their homeworld to select a new ilKhan.

* During this period, early in 3051, Jaime Wolf of the Wolf's Dragoons holds a conference on Outreach. All the heads of the various Inner Sphere houses and several mercenary leaders were invited. It was at the start of this conference that Jaime Wolf revealed the true origin of the Dragoons: They were originally a part of Clan Wolf and a scout force for the Clans, which were, in turn, revealed to be the descendants of the Star League Defense Force. During this conference, Hanse Davion and Theodore Kurita sign a non-agression pact betwen the Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, neither state will attack the other while the Clans remain a threat.

* In late 3051, the Clans resume their invasion with reinforcements from Clans Steel Viper and Nova Cat, and close in on Luthien, the capital of the Draconis Combine. Fearing that the Combine might collapse and thus allow the Clans to concentrate their onslaught on the Federated Commonwealth, Hanse Davion decides to help his arch enemy. Boldly, he sent both Wolf's Dragoons and the Kell Hounds, two elite mercenary units who were both sworn enemies of the Draconis Combine, to save that very realm. Although less than happy, they carried out their orders and saved Luthien from Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat; Takashi Kurita subsequently owed the survival of his realm to its most hated enemies.

* On may of 3052 the battle of Tukayyid takes place. Shortly after the battle of Luthien, Primus Myndo Waterly, the leader of ComStar who controls the entire Inner Sphere HPG network, learns the Clan's true goal is to conquer Terra, home of Comstar for several hundred years, the core of the HPG network, and the birthplace of the old Star League. Under such a direct threat, ComStar could no longer remain neutral, but they in no way wanted to see Terra, humanity's birthplace, torn asunder by an enormous battle the likes of which the planet had not seen since 2777. Confronting the Clans, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht was sent to the ilKhan to issue a Batchall. A Clan Trial of Possession would be waged on a proxy world for control of Terra, the world of Tukayyid inside the rapidly diminishing Free Rasalhague Republic. If the Clans were victorious, they would be allowed to proceed to Terra, if not, a truce would be called for a period of 15 years, no Clan would be allowed to advance past the planet Tukayyid. The Com Guards defeated the combined forces the Clans took to the planet.

(*) sources:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Wolfs_dragoon ... ession_War
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Battle_of_Tukayyid

Although the battle of Tukayyid was a victory for the Inner Sphere, halting the invasion of the Clans past it, it did not prevent hostilities "above" the truce line. After the successfull defense of the Combine's capital of Luthien thanks to the efforts of two mercenary units originating in the Federated Commonwealth, and the lack of a reason to keep mercenary units near the FedCom-Combine border, the 1st Tercio among several other units are dispatched to Combine space in 3053 to patrol several worlds near the Clans Smoke Jaguar and Nova Cat borders in a joint Davion-Kurita 5-year contract.

* After the battle of Tukayyid with the invasion effectively over, Clan Nova Cat having suffered terrible losses choose to concentrate on rebuilding and reinforcing their forces in the Inner Sphere, including the construction of infrastructure able to produce Clan equipment. The Nova Cats opened a dialogue with the Draconis Combine, and being so impressed by the Combine's warrior spirit and the similarities in warrior philosophy, they came to an agreement to concentrate their raids on Clan Smoke Jaguar territory.

During once such raid, Smoke Jaguar Star Captain Nadia Perez is captured and taken as bondswoman by Clan Nova Cat. She soon is accepted in her new Clan's warrior caste, and recovers the rank of Star Captain by killing 3 opponents in her Trial of Position to be accepted as a Mech Warrior.

* After the death of Joshua Marik in 3057, son of Captain-General Thomas Marik, leader of the Free Worlds League, who was in the care of the New Avalon Institute of Science to treat his leukemia in exchange for war supplies from the FWL to help the fight against the Clans, Prince Victor Steiner-Davion decided to replace the boy with a double to disguise his death and keep the supplies coming. When this substitution was discovered later that year, Thomas Marik retaliated by launching Operation Guerrero. Sun-Tzu Liao, Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, ordered the CCAF to attack Sarna March worlds as well to support his (possible) father-in-law. Simultaneously with the attacks on the Sarna March by the FWLM and CCAF, Katherine Steiner-Davion (Victor's sister) announced the formation of the Lyran Alliance and declared her nation neutral in the conflict.

The Federated Commonwealth was completely taken by surprise by the attacks, as most of their attention was on the Clan front, and with the Steiner side of the Federated Commonwealth declaring neutrality, the conflict was over in just 3 months, with the Free Worlds League retaking 11 worlds they had lost in the fourth succession war, while the Capellan Confederation retook most of the Sarna Commonality worlds it had lost in the same war.

Another major outcome of this conflict was the creation of the Chaos March, where forces loyal to the Capellan Confederation, Free Worlds League, Federated Suns, and Word of Blake struggled for control of many of the former Sarna March worlds. Rather than a single strong entity that the Capellan Confederation couldn't defeat, the Chaos March was populated by at least six minor independent nations.

* source:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Operation_Guerrero

* 3058 - In this year, the leaders of the Inner Sphere cooperate in the creation of a new alliance, that became known as the Second Star League. Unlike the other Clans, the Nova Cats saw this event as fulfilment of destiny. The Second Star League decided that the complete elimination of a Clan was necessary to end the war between the Inner Sphere and Clans. Due in part to the Nova Cat talks with the Draconis Combine, the new Star League decided that this target Clan would be Clan Smoke Jaguar. This operation was known as Operation Bulldog. In a series of mock trials, Clan Nova Cat forces would become "abtakha" to the Star League forces and themselves join in the fight against the Smoke Jaguars.

In 3059 during Operation Bulldog, the Nova Cat unit commanded by Star Captain Nadia Perez is assigned to rendezvous with a mercenary unit under contract by House Kurita and coordinate an assault on a Smoke Jaguar held world. At first these orders were seen by the Star Captain with dissatisfaction due to the low opinion Clan warriors have of mercenaries, but this changed when Star Captain Perez learned the mercenary unit was named 1st Battlemech Tercio, and commanded by a Colonel Perez, a descendant of the brother of Melina Perez who was 17 years old when his sister left the Inner Sphere with General Kerensky, so in a way the two commanders are distant relatives, and the mercenary unit the spiritual successor to Melina Perez' old SLDF unit.

During this mission, the defending Smoke Jaguars saw the Nova Cat force as the only unit that could give them an honorable battle, so they devised a plan to split the attacking force. After the main force engages, a Smoke Jaguar trinary emerges from cover in the back of the Tercio/Nova Cat force, recognizing this as a flanking maneuver, Colonel Perez asks the Nova Cat force to handle it, making use of the Clanner's longer range weapons to engage the flanking force before they come into range of the Tercio's backs. As the Nova Cats engage the flanking enemy, another trinary emerges from cover, denying the Nova Cats the right of Zellbrigen (Clan one on one honorable combat), they find themselves outnumbered.

Colonel Perez orders the 4th Dispossessed battalion and his own command lance to turn back to assist the Nova Cats, while the remaining Tercio battalions close the gap to cover their backs. Fighting is fierce, by the time the 4th battalion covered half the distance, about half of the Nova Cat force is down. The Smoke Jaguars retask one trinary to engage the approaching battalion, while the remaining forces continue to harass the Nova Cats. Without cover and still outside the effective range of most of their weapons, the Dispossessed start taking losses to the superior range of the Clanner's weapons. By the time they can join the battle effectively, a third of the Dispossessed are down, including the Colonel's Battlemech who was spearheading the assault.

Thanks to the Dispossessed's sacrifice, the tide of the battle turned, and the flanking Smoke Jaguars were defeated, while the main Jaguar force, consisting mostly of garrison 'mechs, were forced to retreat after taking heavy casualties at the hands of the Tercio's War Dogs and Strata Corp battalions.

Overall command of the Tercio fell to Lt. Colonel Afonso Dias, while Captain Raul Perez, the late Colonel's son, was promoted to lead the Dispossessed battalion.
Star Captain Nadia Perez, with newfound respect for the Mercenary force and the actions they took to save her command, choose to remain attached to the 1st Tercio for the duration of their contract in the Draconis Combine - Smoke Jaguar border, adding to the Tercio a trinary's worth of Omnimechs, having replaced her losses with salvage, roughly the equivalent of a re-inforced company.

* After Operation Bulldog, and the elimination of the Smoke Jaguar Clan, the Nova Cats were granted control of the Irece Prefecture by the Draconis Combine. In exchange for helping to defend the Draconis Combine against attack, they would be allowed to govern these planets in the Combine's name. Once again, the Nova Cats would be forced to rebuild, this time with the open support of the Draconis Combine.

* In 3062, Clan Ghost Bear invaded the Draconis Combine. Clan Nova Cat would serve a vital part in this war, helping to drive the war into a ceasefire and giving their lives for the Draconis Combine. Following the Combine-Ghost Bear war, the Draconis Combine and Nova Cats would undertake joint exercises to foster continued good will.

(*) source:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Clan_Nova_Cat

By 3063, Poznan was once again in the control of the Capellan Confederation. In a move to secure the loyalty of the population, Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao declared there would be no changes to the current planetary government and the current leadership would remain in place, but in secret, the Chancellor demanded in return that no Battlemech Tercio unit would ever again set foot on the planet.

With the Tercio occupied in the Clan border, and fearing for their families, they had no choice but to comply with the request of the government, and found themselves without a home to return to, vowing to one day gather support and retake the planet from their hated enemy.

In 3065 and 3067, several Draconis Combine and Nova Cat units would be assigned, temporarily, to the command of the other.

Among these units was the 1st and 2nd Battlemech Tercios, assigned to work with Clan Nova Cat under the command of now Star Colonel Nadia Perez. With Poznan now in the hand of the Capellan Confederation, the Tercio makes a new home in the Nova Cat world of Itabaiana for a few years.

Time lines identified with an * are part of the Battletech lore, and may have been edited from http://www.sarna.net