View source for Tortuga Fusiliers

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[File:Tortuga Fusiliers.jpg|120px]]
| Designation    = Tortuga Fusiliers
| formed         = [[Age of War]]
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = Fuchida's Fusiliers;<br/>Tartan Brigade
| Nickname       = Pride of the Dominions
| Affiliation    = Mercenary
| Parent Command = Independent
| Sub-Command    = 
}}
The '''Tortuga Fusiliers''' began as troops in the [[Free Worlds League]], served as household troops to [[House Amaris]] in the [[Rim Worlds Republic]], then went on to serve as [[mercenaries]] across the [[Inner Sphere]].

==History==
===The Tartan Brigade===
The unit that would become known as the '''Tortuga Fusiliers''' had its beginning in troops from the [[Free Worlds League]] who fled and ended up on the opposite side of human space in the [[Rim Worlds Republic]]. Forming themselves into a unit known as the '''Tartan Brigade''', by the end of the [[Age of War]] the Tartan Brigade were considered to be household troops of [[House Amaris]].<ref name=H:RWp135>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 135</ref><ref name=cmmp39>''Combat Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 39</ref>

===Reunification War===
Civil war erupted in the Rim Worlds Republic in [[2575]], with the factions polarized around those loyal to [[First Consul of the Rim Worlds Republic|First Consul]] [[Gregory Amaris]] and those loyal to the [[Rim Provisional Government]].<ref name="H:RWp130">''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 130</ref> The [[Star League]] eventually decided to intervene in support of Amaris and assembled [[Task Force MAILED FIST]], a multinational force headed by the [[Star League Defense Force]], but atrocities such as the one performed by the [[Draconis Auxiliary Corps]] when they captured [[Nightwish]] in mid-[[2584]] resulted in the Rim Worlders putting aside their differences to focus on the common enemy.<ref name=H:RWp134>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 134</ref>

By [[2581]], the Tartan Brigade was stationed on the world of [[Illium]] in the [[Apollo Province]] of the Republic. Illium was considered a personal fief of the Amaris family and was famed for the "topless towers" within the capital city, Troy.<ref name=H:RWp135/> Unsurprisingly, the Tartan Brigade remained loyal to Amaris throughout the civil war.<ref name="H:RWp128">''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 128</ref>

SLDF [[General]] [[Nathan Isaacson]] assigned the [[Sixteenth Mechanized Infantry Division]] to the conquest of Illium in [[2589]].<ref name="H:RWp153">''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 153</ref> The Sixteenth was one of three [[division]]s that made up [[VI Corps (Star League)|VI Corps]] and landed on Illium in March 2589, meeting immediate resistance from the Tartan Brigade. However, when faced with the prospect of bitter battles in the very streets of Troy itself, [[Colonel]] [[Angus Graham]] made the pragmatic decision to surrender his forces to the Sixteenth, rather than risk damaging the city. Gregory Amaris subsequently approved of the decision, personally decorating Graham after the war for his good judgment.<ref name=H:RWp135/>

===Amaris Civil War===
The Tartan Brigade had expanded considerably under the auspices of [[House Amaris]]; when the SLDF began landings on Terra in [[2777]], the Second Tartan Brigade was a [[division]]-sized unit, and one of three [[Amaris Empire Armed Forces]] divisions assigned to the defense of Geneva, operating alongside the [[Ninety-ninth Amaris Dragoons]] and the [[Thirteenth Hegemony Patriots]]. While the patriot division was a poorly trained and equipped volunteer formation, the Dragoons and the Tartan Brigade were both dedicated and fanatical units with considerable experience. General Kerensky landed ten divisions of SLDF troops from the [[Eighteenth Army (Star League)|Eighteenth Army]] to liberate Geneva, and the spaceport northwest of the city, guarded by the Tartan Brigade, was the first objective for the Eighteenth. Facing the combined forces of the [[116th Mechanized Infantry Division|116th Mechanized Infantry Division (the Flanders Division)]] and the [[209th Mechanized Infantry Division]], the Second Tartan Brigade engaged the SLDF forces near Versoix, slowly falling back over three days to the spaceport, where the heavy defenses there could add to the Tartan Brigade's firepower. The combination of the Tartan Brigade and the spaceport defenses was enough to stall the 116th and 209th, but additional SLDF forces opened up a second front through the Meyrin and Vernier districts, pressing the Tartan Brigade from the south, and used artillery forces dug in across the French border near Jura to support their attack. Having landed on the 2nd of February and first engaged the Tartan Brigade on the 4th, it was the 10th of February before the SLDF finally gained control of the spaceport, by which time much of the spaceport was in ruins, and the Tartan Brigade had successfully withdrawn its surviving forces to the southeast, joining with the Thirteenth Hegemony Patriots around the Hegemony Congress.<ref name="H:LOTv2p79"/>

The Dragoons were fighting a bitter battle in southern Geneva at the same time, determined to stop the SLDF seizing bridges across the Rhône that represented the Dragoons' only viable escape route; it took until the 19th of February for the Dragoons to be forced to retreat across the Rhône, and as they fell back, they destroyed two of the three main bridges before joining the Tartan Brigade and Patriot division in the defenses at Geneva. Geneva was effectively a prison for the Amaris forces, but the surviving troops were so well-fortified and determined to resist that digging them out would've been a destructive and expensive proposition — so the Eighteenth enforced a siege instead, hoping to starve the loyalist forces into submission. For four months, the defenders rationed their supplies, but even at half-rations, they were out of supplies by late April. The SLDF stepped up the psychological pressure on the Amaris forces by broadcasting messages offering food and warm beds to those who surrendered, and a steadily increasing number of Amaris troops did so, defecting from the Patriot division in particular. With a steadily increasing torrent of troops surrendering and being transported to the SLDF internment camp at Annecy, the senior officers knew that they had little time. Agreeing to launch a breakout attempt, the surviving units struck northwards, taking the SLDF by surprise as they broke out through Bellevue and Chambésy, with the [[279th Light Horse Regiment]] and the [[Seventy-fourth Royal Dragoon Regiment]] in hot pursuit. A few companies of loyalists managed to get through the SLDF lines, but the bulk of the forces were contained by the SLDF; those who broke through were cornered at Saint-Cergue, under constant air attack and with no means of escape. The last Amaris loyalists surrendered on the 10th of June, ending the battle for Europe.<ref name="H:LOTv2p79"/>

===Succession Wars===
Born from a regiment of forces from the Tartan Brigade in [[2784]] and renamed '''Fuchida's Fusiliers''',<ref name="FSWp35">''First Succession War'', p. 35: "Those Left Behind"</ref> the mercenaries were largely nomadic during the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], never working for the same employer for more than a few years at a time and moving from one contract to the next.<ref name="HM(TFWL)p106">''House Marik: The Free Worlds League'', pp. 106–107: "Fuchida's Fusiliers"</ref> Their first employer was the Draconis Combine,<ref name="FSWp35"/> and they were listed as a notable mercenary command in Kuritan employ,<ref name=CM-Kp25>''Combat Manual: Kurita'', p. 25: "The Dragon's Hirelings"</ref> but in a twist of fate, the mercenary unit that had its origins in the Free Worlds League would serve [[House Marik]] no less than four times during the first three Succession Wars; the Fusiliers were under contract to the League from [[2834]] to [[2845]], then [[2882]] to [[2898]], then again from [[2931]] to [[2935]]; in [[3021]], having just completed a campaign in service to the [[Federated Suns]], the Fusiliers signed on with House Marik again, and were still in service with the League in [[3025]].<ref name="HM(TFWL)p106"/>

The Fusiliers spent the last years of the [[Third Succession War]] on the border between the Free Worlds League and the Lyran Commonwealth, conducting a range of missions involving raiding and sabotage. Despite having spent four years almost continuously in action against the Lyrans the Fusiliers had found fewer chances to claim booty than they had anticipated, and it was rumored that the unit commanding officer, Major [[Michael Iverson]], was looking at changing Houses once more when the Fusiliers' contract with the League ended.<ref name="HM(TFWL)p106"/>

Although the Fusiliers had experienced both good and bad times during the Succession Wars they remained proud of and devoted to their heritage; the [[DropShip]]s and [[aerospace fighter]]s operated by the Fusiliers were painted in tartan plaids, and the Fusiliers' personnel wore stylized variations of ancient Scottish kilt as their standard uniform, although the kilts were made of synth-weave rather than tartan cloth. The Fusiliers had also cultivated a reputation for reckless, bloodthirsty behavior on the battlefield and often stayed in action far longer than other, more prudent units would have countenanced.<ref name="HM(TFWL)p106"/><ref name=cmmp39/>

===War of 3039===
In [[3038]], Fuchida's Fusiliers were stationed in the [[Draconis March]], on the world of [[Udibi]]. Among the many [[Federated Suns]]–employed mercenary units selected to assist the [[War of 3039]], the Fusiliers were transferred to [[Benet III]] and assigned to retake the lightly defended world of [[Royal]], captured by the Combine during the [[Fourth Succession War]]. Seemingly a relatively easy mission, the mercenaries would later learn that things were much more complex behind the scenes.<ref name=HWo3039-140>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 140</ref><ref name=HWo3039-50>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 50: "Wave One - Royal (March–April)"</ref>

Though [[First Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]] forbade Duke [[Paul Stephenson]] of [[New Ivaarsen]] from using his [[New Ivaarsen Chasseurs]] from retaking his lost landhold, Duke Paul ensured a steady volume of supplies and support for an underground movement against the Combine occupation. When he received word that AFFS would send the Fusiliers to retake Royal as his Chasseurs prepared for action elsewhere, the Duke sent his son [[Leto Stephenson]] to accompany the mercenaries as their liaison officer. Duke Paul then proceeded to recruit a [[battalion]]'s worth of [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] from both Chasseur [[regiment]]s as well as a regiment from New Ivaarsen's militia to create the [[New Ivaarsen Volunteers]]. Just before the Fusiliers [[JumpShip|jumped]], Leto signaled his father, who immediately dispatched the Volunteers. As soon as they arrived on-world, Colonel Stephenson assumed direct command of the Royal invasion. With word of their duke's son leading the invasion, almost the entire population of Royal rose up against the three Kurita conventional regiments stationed on-world. While suffering heavy losses, the people of Royal played a decisive role in ensuring Colonel Stephenson and his Volunteers ejected the Combine forces in a mere five weeks.<ref name=HWo3039-50/>

After the war ended, the Fusiliers lodged more than a dozen formal complaints against Leto Stephenson, alleging that he overstepped his authority in assuming control of the Royal invasion and that he issued orders that forced the Fusiliers to take the brunt of the combat losses, yet assigned the bulk of the salvage taken to his New Ivaarsen Volunteers. When these complaints disappeared in the AFFS bureaucracy, the Fusiliers proceeded to file civil suits against the [[House Stephenson|Stephenson family]], and while these too also faded away, several New Ivaarsen–based businesses made a number of large payouts to the mercenary unit in the mid-[[3040]]s.<ref name=HWo3039-51>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 51: "Wave One - Royal Backlash"</ref><ref name=cmmp39/>

Unfortunately, while they eventually received some degree of financial redress, the Fusiliers lost in the court of public opinion in the process. A number of prominent Royal citizens, including the new planetary governor, charged the mercenaries with cowardice, citing seemingly endless examples of the Fusiliers either holding back or outright refusing to follow attack orders given to them by Colonel Leto Stephenson. As word of these claims spread throughout the Draconis March, the Fusiliers soon found themselves ''persona non grata'' anywhere near Royal, New Ivaarsen, or even [[Robinson]], with the AFFS forced to relocate them entirely after no Draconis March world wished anything to do with them. The final blow was the lack of respect given for the Fusiliers' service in the war. Where other mercenary units received a visit from [[Field Marshal]] [[James Sandoval]] or another member of the AFFS high command in person, the Fusiliers merely received a note of thanks from Field Marshal [[Ardan Sortek]].<ref name=HWo3039-51/><ref name=cmmp39/>

===From Mercenaries to Pirates===
Shuffled about by the AFFS, the Fusiliers eventually returned to Udibi only to find the ill feeling against them in the Draconis March remained. Remaining in the service of the [[Federated Commonwealth]] during the mid-[[thirty-first century]], as of [[3050]] the Fusiliers were still stationed on Udibi.<ref name=20YU19>''20 Year Update'', p. 19: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"</ref><ref name=cmmp39/>

In [[3051]] the Fusiliers were ordered by FedCom High Command to deploy to the Lyran half of the Commonwealth to face the [[Clans]], despite not receiving the [[Star League era]] upgrades that [[AFFC]] front-line units were receiving ahead of such transfers. Already embittered after Royal, the Fusiliers believed this indicated the Federated Commonwealth intended to sacrifice them to slow the Clan juggernaut, breaking contract in the face of this "betrayal". Once going rogue, the unit raided the [[Precision Weaponry]] plant on [[Tancredi IV]] for their own upgraded equipment. The raid caused significant damage to the weapons plant, motivating the unit to move quickly out of FedCom-controlled space. The unit proceeded through the [[Outworlds Alliance]], raiding for only food and water.  The Fusiliers continued with minimum stops with a brief stop in the [[Mica Majority]], where the unit acquired supplies and some gold through legal channels.

The unit wandered the barren star systems outside of the Outworlds Alliance for the next few years. With only a brief clash with the [[Brotherhood of Randis]] on [[Antallos]], who repulsed their attempt to grab a BattleMech cache.  The unit finally found itself in the [[Tortuga Dominions]] in [[3054]], where they decided to set up their own operations.<ref>''The Periphery, 2nd Edition'', p. 85: Fuchida's Fusiliers - Origin and Early history from 3050s</ref>

In order to improve her standing in the Federated Suns, Katrina Steiner-Davion doubled the bounty on the Fusilier's heads.<ref>''Shattered Sphere'', p. 124</ref>

===New Name and Nation Building===
The Fusiliers settled in the Dominion, taking over what used to be Lady Death and her Pirate band's base of operations twelve years after their capture by [[Ninth FedCom RCT]].<ref>''Field Manual: Periphery'', pp. 124–125: Paula Lady Death Trevaline - The Lady Death - Brief description of her early history and capture by the 9th FedCom RCT</ref> The unit set out and began raiding neighboring nations, especially the Federated Commonwealth.

Throughout these raids, Tortuga Prime began to industrialize and create primitive BattleMech factories, due to the Fusiliers' actions shortly after their arrival in the late 3050s. The Fusiliers' industrializing revived the planet's flagging economy and allowed for the Word of Blake to set up a B Class [[HPG|HPG Station]] on the planet.<ref>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', pp. 239–240: Tortuga Prime - Fusiliers' arrival revives Tortuga Prime's economy</ref>

The unit adopted the planet's name as its own, as the Tortuga Fusiliers.  They beefed up their forces by expanding their aerospace elements and creating an infantry unit by [[3064]]. Where drawing from people of the Dominion to create a formal infantry regiment trained in crowd control as well as a general battlefield unit.  They also moved to rebuild Tortuga Prime's aerospace forces, using up to nineteen aerospace fighters to form the core of an assault force planetary assault and interdict trade for the Fusiliers.

However, the intervening year had not been kind.  The unit had expanded two battalions however, two companies had been outright destroyed when they decided to leave to join [[Lady Death|Lady Death's]] [[Death's Consorts]].<ref>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 130: Tortuga Fusiliers, how they got their name and their history in early to mid 3060s</ref>

Elements of the Fusiliers were present in the New Port Royal system when the Death's Consorts lost a ''[[Union]]''-class DropShip in [[3066]].<ref name="TBToH">''The Bitter Taste of Hope''</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 Tartan Brigade'''
|-
| [[Colonel]]||[[Angus Graham]]||[[2581]]–[[2589]]<ref name=H:RWp154-155>''Historical: Reunification War'', pp. 154-155</ref>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Fuchida's Fusiliers'''
|-
| [[Major]]||[[Michael Iverson|Michael "Mad Mac" Iverson]]||[[3025]]<ref name="HM(TFWL)p106"/>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Tortuga Fusiliers'''
|-
| Major||[[Twylla Sumeral]]||[[3050]]–[[3064]]<ref name=20YUp19>''20 Year Update'', p. 19: "Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth"</ref><ref>''The Periphery, 2nd Edition'', p. 78: Periphery Independents - Fuchida's Fusiliers strength and status listed as of 3058, including Commanding Officer</ref><ref name=objraids>''Objective Raids'', p. 49</ref>
|}

==Tactics==
The Fusiliers, by 3064, had become specialized in Urban Combat. The unit developed devious methods for this area of fighting. They had devised, laying mines in parks and MechWarriors walking their machines through buildings.  Also they developed a method of destroying non–jump capable 'Mechs, in a tactic they called the Canyon of Death. Trick & move enemy into tight spot and then have their jump capable 'Mechs jump on to buildings next to them and blast them from above.<ref>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 130: Tortuga Fusiliers - Tactics</ref>

==Composition History==
===2581–2589===
* '''Tartan Brigade''' (Loyalist)<ref name=H:RWp131>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 131</ref>
:* CO: Colonel Angus Graham

===2777===
* '''First Tartan Brigade'''
* '''Second Tartan Brigade''' (Division)<ref name="H:LOTv2p79">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', p. 79: "Geneva"</ref>
:- At this point in time the Second Tartan Brigade was one of three divisions of Amaris Empire forces assigned to Geneva on Terra.<ref name="H:LOTv2p79"/>

===2784===
* '''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Regiment<ref name="FSWp35"/>/Veteran/Reliable)<ref name="FSWp137">''First Succession War'', p. 137: "Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS)"</ref>

===2786–2821===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)<ref name="FSWp137"/>
:- At this point in time the Fusiliers were a heavy regiment operating at full strength and were stationed on [[Tinaca]].<ref name="FSWp137"/> In 2821 the unit was reduced to a little over half-strength.<ref name="FSWp137"/>

===2830===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=2SWp97>''Second Succession War'', p. 97</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on [[Tinaca]] with an operational readiness of 110 percent.<ref name=2SWp97/>

===2864===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=2SWp97/>
: Note: At this point in time the medium-weight unit was stationed on [[Tinaca]] with an operational readiness of 65 percent.<ref name=2SWp97/>

===3025===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)
:Contract: FWLM<ref name=HM-FWLp109>''House Marik (The Free Worlds League)'', p. 109</ref>
:*CO: Major Michael Iverson

===3028===
'''Fuchida’s Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)<ref name=HBSp87/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Cascade]].<ref name=HBSp87>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 87</ref>

===3040===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (Battalion/Regular/Questionable)<ref name=HWo3039-140/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Udibi]].<ref name=HWo3039-140>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 140</ref>
:Contract: AFFC<ref name=HWo3039-140/>

===3050===
'''Fuchida's Fusiliers ''' (Battalion/Regular/Questionable)<ref name=20yup19/>
:* CO: Major Twylla Sumeral<ref name=20yup19/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Udibi]].<ref name=20yup19>''20 Year Update'', p. 19</ref>

===3054===
* '''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' ([[BattleMech]] [[Battalion]])<ref name=objraids/>

===3058===
* '''Fuchida's Fusiliers''' (BattleMech Battalion)

===3064===
* '''Tortuga Fusiliers''' (BattleMech Battalion) - CO: Twylla "The Major" Sumeral
**The unit consisted of four companies.<ref>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 130: Tortuga Fusiliers reorganized into four-company battalion after infighting</ref>

* Tortuga Corsairs (2 aerospace fighter [[Wing|wings]]) - CO: Cameron "Hot Seat" Kline

* First Tortuga Infantry Regiment (Infantry [[Regiment]]) - CO: Ryan "Lady Killer" Coleman

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Fuchidas Fusiliers logo.png|Insignia of Fuchida's Fusiliers
</gallery>

==Notes==
* In the ''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'' sourcebook, the unit was destroyed by Death's Consorts during the Jihad; however, it is unclear when this exactly happened.<ref>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', p. 240: "Tortuga Prime"</ref> They are not listed in ''Field Manual: Updates'', but are mentioned as of 3067 in ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]'' as a threat.<ref>''Handbook: Major Periphery States'', p. 141: "The Constant Enemy: Pirates in the Outworlds - Other Threats"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
<div class="desktop-3-col">
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[The Bitter Taste of Hope]]'' (short story)
* ''[[Combat Manual: Kurita]]''
* ''[[Combat Manual: Mercenaries]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Periphery]]''
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)|First Succession War]]''
* ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]''
* ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2]]''
* ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]''
* ''[[Historical: War of 3039]]''
* ''[[Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers]]''
* ''[[Objective Raids]]''
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook)|The Periphery, 2nd Edition]]''
* ''[[Second Succession War (sourcebook)|Second Succession War]]''
* ''[[Shattered Sphere]]''
</div>


[[Category:Mercenary Commands|Fuchida’s Fusiliers]]
[[Category:Pirate Commands|Tortuga Fusiliers]]
[[Category:Rim Worlds Republic Commands|Tartan Brigade]]