Editing 5th Syrtis Fusiliers

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[File:Syrtis Fusiliers 05th logo.png|150px]]
| Designation    = Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers
| formed         = Age of War
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = The Evil Eye
| Affiliation    = [[Federated Suns]]
| Parent Command = [[Syrtis Fusiliers]]
| Sub-Command    = 
}}

==History==
===Early History===
The '''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers''' can trace its origins back to the [[Age of War]] or earlier and the private military force raised by House Hasek to defend its mining and drilling concerns on New Syrtis. The [[Syrtis Fusiliers]] became the private guard and personal army of the Hasek family, with their star rising alongside that of the Hasek family and New Syrtis; the [[Syrtis Fusiliers]] expanded, and as time progressed the [[brigade]] became the official guard of New Syrtis and then the perhaps the most important military command within the [[Capellan March]] Principality of the [[Federated Suns]].<ref name="FR2765:FSp18">''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', p. 18: "Syrtis Fusiliers"</ref>

When the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers was formed as a discrete unit, their new commanding officer was the former Executive Officer of the [[First Syrtis Fusiliers]] and he brought some of the traditions and attitudes of the First with him. This would influence the training and tactics of the Fifth until at least as late as the eve of the [[Amaris Civil War]].<ref name="FR2765:FSp18"/>

=== Davion Civil War ===
The bulk of the Syrtis Fusiliers brigade supported Prince [[David Varnay]] and his wife [[Cassandra Davion]] loyally throughout the [[Davion Civil War]], opposing first the combined forces of [[Laura Davion]] and [[Nikolai Rostov]] and then [[First Prince]] [[Alexander Davion]]. At the end of the war Prince Alexander offered an amnesty to the survivors from the [[brigade]], and reintegrated the Syrtis Fusiliers into the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Suns]], the restructured military that replaced the [[Federated Peacekeeping Forces]] as the state military of the [[Federated Suns]].<ref name="FR2765:FSp18"/>

Alexander's clemency towards the Syrtis Fusiliers and his subsequent actions in rebuffing the attempt by [[Richard Varnay]] to seize control of the Capellan March cemented the Fusiliers' loyalty to [[New Avalon]] and the wider Federated Suns.<ref name="FR2765:FSp18"/>

=== The Star League ===
The Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers served the Federated Suns well in the two centuries following the Davion Civil War; when the [[Star League]] council issued the [[Council Edict of 2650]], sharply limiting the size of the military each [[Great House]] was allowed to maintain, the Fifth and her sister regiments were left untouched. The brigade would remain ten regiments strong until shortly after the repeal of the Council Edict of 2650.<ref name="FR2765:FSp18"/>

===Succession Wars===
The Fifth, like other Fusiliers, has become very loyal to the Hasek family. The Fifth fought with valor staving off many raids and conducting their own through this era.<ref name=FMFS105/> In [[2974]], the Fifth raided [[Spica]] and inflicted heavy losses on the militia.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3145 Capellan Confederation'', p. 14</ref>

However, the unit became fanatically loyal to Duke [[Michael Hasek-Davion]] during his reign ([[3013]]–[[3029]]).<ref name=FMFS105/>

During the [[Fourth Succession War]], Michael Hasek-Davion was murdered on Sian. After his death the unit's loyalty to the Federated Suns came under question.  It was secretly decided to make an example of the unit, as a warning to others loyal to [[Michael Hasek-Davion]].<ref>''Warrior: Coupé'', pp. 133–134: "Hanse Davion announced to his general staff that chose to destroy the Fifth as example to others who would turn their loyalties against him and the FedSuns"</ref>

Both regiments of the Crater Cobras were assigned to take [[Sarna]] by the Capellan Operations Command (COC), the senior military Headquarters in the [[Capellan March]]; the lead formation in the attack on Sarna was the [[Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers]] [[RCT]], supported by both of the Crater Cobras regiments, the [[Second Screaming Eagles]] and fifteen conventional regiments. The capture of Sarna was intended to serve several purposes; the COC were keen to impress [[First Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]] with their initiative, due to their perception of the Prince being largely unimpressed by the COC up to that point in the war; Sarna was also believed to be ideally located to act as a logistics center and jumping-off point for future invasion waves.<ref name="NAIS4SW2p44">''NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2'', pp. 44–51: "Sarna"</ref>

Unfortunately for the Federated Suns forces, their information on the military defenses on Sarna was six months out of date. Sarna was a tricky target to begin with; although Operation RAT was proving to be a great success, Sarna was still three jumps from the front lines, and would require the invasion forces to stop and recharge twice in barren systems. Sarna also held little military value beyond being the administrative capital of the [[Sarna Commonality]], and the COC didn't count on the rash actions of the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers, who were angry over being left out of the earlier stages of Operation RAT and who were increasingly obsessed with exacting vengeance on the [[Capellan Confederation]] for the execution of [[Duke]] [[Michael Hasek-Davion]] by [[Chancellor]] [[Maximilian Liao]] earlier in the war.<ref name="NAIS4SW2p44"/>

Sarna had diminished in importance during the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]] as its industry and population dwindled, and at the time of the invasion, the population numbered a mere two billion, compared to the nine billion residents at the height of the [[Star League era]]. The Cobras and the other elements of the invasion forces based their initial drop zones on the information available, which indicated that only two of the five continents on Sarna - Jacarlos and Canoshal - were of any military importance, due largely to the bulk of Sarna's remaining industries being located on those two continents. At the time of the invasion the weather on both continents was hot and humid, and the marshes on Jacarlos had become pits occupied by predatory reptiles and hungry insects. The Cobras were assigned two drop zones, codenamed "Nova" and "Supernova"; Nova was a drop zone on Canoshal, near Nito City and a major communications area, while Supernova was close to the eastern coastal mountains on Jacarlos close to Canoshal. The Supernova drop zone was intended to place the Cobras south of the city of Catalonia and near Svoboda, an industrial center. The Screaming Eagles were assigned a drop zone named "Blackhole" near the city of Backtal, north of Nova on Canoshal, while the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers were assigned their requested target - Drop Zone "Pulsar", close to Sarna, the planetary capital city.<ref name="NAIS4SW2p44"/>

The attack on Sarna began inauspiciously when the ''[[Invader]]''-class [[JumpShip]] [[Nigel (Individual Invader-class JumpShip)|FSS ''Nigel'']] suffered a jump drive failure in the second barren system the invasion force were navigating en route to Sarna. The [[DropShip]]s transported by the ''Nigel'' had to be reassigned to other JumpShips, and engineers from other vessels transferred to the ''Nigel'' to help with repairs. The invasion force pressed on towards Sarna, leaving the ''Nigel'' behind to catch up later, and didn't learn until months later that the ''Nigel'' was lost in an explosion that killed all those still aboard her.<ref name="NAIS4SW2p44"/>

After arriving in the Sarna system, the aggressive behavior of General [[Gordon Hartstone]], the combat commander of the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers, combined with a lack of military intelligence about the garrison on the planet cost the invading Federated Suns forces dearly. Hartstone had his DropShips accelerate towards Sarna at high speed, faster than the DropShips transporting the other forces, intent on arriving two days early and thereby giving his Fusiliers the chance to make their mark in the invasion. What the invasion forces were unaware of was that all four regiments of [[McCarron's Armored Cavalry]] were on Sarna, and the Fusiliers dropped in their midst. The initial landing zone was intended to be just north of the Gray River, but the proposed landing site proved untenable due to heavy mud and floodwater left over from local flooding, forcing the Fusiliers' DropShips to ground on higher ground to the northwest. As the Fusiliers deployed, the empty DropShips in orbit detected more than a hundred [[aerospace fighter]]s converging on the Fusiliers position, forcing the DropShips in orbit to land on Sarna after destroying the defending AFFS aerospace fighters. The Capellan fighters then began an intense strafing and bombing campaign, savaging the Fusiliers attached aerospace wing and ground forces. The Second and Third Battalions of the Fusiliers were subjected to intense fighter attack with heavy casualties, while the First Battalion was harassed by fast-moving [[Savannah Master]] hovercraft. Even with supporting fire from the grounded DropShips, the Fusiliers losses were catastrophic; after shattering the three 'Mech battalions with aerospace forces and ambushes and leaving just a company of Fusilier 'Mechs fleeing into deep forest under the cover of forest fires behind them, the Big Mac used their aerospace fighters to destroy the bulk of the Fusiliers ten supporting regiments, with just two regiments surviving. Ten of the twenty DropShips that transported the conventional forces to Sarna were destroyed; the crews of six of the destroyed DropShips, the [[Calona|FSS ''Calona'']], [[Deborah (Individual DropShip)|FSS ''Deborah'']], [[Hasek (Individual DropShip)|FSS ''Hasek'']], [[Haversham (Individual DropShip)|FSS ''Haversham'']], [[Minos|FSS ''Minos'']], and [[Parker (Individual DropShip)|FSS ''Parker'']], could have survived if they had abandoned the Fusiliers, but instead chose to fight until destroyed.<ref name="NAIS4SW2p44"/><ref>''Warrior: Coupé'', pp. 115, 121: "1st Battalion gets ambushed in swamps by the Cavalry's [[Savannah Master|Savannah Masters]]"</ref><ref name=FMFS105/>

In [[3042]], the Fifth raided the [[Suzano]] system, held by the [[Free Worlds League]]. The Fusiliers fought the [[First Free Worlds Legionnaires]], who had only been operational for six months. Despite the Fusiliers outnumbering the Legionnaires, they never controlled the conflict and the Legionnaires drove them from the world.<ref>''Field Manual: Free Worlds League'', p. 36</ref>

===FedCom Civil War===
The Fifth was assigned to [[Axton]] where they attempted to destroy the [[5th FedCom RCT|Fifth FedCom RCT]]. They were driving the Fifth FedCom off the world when that unit turned and used atomic weapons to destroy elements of the Fifth Fusiliers. With so much damage to the world, the Fifth Fusiliers let the Fifth FedCom escape, and remained behind to assist in cleanup and rebuilding efforts on Axton.<ref>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 94</ref> They were later assigned to garrison [[Woodstock]] to counter any possible assault by the [[Capellan Confederation]] into the [[Chaos March]].<ref>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 143</ref> Later in the war, a small brigade of the Fifth would attack [[Small World]] to disrupt the actions of the [[17th Arcturan Guards|Seventeenth Arcturan Guards]].<ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 132</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade'', p. 80</ref> They then relocated to [[Jaipur]] to rebuild.<ref name=FMUp138>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 138: "AFFS Deployment Table - 3067"</ref>

===Jihad===
During the [[Jihad]] the Fifth took massive losses during [[Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE]] and [[Operation THUNDERSTRIKE]]. They invaded [[Ares (system)|Ares]] as part of Sovereign Justice and fought the [[Fourth McCarron's Armored Cavalry]] regiment. Between the Fourth McCarron and a surprise assault by the [[Blackwind Lancers]], the Fifth was almost completely destroyed.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade'', p. 224</ref> By the end of the [[Jihad]], barely a battalion of 'Mechs were left and the supporting regiments were in similar shape. The High Command redesignated the Syrtis Fusiliers units as [[Light Combat Team]]s for the foreseeable future. This redesignation meant that the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers are close to full strength. The reclassification also allows the High Command to produce defensive units that are not likely to start new conflicts before the [[AFFS]] has recovered from the previous one. They recently received a company's worth of [[Hauberk]] battle armor suits.<ref name="fra15">''Field Report: AFFS'', p. 15</ref>

===Dark Age===
The Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers were sent to [[Salem]] to rebuild. After six years of rebuilding, they were able to bring their conventional forces up to their full allotment. Many experienced soldiers from the [[First Syrtis Fusiliers]] transferred into the Fifth, allowing the Fifth to maintain a high experience level.<ref>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 63</ref>

During the Capellan Confederation assault, the Fifth rushed to [[Royalston]]. There they faced the combined forces of [[Warrior House Hiritsu]] and the [[Fourth Confederation Reserve Cavalry]]. The unit's commander overextended his 'Mech forces and ignored his conventional support units. He was killed by Hiritsu forces in an ambush. Colonel Dahar took command of the 'Mech unit and called in artillery strikes on the CCAF forces while the Fifth's armored cavalry units created a breakout that allowed the 'Mechs to escape. The Fifth left Royalston shortly thereafter.<ref>''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 78</ref> The Fifth then went to [[Shoreham]] to rebuild.<ref name="FM:3145p89"/>

==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 5th Syrtis Fusiliers'''
|-
| [[Marshal (rank)|Marshal]]||[[Tamara Hasek]]||[[3025]]<ref name=HD136>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 136 (PDF version): "Alcyone PDZ"</ref>
|-
| [[Hauptmann General]]||[[Nathaniel Hasek]]||[[3050]] - [[3054]]<ref name=20Yp21>''20 Year Update'', p. 21: "AFFC Deployment Table - 3050"</ref><ref name=ORp14>''Objective Raids'', p. 14: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"</ref>
|-
| [[Colonel]]||[[Serena Thompson-Hasek]]||[[3062]]<ref name=FMFS105>''Field Manual: Federated Suns'', p. 105: "Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Unit Profile"</ref>
|-
| [[General]]||Serena Thompson-Hasek||[[3068]]<ref name=TROSWp170>''Technical Readout: Succession Wars'', p. 170: "Warner Doles Profile"</ref>
|-
| General||[[Fortino Agassi]]||[[3085]]<ref name=FM3085p69>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 69: "AFFS Deployment Table - 3085"</ref>
|-
| [[Major General]]||[[Jock Sergeant]]||-[[3145]]<ref name="FM:3145p78">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 78</ref>
|-
| [[Brevet Leftenant General]]||[[Jara Dahar]]||[[3145]]-<ref name="FM:3145p89">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 89: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns"</ref>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
=== Age of War/Star League Era ===
The Fifth preferred to fight at close range, with many of the regiment's [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] training extensively in both hand-to-hand and [['Mech]]-to-'Mech brawling.<ref name="FR2765:FSp18"/>

=== Clan Invasion ===
The RCT uses long range bombardments to pin the enemy in place for the follow-up assault of smaller cavalry units which destroy lesser targets parts the cover of their comrades.<ref name=FMFS105/>

=== The Dark Age ===
The shift from a full RCT to an LCT has forced the Fifth's commanders to create new tactics and strategies. Unfortunately they are not as proficient in these tactics as the command would like.<ref name="fra15"/>

==Composition History==
=== 2765 ===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name="FR2765:FSp19">''Field Report 2765: AFFS'', p. 19: "Regimental Status"</ref>
:- At this point in time the Fifth were stationed on [[Aucara]].<ref name="FR2765:FSp19"/>

=== 2786–2821 ===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name="FSWp135">''First Succession War'', p. 135: "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns (AFFS)"</ref>
:- At this point in time the Fifth was a heavy-weight unit operating at full regimental strength, and was based on Aucara.<ref name="FSWp135"/> In 2821 the unit was operating at just below a third of full strength.<ref name="FSWp135"/>

=== 2830 ===
'''5th Syrtis Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)<ref name=2SWp95>''Second Succession War'', p. 95</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on [[Aucara]] with an operational readiness of 65 percent.<ref name=2SWp95/>

=== 2864 ===
'''5th Syrtis Fusiliers''' (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)<ref name=2SWp95/>
: Note: At this point in time the heavy-weight unit was stationed on [[Glentworth]] with an operational readiness of 32 percent.<ref name=2SWp95/>

===3025===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT''' (Regiment/Regular/Questionable)<ref name=HD136/>
:* CO: Marshal Tamara Hasek<ref name=HD136/>
:Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on [[Kittery]].<ref name=HD136/> The 'Mech regiment contains heavy-weight designs.<ref name=HD139>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 139</ref>

===3040===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT''' (Regiment/Green/Reliable)<ref name=HWo3039p136/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Cammal]].<ref name=HWo3039p136>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 136</ref>

===3050===
'''5th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT ''' (Regiment/Green/Reliable)<ref name=20yup21/>
:* CO: Hauptmann General Nathaniel Hasek<ref name=20yup21/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Cammal]].<ref name=20yup21>''20 Year Update'', p. 21</ref>

===3054===
'''5th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT''' (Regiment/Green/Reliable)<ref name=OpjRp14/>
:* CO: Hauptmann General Nathaniel Hasek<ref name=OpjRp14/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Lee]].<ref name=OpjRp14>''Objective Raids'', p. 14</ref>

===3062===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers''' (1 [[Regiment]]/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=FMFS105/>
* CO: [[Colonel]] Serena Thompson-Hasek
:* Aide: [[Major]] Fortino Agassi
: Note: supported by four aerospace fighter [[wing]]s

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor [[Brigade]]''' (2 Regiments/Green/Fanatical)<ref name=FMFS105/>
:* CO: Major General Jing-Quo Lucifer
:* Aide: Major Sarah-Brynn Smith
:* 6Fifth [[New Syrtis]] Armored Regiment - Colonel: Caanan Doyle
:* 3rd [[Jaipur]] Armored Regiment - Colonel: Theresa McGinty
:* 2933rd Federation Artillery [[Battalion]] - Major: Bobby Tapp
: Note: Equipped with some missile platforms

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade''' (5 Regiments/Green/Reliable)<ref name=FMFS105/>
:* CO: [[Leftenant General]] Ho Tingh
:* Aide: Major Al Pressman
:* 584th Syrtis Infantry Regiment - Colonel Beria Nikolayivich
:* 20th [[Hobbs]] Mechanized Infantry - Colonel Eustachia Tobin
:* 6th [[Talon (BattleMech)|Talon]] Mechanized Regiment - Colonel Sherry Bork
:* Royal [[Deifenbaker]] Mounted Rifles - Colonel Benton Frasier
:* 245th Syrtis Jump Regiment - Colonel: Terrence LaCasse
: Note: Each Regiment with artillery spotters

===3067===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers RCT''' (Veteran/Reliable)<ref name=FMUp138/>
:* CO: General Serena Thompson-Hasek

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade''' (Elite/Fanatical)<ref name=FMUp138/>
:* CO: Leftenant General [[Raheem Idzikowski]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade''' (Veteran/Reliable)<ref name=FMUp138/>
:* CO: Major General [[Francesca Ziyal]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade''' (Regular/Questionable)<ref name=FMUp138/>
:* CO: Major General [[Dorf Coburn]]

===3079===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers LCT ''' (Battalion/Veteran/Questionable)<ref name=“fraffs14“>''Field Report: AFFS'', p. 14</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on [[Salem]].<ref name=“fraffs14“/> The Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers are at 90% of their full strength as an [[LCT]].<ref name="fra15"/>

===3085===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers LCT''' (Veteran/Questionable)<ref name=FM3085p69/>
:* CO: General Fortino Agassi

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade''' (Regular/Reliable)<ref name=FM3085p69/>
:* CO: [[Rear Admiral]] [[Axel Müller]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade''' (Veteran/Reliable)<ref name=FM3085p69/>
:* CO: Major General [[Lara Morozov]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade''' (Regular/Questionable)<ref name=FM3085p69/>
:* CO: Major General [[Cecelia Barsby]]

===3145===
'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers LCT''' (Veteran/Reliable)<ref name="FM:3145p89"/>
:* CO: Brevet Leftenant General Jara Dahar

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Aerospace Brigade''' (Veteran/Reliable)<ref name="FM:3145p89"/>
:* CO: [[Commodore]] [[Lionel Underwood]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Armor Brigade''' (Veteran/Fanatical)<ref name="FM:3145p89"/>
:* CO: Leftenant General [[Carroll Butler]]

:'''Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers Infantry Brigade''' (Elite/Reliable)<ref name="FM:3145p89"/>
:* CO: Leftenant General [[Freda Nash]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Centurion (5th Syrtis Fusiliers) FMFS.jpg|''[[Centurion (BattleMech)|Centurion]]'' of the 5th Syrtis Fusiliers
</gallery>

==Note==
* Both ''[[20 Year Update]]'' and ''[[Objective Raids]]'' list two instances of the Fifth. It has been [https://bg.battletech.com/forums/ask-the-lead-developers/5th-syrtis-fusiliers-which-version-20-years-update/msg557289/#msg557289 determined] that the version of the Fifth stationed on [[Bora]] was an error, and without knowing what unit it was supposed to be, should be deleted.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
<div class="desktop-3-col">
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)|FedCom Civil War]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Federated Suns]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Free Worlds League]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Report: AFFS]]''
* ''[[Field Report 2765: AFFS]]''
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)|First Succession War]]''
* ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]''
* ''[[Objective Raids]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3145 Capellan Confederation]]''
* ''[[Warrior: Coupé]]'' (novel)
</div>


[[Category:Federated Suns Commands|Syrtis Fusiliers, 005th]]
[[Category:Federated Commonwealth Commands|Syrtis Fusiliers, 005th]]