Editing Leonidas Brannock

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
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| name                = Leonidas Brannock
| birthdate           = [[3000]]
| died                = 
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Lyran Commonwealth]]<br>[[Free Skye Movement]]
| profession          = [[Hauptmann General]]
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}

'''Leonidas Brannock''' was an officer in the [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces]] and the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth]], who later defected to the [[Free Skye Movement]].

==History==
===Early Life and Career===
Leonidas Brannock was a graduate of the [[Sanglamore|Sanglamore Academy]] on [[Skye]], and was soon assigned to a [[lance]] and [[company]] command in a [[Skye Rangers]] [[regiment]]. He served during the [[Fourth Succession War]], where he was grew very disturbed at [[Theodore Kurita]]'s [[Fourth_Succession_War#Operation:_Contagion|counterattacks]] into the [[Isle of Skye]]. Some years later, Brannock witnessed what he saw as [[House Davion]] heavy-handedness to put down the [[Isle_of_Skye#The_Rebellion_of_3034|Skye Rebellion]] of [[3034]]. It was this event that put him firmly in the Free Skye camp, a group dedicated to the secession of the Isle of Skye from the Commonwealth. When he reached the rank of [[Colonel#Lyran_Commonwealth_and_Lyran_Alliance|Colonel]], he came to the attention of [[Duke]] [[Ryan Steiner]], leader of the movement. <ref name=HTPG8>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 8</ref>

By [[3056]], Brannock held the rank of [[Leftenant_General#Armed_Forces_of_the_Federated_Suns|Leftenant General]], serving on the staff of [[Margrave of Cavanaugh Theater|Margrave]] [[Richard Steiner (31st c.)|Richard Steiner]], [[Field Marshal]] of the [[Skye March]]. <ref name=HTPG8/>

===The Glengarry Campaign===
[[File:SG.jpg|right|thumb|The [[4th Skye Guards|Fourth Skye Guards]]]]
When Richard Steiner decided to throw his support behind [[Ryan Steiner]]'s bid for independence, [[Kommandant-General#Lyran_Commonwealth_and_Lyran_Alliance|General-Kommandant]] [[Wilhelm von Bulow]], one of Richard Steiner's top supporters, chose him to command a new ''ad hoc'' unit : The [[4th Skye Guards|Fourth Skye Guards]]. The unit would be made up of Free Skye loyalists from the [[4th Skye Rangers|4th]] and [[10th Skye Rangers]], with its 'Mech contingent drawn primarily from the Tenth Rangers and its conventional forces taken from the Fourth Rangers. With this command, Brannock received a promotion to [[Hauptmann General|Hauptmann-General]]. <ref name=HTPG8/> This new unit would strike at what the Free Skye leadership viewed as the sole point of "Davion opposition" in the Isle, the planet [[Glengarry]], home of the famed [[Gray Death Legion]] [[mercenary]] unit. <ref name=DH64>''Day of Heroes'' p. 64</ref> Overall command of the taskforce would rest with von Bulow. 

Brannock and the Free Skye forces arrived in the Glengarry system on April 1, 3056. <ref name=HTPG7>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 7</ref> At von Bulow's command, they initiated Operation Trident, a plan of attack that called for the Skye Guards to divide their troops, conducting their landings in separate locations that would ideally saturate and eventually overwhelm the defending Legion, which was outnumbered nearly three-to-one, with the Legion's second battalion away defending the [[Clan]] border. <ref name=BH254>''Blood of Heroes (novel)''p. 254</ref> Small landings at the cities of Dunkeld <ref name=HTPG10>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 10</ref> <ref name=DH6467>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 64-67</ref> and Loch Sheol <ref name=HTPG11>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 11</ref> <ref name=DH7174>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 71-74</ref> were quickly crushed by the Gray Death Legion, under the command of [[Alexander Carlyle]] in the absence of his legendary father, [[Grayson Carlyle]], who was away at court on [[Tharkad]]. <ref name=HTPG7/>

Brannock himself commanded the next landing at Coltbridge, where he would engage elements of the Legion under the command of [[Major]] [[Davis McCall]]. <ref name=HTPG7/> <ref name=HTPG12>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 12</ref> <ref name=DH75-78>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 75-78</ref> <ref name=BH301302>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' pp. 301-302</ref> Brannock quickly realized that the Legion's lighter 'Mechs could not stand up to the heavy and assault machines of the Skye Guards, and that McCall's own ''[[Highlander]]'' represented the lynchpin of their defense. Charging his command lance forward, Brannock hoped to eliminate or at least neutralize McCall long enough to provide his [[aerospace fighter]]s with the chance to make a bombing run.<ref name=BH304306>''Blood of Heroes'' pp. 304-306</ref> Brannock was able to briefly take McCall out of the fight when a [[laser]] blast struck McCall's cockpit, knocking him unconscious.<ref name=BH310311>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' pp. 310-311</ref> [[Davis Carlyle Clay]] managed to prevent Brannock from finishing McCall off, placing himself and his ''[[Griffin]]'' in serious danger.<ref name=BH314>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' p. 314</ref> This not only gave McCall time to recover, but it allowed Alex Carlyle to arrive with the Legion's reinforcements. Believing he had fallen into a trap, Brannock ordered his forces to pull back and regroup before reengaging.<ref name=BH314316>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' pp. 314-316</ref> The fighting was very heavy with Brannock constantly regrouping his 'Mechs and attacking the suddenly resurgent Legionnaires. In the end, it was futile, as Brannock and his troops were forced to withdraw to their [[DropShip]]s.<ref name=BH323>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' p. 323</ref> Despite being forced to retreat, Brannock had inflicted serious damage on the Legion at Coltbridge, depriving the mercenaries of the strength to fully contest future landings. <ref name=HTPG12/> Nevertheless, Brannock was furious with having been beaten, and it would color his thinking for the rest of the conflict.<ref name=HTPG8/> 

[[File:Gray Death Legion logo.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Gray Death Legion]] proved Brannock's greatest enemies]]
Meanwhile, an even larger Skye Guard force was attempting a landing near the remote mining town of Halidon. Though a company of Legion 'Mechs and supporting units attempted to stop them, the Legion forces were driven off. With control of a critical pass in the Monaghan Highlands, the Skye Guards finally had a secure landing zone, and could now bring their full strength to bear on the mercenaries. <ref name=HTPG13>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 13</ref> <ref name=DH7982>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 79-82</ref> <ref name=BH327>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'' p. 327</ref> Brannock would set up his headquarters at Halidon, while the Guards pursued the Legion. <ref name=HTPG14>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 14</ref> The Legion made a stand at Ryco Pass, where they again made the Free Skye forces pay for every meter of ground. Though they drove off their pursuers, losses to the Legion (including Davis Clay) were so heavy that they were forced to begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare. <ref name=HTPG14/> <ref name=DH8386>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 83-86</ref> <ref name=TD>''Tactics of Duty (novel)''</ref>

In late September, the Legion's second battalion finally arrived, having made the long journey from [[Borghese]]. Although they lost a ''[[Union]]''-class DropShip and all its BattleMechs while running the Free Skye blockade, [[Major]] [[Hassan Ali Khaled]] and most of his Assassins arrived to reinforce the beleaguered remains of the first battalion. <ref name=HTPG7/> <ref name=TD/> <ref name=DH8789>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 87-89</ref> Carlyle soon deployed Hassan in one of the boldest actions of the campaign in late October, with Hassan acting as a rear guard and drawing the Guards into a trap in Lochaber Forest. Sacrificing a crippled DropShip, the Legion triggered an explosion that took out an entire BattleMech company. <ref name=DH9395>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 93-95</ref> <ref name=TD/> In late November, with the assistance of longtime Legionnaire [[Charles Bear]], the mercenaries ambushed a pursuing column of Skye Guards in Killiecrankie Pass. <ref name=TD/> <ref name=DH9698>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 96-98</ref> This was immediately followed by a strike against a second column at Inverurie that gave the Legion all the breathing room it needed. <ref name=HTPG14>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 14</ref> <ref name=DH99102>''Day of Heroes'' pp. 99-102</ref> <ref name=TD/> Although the Skye Guards still controlled the capital city of Dunkeld and other areas, they no longer had the forces needed to pursue the Legion into the Glencoe Highlands. <ref name=HTPG14/>

The entire campaign had taken its toll on Leonidas Brannock. Where once he had reason to expect a quick victory, he had now been mired in an eight month struggle against an opponent who would neither yield 
nor even give him a stand-up battle. His command, though still numerically superior to the remaining Legion, had suffered heavy casualties to all its units. The local citizenry, while not in full rebellion against the Free Skye forces, definitely saw them as a hostile occupation force. To make matters worse, General-Kommandant von Bulow had continued to pressure Brannock to finish off the Legion, knowing that the expeditionary force was also needed to secure other worlds. By now, the timetables for the entire Free Skye Rebellion had fallen apart, and there was no sign of further support from [[Skye]]. The stress had reduced Brannock to a shell of his former self. <ref name=HTPG14/> <ref name=HTPG8/>

On November 30, a flotilla of [[JumpShip]]s emerged at Glengarry's [[Jump Point|jump point]]. Von Bulow initially hoped relief from Skye had finally arrived, only to find that Colonel Grayson Carlyle had finally arrived, with several regiments of the [[Northwind Highlanders]]. Exhausted and facing overwhelming opposition with no support, the Free Skye force quickly folded. <ref name=HTPG14/> <ref name=HTPG7/> <ref name=DH99>''Day of Heroes'' p. 99</ref> <ref name=TD/> Brannock and his staff were captured by elements of the Highlanders in December. <ref name=HTPG8/> With the failure of the attack on Glengarry and the assassination of Ryan Steiner on [[Solaris]], the rebellion quickly lost all momentum. [[Katherine Steiner-Davion]] was able to broker a peace, and Richard Steiner was reassigned. <ref name=SS42>''Shattered Sphere'' p. 42</ref> The Tenth Skye Rangers were eventually rebuilt as a [[Lyran Alliance]] "sink" unit for malcontents and incompetents. <ref name=FMLA99>''Field Manual: Lyran Alliance'' p. 99</ref>

[[File:3050U Zeus.jpg|right|thumb|A ''[[Zeus]]'' in combat]]

==BattleMechs==
During the Glengarry Campaign, Brannock piloted a custom-modified ''[[Zeus|ZEU-9S Zeus]]''. This 'Mech included an [[extralight fusion engine]] and one additional [[Double Heat Sink]] that allowed for an improved weapons load. The [[Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon]] is replaced with a [[Gauss rifle]] and the [[LRM-15]] has been upgraded to an [[LRM-20]] (each with two tons of ammunition). The [[Extended Range Large Laser]] and the two [[Medium Pulse Laser]]s are retained. <ref name=HTPG15>''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' p. 15</ref>

==Notes==
* Although ''[[Historical Turning Points: Glengarry]]'' clearly lists Brannock as the Fourth Skye Guards' commanding officer, the novel ''[[Blood of Heroes]]'' names him commander of the Tenth Skye Rangers. <ref name=BH302>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'', p. 302</ref> This is unsurprising, given that the novel never names the Free Skye forces as the Fourth Skye Guards, instead using the Tenth Skye Rangers designation when needed. It does mention a Skye Guards regiment composed of reservists and trainees from the training cadres maintained by the various Ranger regiments. Along with the Tenth, they formed the [[Free Skye Expeditionary Force]].
* Furthermore, while ''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' and ''[[Day of Heroes]]'' gives him the rank of Hauptmann-General in the Free Skye Movement, <ref name=HTPG8/><ref name=DH69>''Day of Heroes'', p. 69</ref> ''Blood of Heroes'' lists Brannock as still holding the rank of Leftenant-General.<ref name=BH301>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'', p. 301</ref>  
* ''Historical Turning Points: Glengarry'' clearly states that Brannock attended the Sanglamore Academy,<ref name=HTPG8/> while ''Blood of Heroes'' claims that he attended the [[NAIS College of Military Science]].<ref name=BH313>''Blood of Heroes (novel)'', p. 313</ref> It is possible that his education at Sanglamore included a period attending the NAIS as part of an exchange program.
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===Game Notes===
Brannock was a veteran-level MechWarrior with +6 skill roll modifiers to Leadership, Strategy and Tactics rolls. He had a 10-TP Rank of Hauptmann-General in the Free Skye Movement, as well as a 5-TP In For Life for Free Skye. <ref name=HTPG8/>
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==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Blood of Heroes]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Day of Heroes]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Lyran Alliance]]''
* ''[[Historical Turning Points: Glengarry]]''
* ''[[Shattered Sphere]]''
* ''[[Tactics of Duty]]'' (novel)


[[Category:Lyran Commonwealth Characters|Brannock, Leonidas]]