Editing Carlyle's Commandos

{{About|the Carlyle's Commandos mercenary unit| the Carlyle's Commandos formed by Isobel Carlyle in 3152|Gray Death Legion#Rebirth}}
{{update Needed|[[Tamar Rising]]}}
{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = 
| Designation = Carlyle's Commandos
| Formed = [[2990]]<small>(first founding)</small><ref name=GR>''Golden Rule''</ref><br/>[[3152]]
| Disbanded = [[3024]]
| Previous Designation = Colby's Commandos
| Nickname = 
| Affiliation = [[Mercenary]]
| Parent Command = Independent 
| Sub-Command = 
}}
[[File:CarlyleDeath.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Durant Carlyle's death at the helm of his ''[[Phoenix Hawk]]'']]

'''Carlyle's Commandos''' (formerly '''Colby's Commandos''') were a [[mercenary unit]] consisting of two [[BattleMech]] [[lance]]s plus several platoons of infantry, led by Captain [[Durant Carlyle]]. By [[3024]] the unit was garrisoning the planet [[Trellwan]], where a 'Mech lance of local [[Lyran Commonwealth|Lyran]] regulars accepted Carlyle as their CO, effectively bringing the unit's strength to a full 'Mech [[company]] (three lances).<ref>This composition was established by the [[Line Developer]] in [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20787.0.html this thread] on the official [[BattleTech forum]], to reconcile and clarify what appears to be conflicting information otherwise: Carlyle's Commandos were described as "a combined-arms mercenary force consisting of a BattleMech company and several platoons of infantry" in ''The Price of Glory'' (p. 192), but ''Gray Death Legion'' claims (on p. 6) that "Trellwan was garrisoned by a single lance of Steiner regulars commanded by Captain Durant Carlyle."</ref>

After the unit's effective destruction in 3024, many survivors joined the '''Trellwan Lancers''' under the command of Durant Carlyle's son [[Grayson Carlyle|Grayson]]. The Trellwan Lancers in turn formed the nucleus of what would become the famous [[Gray Death Legion]].

==History==

===Colby's Commandos===
In 2990 the Commandos were hired to protect [[Golandrinas]] from a local warlord only to find themselves in combat with the Deathgeld mercenary unit<ref name=GR>''Golden Rule''</ref> a Kuritan front.<ref name=DL>''Dragon's Lair''</ref> In the month-long fight with the Deathgeld the Commandos emerged victorious but lost commander Major Jonathan Colby prompting transfer of command to Captain Durant Carlyle and the renaming of the unit to Carlyle's Commandos.<ref name=DL />

===Battle of Dahlgren===
Sometime around [[3015]] the Commandos were present for the [[Battle of Dahlgren]] where they were forced to retreat off world when a [[Sword of Light]] unit dropped in their rear.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', ch. 2</ref><ref>''Bush Wars: Battle of Dahlgren''</ref>

===Carlyle's Commandos===
Carlyle's Commandos were stationed on garrison duty on the world of [[Trell I]] (Trellwan) since [[3019]]<ref name=DaTRp24<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' (1992 reprint), p. 24</ref> in the employ of [[House Steiner]]. During their stay on the planet they defended it several times against bandit raids.<ref name=DaTRp24<ref/> In [[3024]] the unit met its end in a sneak attack by [[Oberon Confederation]] troops, who pretended to be friendly forces, arriving in the course of an alliance between the Confederation and the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] as a replacement garrison, but who in truth worked for [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]] from the [[Draconis Combine]]. Upon arriving at the starport, the [[DropShip]] and the BattleMechs and troops it carried launched a surprise attack, killing Durant Carlyle in his 'Mech in the process. Together with the efforts of an indigenous saboteur and the infiltration by enemy commandos Carlyle's Commandos were shattered in short order and the survivors forced to retreat off planet, leaving only [[Grayson Death Carlyle]], Durant's son, behind, for he was believed to be dead.

Unexpectedly showing both leadership capabilities and military genius, young Grayson Carlyle subsequently rallied the local defenders and formed a militia force that could resist the invaders long enough to thwart Ricol's plot and save the planet from occupation by the Combine.

Following the successful fighting on Trellwan he went on to create a mercenary unit, the [[Gray Death Legion]], from his Trellwan Lancers and the remains of Carlyle's Commandos. Later, the Legion would adopt the name "Carlyle's Commandos" for its Recon Lance.<ref>''Gray Death Legion'', p. 9</ref>

In 3057, the Gray Death Legion's Special Infantry Assault Group was named "Carlyle's Commandos". All equipped with battle suits and trained in zero-g combat. These new Commandos  used the Leopard-class Dropship ''[[Io (Individual Leopard-class DropShip)|Io]]'' for Logistics Support. <ref>Operation Excalibur Chapter 22</ref>

==Legacy==
{{See|Gray Death Legion#Rebirth}}
Although the original commandos disappeared with the Gray Death Legion, at the dawn of the [[ilClan Era]] the two great-grandchildren of Grayson, [[Ronan Carlyle]] and [[Isobel Carlyle]], resurrected the Legion. Isobel was an avid reader of the family's history. When she attended [[Coventry]] Academy, she created an informal group of cadets which she named ''Carlyle's Commandos'', in honor of her second great-grandfather.<ref>''BattleTech Legends'', pp. 152–153</ref> 
When Isobel and her brother resurrected the Legion, she again named the sub-unit she commanded, ''Carlyle's Commandos''. She deployed her unit independent of the reborn Legion in [[3152]], when they began their contract for the [[Tamar Pact]] on the planet [[Crimond]]. Leading them to ''Condor'', a remote continent on the planet, they secured ''Fort Belvoir'', an old Star League fortress. The Commandos managed to avoid fighting the locals, and instead fought beside them against a group of Lyran loyalists. They returned to the main body of the Legion victorious and with new recruits from Condor.<ref>''Mercenary's Honor'', chs. 4–16</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 Carlyle's Commandos'''
|-
| [[Major]]||[[Jonathan Colby]]|| - [[2990]]
|-
| [[Captain]]||[[Durant Carlyle]]||2990 - [[3024]]
|-
| [[Captain]]||[[Isobel Carlyle]]||[[3151]] - present<ref>''Mercenary's Honor'', ch. 4</ref>
|}

==Composition History==
===2990===
'''Colby's Commandos''' (short Company)<ref>''Golden Rule''</ref><ref>''Eyestorm''</ref>
*First Lance
::*[[Major]] Johnathan Colby - [[Wolverine_(BattleMech)#Variants|WVR-6M Wolverine]]
::*[[Greg Zeller]] - ''[[Commando]]''<sup>(see notes)</sup>
::*Hernandez - ''Commando''<sup>(see notes)</sup>
::*[[Ernest Hauptman|Hauptman]] - ''[[Shadow Hawk]]''
*Second Lance
::*[[Captain]] Durant Carlyle - - [[Shadow Hawk|SHD-2H ''Shadowhawk'']]
::*[[Natalie Bryant]] - [[Catapult|CPLT-1 ''Catapult'']]
::*[[David Pryor]] - ''[[Thunderbolt]]''
::*[[Raul De Salva|Raul "Diesel" De Salva]] - [[Commando#Custom_Variants|COM-1A ''Commando'']] (customized)

===3024 Trellwan===
'''Carlyle's Commandos''' (short Company)
::*[[Captain]] Durant Carlyle - [[Phoenix Hawk| ''Shadowhawk'']]
::* Lt. [[Ernest Hauptman|Hauptman]] - ''[[Shadow Hawk]]''
::* [[Wasp]]
::* [[Wasp]]

*Logistics and Support Unit. <ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' chapter three</ref>
::* [[Lieutenant]] Hanesly- Personnel Officer <ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' page 164 </ref>
::*Sergeant [[Kai Griffith]] - Unit Weapons Master.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' page 16</ref>   
::*Nicolai Aristobulus - Grayson's Tutor and advisor to Durant. <ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' page 19</ref>
::*Security Chief Xiang.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' page 42 </ref>
::*Chief Tech Riviera. <ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'' page 20 </ref>
::*Senior Astech [[Claydon]] - Trellwan native recruited by the Commandos.

===3024===
The 'Mech company was led by Captain Durant Carlyle. One lance composed of his ''[[Phoenix Hawk]]'', Lieutenant Ernest Hauptman's ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' (the number two in the lance), and two ''[[Wasp]]''s was stationed at the "Castle" on Trellwan.

The unit also had a spacecraft at their disposal, referred to as a "shuttle" at one point. Their remaining troops used this craft to escape from the sneak attack. It is implied that the "shuttle" also accommodated their 'Mechs, and this and the visual description suggests it to be a ''[[Leopard]]''-class [[DropShip]]. Carlyle's Commandos may not have been the owners of this vessel though, as it displayed the crest of House Steiner.

==Notes==
''Golden Rule'' has Zeller and Hernandez piloting ''Locust''s while, just a few days later, ''Eyestorm'' and ''Dragon's Lair'' have them in ''Commando''s. There is no explanation for the change. This has been [https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,71384.msg1984140.html#msg1984140 submitted as errata] but has not been confirmed as of this writing.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Dragon's Lair]]'' (short story)
* ''[[Eyestorm]]'' (short story)
* ''[[Golden Rule]]'' (short story)
* ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Honor]]'' (Novel)
* ''[[The Price of Glory]]'' (novel)

[[Category:Mercenary Commands|Carlyle's Commandos]]