Editing Northwind Highlanders

{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}
{{Update Needed|[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]|[[Shattered Fortress]]|[[Grey Watch Protocol]]|[[Rock of the Republic]]}}
{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image     = [[Image:NorthwindHighlanders.gif|Emblem of the Northwind Highlanders|200px]]
| Designation  = Northwind Highlanders
| Formed    = [[2362]]
| Disbanded = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname  = 
| Affiliation = [[Republic of the Sphere]] (3081 - 3151);<br />[[Mercenary]] (2362–3081) (3152 - present)
| Parent Command = Independent
| Sub-Command = [[1st Kearny Highlanders]],<br>[[2nd Kearny Highlanders]],<br>[[3rd Kearny Highlanders]],<br>[[Northwind Fusiliers]],<br>[[Northwind Hussars]],<br>[[MacLeod's Regiment]],<br>[[Marion's Highlanders]],<br>[[Stirling's Fusiliers]],<br>[[Republican Guards (Republic of the Sphere)|Republican Guards]],<br>[[Stuart's Highlanders]],<br>[[1st Gurkhas]]
}}
The '''Northwind Highlanders''' are amongst the largest, longest-lived, and most respected [[mercenary]] commands of all time; a storied unit with the roots of their history in the ancient [[Terra]]n nation of Scotland.<ref name=NH6>''Northwind Highlanders'', p. 6</ref>

==History==
===Founding===
The Northwind Highlanders unit was founded in [[2362]] with the formation of the ''First Kearny Highlanders'' by Clan Stuart, a group of Scots that included the descendants of the last vestiges of the original Scottish regiments on Terra.<ref name=CMM58>''Combat Manual Mercenaries'', p. 58</ref>
The Highlanders colonized the planet [[Northwind]] largely due to its agreeable climate.<ref name=NH6 />  The regiment was a success, leading to the formation of Second Kearny Highlanders in [[2369]] and [[McCormack's Fusiliers]] in [[2377]].<ref name=CMM58/>

===Star League Era===
The Highlanders achieved fame far and wide through human space even before the [[Star League]] was formed. Later, they were of the League's more respected units by the SLDF, and the [[Royal Black Watch]] members who protected the [[First Lord]] were mainly recruited from the best Highlanders. After the Watch was destroyed in the [[Amaris Civil War]], some surviving members hid among the Highlanders, keeping the unit's traditions alive.{{cn}}

===Succession Wars===
Throughout the centuries, the Highlanders earned a reputation as an elite unit with high standards and morals that were not for sale, but even before [[Operation EXODUS]], the Highlanders regiments had grown apart from Northwind clan elders and accepted a contract with the [[Capellan Confederation]], in what was essentially an exclusive contract. When the [[Federated Suns]] invaded Northwind and destroyed two Highlander regiments recently founded, the Highlanders regiments accepted it with stoicism, and during the Succession Wars, served House Liao with honor and loyalty, as when the Second Kearny spent forty years hunting down every member of [[Gladstone's Gladiators]], a mercenary command that had breached their contract with the Confederation, or when the First Kearny faced down and defeated [[Wolf's Dragoons]] [[Zeta Battalion]].<ref>''Combat Manual Mercenaries'', p. 58</ref> The situation changed, however, when Prince [[Hanse Davion]] of the Federated Suns decided to invade the Capellan Confederation in what would become known as the [[Fourth Succession War]].

A turning point in Highlanders history was when Davion contacted them and promised them a home on their ancestral homeworld, Northwind, and they accepted, signing the [[Northwind Agreement]]. The vast majority of the Highlanders chose to abandon the Capellan Confederation and took up station on Northwind. Some Highlanders chose to stay, however, creating rifts in some families. They successfuly took Northwind, but more than four hundred of their warriors died in the battle. The Highlanders ably served the [[Federated Commonwealth]], fighting into the [[War of 3039]], losing about five hundred of their people, and later served along the Clan front.<ref>''Highlander Gambit'', ch. 10</ref>

===Clan Invasion and FedCom Civil War Eras===
Another turning point occurred in [[3057]], when Chancellor [[Sun-Tzu Liao]] sent [[Loren Jaffray]], a Death Commando whose grandfather was a Highlander who remained in the Confederation, to Northwind to offer the Highlanders their independence. Coinciding with the Marik-Liao invasion, the Highlanders were tied up as they fought a minor civil war, then debated whether or not to accept the Chancellor's proposal.  Colonel [[William McLeod]], the ranking Highlander on planet, was able to reunite his troops and ultimately they chose to fight for their independence, and with the arrival of [[Stirling's Fusiliers]] sent the [[Lyran Alliance|Lyran]] [[3rd Royal Guards]] packing. Though Jaffray's mission was supposedly to destroy the Highlanders for their betrayal of Sun-Tzu's grandfather, Liao seemed content to have deprived the Federated Commonwealth of them and accepted the Death Commando's defection to the Highlanders with nary a second thought.

Jaffray proved his loyalty to the Highlanders soon enough in a raid against [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]]. In the aftermath of the [[Battle of Wayside (3058)]], Jaffray was put in command of the [[Northwind Hussars]], a new unit formed specifically to counter Clan tactics.<ref>''Northwind Highlanders''</ref> (Interestingly, the same concept had been proposed much earlier to the Highlanders by [[Jeremiah Rose]], who was rebuffed due to the objections of his own father.)<ref>''Main Event''</ref>

In [[3059]], the Highlanders contributed forces to [[Task Force Serpent]], a [[Star League]] force sent to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar on their homeworld of [[Huntress]].

In [[3066]], the Highlanders joined [[Jaime Wolf]] and [[Wolf's Dragoons]] in the [[Allied Mercenary Command]], an alliance dedicated to stopping [[Word of Blake]] expansion in the [[Chaos March]].

===Jihad===
The sudden, consecutive deaths of four clan Elders forced the Highlanders to activate escape clauses in their contracts to return to Northwind, so they could participate in emergency elections.<ref name="J:FRp44">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 44: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> The Word of Blake seized the opportunity to blockade the system on 15 December, [[3067]], and keep all of the Highlanders regiments isolated on Northwind.<ref name=JFS70-11>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3070'', p. 11: "Timeline of the Jihad"</ref><ref name=BA-171>''Blake Ascending'', p. 171: "Timeline of the Jihad"</ref>

Later in the Jihad, when the [[Word of Blake]] debuted a new version of the ''[[Crab]]'' BattleMech, it was speculated by many that the [[Cosara Weaponries]] plant on Northwind had been captured by the Blakists.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', p. 198</ref>

Northwind was liberated on the 8th of December [[3077]]; allied coalition forces expected a battle, but instead found no Blakist presence in the system. The population of Northwind claimed to believe that the Word of Blake had an impenetrable blockade over the system; all of the local aerospace assets were missing, and the local satellite communications network had been destroyed. The planetary HPG had also been destroyed, but the Highlanders were otherwise intact after ten years of isolation.<ref name="J:FRp58">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"</ref>

The Highlanders later joined the Coalition forces as part of [[Operation SCOUR]]. Assigned to the [[Draconis Combine]] front, the Highlanders mopped up resistance on [[Dieron]] after the [[Clan Ghost Bear|Ghost Bears]] tore through the defenders.<ref name="J:FRp58"/><ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 69</ref> Though many were unsure of their loyalty, the Highlanders joined the assault on [[Terra]], assigned to take Sydney.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 96</ref> The combat drop went awry and the Sydney force took serious losses. The Seventh and Twenty-Sixth Divisions fought the mercenaries for every centimeter of land.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', pp. 104–105</ref>

===Dark Age Era===
====Early Republic====
By [[3081]] the Northwind Highlanders' program to rebuild was well-advanced; the factories on Northwind assisted in bringing the strength of the Highlanders up quickly, and the Highlanders had already recruited enough replacements to man all of their equipment. The few [[Dispossessed]] within the Highlanders' ranks were used to teach within the Northwind Military Academy on the key subjects of combined arms warfare and what limited defenses existed for protection against WMDs. The view among the Highlanders was that the nascent [[Republic Armed Forces]] may present a viable means to ensure that Northwind remained safe in the future, and it was widely anticipated that the Highlanders would join the [[Republic of the Sphere]].<ref name="J:FRp120">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 120: "Northwind Highlanders"</ref>

When the Northwind Highlanders officially joined the Republic Armed Forces, through negotiations, the entire brigade would end up being absorbed and mixed in with newborn regiments of the Republic, with the exception of the [[1st Kearny Highlanders|1st Kearny]]. The First Kearny would be allowed to soldier on as a continuing legacy of the Northwind Highlanders history.  Four of the Regiments would fight in the Republic's first military action, [[Operation GOLDEN DAWN]], where they would fight the Free Worlds League and be later absorbed into the [[Republic Auxiliaries]] as they became too damaged to function on their own. Elements of the Highlanders would be noted later becoming the [[IX Hastati Sentinels|IX]] and [[X Hastati Sentinels]]. The 1st Kearny's rebuilding process would be hampered for years due actions taken during Operation GOLDEN DAWN, where one of its battalions would be used to rebuild the [[Third Republic Auxiliaries]].<ref>''Field Manual: 3145'', pp. 180, 183: Hastati Sentinels & Independent Units - 1st Kearny survival and fate of the other regiments of the Northwind highlanders</ref>

In the early years of the Republic, after the Brigade was reduced to the 1st Kearny, the regiment served as a garrison force defending the [[Northwind Military Academy]]. As time went on, the Highlanders' last regiment would soon deploy offworld in a new role as a troubleshooting force for the Republic.<ref>''Era Digest: Dark Age'', pp. 15–16: Northwind Highlanders - Info on intermediate years before Dark Age</ref>

====Black Out and chaos====
By 3132, the Highlanders' leader, Countess [[Tara Campbell]], Prefect of Prefecture III, had taken charge of the entire brigade.  With the crash of the [[HPG|HPG Network]], the Northwind Highlanders came to be perhaps one of the only Republic loyal military forces left to ward off rebellion and invasions, including Campbell's former mentor and predecessor [[Katana Tormark]], leading her own [[Dragon's Fury|splinter group]] for [[House Kurita]].  Campbell dispatched and dispersed the 1st Kearny across [[Prefecture III]] to quell rebellions and uprisings. To mitigate thinning of her lone regiment, Campbell put out a call to arms to loyal Republicans to aid her efforts fighting threats to the nation.  In doing so, the Northwind Highlanders once again became a multiregiment brigade and gained two additional regiments of troops, the [[Northwind Fusiliers]] and Republic Guards. The new brigade was made from memorial groups of the Northwind Highlanders past regiments and volunteers from across the Republic and beyond. Still, coverage ran thin trying to put off the Republic's troubles.

In 3133, over the course of nine months, elements of the Highlanders would face multiple invasions of Northwind by the [[Steel Wolves]], which left Northwind with a considerable amount of damage. Despite this, Campbell redeployed the Northwind Highlanders to search for the Steel Wolves.  By April, intelligence reports led the regiment to [[Terra]], where they would face off and repel the Clan force with the aid of the [[Tenth Principes Guards]].<ref>''Era Digest: Dark Age'', pp. 8–9: "Brief information of the Highlanders and Tara Campbell's efforts to fight off Steel Wolves on Northwind and Terra</ref> In addition, the Highlanders sent a detachment of troops to [[Irian]] to oppose [[Bannson's Raiders]] on the world, but after two weeks of fighting they were ordered to leave.<ref>''Turning Points: Irian'', p. 8</ref>

Prefect Campbell became a media darling and turned down a position as [[Paladin (rank)|Paladin]] after her successful defense of Terra. The Highlanders were used within the Republic as a sort of troubleshooting unit, constantly heading to hotspots. [[3134]] saw them garrisoning [[Addicks]] and [[Small World]] in addition to their homeworld.<ref>''Truth and Shadows'', p. 108</ref>

Within two months of repelling the Steel Wolves, the Northwind Highlanders were called to [[Skye]], where they would end up mounting defenses against [[Clan Jade Falcon]]'s invasion of Prefecture IX, which would lead to the Highlanders being allied with the remaining Prefecture forces and splinter groups, including the [[Stormhammers]] and Steel Wolves. The Jade Falcons Expedition would ultimately succeed in taking Skye in the second battle.<ref>''Era Report: 3145'', p. 15: Falcon Descent "Brief details of the Highlanders efforts to defense Prefecture IX in the two battle for Skye."</ref><ref>''Era Digest: Dark Age'', pp. 8–9: brief information of the Northwind Highlanders efforts to defended against the Falcons with unlikely allies</ref>

====Absorption of the Highlanders====
The 1st Kearny was within Prefecture X, when the [[Fortress Republic|Fortress Walls]] went up in October [[3135]].  The RAF was ordered to organize its combat units within Prefecture X, including the 1st Kearny, into other newly raised line regiments.  This did not sit well with the people of Northwind, and to appease the population the newly formed [[XII Hastati Sentinels]] would be raised with a large percentage of soldiers who had ancestral links to the Highlanders regiments.  The newly formed regiment maintained a close relationship with the Northwind Military Academy, rotating officers as instructors to the school and exercising with cadets as part of their training.<ref>''Field Manual: 3145'', pp. 135, 140: Hastati Sentinels "Fate of the First Kearny Highlanders and perhaps the entire brigade and RAF response to appease unhappiness with newly raised Twelfth Hastati Sentinels."</ref>

=== Battle of Northwind ===
In [[3150]], when [[The Wall]] fell, Republic space was invaded by the Combine, the Capellan Confederation and Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon. Northwind was attacked by forces of the Capellan Confederation, in [[Operation CLARITY]]. They wanted to take the planetary [[HPG]] intact. The Highlanders held their ground, but the Capellan attacks forced them to use their secret reserve, the Grey Watch. However, the battle stalled until the Combine sent help. Luckily for the Highlanders, the enemy forces never cooperated, and, with a little of help from a Republic agent, finally engaged each other. In a three-way battle, the Highlanders faked the HPG's destruction, which made the invaders break off their attack and leave the planet.<ref>''Shattered Fortress'', p. 97</ref>

====Terra====
After defeating the Capellan invasion, the Highlanders (or at least part of them) traveled to return at Terra along with Tara Campbell, helping defend the planet against the invasion of [[Clan Wolf]] and [[Clan Jade Falcon]], in Europe, mainly against the last ones, until The Wolf Khan, [[Alaric Ward]] attracted them to her ancestral lands of Scotland. Despite the Highlanders defeat of Ward, the Wolf forces surrounded the Highlanders. Without alternative, Tara surrendered to Ward, accepting to become his bondsman. In exchange, the Highlanders stay out of the fight until the Republic's defeat and surrender, when they returned to Northwind.<ref>''Hour of the Wolf'', p. 130</ref>

===ilClan Era===
The Wolves let the surviving Highlanders depart unmolested. After they returned to Northwind, now an independent world, which had been harassed nonstop from Capellan-mercenaries, they dissolved the Twelfth Hastati to return the First Kearny to a full regiment. The again-mercenary Highlanders formed an alliance with the Duke of [[Tybalt]], who contracted them to protect his world.<ref>''Unit Digest: First Kearny Highlanders'' in ''Shrapnel'', issue #11, pp. 78–79</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 Northwind Highlanders
|-
|||[[Tara Campbell]]||[[3132]]-[[3151]]
|-
|||[[Arabell Campbell-Stewart]]||[[3151]]-present<ref>''Unit Digest: First Kearny Highlanders'' in ''Shrapnel'', issue #11, p. 78</ref>
|-
|}

==Traditions==
The Highlanders were divided into clans of families. Each one has an Elder which represents them all. As the name suggest, they usually are the oldest of each Clan. The Elders and key officers gather in meetings in the forest, or ''Conclaves'' to discuss key matters in special occasions.<ref>''Grey Watch Protocol'', p. 27</ref>
There they also have ''Assemblies of Warriors'', composed by all their units' key officers, to make decisions key to Northwind, like the ''Homecoming'', when they abandoned the service to the Capellan Confederation, and the one in [[3057]] when they declared their planet's independence. They were made in a special building in ''The Fort'' of Tara, and cannot be made without all the regiments on planet. Without them, they could do other similar meetings, the ''Warrior's Cabel''. These were made in the forest, not in the Fort. Cabels, apparently similar to Conclaves, were very rare, and their votes weren't binding. The highest rank Highlander on planet could call them in times of need.<ref>''Highlander Gambit'', p. 54-56</ref>

By [[3136]], the Highlanders held an annual golf tournament.<ref name=DALNp43>''Dark Age: LinkNet Articles (3136)'', p. 43: "Transcript of the Northwind Highlanders Annual Golf Tournament"</ref>

==Clans of Northwind Highlanders==
* [[House Campbell]]
* [[House Casey]]
* [[House Jaffray]]
* [[House MacLeod]]
* [[House McNamara]]
* [[House Rose]]
* [[House Stirling]]

==Tactics==
Differed by unit. However, the Highlanders favored saturating the radiowaves with bagpipe music to jam the enemy's communications and cause confusion, even playing it on their 'Mechs' and tanks' loudspeakers. The sounds disturbed the enemy but motivated the Highlanders.<ref>''IlClan'', p. 69</ref>

The Highlanders also favored the famed [[Highlander Burial]] maneuver.<ref>''Combat Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 58</ref>

==Units of the Northwind Highlanders==
These are the listings for all the regimental formations that have served or are currently serving Highlanders:

* [[1st Kearny Highlanders]]
* [[2nd Kearny Highlanders]]
* [[3rd Kearny Highlanders]] - (destroyed in [[2841]])
* [[Northwind Fusiliers]]
* [[Northwind Hussars]]
* [[MacLeod's Regiment]]
* [[Marion's Highlanders]]
* [[Stirling's Fusiliers]] - (formerly ''McCormack's Fusiliers'')
* [[Republican Guards (Republic of the Sphere)|Republican Guards]]
* [[Stuart's Highlanders]] - (destroyed in [[2841]])
* [[First Gurkhas]]
* [[Grey Watch]]

=== Naval Commands ===
* [[Stirling's Fleet]]

==Colors Schemes==
Honoring their roots to ancient Scotland, the Northwind Highlanders would add tartan accents on their equipment based on what clan they were with.

==Uniforms==
Northwind uniforms would normally consist of tartan kilts, a dress shirt, and a war sash. This style would continue with the Northwind Standing Guard after the Highlanders' incorporation into the Republic of the Sphere.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Liaouniform3025nhpiper.png|Musician / Medic
Liaouniform3025nhnurse.png|Entertainer / Nurse
Camomercsnorthwindhiglanders.png|''[[Catapult]]'' 'Mech in Highlander colors
Northwind Highlander cover promo.jpg|A range of ''[[Highlander]]s'', highly decorated.
Northwind Highlanders at Dumfries ilClan.jpg|The Highlanders on Terra, during the Battle of Dumfries
</gallery>
===Unit Insignias===
<gallery>
Nh1k.png|1st Kearny Highlanders
Nh2k.png|2nd Kearny Highlanders
NorthwindHighlanders.gif|3rd Kearny Highlanders
Nhnh.png|Northwind Hussars
Nhmch.png|MacLeod's Regiment
Marion's_Highlanders.jpg|Marion's Highlanders
Nhsf.png|Stirling's Fusiliers
NorthwindHighlanders.gif|Stuart's Highlanders
NorthwindHighlanders.gif|1st Gurkhas
</gallery>
<gallery>
Highlanders (RotS) logo.png|Insignia of the Northwind Highlanders under the Republic of the Sphere
1st Kearny Highlanders (RotS) logo.png|1st Kearny Highlanders (RotS)
Republican Guards (RotS) logo.png|Republican Guards (RotS)
Northwind Fusiliers (RotS) logo.png|Northwind Fusiliers (RotS)
</gallery>

==Unit Notes==
[[:Category:Northwind Highlanders Characters|List of known Northwind Highlanders characters.]]

[[Ford's Falcon-Killers]] is a related unit of former Highlanders.

==Other Appearances==
{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
The Northwind Highlanders appear in the [[MechWarrior IV: Mercenaries]] PC game as potential sponsors. Units sponsored by the Highlander would gain additional C-bills per mission.
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

== Notes ==
* The current publishers state that in many of the earlier publications based in the [[3025]] era, the Highlanders had apparently been serving [[House Liao]] for so long they were no longer considered mercenary, but closer to regular House troops. [[CCAF]] Regular army recruits and academy graduates were frequently assigned to Highlander regiments, including a young [[Wayne Waco]].<ref>''Mercenary's Handbook'', p. 86</ref><ref>''Succession Wars''</ref> Actually, this is not correct, since several of the original Highlander regiments originated in the Capellan Confederation even before the Star League era. [[Marion's Highlanders]] originated from St. Ives Militia units, and [[McCormack's Fusiliers]] were bloodied in the defense of the Capellan planet [[Tikonov]]. The [[1st Kearny Highlanders]] fought for House Liao during the First Andurien War.<ref>''House Liao: The Capellan Confederation'', pp. 81–83</ref>

* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]'' notes the First Kearny Highlander regiment being absorbed by the Republic Armed Forces behind the Republic wall. However, there is no mentions of the fates of the newly raised Northwind Fusiliers and Republic Guard regiments. Also, listed among the Armed Forces of the [[Republic Remnant]], is a single Battalion listed simply as the "Highlander Battalion". It is not clear in the text of the Field Manual: if this unit is related to the Northwind Highlanders.<ref>''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 145: Republic Remnants - Highlanders Battalion "Unit listed by Highlanders Battalion, not clear if these are related to the Northwind Highlanders."</ref>

* The Northwind Highlanders especially favored their namesake BattleMech, the [[Highlander]]. In fact, during the Succession Wars, they were the only Inner Sphere army who kept a large number of them operative, along with [[ComStar]], most of them with Star League-era weaponry and components, contributing greatly to their successes in battle.<ref name=ACtA012>''Combat Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 58</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
<div class="desktop-3-col">
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[Blake Ascending]]''
* ''[[Dark Age: LinkNet Articles (3136)]]''
* ''[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]''
* ''[[Era Report: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]''
* ''[[Grey Watch Protocol]]'' (novel)
* ''[[House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3070]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[Main Event]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Mercenaries Supplemental]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Handbook]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Handbook 3055]]''
* ''[[Northwind Highlanders (scenario pack)|Northwind Highlanders]]''
* ''[[Shrapnel Issue 11]]''
* ''[[Succession Wars (Board Game)|Succession Wars]]'' (board game)
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Truth and Shadows]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Turning Points: Irian]]''
</div>


[[Category:Mercenary Commands]]
[[Category:Republic of the Sphere Commands]]