Among the newest forces of the League, the Legionnaires came into existence following the war against Andurien in the 3030's. The long struggle almost destroyed the Defenders of Andurien; The few units that survived the conflict were disbanded. The ten year war, however, did show Thomas Marik the advantages of integrated combined-arms forces. He immediately put the lesson to good use.
Using materiel salvaged from the Defenders and other destroyed units, the first Legionnaires entered service in 3042. The second and third followed in 3043. A surprising number of officers and men from the defeated Defenders of Andurien found their way into the Legionnaires, as personnel assigned to these units underwent intensive political screening for loyalty to the Captain-General. They have rewarded Thomas Marik with unswerving loyalty for his pardoning them after the cessation of hostilities.
Colors and Insignia
The Free Worlds Legionnaires use a white paint scheme, with purple and green highlights on panels of the legs and arms of their mechs, the control surfaces of aerospace fighters and the glacis of armored vehicles. Camoflauge suited to the terrain is used when in the field.
Forces
The 1st Free Worlds Legionnaires
The Eagles of Atreus
Created in 3042, this unit was built around a core of surviving veterans from the Defenders of Andurien and the Marik Guard. Within 6 months of it's formation, the unit was called upon to defend the world of Suzano from a sizeable Federated Commonwealth raiding force, made up of the 5th Syrtis Fusiliers. The two combined-arms units faced each other outside the city of Mikko. The Legionnaires were outnumbered, but by using hit and fade tactics, they were able to take few casualties, while causing the Fed Com units to retreat. The unit has fought in numerous campaigns, most notably the Westover Crisis of 3046 and the defense of Huntingdon in 3049. The unit is stationed on Andurien, and has seen no major action since the coming of the Clans.
The First Legionnaires use the standard Legionnaire colors: white with purple and green highlights. A single gold band around the wrists and across the torso of each battlemech signifies the First Regiment.
The unit's insignia is a golden eagle flying over a stylized map of the Free Worlds League.
The 2nd Free Worlds Legionnaires
The Stygians
Aut Mors Aut Victoria
"Death or Victory"
Thomas Marik had not forseen the appeal the new units would have within the League Military and the Marik Commonwealth as a whole when he created the Free Worlds Legionnaires. The First Legionnaires victory on Suzano promoted a flood of applications. By the middle of 3043, the numbers necessitated the formation of a second unit, and then a third in December of that year. Once again, Andurien veterans formed the units core. The Second Legionnaires were deployed to Al Jubylah, where they helped to restore order following the assassination of a leading mullah. Since they only faced a company of mercenary battlemechs, and some infantry forces under the command of the rebel General Acha, this was not a true test of the units abilities. The new units skill and professionalism was showcased when they stormed two fortified enclaves without taking any serious casualties.
Since the Al Jublyah campaign, the unit has been stationed on Sadurni in Andurien, to safeguard the border against Capellan and Canopian incursions. Since being deployed in the Duchy, the unit has only seen action once. This was when they pursued and destroyed the "Magnates" a pirate band that operated from an uncharted world between Pilpala and Calseraigne.
The unit uses standard Legionnaire parade colors, with two gold bands signifying the second regiment. The units emblem is a skeleton poling a skiff across a wide river, surrounded by the inscription "Aut mors aut victoria" (Death or Victory).
The 3rd Free Worlds Legionnaires
The Rattlers
Created in 3043, the Third Legionnaires quickly earned a reputation for fast and precise deployments under fire, excelling at planetary assaults and raids. The Third Legionnaires participated in numerous actions against the Federated Commonwealth, including the raid on Gienah in September of 3048. The Third engaged the Second Battalion of the 14th Lyran Guard, while the Fusiliers of Oriente targeted the combat vehicles factory at Gienah. Over a two day battle, the Third Legionnaires decimated the FedCom unit. After FedCom reinforcements arrived, the Third acted as a rear guard, inflicting further damage on the 14th Lyran Guard. Over the next nine years, the unit served on the Canopian border, Gibson and Ling, mainly acting as mobile troubleshooters. The Third was also in the thick of the fighting in the Zion Rebellion on the planet of Asuncion in 3057. When the Zion Province declared it's independance form it's planetary government, the Third was the closest loyalist unit. Arriving within two weeks of the announcement, the Mech battalion dropped form orbit and secured a landing zone. The planetary bridgehead was secured by Force Commander Hagiwara's Fire Demons. Colonel McNulty was then ordered by General Mondou to commence a hunter-killer operation agianst the mercenary units employed by the Province. The Third had a hard time in hunting down the mercenary groups, as they had spent little time training for such operations. Attrition wore down both sides, but the rebels were crushed after the arrival of the Third Free Worlds Guards in December of 3057.
The Third uses a variation of the the standard Legionnaires paint scheme, with green highlights but no gold stripes on the wrists. Numerals on the shoulders of the unit's Battlemechs, placed directly under the Legions insignia of a Terran Rattlesnake, identify the regiment.
