It was stickied at the top of the archive Periphery Thread. This is just the first post. The rest is at
http://www.classicbattletech.com/forumarchive/index.php/topic,598.0.htmlBy BergStorm
If you're interested in knowing what kinds of units the RWR fielded, here's the most complete list I know of (compiled by me when I was conducting research for some BT writing and updated with units I missed from posts on the old boards). I put these units in rough chronological order, and tried to separate guesses about their composition and history from the actual "facts" as written in BT sources. I also provide some notes at the end about the possible overall RWR force size and composition.
Eighth Amaris Dragoons
In 2573, former members of the Rim Republican Army (RRA) rebelled against the undemocratic rule of the Amaris family and released political prisoners from the Efrimal Long prison on the RWR capital of Apollo. Efrimal Long was also the control center of the Eighth Amaris Dragoons, which were caught up in the RRA attack. Source: Periphery sourcebook (1st ed.), p. 24.
[Note: It's unclear whether the Eighth survived as a unit after the attack -- they probably lost their command but most of the rest of the unit may have come away intact and survived to participate -- and be destroyed in -- the fall of the first Star League two centuries later. This is pure speculation, but dragoons are historically heavily armored cavalry units so one could assume that the Eighth Amaris Dragoons is a regiment consisting of mostly heavy units. This could also hold true for the other Amaris Dragoons regiments listed below.]
Amaris Republican Guard
The Amaris Republican Guard was one of two units that responded to the RRA's attack on the Eighth Amaris Dragoons and helped put down the Efrimal Long prison outbreak. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 45.
[Note: Presumably, the Amaris Republican Guard survived this battle intact. This is pure speculation, but since they are unnumbered, the Amaris Republican Guard is apparently a unique, one-of-a-kind regiment -- probably elite, highly loyal to the Amarises, and maybe assault class. If so, they likely participated -- and were destroyed in -- the fall of the first Star League two centuries later.]
Fifth Amaris Fusiliers
The Fifth Amaris Fusiliers were the second unit to respond to the RRA attack on the Eight Amaris Dragoons and the Efrimal Long prison outbreak. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 45.
[Note: Presumably, the Fifth Amaris Fusiliers survived this battle intact and could have participated -- and been destroyed in -- the fall of the first Star League two centuries later. This is pure speculation, but historically fusiliers were infantrymen that focused on fire support. So the Fifth Amaris Fusiliers is probably a lighter unit than either the Amaris Republican Guard or the Eighth Amaris Dragoons -- maybe medium weight, focused on fire support. This could hold true for the other Amaris Fusiliers units listed below.]
Seventh Amaris Legionnaires
During the Reunification War, there was a second RRA rebellion on Apollo. (These ornery VFW members must be getting really old! [laugh]) This time they protested the Amaris family's loyalty to the Star League. (The Amarises were the only ruling Periphery family to not resist the Star League's attempt to force the Periphery states to join the Star League.) The commander of the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires, Colonel Katherine Dormax, was one of two regimental commenders who refused orders to put down the RRA rebellion. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 51 and Periphery sourcebook (1st ed.), p. 42.
[Note: It's unclear whether the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires were attacked by other RWR units loyal to the Amarises or whether Colonel Dormax was simply stripped of her command. If they survived, they could have participated -- and been destroyed in -- the fall of the first Star League. This is pure speculation, but the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires may be a second-line, garrison unit versus other, more front-line sounding units like dragoons, fusiliers, etc. Alternatively, they could actually be composed of Legionnaires -- volunteers from foreign states who enlisted with the RWR -- but it's questionable whether the RWR could raise seven or more whole regiments of foreign volunteers.]
Eighth Amaris Fusiliers
The Eighth Amaris Fusiliers were the second unit, along with the Seventh Amaris Legionnaires, to refuse to put down the RRA rebellion on Apollo during the Reunification War. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 51.
[Note: Again, it's unclear whether the Eighth Amaris Fusiliers were attacked by loyal RWR units for refusing orders or whether their commanders were simply stripped of command. If they survived, they could have participated -- and been destroyed in --the fall of the first Star League.]
Fourth Amaris Dragoons
The Fourth Amaris Dragoons have a long history and more mentions, mostly infamous, than any other RWR unit.
Unlike the Seventh Amaris Fusiliers and the Eighth Amaris Dragoons, the Fourth Amaris Dragoons did respond to the call to put down the RRA rebellion on Apollo during the Reunification War. They were apparently unsuccessful, probably due to their sister-units' refusal of orders. This forced the Amarises to ask for help from the Star League in putting down the rebellion, which led to Operation Mailed Fist -- a multi-regimental force from the SLDF, the Lyran Commonwealth, and the Free Worlds League that extinguished the RRA and other elements rebelling against Amaris rule throughout the RWR during the Reunification War. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 51.
The Fourth Amaris Dragoons apparently survived the Reunification War and became a favorite unit of the Amarises for their loyalty. In the prelude to the fall of the first Star League, the Fourth Amaris Dragoons were the first unit to arrive in the Terran Hegemony after Richard Cameron asked Stefan Amaris's help in garrisoning the Hegemony when SLDF forces ran low due to actions in other Periphery states. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 80.
Finally, when Stefan Amaris executed Richard Cameron and took over the Terran Hegemony, the Fourth Amaris Dragoons were assigned the task of eliminating the remnants of the Black Watch regiment (the highly elite bodyguard of the First Lord). The Fourth was thoroughly chewed up by the Black Watch's defensive positions, and finally resorted to a nuclear device to eliminate the remaining Black Watch Highlanders. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 83 and Northwind Highlanders scenario pack, p. 17-18.
[Note: It's unclear whether the Fourth Amaris Dragoons survived their suicidal attack on the Black Watch regiment, but if they did, they were probably hunted down by other SLDF units for their use of nukes when Kerensky retook Terra. The Fourth Amaris Dragoons were apparently very loyal to the Amarises or very unscrupulous since they obeyed some unsavory orders when other RWR regiments would not. This is pure speculation, but the Fourth Amaris Dragoons were probably also a relatively elite unit, given their prominence as the lead RWR unit right before the Amaris crisis and their assignment against the Black Watch. They, along with the Amaris Republican Guard, may have been the two top battlemech regiments in the RWR.]
Third Amaris Dragoons
Sometime after second RRA rebellion on Apollo, the Amarises enacted the Universal Loyalty Act, which required RWR citizens to pledge loyalty to the Star League. The planet Somerset revolted against the Universal Loyalty Act, and the Third Amaris Dragoons put down the revolt. Source: Periphery sourcebook (1st ed.), p. 24.
[Note: Presumably the Third Amaris Dragoons survived this revolt and could have participated -- and been destroyed in -- the fall of the first Star League.]
203rd Republican Guards Division
The 203rd Republican Guards Division was assigned the task of securing Hilton Head Island five weeks into the Amaris Crisis. Hilton Head was to be the site of the Star League's new central HPG communications coordination center. The complex was halfway constructed when the 203rd arrived, but thanks to the efforts of a handful of construction workers, the 203rd found only an abandoned construction site and never stumbled onto the remaining building materials -- setting up camp two kilometers outside the complex instead. Jerome Blake and ComStar would eventually complete construction of the Hilton Head Complex after the Amaris Crisis. The 203rd was nicknamed "The Sword of Saddam". Source: ComStar sourcebook, p. 9.
[Note: The 203rd Republican Guards are the only Rim Worlds unit designated as a divison, not a regiment. It's possible, even likely, that most RWR battlemech regiments were accompanied by support units (aerospace fighters, vehicles, infantry, artillery), but unclear whether such formations approached true divisions containing more than one battlemech regiment.
It's also unclear whether the 203rd Republican Guards are part of the same formation as the Amaris Republican Guards. For the sake of this listing, it is assumed that they are.]
Greenhaven Gestapo
The Greenhaven Gestapo was already a notorious mercenary band when Stefan Amaris hired them to occupy Rome. Among other acts during ten years of brutal occupation, they killed the Pope of the Catholic Church. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 83.
[Note: Presumably the SLDF hunted down the Greenhaven Gestapo during Kerensky's recapture of Terra.]
832nd Amaris Dragoons
The 832nd Amaris Dragoons were one of the few RWR units left behind to defend the RWR during the Amaris Crisis. The 832nd was stationed on the RWR capital world of Apollo. One of its officers, Major Phillip Drummond, was disgusted by Amaris’s treachery and went AWOL during the SLDF’s conquest of Apollo. Drummond offered his services directly to Kerensky, joining the SLDF as an intelligence officer, lieutenant grade. Drummond eventually joined the Exodus and became one of the founding Khans of Clan Nova Cat. Source: Invading Clans, p. 101-102.
[Note: Presumably the 832nd was destroyed or disbanded after the SLDF conquest of Apollo.]
422nd Amaris Cavaliers
During Stefan Amaris’s conquest of Terran Hegemony worlds, the 422nd Amaris Cavaliers attacked the world of Dieron and lay siege to a Castle Brian on that planet, defended by the SLDF’s 2145th Dragoons, for the duration of the occupation. Source: Invading Clans sourcebook, p. 131.
[Note: Presumably, the 422nd Amaris Cavaliers were destroyed by the SLDF when Kerensky retook the Terran Hegemony.]
Second Amaris Dragoons
During Stefan Amaris's occupation of Terran Hegemony worlds, the Second Amaris Dragoons were assigned to the planet Thorin, where they set fire to the Hegemony Library on Thorin -- the Star League's largest library. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 168.
[Note: Presumably, the Second Amaris Dragoons were destroyed by the SLDF for their crimes when Kerensky retook the Terran Hegemony.]
141st Amaris Dragoons
During Stefan Amaris's occupation of Terran Hegemony worlds, the 141st Amaris Dragoons defended the planet Caph, where their indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons led to the extinction of the famed “dinosaurs” of Caph. FedCom Civil War, p. 189.
[Note: Presumably, the 141st Amaris Dragoons were destroyed by the SLDF for their crimes when Kerensky retook the Terran Hegemony.]
Thirty-third Amaris Dragoons
The Thirty-third Amaris Dragoons defended Moscow when Kerensky and the SLDF's 11th Mechanized Infantry Division landed on Terra. Source: Star League sourcebook, p. 92.
[Note: Presumably, the Thirty-third Amaris Dragoons were destroyed by Kerensky and the 11th.]
Eighteenth Amaris Chasseurs
One of the most vile and despicable RWR regiments, the Eighteenth Amaris Chasseurs (also known as the "Death's Head Regiment") garrisoned the northeast American continent after Stefan Amaris took control of Terra. Colonel Gunthar Von Strang, also known as "Vampire Von Strang", and the Eighteenth ruthlessly exploited the civilian population. They were later crushed during Kerensky's campaign to retake Terra by the 146th Royal Battlemech Division (George S. Patton Division) when trying to flee to their dropships at the La Guardia spaceport. Von Strang's descendents were rulers of the Periphery bandit kingdom known as the Barony of Von Strang, which was later destroyed by the Jade Falcons in the opening stages of Operation Revival. Source: Jade Falcon sourcebook, p. 22 and Periphery sourcebook (1st ed.), p. 127.
[Note: This is pure speculation, but historically, chasseurs are light cavalry or infantry trained for rapid movement, so the Eighteenth Amaris Chasseurs were likely composed of light units.]
Thirteenth Republic Light Lancers
After the fall of the first Star League, the Draconis Combine hired the Thirteenth Republic Light Lancers to provide mercenary firepower during the First Succession War. Source: House Kurita sourcebook, p. 52.
[Note: Presumably, the Thirteenth Republic Light Lancers joined or fled from SLDF units during the fall of the first Star League. It's unclear whether they were stationed in the RWR or the Terran Hegemony when this happened. It's also unknown whether they survived, were renamed, or destroyed in the First Succession War. Of course, with a name like "Light Lancers", this regiment was likely composed of light units, but they may have been second-line units versus the chasseurs described above.]
Twenty-Third Republic Light Lancers
After the fall of the first Star League, the Lyran Commonwealth hired the Twenty-Third Republic Light Lancers to provide a quick strike capability during the First Succession War. The regiment was eventually renamed the Stealths, and they, along with the Tamar Tigers, were the only light regiments employed by the Steiners at the time. The Stealths went on to fame but do not survive as a separate, intact regiment in the 31st century. Source: House Steiner sourcebook, p. 43.
Note: Presumably, the Twenty-Third Republic Light Lancers joined or fled from SLDF units during the fall of the first Star League. It's unclear whether they were stationed in the RWR or the Terran Hegemony when this happened.]
Tartan Brigade
An Amaris "household unit", the Tartan Brigade was hired by the Draconis Combine after the fall of the first Star League to provide mercenary firepower during the First Succession War. The unit was later renamed Fuchida's Fusiliers and served a long history in the employ of various Houses until the Clan invasion, when Fuchida's Fusiliers decided to go bandit rather than face Clan omnimechs under their FC contract. Fuchida's Fusiliers occupied the Tortuga Dominions until the reappearance of Dame "Lady Death" Trevaline. Source: House Marik sourcebook, p. 106.
[Note: Presumably, the Tartan Brigade joined or fled from SLDF units during the fall of the first Star League. It's unclear whether they were stationed in the RWR or the Terran Hegemony when this happened. As an Amaris "household" unit, the Tartan Brigade was probably not a regular part of the RWR military, but apparently they were not terribly loyal to the Amarises either. Consistent with the tartan cloths of Scotland, the Tartan Brigade may have originally hailed from New St. Andrews, a former RWR world that is now home to primitive versions of the Scottish clans that originally settled the planet. This is pure speculation, but it's possible that when Kerensky invaded the RWR, the Tartan Brigade gave up its post next to Amaris to ensure the safety of its dependents back on New St. Andrews. Realizing their limited future in the Periphery after the RWR's dissolution, the Tartan Brigade may then have taken their dependents with them when they went mercenary, never to return to New St. Andrews. The term brigade implies that this unit was originally composed of more than one regiment.]
77th Amaris Dragoons
The 77th Amaris Dragoons, along with survivors from two SLDF divisions, formed the Lone Star Regiment after the fall of the first Star League. Source: FM: Mercenaries (Revised), p. 88.
[Note: Presumably, the 77th Amaris Dragoons joined or fled from SLDF units during the fall of the first Star League. It's unclear whether they were stationed in the RWR or the Terran Hegemony when this happened.
21st Rim Worlds
The 21st Rim Worlds is one of three founding regiments of the Blue Star Irregulars mercenary unit. The 21st Rim Worlds, along with the 1894th Light Horse and the Avatars of Painful Death, were the three regiments to receive the lion's share of Blue Star of Kerensky awards after Kerensky defeated Stefan Amaris. Source: FM: Mercenaries (Revised), p. 46.
[Note: Presumably the 21st Rim Worlds was an RWR unit that defected to the SLDF during Kerensky's invasion of the RWR or during Kerensky's campaign against Amaris in the Terran Hegemony. Apparently the 21st Rim Worlds served the SLDF with great distinction, winning more Blue Stars of Kerensky than nearly all regular SLDF commands. This is pure speculation, but given their uninspired name, the 21st Rim Worlds was probably a second-line, garrison-type unit before defecting to the SLDF's cause.]
Avatars of Painful Death
Another founding regiment of the Blue Star Irregulars, the Avatars of Painful Death may have been an RWR mercenary unit that defected to the SLDF like the 21st Rim Worlds, but there is no specific reference in a BT product supporting this guess. The Avatars of Painful Death were destroyed by the Jade Falcons during Operation Revival and the Blue Star Irregulars have yet to resurrect the regiment, although the Avatars' tank and infantry support unit now serves the 21st Rim Worlds.
[Note: A gruesome name like the Avatars of Painful Death does not seem to fit a regular SLDF unit but is more in line with an RWR mercenary unit (see Greenhaven Gestapo above). Regardless of whether they were an SLDF or former RWR unit, the Avatars served Kerensky with distinction, having been one of the three units that won the most Blue Stars of Kerensky.]
201st Republican Lancers
The 201st Republican Lancers survived the Amaris Crisis and became Draconis Combine mercenaries. During a campaign for the world of Imbrial III, the 201st fled from the field and left the planet. This incident led Minoru Kurita to suggest the formation of a policing agency for mercenaries, which may have led Jerome Blake to form the Mercenary Review Board. The 201st was nicknamed "The Longhorns". Source: ComStar SB, p. 15.
[Note: Presumably the 201st was hunted down by Kurita forces, changed their name or joined another mercenary company, went bandit, or left the Inner Sphere and known Periphery entirely.
It's unclear whether the 201st Republican Landers are part of the same formation as the Republic Light Lancers. For the sake of this listing, it is assumed that they are.]
Other RWR Regiments
There were obviously other RWR regiments, but there are no other specific references to these unnamed individual units in existing BT products (to my knowledge). However, there are general references, including the Always Faithful mercenary regiment, which was formed by SLDF and Rim Worlds regulars after the fall of the first Star League. Source: FM: Mercenaries, p. 38.
RWR Force Totals?
Different sources give slightly varying totals for the RWR military at the outset of the Amaris Crisis.
The Star League sourcebook, p. 88, states that Amaris's forces consisted of 40 divisions, including mercenaries. It's unclear whether this was just the force that Amaris used to seize the Terran Hegemony or whether it included forces he left to defend the RWR and/or support various Periphery rebellions. But regardless, this would have given Amaris a force of approximately 120 battlemech regiments, assuming three regiments per division.
The Periphery sourcebook (1st edition), p. 53 gives a slightly lower total. It states that Amaris amassed 90 battlemech regiments (or 30 divisions). It further states that Amaris only claimed 30 regiments on paper and was technically restricted to 12 regiments by treaty.
Regardless of whether the total was 90 regiments or 120 regiments, if one assumes that all of the regiments described above were present right before the Amaris Crisis (a big "if" for a couple of these regiments), then the RWR roster looks something like that below. If one further assumes there were no gaps in the RWR regimental numbering scheme, excepting the highest numbered Amaris Dragoons (an even bigger "if" but useful for approximation), then one gets a total of 161 regiments in the RWR, including at least 2 mercenary regiments. If one assumes that there were gaps in the RWR numbering scheme – just like the roster for every other battletech faction – then this total seems pretty consistent with a range of 90 to 120 regiments. Based on this estimate, the RWR military could have competed with the largest House militaries in the 31st century, although it was still only a fraction of the size of the SLDF at its height.
Rim Worlds Republic Military (163 regiments or less total?)
Amaris Republican Guards (at least 2 regiments?)
Amaris Republican Guards
203rd Republican Guards (totals assume discontinuity between Amaris Republican Guards and the 203rd)
Amaris Dragoons (at least 77 regiments?)
2nd Amaris Dragoons
3rd Amaris Dragoons
4th Amaris Dragoons
8th Amaris Dragoons
33rd Amaris Dragoons
77th Amaris Dragoons
141st Amaris Dragoons (totals assume discontinuity between 77th and 141st)
832nd Amaris Dragoons (totals assume discontinuity between 77th and 832nd)
other Amaris Dragoons?
Amaris Fusiliers (at least 8 regiments?)
5th Amaris Fusiliers
8th Amaris Fusiliers
other Amaris Fusiliers?
Amaris Chasseurs (at least 18 regiments?)
18th Amaris Chasseurs
other Amaris Chassuers?
Amaris Cavaliers (at least 1 regiment?)
422nd Amaris Cavaliers
other Amaris Cavaliers?
Rim Worlds Mech Regiments (at least 21 regiments?)
21st Rim Worlds Mech Regiment
other Rim Worlds Mech Regiments?
Republic Light Lancers (at least 24 regiments?)
13th Republic Light Lancers
23rd Republic Light Lancers
201st Republican Landers (totals assume discontinuity between 23rd and 201st)
other Republic Light Lancers
Amaris Legionnaires (at least 7 regiments?)
7th Amaris Legionnaires
other Amaris Legionnaires?
Tartan Brigade (at least 3 regiments?)
RWR Mercenary Regiments (at least 2 or more regiments?)
Avatars of Painful Death
Greenhaven Gestapo
RWR Force Composition?
If the regimental titles above are indicative of actual force composition, then the RWR military appears fairly well-balanced between heavier units (Guards, Dragoons) and lighter units (Fusiliers, Chasseurs) with a tendency towards heavier forces (more Dragoons than anything else). There also appears to have been front-line regiments (all the Amaris-named units) and second-line regiments (regiments that lack the Amaris name like the Rim Worlds regiments and the Republic Light Lancers). Finally, some units could conceivably have been composed of expatriates escaping poorer conditions in other Periphery states (Legionnaires?), of special units that reported to the Amaris household directly (Tartan Brigade), and of mercenaries (Avatars, Gestapo).
Although it's well known that Amaris created scores of battlemech factories in the Deep Periphery to fuel his war machine, information on what specific mechs were produced do not exist. It's unlikely that such secretive Periphery manufacturers would have had access to many Star League (2750) designs and technology. More likely, they would have produced copies or variants of well-known 3025 designs that existed prior to the Star League and were widely used throughout the House militaries by that time. It's possible that the "R" in many 3025 battlemech designations (e.g., ARC-2R, WHM-6R, etc.) stands for "Rim Worlds". If so, this implies that many stock 3025 designs were actually standardized by Amaris's factories -- a spooky possibility. It's also possible that Amaris's factories produced one or more unique designs (I always wanted to cross an Archer and a Warhammer for the RWR), but if so, they only reside in Clan stockpiles, Explorer Corps databases, Deep Periphery militaries, or have disappeared from the record except for some rusting hulks on forgotten worlds in the 31st century.
The Northwind Highlanders scenario pack (p. 17-18) includes a scenario depicting the climatic battle between the Black Watch and the 4th Amaris Dragoons at the time of the Amaris coup. The two companies of Dragoon mechs include: two Archers, two Clints, two Commandos, a Cyclops, two Dervishes, a Firestarter, a Griffin, a Hunchback, a Marauder, an Orion, an Ostol, an Ostroc, a Rifleman, a Shadow Hawk, a Spider, a Stalker, a Thunderbolt, a Warhammer, a Victor, and a Zeus. However, the information in this scenario pack must be taken with a grain of salt as most of these battlemechs are designated as 3050 upgrades – designs that did not exist in the 2700s. One could still assume, though, that the designations are simply representative of RWR variants that used advanced technologies. If that’s so, then the RWR had either made extensive use of advanced Star League technologies (unlikely) or had limited access/production of such technologies and restricted them to privileged units like the 4th Amaris Dragoons (more likely). Regardless, the breadth of battlemech designs and lack of low-end battlemechs like the Stinger/Wasp testifies to the strength of the RWR military industrial base. Also noteworthy are the gunnery and piloting skills of the Dragoon mechwarriors, which range from 3/3 to 4/5 -- on the low end for a unit that appears to have been close to the Amarises and elite in nature. (Again, the scenario pack should be taken with a grain of salt.)
The one known RWR battlemech factory is the Diplass ‘Mech Production Facility on the RWR capital world of Apollo. Although the first Periphery sourcebook (p. 42) states that Diplass existed before the Reunification War, that date is in doubt (see below). It is unknown if Diplass was destroyed/damaged/abandoned during the Reunification War or the Amaris Crisis.
Once Amaris controlled the Terran Hegemony, he would have had easy access to huge stockpiles and production lines for SLDF-unique designs and technology, from both Terran Hegemony Brian Caches and factories. Undoubtedly, most RWR units would have traded out 3025-type designs (e.g., Archers, Warhammers, etc.) for 2750-type designs (e.g., Bombardiers, Flashmen) and may have even upgraded some of their 3025-type designs with Star League technology. Amaris also apparently gained access to some SLDF prototypes and put those into production. The two known SLDF prototypes used by RWR units are: 1) the predecessor of the Clan Behemoth second-line assault mech (see the fluff for the Behemoth in TR: 2750), and 2) the Jackrabbit light recon mech (see the fluff for the Nexus, a ComStar mech which is based on the Jackrabbit design). It's possible that other Clan and ComStar "ancestor" mechs like the Galahad, Woodsman, Lupus, etc. were cutting-edge SLDF designs or prototypes stolen by the RWR, only to be recaptured SLDF and later taken on the Exodus or put into production for the Com Guards (or, more recently, the WoB). But at the time of the Amaris Crisis, these prototype SLDF designs would have been rare in the RWR, only having recently entered production in the Terran Hegemony.
Information on non-mech RWR units is practically non-existent or contradictory. The House Steiner sourcebook, p. 32, states that the RRA rebellion had to rely heavily (and effectively) on tracked tanks and hovertanks because battlemechs were still a new and relatively rare weapon for the Rim Worlds at the time of Reunification War. There is a contradictory reference in the Periphery sourcebook (1st ed.), p. 21, which claims that Rim Worlds intelligence agents aided the Lyran Commonwealth during the Operation Prometheus -- the pre-Star League operation that netted the first battlemech designs outside the Terran Hegemony. Presumably, the Rim Worlds would have been the third state behind the Terran Hegemony and the Lyran Commonwealth to have access to battlemech technology if the Rim Worlders had actually assisted the Lyrans. However, the Lyran Prometheus story on BattleCorps about the origins and diffusion of the battlemech has refuted and superseded the Periphery sourcebook. Regardless, by the time of the Amaris Crisis, the RWR likely fielded all the battlemechs it wanted. It's unknown at what level infantry, tank, and other units were integrated with battlemech units (e.g., at the division-, regiment-, or battalion-level).
Conclusion
What emerges from these references are two views of the Rim Worlds military at two different points in time. The first, prior to and during the Reunification War is of a relatively weak Periphery military, one that potentially still relied on tanks instead of battlemechs, was riven by insubordination, and was forced to rely on outside powers to settle internal disputes. However, by the time of the Amaris Crisis, a powerful Rim Worlds military has emerged -- one that has long had access to battlemech technology, established scores of battlemech factories in the Deep Periphery to fuel Periphery-wide rebellions, is well-balanced, has grown to the size of the largest House militaries, and has gained access to the best the SLDF had to offer. It's only apparent weaknesses were continued factionalism in the face of the Amaris family's despotism, the much larger and more experienced SLDF, and the determined opposition of Alexander Kerensky himself.
