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Robinson Reivers-

The Robinson Reivers are the defenders of the Federated Suns’ Robinson Combat Region.  First raised in 2541 as a result of the reorganization of the Federated Suns military after the Davion Civil War, the Reivers were tasked with defending the Robinson Combat Region against the Draconis Combine.  As there was a high probability of and invasion by the Combine, the people of the Robinson Combat Region authorized spending large percentage of their tax dollars  equipping the Reivers.  This ensured the regiment deployed some of the most advanced weapons available,. Plans to raise additional regiments were put on hold with the formation of the Star League and the beginning of the Reunification War. With the prospect of a lasting peace, the people of the Robinson Region could see little need for a large local defense force.  Even if there was a desire for a larger force, the Federated Suns increased share of the Robinson Combat Region’s tax revenue, needed to pay for the Reunification War, left little funding available for the creation of new mech regiments in the Reivers.

The history of the Reivers was fairly unremarkable until the War of Davion Succession.  During the Reunification War the regiment saw no action, remaining in the Robinson Combat Region. With the end of the Reunification War and the establishment of peace across the Human sphere, military funding was greatly reduced in favor of other programs. The limited funding forced a reduction in training programs and operational exercises.  Yet despite this, many officers in the unit got complacent and arrogant, feeling they were more then a match for the forces of the Combine.

In 2725 the Combine opened the War of Davion Succession by attacking Marduk, an important Federation world which is home to the Norse Battlemech Works.  The planet was defended by the Reiver’s first mech battalion and several battalions of conventional troops. The defenders were quickly overwhelmed by the superior Combine forces and destroyed.  In response to this, the 2nd and 3rd battalions were thrown into the fight as part of General Kessem’s strikeforce, driving deep into Combine territory.  The Combine ignored this attack and continued to push on towards New Avalon, taking numerous worlds from the Federated Suns.

To the people of the Federated Suns it appeared that the Combine forces were unstoppable. This caused considerable concern for the Jewish population of the Draconis March, which was centered around the world of Robinson. Well aware of the Combine’s attitude toward monotheistic religions and the harsh way in which the Combine’s native Jewish population was treated, the Jews of the Federated Suns had no desire to become subjects of the Combine.

With the Combine forces headed for Robinson, General Moshe “Barak” Weizman [Editor’s Note: Barak is Hebrew for Lightning ], the former executive officer of the Robinson Combat Region who had only recently retired from active duty, decided to take action.  The General was a member of the Hashomer, [Editor’s Note: Hashomer is Hebrew for “The Watchmen”] a social organization for retired Jewish officers from the AFFS.  Along with other members of the Hashomer, he called in favors from every contact he had in the Robinson Combat Region and the aid of the local Jewish community to organize an ad-hoc defense force which he named the Robinson Reiver Reserve Force.  This unit was composed of retired soldiers who returned to duty, reservists who, unwilling to wait to be recalled to active duty, volunteered to join General Weizman and the cadets from the Robinson Regional Academy.

Equipped with whatever weapons they could beg, borrow or steal, the Reserve Force went into action against the Combine in 2726.  Unfortunately for the unit, most of the wartime emergency weapons depots in the Robinson Combat Region had already been stripped clean by the local AFFs forces.  This forced General Weizman and this troops to raid several ancient and nearly forgotten stockpiles, which contained large numbers of BattleAxe and Hammerhands mechs and other Age of War era weapons.

Despite being equipped with outdated weapons, the Reserve Force managed to win several victories against the Combine.  The Federated Suns media quickly named the new unit Barak’s Brigade and their exploits soon became famous across the Suns.  On Donevall II, the Reserve Force managed to hold off an elite Sword of Light Regiment until reinforcements could arrive from Prince Joseph’s Army of the Crucis. Joining the main Davion offensive, the Reserve Force followed the Prince to Royal, where they linked up with the survivors of the two Robinson Reivers battalions that had fighting with General Kessem’s forces.

As the senior surviving officer of the Reivers, General Weizman took command of the entire unit on Royal.  The fighting was very fierce and despite the best efforts of the Reivers, the Combine forces manage to kill Prince Joseph Davion. This demoralized many of the Federation troops, who retreated off world. While the Reivers tried to hold off the Combine troops, they were badly outnumbered and had no choice but to retreat.

Fortunately for the Federation, the Star League chose to step in and brought a halt to the fighting.  With peace once again restored to the Suns/Combine border, the Robinson Reivers began to rebuild their forces.  As one of his first acts, Prince Richard Davion officially recalled Moshe Weizman to active duty.  Weizman was promoted to the rank of Marshal and given him command of the Robinson Reivers.  In recognition of their efforts during the War of Davion Succession, the ad-hoc Reserve Force was added to the AFFS’ TO&E and officially designated the 188th Brigade,  although it was more commonly known by it’s nickname the Barak Brigade. The Reserve Force’s success in the War of Davion Succession had shown the value of combined arms tactics.  Built around the 2nd Robinson Reiver mech regiment, the new organizational structure allowed for better coordination between the mech forces and the conventional infantry and armor units.  General Weizman ordered the 1st Reivers to be reorganized along similar lines and designated the new unit as the 7th Brigade.  Shortly after it’s formation, the 7th Brigade acquired the nickname, the Ra’am Brigade. [Editor’s note: Ra’am is Hebrew for thunder]

In 2735 the Reivers added a third brigade to their forces. Officially designated as the Robinson Reiver Reserve Force, the new brigade was in fact a fully operational front line unit built around the newly raised 3rd Robinson Reivers mech regiment.  The use of the Reserve Force name was an effort to circumvent the force limits imposed by the Edict of 2650.  Unlike the 1st & 2nd Reiver Regiments, which were funded by the citizens of the Robinson Administrative Area, the 3rd received covert aid and funding from the AFFS as part of Prince Richard’s efforts to strengthen the Suns defenses.

Learning from the unit’s experiences in the War of Davion Succession, Marshal Weizman worked to transform the Reivers into an elite combat force.  As senior commander of the Reivers, Marshal Weizman had complete control over the Reivers’ training program.  He started by gutting the entire Reiver Academy training program. Gone were all formation parades, close order drills and military etiquette classes.  In their place, the Marshal had the recruits take part in extended field exercises and study combat tactics from the development of the tank and mechanized warfare to the modern day. The new curriculum also stressed the need for individual initiative on the battlefield and small unit actions.  As a result of these changes, the Reiver graduates developed a reputation as being some of the best soldiers in the Federated Suns, but also some of the biggest discipline problems.  While it is common for the AFFS to poach the best graduates of each regional academy for service in in either the Regular Army or the March Militias, very few soldiers are taken from the Reiver’s Academy.  The reason for this is because the graduates of the Reiver’s Academy can rarely adapt to the strict rules of the AFFS.   However, within the Reivers there are surprisingly few discipline problems.  Despite what many in the AFFS see as a reprehensible lack of decorum, due to the casual interactions between the officers and men of the Reivers, the system has worked well.  What is not understood by many outsiders is that the Reivers have not totally abandoned military discipline.   Rather by building bonds between the officers and the enlisted men, the Reivers have created a situation where the enlisted men have a greater amount of trust and respect for their officers and know that the officers will not needlessly throw their lives away in combat.

With the recent dissolution of the Star League, the Barak Brigade has been taking a more active role in the defense of the Robinson Combat Region.  Advisors from the Reivers have been working with local militias to improve their training and combat capability. While the AFFS High Command has seemed to focus their attention on the Capellan Confederation, the leaders of the Robinson Reivers have not forgotten the threat posed by the Combine.  Having sworn “Never Again” after the Combine invasion during the War of Davion Succession, the Reivers are working hard to strengthen the Sun’s defenses along the border.



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TO&E

Robinson Reivers
Headquarters Battalion
Sayeret Matkal -General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Chief of Staff’s Boys)
Medical Battalion

The Reivers’ Headquarters is largely an administrative organization that handles operations planning and logistical support for the combat brigades.  The HQ also has an entire medical battalion that can support any of the combat units.  The sole combat unit attached directly to the HQ is the Sayeret Matkal, better known as the Chief of Staff’s Boys.  Composed of the best soldiers from the Reivers, the Sayeret Matkal is a special operations force that can fulfill any mission from recon to assaults against fortified targets.

7th Brigade- Ra’am Brigade
1st Robinson Reivers mech regiment
77th Armor Battalion
82nd Armor Battalion
101st Paratroop Regiment (Reinforced)
Sayeret Shaldag (“Kingfisher”)
105th Scorpion Squadron
701st Engineer Battalion
Reshef (“Spark”) Artillery Battery

The 7th Brigade is the lightest of the Reivers’ 3 brigades.  Built around the 1st Robinson Reivers, the 7th specializes in recon and raiding.  Nearly destroyed in the War of Davion Succession, the 1st Mech Regiment was completely rebuilt.  The 1st is equipped primarily with light mechs and faster medium mechs, although there are a few companies of heavy mech, mainly the Kurnass, backing them up.  The 77th Armor Battalion is composed entirely of hover tanks, while the 82nd is equipped with a variety of wheeled and tracked recon vehicles.  The 101st Paratroop Regiment is one of the few parachute capable units in the AFFS.  The 101st specializes in securing landing zones for the 7th.   

Organized as a self contained fighting unit, the 7th includes elements not normally attached to mech regiments.  The 105th Scorpion Squadron is a heavy fighter unit that can provide both fighter cover and air support.  The 701st Engineer Battalion specializes in the construction of air fields and defensive fortifications.  The Reshef Artillery Battery is a light air mobile artillery unit.  The Sayeret Shaldag is an elite commando unit attached to the 7th. The Shaldag are specialists in commando operations against high value enemy targets and can also serve as pathfinders for the 101st Paratroop Regiment.


188th Brigade - Barak Brigade
2nd Robinson Reivers
53rd Armor Battalion
71st Armor Battalion
35th Infantry Regiment (Reinforced)
Sayeret Yahalom
101st Nesher (“Eagle”) Squadron
700th Engineer Battalion
Drakon (“Dragon”) Artillery Battery

Unlike the other Brigades in the Reivers, the 188th does not have any specialization. The 2nd Reivers mech regiment contains a mix of light, medium and heavy mechs, allowing it to fulfill any mission assigned to them,  Similarly, the 53rd and 71st Armor Battalions have a mix of light and heavy units. The 35th Infantry Regiment is fully mechanized, allowing the troops to keep pace with the other the elements in the brigade.

As with the 7th Brigade, the 188th includes a variety of other units in it’s TO&E. The 101st Nesher Squadron is the premier air to air combat formation in the Reivers.  The pilots in the 101st are best dog fighters in the Reivers and some of the best anywhere in the AFFS.  The 700th Engineer Battalion is equipped to perform any tasks from constructing river crossings to creating defensive fortifications.  The Drakon Artillery Battalion contains 18 medium self-propelled artillery pieces.  The Sayeret Yahalom is an elite combat engineering unit.  Specializing in demolitions, the unit is usually used to destroy enemy fortifications, clearing the way for the rest of the 188th Brigade.


Robinson Reiver Reserve Force - Golani Brigade
3rd Robinson Reivers
9th Armor Battalion
18th Armor Battalion
12th Infantry Regiment (Reinforced)
Sayeret Golani
69th Hammers Squadron
702nd Engineer Battalion
Kela (“Sling”) Artillery Battery

The Robinson Reiver Reserve Force is the heaviest of the Reiver brigades and specializes in defensive operations and assaulting well defending positions.  Having received covert aid from the AFFS to raise the unit, the Reserve Force was better funded then the other 2 brigades. This allowed the Reivers to equip the brigade with some of the heaviest equipment available. The 3rd Robinson Reivers are equipped almost exclusively with heavy and assault mechs.  Similarly the 9th and 18th Armor Battalions are equipped with heavy tanks, allowing them to anchor defensive lines. Because the Reserve Force is mainly used in defensive operations, the 12th Infantry are a leg regiment, as there is little need for the added mobility of a mechanized unit. To compensate for their lack of mobility, the 12th is well equipped with heavy support weapons.

The 69th Squadron earned it’s nickname of the Hammers through it’s use of heavy aerospace fighters to provide close air support for the brigades ground forces. The 702nd Engineer Battalion specializes in the construction of defensive fortifications.  The Kela Artillery Battery deploys some of the heaviest canons available to the AFFS. This firepower from this battery can smash just about any enemy position.  The Sayeret Golani is the eyes and ears of the Reserve Force. As none of the Brigade’s mech or armor units are suited to conducting recon missions, these operations all fall to the Sayeret Golani.  Lightly armed, but highly mobile, the Sayeret is capable of infiltrating behind enemy lines and reporting back to the brigade command about the enemy’s movements.