St. Cyr’s Armored Hussars are an amalgam of St. Cyr’s Grenadiers and Rivaldi’s Hussars, two famously troubled units that may have finally turned the corner.
Throughout their history, St. Cyr’s Grenadiers suffered repeated runs of bad luck. Reduced to 10 percent of their original strength during the Great Lee Turkey Shoot in 2952, the remaining members of the unit raised more troops and went back on the front lines. In 2985, the Grenadiers received a thrashing at the hands of House Davion on the world of Fletcher—a disaster they later redeemed on the world of Thomas in 3011. After the Fourth Succession War, the Grenadiers went from world to world, struggling for the lucky break that would get them a little higher on the Department of Procurement’s resupply list.
Rivaldi’s Hussars were raised on Florence in 2985. Once called “the sorriest band of idiots this side of Marshigama’s Legionnaires” by the commanding officer of the Red Lancers, the Hussars have suffered from poor coordination, poor supply and poor leadership. Their sole battle honors came in 2988 and 3031, both times against the Defenders of Andurien. This combat record earned the unit contempt from more senior regiments.
Things began to change in 3061. Sun-Tzu Liao’s offer of Capellan sponsorship came at a time when Colonel Frieze Rivaldi was looking to retire from active duty but trusted no one enough to take over his unit. In a deal worked out with Major Andrew St. Cyr, the Grenadiers and Hussars merged and accepted sponsorship. Rivaldi then retired, knowing his old command was in good hands. Major St. Cyr tore into the Hussars’ officer corps—forcing retirement on a few he believed undeserving of their rank, promoting others and mingling the two commands to the betterment of both.
Now a line unit in the Capellan Brigade, the Armored Hussars look forward to a brighter future free from their former hand-tomouth existence. The new insignia of St. Cyr’s Armored Hussars is a Chinese warrior in white armor with a red plume on his helmet, wielding a bloody Chinese kwang sword.
Originally raised in 2952, the Grenadiers’ career was cut short when the original battalion suffered 90 percent casualties during the great ‘Turkey Shoot” over Lee the following year. The surviving cadre reformed the unit in 2985, and the Grenadiers participated in the siege of Fletcher in that year, again losing many men and much of its materiel to Davion. Despite this, the Grenadiers’ medium ‘Mechs served House Liao well in repulsing Davion forces from Thomas in 3011. Having reappraised the Grenadiers’ capabilities, Pavel Ridzik used them as part of the raiding force that recently captured the planet Redfield, in cooperation with the Death Commandos. Given time and half a chance, the Grenadiers are capable of rendering excellent service.
Raised in 2985 from local contingents on New Florence, this unit suffers from the usual lack of spare parts and equipment, especially transport. This has forced it into garrison duty on various Capellan backwater worlds. In 2987, the Hussars were involved marginally in the Capellan raid on Shaunavon, but saw little fighting due to poor coordination with other units. Poor equipment and a lack of trained technicians continues to plague them. Their single battle honor came in 2988 when they successfully defended Palladaine against the Defenders of Andurien. Mostly raw recruits, this unit is contemptuously referred to by senior Capellan units as “Walking Cannon Fodder".
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