(You look into one thing and
you end up discovering so much more - Irisz)
The 777th Assault Regiment was formed in the aftermath
of the Second Succession War, growing out of the shattered remnants of several
different mercenary commands. Knowing that their battered units were no longer
viable, the commanders of those units came together during a meeting on Galatea
in 2865 to discuss their options. All of them agreed that another war was inevitable,
and that in order to keep operating during the forthcoming conflict they would
need to rebuild their shattered commands.
Those present decided to amalgamate the remnants
of their own units into a single command. While the idea was agreed upon by
those present, no consensus could be reached as to who should lead them. In the
end, in order to break the impasse, command of the unit was determined through
a poker game which was eventually won by Bedford O'Toole, formerly of the
Kannon Rifles. Taking his luck as a good omen, and noting the generally heavier
weight of the equipment he had inherited, O'Toole named the new unit the 777th
Assault Regiment.
They found work almost immediately as the Third
Succession War flared to life. Hired by the Federated Suns, the 777th were used
to push against Combine troops in the occupied Draconis March. A series of
lucky breaks saw the unit stumble into a massive Combine supply depot, netting
them valuable parts and equipment that went a long way towards building up the
command. O'Toole also saw it not only as justification of his leadership
(silencing the few remaining dissenters) but also proof that the 777th were a
'lucky' unit,
Similar lucky breaks would seem to follow the unit
wherever it went, allowing it to actually grow in strength during the bloody
early years of the Third Succession War. In truth, a good part of it was due to
O'Toole's organisational skills, good eye for detail and the large cadre of
scouts he carefully used during the unit's operations. When he stepped down as
commander in 2895, he left behind a unit that had managed to build a strong for
success and defying the odds on more then one occasion.
However, that success would come to haunt the
unit. O'Toole's successor, Jamal Nakambo, understood the work that he had done
and the careful use of intelligence assets to aid his decisions. However, he
also developed a fascination with the 'lucky' side of the unit, and as much as
he would review intelligence and key findings, he also would search for signs
and portents that suggested favourable circumstances. Over time this process
would filter across much of the unit’s
command structure, with the idea that the unit’s good
fortune could be actively manufactured. Senior officers were chosen as much for
their command abilities and tactical acumen as they were for what were seen as
favourable circumstances in their birth, names or whatever else.
This change of focus, combined with the slow, deteriorating
grind of the Third Succession War, began to weaken the unit. The 777th suffered
several losses that were put down to 'bad luck' rather than any flaws in their planning
or other mistakes. However, there were those who felt that the unit was headed
in the wrong direction, and that they needed to re-focus on the tangible and
real rather than ideas of karma, fate and lucky numbers.
In 2961, Major Jonny Raymond's 333rd Battalion
were nearly wiped out in an ambush by League forces on Savannah, saved only by
quick thinking on his part. This in turn had been caused by an intelligence failure
on the part of Colonel Athena Demetriatis, who had ignored scouting reports in
favour of what she saw as 'good fortune' granted to her by 'her guardian
spirits'. Raymond claimed that Demetriatis was not fit to lead, and demanded
that she step down. After he was rebuffed by her and the other senior staff,
Raymond left the unit, taking with him over a dozen MechWarirors including
several skilled officers.
Raymond's defection heralded a decline for the
unit, one form which it would never recover. Bedsides the loss of skilled
officers, the unit found it ever increasingly hard to attract new recruits.
Battlefield losses took their toll, and by the dawn of the 31st century, the
777th Assault Regiment's name had become something of a misnomer. Actually
closet to two battalions in strength, the unit was still organised as a
regiment under an elaborate numerology-based scheme. Likewise, its force was
now made up mostly of medium and heavy BattleMechs.
The end of the 777th came in 3010 when, acting
on advice from his personal astrologer, Colonel Anotan Tranh accepted a
contract from the Capellan Confederation to attack Verlo. Expecting only light
resistance, the 777th were instead met by a Sytris Fusiliers regiment who struck
during their initial landings. Colonel Tranh's ancient Highlander was destroyed in the opening
moments of the battle, with the rest of the unit collapsing into chaos. The
survivors were taken prisoner by the AFFS, with their equipment confiscated as
salvage.
- From Mercenary Commands of the Third Succession War, Galatea
Free Press
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