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* B4FFI.E FECH ®* FIELD M4NU4L

~ . • .. .. ,

• FASA COIIPOIIATIO~

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CONTENTS

BROTHERS IN ARMS 4 Life Service Medal 25 INTRODUCTION 5 Oriente Legion of Merit 25 A HOUSE DIVIDED 6 Order of the Saber 25

Politics of Command 6 Regulan Ankh 25 Resolution 288 7 Allison's Chain 25

Crisis and Renaissance 9 The Halls of Heroes 25 Slouching toward Unity 10 THE HATCHLINGS 26 Opposing Forces 11 Academies and Universities 26

THE EAGLE'S TALONS 13 Aitutaki Academy 27 FWLM Chain of Command 14 Allison MechWarrior Institute 28

Captain-General 14 Athene Combat School 28 League Central Coordination and Command 14 Atreus Officer Training College 29 Military District Commands 14 Legionary Training Academy 29

Types of Units 15 Lloyd Marik-Stanley Aerospace School 30 League Forces 15 Princefield Military Academy 31 Provincial Forces 15 Orloff Military Academy 31 Mercenary Troops 15 FWLM ROSTERS 33 Word of Blake Militia 17 Troop Distinctions 34

The Modern FWLM 17 League Troops 35 Unit Organization and Meta Units 17 Free Worlds Legionnaires: The Bold Experiment 35 BattleMech Assets 17 Free Worlds Guards: Old Glory 43 Aerospace and Naval Assets 18 Atrean Hussars: Phoenix from the Ashes 47 Armor Assets 19 Atrean Dragoons 49 Infantry Assets 19 Marik Militia: Mai led Fist in a Velvet Glove 53 Special Support Units 21 Knights of the Inner Sphere 70

Uniforms and Insignia 21 Provincial Forces 73 Ranks and Rank Insignia 21 Fusiliers of Oriente 73 Uniforms 22 Protectorate Guard: Marcher Lords 80

Awards and Decorations 24 Sirian Lancers: The Fury 83 Crest of the Eagle 24 Silver Hawk Irregulars: Disorganized Chaos 88 The Silver Cross 24 Oriente Hussars: By the Sword Divided 91 Distinguished Service Awards 24 Stewart Dragoons: Loyalty Unbounded 98 Raiding Ribbons 25 Orloff Grenadiers: Warrior Tradition 101 Conquest Ribbons 25 Regulan Hussars: War to the Knife 105 Defensive-Operations Ribbons 25 FREE WORLDS LEAGUE MILITARY 111

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SHIPS OF THE LINE: THE FWLM FLEET The Operational Fleet

The Public Fleet The Secret Fleet Vessels Undergoing Trials

Renovation/Construction RULES

Creating Scenarios Unit Generation

Force Composition Assigning 'Mechs Experience Level Finishing Touches

FWLM Regiments Using Hidden Unit Rules Overlapping Abilities Forcing the Initiative Overrun Combat Equipment Ratings Free Worlds Legionnaires Free Worlds Guards Atrean Hussars Atrean Dragoons Marik Mil itia Knights of the Inner Sphere Fusiliers of Oriente Protectorate Guard Sirian Lancers Silver Hawk Irregulars Oriente Hussars Stewart Dragoons Orloff Grenadiers Regulan Hussars

Training FWLM Battle Armor

Longinus Battle Armor Achileus Light Battle Armor

New Equipment LRM Special Munitions ER Small and Medium Lasers Ultra AC/10 Light Gauss Rifle

FWLM OmniMech Configurat ions F9-0F Firestarter BJ2-0E Blackjack

P1 Perseus New WarShips

Zechetinu Class Corvette Agamemnon Class Heavy Cruiser Eagle Class Frigate Thera Class Carrier

Index of Regiments Index

116 116 116 117 118 119 120 120 124 124 125 127 127 127 127 127 128 128 128 128 129 129 131 131 131 131 131 131 132 132 132 132 133 133 136 137 137 137 137 138 138 139 139 139 139 140 142 142 143 145 147 150

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C R EDITS Author

Chris Hartford

Project Development Bryan Nystul

Editing Rob Cruz Diane Piron-Gelman Sharon Turner Mulvih ill

BattleTech Line Developer Bryan Nystul

Editorial Staff Editorial Director

Donna Ippolito Managing Editor

Sharon Turner Mulvihill Associate Editors

Diane Piron-Gelman Robert Cruz

Production Staff Art Director

Jim Nelson Assistant Art Director

Joel Biske Cover Art

Doug Chaffee Cover Design

Joel Biske

Black and White Illustrations Tom Baxa Joel Biske John Bridegroom Scott James Lewis Larosa Jeff Laubenstein Brad McDevitt Jim Nelson Mike Nielsen Chris Palm Loston Wallace

Layout John Bridegroom

Color Section Layout

Jim Nelson Rank InSignias

John Bridegroom Medals

Joel Biske Paint Schemes

Christina Wald Intra Page and Uniforms

Chris Moeller Power Armor

Matt Wilson

Material from the House Marik Sourcebook by: Richard K. Meyer Walter H. Hunt C.R. Green

Thanks to the following for their assistance and comments:

Randall Bills, for a wililingness to discuss all things BattleTechy on our grand tour of

Ye Olde Englande; Hugh H. Browne, Jr., for encouragement during the writing of this

book; Loren Coleman, for saving me from tripping at the last hurdle and for setting a

very tough target; Neil Dale, for "the usual"; Jayne Greppi, for the "loan" on the Mac

keyboard after my coffee accident; Daren "Big D" Moss, for the BBO lecture on the

benefits of moral superiority (and overwhelming odds); Bryan Nystul, who let me do

three books in a row!; Mike Stackpole, for continued inspiration; the FASA Editorial

Dept, for thei r (probably) vain attempt to teach me "American"

BATILETECH®, MECH®, BATILEMECH®, and MECHWARRIOR® are Registered Trademarks of FASA Corporation. BATILETECH FIELD MANUAL: FREE WORLDS LEAGUETM is a Trademark of FASA Corporation. Copyright © 1997 FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved . Printed in the U. S. A.

Published by FASA Corporation 1100 W. Cermak Road· Suite B305 Chicago, IL 60608

FASA Corporation can be reached on America Online (E. Mail-FASALou (Earthdawn), FASAlnfo (General Infom1ation, Shadowrun, BattleTech) or FASA Art (Art Comments)) in the Online Gaming area (Keyword "Gaming"). Via InterNet use <AOL Account Name>@AOL.COM, but please, no list or server subscriptions. Thanks!

Visit our World Wide Web site at http://www.FASA.com

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BROTHERS IN ARM S

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The Orion took the corner at a run , losing its footing on the ferrocrete roadway. Within seconds the 'Mech's battle-steel treads gained purchase on the smooth surface, but not before the hulking Orion crashed into the facade of an office building and sent a shower of splintered glass raining down on the sur­rounding st reet.

As Third Legion Captain Lynne Parry righted her BattleMech to face the 55-ton Dervish standing down the street, the enemy 'Mech launched a flight of missiles. Several went wide, striking the damaged building and sending more debris to the street, but many more struck the lumbering Orion. Shards of armor explod­ed from the war machine, leaving pock-marked craters on the previously undamaged torso.

The Orion staggered slightly under the onslaught before Parry brought its Kali Yama autocannon into line with the Dervish and fi red. The first volley went wide and tore into an old brick three-flat, destroying a small store and several apartments in a bri ll iant explosion. The second volley slammed into the smaller 'Mech's right leg. Crippled by the massive shells, the Dervish swayed helplessly as Parry brought the Orion's lasers and short­range missiles to bear on the doomed machine. One of the Type V missiles pierced the rebel Dervish's knee housing , severing myomer musculature and shattering titanium bones. The 'Mech collapsed to the ground, engulfed in flames and thick black smoke.

For a moment there was silence. Then the Orion began to move, weapons trained on its downed prey.

"Surrender, and on the word of the Captain-General you shall not be harmed," Parry's voice boomed from the 'Mech's speaker system.

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The enemy MechWarrior responded by clumsily bringing the Dervish's blocky weapons pod into line with the Orion. The first volley went wide, and the Orion closed the distance in the brief instant it took the SRM launcher to recycle . Lashing out with one massive foot, the 75-ton behemoth kicked the raised arm before it could fire a second time, crumpling the launch tube and firing mechanism like paper. The missiles already loaded in the breach detonated, spraying both 'Mechs with shrapnel.

"Surrender, Matthew-you're beaten!" shouted the voice from the speaker. "I don't want to hurt you-but I will if you force me to," Parry continued, aligning the Orion's autocannon with the Dervish's head to emphasize her point.

"Never, you traitor! You'll have to destroy me, like you did Father," came the reply. As the enemy pilot spoke, the Dervish's remaining missile pods snapped open.

"For Zion!" the pilot yelled as he fired . The missiles' warheads would not have time to arm before

striking their target, but their launch triggered a reflex response in the Legion pilot. Even as the first missiles bounced harmlessly off the Orion's armor, her finger tightened on the autocannon's firing stud. The blast shattered the Dervish's head.

In the split second before flames consumed the remnants of the cockpit and the MechWarrior inside, the Orion's battlerom recorded an image of the Dervish's nameplate, a sight Captain Lynne Parry could not see through her streaming tears-a name­plate that read PARRY, M. LT (sg) .

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INTRODUCTION "He whose generals are able and not interfered with by the sovereign will be victorious."

-Sun-Tzu, The Art of War

Sun Tzu's famous maxim remains as true today as when it was written more than thirty-five hundred years ago. The Free Worlds League, with its bewildering array of often-quarreling component parts, illustrates the pitfalls of running a military in which too many sovereigns do too much interfering. For much of its history, the Free Worlds League military suffered setback after setback because its tiers of military and political commanders could not agree on common courses of action . Until just after the Fourth Succession War, each League province retained nominal control over its own troops. On numerous occasions, provincial commanders and political leaders used their authority to hinder the Captain-General and the League military's overall command to achieve personal political gain.

The cataclysmic events of the 3030s-the assassination of Captain-General Janos Marik, the Andurien secession crisis and the unexpected ascension of Janos's son Thomas to the Captain-Generalcy-changed all that. The Internal Emergency Act of 3030, followed by the Addendum to the Incorporation of 3037, stripped power over the military from individual provinces and even from the League Parliament, ultimately giving Captain­General Thomas Marik almost total command over the mi litary forces within his state's borders.

Since ascending to the Captain-Generalcy, Thomas Marik has worked hard to restructure the League military. More than any other Captain-General in history, Thomas Marik has empha­sized a unified rank structure and standardized training through­out the League. These efforts paid off with the success of Operation Guerrero, the Free Worlds League's recent foray to recapture worlds lost to the Federated Commonwealth during the Fourth Succession War.

With most of his reforms now in place, the Captain-General has chosen to follow the lead of Coordinator Theodore Kurita of the Draconis Combine, commissioning a fie ld manual as an objective report on the current state of the Free Worlds League military. Research for this field manual was carried out under the auspices of SAFE, with some assistance from Word of Blake's ROM operatives.

Field Manual: Free Worlds League contains four major sections: A House Divided, The Eagle's Talons, The Hatchlings and FWLM Rosters 3059.

A House Divided is a brief overview of the history of the Free Worlds League military and the changing nature of its role in the League. The Eagle's Talons describes the military's inter­nal structure in detail, including standard BattleMech, armor, infantry and aerospace units, information on the new unified rank structure, the uniforms of each service branch and the League's most prominent awards and decorations. The Hatchlings describes the League's major military academies, including all

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state and provincial schools as well as major independent schools. The final section, FWLM Rosters 3059, describes the history, organization, favored tactics and composition of each FWLM BattieMech regiment.

For the first time in history, the Captain-General of the Free Worlds League commands a unified state with a reasonably uni­fied army. Given our nation's fractious past, it remains to be seen if Thomas Marik can maintain this hard-won unity while navigat­ing the dangerous road ahead .

- Marshal Albrecht Kiel 1 January 3059

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