Haars Marcek

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Haars Urdgen Marcek was a Hettic nobleman, Home Army officer, and insurgent leader. He was best known for serving with the rank of Brother Colonel during the Second Leersog War, leading the Hettic Free Legion in a mass desertion, and overseeing the Free Legion's ensuing campaign of guerilla warfare against Syrvania's occupation forces in Hetland from 527 to 532.

## Early Life

Haars Marcek was born in 490 as the forth and youngest son to the house of Marcek, a landed noble family of Urdow province based out of Adsvaan Brast.

Widely regarded by family and acquaintances as an underachiever, he was said to have "resigned himself to a comfortable mediocrity; so low in the aristocratic hierarchy as to have no hope, and thus no ambition, of advancement, yet possessed of a name and station that saw he would never have to beg or toil". As such, he achieved only middling performance in school, on multiple occasions facing disciplinary action for truancy and promiscuity.

## Early Career

Haars was expected by his family to prove himself through military service before being granted any title or share in the family estate, both owing to his status as the youngest son, and after a narrowly avoided scandal involving the daughter of another noble family.

He would enroll in Chergaria's Haegensveld Military Academy in 506, with an interest in signals and aviation. This would grant him a posting as a clerk for the Chergarian army's air observation forces from 509 to 510, as part of a Hettic effort to gain institutional experience in aerial reconnaissance and communications.

In 511, the outbreak of the Lords' Uprising in Syrvania would see him transferred back home to the Hettic Home Army, as elements within Urdow and Kravan provinces were brought to a state of readiness to watch the western border. As a nobleman of Adsvaan Brast, he was granted the rank of Brother Captain within the Adsvaan Brast guards regiment, and was assigned to regimental command's signals detachment.

In 514, Marcek would decline a regular army posting in favor of remaining with the Home Army's Adsvaan Brast regimental command full time. Allegedly, this was due to Marcek recognizing the regular army's uncertain future, as he saw events unfolding that would lead to the House Gahrald Matter, as well as his preference for the relatively lax work involved with Home Army communications. Nevertheless, he would begrudgingly accept a promotion to Guards Captain in 522, as the Home Army undertook reorganization efforts to account for absorbed army units following the Pretender Conspiracy Scandal.

## Syrvanian Incursion

The Adsvaan Brast Guards Regiment would be deployed to Syrvania in support of Chergaria's invasion in the autumn of 524. The regiment would mainly serve in the occupation policing, anti-partisan, and engineering roles, though Marcek would find himself serving liaison duties with Chergarian aerial intelligence and bomber defense commands.

In the winter of 525, during the counteroffensive by Syrvania and Akrovia, the Adsvaan Brast Regiment would be sent further west for frontline support near Oltzanwy, just east of the Dobrinya Pass. During this time, Marcek would be stationed at a forward command post as a joint communications officer. This command post would be compromised by a Syrvanian armored raiding force, which saw the deaths or severe injury of nearly all of the command staff, leaving Marcek as the most senior remaining officer still in a condition to lead and fight. Over the next three weeks, he would distinguish himself by leading remaining personnel to a new, defensible position, and overseeing the re-consolidation of the local joint forces, allowing them to join the final Battle of Pansk in force.

Just prior to the end of the war in the spring of 525, Marcek would receive a royal unit citation and the King's Seal of Merit from Hetland, and a Medal of the Shieldbearer from Chergaria, for services rendered in safeguarding Chergarian lives. While he would decline a promotion to Guards Colonel, he would compromise with the rank of Brother Colonel, and an assignment as commander of the Adsvaan Brast Regiment.

## Second Leersog War

### Beginning of the War

Marcek, now bearing the rank of Brother Colonel, would be transferred to oversee forces manning the Southern Perlechkin Line in Tergost of 526. There, he joined Marshall of the Guards Ifan Litcwermenn in urging the Central Staff to place a greater emphasis on Praegan, rather than devote more resources to a suspected offensive to the south toward Gadnowé. He would relent after being threatened with demotion or a penal assignment, but would nevertheless receive orders to "hold to the last" in the event of a Syrvanian attack.

While records confirm that Marcek was present for inspection of the Praegan garrison the day prior to the Perlechkin Line Offensive, sources disagree as to whether or not he was present for the battle at Praegan. It is generally held that he was evacuated shortly before the fortifications were captured, though unconfirmed reports suggest that he remained on-site for long enough to personally destroy any vital intelligence or communications equipment, before escaping with elements of the local garrison.

Marcek would return to Adsvaan Brast to resume command of the local guards regiment, though Syrvania's Dash Across Urdow would see massive disruption within local Home Army elements, as units were shuffled and combined to form Litcwermenn's provisional "Urdow Provincial Guards Army". Marcek would remain within Adsvaan Brast to oversee its defense, and to buy enough time for forces in Urdow to man positions along the east bank of the Zlowiće River, where opportunities for a reversal were deemed much more likely.

### The Free Legion

After witnessing the organizational failures of Hettic counteroffensives at Gadnowé, St. Lyvan, and along the Diska River, bearing the effects of increasing dissonance within Home Army command and the Central Staff, and finally, discovering the flight of the royal family, Marcek joined a small cadre of officers who discussed the prospect of leading a mass withdrawal and potential coup.

Initially, the plan was to assert professional military control over Lingaen, allowing the Home Army to reign in rogue elements and reorganize for a more effective defense, hoping to exploit Syrvania's increasingly dire logistical shortcomings. However, another, independently-conducted, failed coup attempt by a pretender to the throne, and regiment-wide mutinies and desertions in the face of crumbling leadership, convinced this group of officers to instead evacuate from Hetland entirely. A collaborator within this network was able to secure connections within the Lavinian government. This would allow evacuated forces to base within neutral territory, conducting operations over the border, independent from the increasingly chaotic hierarchy of the Home Army.

After reaching out to mutineers, deserters in custody, and disaffected field and non-commissioned officers, Marcek and his connections would oversee the organization of the Free Legion. The March of the Free Legion saw this force depart on a commandeered train from the town of Kopylice, northeast of Tába. Along with a number of civilians, the majority of the Free Legion was able to successfully cross the border into Lavinia, where they were ensured asylum through bribery and connections to elements of the Lavinian government.

## The Broken Years

[Placeholder; Marcek continues to lead Free Legion incursions into Hetland to help resist Syrvanian occupation. Despite ideological disagreements - with Marcek being a committed monarchist and Litcwermenn blaming the monarchy for their failures in the war - the two reach an agreement via secret correspondance: The Free Legion will not target Hettic Republican Army forces, and instead conduct operations that would encourage increased Hettic Republic autonomy, allowing for an eventual, systematic removal of Syrvanian influence from within, and return sovereignty to Hetland. Marcek also uses prior experience in signals and communications to oversee efforts to monitor and disrupt Syrvanian and Commonwealth intelligence, and assist the efforts of Bressian intelligence in the region.]

## Syrvanian-Lavinian War

[Placeholder: Free Legion is placed under increasing pressure as Syrvania threatens to invade Lavinia for harboring insurgents. Invasion in 530 disrupts Free Legion's network of connections within the government, as many are killed, flee the country, or are forced or persuaded to turn on them. Marcek becomes increasingly paranoid and withdrawn, eventually refusing to engage with subordinates, cohorts, and even long-time allies.

Arrest of Minister Valadam Ramis has potential to expose entire operation, prompting Marcek out of hiding to lead another mass withdrawal into Marazheivo.]

## Death

[Placeholder: Massacre at Patku Pass, 532; one of multiple crossings by the Free Legion into Marazheivo before re-consolidating in-country. Marcek and Free Legionnaires under his command are ambushed by Syrvanian OPC paramilitary troops and local collaborators, with most being killed in the ambush, or captured, either executed summarily, or after interrogation.

Free Legion breaks apart into independent cells following Marcek's death, with some cells remaining in Lavinia, others able to operate in Marazheivo, and some returning to Hetland.]