BattleTech: History of the Clans - Kerensky's Exodus

[@sharlin648]

I like the fact that of the guys shoved out the airlock in the Prinz Eugen mutiny, one of them had the surname of Hegira, and as it was Andrey who had to push the button to eject him, he swore to never forget that name, and its why we see it in Clan language now. Great video as always!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Aff

[@MahiMahi-oiasdf]

The man's name was Surkai, which became the rite of forgiveness. Hegira is an Arabic word.

[@sharlin648]

@@MahiMahi-oiasdf That was it! My bad!

[@lexington476]

Now you got me looking up the 295th division on sarna.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Sad

[@franksmedley7372]

Hello Frog. The events of the Exodus are both amazingly bold, yet also beset with Humanity's flaws. The Mutiny might never have occurred if Gen. Kerensky had been more open about his plans. Allowing rumors that there WAS a plan, might have quelled the first dissenters, and although a Mutiny might have occurred later, it probably would not have been as large, or intense. One thing about the whole Battletech Universe is that even though there are giant machines to wage war, events are driven by Humans. And what we see, repeated again and again, is Humanity... both in the light of their progressive manners and thoughts, right down to the most base impulses known to Mankind. It is a tapestry of sinners and saints, bold generals and princes, cowards and backstabbers... and everything in between. This is what is so compelling about the Game and its background Universe. And there is room for expansion, alteration, alliteration, and even histories like my own Mercenary Unit. Where a group fled the Inner Sphere to colonize their own world, build their own industry, protect their own people... and eventually return to Mercenary work in the Inner Sphere a century later. Ah, but the Devil is in the details. And no matter what side you pick, what faction you play, there are both honorable aspects, and vile sins. None of us are Saints. Although, some of us can be our own Devils.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Few pure individuals in BT. Or in real life.

[@HeadHunterSix]

Kerensky was surely wise enough, and worldly enough, to know that people are never reassured by facts, if they can instead cling to their own misconceptions and superstitions for comfort. He was notably a fan of philosophers such as Pushkin, but I'll bet he had some Bertrand Russell in his library as well.

[@egaroadkill8701]

I once ran a campaign where SLDF Exodus personnel were running late on Dieron. I thought it would be a fairly short series but the players fought Kurita with absolute tenacity to eventually escape. The story ended tragically at Antallos when a saboteur caused the Potemkin class ark to disappear in a missjump. The remaining ships moved on to another SLDF depot behind the Pencil Nebula where the people settled.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

These are the kind of 'lost to history' stories that spark my own imagination and that I absolutely enjoy. Please keep them coming.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Will do! Thanks for giving it a go.

[@richardwingo2675]

I love the video but why was there never a sequel? LOL

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@richardwingo2675 Might I suggest you try Sven Van Der Plank's Battletech history series, or Tex of the BPL who has some really in depth Battletech historical records as well as mech reviews. Both are excellent.

[@chrislewis8831]

MechFrog, this is the start of another great series. Good job!

[@MechanicalFrog]

I hope it does well. I'd like to do more.

[@TheLDpwnz]

My buddy is getting me to try out Battletech so before I boarded my plane for a long flight I downloaded a bunch of lore videos from various creators online. Your smooth narration and pacing easily made it one of my favorites, I hope you are still planning to continue this series!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks a ton! Enjoy your trip and I hope I can get Part 2 done soon.

[@sim.frischh9781]

I remember reading the Exodus novels. That mutiny gave rise to several Clan traditions. An interesting bit of lore for the Clans specifically and the entire franchise in general.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Aff.

[@kierdalemodels]

Very, very good indeed. It’s great to see a new take on the Exodus, and I knew nothing about the 295th. A very sad story. I’m looking forward to more in this series👍

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@derekburge5294]

I wondered throughout the Clan origin books if anyone back in Drac space missed Raymond. Amongst all the chaos and misery of those early Clan days, that one poor bastard's fate always made me quietly sad.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Talk about wrong place and wrong time. Though he is a schemer so you don't feel too bad for him later on.

[@HeadHunterSix]

and, for what it's worth, he is rewarded by being made the first Khan of Clan Fire Mandrill.

[@nukenuked5749]

thanks for another top video mate please keep them coming

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks, will do!

[@Malakren]

Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Lasers, treason and Ships. I see no reason Why exodus treasons Should ever be forgot. Karensky, Karensky, 'twas his intent

[@CraigSteinhoff]

Awesome video...love the lore videos. Thanks

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks for giving it a go.

[@harvestblades]

Good stuff! Definitely some good seeds in there for a story or RPG campaign.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank ya!

[@bthsr7113]

Nicholas: Looks around, smiles, whispers "are we there yet?" riots ensue, BW deployed, Anderey is in trouble Nicholas: Evil smirking while probably sipping his juice.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Narrator: They were, in fact, not there yet.

[@bthsr7113]

@@MechanicalFrog I was going for little $#!t amuses himself on road trip by getting others in trouble with dad

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@bthsr7113 on brand.

[@GrinningGameMaster]

Love the background graphic. Thanks for feeding the lore addiction.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad you enjoyed it. The nonsense must flow.

[@Prich319]

It's ironic how general order 137, the hidden hope doctrine ultimately influenced both the wardens and the crusaders. I know how Aleksander Kerensky's life ends, coutesy of Fall From Glory, and it really is depressing to see a truly great man decline and fall in the end, and to see it from Anderey's perspective.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Quite tragic.

[@bardsbizarre]

Great stuff, keep up the good work!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks, will do!

[@gryphon3241]

ALL DA BUTTONS!!!!!! All of 'em, cause youtube needs to promote more stuff like yours

[@MechanicalFrog]

Appreciated!

[@harvestblades]

Watchingbthis again as Im tryingbto find good intro videos for my 10 year old son that wants to getbintonthe lore & start painting his mechs I just gave him. A tragic story but a very common one for pioneers throughout human history. Living along the Oregon & Mormon trail as well as the Sante Fe trail I've see a lot of evidence & read stories about those that didn't make it trying to find a better life.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Absolutely true that the experience was a harrowing one for those people who often had nothing left to go back to if they failed. For many, the prospect of owning their own land for the first time was almost unbelievable. We forget that many European immigrants were serfs back home, working land that hadn't been theirs in ten generations. African Americans, both free and former slaves saw the West as a possibility to build a brand new world away from the memories of the past.

[@JosephMitchell-zw3db]

Very cool thank you so much

[@MechanicalFrog]

Very welcome

[@Lavendeer201]

Im new to battletech (only because i saw a cool smoke jaguar synthwave mix and it totally lured me in) and I am a bit confused. Kerensky wanted to continue the Starleague once him and his followers returned no? I didnt choose, Smoke Jaguar, the mixtape chose me, but I'd love to be a splinter faction from Jaguar that's loyal to the reunification of Starleague! I hope that what i said was correct. Please correct me lol. I love Starleague and Jags, so i wanna pick both and make my own sorta thing w it

[@MechanicalFrog]

Alexander Kerensky's ultimate goal remains a bit fuzzy as he died before it could be outlined. His Son, Nicholas Kerensky was the one who reforged what was left of the SLDF into the Clans. There's a big mess involving planets named the Pentagon Worlds and Operation Klondike, but it's a bit much to explain in a KZbin comment. In theory, all of the Clans had the goal of eventually reforging the Star League. How to do that became a political sticking point as some of the Clans wanted to protect the Inner Sphere and return when they were needed (Wardens) and other clans like the Smoke Jaguars, believed that the Inner Sphere needed to be conquered and the corrupt Great Houses needed to be brought to heel (Crusaders) Eventually, the Crusaders won out and Operation Revival was carried out, with four clans including Smoke Jaguar invading the Inner Sphere.

[@Lavendeer201]

​@MechanicalFrog Okay cool! Thanks so much for the information. There's so much going on with battletech and these things help a lot! Ty for the vid and comment :). The descendants of Smoke Jaguar continue! We will have Star League once more! Down with the corrupt houses!

[@vana.johnson8845]

Nicholas Kerenski was psychotic psychopathic and wanted badly to foment open rebellion. The intent of the portrayal himself as some chivalrous and heroic figure to his father. By bringing this undertaking to his attention. The Exodus Road was perilous from the beginning. As witnessed from this failed mutiny.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah he was a bastard.

[@ТоварищКомиссар-ю4й]

Fun fact. Alexander Kerensky was the head of Russian Provisional Government shortly after February revolution of 1917. He had to escape the country when the Bolsheviks took power. Also, there is a rumor he had escaped the Winter palace dressed in a woman dress, but it is likely untrue. Also, if I am correct, his last name is pronounced KErenskiy, not KerEnsky.

[@wraith7989]

And then to add to the indignity’s they suffer, when their children return to the Inner Sphere they get their ass kicked by the phone company.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Aww...

[@rmod42]

As ever with battletech, a tale tinged with noble but ultimately pointless sacrifice as people die in the dark for a cause they do not fully grasp...

[@MechanicalFrog]

Sad.

[@Ironclockwork]

While I have often seen the question posed as to who was the bigger villain, I often contend that both Stefan Amaris and Nicholas Kerensky were equally terrible human beings in just different shades and colors.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It could be an interesting discussion of the differences between a psychopath (Amaris) and a sociopath (Kerensky).

[@bthsr7113]

I'd argue that Nicholas had more noble goals in the long run, but we all know what the road of the damned is made of.

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@bthsr7113 Yeah, sometimes the most brutal villains think they're the heroes.

[@lexington476]

At the end, what is Cofi? Is that an alternative to patreon?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yes it's an alternative to Patreon. It's what I started waiting for KZbin to turn memberships on.

[@Dermeister009]

I feel like there should be a part 2.. Can't find it.

[@MechanicalFrog]

In a just a fair world, there would be. Unfortunately, the video performed so poorly that I shelved the project.

[@Dermeister009]

@@MechanicalFrog too bad i sending it to my friend wich i introduced to mech warrior a few days ago and he was asking about the clans.

[@terryhiggins5077]

Dang Nickel Currency! Oh how much pain and suffering could have been avoided ig that little excrement pile had been strangled. Ive also heard of the 295 before, but only in a fanfic that had the wolverines find them on their way back to the sphere, at the time i thought they were non cannon, whoops😅

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah the 295th show up in the Periphery 2nd Ed sourcebook.

[@Kepora1]

Ahhh, Clan Wolverine - the only Clan that *DOESN'T* suck.

[@thegunslinger8806]

Weird, youtube unsubbed me from your channel, anyways I remember this part of the exodus and the death of Kerensky's other son as well as them arriving and quickly devolving into vendetta driven warfare amongst each other.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Welcome back then? :D Yeah the drama definitely isn't over.

[@thegunslinger8806]

@@MechanicalFrog it's got more drama and tragedy than a Telemundo soap opera.

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@thegunslinger8806 **Gasping in Jade Falcon**

[@thegunslinger8806]

@@MechanicalFrog "yo soy am el Burt Reynolds!" *Slaps Frog in Escorpion Imperio*

[@lexington476]

3:32 rrrrr matey.

[@jjsheets330]

Who’s the more evil individual, Stefan Amaris or Nicholas Kerensky?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Nicholas is a known entity at this point so I would be more interested in learning more about Amaris and his motivations. I want to know how he thought he could possibly pull off what he did.

[@jjsheets330]

@@MechanicalFrog Great point, it seems like his thinking was if he held Terra and the Hegemony that everyone would just fall in line and go with it.

[@MechanicalFrog]

As far as most evil goes, Amaris was the most honest and openly evil. Nick Kerensky was a mad man but less blatantly so.

[@HeadHunterSix]

Well, we can easily see that Amaris didn't overthrow the Camerons with the goal of making a better society. There's evidence that no one's life was improved by the coup. Nicholas, on the other hand, did what he could to preserve and manifest his father's vision, even if he treated his most valuable supporters as disposable in so doing.

[@gerdaleta]

😮 this is crazy I had to watch six videos just to understand what the hell's going on in MechWarrior😮 I haven't felt this lost since I first discovered 40K😮

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's a big universe.

[@andrewszigeti2174]

Small correction. "Eugen" is pronounced 'Oi-gen'.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad I only make mistakes on days that end in Y.

[@Tatsu_of_Liao]

Nice one!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Prince Oy-gen. It's named after a German Battlecruiser from WW2.

[@stuartwald2395]

And the man was Prince Eugene of Savoy (english spellings), a general in the Imperial Austrian army who first defeated the Ottomans and then was the major partner of the English general John Churchill, made Duke of Marlborough for his victories against Louis XIV of France.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks. Good thing I only screw up on days that end in Y.

[@marsar1775]

I dont know how well id fare on the exodus. on the one hand, im autistic. i like my safe regular routine and even small rooms on the other hand, so many people all feeling miserable, i cant exactly put that out of my head

[@MechanicalFrog]

It does not sound like a very pleasurable experience.

[@andrewszigeti2174]

I'd argue that what was produced out of the Exodus really, really pushes the definition of 'functional society'...

[@MechanicalFrog]

We may not like it, but it's undoubtedly functional as it has persisted hundreds of years.

[@HeadHunterSix]

Certainly at least as functional as any of the "Great" Houses...

[@jmullner76]

Part two on the way?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Maybe some day. This vid really didn't do very well so my attention was drawn elsewhere.

[@jmullner76]

@@MechanicalFrog Understood and thanks.

[@megyskermike]

​@@MechanicalFrogI think it was timing, if you released it around clans people would have been all over this, but not much you can do about that. Found your video trying to figure things out myself.

[@seanbumstead1250]

You mispronounced his name wrong sainze,the e is silent so like sainz. Plus the information on the 295th battlemech division is unknown,look in the star league book,your just making this part up, because thats not in the comstar book as well

[@MechanicalFrog]

Hi. The information about the fate of the 295th is found in the BattleTech World Wide Event 2019: Requiem for a Blue Star supplement. While I do add some flavorful description from time to time, I don't just make stuff up. A polite and respectful way to have handled this situation would have been to just ask me where the information came from instead of accusing me of something nefarious. Take care and happy gaming.

[@Ironhold_Watch]

Woosh

[@MechanicalFrog]

**Green Bird Noises**

[@genetix250]

👍