Gammorin's Army

Gammorin's Army is a large military force formed out of Mariposa super mutants that fled New California eastwards. Initially under the command of Gammorin, it achieved the apex of its power under Paladin Latham.

History
The history of the army is closely tied to that of Paladin Latham. During the passage over the Rocky Mountains, Latham's air ship of the Great Air Convoy was badly damaged and crash landed near the pre-War city of Osceolla, where they were taken into custody by the very mutant force they were sent out to track down. Led by Gammorin, the super mutants managed to take less than a half of Latham's forces captive due to casualties sustained in the crash. While they were sentenced to be killed for Gammorin's amusement, Latham noticed the discontent at the decision in the mutant's group and challenged Gammorin to single combat to the death.

The duel took place on January 5, 2195 and was won by Latham, barely. The Paladin suffered numerous fractures, lacerations, and brain damage. Regardless, he firmly established himself as the leader of the super mutants. As their leader, he discovered that the super mutants are a simple, good people, with a loyalty stronger than that shown by regular humans. With the help of other crash survivors, he organized the mutants, creating a proper fighting force once more within six months. However, he began to notice symptoms of brain damage sustained in the duel, including hallucinations and bouts of angers and depression.

Everything prospered and the group slowly made their way back west until April 9, 2196. A scouting party sent out by Latham returned, with just one survivor. The super mutants breached the entrance to Vault 0, waking the Calculator from its slumber and triggering the pacification protocols. The lone survivor inadvertently led the robots to Latham's headquarters. After taking heavy losses, the group was forced to flee. Latham and his men eventually returned to Osceolla, where they finally had time to regroup.

However, the stress compounded the old brain injury, leading to even more vivid hallucinations. When Latham killed a fellow scribe, Nathan, in March 2197, he realized his grip on sanity was slipping. His progressively worsening mental state suffered further when his men and the forces of the Eastern Brotherhood finally clashed on April 6, 2197. Witnessing tribal Brotherhood soldiers killing his adopted tribe, men who dedicated themselves to his banner, he suffered deep shock and engaged the Brotherhood. The combined physical and mental trauma caused him to discard his old identity as Paladin Latham and fully embrace the character of Gammorin, super mutant leader, sworn enemy of the Menace from the West.

Gammorin's Army proved to be a difficult foe for the Brotherhood. As Latham was responsible for laying down many of the procedures the Brotherhood used every day, the mutants were able to counter battle tactics and reconnaissance efforts with ease. As such, during the first large scale battle between the Army and the Brotherhood, at St. Louis, the mutants were able to rout the enemy forces and entirely destroy six out of eight veteran squads committed to the battle. General Simon Barnaky participated in the battle directly, but was captured in combat. Subsequent attacks included the death of most of Brotherhood's intelligence operatives, stunting the organization's reconnaissance records.

Although the Brotherhood reeled from the super mutant attacks, suffering devastating losses, it did not surrender. With a much more powerful industrial base and source of man power, in the form of villages and towns annexed by the Brotherhood, they held the line and managed to secure several victories against the super mutants, including the successful defense of Kansas City and the recovery of a nuclear warhead in working condition and the conquest of Jefferson City, along with Latham's research project into curing supermutant sterility. The Brotherhood's key asset was a small, highly resourceful squad under the command of someone known simply as the Warrior, which was deployed to Osceolla when the Brotherhood learned that Gammorin was, in fact, Paladin Latham.

Due to his actions against the Brotherhood, the former Paladin was sentenced to death for treason and to cull the security risk he posed. When confronted by the squad in his bunker (a situation he expected), Latham remained defiant, though courteous. He saw the wisdom in sharing the technology with the wastelanders, embodied in the Warrior and his squad. Yet he also saw confirmation that the Elders were as blind as ever, leading the Brotherhood in the wrong direction, letting the Menace in the West grow in strength. Only he and his mutant army were standing in the way of the robotic monstrosities.

Paladin Latham, Gammorin, leader of Gammorin's Army, was slain by the Warrior's squad in honorable combat. His death evoked mixed feelings in the Brotherhood, as while he was the leader of a military force that caused it to sustain devastating losses, he remained a Paladin. His army disintegrated, splitting into warring factions, vying for control. A number of supermutants joined the Brotherhood, continuing to serve a higher cause. Latham's legacy was not forgotten.

Organization
Under their original leader, the super mutants were essentially a loosely banded tribe, operating with Gammorin as the de facto absolute ruler. Latham reformed them into a respectable fighting force, using his knowledge of military tactics and training gleaned from his years as a Brotherhood member. The super mutants operate in a decentralized fashion, with squads of soldiers subordinated to local commanders, such as Thelma in the case of Jefferson City. They create extensive fortified zones to enhance the defense of key points in the areas they control, though they prefer proactive attacks, outmaneuvering their enemy and exploiting their weak spots. This strategy led to spectacular victories against the Brotherhood, but proved unsuccessful at deterring small, highly mobile squads.

Technology
The super mutants have a respectable stockpile of high powered weapons. Due to their bulk, they naturally tend towards larger weapons, with the standard issue firearm of a typical mutant being the M249 SAW. Although Unity had a large amount of energy weapons at their disposal, Gammorin's mutants prefer conventional, more reliable weaponry.

Their most impressive achievement, however, was the establishment of an entire scientific lab at Jefferson City, for the purpose of finding a way to solve the problem of sterility among super mutants. Managed by Erkal, it was a biochemical research and development facility rarely seen in the wastelands.

Appearances
Gammorin's Army appeared only in Fallout Tactics.