Charles "Mercury Red" Barrowsmith
Actor: ??
Affiliation: European Union*Rank:* Four-star General*Origin:* Scotland, United Kingdom*Speciality:* Rapid assaults*Nickname:* ‘Mercury Red’
Status: Non-canonical character from Generals 2
Charles ‘Mercury Red’ Barrowsmith is a Scottish general in the European Union who was due to appear in Command & Conquer: Generals 2.
A four-star officer, Barrowsmith is first and foremost a specialist in manoeuvrable warfare, favouring speed of execution and aggressive offensives.
His doctrine is to seize the initiative immediately and strike the enemy before they can organise their defences, rather than engaging in a protracted war of attrition.
Nicknamed ‘Mercury Red’, he was thus intended to represent the European Union’s Rapid Assault General, as opposed to commanders specialising in aviation, Artillery or experimental technologies.
In particular, his forces replace European reconnaissance squads with Shock Troopers, an infantry unit better suited to offensive combat.
Barrowsmith also has an Assault APC, a specialised version of the standard European armoured personnel carrier designed to directly support his rapid attacks.
This combination of infantry and transport vehicles enables his troops to move rapidly across the battlefield, concentrate their forces and then launch sudden attacks against enemy weak points.
At the same time, his army retains a significant portion of the European arsenal, notably its mechanised units and air support, but his overall doctrine remains focused on mobility and the offensive.
Mercury Red was also to have access to the Bulwark support ability, an exclusive capability that complements its specialised arsenal.
He thus embodies a particularly aggressive conception of European warfare: rather than relying solely on the Union’s technological superiority, Barrowsmith seeks to constantly impose his own tempo on the adversary.
His Scottish origins also make him, alongside Julian Battersby, one of the leading British figures amongst the European Union’s generals.
Charles ‘Mercury Red’ Barrowsmith was therefore intended to embody the EU’s most mobile doctrine: to attack swiftly, maintain pressure and never give the enemy time to regain the initiative.
