Battle of Glenmora (3140)

Battle of Glenmora
Part of Dark Age era
Start Date June 3140 Planet Glenmora Result Combine total victory
Factions
(Attacker) Draconis Combine	(Defender) Federated Suns
Commanders and leaders
Henry Kincaid Tori Ishihara	Harmon Forrest Robert McShane
Forces involved
Spider's Web Battalion Wolfsbane Battalion Gamma Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons) Ryuken-go	Fourth Davion Guards Second Robinson Rangers

Overview

The Battle of Glenmora was the last engagement of the Draconis Reach Campaign.

Prelude

The Reach campaign saw ten worlds, those of the Draconis Reach conquered easily by Wolf's Dragoons in barely a year. Caleb Davion, the First Prince simply didn't bother about that, focused in other matters, but his subordinates managed to send a elite regiment into Glenmora, the Second Robinson Rangers. After the ISF informed the Ryuken-go's commander and liaison with the Dragoons, Tori Ishihara, she informed Henry Kincaid. Fearing the troops' concentration was a prelude to a counterattack against the Reach, Kincaid suggested to launch a raid against the planet. On Luthien, Warlord Matsuhari Toranaga, agreed, but sending only the Dragoons, expecting to distance the Combine from the attack, and prevent a possible Sun's invasion. He specifically forbid any Kuritan forces to cross the frontier.

Battle

The Dragoons' force, three battalions strong, under the command of Colonel Henry Kincaid, arrived at Glenmora's jump point the 2 June. The Dragoons' DropShips undocked and began descending on the planet, but their fighters found an unexpectedly high number of defending fighters. By then, the DropShips were too near of the planet to abort their landing, so Kincaid ordered to land anyway. The Dragoons' fighters managed to made a hole into the Federated net and land near the city of Scylla's Gate. On 9 June, the Dragoons were on the ground, having lost a DropShip, the Corbie, with a full company of infantry. Kincaid, after his forces have disembarked, ordered the DropShips to take off. After the Spider's Web approached Scylla's Gate, they suffered artillery strikes, and, after confirming the city was defended by at least two battalions of the 2nd Robinson rangers, retreated. Kincaid contacted his DropShips, asking for extraction, but they were unable to land, as the Davions fighters had been reinforced. They were trapped on the ground. The Suns' have been expecting the Dragoons' attack and laid a trap, intending to do not let them escape. Anyway, Kincaid sent his JumpShips and DropShips to the Combine space to ask for help, while he kept his ground forces mobile, launching severals raids against the Davionist forces, attempting to secure a zone to allow their DropShips to land to get them offplanet, but failed to. The Suns' forces attempted to surround them, but every time, the Dragoons retreated, leaving behind small units to delay them, causing them losses.

On Thestria, the Dragoons space forces didn't find Dragoon forces, only the Ryuken-go. When the Combine liaison, Tori Ishihara, initially refused to help, the Dragoons captains decided to return to Glenmora anyway. Despite Toranaga's orders, Ishihara eventually decided to intervene and send his Ryuken to rescue the Dragoons.

The 24 July, the Dragoons have vanished into the Dis mountains, with the fog hiding them. The Davionist recon forces were unable to find them. The same say, the Dragoons' launched a surprise attack against a militia base, taking it easily, and staying there, resting and repairing their equipment, for about two days before departing.

Eventually, the Dragoons became so weakened than Kincaid decided to made a desperate gamble: with his forces posing as Davions, they attacked the city of Scylla's Gate, taking it, entrenching themselves into it and holding at the Davions' attacks, thanks to the city's defenses, but they were slowly grinded down. The 14 August, they were on the brink of defeat, but before the Davions could launch their final assault, the Ryuken arrived, crushing the defenders and rescuing the Dragoons.

Aftermath

The Dragoons, after exchanging prisoners with the Suns', left Glenmora very weakened: the Spider's Web and Wolfsbane Battalion were barely operational, and Gamma's battalion no longer existed... but the survivors were experienced, and the salvage from the battle was huge. Still better, the rifts between the Dragoons and Ryuken had been healed, thanks to the Ryuken's oportune rescue. Ishihara, far from being punished for her actions, as she expected, was condecorated by Toranaga and promoted to General, or Tai-sho, receiving the command of all the Ryukens regiments. The Suns' were weakened, and found themselves in a bad situation, which the Combine would use, few years later, to invade the Suns' space and conquer New Avalon.

Bibliography

• Redemption Rift (novel)