Battle of Nashira (3039)

Battle of Nashira (3039)
Conflict details
Part of	Operation STURMHAMMER
Start Date	1 May 3039
End Date	1 November 3039
Planet(s)	Nashira
Location(s)	Logan City Ogawa Raven Ridge
Result	Minor DCMS Victory
Territorial Changes	Nashira secured by Draconis Combine
Attacking Forces
Affiliation	Federated Commonwealth
Commanding Officer(s)	Marshal Mira Tran Marshal Vonda DeGreer Colonel Mitch Nelson Leftenant General Daniel Voss-Steiner
Command(s)	First FedCom RCT Delta Regiment, Twelfth Vegan Rangers Seventh Donegal Guards
Defending Forces
Affiliation	Draconis Combine
Commanding Officer(s)	Tai-sa Narimasa Asano Tai-sa Jürgen Miyabe
Command(s)	First Genyosha Second Genyosha Nashira Planetary Militia
Other Forces

Overview

The Battle of Nashira refers collectively to a series of conflicts that took place on the planet of Nashira during the War of 3039 from May to November of that year. The battle was precipitated by the Federated Commonwealth's invasion of Draconis Combine territory along the borders of the Draconis March as part of Operation STURMHAMMER, an invasion based on the pretext of liberating former Davion-controlled worlds from alleged Draconis tyranny. Like many of the battles of the War of 3039, it was a costly affair that resulted in little to no changes in the border's status quo.

Prelude

Operation STURMHAMMER (Storm Hammer) was launched as a joint offensive thrust from both Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns territory into the Draconis Combine's Dieron Military District, with the objective of isolating pockets of Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and cutting them off from reinforcement and resupply. Additionally, the thrust would serve to prevent the DCMS from fully responding to worlds captured during the planned second and third waves of the offensive and would provide the allies with additional planets from which to launch attacks. Since the worlds targeted by Operation STURMHAMMER were for the most part farming and water colonies garrisoned by simple planetary militias, the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth units attached to the operation did not expect to encounter much resistance. Strategic coordinators predicted that the real fighting would come during the expected Combine counterattacks after the worlds were secured. Nashira was among the worlds to be secured during Operation STURMHAMMER.

Battle

Federated Commonwealth Invasion

As Nashira had once been the operational base of the Genyosha, Colonel Mitch Nelson of the Twelfth Vegan Rangers' Delta Regiment predicted that his forces would likely meet with stiffer resistance than other units in the Dieron thrust. As a result, Federated Commonwealth High Command assigned the First FedCom RCT to the invasion in order to support the mercenary unit's efforts. Although the First FedCom was considered to be the senior unit by Great House standards, as it was an official national military unit, the Rangers had a great deal more experience and training in planetary assaults than did the newly-minted Federated Commonwealth unit. As a result, Colonel Nelson and his advisors took the lead during operational planning.

Expecting the planetary militia to have been trained by the Genyosha, Colonel Nelson predicted that they would launch their attack on the invading FedCom forces when they were at their most vulnerable: during DropShip disembarking. He suggested that both units should deploy an initial force of BattleMechs from orbit to secure their respective landing zones outside Logan City— a technique known as "hot-dropping" amongst many forces. The commander of the First FedCom, Marshal Mira Tran, deemed the strategy too risky for her unit and argued that it was unnecessary, as she reasoned that the planetary militia would stand no chance against her unit. Her executive officer, Leftenant General Vonda DeGreer, argued strongly in favor of the Rangers' proposal but was ultimately overruled. Tran allowed the Rangers to go ahead with their plan but declined to participate, stating that the Rangers could do what they liked as long as they didn't interfere in the First FedCom's operations.

On 1 May, Delta Regiment's advance force, made up of their First Battalion, made planetfall twenty kilometers west of their objective. As Nelson had predicted, they were immediately engaged by a regiment of infantry and a battalion of tanks. As the 'Mechs were already warmed up and ready for a fight, they made short work of the planetary militia forces and secured the Rangers' landing zone quickly. The First FedCom selected a landing zone just outside the city of Ogawa, fifty kilometers south of the Rangers' LZ. On 5 May, Marshal Tran, still confident that her troops were more than a match for the planetary militia and unworried by the LZ's close proximity to the city, ordered her main force to land their DropShips and begin disembarking.

Unfortunately, the Marshal had horribly underestimated her opponent. The planetary militia launched a devastating assault on the unloading First FedCom forces, driving suicide vehicles laden with explosives into the DropShips and booby-trapping buildings on the outskirts of Ogawa. Marshal Tran wasted critical time dithering about how best to proceed while the men and women under her command were gunned down on the DropShips' landing ramps. Ogawa's spaceport was eventually secured after five days of intense fighting. When the dust settled, the First FedCom had lost eight BattleMechs, twenty-six tanks, and over two hundred infantry personnel. Tran was summarily relieved of duty and ordered to return to Errai for debriefing with her superiors. Leftenant-General DeGreer was field-promoted to Marshal and placed in permanent command of the First FedCom.

Tasked with rebuilding the unit and pacifying the remaining resistance on the planet, the newly promoted DeGreer cooperated with General Nelson's Deltas in their efforts. By 21 May they had occupied Logan City, but were facing a stiff guerrilla resistance from the locals. Sniper attacks, roadside bombs, and suicide attacks became commonplace, and though on paper the insurgency stood no chance against the 'Mechs and heavy armor of the allies, with each casualty the Federated Commonwealth units' morale sank lower. By the end of June it became apparent that the "liberation" of Nashira would not be as easy as forecast. Added to that sobering realization was the knowledge that the inevitable Draconis counterattack was looming on the horizon.

Draconis Combine Counterattack

Initial Assault

By the middle of July 3039, the Rangers and First FedCom had settled into a prolonged and bloody police action throughout the cities of Nashira. Both were line units, ill-accustomed to peacekeeping and counterinsurgency operations, and the relieving garrison forces that had been promised by High Command were nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, the locals, contrary to what the strategic planners had told them, were outright hostile and the planetary government was staunchly uncooperative. Far from being a quick occupation of a springboard world, the First FedCom was now mired in a confusing counterinsurgency campaign deep in urban terrain— a line MechWarrior's worst nightmare.

On 19 July, sensor nets detected that the First Genyosha had arrived in-system. On 21 July, their sister unit, the Second Genyosha also registered on scanners. As both units still felt ties of loyalty to Nashira, which had once been their homeworld, they believed that they were honorbound to rid the planet of the FedCom incursion no matter the odds. On paper, the First FedCom had more numbers and newer, top-of-the-line 'Mechs and equipment. But they lacked the formidable skills and hard-won lessons of the Draconis warriors, who were veterans of many campaigns. By 22 July, the First Genyosha set down on the southern half of Nashira's Copenwald continent and began combat operations. Meanwhile, their comrades in the Second monitored and reviewed the reports and data coming in from that front, scanning for any weakness in the FedCom forces. It was not long before they found one.

Battle for Logan City

Marshal DeGreer had been forced to adapt her forces to counterinsurgency operations over the past months, spreading them out across the planet to help project force and ensure stability. While these smaller detachments were quite effective against guerrilla operations, they were easily isolated and overrun by the conventional forces of the Genyosha. Although they put up a fierce fight, it was not long before south Copenwald lay in the hands of Draconis forces. The Second Genyosha, observing that speed and ferocity was serving their comrades well, began formulating a plan. Under Tai-sa Jürgen Miyabe's orders, the Second staged a hot drop directly into Logan City's spaceport on 25 July, landing behind the First FedCom's defenses there. A twelve hour battle ensued, after which the FedCom forces were pushed back into the city, leaving the spaceport and all its facilities in the hands of the Second Genyosha. Thinking that he could use this change in momentum to his advantage, Miyabe ordered his forces to pursue the retreating allies. Marshal DeGreer had prepared for this eventuality, and the Second Genyosha was repulsed by an organized defense as they tried to probe the city's defenses.

Tai-sa Miyabe opted to hold his ground while the First Genyosha mopped up resistance to the south, and was reinforced by the First's Third Battalion by order of Tai-sa Narimasa Asano. Once Asano had captured the city of New Anaheim on 8 August, he sent another battalion to reinforce Miyabe, believing that despite their fewer numbers, the Genyoshas skill would quickly prevail over the less-experienced First FedCom.

As the magnitude of the Draconis Combine's counterattack began to settle in, FedCom High Command made the decision to reinforce the First FedCom and the Twelfth Vegan Rangers on Nashira. The Seventh Donegal Guards were ordered to reinforce the beleaguered units, leaving their posting on Kervil, which had been ignored in the initial DCMS reprisals, on 2 August.

On the morning of 9 August, Miyabe's attack began. Elements of the Genyosha as well as local fighters equipped by the ISF were able to force a detachment of the Rangers' Delta Regiment from one of the suburbs on the outskirts of Logan City. As the DCMS forces pushed further into the city, however, they encountered heavier resistance and their advance ground to a halt. As Tai-sa Asano prepared to execute a flanking attack on the allied position, word reached him that the Seventh Donegal Guards had arrived at Nashira's zenith jump point. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before he found himself caught between the Seventh and the First FedCom, Asano ordered his troops to abandon the spaceport and the Logan City assault on 10 August.

Running Engagements

Once his forces made landfall, Leftenant General Daniel Voss-Steiner set about heading up operations, hoping to give Marshal DeGreer and Colonel Nelson time to regroup their forces. Under his leadership and with his experienced and fresh troops, the allies were able to go on the offensive. In short order, Logan City was secured and FedCom forces regained control of many of the mining bases in the southern part of the continent. Unfortunately, Tai-sa Asano was equal to the challenge: for every facility captured by the Seventh Donegal, the Genyosha had secured another. This tiring game of cat and mouse continued for six weeks, with Asano ensuring that DCMS forces always had the initiative and the momentum. His successes further bolstered the efforts of the local insurgency, who ramped up their campaign of civil disturbance and terror attacks throughout the months of September and October. While the attacks did little actual damage, they tied up crucial resources that FedCom forces would have otherwise directed at the Genyosha. The DCMS and FedCom forces traded blows across Copenwald until the campaign finally came to a head during the second week of October, at Raven Ridge.

The Raven Ridge Incident

As Draconis Combine and Federated Commonwealth forces clashed at Raven Ridge, local insurgents chose that moment to unleash a chemical weapon against their foes. The FedCom forces suffered horrifying losses as the agent hit their lines. Outwardly shocked at the use of such inhumane weapons, Asano ordered the Genyosha to mercilessly assault planetary militia bases and demanded that they put down any nominally-allied insurgents they found. DCMS forces immediately ceased combat operations against the stricken Federated Commonwealth troops and moved up their regimental medical and hazmat teams to assist them in decontaminating and saving those personnel that were not already dead. Nearly two hundred First FedCom troops were lost, and the incident broke the morale of both forces.

Following the incident at Raven Ridge, the tempo of engagements wound down, with only a handful of skirmishes taking place for the rest of the month. In November, the First FedCom, Delta Regiment, and the Seventh Donegal acknowledged a recall order issued by Federated Commonwealth High Command and withdrew from the planet. This forced withdrawal was a point of contention for all of the allied forces on the planet, who saw it as an absolute disrespect to the sacrifices of those who had fallen in the early days of the campaign. When the dust had cleared, Nashira was once again under Draconis control.

Aftermath

The First FedCom RCT and the Rangers' Delta Regiment had suffered heavy casualties, losing roughly 40% of their fighting forces during the Battle of Nashira. The Seventh Donegal made out only slightly better, having lost only around 25% of their manpower. This was not to say that the Genyosha had escaped unscathed: the First Genyosha sustained 60% losses while the Second lost nearly half of their personnel in the fighting. By 3040, all units had returned to their homeworlds to lick their wounds and attempt to rebuild what had been lost.

While the DCMS officially denied responsibility for the Raven Ridge incident, blaming it on the actions of overzealous locals, First FedCom troops believed otherwise. Interviews with surviving personnel revealed an attitude of suspicion and hatred toward the Draconis Combine and brought to light observations that Genyosha forces seemed strangely prepared to deal with the aftermath of a chemical weapon attack. Survivors indicated that the medical personnel who had moved to assist them had already been clad in full hazmat suits, despite claiming to simply be doctors, and observed that these medical units seemed suspiciously close to the battle. Publicly, Federated Commonwealth commanders absolved the Genyosha of any blame and praised their rapid response in killing the guerrillas and rushing to aid enemy forces instead of pressing their attack. But the troops and MechWarriors on the ground saw things differently, harboring an intense resentment towards Kuritans for years after. This attitude was later reinforced by classified intelligence reports that suggested the insurgents had been supplied with their munitions by agents of the Draconis ISF.

Units Involved

Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth

• First FedCom RCT
• Seventh Donegal Guards
• Twelfth Vegan Rangers, Delta Regiment (mercenary)

Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery

• First Genyosha
• Second Genyosha
• Nashira Planetary Militia

Bibliography

• Historical: War of 3039