Battle of Wallacia (3032)
Sarna News
| Battle of Wallacia (3032) | |||||||||
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| Factions | |||||||||
| Wallacia & Kujari Secessionists | Free Worlds League | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Colonel Natasha Kerensky | Colonel Caleb Covaleski[1] | ||||||||
| Forces involved | |||||||||
| Black Widow Battalion | Second Oriente Hussars | ||||||||
Prelude[edit]
Following the passage of the Internal Emergency Act of 3030, the worlds of Kujari and Wallacia declared their independence from the Free Worlds League and signed a mutual defense pact with each other. The Second Oriente Hussars had been stationed on Wallacia for years, so they swiftly seized the capital city of Saranak. Some members escaped however, and formed a government-in-exile on Kujari under the leadership of Acting Prime Minister Shandra Tate. From there the two independent worlds contracted with the Black Widow Battalion.[2][3]
Overview[edit]
After staging on Kujari in the fall of 3032, the Widows, Kujari militia, and other ad-hoc forces jumped into Wallacia in early September and made planetfall under heavy ECM cover. The Widows split into two company sized raiding units, each supported with squads from Seventh Kommando.[3]
The first week was marked largely with reconnaissance probes. The Hussars sent recon force consisting of three FLE-4 Fleas, Stingers, and Wasps to identify the as-yet unknown forces that landed. Sergeant Ulzanna Whitehead had the only Flea, a FLE-16, in the Widows. After detecting the incoming scouts Whitehead raced out towards the Hussar scouts, alone. The Hussars were in shock to see Whitehead flash through their formation, peppered with laser fire. They were even more unprepared as Whitehead reversed course and plowed through the Hussar scouts once more. All three Hussar Fleas were destroyed, and the Stingers and Wasps fled. The news of a lone Dragoon BattleMech destroying two lances caused Hussar morale to falter.[4]
After a week of feints and false sightings, the Hussars had little operational visibility. At the same time the Kujari militia was moving between urban centers to incite resistance against the League and attack supply and communication centers. The Kommando struck openly on 12 September. Colonel Caleb Covaleski of the Hussars ordered Captain Bjorn Karlsmith to hunt the Kommando down. Karlsmith tracked the Kommando to Weiswald Power Station at the end of a forested valley. Expecting an easy victory Karlsmith's Company closed in, only to find the Wolf Spiders had set a trap for the Hussars. Whitehead was able to repeat her humiliation of the Hussars here, even taunting them as her heavier comrades savaged Karlsmith's Company. The Hussars managed to extract themselves, but not before losing nearly a battalion of BattleMechs. The humiliation at being outfought once more by the Widows' understrength battalion left Hussar morale in shambles.[3][4][5][1]
The Widows continue to grind the Hussars down with hit and runs for almost another three weeks. With the rest of the League embroiled in the ongoing Andurien Secession no reinforcements could be spared to help the beleaguered Hussars. When the final decisive engagement occurred on 2 October, it was almost met with relief. The remaining Hussars were spread across the continent, with only a company in the capital city of Saranak. The Widows regrouped and hit the city en masse, joined with several Wallacian irregulars. Captain MacKenzie Wolf, still incognito as Darnell Winningham, led his Tarantulas Company against Captain Roger Gallivan's Hussars. As the objective became clear to the Hussars they tried to reinforce the city, but even those responded slowly. Colonel Natasha Kerensky strode her Warhammer up to the parliament building and guarded Prime Minister Tate as she descended from the Warhammer's rumble seat. With the Kommando techs setting up broadcasting equipment she issued a declaration that Wallacia had been liberated and demanded the Hussars' surrender allowing them immediate parole and retention of their BattleMechs. The Hussars agreed.[5]
Aftermath[edit]
By New Year's Day, 3033 Wallacia was once more independent. As the Andurien crisis wound down, Tate was able to extract considerable concessions from League officials in return for a diplomatic return to the Free Worlds League. Colonel Caleb Covaleski retired in disgrace. Long thought to be the true tactical genius in the Second, Major Calderon "Silent Cal" Benge was promoted and given command.[1][5][6]
Notes[edit]
Arthur Rivernider was originally listed as the CO in More Tales of the Black Widow, 20 Year Update, and Objective Raids. These were superseded by the unit write-up in Field Manual: Free Worlds League which added more detail.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 93: "2nd Oriente Hussars Unit Profile"
- ↑ More Tales of the Black Widow, p. 9: "Action at Gei-Fu"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 More Tales of the Black Widow, pp. 12–13: "Hunter's Moon"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Technical Readout: Succession Wars, p. 6
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 More Tales of the Black Widow, pp. 14–15: "We, the People"
- ↑ House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 100: "2nd Hussars"