214th Jaguar Dragoons (Clan Smoke Jaguar)

Beta Galaxy (Clan Smoke Jaguar) Unit Insignia
214th Jaguar Dragoons
Affiliation Clan Smoke Jaguar
Parent Command Beta Galaxy


Overview[edit]

The 214th Jaguar Dragoons was a front-line military formation of Clan Smoke Jaguar.

History[edit]

In 2985, the unit attacked Clan Sea Fox's Priori enclaves after that Clan had allowed their lower-caste members to vote on changing the Clan's name. They were engaged by the 369th Striker Cluster; the attack did not end well for the Jaguar forces.[1]

Operation Revival[edit]

The 214th fought on the following worlds during the invasion of the Inner Sphere:

Wave Two[edit]

Chupadero
Chupadero was conquered by Clan Smoke Jaguar in May 3050 during the Second Wave of Operation REVIVAL. First Trinary Assault and Aerospace Trinary of the 214th Jaguar Dragoons invaded the planet, which was defended by the First Chupadero Armored Legion. The battle started quickly in the Jaguars' favor as their OmniFighters quickly decimated their opponents' antique air support, winning air superiority and giving First Trinary Assault ample time to hunt down the defenders at their leisure. At Dale Valley they easily stepped over 'Mech traps laid by the defenders and routed the tank regiment even as it attempted a retreat. The Legion's remnants fell back to the Billoc Tunnels, through which they intended to reach the capital Fredsin and make their final stand, but were foiled when Star Captain Wesley Moon decided to enter after them and destroyed their last remaining vehicles.[2]

Wave Three[edit]

Kabah
On Kabah, the defending Kabah Guards were defeated on the Jousting Grounds of the Palace by Alpha and Beta Stars of Second Assault Trinary in June 3050, only three knights survived to become bondsmen.[2] Civilians on the planet attempted a guerrilla campaign in the same month to little effect, but a number of Smoke Jaguar warriors proved vulnerable to a hemorrhagic fever native to the planet. The population of the planet had developed a natural resistance to the disease, which the Smoke Jaguar warriors lacked; the casualties included almost an entire Point of Elementals located near Sayil.[3]

In November 3051, the Nova Cat Fifteenth Garrison Cluster was en route to Chupadero. Star Colonel Attwater issued a batchall to take the planet, which the Jaguar commander is alleged to have ignored and left the planet weeks before the arrival of the Fifteenth. The Nova Cats held a grudge for many years thinking this was a slight to their honor, however it is more likely that the Dragoons had already been ordered off planet as they were set to attack Avon the same month.[4]

Wave Five[edit]

Avon
Both Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat had designs on Avon for its strategic position. The Jaguar Khans proposed that both Clans share the world in order to save their resources for fighting the Inner Sphere. Some sources claim that a single Cluster from each Clan attacked the planet[5] while others place elements of three Jaguar and two Nova Cat Clusters in action: the 214th Jaguar Dragoons, the Fourth Jaguar Dragoons, the Fifth Jaguar Regulars, the 274th Nova Cat Battle Cluster and the 449th Nova Cat Assault Cluster. The Jaguar forces landed first in late November 3051, followed by the Nova Cats in early December.[6][7] The defending troops of the Second Amphigean Light Assault Group were routed from their dug-in position on the Pollit Plains and Tenderlands by a Nova Cat assault. Realizing they were outclassed, the defenders opted for a guerrilla campaign. Allowing the Clans to set up forward bases, the defenders attacked these under cover of darkness with 'Mech companies in an attempt to destroy as much of the supplies stored there as possible, as well as commando sabotage missions in Devon Heights, Beachweld and Fresno. In response, the Jaguar commander sent out headhunter missions and in a single night eliminated the entire command structure, after which the Amphigean Light Assault Group was destroyed at Fresno by an assault by the 214th Jaguar Dragoons.[7][8]

Post-Tukayyid[edit]

In August 3057, the Nova Cat Fifteenth Garrison Cluster launched a raid against the Dragoons' supply depot on Kabah, in an act which they saw as revenge for the lack of honor shown to them on Chupadero six years earlier.[4]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 214th Jaguar Dragoons

Other Officers[edit]

Tactics[edit]

The Dragoons were known to employ small head-hunting units.

Composition History[edit]

3049–3052[edit]

(partial)

  • Trinary Command
  • First Assault Trinary
  • Second Assault Trinary
  • Aerospace Trinary

The Aerospace Trinary employed OmniFighter designs like the Sulla and Sabutai, but also second-line units such as the Chaeronea.[4]

Notes[edit]

The Cluster is not listed as part of Beta Galaxy in 3057 and is not recorded as fighting in Operation BULLDOG in 3059.

References[edit]

  1. Jumping the Diamond Shark
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Invading Clans, p. 65
  3. 3.0 3.1 Superior in Onslaught: Tales of the Clan Invasion!
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Strategic Operations, pp. 90–93: "Punitive Strike"
  5. Invading Clans, p. 59
  6. Invading Clans, p. 68
  7. 7.0 7.1 Invading Clans, p. 119
  8. Invading Clans, p. 60

Bibliography[edit]