Barlow's Folly

Barlow's Folly (Cussar)
← 3135 3151
Barlow's Folly (Cussar) nearby systems (Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates	173.189 : 66.905

Originally known as the Cussar system, the Barlow's Folly system was home to at least one habitable world and as of 3145 was located in the Irurzun Prefecture of the Benjamin Military District within the Draconis Combine.

System Description

The Barlow's Folly system is located near the New Mendham and Reisling's Planet systems.

System History

Originally named Cussar, the Barlow's Folly system was settled during the First Exodus from Terra.

Political Affiliation

• 2319 - Inhabited world
• 2571 - Federated Suns (as Cussar)
• 2596 - Federated Suns (as Cussar)
• 2750 - Federated Suns (as Cussar)
• 2764 - Federated Suns (as Cussar)
• 2765 - Federated Suns (as Cussar)
• 2786 - Federated Suns
• 2787 - Draconis Combine (from May)
• 2791 - Draconis Combine
• 2796 - Draconis Combine
• 2801 - Draconis Combine
• 2808 - Federated Suns
• 2822 - Draconis Combine
• 2864 - Draconis Combine
• 3025 - Draconis Combine
• 3030 - Draconis Combine
• 3040 - Draconis Combine
• 3050 - Draconis Combine
• 3052 - Draconis Combine
• 3057 - Draconis Combine
• 3058 - Draconis Combine
• 3063 - Draconis Combine
• 3067 - Draconis Combine
• 3075 - Draconis Combine
• 3079 - Draconis Combine
• 3081 - Draconis Combine
• 3085 - Draconis Combine
• 3135 - Draconis Combine
• 3145 - Draconis Combine

Planetary History

First Succession War

Main article: First Battle of Barlow's Folly

In May 2787 the Draconis Combine launched a massive invasion of the Federated Suns, overrunning a large part of the Draconis March in a matter of weeks. The invasion achieved almost total surprise, and one of the major tactics used by the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery was to target communications systems and JumpShips as a priority, to cause confusion and prevent news of attacks escaping. This worked extremely well - and as Cussar had been a border world between the Combine and the Federated Suns since the Age of War, it was one of the worlds invaded in the first wave of attacks.

The population of Cussar were extremely loyal to the Federated Suns - so much so that the habit of keeping a rifle by the front door and an extra place setting at the dinner table had been adopted by many as a symbolic habit, with the rifle ready for use against any Combine soldiers and the place setting for any AFFS personnel who visited. When the DCMS invasion force landed, the resident AFFS garrison unit was the Thirty-eighth Avalon Hussars, who had only recently rotated onto the planet, replacing the Twenty-sixth Robinson Chevaliers. The commanding officer of the Thirty-eighth was Leftenant General Louis Santonio, and among his officers was Colonel Michael Barlow, a battalion commander and native of Cussar intimately familiar with the mountainous terrain found on the planet and possessed of a deep love for his homeworld.

As an initial invasion target the DCMS dropped two BattleMech regiments and four assorted infantry and armor regiments on the planet, an invasion force more than twice the size of the Thirty-eighth and their supporting forces. With confusion reigning throughout the region because of the speed of the invasion, Santonio's troops were ordered to hold Cussar, and were faced with DCMS units who had been ordered to capture the planet as quickly as possible - orders that resulted in them burning a destructive path across the planet in the pursuit of the defending forces. Under Santonio's command the Thirty-eighth held for two weeks, despite their lack of numbers and the total aerospace superiority enjoyed by the Combine forces, while a steady stream of demoralizing news on the fate of other nearby worlds continued to arrive, listing a litany of AFFS retreats, heavy fighting, and the use of weapons of mass destruction on Federated Suns planets. Confusion reigned everywhere, with inconsistent orders being issued throughout the chain of command; orders were issued for the mercenary unit Tyson's Troublemakers - formerly the SLDF Twenty-third Heavy Assault Regiment - to withdraw from Marduk, whilst the Thirty-eighth Avalon Hussars were ordered to stand firm on Cussar, as were the First Syrtis Hussars on Galtor III.

The final blow for Santonio came when news arrived of the fall of Clovis, capital of the Clovis Combat Region, and the death of Field Marshal Grover Simons, the Commanding Officer of the Region. Anticipating that the AFFS defensive line in the region would collapse, Santonio issued orders for all AFFS units on Cussar to retreat. Baldwin immediately protested the orders and desperately attempted to convince Santonio to keep the Thirty-eight on Cussar and fighting, but was overruled; in response he and the surviving members of his battalion decided to stay and fight, even if the other AFFS forces left.

Looking to use the local terrain to their advantage, Baldwin and his troops retreated into the Trinity Mountains; the Mountains encircled the three major cities on the planet, Angelius, Patrónne, and Solus, and were a heavily wooded, rocky mountain range with persistent snowcaps. Between 2787 and 2790 Barlow and his men kept up a campaign of harassing the DCMS garrison forces, scavenging for parts and supplies to keep their 'Mechs operational while launching hit and run attacks against the occupiers. After three years, the last of their 'Mechs had been rendered inoperable, but Barlow was determined to continue fighting; resorting to using small arms and vehicles, Barlow's band of determined fighters managed to keep fighting until 2801, when the last of Barlow's original guerrilla force was killed by DCMS soldiers. During their fourteen-year campaign Barlow's troops had destroyed tons and tons of DCMS equipment and supplies as well as killing innumerable enemy personnel; their epic struggle, and the bravery and persistence with which Barlow's men had fought worked with the character of the local population to inspire a spirit of resistance that ensured the fight carried on. Using Barlow's name as a talisman, insurgents conducted numerous actions against the local Combine government and forces, creating a spirit of hostility and resistance that would last for centuries, and ultimately leading to both the Combine and the Federated Suns coming to refer to Cussar as "Barlow's Folly" so consistently that the Combine government eventually adopted this name for the planet.

Second Battle of Barlow's Folly

Main article: Second Battle of Barlow's Folly

The Jihad

Between the 7th and 14th of August 3068 Barlow's Folly was one of six worlds raided by a combination of small 'Mech units in the employ of the Draconis March of the Federated Suns and teams of Federated Suns commandos. The deep objective raids targeted undefended worlds, allegedly to find and liberate prisoners of war in captivity within the Combine since the FedCom Civil War. The six worlds targeted were Altais, Barlow's Folly, Beta Mensae V, Chichibu, Junction and Misery, and apparently some POWs were discovered.

Military Deployment

2750

• Seventy-fifth BattleMech Division

2765

• Twenty-sixth Robinson Chevaliers

2786

• Twenty-sixth Robinson Chevaliers

2787

• Thirty-eighth Avalon Hussars

2821

• Second Arkab Legion

Geography

A major terrain feature on Barlow's Folly is the mountain range known as the Trinity Mountains, which encircles the locations of the major population centers on the planet. The mountains are tall, rocky, heavily forested and feature permanent snowcaps.

Planetary Locations

• Angelius: one of three major cities on Barlow's Folly.
• Patrónne: one of three major cities on Barlow's Folly.
• Solus: one of three major cities on Barlow's Folly.

Nearby Systems

Closest 40 systems (39 within 60 light-years) Distance in light years, closest systems first:
New Mendham	9.6	Reisling's Planet	13.9	Ludwig	15.0	Matar	15.4
Galtor	21.8	Hildaman	23.5	Scheat	25.5	Paris	26.9
Tripoli	29.8	Homam	30.8	Aldrecht	30.9	Irurzun	33.6
New Sumatra	33.9	Donenac	34.9	Breed	35.1	Klathan	35.5
Marduk	35.8	Proserpina	35.9	Junction	40.1	Tangerz	42.5
Deshler	42.5	Sadalbari	42.8	Harpster	43.0	Alnadal	49.3
McComb	50.0	Koping Chian	50.0	Dobson	51.1	Arlington	51.4
Tannil	52.1	Xhosa	52.5	Fellanin	53.4	Royal	54.3
Apriki	54.5	Celebes	55.8	David	58.0	Monistrol	58.2
Raman	58.8	Ljugarn	59.0	Le Blanc	59.2	Lapida	62.3

Bibliography

• Era Report: 2750
• Era Report: 3052
• Era Report: 3062
• Era Report: 3145
• Field Manual: 3085
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: SLDF
• Field Report: AFFS
• Field Report: DCMS
• Field Report 2765: AFFS
• Field Report 2765: DCMS
• First Succession War
• Handbook: House Davion
• Handbook: House Kurita
• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1
• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2
• Historical: Reunification War
• Historical: War of 3039
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents