Difference between revisions of "Battle of New Avalon (3151)"
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===Conflict Conclusion=== | ===Conflict Conclusion=== | ||
| − | However, not all the Combine invaders on New Avalon were captured: ''Tai-i'' [[Saul Pereira]], officer of the Fifth Sword of Light, managed to escape during the victory celebrations, joining with some | + | However, not all the Combine invaders on New Avalon were captured: ''Tai-i'' [[Saul Pereira]], officer of the Fifth Sword of Light, managed to escape during the victory celebrations, joining with some squads of DCMS infantrymen, refusing to surrender and fleeing deeply into the Gran Avalon mountain range. However, their survival at long term was unlikely, as they were hunted by a disproportionate number of Davion troops.<ref>''Dominions Divided'' p. 110</ref> |
Operation Dawn was quickly followed by the AFFS [[Operation Solar Flare]], the reconquest of all the ''Dragon's Tongue'' worlds. After the [[Battle of Greely (3152)]], the conflict ended de facto, with both sides quickly adopting an undeclared truce to rebuild their forces. But the devastation of the battles, fough almost exclusively in Davion space, and the huge military losses of Operation Dawn, ironically, left the Combine -technically, the loser- in best shape and stronger than the Federated Suns, technically, the winner.<ref>''Dominions Divided'' p. 92-96</ref> | Operation Dawn was quickly followed by the AFFS [[Operation Solar Flare]], the reconquest of all the ''Dragon's Tongue'' worlds. After the [[Battle of Greely (3152)]], the conflict ended de facto, with both sides quickly adopting an undeclared truce to rebuild their forces. But the devastation of the battles, fough almost exclusively in Davion space, and the huge military losses of Operation Dawn, ironically, left the Combine -technically, the loser- in best shape and stronger than the Federated Suns, technically, the winner.<ref>''Dominions Divided'' p. 92-96</ref> | ||
Revision as of 14:13, 7 May 2023
| Operation DAWN | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The IlClan Era | |||||||
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| Factions | |||||||
| (Attacker) Federated Suns |
(Defender) Draconis Combine |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Julian Davion | Matsuhari Toranaga | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||
| Normal | |||||||
Operation Dawn is an early IlClan Era military operation that was undertaken by the Federated Suns against the Draconis Combine in the Dragon's Tongue world of New Avalon.
Contents
Operation Brief
The Operation took place mainly in New Avalon, both space and on the ground, and marginally in some nearby systems.
Operation History
Factions & Known Units Involved in the Conflict
Federated Suns
- First Avalon Hussars
- Fifth Avalon Hussars
- 1st Davion Guards
- First NAIS Cadre
- Sixth Crucis Lancers
- First Davion Auxiliaires
- Second Davion Auxiliaires
Draconis Combine
Origin of Conflict
The end of the Dark Age Era was, probably, the hardest time in the Federated Suns' history: after the Palmyra Disaster, almost all their commanding officers and most of its best elite units were destroyed by the Combine forces. The Combine deep penetration created a narrow occupation zone called Dragon's Tongue, stretching to planets Coloma and New Avalon. The all-out assault of the Combine on the last planet resulted in the Battle of New Avalon (3146), with the Kuritans taking now only New Avalon, but also the Draconis March's capital, Robinson, while the Capellan Confederation took the Capellan March, New Syrtis. Not even the arrival of their new First Prince, Julian Davion, from Lyran Commonwealth space, made better the situation: without their three key capitals, the Suns' economy was chaotic at best, their military weak, and the Federation stood at the brink of the collapse. However, slowly the situation began to change: In 3149, the Kuritans' mistreatment of mercenaries made them lose the Wolf's Dragoons, depriving them of almost five full regiments. Weakened, the Kuritans were unable to expand more the Tongue, and even the Federation raids, like Operation PERCEVAL, hurt them seriously. Julian focused his efforts in retaking New Syrtis, and, with Republic of the Sphere's assistance, they retook too Robinson. Then only remained New Avalon, and both sides concentrated all their efforts to free or keep the key planet.[1]
Launch of the Operation
The 3 April 3151, the Task Force Dawn was ready to attack New Avalon, or at least as ready as they could. The MIIO, though at a heavy cost, had obtained intel about the Kuritans's deployments on New Avalon and the Dragon's Tongue. They were redeploying, reducing the garrison in not important planets, a defensive strategy. But the Suns' Admiral McMasters pointed than simply they hadn't enough JumpShips to send all the Task Force in a single trip. So first they had to obtain them.[2][3]
Operation UMBRA
On 17 May, a full fleet of Federated Suns JumpShips arrived on New Avalon's nadir jump point, and released a swarm of assault DropShips, fighters and transports filled with marines. The outnumbered Kuritan defenders movilized, but the attackers didn't went for they; instead, they boarded and captured a number of JumpShips stationed on the jump point. However, the majority jumped out of the system... and, surprisingly, the invaders departed almost immediately. Toranaga placed New Avalon on full alert, but soon became evident than the planet wasn't the target, but the escaping ships. These jumped to Coloma, where the another AFFS fleet had preceded them and captured the one which had escaped previously, focusing specially in the biggers, like Star Lord (JumpShip class) and Monolith. All that was part of Operation Umbra, the work of AFFS admiral McMasters; their attack opn New Avalon wasn't more than a ruse to to make the stationed JumpShips -almost all former Federated Suns ones captured by the Kuritans- to be captured, to allow the real invasion AFFS fleet. to jump into New Avalon in a single trip. And it had succeeded beyond all expectations.[4]
Julian didn't waste any time to launch the real attack: quickly, the new fleet jumped to the AFFS headquarters on Argyle, loaded and, on 7 June, Dawn task force jumped at New Avalon. There, the First Prince broadcasted his return to all the population, asking Toranaga to surrender peacefully. The kanrei didn't reply, but the citizens of the planet rioted against the Kuritans, beating to death any captured invading officer, and forcing the Combine forces to retreat to Avalon City, where Toranaga keep the place with the 5th Sword of Light, while the Ryuken-hachi manned the Corean Enterprises Factory.[5]
Space Battle
Despite the odds, Toranaga refused to yield. While the invading DropShips burned towards the planet, they were ambushed by Toranaga's remaining ones which had hid behind the moon Galahad. Instructed to target mainly troop carriers and specially ships of the First Davion Guards -expecting obviously to kill the First Prince- the Kurita task force raced past the Davion screen ships and struck the heart of their formation like kamikazes. The transports of the Sixth Crucis Lancers bore the brunt, losing about two conventional battalions, until the Kuritan ships passed through and engaged the Davion Guards' formation. Without making any attempt to preserve their own lives, the attackers sacrificed themselves, destroying or crippling twice their number before their last ship, the Nekohono'o Willing Sacrifice was destroyed by mass fire. Aboard the command ship, the Running Fox, Admiral McMasters struggled to keep the fleet together as Combine Aerospace fighters rose from the planet, but they weren't able to stop the landings. The battle moved to the ground.[6]
Ground Battle
The First and Second Davion Auxiliaries grounded nearby Achernar BattleMechs facility, facing immediate artillery bombardment. Though the Genyosha has only a token force of infantry, they hold the factory hostage, tie up the Auxiliaires there for most of the campaign. Meanwhile, both Hussar regiments, due to the aerospace fighter harassment, missed their approach window and had to ground far from teir objective of Corean Enterprises. Once there, the Ryuken-hachi engaged both Hussar units in a running battle back to the plant. The Davion Assault Guards and Sixth Crucis Lancers performed a combat drop into the regions surrounding Avalon City. THe Fifth Sword gave no ground, savaging the Assault Guards before retreating into the bulwarks they'd built into the city. The Prince's Champion, Erik Sandoval-Groell, led the ground battle. Julian Davion had wanted to do it himself, but his advisors convinced him to not put himself into risk, so he overseed the battle from the Running Fox's bridge. Meanwhile, other AFFS units participated also in Operation Dawn, but in other systems: Julian had sent the Dawn Guards and the Kestrel Grenadiers to tie down the Twenty-Second New Samarkand Regulars on Coloma, and mercenary raids increased across all the Dragon's Tongue, coordinated by Marshal Philip Rahm of the Eight Crucis Lancers.[7]
Conflict Conclusion
However, not all the Combine invaders on New Avalon were captured: Tai-i Saul Pereira, officer of the Fifth Sword of Light, managed to escape during the victory celebrations, joining with some squads of DCMS infantrymen, refusing to surrender and fleeing deeply into the Gran Avalon mountain range. However, their survival at long term was unlikely, as they were hunted by a disproportionate number of Davion troops.[8]
Operation Dawn was quickly followed by the AFFS Operation Solar Flare, the reconquest of all the Dragon's Tongue worlds. After the Battle of Greely (3152), the conflict ended de facto, with both sides quickly adopting an undeclared truce to rebuild their forces. But the devastation of the battles, fough almost exclusively in Davion space, and the huge military losses of Operation Dawn, ironically, left the Combine -technically, the loser- in best shape and stronger than the Federated Suns, technically, the winner.[9]
Notes
Gallery
Matsuhari Toranaga's Atlas when defeated by Julian Davion's Marauder II
