Brandon Howell
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Brandon Howell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 3018[1] |
| Died | 3060 |
| Affiliation | Clan Smoke Jaguar |
| Profile | |
| Profession | saKhan of Clan Smoke Jaguar |
Brandon Howell (born 3018[1] - died 3060) was a unconventional Clan Smoke Jaguar MechWarrior who became saKhan of his Clan after the battle of Tukayyid.
Contents
Biography
Early life and Clan Invasion
An exceptional strategist and tactician, the well-liked and respected Howell defeated several popular ristars to take command of the elite Jaguar Grenadiers cluster. While fighting at the forefront of any attack as expected of a true Smoke Jaguar, rather than engaging in their stock tactic of overwhelming frontal assaults Howell attracted fame for his practice of maskirovka (the Russian loanword meaning camouflage or concealment rather than reference to the Capellan intelligence agency) inspired by his reading of a poorly-translated Star League text in his youth to both misdirect his foes and overcome it when attempted against him.[1]
Tukayyid
Commander of the Grenadiers at the time of the Battle of Tukayyid, Howell's Cluster was among those of the Khan Lincoln Osis led Alpha Galaxy selected to take the Jaguar's primary target city of Dinju Heights, defended by the Com Guards veteran ranked Fifth Army. The assault on Dinju Heights started well for the Jaguars, with Osis's Sixth Jaguar Dragoons wiping out the green 50th Division to secure Alpha Galaxy's drop site. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
While the rest of Alpha assumed it was their superiority over the ComStar forces allowing them to effortlessly roll over the Com Guard defensive lines, Howell however correctly suspected the minimal resistance offered by the remains of 50th Division was but a cover for an ambush in the seemingly undefended Dinju Pass. Howell responded by sending two Stars forward to flush out any hidden Com Guard units, while the rest of the Grenadiers were ordered to rush the pass at flank speed while hugging its walls. While almost completely obliterating the probe force, the now revealed 299th and 323rd Divisions could only engage the bulk of the Grenadiers briefly before they raced past, inflicting heavy losses but unable to prevent a sizable portion of the Jaguar unit making it through to reach the outskirts of Dinju Heights. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
However Howell's success would ultimately doom Alpha's advance. Unwilling to be outdone by a subordinate, Lincoln Osis ordered his Sixth Jaguar Dragoons to make their own run, by which time the 299th and 323rd Divisions had fully emerged from hiding and were crowding the floor of the pass, creating a gauntlet of overwhelming firepower with the Jaguar Loremaster and Khan Osis both seemingly killed as the Dragoons took heavy casualties. With the Grenadiers unable to fight their way back through the pass to save the outnumbered Sixth Dragoons from destruction at the hands of the 299th and 323rd Divisions, Howell launched a desperate assault against the 82nd and 322nd Divisions outside Dinju Heights, pushing the Com Guard units back and allowing the surviving Grenadiers an opening to withdraw to their DropShips. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Post Tukayyid
One of the highest-ranking Smoke Jaguars to survive Tukayyid, Howell was originally elected Khan in May 3052, until Lincoln Osis was discovered alive by by post-battle salvage crews. Putting the needs of his Clan above his own personal ambition, Howell declined to challenge Osis for the Khanship and accepted the post of saKhan. [1]
Brandon Howell was later killed on Huntress while fighting the forces of Task Force Serpent.[citation needed]
BattleMech
While his preferred BattleMech is unknown, some evidence indicates he piloted a Timber Wolf during the fighting on Tukayyid. [3]
Succession
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Era Report: 3052, pp. 90-91, "Brandon Howell Profile"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Tukayyid, pp. 29-38 "Campaign: Clan Smoke Jaguar"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tukayyid, p. 34 "Ambush at the Dinju Pass"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wolf Clan, p. 47 "Days of Armageddon - Smoke Jaguar"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Invading Clans, pp. 61-62 "Tukayyid: The Crucible"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ComStar, p. 70 "Battle of Tukayyid"