Dennis Waxton

Dennis Waxton
Personal
Affiliation	Federated Suns
Profile
Rank	General
Profession	MechWarrior

Dennis Waxton was the commanding officer of the Minette Operational Area's Point Barrow Combat Region as of 3067.

History

Leftenant General Waxton, commanding the Marlette Crucis March Militia, was stationed on Marlette in 3050 and remained there by 3062. Despite his reputation for eccentricity, Waxton was a superb tactician and commander. Fond of quoting poetry, Waxton chose to lead by example and commanded the Militia from the cockpit of his Cyclops (much to the chagrin of the "jealous desk warriors" in AFFS High Command).

FedCom Civil War

During the FedCom Civil War, Waxton's CrMM came under attack in late 3064 when the Victor Steiner-Davion-aligned Fifth Crucis Lancers invaded Marlette with the intent of taking one of Archon Katherine Steiner-Davion's last regional command centers. Quickly outmatched by the frontline Fifth Lancers, Waxton's militiamen pulled back in order to defend the key Jedda Military Complex. When the Fifth FedCom RCT arrived on 24 November, and after regional commander Marshal Peter Chesterton was talked out of arresting and executing the Fifth's command staff for their use of nuclear weapons on Axton earlier in the war, Waxton's CrMM was able to break out of their defensive positions and retake the key industrial city of Argentan. While Waxton personally refused to work with the Fifth FedCom due to their previous actions, both units were jointly coordinated by regional deputy commander Hauptmann-General Mary Lyman in order to beat back the Fifth Lancers.

Unfortunately for the Marlette militia and the Fifth FedCom, the combat tempo needed to effectively eliminate the Fifth Lancers would have severely compromised their own security, leading to a stalemate in the conflict by January 3065. When the Twentieth Avalon Hussars arrived in-system to destroy the Fifth FedCom, the commander of the Fifth Lancers rashly assaulted Waxton's positions around the Jedda Military Complex in anticipation of Hussars support. While the Twentieth Hussars did provide some support to the Lancers offensive, most of the Hussars' forces were focused on annihilating the Fifth FedCom and Waxton's militia quickly isolated the troops assaulting the Military Complex from outside assistance. When the Fifth FedCom was almost annihilated and forced off-world on 11 March, the few survivors remaining on Marlette were absorbed into Waxton's CrMM against his protests, once more leaving the Marlette CrMM alone and confined to the Jedda Complex.

Waxton and the Marlette CrMM spent the next five months under siege in the Jedda Complex, until the arrival of the Katherine-loyal Fifth Lyran Guards behind the attackers' lines allowed Waxton's men to once again escape from their entrapment in the Jedda Military Complex. A later attack by the Fifth Guards against the Fifth Lancers' headquarters succeeded in killing the enemy unit's commanding officer before both sides settled into a protracted airborne assault campaign. In November, a surprise ground assault against Waxton's DropShip assets at the Manfred Airbase cost the militia dearly but the tide of battle was halted entirely when a series of major winter storms produced heavy snowfalls and forced both sides to wait out the end of the winter season.

Unfortunately for Waxton and his allies, when the spring thaw came, the ensuing floods wreaked havoc on their positions. Towards the end of May 3066, Victor's forces took advantage of this disarray to strike hard against the Fifth Lyran Guards, destroying more than two-thirds of the unit and forcing the remainder to combine with Waxton's CrMM in order to launch any kind of counterattack. Weakened and still struggling to deal with high floodwater levels, Waxton ultimately had to order his remaining DropShips to abandon their positions in order to preserve his troops' fighting capacity. Once more, the conditions caused by the floodwaters lead to numerous DropShips being damaged or destroyed during this evacuation effort and, even after relocating to the drier territory in the Great Ryan Expanse, Waxton's forces were dealt heavy casualties by the pursuing Hussars and Lancers. However, Waxton's defeat was staved off when the Fifteenth Deneb Light Cavalry and First Republican Guards, retreating from the lost battle on Tikonov, arrived on 7 August and began coordinating defensive measures with Waxton's CrMM.

When the Third Crucis Lancers, Blackwind Lancers, and ComStar's 244th Division all arrived on Marlette to take the world for Victor's cause, Waxton's battle was essentially lost. Despite this, the militia and their allies fought tenaciously against these odds, holding out for so long that some of the opposing units left Marlette in order to contribute to decisive battles elsewhere. Still, in mid-February 3067, Waxton's remaining militiamen were caught in the open Cregmoor Plains and destroyed as a fighting force. By the end of the month, the Fifteenth Deneb Light Cavalry was forced to surrender after the capture of its commanding officer, bringing a close to the fighting of Marlette and finally taking the planet for Victor.

Post Civil War

After the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, Waxton was promoted to general and given command of the Point Barrow Combat Region by 3067.

Notes

• Waxton's surname is spelled as Waxon in 20 Year Update and switches between both spellings in FedCom Civil War.

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: Federated Suns
• Field Manual: Updates