Difference between revisions of "Operation BATU"
 
Line 23: Line 23:
 
}}
 
}}
 
==Overview==
 
==Overview==
−
'''Operation BATU''' was an unauthorized invasion of the planet [[Alshain]], held by [[Clan Ghost Bear]] in [[3062]]. The strike was mostly planned by the [[Black Dragon Society]], but the mastermind behind the operation was [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]]<ref>''Path of Glory'', chapter 29</ref>.  Three of the four [[Alshain Avengers]] regiments attempted to retake the world for the [[Draconis Combine]], and were obliterated by the Ghost Bears. <ref>''Path of Glory'', p. 245</ref>  
+
'''Operation BATU''' was an unauthorized invasion of the planet [[Alshain]], which was held by [[Clan Ghost Bear]] in [[3062]]. The strike was mostly planned by the ''[[Kokuryu-kai]]'', also known as the [[Black Dragon Society]], but the mastermind behind the operation was [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]].<ref>''Path of Glory'', Chapter 29</ref> Three of the four [[Alshain Avengers]] regiments attempted to retake the world for the [[Draconis Combine]], and were obliterated by the Ghost Bears,<ref name="POGp245">''Path of Glory'', p. 245</ref> while one regiment never made it to Alshain to begin with.<ref name="POGp245"/>
−
In fact, the operation was doomed since the beginning, and was little more than a suicide mission for the Avengers.  
 
  
 +
In fact, the operation was doomed from the outset, and was little more than a suicide mission for the Avengers.
  
−
{{quote|''I applaud the Avengers' audacity, but the battle was over before it had begun''| [[Clan Wolf]] [[Khan]], [[Vlad Ward]], commenting the operation BATU after.<ref>''Test of Vengaence'' p. 30</ref>}}
+
{{quote|''I applaud the Avengers' audacity, but the battle was over before it had begun.''| [[Vlad Ward]], [[Khan]] of [[Clan Wolf]], commenting on the aftermath of Operation BATU.<ref>''Test of Vengeance'' p. 30</ref>}}
  
−
==Preparations==
+
== Preparations ==
−
Three of the Avengers regiments managed to leave their destinations and move to Alshain without attract suspicions, but not the fourth: The [[Eleventh Alshain Avengers]] were prevented from joining the assault by [[Clan Nova Cat]] forces, thanks to a vision of [[Zane Nova Cat]]. They sustained heavy losses and never took off.<ref>''Path of Glory'', p. 254</ref>
+
Three of the four regiments of Avengers managed to leave their duty stations and travel to Alshain without attracting suspicion, but not the fourth; the [[Eleventh Alshain Avengers]] were prevented from joining the assault by [[Clan Nova Cat]] forces, who were acting on a vision from [[Zane Nova Cat]]. The Eleventh sustained heavy losses and were unable to depart from their duty station.<ref name="POGp245"/>
  
−
Operation BATU was beginning to fall apart barely begun.
+
== Attack ==
 +
The absence of the Eleventh Alshain Avengers reduced the rogue [[DCMS]] forces to three-quarters of their planned strength, but a decisive factor in the failure of the attack on Alshain was that the Avengers either ignored the availabile intelligence on the Ghost Bears or were unaware that the clan had abandoned all of its holdings in the [[Clan Homeworlds]] and relocated to the Inner Sphere en masse, with Alshain as their new capital world. The Black Dragons had sufficient influence to obtain the ''[[Tatsumaki]]''-class destroyer [[Dragon's Last Tear|DCS ''Dragon's Last Tear]] as part of the Avengers task force, but the destroyer was completely outclassed by the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class battleship [[Ursa Major|CGB ''Ursa Major'']] and easily destroyed,<ref name="POGGen"/> and somewhere between half<ref name=FMUp13/><ref name=FMUp60/> and an entire regiment of Avengers were destroyed in space soon afterwards.<ref name="POGGen">''Path of Glory''</ref>
  
−
==The attack==
+
Additionally, the clan garrison on planet was much larger than expected. The Avengers that survived the opening salvoes in space managed to make landfall, albeit with a number of [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] arriving via combat drops. The Avengers who made it to the ground were overwhelmed by the Ghost Bear forces.<ref name="POGGen"/><ref name=FMUp13/><ref name=FMUp60/> Tai-i [[Shiro Kanazawa]], an [[Atlas (BattleMech)|Atlas]] pilot and Alshain native was defeated and killed in single combat by a lone [[Elemental]], a Ghost Bear ''[[ristar]]'' named [[Jake Kabrinski]].<ref name=ACtA04>''Test of Vengeance'' p. 14-21</ref>. A small number of Avengers survived long enough to flee into the wilderness and launch a guerilla campaign.<ref name=FMUp13>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 13</ref><ref name=FMUp60>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 60</ref>  
−
The Eleventh absence, of course, reduced the Combine force to three quarters of the maximum, but the key of the outcome was the Kuritan "intelligence", which was just the opposite: the Avengers ignored the facts than the Bears had moved their entire forces and civil population to the Inner Sphere, made Alshain their capital, and built an orbital shipyard. Additionally, the clan garrison on planet was much larger than expected.  
 
−
Another key weak point in the Kuritan plan was naval support: the ''[[Dragon's Last Tear]]'' wasn´t the powerful warship they were tell: The ''[[Ursa Major]]'' destroyed it easily, and later, a full regiment of the Avengers in space.
 
−
The last two regiments, trying to escape from the Bear warship, managed to land on planet, some of them making a combat drop, but on the ground they found an apparently unlimited number of Ghost Bear troops and were wiped out. They never stood a chance.
 
−
As an example, an Alshain native and officer, Tai-i [[Shiro Kanazawa]], piloting an [[Atlas (BattleMech)|Atlas]], was defeated and killed in single combat... by a lone Elemental with armor, [[Jake Kabrinski]], a young ''ristar''. <ref name=ACtA04>''Test of Vengaence'' p. 14-21</ref>.  
 
−
Some Alshain Avengers survived, starting a guerrilla war, but were finally hunted and eliminated.
 
−
Even if the Eleventh had joined the force, is very doubtful than the results would have been different.
 
−
The consequences of the attack, apart from the loss of four Combine regiments and a WarShip, without counting the Nova Cats fallen fighting the 11th when it attempted to take off, were to awake the sleeping bear.
 
−
[[Theodore Kurita]] denounced the invasion and labeled the participating Combine units as traitors<ref>''Path of Glory'', p. 256</ref>, but this failed to appease the Ghost Bears, who assaulted the Combine along its border with their Dominion, later called the [[Combine-Ghost Bear War]].<ref>''Path of Glory'''', p. 261</ref>
 
−
The survivors of the 11th of Avengers, who started the war, were also hunted and destroyed by the Ghost Bears.<ref>''Path of Glory'''', p. 261</ref>
 
  
−
==Units involved==
+
== Aftermath ==
−
===Draconis Combine===
+
[[Theodore Kurita]] denounced the attempted invasion of Alshain and labeled the participating Combine units as traitors<ref>''Path of Glory'', p. 256</ref>, but this failed to appease the Ghost Bears, who launched assaults along the [[Ghost Bear Dominion]] border with the Combine, initiating what would later be known as the [[First Combine-Dominion War]].<ref>''Path of Glory'''', p. 261</ref> The survivors of the Eleventh Alshain Avengers were also hunted and destroyed by the Ghost Bears, despite never having made it to Alshain.<ref>''Path of Glory'''', p. 261</ref>
 +
 
 +
== Units Involved==
 +
=== Draconis Combine ===
 
* [[Alshain Avengers]]
 
* [[Alshain Avengers]]
 +
** [[Eighth Alshain Avengers]]
 
** [[Eleventh Alshain Avengers]]
 
** [[Eleventh Alshain Avengers]]
 +
** [[Fourteenth Alshain Avengers]]
 +
** [[Fifteenth Alshain Avengers]]
 +
* ''[[Tatsumaki]]''-class [[WarShip]] [[Dragon's Last Tear|DCS ''Dragon's Last Tear]]''
  
 
===Clan Ghost Bear===
 
===Clan Ghost Bear===
−
 
+
* ''[[Nightlord]]''-class WarShip [[Ursa Major|CGB ''Ursa Major'']]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 57: Line 56:
  
 
==Bibliography==
 
==Bibliography==
 +
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
 
* ''[[Path of Glory]]'' (novel)
 
* ''[[Path of Glory]]'' (novel)
 
* ''[[Test of Vengeance]]'' (novel)
 
* ''[[Test of Vengeance]]'' (novel)
  
 
[[Category:Civil War Era Military Operations|Operation BATU (3062)]]
 
[[Category:Civil War Era Military Operations|Operation BATU (3062)]]

Latest revision as of 11:36, 30 March 2024

Part of Combine-Ghost Bear War
Start Date 3062
Planet Alshain
Result Clan Ghost Bear destroy the Combine invaders and launch counterstrikes.
Factions
(Attacker)
Draconis Combine		 (Defender)
Clan Ghost Bear

Overview[edit]

Operation BATU was an unauthorized invasion of the planet Alshain, which was held by Clan Ghost Bear in 3062. The strike was mostly planned by the Kokuryu-kai, also known as the Black Dragon Society, but the mastermind behind the operation was Duke Hassid Ricol.[1] Three of the four Alshain Avengers regiments attempted to retake the world for the Draconis Combine, and were obliterated by the Ghost Bears,[2] while one regiment never made it to Alshain to begin with.[2]

In fact, the operation was doomed from the outset, and was little more than a suicide mission for the Avengers.

“ I applaud the Avengers' audacity, but the battle was over before it had begun. ”
  —  Vlad Ward, Khan of Clan Wolf, commenting on the aftermath of Operation BATU.[3]

Preparations[edit]

Three of the four regiments of Avengers managed to leave their duty stations and travel to Alshain without attracting suspicion, but not the fourth; the Eleventh Alshain Avengers were prevented from joining the assault by Clan Nova Cat forces, who were acting on a vision from Zane Nova Cat. The Eleventh sustained heavy losses and were unable to depart from their duty station.[2]

Attack[edit]

The absence of the Eleventh Alshain Avengers reduced the rogue DCMS forces to three-quarters of their planned strength, but a decisive factor in the failure of the attack on Alshain was that the Avengers either ignored the availabile intelligence on the Ghost Bears or were unaware that the clan had abandoned all of its holdings in the Clan Homeworlds and relocated to the Inner Sphere en masse, with Alshain as their new capital world. The Black Dragons had sufficient influence to obtain the Tatsumaki-class destroyer DCS Dragon's Last Tear as part of the Avengers task force, but the destroyer was completely outclassed by the Nightlord-class battleship CGB Ursa Major and easily destroyed,[4] and somewhere between half[5][6] and an entire regiment of Avengers were destroyed in space soon afterwards.[4]

Additionally, the clan garrison on planet was much larger than expected. The Avengers that survived the opening salvoes in space managed to make landfall, albeit with a number of MechWarriors arriving via combat drops. The Avengers who made it to the ground were overwhelmed by the Ghost Bear forces.[4][5][6] Tai-i Shiro Kanazawa, an Atlas pilot and Alshain native was defeated and killed in single combat by a lone Elemental, a Ghost Bear ristar named Jake Kabrinski.[7]. A small number of Avengers survived long enough to flee into the wilderness and launch a guerilla campaign.[5][6]

Aftermath[edit]

Theodore Kurita denounced the attempted invasion of Alshain and labeled the participating Combine units as traitors[8], but this failed to appease the Ghost Bears, who launched assaults along the Ghost Bear Dominion border with the Combine, initiating what would later be known as the First Combine-Dominion War.[9] The survivors of the Eleventh Alshain Avengers were also hunted and destroyed by the Ghost Bears, despite never having made it to Alshain.[10]

Units Involved[edit]

Draconis Combine[edit]

Clan Ghost Bear[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Path of Glory, Chapter 29
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Path of Glory, p. 245
  3. ↑ Test of Vengeance p. 30
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Path of Glory
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 13
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 60
  7. ↑ Test of Vengeance p. 14-21
  8. ↑ Path of Glory, p. 256
  9. ↑ Path of Glory'', p. 261
  10. ↑ Path of Glory'', p. 261

Bibliography[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.sarna.net/wiki/index.php?title=Operation_BATU&oldid=1063743"