Woodruff Patterson

Woodruff Patterson
Personal
Affiliation	Lyran Commonwealth
Profile
Profession	Leutnant-General

Woodruff Patterson was the commanding officer of the 26th Lyran Guards between 3025 and 3039

History

As of 3025, the 26th Lyran Guards were a veteran formation, assigned to defend their homeworld of Tamar, and commanded by Leutnant-Colonel Woodruff Patterson.

Fourth Succession War

The Twenty-sixth Lyran Guards landed on Engadin as a part of the final wave of attacks launched during Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG in late 3028. Rather than managing a quick victory, the Twenty-sixth found the campaign for Engadin dragging on into 3029, in part because the campaign began to go wrong from the beginning. Leutnant-Colonel Woodruff Patterson and the Twenty-sixth had anticipated finding the Fifth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre on Engadin, the Fifth having been badly mauled on Moritz by the Eighth Donegal Guards RCT. The initial landings went badly, with a lack of coordination on the part of the DropShip pilots left the 'Mech forces tens of kilometers away from their support elements. Things rapidly got worse when the St. Cyr Heavy Assault Group, battered from their defeat on Kandis at the hands of the Twenty-sixth, revealed their presence on Engadin - by attacking and capturing the Twenty-sixth's support equipment and personnel.

The Twenty-sixth ran themselves ragged for a month attempting to chase down the St. Cyr HAG before the lull in combat operations, at which point Colonel Patterson requested relief or reinforcements. In May 3029, the LCAF responded by ordering him to capture Zurin Spaceport so that supplies and reinforcements could be brought in. Zurin Spaceport was the main Draconis Combine Admiralty aerospace base on Engadin, and when Patterson led his forces to attack the airfield the St. Cyr HAG suddenly found their roles reversed, intently pursuing the rapidly moving Twenty-sixth. By splitting his forces, Patterson managed to seize the airfield with his lighter 'Mechs while his heavier 'Mechs used the Flanders Swamp to block the advancing St. Cyr HAG forces.

The St. Cyr HAG withdrew, giving the Twenty-sixth the opportunity to receive the infusion of supplies they needed, and the Twenty-sixth went on the offensive again, sparring with the St. Cyr HAG and attempting to seize the planetary capital city, Yonkers, from the defending Fifth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre - who were firing ammunition captured from the Twenty-sixth during the initial landings back at the Lyran forces. The Twenty-sixth made three unsuccessful attempts to capture Yonkers before the arrival of the Blackhearts mercenary command on Engadin in June; the Blackhearts launched an offensive of their own on Yonkers, using Long Tom Artillery to provide cover as they moved around the hillsides near Yonkers to attack the Sun Zhang cadets. After a two-hour battle in which the cadets fought bravely in their light 'Mechs the damage sustained on Moritz tipped the balance, and the cadets were forced to surrender. With no way to hold Yonkers, the St. Cyr HAG retreated from Engadin, leaving the planet in Lyran hands.

War of 3039

Alnasi

On 15 April, 3039, a flotilla consisting of the 26th Lyran Guards RCT and the 1st Argyle Lancers appeared at a Pirate Jump Point above the Combine world of Alnasi, an industrial world defended only by a small planetary militia. Woodruff Patterson, now holding the rank of General in the LCAF, commanded the invasion force, and was determined to secure the planet quickly. The Alnasi militia, however, waged an effective guerrilla war despite fielding only a company of 'Mechs. Ultimately, however, Patterson was able to surround the capital of Gantarius, forcing the planetary government's surrender. It took the invaders until mid-May, however, before they could run down the militia 'Mech Company. With the planet in their grasp, the Guards and the Lancers dug in to prepare for the possibility of a DCMS counterattack. The 26th Guards losses during the conquest were considered light.

Unfortunately for the Guards, guerrilla warfare by the surviving militia and an insurgency by the local population (and supported by the Internal Security Force) kept them from ever fully securing the planet. Sabotage to Lyran equipment became commonplace, and matters were not helped when the Argyle Lancers were rotated offworld to prepare for followup attacks. On 22 July, Combine reinforcements arrived in the form of the 6th Alshain Regulars and the 5th Sun Zhang Academy Cadre, using the same pirate point the Lyrans had. Although they held an advantage in skill, experience and sheer numbers over the Regulars and the Cadre, their position was highly compromised. Patterson sent his aerospace fighters to interfere with the incoming enemy transports, but they inflicted only minor damage before being chased off by Kuritan fighters and assault DropShips. The Guards then sent their second battalion (supported by armor forces) and their lightning company to harry the DCMS landing zones. They were quickly repulsed by the overwhelming ferocity of the Alshain Regulars, piloting 'Mechs (provided by ComStar) never before seen by the Lyrans. The Kuritans soon built a formidable defensive position around their LZ, and within a few days, the Regulars were prepared to attack the Lyran-held capital from the west while the Cadre struck from the northeast. The Cadre's approach was botched, however, when they ran into entrenched Lyran armor positions. Nevertheless, the Guards faced a deteriorating position, attacked on two sides and facing heavier opposition within the city. By 30 July, Patterson was forced to pull his troops back deeper within the city. The entrenched men and women of Steiner's Boots proceeded to repulse five Combine assaults in succession, but terrorist attacks by the ISF and the local citizenry grew progressively worse. On 5 August, a suicide bomber killed General Patterson and 26 other members of the Guards. Two days later, Colonel Joy Corelli, acting commander of the 26th, ordered the Guards to begin withdrawing from the planet. Within a week, the last remaining Lyran troops had lifted offworld. Overall casualties to the unit during the counterattack were moderate, allowing it to maintain unit cohesion. The Twenty-sixth returned to Phalan, and ultimately were rotated back to Tamar when the war ended. After the conflict, Colonel Corelli was promoted and confirmed as the Twenty-sixth's commander.

Bibliography

• Historical: War of 3039
• House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2