Battle of Addicks (3132)

Battle of Addicks (3132)
Conflict details
Part of Dark Age era
Start Date 3 November 3132[1]
End Date Approx. 10 November 3132[2]
Planet(s) Addicks
Location(s) Neo Cartagia
Result Republic of the Sphere victory
Territorial Changes No change
Attacking Forces
Affiliation Dragon's Fury
Commanding Officer(s) Tai-i Danni Haag[3]
Command(s) Amaterasu[4]
Defending Forces
Affiliation Republic of the Sphere
Commanding Officer(s) Captain Tara Bishop[5]
Command(s) Northwind Highlanders ad hoc force[2]
Other Forces

Overview[edit]

After the failed Dieron strike, Katana Tormark needed to secure materials to support her coming war effort. Addicks was chosen as one of the worlds to be raided. Landing on the 3rd of November, the Dragon's Fury launched an assault to capture the planetary oil fields. The Fury's attack on the Weyland Industrial Complex near Neo Cartagia was repulsed by forces from the Northwind Highlanders, stationed near the oil fields by Tara Campbell in anticipation of just such an attack.[2]

Prelude[edit]

On 18 June 3132, Senator Kev Rosse announced the results of a Republic Geological Resources survey of Prefecture III. Republic Geological Resources had made the largest find in its history: a vast supply of high-grade crude oil on Addicks, in the western portion of the continent Sparro.[6] Over ten billion tons of oil awaited extraction,[3] and Rosse immediately directed prefecture funds towards resource development.[6]

On 7 August 3132, HPG communications collapsed across the Sphere, and the Republic descended into war.[7]

Katana Tormark, Prefect of Prefecture III and head of the pro-Draconis Combine splinter group Dragon's Fury, saw in Addicks the fuel to supply her forces. She assigned Tai-i Danni Haag the task of taking what seemed an undefended planet.[3]

Battle[edit]

The attack began on 3 November 3132. The first Dragon's Fury DropShip landed around 20-30 kilometers away from the Weyland Industrial Complex, near Neo Cartagia on the southern continent of Sparro, to take control of the planet's only aerospace fighter base. There, they encountered a surprise: an ad hoc[2] Northwind Highlanders force commanded by Tara Bishop.[3][5][8] The Highlanders initially pulled back, only to strike the attackers in the flanks. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Highlanders took an initial advantage.[8][9]

Haag kept the pressure up, however, pushing Bishop's Highlanders into Neo Cartagia itself before, in the hopes of shutting down the city's spaceport and controlling civilian traffic to and from the planet, launching a full-scale assault on the city itself. The Dragon's Fury struck at civilian buildings, doing enough damage to goad the entrenched Highlanders out for a disastrous counterattack. The brutalized Highlanders retreated from Neo Cartagia to regroup, leaving the Fury in control of the planetary spaceport.[8][10][11] Highlander Naomi Katina distinguished herself in her very first battle, earning three vehicle and infantry squad kills.[12]

The threat and devastation of conflict drove thousands from the planet.[13] During the early fighting, many residents of Hesperus, a suburb near Neo Cartagia, took an opportunity to escape. Civilian aerospace industry workers seized three nearby DropShips - the Terrestria, the Tarawa, and the New Hope - of which two were Dragon's Fury vessels. About 3,000 residents boarded the ships and fled to Towne.[14][15]

After securing Neo Cartagia, Haag turned her forces towards the northern continent of Landersia, where another Dragon's Fury detachment awaited. Haag's daring attempt to cross the strait between the continents of Auskel and Landersia amidst a storm was spotted by Bishop's VTOLs, and the Highlanders struck the seaborne invaders as they reached Carlton Beach. The Fury was battered badly and failed to hold the beach.[16][17] The Highlanders pressed their advantage, striking again and again to grind their enemies down,[8] but the Dragon's Fury was able to unite what remained of their forces on Landersia.[18]

While fending off a battle armor surprise attack, the Highlanders detected the combined Dragon's Fury force and moved in to crush them. On the plains of Jesara, a bloodbath ensued. Both sides suffered severely, but in the end, about a week after the invasion began,[2] the Highlanders secured the planet. Haag fled with what little Fury equipment could be recovered on the Fury's few remaining DropShips. Stranded Dragon's Fury stragglers made their last suicidal attacks, but the struggle for Addicks was over.[8][18][19]

During the battle, Highlander Kurt Larsen earned his first kills, two vehicles and an assist against an IndustrialMech. He was granted a Valiant for his performance, one captured from the Amaterasu on Addicks.[4] Tameka Pryer, a recent conscript, valiantly defended a Highlanders ammo dump as the driver of an air defense vehicle. Taking the guns after her commander and gunner were shot, she fired blind and brought down two Fury aircraft before reinforcements arrived. She was rewarded with command of a Partisan AA Vehicle.[20][21]

Aftermath[edit]

Danni Haag left Addicks a failure. She set off to Proserpina, ready to report her defeat to Katana Tormark and to plead for ritual suicide.[19] It was not granted.[22]

Reconstruction began soon after the Dragon's Fury withdrew. Knight Stephanie Hoover arrived to survey the damage and reassure the public, promising extensive assistance.[8] Some of the planet's thousands of refugees slowly came back,[13] though not all elected to return.[15] The Highlanders surged in popularity for defending the planet and for helping rebuild in the months immediately afterwards, though Tara Campbell's work programs for residents in need caused some controversy. The Society for Interstellar Conscience questioned the focus on military-oriented projects that directly aided the Highlanders themselves.[13]

Addicks resident Malcolm McPherson, who would eventually earn fame for his exceptional Thumper accuracy, joined the Highlanders in the aftermath of the battle.[23]

Eventually, in April 3133, the oil fields attracted another attacker: the Spirit Cats.[1]

Notes[edit]

  • The location of the Addicks oil deposit is inconsistent. Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN places the deposit on the southern continent of Sparro,[6] while Gambit: The Battle for Addicks! places the deposit on the northern continent of Landersia.[16] Era Digest: Dark Age, a later publication, places the oil deposit near Neo Cartagia, on Sparro.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 10: "Dark Age Timeline"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 6: "Important Military Actions of 3132"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gambit: The Battle for Addicks!, scenario 1: "DropShip Down"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards, p. 121: "Kurt Larsen"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, p. 58: "War Touches Addicks"
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, p. 7: "Senator Kev Rosse Announces Discovery of New Crude Oil Resources on Addicks"
  7. ↑ Era Digest: Dark Age, pp. 4-6
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, p. 74, "Peace on Addicks"
  9. ↑ Battle for Addicks: DropShip Down results, retrieved from the MechWarrior: Dark Age website
  10. ↑ Gambit: The Battle for Addicks!, scenario 2: "Reach for the Sky"
  11. ↑ Battle for Addicks: Reach for the Sky results, retrieved from the MechWarrior: Dark Age website
  12. ↑ MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards, p. 89: "Naomi Katina"
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, pp. 201-202: "Return to Addicks"
  14. ↑ Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, p. 63: "Addicks Refugees Arrive on Towne - Report 'Addicks at War'"
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN, p. 138: "Addicks Refugees to Return Home"
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gambit: The Battle for Addicks!, scenario 3: "Poseidon's Fury"
  17. ↑ Battle for Addicks: Poseidon's Fury results, retrieved from the MechWarrior: Dark Age website
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gambit: The Battle for Addicks!, scenario 4: "Black Gold"
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Battle for Addicks: Black Gold results, retrieved from the MechWarrior: Dark Age website
  20. ↑ MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards, p. 133: "Tameka Pryer"
  21. ↑ Technical Readout: 3150, p. 74: "Partisan AA Vehicle"
  22. ↑ Technical Readout: Dark Age, p. 8: "Arbalest"
  23. ↑ MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards, p. 86: "Malcolm McPherson"

Bibliography[edit]

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