Battle of Ankaa (3132)

Battle of Ankaa (3132)
Conflict details
Part of	Dark Age era
Start Date	19 December 3132
End Date	Several days later
Planet(s)	Ankaa
Location(s)	In and around Anqabad
Result	Steel Wolves victory
Attacking Forces
Affiliation	Swordsworn
Commanding Officer(s)	Leftenant Colonel Diane Jameson
Command(s)	Swordsworn elements
Defending Forces
Affiliation	Steel Wolves
Commanding Officer(s)	Star Captain Sadia Wolf
Command(s)	Steel Wolves elements Ankaa Standing Guard
Other Forces

Overview

At the end of 3132, two of the splinter factions fighting over the Republic of the Sphere, the Steel Wolves and the Swordsworn, took an interest in the DiNapoli Industries DropShip manufacturing facilities on Ankaa. The Steel Wolves arrived first, followed shortly by the Swordsworn on 19 December 3132. Over several days of fighting, the Wolves held off the Swordsworn, securing the planet and its DiNapoli factories for themselves.

Prelude

Ankaa-based DiNapoli Industries, recently taken over by Bannson Universal Unlimited, was the leading manufacturer of DropShips in Prefecture IV. This made the planet a tempting target. Both Kal Radick of the Steel Wolves and Aaron Sandoval of the Swordsworn saw its value, and each assigned a commander to take the DiNapoli facilities: Sadia Wolf for the Wolves, and a hastily promoted Diane Jameson for the Swordsworn.

The Steel Wolves arrived first, on 16 December 3132. They secured the capital Anqabad and the various DiNapoli facilities mostly bloodlessly, helped by the population's disdain for new DiNapoli owner Jacob Bannson. The local militia was quickly brought under Steel Wolves control.

Three days later, on 19 December 3132, the Swordsworn struck.

Battle

The Swordsworn opened with an avalanche drop, a direct orbital drop into Wolf-controlled Anqabad, bypassing the defensive perimeter the Wolves and militia had prepared. They hit hard, inflicting heavy casualties on the Wolves and holding half of the city before, facing entrenched defenders and a powerful counterattack, Jameson gave the order to withdraw. After hours of fighting, according to an anonymous column the Ankaa government banned from publication, hundreds were left dead in Anqabad and thousands injured, the product of two forces caring little for collateral damage. Each side's recovery teams allegedly paid little attention to injured civilians afterwards. The same column claimed that both the planet's legate and its present Knights conspicuously failed to respond to the attack. However, the governor called for the fighting to stop.

The Swordsworn withdrawal was less an organized retreat than a chaotic scramble. They fled north, the Wolves and militia in constant pursuit. By 22 December, the front lines were entering the Great Maze, a twisty network of icy canyons and hills around the North Pole, with the Wolves still following the Swordsworn in as of 24 December. Sensor interference, twisty routes, and tight spaces made the Great Maze a challenging place to fight, especially for the attacking Wolves. After several hours of having her forces slowly hunted down part by part, Sadia commanded the Wolves to retreat. According to journalist Cameron Shaw, then present in the Swordsworn command camp, Jameson initially believed the Wolves had given up, until Shaw informed her of Sadia's Crusader beliefs and Enhanced Imaging implant.

The Swordsworn took the opportunity of the Wolves' withdrawal to prepare an ambush, setting up a fake command post at the base of the third-largest mountain in the region, Al Kazim. Jameson's own Ryoken II served as highly visible bait. Though her second, Bekal, was hooked, Sadia recognized the trap - and sprung it anyway, seeing the chance to destroy the Swordsworn. Both sides suffered massive losses, but in the end, the Steel Wolves held the Al Kazim battlefield.

With both the Steel Wolves and Swordsworn dwindling, both commanders refocused on their main objective: the DiNapoli complex in Anqabad. The Steel Wolves reached the city first, setting up around the main domed complex. Swordsworn assaults failed again and again, until at last the Wolves launched their final counterattack, forcing the shattered Swordsworn off planet.

Aftermath

The DiNapoli manufacturing centre proved a valuable asset for the Steel Wolves. Beyond the DropShips the faction hoped for, the Wolves found a wealth of IndustrialMechs to use. They soon fielded the Opossum and Demeter in large numbers.

In the months to come, Steel Wolves leader Radick and Swordsworn head Sandoval remained public political allies. In a June 3133 INN profile on him, Radick claimed that Sandoval had disavowed the Ankaa Swordsworn force as a rogue unit. By August that year, Sandoval visited Ankaa to provide medical supplies and cleanup/reconstruction support.

Notes

• Era Digest: Dark Age identifies the battle's starting date as 19 December 3132. Several dates used in this article are determined from that date.

Bibliography

• Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!
• Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN
• Era Digest: Dark Age
• Technical Readout: Irregulars