Battle of Ayacucho (3147)
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 | This article needs to be updated with material from Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 27, Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 28. Once these titles clear the Moratorium period, or if they already have, please consider revisiting this article and updating it with the new material. |
| Battle of Ayacucho (3147) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Buena Collective Rebellion | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Factions | |||||||||
| (Attacker) Lyran Commonwealth[1] |
(Defender) Buena Collective[1] |
||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Colonel Lorena Farmer (until 6 January 3148)[3][1] Colonel John Nelson (7 January 3148 onward)[2] |
Diego Widmer[1] | ||||||||
| Forces involved | |||||||||
| Florida TTM[1] Eighth Lyran Regulars[2] First Buena Jaegers[2] First Bolan Jaegers[2] |
Second Collective Guards[1] The Thunderstruck[2] |
||||||||
The 3147 Battle of Ayacucho was a battle to put down the Buena Collective splinter faction.
Prelude[edit]
On 7 July 3146 General Diego Widmer, the Margrave and commander of Timbuktu Theater declared his independence from the Lyran Commonwealth, citing Archon Trillian Steiner's inability to secure the antispinward portions of the realm.[4] One of the first worlds to join his Buena Collective was Widmer's homeworld and personal holding of Ayacucho.[4] After nearly a year of inactivity from the Commonwealth on 6 June 3147 they launched simultaneous attacks on Valloire and Ayacucho. Unfortunately for the Commonwealth, LIC sources did not detect the two battalions of Second Collective Guards being formed near Widmer's estate.[1] That was not the only intelligence failure to shape this battle however, for the Buena Collective was equally unaware that following the Urjala occupation the Florida TTM had been restored to full strength and equipped with new or updated material.[1]
Overview[edit]
The Guards pounced on the TTM almost immediately upon making their landing, but were not expecting the well equipped unit they encountered. Despite possessing a two-to-one advantage in numbers the Guards were still green troops. During these initial battles Sergeant Peter Knopf distinguished himself by crippling "countless" Collective BattleMechs with deadly accurate MML fire from his LCT-5S Locust to their legs.[5] Colonel Lorena Farmer found her TTM was unable to rout the Guards, and the Guards likewise were not able to force the TTM into retreat. Both belligerents knew reinforcements were unlikely to come for some time, so they settled in and an uneasy peace reminiscent of Third Succession War raiding settled over the two camps by 18 June. The two camps themselves dug in on opposite sides of the Widmer estate, only several hundred kilometers from each other.[1] Typically found at the fore of these raids and counterraids, Sergeant Sven Mansberg and his COM-9S Commando were able to scout enemy positions and movements while inflicting long range damage whenever possible.[6]
By early January 3148 civil unrest had spread throughout Ayacucho, with a large group picketing outside the Widmer estate, heedless of the two armies camped nearby. Finally, on 7 January the LCAF forces received word from off planet, which prompted Colonel Farmer to approach the disgruntled civilians and asked that they print propaganda fliers calling for the Guards' surrender. The next day a flight of aerospace fighters dumped those fliers, literally tons of them, on the Collective forces. The Guards refused, and on 9 January a mixed regiment under the command of Colonel John Nelson landed on planet, Task Force Kingbreaker. The two-to-one numerical superiority the Guards had enjoyed swiftly swung back the other direction with four LCAF battalions now on planet. Hoping an orbital drop would surprise and shock the Collective, Kingbreaker dropped right on top of the position. The Guards refused to break however, and played their last hand as well. Striking from cover the battalion-sized mercenary command The Thunderstruck tore into the surprised Lyran lines. Initially Kingbreaker fell back, with many troops pulling their punches so as not to fire on fellow Lyrans. Nelson issued orders to prosecute the engagement to the fullest; the Archon had declared all Collective troops were to be presumed guilty of treason. With that, the tide turned and by 11 January half of the Guards retreated off world, and the Thunderstruck vanished.[2]
Aftermath[edit]
Surviving members of the Second Collective Guards surrendered and were arrested on charges of treason. During their courts martial it was discovered the majority of the Guards were conscripted and coerced into fighting despite not supporting the rebellion. With the authorization of Buena Province commander Martha Steiner Nelson formed those Guardsmen still loyal to the Commonwealth into the First Buena Volunteers. On 30 January the Volunteers would later capture Warlord Widmer on Buena, effectively ending the rebellion. For their role in the rebellion the Thunderstruck were barred from future Lyran employment.[2]
Despite remaining loyal to the Commonwealth against the Collective first on Urjala and later on Ayacucho, within six months of this engagement the Florida TTM would defect to the newly formed Timbuktu Collective.[7] In trying to stop this treason, Sergeant Peter Knopf was killed by his own comrades, a loyal Lyran to the end.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Shattered Fortress, pp. 42-44 "Challenging the Archon"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Shattered Fortress, pp. 47-49 "Chemotherapy"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 132
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shattered Fortress, p. 25: "Antisocial General:
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 16, p. 7
- ↑ Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 1, p. 13
- ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 48 Sidebar: "Timbuktu Collective Formed, Florida TTM Absorbed"