Battle of Orbisonia (2828)

Battle of Orbisonia
Part of Operation CELT
Start Date 2828 Planet Orbisonia Result Ilsa Liao killed in action and Confederation forces repulsed.
Factions
(Attacker) Capellan Confederation	(Defender) Federated Suns
Commanders and leaders
Chancellor Ilsa Liao	First Prince Paul Davion
Forces involved
Red Lancers Prefectorate Guard	Second Ceti Hussars Fourteenth Avalon Hussars

Overview

On the 19th of June 2828, Capellan Confederation Chancellor Ilsa Liao landed on Orbisonia in command of the Red Lancers and the Prefectorate Guard, intent on seizing an important AFFS supply world and preventing the defending garrison–the Second Ceti Hussars and Fourteenth Avalon Hussars–in place, to prevent them from relieving Chesterton, the overall focus of Ilsa's Operation CELT. The main Capellan forces consisted primarily of Marauder and Warhammer heavy 'Mechs and were soon threatening to overrun the main Federated Suns staging ground and overwhelm the defending forces.

With the initial assault going well, and the CCAF units driving the defending garrison hard, Ilsa Liao went to bed after receiving news of other CCAF units assaulting Chesterton, expecting to be woken with good news about assaults on the Demeter and Sanilac systems. Instead, she was woken early in the morning with the news that the Davion Assault Guards were dropping onto Orbisonia, having arrived at a pirate jump point close to the planet. First Prince Paul Davion had been moving troops in anticipation of his own invasion of the Confederation, Operation DAO, and Ilsa's offensive had run straight into the teeth of Paul's marshaling forces.

Ilsa ordered a general retreat, but the light forces of the Ceti Hussars and Avalon Hussars proved difficult to disengage from, and the Assault Guards landed across the CCAF positions, threatening to turn the retreat into a rout–or a massacre. Ilsa took to the field personally, taking command of the rearguard and refusing to retreat while she covered her withdrawing forces. The garrison was able to make good use of information provided by AFFS recon and intelligence assets–primarily Darter scout cars–to outmaneuver and outsmart the attacking Capellan forces. After four days of combat the Capellan forces were retreating from Orbisonia when the AFFS troops acted on intelligence indicating that Chancellor Liao was leading the rearguard personally, launching an aimed strike that killed the Chancellor. Ilsa Liao was the first Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation to die on the battlefield. She died having secured a safe retreat for almost four-fifths of her forces on Orbisonia.

Units involved

Capellan Confederation

• Red Lancers
• Prefectorate Guard

Federated Suns

• Second Ceti Hussars
• Fourteenth Avalon Hussars
• Davion Assault Guards (Reinforcements)

Notes

• In an apparent error, House Liao (The Capellan Confederation) placed the death of Ilsa Liao (misspelled as "Lisa" Liao) in 2828 on Aosia instead of Orbisonia. It is unclear from the context if this was just a mixup between Aosia and Orbisonia or if Aosia, described a Federated Suns holding on the Capellan Confederation border, was also attacked by elements of the same units in a parallel action. They reportedly also mounted an unsuccessful four-day attempt at conquering Aosia, described as a "Davion industrial center". It should be noted that maps from 2822 show Aosia deep in Confederation space, some 50 light-years and thus more than one jump from the border, while Orbisonia is in Federated Suns space right on the border. This seems to suggest that there was only one contested world, and it was Orbisonia; Aosia was an uncontested Capellan holding at the time.

Bibliography

• House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)
• Second Succession War (sourcebook)
• Technical Readout: 3075