Battle of Rasalhague (3050)
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 | This article needs to be updated with material from Lethal Heritage, Era Report: 3052. 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 Rasalhague | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Clan Invasion | |||||||||
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| Factions | |||||||||
| Clan Wolf | Free Rasalhague Republic | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Khan Ulric Kerensky | General Christian Månsdottir Elected Prince of the Free Rasalhague Republic Haakon Magnusson |
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| Forces involved | |||||||||
| 4th Wolf Guards Cluster 279th Battle Cluster 352nd Assault Cluster |
1st Drakøns a battalion of 2nd Drakøns 1st Freemen 3rd Freemen 2 regiments of Light 'Mechs 5 regiments of armor 7 regiments of infantry |
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| Environment | |||||||||
| Forest, Jungle, Arctic, Urban | |||||||||
| “ | Mercy? Mercy is something the weak pray for from the strong. I have no mercy. The best an opponent can hope for from me is my respect. If he has not earned that, then he is little more than a pest to be exterminated for the common good, and will be treated as such. | ” |
| — A Clan Wolf MechWarrior to Rasalhague News Net on July 12, 3050. | ||
The Battle of Rasalhague took place during the third wave of the Clan Invasion. As Rasalhague was the capital of the Free Rasalhague Republic, the Clans expected the defending forces to fight ferociously. Internal Clan politics between Clan Wolf, Clan Ghost Bear and IlKhan Leo Showers at first seemed to doom Clan Wolf's assault before it began, but information provided by Phelan Kell would tip the balance for a Clan Wolf victory.[1]
Prelude[edit]
On July 4th, 3050, Khan Bjorn Jorgensson and saKhan Aletha Kabrinski arrived on the WarShip Dire Wolf to bid against Clan Wolf and Khan Ulric Kerensky for the right to conquer Rasalhague. With IlKhan Leo Showers and various other Clan officials in attendance, the bidding process between the two Clans was highly anticipated. The Clans estimated that at least five Clusters, plus aerospace fighter and WarShip support, would be needed to take the world.
The bidding between the two sides began on July 7th. As expected, the bidding between the two Clans was nerve wracking. Both sides bid away Clusters with a push of a button until their bids were below the estimated minimum levels. The Ghost Bears quickly realized that Ulric Kerensky was determined to win the bid no matter what and that they would not be the ones to attack Rasalhague. However, they were able to force Kerensky into a winning bid of only three Clusters without WarShip support. Thinking that they had crippled Clan Wolf's chances of victory, they conceded defeat to the Wolves. IlKhan Leo Showers was openly happy with the result as he expected Clan Wolf to fail and thus lose face among the Clans. But, Khan Kerensky had an ace up his sleeve that would prove his opponents wrong.
A few days later, the Clan Wolf invasion force entered the Rasalhague system and broadcast their intention to conquer the world. Then they stayed out of effective aerospace fighter range in orbit and maintained radio silence as they made final preparations.
While all this was happening, General Christian Månsdottir planned his defense.
The capital city of Reykjavik was defended by the 1st Drakøns, with their massive aerospace wing, a battalion of the 2nd Drakøns who had survived the fighting on Verthandi and a regiment of light BattleMechs piloted by aging veterans. They were supported by two regiments of armor and 5 regiments of mechanized infantry. To the south on the tropical continent of Ystad, the 1st Freemen were dug in around the city of Tyr. They were supported by an additional regiment of light mechs, a regiment of armor and a regiment of mechanized infantry. The Rasalhague troops were stationed in a series of fortifications named Firebase Tyr. Further south from there, on the planet's southern polar continent of Hammerfest, the 3rd Freemen with two regiments of hover tanks and two regiments of infantry prepared to defend the vital industrial city of Ymir.
The morale among the Rasalhague troops was high despite the tension in the air from the coming invasion. Månsdottir maintained communications regularly with all forces on world and made sure they had everything they needed. He planned for his troops to conduct a mobile campaign and harass the invaders from prepared positions. His forces were going to make Clan Wolf pay for every meter of ground. Månsdottir also knew that his superior aerospace forces from the 1st Drakøns would help in the coming fight as the Clans usually depended on ground forces to win the day. Despite all his preparations, his biggest concern was something that was completely out of his control.
Every summer on Rasalhague, a new strain of the Fenris Plague would emerge from the tropics. While rarely fatal, it was always debilitating to anyone to caught the virus. On July 1st, almost a third of Rasalhague's defenders were ill from the virus. Månsdottir attempted to stop its spread by enacting travel restrictions, but this only caused supply and command problems for his forces.
With his defenses in place, but many of his troops ill, Månsdottir heard the first reports of the Clan Wolf DropShips maneuvering for the attack.[1]
Battle[edit]
The Clan Wolf assault on Rasalhague began on July 12, 3050.
The 279th Battle Custer landed to the west of the city of Tyr and began moving towards its defenders. The hope that the jungles of Ystad would slow the Clan forces down proved to be imaginary as the 279th moved through them with ease. The Rasalhague defenders, many suffering from the flu, found themselves in a series of hide-and-seek encounters as the Clan forces marched right up to their positions and then melted away into the jungle again. By the end of the day, the remains of the 1st Freemen were pushed back to positions outside of the city of Tyr.
One the south pole, the 352nd Assault Cluster landed and moved straight toward their foes. The blizzards and perpetual night did not slow them down at all. Plus their machines were outfitted with predominantly energy weapons so the cooler temperatures allowed them to use their superior firepower to high effect. Their attack drove the remnants of the 3rd Freemen out of Ymir. There the defenders prepared one last stand against the invaders.
In the north, the Clan Wolf forces surprised the defenders by not attacking Reykjavik. The 4th Wolf Guards Cluster moved to attach the still being built city of Asgard to the north of Reykjavik. Månsdottir thought the Clans had committed a mistake and redeployed his forces 75 kilometers north of Reykjavik just south of the Klaraven River, north of the rugged forests overshadowed by the Jotunheimen Mountains. However, the thickly forested and mountainous terrain prevented the 1st Drakøns from using their aerospace assets effectively. The 4th Wolf Guards began to move slowly towards Reykjavik and pinned the defenders in place.
Khan Ulric Kerensky's plan was working perfectly.
Phelan Kell, a former mercenary member of the Kell Hounds and now bondsmen to Clan Wolf, had informed Kerensky of the Fenris Plague that affected the world yearly. Thus he knew he could conquer the world with far fewer troops than the other Clans expected. Also, Phelan was able to provide knowledge on the history and psychology of Elected Prince Haakon Magnusson. The fall of Tyr and Ymir plus the slow drive on Reykjavik would have Magnusson debating whether he should leave the capitol or risk being captured. Magnusson's past as a guerilla fighter and his own ego would push him to flee Rasalhague. Magnusson believed that if he was killed or captured then resistance throughout the rest of the Rasalhague Republic could collapse.
On July 13, Magnusson and his closest advisors would board a DropShip and leave Rasalhague for his JumpShip Norseman. General Månsdottir reluctantly sent the entire aerowing of the 1st Drakøns to escort the Elected Prince to safety. Once the DropShip left atmosphere, they were immediately flanked, but not attacked by Clan Wolf fighters. They would follow the fleeing Prince to his JumpShip where he and his escorts would depart the Rasalhague system.
With the risk of having the defenders of Rasalhague become fanatical defenders if their ruler was killed or captured removed plus having a sizable amount of the defenders leaving the system, Clan Wolf forces moved in for the kill.
On July 14th, Clan Wolf forces moved in to destroy the final defenders of Tyr and Ymir. Once done, they boarded their DropShips to join the 4th Wolf Guards for the final assault on Reykjavik. There General Månsdottir had pulled back all of his available forces to defend the capital city in one last battle. Despite Ulric's attempts to keep the Rasalhague defenders from becoming fanatical warriors defending to the last, the defenders refused to surrender to the Clans.
On July 15th, Ulric Kerensky reluctantly ordered an attack on the final defenders in Reykjavik. What followed was two days of fighting with both sides giving no quarter. By the end of the fighting, 70% of the buildings within the city were destroyed beyond repair. The Riksdag Complex, center of government for the Republic, was nothing more than a graveyard of burnt out BattleMech hulks. The city's central park was once lush with forests and life, but now was a cratered moonscape. But, the city's defenders had been crushed.
On the 17th, the Battle for Rasalhague was over and Clan Wolf declared victory.[1]
Aftermath[edit]
While the battle was over, fighting would continue on Rasalhague. The defenders of Firebase Tyr would hold out for another month as Clan Wolf laid siege to its fortifications. Also, General Månsdottir would escape and continue leading a resistance group for almost a year before he was captured. But, in the end, both would fail and Clan Wolf would remain in control of the planet.
Ulric Kerensky quickly put Comstar mediators in place to ease the transition to Clan rule. He also filled critical administrative positions with Rasalhague personnel. Some how had been fighting against his forces just a few days before. He then placed the an old, but wily warrior, Nikol, from Epsilon Galaxy as head of the planetary government. Afterwards, Kerensky started moving his troops back to their ships in preparation for the next wave of attacks.
With a reliable government in place and his forces ready for the next assault, Kerensky would leave Rasalhague on July 25th.
Legacy[edit]
The Clan Wolf victory against all odds had gained them great honor and showed up their opponents amongst the Clans. The battle also symbolized a turning point in the invasion as Clan Wolf would start to take a growing lead in the invasion's progress. Meanwhile, Ulric Kerensky's political opponents would seek to find new ways to stymie Clan Wolf further.
For the Rasalhague defenders, while the fall of Rasalhague would prove to be a major loss, the Elected Prince had escaped. Rasalhague forces would continue resisting the Clan advance for years to come.