Operation BIRD DOG
Sarna News
| Operation BIRD DOG | |
|---|---|
| Conflict details | |
| Part of | Clan Invasion Era |
| Start Date | 13 May 3059[1] |
| Result | A complete success for the Second Star League |
| Attacking Forces | |
| Affiliation | Second Star League |
| Defending Forces | |
| Affiliation | Clan Smoke Jaguar |
| Other Forces | |
A precursor to Operation BULLDOG, Operation BIRD DOG was a guerrilla assault intended to destabilize the defense of nine Clan Smoke Jaguar worlds in preparation for the main invasion.
Overview[edit]
Launched on the 13th of May 3059, the day when BULLDOG received the final green light, nine ad hoc company strength commands jumped to Pirate Points around the Jaguar held worlds of Asgard, Hyner, Kiamba, Tarazed, Byesville, Luzerne, Virentofta, Hanover and Yamarovka. Their mission was to wage guerrilla campaigns against the Smoke Jaguar forces on these worlds, misleading the Jaguars into assuming that the best the newly united Inner Sphere could do was to persist with the minor raids they had attempted up until now.
Formed with volunteers from some of the best units from the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, the Davion Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth and Lyran Alliance Armed Forces, each command was outfitted with captured Clan and Draconis Combine produced OmniMechs to allow them to make best use of any captured Clan matériel and hopefully hold out until the main invasion force reached them.
BIRD DOG proved a complete success, with the units disrupting the operations of the Jaguars on each of the targeted worlds, capturing supplies and providing accurate intelligence on troop locations, crippling their ability to react to the first wave of Operation BULLDOG on May 20th, with the bulk of the nine units surviving until reinforcements arrived.[2]
Units taking part in Operation BIRD DOG[edit]
Allen's Animals[edit]
Made up of volunteers from the Third Davion Guards[3] and led by Hauptmann Reynolds Allen, Allen's Animals dropped onto Luzerne by March 3059 via merchant DropShips.[4] Destroying the minor raid was left to the Fourth Garrison Cluster that was on the world.[5][6] After contacting local rebels, Allen's Animals were set to sow chaos, destroy supplies, and hold out until the invasion was properly begun. A supply depot near Lawrence Pass was the opening victory for the Animals, though a quarter of their machines were lost.[7] Unbeknownst to them, Kappa Galaxy Command Trinary had been transferred to the continent of Perot for Khan Lincoln Osis's strike against Clan Ghost Bear. The Smoke Jaguar forces broken into hunter-killer groups and relentlessly pursued Allen's Animals through monsoon storms[8] until they went to ground to await their parent command.[4]
Only when the Second Wave of BULLDOG commenced were the Third Davion Guards RCT and 208th Com Guard Division able to drop onto Luzerne to link up with Allen's Animals. The battle lasted through the onset of the Third and Fourth Waves. One lance of the Animals survived.[1]
Port Arthur[edit]
Apocryphal Content
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| This box contains information derived from apocryphal sources, which may not be considered canonical for the BattleTech Universe. |
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The MechCommander game details the conflict between Zulu Company of the First Battalion and the Port Arthur defenders. |
Believing the planet was defended only by bondsmen piloting captured Inner Sphere BattleMechs such as Akodo Haru,[9] the Second Star League Defense Force assigned the First Battalion of the First Davion Guards as part of Operation BIRD DOG. Sent to prepare the world as a staging area for the arrival of three DCMS regiments readying for the Second Wave, when the Jaguar bondsmen put up stiffer resistance than expected, the First took nearly two weeks to run them down. The sudden arrival of the hidden 168th Garrison from the planet's southern continent nearly led to a battle with the First Battalion, though the Fifth Sword of Light, Seventeenth Benjamin Regulars, and Second Legion of Vega arrived just in the nick of time. The Inner Sphere forces took just two days to find the on-planet forces, though some escaped to take part in an otherwise undetailed space battle.[10]
Other BIRD DOG Units[edit]
| Provisional Company | World | Military | Parent Command | Relieved | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake's Heavy Hitters[1] | Asgard | AFFC | Davion Heavy Guards | First Wave | Two lances recovered |
| Dark Sword[1] Rubinsky's Renegades[11] |
Hyner | DCMS Mercenary |
Ryuken-yon Independent |
First Wave | Company recovered Two 'Mechs recovered |
| Galedon Pride[1] | Kiamba | DCMS | Fifth Galedon Regulars | First Wave | Company destroyed |
| Donegal Vanguards[1] | Tarazed | LAAF | Third Donegal Guards | First Wave | One lance recovered |
| The Swarm[1] | Byesville | DCMS | First Amphigean Light Assault Group | Second Wave | Two lances recovered |
| McDaniels Group[1][12] | Virentofta | AFFC | First Federated Suns Armored Cavalry | Second Wave | Company recovered |
| Swift Spirits[1] | Hanover | DCMS | First Ghost Regiment | Second Wave | Company destroyed |
| Raymond's Company[1] | Yamarovka | AFFC | First Davion Guards | Second Wave | One lance recovered |
References[edit]
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j The Dragon Roars, p. 8, "Operation Bird Dog Forces"
- ↑ Shattered Sphere, p. 54-56
- ↑ Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 9
- ↑ a b Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 6
- ↑ The Dragon Roars, pp. 8–9
- ↑ The Dragon Roars, pp. 12–13: "Unit Summaries - Clan Smoke Jaguar Defense"
- ↑ Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 10: "Opening Gambit" (scenario)
- ↑ Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, p. 11: "Birddogging the Bird Dogs" (scenario)
- ↑ Tamar Rising, p. 19
- ↑ The Dragon Roars, p. 15: "Wave One"
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 103
- ↑ Shrapnel, Issue 2 "CN10-B Centurion"