Operation NOYAN
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| Operation NOYAN | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Dark Age | ||||||||||
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| Factions | ||||||||||
| Clan Hell's Horses | Clan Jade Falcon | Rasalhague Dominion | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
| saKhan Fulk Lassenerra | ||||||||||
Operation NOYAN was conceived and launched by Clan Hell's Horses saKhan Fulk Lassenerra as a challenge to Clan Jade Falcon Khan Malvina Hazen's control of the Mongol Doctrine. Carried out in two phases, the operation was an overall success, netting the Horses five of the six targeted worlds and demonstrating that their original intent behind the Mongol Doctrine was still valid.
Contents
Background[edit]
The Mongol Doctrine had originally been created by Clan Hell's Horses during the late 3080s and was intended to make best use of that Clan's limited resources. In a recreation of Mongol cavalry tactics from medieval Terra, the doctrine called for a highly mobile form of warfare that was well suited to the Horses' historical emphasis on armored vehicles.[1][2]
During the mid-3130s, Malvina Hazen seized 'ownership' of the Mongol Doctrine when she defeated elements of Clan Hell's Horses in a Trial over the proper understanding of the concept. Hazen chose instead to emphasize the terror tactics of the Mongol Empire against civilian populations, and ruthlessly applied these methods against any opponents in her path. Horses Khan Gottfried Amirault bowed to Hazen's insistence upon an alliance between the two Clans, and the Horses had to watch helplessly as their philosophy was perverted.[1][3]
With Hazen's defeat and wounding at Hesperus in 3145 the Horses seized their chance to extricate themselves from her talons and moved back to their Occupation Zone. Angered at Hazen's corruption of the Doctrine he had adopted, saKhan Fulk Lassenerra decided that, while he was unable to challenge Hazen directly to win it back, he could still show her up by implementing a plan using the Mongol Doctrine's original intent.[4]
Operation NOYAN, Phase One[edit]
On 7 April 3147 three Clusters of Hell's Horses warriors struck at the Rasalhague Dominion worlds of New Oslo, St. John and Unzmarkt. The fighting on New Oslo was noteworthy for the demonstration of a unique tactic used by the Horses' Twenty-second Mechanized Assault Cluster's artillery Star ("the Dominos"). Each Point paired an Arrow IV-equipped Hadur with an LRM variant, with the LRM Hadurs spotting targets for their companions while all the Star's vehicles were firing on the move in a formation reminiscent of the pips on a domino tile.[5]
While the defenders fought hard, all three Trials of Possession ended in victory for the Horses. These gains were won using the original swarm tactics of the Mongol Doctrine, demonstrating that the 'untainted' version was still viable.[4]
Operation NOYAN, Phase Two[edit]
When the Horses Clan Council next assembled on Csesztreg the issue was raised of Malvina Hazen retaliating for saKhan Lassenerra's use of 'her' doctrine. Lassenerra retorted that she was welcome to try and then outlined the next planned phase of NOYAN, gaining the Council's approval for his boldness.[4]
Phase Two saw the Horses strike directly at the Falcons, specifically targeting the worlds of Biota, Colmar and Leskovik. Using the same swarming tactics as before, the Horses swiftly seized the first two worlds from their former allies, who were unprepared for this sudden turn of events. Leskovik was another matter; the defending Eighteenth Falcon Regulars denied the Horses' Seventy-first Mechanized Cavalry safcon and downed a quarter of the invasion force before it had even landed. The fighting on the planet itself saw the successful combat debut of the Falcons' Ion Sparrow OmniMech and the Bane prove itself as a defensive design. The surviving Horses warriors were eventually forced to retreat back across the border, leaving a new Boreas QuadVee to be claimed as isorla.[4][6][7][8]
Aftermath[edit]
Despite the defeat on Leskovik, the Horses' Clan Council decreed NOYAN to have been successful and consolidated their hold on the newly conquered worlds. Contrary to their expectations, the furious response from Khan Hazen over the Horses' use of the Mongol Doctrine never came as the Chinggis Khan was too preoccupied with her planned drive on Terra.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Era Report: 3145, p. 60
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 15
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 147
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Shattered Fortress, p. 44, "The Silence of the Clans"
- ↑ Technical Readout: 3150, p. 72, "Notable Units - The Dominos"
- ↑ Technical Readout: 3150, p. 116, "Notable Units - Broken Wind"
- ↑ Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 11, p. 4
- ↑ Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 17, p. 10