Operation STAMPEDE


Operation STAMPEDE
Start Date 3151
End Date 3152
Result Clan Hell's Horses expands its borders but fails to conquer Terra or Sudeten.
Factions
(Attacker)
Clan Hell's Horses
(Defender)
Clan Jade Falcon
Commanders and leaders
Khan Gottfried Amirault Khan Jiyi Chistu
Forces involved
Clan Hell's Horses touman Clan Jade Falcon touman

Operation STAMPEDE was a campaign conducted by Clan Hell's Horses to take over various worlds in the Jade Falcon Clan Occupation Zone and later to attempt to claim the IlClan title. This was done to both take advantage of the Jade Falcon's distraction during their fight with the Wolves on Terra and out of retribution for Malvina forcing them to become allies while tainting their Mongol Doctrine.[1][2]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

Stampede, and Noyan for that matter, is the saKhan putting his ego before anything else
  —  Star Captain, Peter Cobb when discussing Stampede with Lucian Camejo.[3]

Initially, Stampede was a plan from the Horses' SaKhan Fulk Lassenerra, with some support of Khan Gottfried Amirault. Intended to be a continuation of Operation NOYAN, it was modest at best, intending to take some Falcon's planets, testing new units and tactics. For Gottfried it was also a mean to keep Fulk distracted, as both were fighting for their Clan's leadership position. As some pointed, the operation was fueled by Lassenerra's hate towards the Falcons. Reviewed by the Horses ristar Star Captain Peter Cobb was made better, with a stronger logistics.[4]

Race to Terra[edit]

After the beginning of Stampede, taking easily the Falcon's world of Shaula, the February 3151, and confirming all the Falcons had gone to Terra, Fulk wanted to expand STAMPEDE to conquer all Falcon's worlds, now vulnerable, but Gottfried decided instead to cease the offensive and made the Hell's Horses push rimwards towards Terra, taking all their WarShip complements and only Alpha and Fire Horse Galaxies, despite the protests of some of his subordinates. They did not reach humanity's birthworld before Clan Wolf triumphed and claimed the position of ilClan of a reborn Star League. Gottfried, after being invited to Terra, refused to acknowledge Alaric Ward as their ilKhan.[5]

Hinterlands Campaign[edit]

After returning to their Occupation Zone, the Horses Khans redirected STAMPEDE against the now-vacant Falcon Occupation Zone, now a chaotic zone known as the Hinterlands, but Gottfried's slowing of the offensive, excessive caution and keeping some Galaxies in reserve costed the Horses' dearly. Although the Horses meet some success, destroying the Turkina Ascendancy proto estate and annexing twenty worlds, their underestimating of their adversaries caused the defeats at Butler and the Battle of Sudeten. The last one saw Falcon Khan Jiyi Chistu defeating the Horses, thus preventing the Horses from claiming the vital production center. With STAMPEDE thus ending in a humiliating fizzle, the Hell's Horses underwent a leadership change as the more aggressive saKhan Fulk Lassenerra took control of the Clan, slaying Gottfried Amirault in a Trial of Position.[6][7] [8][9]

References[edit]

  1. IlClan, pp. 114–115: "Operation Stampede"
  2. Hour of the Wolf, p. 153
  3. Elements of Treason: Honor, ch. 9
  4. Elements of Treason: Honor, ch. 5
  5. Elements of Treason: Honor, ch. 19-20
  6. IlClan, p. 107: "The Meeting of the Khans"
  7. Tamar Rising, p. 84: "Clan Hell's Horses"
  8. Tamar Rising, p. 68: "The Consequences of Caution"
  9. Elements of Treason: Honor, ch. 24-36

Bibliography[edit]