Winston Vaskursian

Winston Vaskursian
Personal
Affiliation	Federated Suns
Career
Rank	Marshal

Winston Vaskursian was the commanding officer of the Seventh Crucis Lancers during the War of 3039.

History

Marshal Vaskursian and the Seventh Crucis Lancers were tasked with capturing the Draconis Combine world of Klathandu IV during the first wave of the War of 3039. Due to Klathandu's paltry defenses, Vaskursian contacted the planetary government before the Seventh Lancers made planetfall in order to negotiate a bloodless surrender. Governor Hisashi Kodama quickly refuted Vaskursian's terms before vowing to fight the Federated Suns invaders to the last man. An hour later, President Kori Trenn of the civilian Klathandu Federation contacted Vaskursian to accept his terms and to turn over Governor Kodama and his senior staff, who had been arrested just minutes before. By the time the Seventh Lancers and the accompanying Second New Ivaarsen Chasseurs landed on Klathandu, the planet's citizens were well-prepared for integration into the Federated Suns.

Vaskursian's efforts to work with the people of Klathandu were undone when word of a massive wave of Combine counterattacks reached the planet in late 3039. While the FedSuns forces tried to build defenses for the coming counter-invasion, Klathandu's citizens began to resist measures taken to militarize their planet and relations swiftly deteriorated. On 4 August, the Third Benjamin and Second Galedon Regulars made planetfall and quickly took the industrial city of Pere Urucin from the soldiers Vaskursian had stationed there. In response, Vaskursian tasked several units with keeping tabs on the invaders' movements and tactics, enabling him to gain enough insight in order to launch his own counterattack. As the Regulars began conquering the city of Therisk on 21 August, Vaskurisan's combined arms quick response force slammed into the enemy's flanks, driving them away from the settlement while regaining the initiative.

The next month-and-a-half of fighting began to cause an increasing amount of collateral damage to Klathandu's infrastructure, although the soldiers of the Regulars began to grow reckless and exhausted as the battle dragged into September. Vaskursian soon realized that the invasion of the Draconis Combine must have hit a major obstacle and that reinforcements would not be forthcoming, leading the Seventh Lancers to adopt a defensive strategy intended to make the Regulars bleed themselves for every inch of land they gained. The Combine units responded by launching an increasing number of suicidal charges that, while successful in causing damage to Vaskursian's troops, lead to an increasing number of Regulars casualties and the loss of vital Combine equipment. By October, the eight regiments of Combine soldiers that had originally landed on Klathandu had been reduced to just nine battalions and Vaskursian's renewed offensive had left them trapped inside the city of Pere Urucin.

Vaskursian launched a final assault against the Combine's positions on 11 October and, for the next three days, casualties for both sides mounted as the city was left in flames. In the middle of the last drive against the Regulars' small defensive ring, Vaskursian received orders from New Avalon withdrawing his soldiers from Klathandu IV—the offensive into the Draconis Combine had failed. On 14 October, the Seventh Lancers and and Second Chasseurs began to evacuate the planet, leaving only a quarter of the original Combine invaders intact and in command of the world.

In November, Vaskursian's Lancers and the Second Chasseurs arrived on Xhosa VII to free the planet from two reported regiments of Combine raiders. Instead, Vaskursian's forces discovered only the Ryuken-go's Third Battalion on-world and battered it into withdrawing after just thirty minutes of fighting.

Bibliography

• Historical: War of 3039