Difference between revisions of "23rd BattleMech Battalion (Lyran Commonwealth)"
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{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand | {{infoBoxMilitaryCommand | ||
| image = | | image = | ||
| Designation = 23rd BattleMech Battalion | | Designation = 23rd BattleMech Battalion | ||
| − | | formed = 2463 | + | | formed = [[2463]] |
| Disbanded = | | Disbanded = | ||
| Previous Designation = | | Previous Designation = | ||
| Nickname = | | Nickname = | ||
| − | | Affiliation = Lyran Commonwealth | + | | Affiliation = [[Lyran Commonwealth]] |
| Parent Command = [[LCAF]] | | Parent Command = [[LCAF]] | ||
| Sub-Command = | | Sub-Command = | ||
| Line 18: | Line 16: | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Long March Offensive=== | ===Long March Offensive=== | ||
| − | The 23rd BattleMech Battalion was part of | + | The 23rd BattleMech Battalion was part of Archon [[Alistair Steiner]]'s [[Long March Offensive]]. Attached to the [[Draconis Combine]] expedition, the unit saw action on [[Nox]], [[Skondia]], and [[Trolloc Prime]]. Enemy forces were unprepared to deal with gigantic BattleMechs, allowing the Long March forces to overwhelm most of their target worlds, except for one. |
====The Cassino on Caldrea==== | ====The Cassino on Caldrea==== | ||
| − | The Steiner forces | + | The Steiner forces landed on Caldrea in [[2467]]<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 20 - Attack on Caldrea is four years into the Long March</ref>, where the 23rd and its sister units faced dug-in DCMS forces in northern continent. The mountain ranges proved to be full of death traps and ambushes that bedeviled Lyran forces. LCAF commanders learned of the DCMS' primary fortification, a stronghold called "The Cassino" after a similar mountain base from ancient Terra. The structure seemed impervious to any attack, whether it be from troops, fighters or artillery. |
| − | Lyran | + | Lyran commanders ordered the 23rd to take the Cassino. Its commander, Colonel Yoller, attacked three times and was repulsed each time. Yoller knew the fourth charge was to be her last, and it was also to be the most brutal. Yoller first dispatched her heavy 'Mech company to attempt to break through fortification's defensive walls. Shortly after the heavies engaged the defenses, Yoller gave the order for her lights to move in. She had suspected the autocannon turrets were only able to fire into the pass and that the mountainside, which was only defended by a steel gate, was outside their arc of fire. As the lights jumped to the mountainside, her suspicions were confirmed. However, the jump cost them two 'Mechs, as they lost their footing and tumbled down the mountainside. One 'Mech exploded and another was crippled. The lone surviving pilot was swiftly killed by a sniper after exiting their machine. |
| − | + | Yoller's force approached the steel gate to fortress, when hidden [[Command-Detonated Mine|command-detonated mines]] exploded all around them, devastating the unit. Yoller herself was shot by an autocannon hidden in the panel of the gate itself. As she died, she actually pitied the Combine soldiers, as the LCAF's next step, following her failure to capture the fortress, was to deploy a neutron bomb against the base. Whether any of the 23rd's soldiers survived the failed assault and resulting nuclear blast is unknown.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 23 PDF - "AGONY OF DEFEAT" - 23rd BattleMech battalion's exploits at the Combine fortress they dubbed the Cassino.</ref> | |
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| − | Yoller's force | ||
==Officers== | ==Officers== | ||
| Line 40: | Line 34: | ||
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the 23rd BattleMech Battalion''' | | colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the 23rd BattleMech Battalion''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | [[Colonel]]||Yoller||[[ | + | | [[Colonel]]||Yoller||[[2467]] |
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Tactics== | ==Tactics== | ||
| − | + | Colonel Yoller preferred to capture enemy soldiers alive rather than kill them, and was described by historian [[Timothy Asd]] as someone who did not enjoy killing for its own sake. Unfortunately, this admirable trait would cost the Colonel and many of her troops their lives in the assault on the Cassino.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 21</ref> | |
==Composition== | ==Composition== | ||
| − | The unit consisted of primitive | + | The unit consisted of primitive BattleMechs. These 'Mechs were of lower quality than their [[Terran Hegemony]] equivalents due to production shortcuts, but the differences were only minor.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth'', p. 19</ref> |
| − | + | One company of the battalion was a light (all jump-capable) company, another was a heavy 'Mech company. The third company's composition is unclear.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 23 (PDF version) - "AGONY OF DEFEAT" - all jump jet-equipped light company waits result of their Heavy 'Mech company's attack on gates of the Combine fortress.</ref> The light company was likely composed of ''[[Wasp|Wasps]]'', as no other jump-capable light had been created as of 2467. <ref>''Era Digest: Age of War'', p. 11 - BattleMech Tech Timeline</ref> | |
| − | *[[ | + | *[[BattleMech]] [[Battalion]] |
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==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 61: | Line 51: | ||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
| − | *''[[ | + | * ''[[Era Digest: Age of War]]'' |
| − | *''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]'' | + | * ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]'' |
| − | + | * ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]'' | |
[[Category:Lyran Commands|BattleMech Battalion, 23rd]] | [[Category:Lyran Commands|BattleMech Battalion, 23rd]] | ||
Latest revision as of 18:19, 29 July 2023
| 23rd BattleMech Battalion | |
| Formed | 2463 |
| Affiliation | Lyran Commonwealth |
| Parent Command | LCAF |
Contents
Unit Description[edit]
One of the earliest BattleMech formations created by the Lyran Commonwealth, the Twenty-third BattleMech Battalion was outfitted with the first generation of BattleMechs.
History[edit]
Long March Offensive[edit]
The 23rd BattleMech Battalion was part of Archon Alistair Steiner's Long March Offensive. Attached to the Draconis Combine expedition, the unit saw action on Nox, Skondia, and Trolloc Prime. Enemy forces were unprepared to deal with gigantic BattleMechs, allowing the Long March forces to overwhelm most of their target worlds, except for one.
The Cassino on Caldrea[edit]
The Steiner forces landed on Caldrea in 2467[1], where the 23rd and its sister units faced dug-in DCMS forces in northern continent. The mountain ranges proved to be full of death traps and ambushes that bedeviled Lyran forces. LCAF commanders learned of the DCMS' primary fortification, a stronghold called "The Cassino" after a similar mountain base from ancient Terra. The structure seemed impervious to any attack, whether it be from troops, fighters or artillery.
Lyran commanders ordered the 23rd to take the Cassino. Its commander, Colonel Yoller, attacked three times and was repulsed each time. Yoller knew the fourth charge was to be her last, and it was also to be the most brutal. Yoller first dispatched her heavy 'Mech company to attempt to break through fortification's defensive walls. Shortly after the heavies engaged the defenses, Yoller gave the order for her lights to move in. She had suspected the autocannon turrets were only able to fire into the pass and that the mountainside, which was only defended by a steel gate, was outside their arc of fire. As the lights jumped to the mountainside, her suspicions were confirmed. However, the jump cost them two 'Mechs, as they lost their footing and tumbled down the mountainside. One 'Mech exploded and another was crippled. The lone surviving pilot was swiftly killed by a sniper after exiting their machine.
Yoller's force approached the steel gate to fortress, when hidden command-detonated mines exploded all around them, devastating the unit. Yoller herself was shot by an autocannon hidden in the panel of the gate itself. As she died, she actually pitied the Combine soldiers, as the LCAF's next step, following her failure to capture the fortress, was to deploy a neutron bomb against the base. Whether any of the 23rd's soldiers survived the failed assault and resulting nuclear blast is unknown.[2]
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 23rd BattleMech Battalion | |||
| Colonel | Yoller | 2467 | |
Tactics[edit]
Colonel Yoller preferred to capture enemy soldiers alive rather than kill them, and was described by historian Timothy Asd as someone who did not enjoy killing for its own sake. Unfortunately, this admirable trait would cost the Colonel and many of her troops their lives in the assault on the Cassino.[3]
Composition[edit]
The unit consisted of primitive BattleMechs. These 'Mechs were of lower quality than their Terran Hegemony equivalents due to production shortcuts, but the differences were only minor.[4] One company of the battalion was a light (all jump-capable) company, another was a heavy 'Mech company. The third company's composition is unclear.[5] The light company was likely composed of Wasps, as no other jump-capable light had been created as of 2467. [6]
References[edit]
- ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 20 - Attack on Caldrea is four years into the Long March
- ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 23 PDF - "AGONY OF DEFEAT" - 23rd BattleMech battalion's exploits at the Combine fortress they dubbed the Cassino.
- ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 21
- ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth, p. 19
- ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 23 (PDF version) - "AGONY OF DEFEAT" - all jump jet-equipped light company waits result of their Heavy 'Mech company's attack on gates of the Combine fortress.
- ↑ Era Digest: Age of War, p. 11 - BattleMech Tech Timeline