Battle of Holdout (3112)

Battle of Holdout
Part of Dark Age
Start Date 3112 Planet Unnamed planet, later named Holdout Result Escorpión Imperio Victory
Factions
Hanseatic League	Escorpión Imperio
Commanders and leaders
Council of Merchants	Khan Enrico Kirov

Battle of Holdout was a military confrontation in the Deep Periphery between the Hanseatic League and Escorpion Imperio, which took place over a period of 3 months during the year 3112. This conflict saw Hanseatic League's Regional Defense Force 2 attack Escorpion Imperio's then-unnamed colony, which would later be named Holdout. It ended in failure for Hansa and was followed by devastating reprisal by Imperio's Hellion Galaxy against Regional Defense Force 3's headquarters on Kampen. While the battle itself was modest in scale it had massive historic ramifications for the entire region.

Prelude to the Battle

For generations Hanseatic League secretly fostered hostilities between peoples of Nueva Castile and Umayyad Caliphate both due to expansionist intentions and fear that should two of their rivals with so much potential ever reach technological parity with them they would become a threat to Hanseatic regional dominance. These fears materialized surprisingly and almost instantaneously when Clan Goliath Scorpion conquered Nueva Castile and Umayad Caliphate and formed Escorpion Imperio. The League saw this unexpected development as existential threat they always feared and immediately went on openly hostile footing.

These events, compounded by Hansa's skirmish with scouting expedition from Clan Cloud Cobra in 3088 would result in decades long arms race and military build-up between two nations.

In the years following their arrival Goliath Scorpions would both uncover the full scale of Hanseatic involvement in instigating wars to their new populations which resulted in massive increase in hostile attitudes toward their already maligned neighbours in Hansa and initiate colonization of uninhabited planets between Imperio's and League's space.

It was on one of these planets that Hansa would attempt to carry out their pre-emptive attack.

The Battle

In 3112 Hanseatic Defence Force would order the entirety of it's Regional Defense Force 2, the largest single force they ever deployed until that time consisting of elite regiment of BattleMechs and full regiment of combat vehicles to attack the burgeoning unnamed colony.

At the time planet was defended by garrison caste troops of the 3rd Imperial Guards Cluster. They were greatly outnumbered by invaders and had no means of calling for aid since planet's HPG was not yet constructed. However many of the freeborn troops have harboured intense hatred for the Hansa due to their involvement in instigating wars between Catillans and Umayads and fought back relentlessly.

Five Guards trinaries surprised the attackers with ferociousness of their defence but it was not enough to offset enemy's massive numerical advantage and were forced to retreat. The remaining three Guard trinaries counter-attacked after regrouping, this time focusing on Hansa's conventional elements. After two days of constant fighting two thirds of Hansa's vehicle regiment were destroyed and the Guards withdrew to mountainous region while luring entire Hanseatic force in pursuit. Last two trinaries mounted attacks from stony redoubt and resisted invaders for months.

The attack was discovered when supply convoy arrived to replenish the colony. Jumpship immediately returned to imperial space and alerted the Clan of the situation. Two clusters of Hellion Galaxy and one from Alpha Galaxy along with Scorpion Keshik commanded by Khan Enrico Kirov deployed to expel invaders. Rather than face extermination RDF2 retreated immediately with two Hellion Galaxy clusters in pursuit. When Khan Kirov inspected the battlefield he discovered that four Stars of the Guards were still alive and operational. They held out against the enemy and remained proud warriors depite being isolated, exhausted and starving.

Hellion Reprisal

After briefly notifying Khan Kirov that he would "teach the Hansa surats a lesson", saKhan Sakmar Arbuthnot led his Hellion Keshik and two Hellion Galaxy clusters to execute retaliatory raid on the invaders. Their chosen target was home base of Regional Defense Force 3 on planet Kampen where they carried out surprise high-altitude aerial insertion into enemy headquarters. Despite being outnumbered by the Hansa defenders they destroyed their commanders and then proceeded to annihilate disorganized 'Mech and vehicle regiments. Local infantry regiment was all but exterminated.

Aftermath

Despite it's small size the battle had far reaching consequences for both nations and that entire region of Deep Periphery.

Survivors of Imperio's 3rd Imperial Guards Cluster were hailed as heroes for their courage. Their genes were added to Clan's breeding program and two of these warriors had their former civilian surnames become new Bloodnames of Clan Goliath Scorpion. The planet they defended was named Holdout in honour of their tenacious refusal to quit. These events also greatly contributed towards unifying Escorpion Imperio's population even further.

Hanseatic League's Council of Merchants realized that simply spending exorbitant amounts of money on military and throwing massive numbers of troops at the enemy is no longer enough to win wars and that even deeper military reforms are needed. Towards this end they created the rank of Captain-Marshal to command the military and and oversee the reforms. In the coming years the status of military in Hanseatic society would be elevated even further and overall militarization of society would continue unabated.

While Imperio's colonization efforts would be set back by several years, the battle was a total defeat for Hanseatic League and was one of more significant links in the chain of events which would lead to a devastating war that would come be to known as Hanseatic Crusade

Bibliography

• Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3
• Operational Turning Points: Hanseatic Crusade
• Spotlight On: Hellion Keshik
• Touring the Stars: Granada