Difference between revisions of "Battle of Huntress (3060)"
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==Counter-invasion== | ==Counter-invasion== | ||
| − | === | + | ===Prelude=== |
| − | + | While Task Force Serpent was on its way to Huntress, Operation BULLDOG ran wild through the Clan Occupation zone, seizing thirty-two worlds from the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] and [[Clan Nova Cat]] in the first two waves. In August 3059, Khan Lincoln Osis ordered all Jaguar forces in the Inner Sphere to retreat to Huntress, where they could consolidate and rebuild.{{cn}} | |
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| − | + | On 13 March 3060, Osis addressed the [[Grand Council]] in the [[Hall of Khans]] on [[Strana Mechty]], informed the assembled Khans of the invasion of Huntress, and asked for their aid in liberating the planet. After discussion, the Council unanimously refused, viewing the invasion as a matter that concerned only the Smoke Jaguars.<ref name=SW1>''Shadows of War'', ch. 1</ref> | |
| − | + | Osis spent the next few days assembling a force to take with him to Huntress. In addition to his personal guard, he had the Command Trinary [[The Jaguar's Den]], and the [[Shroud Keshik (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Shroud Keshik]] of his [[saKhan]], [[Brandon Howell]]. He recruited twenty-three volunteers from the older Smoke Jaguar warriors serving in support roles on Strana Mechty into an ''ad hoc'' unit that he named [[The Jaguar's Heart]]. When he departed on his command ship, the ''[[Streaking Mist (Individual Black Lion-class WarShip)|Streaking Mist]]'', Lincoln Osis had only two short Clusters to lead into battle.<ref name=SW10>''Shadows of War'', ch. 10</ref> | |
| − | + | ===Second naval battle=== | |
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{{quote|"Very well, Star Colonel. You are given command of the counter invasion. Plan it well, Paul Moon. You are to attack the enemy wherever he gathers. You are to destroy the invaders to the last man and the last machine. Not one of those cursed freebirth vermin who have ''dared'' to foul the soil of Huntress is to survive. I want them all dead! I want their leaders' heads brought to me on pikes! I want their bodies burned and their ashes scattered to the four winds! I want them and their seed wiped out of the universe forever!"|Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta to Star Colonel Paul Moon}} | {{quote|"Very well, Star Colonel. You are given command of the counter invasion. Plan it well, Paul Moon. You are to attack the enemy wherever he gathers. You are to destroy the invaders to the last man and the last machine. Not one of those cursed freebirth vermin who have ''dared'' to foul the soil of Huntress is to survive. I want them all dead! I want their leaders' heads brought to me on pikes! I want their bodies burned and their ashes scattered to the four winds! I want them and their seed wiped out of the universe forever!"|Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta to Star Colonel Paul Moon}} | ||
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| Battle of Huntress | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Operation SERPENT | |||||||||
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| Factions | |||||||||
| Second Star League Defense Force | Clan Smoke Jaguar | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| General Ariana Winston
General Andrew Redburn |
Khan Lincoln Osis
Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta |
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| Forces involved | |||||||||
| Task Force Serpent | Clan Smoke Jaguar Touman | ||||||||
The Battle of Huntress was the culmination of Operation SERPENT, a mission launched by the Second Star League to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar at its home planet. After a long journey to the Clan Homeworlds, Task Force Serpent, a multinational coalition under the command of General Ariana Winston, invaded Huntress with the intent of capturing or destroying every military asset the Clan possessed.
Smoke Jaguar forces driven from the Inner Sphere by Operation BULLDOG learned of the invasion and counter-invaded with overwhelming force. After intense fighting and heavy losses on both sides, victory for the Star League Defense Force was secured by the arrival of Prince Victor Steiner-Davion and Task Force Bulldog, which had accomplished its mission far ahead of schedule.
The battle marked the effective end of Clan Smoke Jaguar as an entity, with only a handful of warriors surviving. Khan Lincoln Osis fled to Strana Mechty, where he and his remaining warriors were defeated in the Great Refusal. The victory at Huntress came at great cost to the SLDF. Task Force Serpent suffered eighty percent casualties[1], and General Winston was killed in action.
Invasion
| “ | All commands, this is Dancer. The word is given. Commence Operation Serpent. | ” |
| — General Ariana Winston[2] | ||
Covert raid on Mount Szabo
The primary threat to the invasion was an active Reagan Space Defense System at Huntress, controlled by the planet's primary command and operations center located beneath Mount Szabo, near the planetary capital Lootera. DEST teams were sent in advance of the fleet with the objective of destroying the command center, opening the way for the assault force.[3]
On 19 February 3060, DCS Haruna jumped into the Huntress zenith point, broadcasting stolen IFF codes that identified her as the York-class Queen Lynx. Haruna detached the Stiletto, a genuine Clan Broadsword that had been captured at the Battle of Trafalgar, which was carrying the DEST teams. Haruna deployed her jump sail and, after a standard recharge cycle, jumped out-system on 26 February. Stiletto, posing as the Tracker, went unchallenged and reached Huntress on 1 March.[3][4]
Using stealth drop-cocoons, including an automated cocoon holding each team's equipment, the thirty DEST commandos under Sho-sa Michael Ryan made a successful HALO drop into the Jaguar's Fangs mountain range west of Lootera at 0300. Stiletto then feigned a crash landing in Dhuan Swamp and landed in the Lunar Range on the continent of Abysmal, far from where any search would be looking for her.[4]
The DEST teams, moving slowly to avoid detection, reached their objective on 5 March, only hours before the task force was due to jump in. They gained entry by hijacking a hovertruck and posing as Smoke Jaguar technicians, and eliminated the Elementals guarding the entrance with well-placed Tsunami sniper shots. Inside, the teams split up to hit different objectives. A technician in the SDS command center triggered an alarm before he was gunned down, and with surprise lost, the DEST teams swiftly planted their explosive charges and executed the remaining technicians. A rapid response team of two Elemental Points arrived, engaging the commandos in a brief but vicious firefight that cost the DEST teams six men. The remaining twenty-four commandos escaped and the charges detonated on schedule, achieving the primary objectives of the mission.[5]
| “ | Send to all commands. Clear for battle, launch all Combat Air Patrol fighters. Message to Starlight. Starlight is to remain with and protect the transports. We're here, and no Clan buggers are going to make us leave! | ” |
| — Commodore Beresick | ||
At 0630 on 5 March 3060, Task Force Serpent entered the Huntress system at the zenith point, and was confronted by Smoke Jaguar WarShips: a Sovetskii Soyuz-class cruiser and two Vincent-class corvettes. The Invisible Truth squared off against the enemy cruiser, trading weapons fire as they passed. As the Truth turned to re-engage, the Rostock dove in from above to attack the enemy cruiser. The cruiser launched a furious broadside, severely damaging the Rostock. As the Rostock attempted to withdraw, the Clan WarShip pursued, launching another salvo that blew the Rostock to pieces. In her pursuit of the Rostock, the Sovetskii Soyuz had left herself open to the Invisible Truth, which unleashed several punishing broadsides that destroyed the Clan vessel.[6]
Meanwhile, the first Vincent-class ship was intercepted by the Emerald and destroyed, dealing only modest damage to the Essex-class WarShip. The second Vincent evaded the remaining WarShips in an effort to attack the JumpShips carrying the invasion force. She did minor damage to several vessels but was destroyed by the Starlight, which suffered damage to her port weapons bays.[6] After regrouping, the JumpShips launched their DropShips which were escorted by the Fire Fang and Ranger toward Huntress.[6] As they arrived in orbit on 12 March, the invasion force met some resistance from Clan fighters—which served only to cause damage to one of the Kathil Uhlans' DropShips—before deploying to attack their assigned objectives.[7]
Ground assault
The planet was garrisoned by two Galaxies of solahma troops—the Iron Guard and Watchmen, plus various training cadres and sibkos.[3] Although the Huntress garrison had seen its most useful military assets diverted to the Inner Sphere, former commander Benjamin Howell had creatively replenished it by requisitioning Inner Sphere salvage for "analysis" by scientists, then having it refurbished to equip his warriors. These efforts, when supplemented with some ancient Star League 'Mechs pulled from storage and repurposed prototypes, meant that the two Galaxies were fully equipped.[citation needed]
The Inner Sphere regiments were divided to attack military targets around the planet simultaneously, preventing the Smoke Jaguars from concentrating their defense in any one place. The invasion force would hit every major city on Jaguar Prime, the main continent, as well as the facilities on Abysmal, an unpopulated continent used for training operations.[3]
Lootera and Mount Szabo
General Winston and her headquarters unit accompanied the 21st and 151st Light Horse Regiments, commanded by Colonels Edwin Amis and Charles Antonescu respectively, on a combat drop three kilometers north-west of Mount Szabo. Their target was a large MechWarrior training facility several kilometers west of the landing zone.[7] Defending the facility was the Galaxy Command Trinary and 12th Solahma Cluster of the Iron Guard Galaxy, along with the 44th Solahma Cluster and a Fighter Trinary of the Watchmen Galaxy.[8] The Light Horse regiments captured the facility after taking only light casualties. The DEST teams, having evaded the enemy, rendezvoused with this group.[7]
The 71st Light Horse Regiment under Colonel Sandra Barclay made their drop just north of the capital Lootera, with the objective of seizing the Field of Heroes and the Smoke Jaguar genetic repository. Defending the city against them was the 44th Solahma Cluster and Galaxy Command Trinary of the Watchmen Galaxy.[8] The 71st captured the repository intact with relatively light casualties[7][9], but the Elemental guards within the facility barricaded themselves inside, forcing the Horsemen's infantry units to clear them out room by room.[10]
While most of the ComGuards 2nd Division was held in reserve, the Third Battalion was assigned to seize the Mount Szabo facility. This operation went off without incident, mostly because the DEST attack had caused extensive damage, allowing them to seize the location without much trouble.[11]
The task force had secured the training camp, Lootera and its spaceport, and the Mount Szabo facility. General Winston established the Field of Heroes as her field headquarters.[7]
Pahn City
The Northwind Highlanders attacked a major industrial center near Pahn City, which was defended by the 48th Battle Cluster of the Watchmen Galaxy.[8] Colonel William MacLeod flooded the Smoke Jaguars' frequencies with bagpipe music, cutting off their radio communications and limiting them to hand signals and line-of-sight laser communications.[12]
The Highlander DropShips grounded and deployed MacLeod's Regiment and the Royal Black Watch. Star Colonel Cara, in command of the defense, was enraged by the attackers' use of the Star League's insignia, and ordered the entire Cluster to converge on her position and engage. She and her warriors were further infuriated to see the crest of the Royal Black Watch and threw themselves into the fight. This was exactly what Colonel MacLeod had intended. With the Smoke Jaguars distracted, his main force bypassed the defenders and marched on the factory complex. As Star Colonel Cara realized what was happening, she ordered a withdrawal, but her efforts were hampered by the Highlanders' jamming.[12][13]
As they advanced on the factory, the Highlanders were taken aback by a unit of ProtoMechs that swarmed out of the facility to engage them at close range. The attack stalled as the Inner Sphere MechWarriors struggled to deal with the unprecedented threat, and MacLeod ordered the Highlanders to fall back and regroup. The fighting degenerated into a free-for-all that raged for several hours in and around Pahn City. It ended when MacLeod pressed the attack against the factory, seizing it intact and eliminating the mixed enemy force. The Highlanders took advantage of the 'Mech factories and began repairing their units. They also salvaged what they could, prioritizing the ProtoMechs and the ProtoMech factory.[12][13]
Myer
The Kathil Uhlans attacked an industrial complex near the city of Myer, which was defended by the 63rd Solahma Cluster of the Watchmen Galaxy.[14] Although the enemy put up stiff resistance, the Uhlans captured their objective with only light casualties.[11]
Bagera
The Eleventh Lyran Guards encountered heavy aerospace resistance on approach to Bagera, which they believed to be garrisoned only by the 77th Solahma Cluster of the Iron Guard Galaxy.[8][11] Unknown to them, the Smoke Jaguars had reinforced Bagera with a large number of freshly-blooded warriors and their instructors, all equipped with front-line OmniMechs.
Before the Guards had finished deploying, they were attacked by a Supernova Trinary fielding Inner Sphere and second-line Clan 'Mechs mixed with Elementals. The Guards repulsed the initial attack, but took heavy losses: fifty-one of their 120 'Mechs were lost. A second wave of at least twenty-five OmniMechs, mostly heavy- and assault-class, supported by more Elementals, hit the Guards hard. Marshal Sharon Bryan was shot out of her Banshee after a heated engagement with a Cauldron Born, and her second-in-command, Colonel Timothy Price, ordered a withdrawal. After Bryan was rescued by a Fulcrum hovertank, she quickly determined that the Eleventh Guards were in danger of being overrun, and called General Winston to request naval fire support.[11]
In low orbit over Bagera, the Fire Fang opened fire on the Smoke Jaguar position with its naval gauss and PPC batteries. With the shots landing only a hundred meters off target, the effect was devastating. Clan BattleMechs and Elementals were immediately destroyed by the energies of the strike. The fire support broke the Jaguar force and the Eleventh Guards were able to mop up what opposition remained.[11]
New Andery
The Knights of the Inner Sphere and Kingston's Legionnaires were assigned to strike a large training camp east of of New Andery. After encountering minimal opposition—a pair of Avar fighters that were quickly destroyed—Colonel Paul Masters decided to ground his DropShips instead of performing the high-altitude drop that was originally planned. The task force quickly defeated a Star of 'Mechs standing sentry outside the base, followed by fifteen Jaguar cadets who powered up their second-line 'Mechs to defend the installation.[15]
Half an hour after the Inner Sphere forces secured the training facility, the 33rd Assault Cluster of the Iron Guard Galaxy arrived to defend New Andery.[8][15] Colonel Masters ordered the Legionnaires to entrench themselves in defensible positions in front of the training base, behind hastily-constructed earth berms. The Jaguars hit the Legionnaires with light OmniMechs and Elementals, while the Knights stealthily moved through the Shikari Jungle to encircle the enemy.[15][16]
Masters' plan to outflank the Smoke Jaguars hit a major snag when a second group, consisting of two Trinaries of heavy 'Mechs and Elementals, attacked the Knights' Third Battalion, pinning it in place. Meanwhile, the force attacking the Legionnaires brought up three Trinaries of front-line OmniMechs that pressed hard all along the front, leading Colonel Samuel Kingston to call for support. Colonel Masters detached a company from each of his other battalions to reinforce the Third, then led the rest of the Knights back to assist the Capellans. As they emerged from the jungle, they were met by a line of ProtoMechs. Fighting their way through the new enemy, the Knights linked up with the Legionnaires, allowing Kingston to fall back, but the mobility of the ProtoMechs and the harder-hitting OmniMechs slowly pushed them back further. After four hours of fighting, the Jaguars retook the training base and continued to press the Inner Sphere troops, relenting only after they were driven to the outskirts of New Andery. The Knights' Third Battalion had held its ground, and was ordered to rejoin the main host.[15][16]
The group was in a poor tactical position, and at less than half strength. With few viable options, Masters contacted General Winston, who swiftly deployed two Level III Com Guard units from the 2nd Division. An hour later, with the Com Guard forces still en route, the Jaguars renewed their attack. Colonel Masters' Anvil, already heavily damaged, was knocked out early when a Hunchback IIC severed his machine's leg. As he ran back to his command post on foot, the Com Guards arrived. The reinforcements made a direct low-altitude combat drop and within forty-five minutes the Smoke Jaguars collapsed, retreating to the south under close pursuit. Barely a Trinary of forces managed to escape. The Knights and Legionnaires suffered heavy casualties, with the Knights at 50% effective strength and the Legionnaires under 30%.[15][16][11]
Abysmal
The Second St. Ives Lancers and the Fourth Drakøns attacked a training camp located on the continent Abysmal. The base was used for desert warfare training, which was not taking place at the time of the assault, and only the training staff was present. The instructors were swiftly defeated and the base secured. The attackers suffered the fewest casualties of all the task force, with four Lancer 'Mechs and one Drakøn 'Mech destroyed.[11]
Falcon Eyrie
The MI6 teams, the "Rabid Foxes", were deployed to monitor the only other Clan on the planet, a small Jade Falcon base known as the Falcon Eyrie located in the Eastern Mountains. The Falcons were not expected to intercede on behalf of the Smoke Jaguars, but the Davion commandos were sent to observe and report if they moved to join the fight.
The plan involved a high-altitude jump into the vicinity of Falcon Eyrie, but bad weather made a HALO jump impossible. Captain Roger Montjar decided on a low-altitude jump under the storm clouds, accepting the risk of detection to get his troops into place quickly. From an altitude of three hundred meters, the Claymore-class DropShip Marcinko deployed twenty commandos in stealth battle armor via parachute and released twelve drop pods stuffed with their gear. The commandos divided into four teams. Team Two positioned itself in an observation post directly above the Eyrie itself, while Teams One, Three and Four spread out to form a picket line of several kilometers along the ridgeline overlooking the facility.[17]
The low altitude jump was detected by both the Jade Falcons and the Smoke Jaguars. Star Colonel Nikolai Icanza, in command of the Eyrie, correctly surmised the troops' mission and determined to leave them alone as long as they didn't attack. He informed Khan Marthe Pryde of the evolving situation on Huntress.[17] Meanwhile, a pair of Smoke Jaguar scientists who were searching for new ore veins spotted one of the MI6 observation teams. One of them, a warrior caste dropout, correctly determined that they must be from the Inner Sphere. After returning to Lootera, the two reported their findings to Elemental Star Captain Tullain. The Star Captain led two Points of Elementals into the mountains to attack the commandos while they were preoccupied with the Jade Falcons.[18]
The observation team detected the Elementals heading directly toward their location. Sergeant Henry Kramer ordered his team to destroy its equipment and abandon their position. After sending one his men to alert Captain Montjar, he led his three remaining commandos away from the area, leaving a distinct trail to draw the Elementals off. After several hours of pursuit, the commandos decided to fight it out. They mined a small defile with directional anti-personnel mines, then waited in ambush. When a full Point of Elementals had entered the kill zone, the commandos sprang their trap, using Thunderstroke Gauss Rifles, [SRM]]s, and Inferno rounds to eliminate both Points, at the cost of two men.[18]
General Order 01051
| “ | Pursuant to General Order, number TFS oh-one-oh-five-one, upon completion of the initial assault on the planet Huntress, the units comprising Task Force Serpent are to take every measure possible to eliminate the war-making ability of Clan Smoke Jaguar. To this end, the units of Task Force Serpent are to destroy all barracks, 'Mech hangars, fighter bays, command, communication, and control centers, and military repair facilities. Likewise, all factories, warehouses, armories, shipyards, and any other facility or installation that may be used for the construction of war materiel, or the storage, or transport of the same, must be destroyed or rendered unusable by Clan Smoke Jaguar. Such stores of weapons, ammunition, spare parts, food, and other military supplies, as well as those military assets that can be captured intact and transferred off planet by the units of Task Force Serpent should be secured by the units of Task Force Serpent and protected from deliberate sabotage by the forces of Clan Smoke Jaguar. The commander of Task Force Serpent is charged with the initial disposition of all captured materiel. All combat losses not provided for by a unit's Table of Organization and Equipment will be made up out of captured materiel wherever possible. All other captured materiel will be shipped for transport back to the Inner Sphere, where it will be disposed of by Star League Defense Force command. Such captured materiel that cannot be used by the units of Task Force Serpent and that cannot be shipped for transport back to the Inner Sphere is to be likewise destroyed. | ” |
| — Ariana Winston, reading General Order 01051 | ||
In less than twelve hours, the invaders had accomplished their initial objectives and seized control of the planet. On the morning of 13 March, General Winston summoned her unit commanders and read out General Order 01051, directing them to dismantle or destroy all military equipment and all military-industrial facilities. The order was intended not only to destroy the war-making ability of the Clan, but also to demonstrate the terrible nature of warfare.[19][20]
Colonel Paul Masters asked General Winston to reconsider the order, fearing that they would either lose control of their troops in the destruction to follow, or that their troops would resent the orders, leading to a breakdown in discipline. Colonel Kingston and Colonel MacLeod joined Masters' protest. As they argued with the other commanders, General Winston fired a shot from her pistol, bringing an abrupt end to the dispute, and overruled the objections. The demolition order stood, but it would be limited to facilities—Winston ordered that humans were not to be harmed.[19]
The soldiers proceeded to dismantle the Clan war machine. They followed their orders without taking any vengeance against the civilians and even permitted lower caste members to assist with their demolition efforts. The sheer scale of destruction exhausted the task force's supply of explosives, so the effort continued with BattleMechs mounting energy weapons and infantry wielding sledgehammers and cutting torches.[10][20]
Pahn City raid
Galaxy Commander Russou Howell had rallied roughly three Trinaries of BattleMechs and Elementals into the Black Shikari Jungle. In the early hours of 15 March, in need of ammunition and other supplies, he initiated a raid of the Pahn City factory complex, which was defended by the Northwind Highlanders. Adopting the battle plan suggested by Star Commander Tonia, he first sent one Trinary to make a diversionary attack on the Highlanders' DropShips, grounded five kilometers away from the factories. Colonel MacLeod ordered nearly the entire regiment to defend the transports, leaving a single company behind to defend the complex.
With the complex defenses denuded, the rest of the Smoke Jaguar force attacked, pushing back and occupying the defenders. Elementals, dismounted MechWarriors, and others seized fully-loaded hovertrucks and grabbed as much as they could before retreating back into the jungle. Colonel MacLeod ordered his forces back to meet the main attack, but arrived too late—the raiders had already made off with a large quantity of supplies and destroyed the rest. With the attack on the factory a success, the diversionary force retreated as well.[21][22]
Counter-invasion
Prelude
While Task Force Serpent was on its way to Huntress, Operation BULLDOG ran wild through the Clan Occupation zone, seizing thirty-two worlds from the Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat in the first two waves. In August 3059, Khan Lincoln Osis ordered all Jaguar forces in the Inner Sphere to retreat to Huntress, where they could consolidate and rebuild.[citation needed]
On 13 March 3060, Osis addressed the Grand Council in the Hall of Khans on Strana Mechty, informed the assembled Khans of the invasion of Huntress, and asked for their aid in liberating the planet. After discussion, the Council unanimously refused, viewing the invasion as a matter that concerned only the Smoke Jaguars.[23]
Osis spent the next few days assembling a force to take with him to Huntress. In addition to his personal guard, he had the Command Trinary The Jaguar's Den, and the Shroud Keshik of his saKhan, Brandon Howell. He recruited twenty-three volunteers from the older Smoke Jaguar warriors serving in support roles on Strana Mechty into an ad hoc unit that he named The Jaguar's Heart. When he departed on his command ship, the Streaking Mist, Lincoln Osis had only two short Clusters to lead into battle.[24]
| “ | "Very well, Star Colonel. You are given command of the counter invasion. Plan it well, Paul Moon. You are to attack the enemy wherever he gathers. You are to destroy the invaders to the last man and the last machine. Not one of those cursed freebirth vermin who have dared to foul the soil of Huntress is to survive. I want them all dead! I want their leaders' heads brought to me on pikes! I want their bodies burned and their ashes scattered to the four winds! I want them and their seed wiped out of the universe forever!" | ” |
| — Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta to Star Colonel Paul Moon | ||
During the nine-month journey back to Clan Space, Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta, the senior surviving officer from the Inner Sphere, managed to pull her troops together into a single, coherent combat-ready weapon. A mixture of front-line, second-line and Provisional Garrison troops from many different units, with some effort they were nevertheless reorganized into a new Provisional Galaxy with Trials of Position held during recharge stops to appoint new officers. Though classified as a Galaxy, the provisional formation was closer in strength to two Galaxies with nearly 340 'Mech and Elemental Points (though with less than fifty fighters for aerospace support). When the journey was over, Galaxy Commander Mehta believed them ready to return to the Inner Sphere and mete out just revenge on the false Star League. But barely had she started to report in to the ilKhan upon arriving in Clan Space when she was given curt news of the arrival of Task Force Serpent and ordered to proceed to Huntress with all speed to liberate their homeworld.[25]
Hang Mehta obeyed despite not believing the possibility that the Inner Sphere barbarians could have taken Huntress. To her shock, when her fleet jumped into the Huntress system on the 19 March 3060, she was confronted with a fleet of Inner Sphere starships holding station at the zenith point, and intercepted communications between them and Huntress confirmed Inner Sphere forces on the planet's surface. Her homeworld had indeed been taken.[25]
Furious, Hang Mehta ordered all DropShips carrying her Provisional Galaxy to detach at once and make a high-g burn for Huntress, while ordering the three warships in her fleet, the Liberator-class cruiser Korat and two Vincent-class corvettes, the Ripper and Azov, to destroy the Inner Sphere fleet.[25] She remained with her fleet long enough to see the initial start of the naval action, and give orders to the Ripper to capture if possible the enemy's Kyushu-class frigate for later study, then launched with her remaining ground forces for Huntress, leaving Star Commodore Clarinda Stiles in command of the fleet.[26] Though still in command, her previous injuries precluded her participation in the expected fighting once they reached Huntress, and so as the next most experienced commander Star Colonel Paul Moon would be given the honor of leading the ground assault.[25]
On board the Invisible Truth, Commodore Alain Beresick swung into action and issued what orders he could to get the fleet ready for this surprise attack. The fleet's fighter CAP was quickly augmented by the "ready-fives" aboard the Truth, Antrim and Ranger launching; just fifteen minutes after the Smoke Jaguar's arrival leading elements of both forces' fighters were already engaged with each other. All Task Force JumpShips along with their DropShip escorts were ordered to retreat to a predetermined deep-space rally point, there to await further communication from Commodore Beresick or, following a seventy-two hour period, proceed under the command of the senior naval officer. The Invisible Truth, Starlight, Emerald and Fire Fang would engage the enemy's WarShips while the Antrim, Ranger and Haruna were to hang back and wait until they could detect a way to slip past and directly engage the enemy's five JumpShips. The Smoke Jaguar transports were to be crippled and boarded, leaving the option of destroying them a last resort only if it looked like they might flee through hyperspace.[26]
Soon the battle was joined, with the Truth moving to intercept the Korat while the accompanying escorts engaged each other. Though they had been blessed with good fortune thus far during the operation, luck soon ran out for the Task Force WarShips. The cumulative damage of the successive engagements at Trafalgar and their initial invasion of the Huntress system had left several ships with little more than hull patches where armor plating used to be, while the Jaguar ships were fresh and burning with an almost suicidal rage. The lead corvette, the Azov, got into a close range slugging match with the Starlight and Emerald. Maneuvering hard despite being brutally handled and receiving punishing fire from the two larger WarShips, the Azov managed to slip between the two and encouraged the Emerald to turn in pursuit, exposing her port side to the Ripper closing in on the engagement. A flurry of Naval Autocannon fire from the Ripper tore through the already badly damaged arc and caused massive damage to the Essex-class destroyer, putting her out of the fight.[26]
In revenge, the Starlight, still engaged with Azov, poured a full salvo of fire into the smaller ship's damaged stern and punched through to her magazines, the internal explosions tearing the smaller ship to pieces. The remaining two WarShips then rounded on each other, but in a tragic set of circumstances, the Starlight destroyed the Ripper's engines at the same time the Ripper's return fire punched through a weakened section of the destroyer to knock out helm and engine control on the larger ship. Helpless victims of their inertia, the two ships slammed into each other. His ship's prow embedded in the enemy corvette, Captain Stan O'Malley aboard the Starlight tried to save his crew by ordering them to abandon ship, but before it could be sent out both vessels were obliterated in a massive explosion.[26]
While the attention of the Invisible Truth crew was locked on the horrific spectacle of the collision, the Korat closed range and threw a running broadside across the her bow, the battlecruiser's thick armor barely holding against the salvo. Quickly, Beresick turned in pursuit. For fifteen minutes the two ships had been locked in a close-range slugging match as they struggled to bring their broadside guns into play, spiraling around each other at point blank range. The Invisible Truth had managed only two broadsides to the Korat's three, but its heavier armor still held. After another round of brutal maneuvering that strained the ship's ancient engines and bled off enough inertial gravity to make the crew "float", the Truth gave its starboard broadside a clear shot on the Korat and unleashed punishing fire that smashed its aft starboard quarter. The Korat as well was able to unleash its own broadside that damaged the Truth but could not match it in sheer firepower.[26]
Both ships had suffered extensive damage to their starboard sides, and the damage control officer aboard the Truth recommended to Commodore Beresick that they break off to make repairs, but when the Korat rolled to present its undamaged port side he ordered the Truth to match their maneuver, looking set to start the engagement all over again. Seeking to gain an edge, the Korat made a desperate turn to try and slide under the ComStar ship's stern, slipping past the WarShip with only a few kilometers to spare and unleashing another broadside on the vessel. Star Commodore Stiles believed one more broadside would finish her off, but at that point the Fire Fang suddenly cut into their dance. Having maneuvered to have a clean shot at the Korat's wrecked starboard side, the former Ghost Bear WarShip mercilessly tore into the Clan cruiser, causing massive internal damage. Backhanding a bridge officer who begged her to surrender, Star Commodore Stiles insisted on taking at least one enemy ship with her and tried to continue the fight. In response, the Invisible Truth and Fire Fang fired a concentrated salvo that gutted her from bow to stern, leaving her a burning hulk.[26]
Across the rest of the battlespace, Antrim was detailed to run down the Clan DropShips burning for Huntress but failed to stop them, in the process taking heavy damage which could not be repaired in the field. Ranger had also suffered damage but was still battle-worthy. The Invisible Truth however had taken a fearsome beating that left her armor in tatters and her starboard side heavily damaged. The Starlight was lost with all hands and the Emerald, afire and with 95% hull integrity lost, would need two months in a drydock to be repaired. The Invisible Truth's DropShips Honor and Integrity was dispatched to recover the ship's survivors. Of the five Clan Jumpships, Ranger reported two captured and one destroyed, but the other two, presumably equipped with Lithium-Fusion Batteries, jumped out before they could be taken, apparently to go and get help.[26]
Tracking the DropShips burning for Huntress, Commodore Beresick sent a warning to General Winston that a great many furious Smoke Jaguar warriors were on their way.
Landfall
| “ | This is no batchall. I am Trueborn of the Smoke Jaguars. You are nothing but an Inner Sphere freebirth. Between us there can be no batchall. You and your filthy lucrewarriors would never bargain honestly, nor honor the batchall once it was done. No, General, this is merely a challenge. Come and meet me strength to strength on the plain west of Lootera. It is fitting, do you not think, that you will die fighting on the very soil you have dared profane with your presence? At least you will have the cold comfort of knowing that your bones will be buried in a place far too good for them. I, on the other hand, will have the glory of destroying you and your surats in the shadow of Mount Szabo and the great stone Jaguar of my Clan. | ” |
| — Star Colonel Paul Moon challenging General Winston | ||
General Winston received Beresick's warning, along with information regarding the size of the incoming invasion force thanks to interrogated Clan survivors of the fleet battle. Unfortunately, the DEST team had done too good of a job destroying Mount Szabo's C3 capabilities. Despite the technicians' best efforts, Huntress' sensor net was too damaged to track the incoming DropShips - being limited to detecting only the tachyon burst generated by a hyperspace jump or objects fighter-sized and larger entering the planet's atmosphere - and so incapable of targeting them with the SDS' weaponry. The renewed battle for control of Huntress would have to take place on the ground.[27]
While the Smoke Jaguar reinforcements were on the way to the planet, Ariana Winston regrouped and consolidated her troops into two main field armies. The Eridani Light Horse, the Com Guards and the St. Ives Lancers were concentrated at Lootera, and dubbed the 'North-Group'. General Redburn was given command of the 'South-Group' stationed at Osis Lake at the southwest corner of the continent. This group consisted of the First Kathil Uhlans, the Knights of the Inner Sphere and the Northwind Highlanders. The damaged Lyran Guard and Kingston's Legionnaires along with the Drakøn were hidden in the Lunar mountains on the continent Abysmal as a reserve force, with their DropShips able to reinforce either army if needed. Ariana also recalled the nekakami team to Lootera, where she made contact in person with Kasugai Hatsumi, the team's leader.[27]
On 26 March, two weeks after the SLDF invasion force had landed, the Smoke Jaguars' Provisional Galaxy reached Huntress. After their DropShips were detected entering the atmosphere, General Winston ordered the Eridani Light Horse's aerospace fighters to engage, though units with a ground-attack role were held in reserve. Having come through the initial invasion relatively unscathed, the Horsemen's fighters put up stiff resistance and managed to shoot down a few DropShips, but most were able to bull their way through the blockade.[27] Unfortunately for the Provisional Galaxy, their aerospace fighters were practically destroyed on the approach to the planet, weakening their ability to conduct air strikes or reconnaissance later in the battle.[28] The Horsemen fighters would themselves withdraw to the continent Abysmal to await further orders.[29] As the rest of the Clan DropShips approached, General Winson was contacted by Star Colonel Paul Moon, who challenged her to meet him on the plains west of Lootera, a challenge she was all too happy to accept. Meanwhile the other part of the arriving Smoke Jaguar force would engage the southern group in the Dhuan Mountains.[27]
Suddenly at 1328 hours the Invisible Truth detected a large energy signature in at a Pirate Point practically on top on Huntress and determined it to be a large Clan WarShip. However, despite the time they had spent in system mapping the region, the Invisible Truth did not itself have enough data to make use of the same pirate point, forcing Commodore Beresick to send a radio warning to General Winston and order the ship make haste towards the planet under normal propulsion.[24]
The ship in question was none other than the Streaking Mist, carrying ilKhan Lincoln Osis and his personal bodyguards, along with the Jaguar's Den and Shroud Keshik command Trinaries, and the ad hoc Jaguar's Heart. Though in perfect position to raze the planet with his WarShip in orbit, ilKhan Osis had no desire to reduce the Smoke Jaguar's homeworld to ash the same way the Smoke Jaguars had done to Turtle Bay. Instead the Inner Sphere forces polluting its soil would have to be rooted out the hard way, and the Streaking Mist would only provide supporting fire as needed. From orbit the Steaking Mist detected fighting between the Smoke Jaguars and the southern group still ongoing, while in the north the initial attack had run its course. The ilKhan ordered the Shroud Keshik and Jaguar's Heart to reinforce the fight in the south, while the Jaguar's Den would help secure Lootera.[24] The Eridani Light Horse fighters again attempted to prevent the landing of these reinforcements, but to no effect, being beaten off by the savagery of the Smoke Jaguar's fighter escorts.[29]
Northern Army Group
The designated battlefield was a scattering of low rolling hills and clumps of scrubby trees, sandwiched between the city and the Jaguar's Fangs mountain range. Fully expecting an enraged charge by the Smoke Jaguars, General Winston prepared her forces accordingly. On the main battle-line running west to east, the Com Guards held the center, supported by the 21st Striker Regiment on their right flank and the St. Ives Lancers on their left. The Horsemen's other two regiments were put in reserve a kilometer behind them, the 151st on the eastern and the 71st on the western flank, ready to either reinforce the main battle line or to swing past and envelop the enemy's flanks. Between the two reserve units was the key to the engagement: the Horsemen's extensive artillery assets. All wounded personnel were moved into the Smoke Jaguar genetic repository, a location that the Clan wouldn't dare to attack directly, and the DEST teams were ordered to occupy the Mount Szabo facility and defend it against recapture. [27]
Star Colonel Paul Moon landed south of the battlefield with Alpha and Bravo Clusters, comprising 96 'Mechs and supporting Elementals. Moon was highly contemptuous of most of the troops facing him — with the exception of the Com Guards whom he had encountered on Maldonado — and elected to take the Inner Sphere forces head on. Alpha Cluster, made up of survivors from front-line Clusters, would smash directly into the centerline of the enemy, while Bravo would then follow up to engage the reserves. Moon trusted in his force's fury and firepower to carry the day.[30]
The order to attack was given as soon as visual contact was made, and both Clusters began their charge across the open ground towards the SLDF. With the Smoke Jaguars closing in, the artillery opened up. Their first two salvos were not heavy ordnance, but a type of advanced Smoke Shell. Each shell released a mixture of traditional white phosphorous and six artillery-dispersed jamming pods, a combination that clouded both the Jaguars' vision and their advanced sensor systems, denying them the advantage of their extended weapons ranges. The next salvos however were not smoke rounds, but Improved Conventional Munitions that saturated the Jaguar formation with airbursts of armor-piercing bomblets. Their effect on the Jaguar 'Mechs varied, but they proved to be incredibly deadly to the Elementals riding them. Paul Moon himself was struck on the back of his right shoulder by a submunition, which punched straight through his body and blew him clear of the 'Mech he was riding.[30]
Enraged by such a "cowardly" attack, the Jaguar MechWarriors charged straight into the main SLDF battleline, literally running over some Inner Sphere 'Mechs, and engaged in close-quarters combat. The Jaguars managed to partially breach the line at several points, but these were quickly closed up. General Winston soon realized the Jaguars were preparing a second attack wave, but the enemy was assembling too close to her own forces for her artillery to continue its attack. She ordered the reserves into the fight. The 71st and 151st succeeded in flanking and breaking up the second wave before it could attack, forcing the Smoke Jaguars to retreat from the battle. Paul Moon, badly-wounded yet still alive, was captured by mop-up forces searching the battlefield for survivors.[30]
Although the enemy had been driven from the field, General Winston's forces had also taken a heavy beating and were nearly down to half-strength.[24] The St. Ives Lancers and 6th Recon Battalion pursued the retreating enemy force south in hopes of scoring easy kills. However at the Black Shakiri River, a competent rear-guard action allowed the Smoke Jaguars to disengage in good order and retreat across the river. As night settled in, General Winston ordered her surviving units to pull back to defensive positions around Lootera, leaving the previous day's battlefield to be illuminated by burning wreckage and unchecked wildfires.[31]
With Paul Moon gone, Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta took command of the northern Smoke Jaguar force and attacked the Inner Sphere position again, this time without any grandiose challenges. In the early hours of 27 March, Hang Mehta led her forces towards Lootera, eliminating a number of scout hovertanks that had detected their approach. General Winston immediately deployed the Eridani Light Horse to form a battle line south of the city. The Com Guards were ordered to garrison the spaceport and raze it to the ground if it looked like the city might fall. The St. Ives Lancers, reduced to just twenty-four 'Mechs and a handful of infantry, took up position in the Field of Heroes to defend the wounded and support personnel and to act as a tactical reserve.[31]
However, the expected attack never came, and all contact was lost with the Smoke Jaguars. Rather than continue in a head-on attack, Hang Mehta made the unClanlike decision to swing back south, cross the river, make a forced march in a swooping arc, and cross the river again east of the city. Instead of charging into the teeth of the waiting Horsemen, the Smoke Jaguars slammed into the Com Guards. With most of her force committed to seizing the Mount Szabo command center and the genetic repository, Mehta detached a Trinary of her fastest light and medium 'Mechs to attack the Field of Heroes.[31]
Caught off-guard by the Smoke Jaguar maneuver, General Winston ordered the 151st to reinforce the Com Guards while the 21st wheeled right to strike the enemy's flanks, leaving the 71st overextended to cover the main battle line. The opposing forces fought hard in the darkness, with the Jaguars steadily pushing the Com Guards out of the spaceport toward the southwest corner of Lootera. The Com Guards dug in and, reinforced by the 151st, halted the Smoke Jaguar advance. When the 71st hit them in the flanks, the Jaguars' main force was driven northwards out of the spaceport.[31]
The Trinary detached to take the Field of Heroes had engaged with the St. Ives Lancers, who had successfully kept the Field out of enemy hands. But as Mehta's main force retreated, it slammed directly into the Lancers' flank. Suddenly finding themselves outflanked by the Smoke Jaguar Galaxy, the Lancers broke and ran in a panic, triggering a general rout of the entire army. The Com Guards attempted an orderly withdrawal, but the urban streets prevented them from holding formation, and they broke and fled as well.[31]
The Jaguars began to pursue, eager to chase the enemy through the night and kill them all, but the Galaxy Commander hesitated. Ironically, because she had been burned so many times by Inner Sphere troops luring Smoke Jaguar troops into ambushes or traps, she could not be confident that this retreat was genuine and not simply bait to lure her troops into another trap. Reluctantly, she decided to safeguard the victory they had earned and allowed the Inner Sphere troops to retire as she set about restoring Smoke Jaguar control of the city.[31]
An hour after the attack had begun, the Inner Sphere forces started to arrive at the designated rally point northwest of Lootera. The Eridani Light Horse were relatively intact, though the Com Guards were still streaming in, and the Lancers, being scattered to the winds, would take some time to regroup. However, many of the wounded — both Inner Sphere and Clan — were still at the field hospital inside the Jaguars' genetic repository, along with the medical teams looking after them. General Winston hurried her command company back towards the Field of Heroes to evacuate the wounded before the Jaguars got to them. She was surprised to find the DEST teams still in position, defending the wounded in accord with her orders, and ordered them to withdraw to the rally point. When Winston ordered a general evacuation of all the wounded, the Horsemen's chief surgeon Dr. Fuehl persuaded her that the most severely injured couldn't be moved. After evacuating those able to move, Winston reluctantly left the rest in the care of Fuehl, the brigade's chaplain Captain D.C. Stockdale, and a few medics. The Clan wounded were left behind as well, both because the Jaguars could take care of them, and also to avoid draining the task force's limited medical resources.[32]
After the general and her command company rejoined the rest of the northern army, it moved steadily westwards, repulsing another Jaguar assault, after which both sides withdrew. The northern army set up a defensible bivouac in the foothills of the Jaguar's Fangs, and Winston sent out hovertanks to scout for Jaguar activity. At around 0300 on 28 March, one of them located a large Jaguar army only eleven kilometers away to the northeast, settling in for the night in an abandoned metal processing facility. The numbers were grim: 150 'Mechs and over 100 Elementals, including the Jaguar's Den Command Trinary, the personal unit of ilKhan Lincoln Osis. Half of the units were in pristine condition, and repairs were underwayon the rest, with more heavily damaged 'Mechs junked and stripped for parts to repair others, and ballistic weapons swapped out in favor of energy weapons, an indication that the Clan force was running low on supplies.[33]
General Winston decided to gamble and ordered a quick raid in force, hoping to catch the enemy unprepared before sunrise. With the 151st deployed as a screening force to the south, the 21st and Com Guards would lead the attack on the Smoke Jaguars. The 71st would be deployed in the rear to act as a tactical reserve or rearguard as needed, while the St. Ives Lancers defended the encampment. Unfortunately for her, the ilKhan had anticipated the possibility of a night raid and placed scout units to detect attacks at a distance. The scouts picked up the incoming SLDF forces still a kilometer away from the facility and sounded the alarm, providing plenty of time for the Jaguars to launch a counter-attack. The battle became a straight-up slugging match where the Jaguars took full advantage of their weapons' superior ranges, and they easily repelled the assault.[33]
The battle resulted in the capture of Colonel Edwin Amis, commander of the 21st, though he impressed the Elemental Point that cornered him after his ejection when he tried to fight his way out with nothing more than a sidearm and his courage.[34] While the SLDF attempted a fighting withdrawal, they were set upon by an unexpected foe: Galaxy Commander Russou Howell and the survivors of the original garrison appeared from out of the Shakiri Jungle and hit their flank, turning the retreat into a rout back to the bivouac, with stiff losses to the SLDF forces.[35]
Proud of his troops' performance, on 29 March the ilKhan gave Galaxy Commander Mehta her mission orders: hunt down the remaining freebirths and kill them. In the meantime he would return to the secondary C3 facility in Lootera, which the technician caste had restored to functionality.[28]
Southern Army Group
In the Dhuan Mountains, Andrew Redburn was in a battle just as fierce as, if not even fiercer than, the northern group. With the Highlanders holding the center of the battle line and the Uhlans and Knights on their left and right flanks respectively, the Smoke Jaguars attacked the SLDF troops three times. They were pushed back each time, but the sheer intensity of the combat and near suicidal aggression of the Smoke Jaguars left even the elite of the Inner Sphere shaken. After the third attack was repulsed, the three SLDF regiments were at half-strength, with most light 'Mechs and light-weight medium 'Mechs destroyed. Having just driven off the initial attack on Lootera, General Winston's own forces were too damaged to come to Redburn's aid. Instead, she advised that the 4th Drakøns could reinforce the position, but because the Drakøns were not rated for combat drops, the southern group would need to break off from combat to secure a landing zone for them.[24]
Bad news came from the forward scouts who detected another attack forming up, this one composed of what appeared to be forty fresh OmniMechs and fifty Elementals, the former all Heavy- and Assault-weight classes, with brand-new insignia. While the first one did not register in the warbook, the second was identified as belonging to the Shroud Keshik, the personal guard of saKhan Brandon Howell. The unit was eight kilometers northeast of their position and at their current heading would run into the Kathil Uhlans first. Realizing the gravity of the situation, General Redburn informed Colonels MacLeod and Masters and made hasty preparations for this fresh attack. Any remaining Vibrabombs were to be planted one kilometer in front of their lines, 'Mechs were to create revetments and power their reactors down to minimum operating levels to lessen the chance of detection, and all personnel made ready to evacuate at a moment's notice. If necessary, a fighting withdrawal was to be made to the first and second rally points, and lastly into the Dhuan Swamps if all else failed.[24]
The Southern Army Group did not have to wait for long, as within thirty minutes of sighting the reinforcements the attack began. The fresh Clan troops stormed forward, linking up with the other Jaguar units and pressing an all-out attack against the entire SLDF position. Ignoring losses to the minefields, they charged forward, zellbrigen long thrown out the window. After holding off three previous attacks, the fourth charge was too much for General Redburn, and he ordered a fighting retreat. The general himself, piloting the Dire Wolf that had belonged to Morgan Hasek-Davion, had to blast his way free of the attacking Jaguars, eventually making it to the rally point on the edge of the swamp.[24]
As the survivors began to stagger in, their losses became clear. The Northwind Highlanders had suffered the fewest casualties, but were down to 65 BattleMechs. The Knights of the Inner Sphere also had 65 remaining BattleMechs, but with all of their light and half of their medium 'Mechs gone. The Ulhans had taken the focus of the Jaguars' attention and had been brutalized, with just 46 'Mechs still standing. Not knowing how many troops Brandon Howell had brought with him, but presuming a worst case scenario of a full Galaxy, General Redburn decided that they would have to retreat into the stinking fens of the Dhuan Swamp if they were to hold out any longer.[24]
With little choice, the Inner Sphere army started a withdrawal into the swamp. At that point, the Jaguars renewed their attack. With the SLDF forces damaged, low on ammunition, and exhausted from the furious attacks, the Jaguars pressed hard. When two stars of OmniFighters suddenly hit the buckling Inner Sphere lines in a strafing run, the professional retreat turned into a rout, and the three units ran flat out for the swamp, despite the best efforts of their leaders and officers to control the situation.[36]
Notably, the Royal Black Watch Company of the Northwind Highlanders — joined by a few Knights of the Inner Sphere — was the only unit to maintain its cohesion and refuse to run. Voluntarily stepping forward as a rearguard, they engaged the Jaguars on their own in an effort to allow the rest of the army to rally and regroup. By the time they were cleared to retreat, only three of the ad hoc rearguard remained, but they had bought the time needed for the Inner Sphere army to vanish into the swamp.[36]
The situation for the southern army was grim. The wild, uncoordinated retreat had scattered the army throughout the swamp. The terrain made any kind of unit coherency difficult and rendered command 'Mech tactical computers almost useless in generating a picture of the battlespace. By the next day, the regiments had managed to regroup sufficiently that they could start moving with purpose again and continued south into the swamp, though nearly half the army had been killed, captured, or gone missing in the rout. Meanwhile, saKhan Brandon Howell had ordered the Jaguar's Heart to lead the pursuit while he and his Keshik remained on solid ground 'overseeing' the situation — to the annoyance of the Jaguar officers forced to march into the swamp.[36]
On 28 March, the pursuing Jaguars finally made contact with the SLDF forces, running first into the Northwind Highlanders' rearguard some two kilometers behind the main force, then engaging the Kathil Uhlans as well. General Redburn ordered Colonel Masters and his Knights, three kilometers south of the battle, to move west into position to support either the Highlanders or Redburn's own regiment. Masters' progress was slow, and as the Jaguars continued to pour more forces into the fight the Uhlans' left flank was in danger of being turned. General Redburn and his command lance threw themselves into the fight, arriving just in time to prevent the left flank from being overrun and meeting up with the arriving Knights.[36] Further help arrived when the Horsemen's fighter contingent provided close air support, blunting the Jaguars' pursuit.[29]
During this engagement, Kommandant David McCarthy, commander of the Uhlan's 2nd Battalion, led what remained of his unit in a rearguard action to hold the Jaguar attack off while the rest of the regiment regrouped. His 16 mixed 'Mechs of mostly medium and lighter units would face off against a full Binary of mostly Heavy and Assault OmniMechs — all of whom were so determined for victory or death that they had disabled their BattleMechs' ejection systems. Only three of the Uhlan 'Mechs would survive the battle, with four other pilots recovered, but they managed to hold the line and buy time for the army to regroup, defeating all the enemy 'Mechs. For this action, upon return to the Inner Sphere in 3062, Kommandant McCarthy would be awarded the Star League Medal of Honor by First Lord Theodore Kurita.[37]
The next day, the Eridani aerospace assets came again to provide support for the beleaguered southern army. Air strikes using a mixture of strafing and bombing runs, combined with TAG-directed Arrow-IV strikes, hammered the Jaguar pursuit force enough that they pulled back almost to the edge of the swamp, calling for additional troops that simply weren't available.[29]
Incident at Falcon Eyre
On 26 March, in the midst of the initial Jaguar counter-invasion, the MI6 teams were still maintaining their watch over the Falcon Eyre. Due to strict radio silence orders, they were only partially aware of what was going on at Lootera and the Dhuan Mountains, and had not made contact with Sergeant Kramer since he'd led his team away to draw off the Smoke Jaguars. One hour before sundown though movement was detected at the facility: ten armored Elementals and fifty unarmored infantry had arrayed themselves in parade formation just inside the high chain link fence surrounding the Eyre. Given the development, Captain Montjar radioed General Winston the news, who responded to confirm that both army groups were presently engaged with the enemy and no support was available. Her orders to Captain Montjar were to proceed at his own discretion but continue only monitoring the facility and not attack unless fired upon first.[38]
Suddenly one of the commandos opens fire on the Jade Falcons, launching an inferno SRM missile which envelops one of the Elementals and several infantry in flame. A fierce shootout ensued until unexpectedly the Jade Falcon commander orders a ceasefire. Cracking open her battlesuit, Star Captain Gythia requests to speak with the Inner Sphere commander, to which Montjar accepts, removing the helmet from his own suit and approaching the Star Captain to talk in person. Both confirmed that their standing orders were to not fire unless fire upon, with Captain Montjar assuring her that the trooper responsible would be disciplined. Star Captain Gythia warned him that, though she'd called off the fight because the Jade Falcon's honor had been "satisfied", any further attacks would formally bring Clan Jade Falcon into the battle for Huntress.[38]
Returning to his own lines, Captain Montjar learned that Private LeBelle had fired the first shot. However no further discipline would be needed as he was dead, leaving the captain to wonder if that is what Gythia had meant about honor being satisfied.[38]
Retreat
After their disastrous attempt at a night raid, the northern army group was much reduced, nominally at half-strength though a more accurate measure would be one-third strength. The Eridani Light Horse was down to 96 'Mechs, barely a regiment's worth. The 2nd Com Guard Division was down to 53 'Mechs and the 2nd St. Ives Lancers down to 21 'Mechs. Their attached scout, conventional infantry and armored units had also suffered heavy losses. Worse, despite the reduced numbers of units, supplies were rapidly running out, meaning that repairs were increasingly becoming difficult, ammunition scarce and medical supplies near non-existent. The DEST teams had also taken heavy casualties, leaving them with 5 effectives and 8 walking wounded.[28]
Still operating under the assumption that she was facing a multi-Galaxy force, discussions were held on 29 March on what options they had. Calling in their DropShips from the continent Abysmal and evacuating the planet was considered, but rejected as too risky given the forces they thought they were up against; the risk of the Jaguars simply charging the LZ as they tried to load up was considered too high. Naval fire support was considered with the Invisible Truth and Fire Fang inbound, but the trained naval spotter teams qualified to precisely call in such strikes had been lost during the chaos in Lootera and the possibility of bringing fire down on themselves was considered unacceptably high short of the most desperate situations. Communications interceptions also confirmed that the Jaguars had managed to get their secondary C3 facility in Lootera operational and that the ilKhan was using it to oversee the campaign. Secretly, General Winston called upon her team of nekakami to 'deal' with the situation, though under no circumstances was the ilKhan to be assassinated.[28]
In the end the decision was made to fall back further into the mountains, to find a secure location and bring in 4th Drakøns and Kingston's Legionnaires to support the northern group, while the Lyran Guards would be deployed to reinforce the southern army. The WarShips would be called in to provided limited saturated bombardment if needed, though whether they could arrive in time to provide any support was doubted.[28] However before any further action could be taken, the Smoke Jaguars attacked again around mid-day. In a pattern that would soon become depressing familiar, the Jaguars used their far superior knowledge of the local terrain to appear almost without warning, hitting the camp of the 71st Light Horse even as Mechwarriors struggled to power up their Mechs. In a raging thunderstorm, the Jaguars pressed in, forcing the Horsemen to give ground. The Eridani artillery fired the last of their smoke rounds in the hope of covering a withdraw, but the rain rendered the smokescreens ineffective. The Light Horse retreated and much of the units' artillery, baggage train and wounded fell into Smoke Jaguar hands before the SLDF rallied and threw back the Clan attack. Both sides lost twenty 'Mechs in the fight, among those Colonel Sandra Barclay's, commander of the 71st, who did manage to eject and make her way to the rear.[39][35]
Nekakami attack
In Lootera, the ilKhan found himself called by both Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta and his saKhan, asking for additional troops to finish off the enemy, while sensors reported a group of DropShips emerging from hiding from the continent Abysmal were en route to the enemy's locations. Angrily pointing out that he had no more troops to give them, he ordered them to attack regardless and either win or die, while he would leave for Strata Mechty once more to try and seek aid with his firsthand testimony of the battle. At the same time, the four nekakami had silently entered the building, eliminating guards and other personnel in their way. Having been cautious in the previous attempt per the general's orders, this time they would not use half measures: each carried ten one-kilogram blocks of Pentaglycerine charges and planted them at key structural weak points to completely demolish the building. Their task completed and timer set for five minutes, the quartet started to leave, but through sheer luck stumbled onto Lincoln Osis and his four bodyguards emerging from the main elevator. A volley of poisoned shuriken eliminated the ilKhan's bodyguards in moments, but Kasugai stopped Rumiko Fox from killing the ilKhan. General Winston had given strict instructions that while killing the ilKhan in battle was one thing, assassination was utterly off-limits. Happily obeying his orders in full, the Spirit Cat challenged Osis to a Trial of Grievance over his actions against the Draconis Combine. Mocking Kasugai initially at the very idea of meeting an assassin in a Circle of Equals, several sneered insults naming him a coward rapidly changed the Elemental's mind. Sending his team out, Kasugai ordered Honda Tan to pass the ilKhan his shinobigatana and drew his own. The two began their duel as the timers on the charges steadily counted down.[35]
Although trained in the use of swords and perhaps one of the greatest Elementals to have ever come out of the Clan breeding program, Kasugai was a Spirit Cat and a master of swordplay. Patiently he waited for the ilKhan to make a mistake and when he overextend, Kasugai struck, slicing brutally into the other's leg, cutting through the femur and nearly severing it completely. With the ilKhan collapsing to the floor in agony and dropping his sword, Kasugai closed in for the kill, but made a fatal mistake in underestimating a Jaguar trapped by a hunter. Raising his sword for a final decapitating strike, the ilKhan twisted away at the last second, seizing his dropped sword and stabbing it straight through the Spirit Cat's chest, twisting it to cut into Kasugai's heart and killing him.[35]
Bleeding out on the floor, the ilKhan was confronted with the very real possibility that this would be his end, along with the end of his Clan, but through pure luck an Elemental security patrol stumbled onto the scene. Hurriedly, they evacuated to rush him to a hospital, leaving the building only moments before the charges went off.[35] Galaxy Commander Russou Howell, who had also been in the building, was last seen by witnesses also leaving it just before it exploded.[40] The ilKhan himself would soon be evacuated onto the Streaking Mist, which would make the jump to Strana Mechty on 30 March.[34]
Fight to the end
Pushed back once again, the northern army group retreated yet deeper into the mountains, traveling along narrow mountain routes as they sought a location to bring in their final reinforcements. Unfortunately the SLDF, while having accurate maps of the main areas of operation, was less knowledgeable of the surrounding wilderness of Huntress. This forced them to rely on preliminary maps created by earlier orbital imagine which, while better than civilian-quality map, were not as precise as needed. Thus on 29 March the army was stymied when they came upon a deep chasm unawares, spanned by a wood-and-steel truss-type bridge of dubious quality. After some inspection the Eridani engineers determined that it could hold the weight of their tanks crossing one at a time, but that the heavier 'Mechs might be too much. General Winston ordered all jump-capable 'Mechs to cross to the other side and provide overwatch, while the rest of the 'Mechs formed a defensive perimeter on their side as the rest of the army crossed. Slowly but surely they did, first the wounded and support personnel, followed by the infantry and combat vehicles, and lastly the 'Mechs, with the heaviest just managing to cross without issue. The engineers used the last of their demolition charges to rig the bridge to blow up if a crossing 'Mech was detected by the seismic and trip sensors. The distant sound of the explosives going off confirmed the success of the trap, though the SLDF would soon realize the Jaguars knew of an alternate way to get across.[41]
The SLDF regrouped and set up a new bivouac at a shallow arc of the mountain road. Of their starting strength, the Eridani Light Horse had been reduced to just sixty 'Mechs; the Com Guards had thirty-one 'Mechs still operational, but given the lack of ammunition only nineteen were considered fit for combat; and the St. Ives Lancers had been reduced to two Lances.[41] Major Ryan, somewhat frustrated at being kept out of the fighting while the other units of the Task Force fought for their lives, proposed that he set up an observation post five kilometers out from the main SLDF's location to keep an eye on their back trail while they tried to get some rest and repair. Taking with them a pair of Man-portable TAG designators, the five commandos would be in a position to spot for the half a dozen remaining units equipped with Arrow-IV missiles should the Jaguars show up. Everyone being aware that the DEST team would not survive if the Jaguars detected them and charged, Winston gave a green light reluctantly. Later that day, a reconnaissance star of OmniMechs indeed appeared in the mountain pass they were watching. Ordered to let them go without revealing his position, Ryan and his men waited patiently until half an hour later, when two Trianies of 'Mechs with many Elementals in support arrived and the commandos went into action.[42]
Three Clan Mechs were destroyed by the guided missile attack and a fourth heavily damaged. Unfortunately the Clanners quickly located the hidden DEST team and engaged. Major Ryan personally made an anti-'Mech attack on a fifth 'Mech, blowing off the leg of the Timber Wolf with a demolition charge, but in exchange the DEST team was destroyed. Severely wounded with a broken leg, the advancing Smoke Jaguars ignored him as he transmitted his last report to General Winston.[42] Although General Winston feared they'd been wiped out, Major Ryan and one other survivor would manage to break contact and eventually rejoin the northern army the next day.[43]
The effective loss of a Star of 'Mechs did not dissuade the Jaguars. Three hours after the DEST team was overrun, 5th Recon reported Smoke Jaguar 'Mechs engaging their position half a kilometer from the main force before falling back. The Eridani 'Mechs and combat-ready Com Guards advanced ahead to engage the Jaguars away from their bivouac, while the rest remained behind to guard the baggage train. While they were hard-pressed by the attack, the SLDF noticed that curiously there were no Elementals among the attacking Jaguars.[41]
The answer to where they were would come shortly, when again using their superior knowledge of the local terrain, Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta led a smaller force along a hidden mountain pass to strike directly at the bivouac. The Galaxy Commander had noticed that Inner Sphere forces fought fiercely to protect their wounded and non-combatants. While in her mind, a warrior willing to sell his own blood in exchange for one who had neither breeding, nor skill, nor the inclination to fight was foolishness, she was perfectly willing to take advantage of it to deliver a shattering blown to her enemies' morale. Charging without warning into the rear area, her 'Mechs and Elementals quickly overwhelmed the Lancers and Com Guards who had been left behind.[44] Major Marcus Polling, commander of the 2nd St. Ives Lancers, was murdered in mid-air by an Elemental after having ejected from his 'Mech and parachuting towards the ground.[43] Hang Mehta ordered destroyed any supplies and equipment, such as the Eridani Mobile HQ which could not be carried off, and any prisoners who would not be useful as bondsmen executed. Their task done, the raiding force left and the main Clan force broke off its diversionary attack.[44]
The Inner Sphere forces returned to a horrific scene that plunged their morale to a new low. Their combat losses had also been grim: the Eridani had just thirty 'Mechs left, and with Amiss missing and Sandra Barclay disabled with a sprained back, Colonel Antonescu was the last regimental commander still standing. This paled in comparison to the St. Ives Lancers, who were now reduced to a single, battered Victor and a handful of dismounted-turned-infantry MechWarriors. Nevertheless they continued their retreat, traveling for sixteen hours until finally, on 30 March, they came through a narrow mountain pass onto a flat plateau where they could rest. By this point the northern force had nearly traveled the length and breadth of the Jaguar's Fangs: a few score kilometers south lay the Liberation Sea, around which Ariana Winston hoped to skirt and so escape into the Shakiri Jungle, where it would be harder for the Jaguars to find them.[43]
Luckily the plateau provided enough landing space for the 11th Lyran Guards to arrive, brining additional forces and fresh suppliers with their DropShips. Nowhere near enough to supply the northern army at full strength, they were enough for the sadly depleted army to begin reloading and repairing, as well as provide medical relief for the wounded, firming up improving morale. The 4th Drakøns and Kingston's Legionaries meanwhile had succeeded in landing on the edge of the Dhuan Swamp and linking up with General Redburn.[43]
The sense of relief did not last however. Finally making radio contact with Commodore Beresick, General Winston was given the bleakest news yet. The Invisible Truth had detected at least twenty jump signatures at the system's zenith point, indicating a major fleet had just arrived. Unable to raise any of the Serpent warships on station (who had been given strict orders to jump out and join their JumpShips in deep space should an overwhelming enemy force arrive), Beresick prepared to intercept the inbound reinforcements in orbit, in the opening act of what was anticipated to be Serpents last stand. Almost at the same time, the Smoke Jaguars launched a final attack against the northern army.[43]
The end of a Clan
| “ | Colonel, this is Beresick. The inbounds are Task Force Bulldog. I am in contact with Prince Victor Steiner-Davion and the Precentor Martial. They said to tell you, 'Well done and prepare to stand down.' They'll take over from here | ” |
| — Commodore Beresick | ||
The northern army marched out to face the Smoke Jaguars in a narrow defile of the mountain pass. For once, the terrain did not allow the Jaguars to simply outflank the defenders, resulting in something of a stalemate as both sides waged back and forth through the pass that only allowed a few units at a time to engage. Fanatically, almost suicidal, the Jaguars pressed in and General Winston, seeing her men dying, suddenly stepped forward into the pass to personally to challenge a Summoner belonging to the Jaguar's Den. The two traded devastating fire until a backhand by the enraged Clan MechWarrior sent General Winston and her 'Mech falling to the ground. With her foe pointing their PPC directly at her cockpit, General Ariana Winston was surprised at how calm she felt as the Summoner fired its weapon, killing her instantly.[34]
She was avenged at once by Colonel Charles Antonescu, who in a fit of raged destroyed the Summoner and reduced it to burning scrap. Taking control of himself once more, Antonescu announced the general's death over the radio and assumed command of the northern group. Moments later, the unbelievable news through from Commodore Beresick that the new fleet was not a Clan reinforcement fleet. It was, in fact, a unit of Task Force Bulldog who had chased the Clan from the Inner Sphere, up the Exodus Road and now to the Huntress system. The fresh SLDF ground forces would arrive in ten days to reinforce the beleaguered Task Force Serpent. Colonel Antonescu marveled at the timing of this announcement, as though straight from an adventure holovid...though of course, he noted, this was no story, and the cavalry had not arrived in time to save Ariana Winston.[34]
When the fleet arrived ten days later, the battle for Huntress was finally ended. Confronted by fresh troops, most Smoke Jaguars refused to surrender and fought on until death, inflicting only light casualties on the enemy.[34] In one of these actions, the 10th Lyran Guards saved the Northwind Highlanders by performing a combat drop, with Archer Christifori among those who came to the Highlander's rescue.[45] Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta chose to commit bondsref rather than be taken alive, a choice many other senior officers also picked, though once again no trace could be found of Russou Howell. As for ilKhan Lincoln Osis, the SLDF learned from prisoner interrogations about the nekakami attack and his escape aboard the Streaking Mist, which left the system mere hours before Task Force Bulldog's arrival. Of the surviving Spirit Cats none of them reported in to General Redburn, who assumed overall command of Task Force Serpent.[34]
On 9 April, General Redburn was greeted by Victor Steiner-Davion, Anastasius Focht and Hohiro Kurita in the ruins of Lootera, where he informed Victor as to the nature of his friend Morgan's assassination. They were shortly joined by the other surviving regimental commander, with Victor thanking them each for the tremendous sacrifice they had endured.[34]
That same day, Star Colonel Paul Moon, captured in the initial counter invasion, woke from his coma to find his Clan dead. Informing him of this fact was no less a person than Trent, who told the Star Colonel that he had been the one to give the Exodus Road to the Inner Sphere and made all of this possible, and that he had done it in part because of the single-minded persecution Moon had inflicted upon him while under his command. Denying him Bondsref, Trent left Moon to live with his shame as he would have to live with his own.[46]
Participating Units
Star League Defense Force
Task Force Serpent was one of the largest military operations conducted by the Inner Sphere since the fall of the original Star League. In total, it consisted of 55,000 personnel; over a thousand BattleMechs, Aerospace Fighters and Combat Vehicles; ninety-eight DropShips and twenty-seven JumpShips and WarShips.[47][48]
Ground units
- Eridani Light Horse
- Twenty-first Striker Regiment (reinforced regiment)
- Seventy-first Light Horse Regiment (reinforced regiment)
- 151st Light Horse Regiment (reinforced regiment)
- Northwind Highlanders
- MacLeod's Regiment (reinforced regiment)
- First Gurkhas (battalion)
- Royal Black Watch (company)
- First Kathil Uhlans (reinforced regiment)
- Second St. Ives Lancers (reinforced battalion)
- Kingston's Legionnaires (regiment)
- Knights of the Inner Sphere (reinforced regiment)
- Eleventh Lyran Guards (reinforced regiment)
- ComGuard Second Division (regiment)
- Fourth Drakøns (reinforced battalion)
Special operations forces
- DEST - Teams Four, Five and Six; ten operatives each; Kage Battle Armor
- MI6 - two teams of ten operatives each; Infiltrator Mk. II battle armor
- ROM - one agent
- Nekakami - four operatives
Fleet
- ISS Invisible Truth - ComStar, Cameron-class battlecruiser[48]
- ISS Ranger - ComStar, Lola III-class destroyer[48]
- ISS Emerald - ComStar, Essex-class destroyer[48]
- ISS Starlight - ComStar, Essex-class destroyer[48]
- DCS Haruna - Draconis Combine, Kyushu-class frigate[48]
- FCS Antrim - Federated Commonwealth, Fox-class corvette[48]
- FCS Rostock - Federated Commonwealth, Fox-class corvette[48]
- CGBS Fire Fang - Clan Ghost Bear, Whirlwind-class destroyer (captured at Battle of Trafalgar)[49]
- Various JumpShips and DropShips[50]
Clan Smoke Jaguar
Huntress Garrison forces
- Iron Guard Galaxy
- Galaxy Command Trinary
- 33rd Assault Cluster
- 12th Solahma Cluster
- 77th Solahma Cluster
- Watchmen Galaxy
- Galaxy Command Trinary
- 48th Battle Cluster
- 63rd Solahma Cluster
- 44th Solahma Cluster
- Fighter Trinary
- Huntress Security Fleet
- Sovetskii Soyuz-class heavy cruiser
- Two Vincent Mk. 42-class corvettes
Smoke Jaguar reinforcements
- Inner Sphere Survivors
- Khan's Reinforcements
- Khan Osis Bodyguard - Nova
- Dire Wolf, Warhawk, Ebon Jaguar, Night Gyr, Stormcrow, 10 Elementals
- The Jaguar's Den
- Shroud Keshik
- The Jaguar's Heart
- CSJ [Mist] - Black Lion-class battlecruiser
- Khan Osis Bodyguard - Nova
References
- ↑ Flashpoint, ch. 1
- ↑ Sword and Fire, ch. 12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Sword and Fire, ch. 11
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sword and Fire, ch. 14
- ↑ Sword and Fire, ch. 15
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sword and Fire, ch. 16
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Sword and Fire, ch. 17
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Twilight of the Clans, p. 42
- ↑ Twilight of the Clans, p. 22
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sword and Fire, ch. 24
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Sword and Fire, ch. 22
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Sword and Fire, ch. 20
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Twilight of the Clans, p. 26
- ↑ Twilight of the Clans, p. 44
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Sword and Fire, ch. 19
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Twilight of the Clans, p. 25
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sword and Fire, ch. 18
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sword and Fire, ch. 21
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Sword and Fire, ch. 23
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Shadows of War, ch. 2
- ↑ Shadows of War, Ch 3
- ↑ Twilight of the Clans, p. 12
- ↑ Shadows of War, ch. 1
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 Shadows of War, ch. 10
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Shadows of War, ch. 5
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 Shadows of War, Ch. 6
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Shadows of War, ch. 8
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Shadows of War, ch. 17
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 Shadows of War, ch. 16
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Shadows of War, ch. 9
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 31.5 Shadows of War, ch. 12
- ↑ Shadows of War, ch. 13
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Shadows of War, ch. 15
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 34.5 34.6 Shadows of War, ch. 24
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 Shadows of War, ch. 19
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Shadows of War, ch. 14
- ↑ Flashpoint, p.??[citation needed]
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Shadows of War, ch. 11
- ↑ Shadows of War, ch. 18
- ↑ Twilight of the Clans (sourcebook), p. 16
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Shadows of War, ch. 21
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Shadows of War, ch. 20
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 Shadows of War, ch. 23
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Shadows of War, ch. 22
- ↑ Measure of a hero' p. 4-7
- ↑ Shadows of War, Epilogue
- ↑ The Hunters, ch. 14
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 48.4 48.5 48.6 48.7 Twilight of the Clans, p. 8, "Task Force Serpent Composition"
- ↑ The Hunters, ch. 28
- ↑ The Hunters, ch. 12
Bibliography
- Shadows of War (novel)
- Sword and Fire (novel)
- Twilight of the Clans (scenario pack)