Battle of New Syrtis (3147)
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| Battle of New Syrtis (3147) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Operation CERBERUS | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Factions | |||||||
| (Attacker) Federated Suns |
(Defender) Capellan Confederation |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Julian Davion | Eliza Zhao | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||
| Normal | |||||||
The Battle of New Syrtis (3147), aka New Syrtis Liberation was a late Dark Age Era military operation undertaken by the Federated Sun forces against the defending Capellan defenders.[1]
Contents
Operation Brief[edit]
The military operation took place in New Syrtis.
Operation History[edit]
Factions & Known Units Involved in the Conflict[edit]
Federated Suns[edit]
- 1st Davion Guards
- First Davion Auxiliary
- Fifth Crucis Lancers
- Twelfth Vegan Rangers
- Fifty-ninth Brigade (Illician Lancers, mercenary)
- Tally's Talons (mercenary)
Capellan Confederation[edit]
Origins of the Conflict[edit]
The fall of New Syrtis into Capellan hands on 3145 had been a hard hit for the Federated Suns. The capital of the Capellan March was a key world an important administrative center, and the loss of it and its nearby worlds weakened the Suns seriously. The new First Prince of the Federated Suns, Julian Davion, while returning to the Suns space from lyran space, fought a series of engagements against the Capellan forces, inflicting them several defeats which culminated into an armistice between both states after his victory on Marlette, in 3146.[2]
However, that cannot last, and barely a year later, Julian broke the peace unilaterally, to launch a major operation with all the available forces: Operation Cerberus. Its initial targets were the worlds surrounding New Syrtis under capellan control, and the main target was New Syrtis itself: this was attacked by Task Force Hydra, which he led personally. After taking the planets Hobson and Taygeta, effectively isolating New Syrtis, Hydra advanced to their final destination.[3]
Invasion[edit]
On 4 December 3147, Task Force Styx arrived at two pirate jump points on New Syrtis and landed on the Mawreddog continent, though these landings were fiercely contested. The Fifth Crucis led Styx's vanguard towards the planetary capital, Saso. The mercenary unit Tally's Talons made a combat drop to land first, suffering losses in the process.[4]
A day later, after reaching the capital, the task force split to capture their three strategic targets: the First Davion and mercenary Fortune Charlie led to the Cave, the March's capital subterranean command center. The Fifth Crucis and First Davion Auxiliary were to secure the Hasek's ducal mansion, which was also the secondary command center and a symbolic target. The Fifty-ninth Striker and Second Auxiliary were to secure the city's spaceport, the March's capital government building and administrative offices. The Fifth Lancers reached easily the Hasek estate, located near the planet's equatorial desert, but after it was evident the Capellans cannot hold the place, Dynasty Guard's Sang-shao Elisa Zhao, outnumbered, ordered her forces to pull back, and, after his men evacuated the Capellan important personnages occupying the mansion, ordered his force to perform a fighting withdrawal and poured enough artillery upon the building to level it completely.[5]
Meanwhile, the Fifty-ninth Striker attempted to secure Saso Spaceport, but were pinned down by the First MAC, and the Mercs' attempts to break through their pickets ended in disaster, having to fight for every meter of ground. The Lancers asked for reinforcements, but Julian retained its reserves. The Twelfth Vegan Rangers also found problems in taking their objective, with Warrior House Hiritsu blocking their advance, and the arrival of the Dinasty Guard forced the mercenaries to retreat with serious losses.[6]
On the Cave, Julian led personally the assault. After ordering Fortune Charlie to cover the First Davion Guards' advance, holding the Fourth MAC and House Kamata's attacks, while he led the underground advance. The progress through the tunnels was slowed due to Capellan traps, but Fortune Charlie, led by Tally's Talons, soon reached the advancing Guards. The Talons' 'Mechs barely had any damage, and for a good reason: they were in league with the Capellans, and attempted to muder Julian. Only thanks to the change of sides of the Talons' CO, Malerie Faulkner, and the sacrifice of several Guards, the Prince avoided being killed. The Talons were ultimately annihilated, forcing the Fourth MAC to retreat.[7]
After the Cave fell, Capellan defenders lost their coordination means, and began giving ground, torching civilian structures to cover their retreat. The day 18, House Hiritsu was driven off the Statehouse, leaving all Saso in Federated Suns hands. By 21 December, Task Force Styx controlled all his objectives. With all capellan regiments weakened, the Dinasty Guard was defeated. At 25, Julian Davion declared New Syrtis liberated. The Capellan garrison's remnants continued launching raids and guerrilla attacks, untyil they retreated in late February.[8]
Aftermath[edit]
The victory proved very costly for the Federated Suns, both economically and military: The Suns' contracted mercenary units had suffered as many losses as the capellans, and the AFFS regiments had nearly 50 percent losses. Besides, New Syrtis' pacification wasn't an easy matter. The Capellans only needed a year to gather more forces and launching a devastating counterattack, Operation WHIRLWIND, attempting to reclaim New Syrtis again.[9]
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Shattered Sphere (sourcebook)
- A Splinter of Hope (novela)