First Combine-Dominion War

The Combine-Ghost Bear War was a conflict between the Draconis Combine and the Ghost Bear Dominion. Occurring in the midst of the FedCom Civil War, the conflict also revealed the continued manipulations of the Kokuryu-kai in the Combine.

Overview

In 3062 as the conflict between the Lyran Alliance and the Davion half of Federated Commonwealth slid toward open warfare, the Kokuryu-kai convinced the four Alshain Avengers regiments, the remains of the pre-Clan Invasion Alshain Regulars, to launch an attack to recapture Alshain, the former Alshain Military District capital, to force the DCMS as a whole to finally recapture the Combine worlds lost to the Ghost Bears.

What they did not know was that Alshain had become the heavily defended capital of Clan Ghost Bear's Ghost Bear Dominion, having relocated almost all of its assets to its Inner Sphere Occupation Zone. Induced by a vision, Clan Nova Cat destroyed one of the Avenger regiments before it could travel to Alshain, but unbowed the three surviving Alshain Avengers launched their suicidal assault, losing half a regiment fighting their way from orbit to the Ghost Bear's defending WarShips, before effectively being obliterated on the surface. As the Avenger survivors fled into the wilderness to launch a desperate guerrilla war, the Ghost Bear Touman launched a retaliatory invasion of the Combine, striking across the entire border between the two powers, including territory held by the Nova Cats.

Initially the invasion was incredibly successful, in part due to the fact that Coordinator Theodore Kurita was in the process of relocating his Ghost Regiments to the Federated Commonwealth border to protect his nation from any spill-over from the looming FedCom Civil War. He was forced to bring the Ghosts back to the Ghost Bear border, only to have the Draconis March launch an invasion of their own. This invasion was also successful and captured important worlds such as Al Na'ir, Marduk, Proserpina, and Ashio. Meanwhile the Ghost Bears suffered reversals of their own. While Combine lost worlds to the Ghost Bears, the DCMS's valiant efforts and counter-attacks made each victory costly and at the suggestion of Vlad Ward of Clan Wolf, Clan Hell's Horses then struck at the Ghost Bear's weakened flank.

With both sides now looking for a way to honorably extricate themselves from the conflict, Theodore offered up the world of Courchevel for a Trial in 3063. Both sides agreed to give up their conquered worlds, and the winner of the Courchevel Trial would keep the world. The Ghost Bears won the Trial, but the real prize was the cease fire that followed.

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Update
• Test of Vengeance