Editing Operation ELBOW JOINT

{{Update Needed|[[Interstellar Operations]]}}
{{InfoBoxConflict
| conflict = Operation ELBOW JOINT
| partof = [[First Succession War]]
| image = 
| caption = 
| date = 7 March [[2785]]
| enddate = March 2785
| place = [[Bolan Thumb]]
| planet = [[Bolan]]
| faction1 = (Attacker)<br/>[[Lyran Commonwealth]]
| faction2 = (Defender)<br/>[[Free Worlds League]]
| commander1 = [[Richart Johonson]]
| commander2 = [[Salam Tutt]]
| forces1= [[11th Arcturan Guards]], [[14th Arcturan Guards]], [[Tenth Skye Rangers]], seven WarShips
| forces2= [[Sixth Bolan Defenders]] [[Tenth Bolan Defenders]], four WarShips
| result = Bolan recaptured by LCAF
| environment = 
| conditions = 
}}
'''Operation ELBOW JOINT''' was the first true military campaign of the First Succession War. The [[Lyran Commonwealth]], worried that the [[Bolan Thumb]] would be used to stage strikes into their territory now that the [[Star League]] had collapsed, chose to capture [[Bolan]] before that could happen. Its escalation from conventional campaign to nuclear exchange set the tone for the war to come.

==Background==
The legitimacy of the campaign is still a point of contention between Lyrans and Leaguers centuries later. The LCAF High Command classified Operation ELBOW JOINT as a preemptive strike, claiming that an attack by the [[FWLM]] was imminent. Marik historians dispute this, saying that the League was only intent on taking worlds in the former [[Terran Hegemony]]. One thing is universally agreed upon, though: in the wake of the Star League's dissolution, military tensions were high and every realm scrambled to prepare for attacks they were sure would come. For the Steiner-Marik border, that spark came on 7 March 2785.<ref name=FSW16>''First Succession War'', pp. 16–17</ref>

==Approach==
The conflict began not with a shot, but with the arrival of a [[JumpShip]]. The ''Lucian Bell'', an independent merchant ship, jumped into the Bolan system carrying a single ''[[Mule]]'' [[DropShip]]. The ship began the usual routine of going through customs at the arrival when both the ''Lucian Bell'' and its DropShip began scrambling Lyran fighters, while the ''Mule'' began a hard burn planetside while blanketing the area with heavy ECM. Swiftly dispatching the customs craft, Lyran marines then seized the customs station. The LCAF fighters attempted to destroy every non-Lyran craft in the area to keep their approach secret, but one patrol shuttle slipped away. By the time the message reached the planet's defenders, though, it was too late. A ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealth]]'' light cruiser, the [[Furillo_(Individual_Commonwealth-class_WarShip)|LCS ''Furillo'']], had jumped in at the system's zenith jump point, escorting a full regiment of LCAF troops. At roughly the same time, two more ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealths]]'' and four ''[[Mako]]'' corvettes jumped in at a pirate point near the planet, and with them the task force's remaining ground units.<ref name=FSW17>''First Succession War'', pp. 17–18</ref>

The League fleet consisted of three ''[[League (WarShip class)|League]]''-class destroyers, the [[Talwar|FWLS ''Talwar'']], [[Turk (League)|FWLS ''Turk'']] and [[Tyberium|FWLS ''Tyberium'']] and an ''[[Aegis]]'' cruiser, the [[Manaslu|FWLS ''Manaslu'']], which raced out to meet the Lyran forces incoming from the pirate point. There they engaged four Lyran ''[[Mako]]''-class corvettes, the [[Aurelius|LCS ''Aurelius'']], [[Nerva|LCS ''Nerva'']], [[Vespasian (Individual Mako-class WarShip)|LCS ''Vespasian'']] and [[Vitellius|LCS ''Vitellius'']], and two of the ''Furillo''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sister ships, the ''[[LCS Caledonia|Caledonia]]'' and ''[[LCS Donegal|Donegal]]''. While the LCAF fleet had the advantage of numbers, they were also eager to prove themselves in the Commonwealth's first major campaign in centuries, which the Marik forces exploited. The speedier ''Mako''s and DropShips spread themselves too far from their heavier fleetmates, allowing the Marik destroyers to scatter the incoming ships. ''Nerva'' and ''Vespasian'' took enough damage to be pushed back to meet the incoming cruisers and transport ships.<ref name=FSW18>''First Succession War'', pp. 18–19</ref>

The ''Manaslu'' threw itself at the incoming LCAF transports, desperate to stop them from making planetfall, while the heavily damaged ''Tyberium'' attempted to give it cover with a suicide run at the ''Donegal''. Meanwhile, the other two ''League''s were kept at bay by the remaining pair of ''Mako''s. The desperate gamble by the ''Manaslu'' paid off, crippling the ''Caledonia''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s maneuvering drive and port fire control. The light cruiser began its retreat rather than be pulled into Bolan's gravity well, but gave its Marik foe a parting gift of a naval laser broadside punctuated by a pair of nuclear-tipped [[Barracuda]] missiles. The attack tore open ''Manaslu'', destroying its sensors, command centers and maneuvering drive, sending its crew running to the escape pods. ''Tyberium''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s attack against the ''Donegal'' did not go as successfully, with the Lyran cruiser evading the attack and crippling the League ship's engines as a response. The destroyer was fighting well within Bolan's gravity well and broke up only minutes later. Meanwhile ''Talwar'' and ''Turk'' had dispatched ''Aurelius'' and ''Vitelius'', but detected the ''Furillo'' burning in from the zenith point. Both ships, battered from prior engagements, pulled back rather than face the newcomer. With orbital superiority achieved, Lyran forces began planetfall.<ref name=FSW18>''First Succession War'', pp. 18–19</ref>

==Landing==
Lyran forces, under the command of [[Leutnant-General]] [[Baron von Eilenburg|Baron]] [[Richart Johonson]], made landfall on 14 March, after a week of pitched battle in space. Waiting to meet them were two regiments of [[Bolan Defenders]], under the command of [[Colonel]] [[Salam Tutt]]. Both League regiments were scattered across the planet engaging in war games when the Commonwealth task force jumped in. and Tutt immediately met with his fellow regimental commander, Colonel Henri Bakichek, to plan their response. They requested emergency reinforcements from nearby FWLM forces and dug the bulk of their forces into defend the planetary capital of Mumbai and the nearby port city of Quetta. Other assets were dispersed around the planet in company-sized formations, and two battalions were left to defend the Overwatch, a heavily reinforced complex that served as the planet's military headquarters and boasted significant surface-to-space weaponry. The Overwatch was also home to a major stockpile of war matériel, as the LIC's reports that [[Kenyon Marik]] planned to use the system as a springboard for invasion were correct, but the plans had been delayed for more inviting worlds in the Hegemony. As a result, the base was not only a key fortification, but an inviting target for the Lyrans to claim.<ref name=FSW17>''First Succession War'', pp. 17–18</ref>

Johonson's first move was to seize Peshwar, a city on the Kashmir continent near the city of Calcutta, where a battalion of the [[Tenth Bolan Defenders]] were dug-in. The [[11th Arcturan Guards|11th]] and [[14th Arcturan Guards]] easily swept aside the defenses of Peshwar and began fortifying their beachhead. Though he was inexperienced, Johonson was well aware of the Defenders' reputation for fanatic defense of their worlds and opted to rapid strikes against concentrated targets. The Arcturans divided up their regiments and began striking at Marik troops in both Quetta and Calcutta, while aerial assets swept the surrounding areas for bombing targets. Meanwhile, his forces attempted to stay on the move rather than provide inviting targets for artillery or orbital bombardments.

The final Lyran regiment, the [[Tenth Skye Rangers]], joined the fighting on 16 March when they dropped near Quetta. Their escort, the ''Furillo'', announced their landfall with an orbital strike against the local spaceport. Though the facility was civilian in origin, it was being used by the FWLM as a staging point for DropShips and fighters. The intermingling of military and civilian targets became increasingly commonplace as the fighting went on. By the time the Rangers had dropped, the Marik fortifications were in disarray as nearby fuel and munitions stockpiles had detonated and set the base ablaze, which the Rangers took full advantage of. They were soon joined by the 11th Arcturan, who had boarded their DropShips before the Rangers' landing and made a suborbital flight to the hills between Quetta and Calcutta. The Guards took control of Calcutta's southern suburbs, while the Bolan Defenders pulled further back into the city in an unsuccessful attempt to draw the LCAF into one of their many traps. The Lyran forces began a sporadic artillery barrage in an attempt to dislodge the Defenders, relocating their batteries every few salvos to avoid counterbattery fire. The next day, the 14th Arcturan moved to attack Calcutta. The swift unit, with heavy air and artillery support, skirted the city until they had effectively surrounded it, despite artillery barrages and harassing attacks.

While the two remaining Lyran cruisers played hide-and-seek with the League destroyers, the Overwatch's orbital weapons were now enough to force them to keep their distance from the world. Even still, the Bolan Defenders largely bunkered down in cities to deny the Lyran ships any inviting targets. The fighting seemed to be settling into a stalemate, with the LCAF unable to dislodge the FWLM forces, who in turn could not break out of their encirclement. Colonel Tutt placed his hopes on the arrival of reinforcements. Instead, the fighting took on another level of intensity.<ref name=FSW19>''First Succession War'', pp. 19–20</ref>

==Escalation==
Johonson's plan took its next step on 18 March. Combining his three regiments' aerospace assets into one force, he loaded them with incendiary, cluster and high-explosive munitions and sent them on a bombing run against Calcutta. The bombing run and its accompanying artillery barrage destroyed the assault battalion of Bolan Defenders who had entrenched in the city, but in doing so, they had levelled the entire city and killed over 20,000 civilians. Colonel Tutt, enraged by the action, ordered the ''Talwar'' to make an orbital strike on the 11th Arcturans' DropShips. While the destroyer moved into attack position. Johonson made another call for the Bolan Defenders to stand down, assuring him that his forces possessed both the will and means to destroy every other fortified position "with similar savagery." Instead, Tulwar ordered his men to make a last stand on Bolan, reciting the brigade's motto: ''Ad respirato ultimas'', or "To the last breath." Tutt did, however, order the combatants at the Overwatch to evacuate the planet.

Tutt ordered his surviving troops to leave their fortifications and engage the Lyran besiegers directly, pinning them in place while he armed the strategic nuclear weapons in the Overwatch. When the first warheads impacted Mumbai, Johonson realized Tutt's plan. Ordering his units to disengage and retreat, Johonson brought his cruisers into orbit and ordered them to arm their own nuclear warheads. Rather than allow the obliteration of his surviving forces, he had the valuable Overwatch obliterated from orbit.<ref name=FSW20>''First Succession War'', p. 20</ref>

==Butcher's Bill==
With the destruction of the Overwatch and the retreat of the few Bolan Defenders who were not destroyed in Tutt's scorched earth attack, the planet Bolan was again in Lyran hands. The cost, however, was enormous. Estimates of civilian casualties range from 3 to 8 million, and the major cities of Mumbai, Calcutta, Quetta and Peshawar were obliterated, as was the Overwatch and the continent of Sabari and its surrounding islands. Besides the Defenders who left the Overwatch, all FWLM forces on planet were destroyed. All FWLM naval assets were also lost, with the ''Turk'' and ''Tulwar'' destroyed as they tried to cover the last retreating Bolan Defenders. While the Lyran fleet only lost two ''Mako''s, the other two corvettes were badly damaged, as was the ''Caledonia''. The Skye Rangers lost over two thirds of their number, while both Arcturan Guard regiments suffered casualties of roughly a third each.<ref name=FSW21>''First Succession War'', pp. 20–21</ref>

==Legacy==
Operation ELBOW JOINT was something of a microcosm for the First Succession War. Both sides began the campaign using conventional weapons and tactics, but when those were ineffective, or one side felt they had no alternative, they resorted to increasingly brutal tactics. Though the Lyrans managed to claim a world they'd coveted for centuries, the damage done by the campaign robbed it of much of its value, as the Marik forces resorted to scorched earth tactics rather than allow their enemy their prize. These patterns would repeat themselves throughout much of the next century.

Colonel Tutt was regarded as a hero by the Free Worlds League and held up as having sacrificed himself to hold off Lyran invasion. Leutnant-General Johonson, however, was met with a mixed reception. Though praised for victory and given a promotion, the way in which he secured it was seen as both clumsy and brutal. Though the campaign itself was regarded as a necessary evil, both to reclaim Commonwealth territory and keep Kenyon Marik from striking the Commonwealth's interior, Johonson would never command a major campaign and is regarded as a controversial figure in Lyran history.<ref name=FSW21>''First Succession War'', pp. 20–21</ref>

The planet had mostly recovered by 3067, but reminders of the campaign remain. Both the Sakété and Kashmir continents are still marred by large patches of radioactivity, while the Sabari continent, home of the Overwatch, remains entirely uninhabitable. The bitter memory of the Bolan Defenders scorching their world still colors the Bolan people's memory of their time under the League, often overriding even the Star League's golden age.<ref>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 76</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)|First Succession War]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''


[[Category:First Succession War Era Military Operations|ELBOW JOINT]]