Victor Coale
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Victor Coale | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Affiliation | House Coale |
| Profile | |
| Rank | Tai-sho |
| Profession | Noble |
Victor Coale was the Prefecture Commander of Kajikazawa Prefecture in 3054.[1]
History[edit]
Tai-sa Victor Coale commanded the Second Shin Legion in 3039.[2]
War of 3039[edit]
Wave One[edit]
Sadalbari was a target in the First Wave of the War of 3039 because it served as a link to Proserpina and could act as a base for possible DCMS reinforcement. At the time the world was defended by the Second Shin Legion under the command of Tai-sa Victor Coale along with numerous conventional forces. Field Marshal James Sandoval assigned the inexperienced 3rd FedCom RCT and the battle-proven 5th Davion Guards to take the planet, under the overall command of Marshal Vernon Cunningham. In the opening moves of a daring plan concocted by Marshal Cunningham, the invasion force made a 1 G burn in to the system and on 15 April launched aerospace fighters to destroy the planet's communication network, followed by direct strikes at the two large military bases at Origian and Xantal.[3]
In the battle for Xantal, two jump infantry regiments made a dangerous nighttime combat drop right into the military reservation, catching most of the garrison off-guard. Thousands of DCMS troopers were taken prisoner or cut down as the jump infantry swarmed over barracks and hangars. By midday the reservation was in Federated Suns hands, along with thousands of prisoners, nearly two hundred armored vehicles, and twenty-four 'Mechs.[3]
The battle to seize control of the Origian reservation was far more difficult however. The bulk of the invasion force landed in the plains outside the military complex, but their attention was split by attempting to also take the nearby Solus City, and Major General Thomas Davion delayed in launching the attack until all his units had disembarked. This gave the Combine units time to throw together a hasty defense, consisting of a battalion from the Shin legion and several combined-arms regiments, and throw back the first of General Davion's assaults. The second assault was similarly rebuffed when the defenders fell back to a secondary line and continued to resist into the night; by the next day this rearguard and the rest of the units at the Origian reservation had managed to withdraw.[3]
General Davion's familial connections, and the success of Major General Anya Tam in taking Solus City, was the only thing preventing the Marshal from sacking him immediately for allowing a total of nearly three DCMS regiments - including a regiment of heavy armor and a 'Mech battalion - to escape. The Combine force also had strong anti-aircraft capabilities, assault VTOLs and conventional fighters, which, in addition to several days of bad weather, nullified the Federated Suns' aerospace superiority. However they had nearly 800 km of terrain to cover before they could regroup at the next military base, and their stops at towns and villages along the way to pick up supplies and volunteers slowed down their head-start. Marshal Cunningham ordered General Davion to take the bulk of the invasion force, including a full regiment of Davion Guard and 3rd FedCom 'Mechs, and pursue the Kuritan forces while General Tam secured Solus City.[3]
As he had been cautious in the opening battle though, so was General Davion in his pursuit of the Combine forces: for a week he was content to probe and pressure their lines rather than launch a full assault. On 26 April Marshal Cunningham and his staff personally visited Davion's HQ on the Amber Plain for a meeting with the general and his regimental commanders. At that same moment Tai-sa Coale launched a flanking attack and dropped a battalion of infantry behind enemy lines, succeeding in overrunning the command post and capturing both Cunningham and Davion. Operations officer Major Jack Roberts, commanding the First Battalion of the 'Mech force, took command and ordered a general retreat.[3]
The capture of many command-level officers left General Tam as the senior-most officer on Sadalbari, and after receiving Major Roberts and his survivors she ordered him to attack the Kuritans on 27 April, although his orders were only to force their retreat. Brevetted to Leftenant Colonel, Roberts instead pushed hard against the Combine force, keeping close to the action himself along with a couple of fast 'Mech companies. When he saw a gap in the lines weakly held by a motorized infantry battalion he struck, pushing all the way to Coale's command post and capturing it; although Coale and his command staff escaped along with General Davion as a prisoner, Roberts was able to free Marshal Cunningham. The Combine force fled after losing nearly a third of its units that day, and for his actions Roberts was promoted to Colonel and awarded the Federated Suns Star.[3]
For ten more days Colonel Roberts pursued the Combine force, which managed to link up with the rest of the Shin Legion, survivors from Xantal, and three regiments of mixed DCMS and militia units. In the end though Tai-sa Coale could only withdraw in the face of Roberts' aggression. In early May he succeeded in reaching the Kotiate Range, blasted closed the mountain passes, and took shelter in the remains of a Castle Brian in Salas County. Protected behind the mountain range and with the heavy winter storm season upon them, the situation on Sadalbari settled into something of a stalemate: while he could not eliminate the remaining Combine forces, Marshal Cunningham was able to secure his control over the rest of the world. The 151st Light Horse Regiment would arrive in late June to take part in some cleanup operations and in preparation for the planned attack on Homam.[3]
He was promoted to Tai-sho of Kajikazawa Prefecture in 3054.[1]