14th Battle (Rasalhague Dominion)

Insignia of Beta Galaxy (CGB)
Fourteenth Battle Cluster
Nickname The Maulers[1]
Affiliation Rasalhague Dominion
Clan Ghost Bear (previous)
Parent Command Beta Galaxy


History[edit]

The Fourteenth Battle Cluster is the most elite cluster in Beta Galaxy; after the philosophical switch to Warden by Clan Ghost Bear many warriors in Beta Galaxy prefer not to talk about The Maulers due to their harsh attitudes and adherence to the Crusader philosophy.[2] The Fourteenth Battle Cluster took part in Operation Revival, the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere, during which they encountered several disreputable mercenary outfits in battle. Following their ambush by the Regal Death on Susquehanna, their commanding officer was responsible for pushing the Clan's Khans to declare all mercenaries dezgra. Ever since this Crusader unit has been on a mission to wipe out any mercenary company they come across with no pity or remorse, an extremist position which has made their loyalty to the Warden cause questionable.[3]

Operation Revival[edit]

The Fourteenth fought on the following worlds during the invasion of the Inner Sphere:

Wave Two[edit]

Wave Three[edit]

Wave Five[edit]

Tukayyid[edit]

Fought and decimated the 121st Division of the Com Guards on the march to Luk, but was forced to turn back.

Helped to hold Spanac against raids by the Ninety-first and Twelfth Divisions.

First Draconis Combine/Ghost Bear War[edit]

As a part of Beta Galaxy the Fourteenth was actively involved in the First Draconis Combine / Ghost Bear War, which began in 3062 with a suicidal attack by three regiments of the Alshain Avengers against Alshain. While the Twelfth Bear Chevaliers attacked Clan Nova Cat forces on Mualang, preventing those forces from coming to the assistance of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, the Fourteenth and the other elements of Beta Galaxy attacked both Dumaring and Najha.[4]

The Jihad[edit]

Pesht[edit]

Continuing to operate as a part of Beta Galaxy, the Fourteenth was involved in the Ghost Bear campaign against the Word of Blake during the Jihad; Beta's first target was Pesht,[5] which the Ghost Bears hit on the 15th of December 3074, the same day their forces also struck at Luthien. The Ghost Bear forces attacked the Blakist forces remorselessly, making no attempt to offer zellbrigen to their opponents on either world; the Ghost Bears also destroyed any DCMS units that attempted to intervene, and by the 20th of December had crushed their enemies on both worlds.[6][7]

Kaus Media and Ascella[edit]

Beta Galaxy then abandoned Pesht at the end of January 3075, as abruptly as they had arrived;[7][8] the Ghost Bears organized their forces to drive towards Terra in several waves, each named after the lead Galaxy in that wave. Beta Galaxy formed the heart of Beta wave, striking first at secondary worlds like Kaus Media and Ascella[5] on the 6th of October 3075.[9][10]

Rho[11] and Theta Galaxies[12] were assigned to support Beta Galaxy in Beta Wave, with Rho seizing Kaus Australis and joining the assault on Ascella;[11] the resulting battle the Fourteenth Battle Cluster take enough damage that it had to retreat, but Beta Galaxy pressed on.[5] Rho Galaxy was pushed into reserve on Ascella after the 297th Battle Cluster was nearly destroyed, leaving Beta Galaxy and one of the units personally affiliated to Devlin Stone, Stone's Lament, to clear the planet.[11] The losses on Ascella were such that Theta Galaxy was moved up from a garrison role to an active combat role within Beta Wave, only to see the Galaxy perform poorly when tasked with capturing Moore[12] in July 3076[13][14] and Pike IV[12] in September 3076.[13][14]

Dieron[edit]

Beta Galaxy won the right to join the attack on the Blakist forces at Dieron[5] in 3077[15] alongside Alpha,[16] Rho[11] and Omega Galaxies.[17] Dieron was a bloodbath for all the Ghost Bear Galaxies involved; Beta smashed through the Blakist blockade in the system and took over the city of Olivet,[15] but lost the 304th Assault Cluster in the battle fought in the Chiloe Pass and had to disband the Twelfth Bear Chevaliers after they were gutted by Blakist forces in the tunnels within Fortress Dieron.[5] Rho Galaxy suffered heavy enough combat losses that it had to be tasked with securing the outer areas rather than joining the Fortress Dieron assault, and the badly-damaged 297th Battle Cluster was destroyed during constant raids by Blakist forces.[11] Omega Galaxy took heavy enough damage that the surviving Clusters from the Galaxy were actually absorbed into Beta Galaxy for the remainder of the Jihad, although after Beta returned to the Dominion the Fifth Bear Guards and 357th Assault Cluster were detached from Beta once more to form the basis of a rebuilding Omega Galaxy.[17]

The Dark Age[edit]

The bloody swath that Beta cut through the Blakists during the Jihad earned them not just a passage in the Remembrance but also a grim reputation in the eyes of the Dominion's neighbors; the Dominion was more than happy to use that reputation to its advantage, and in the early years after the Jihad Beta acted as a threat to Clan Wolf. While Beta Galaxy was half the size of the Wolves Alpha Galaxy, Beta was positioned within two jumps of the Wolf capital on Tamar and served as a clear reminder that Dominion was always ready to tear straight into the heart of the Wolf Occupation Zone. Despite the relatively small size of Beta Galaxy it was able to draw on the production of factories on both Alshain and Satalice, and any lack of mass on Beta's part was compensated for using cutting edge and sheer mass, with the weight of the Clusters within Beta increasing as the Galaxy rebuilt.[18]

By the mid-thirty-second century Beta Galaxy had been deployed to shield the Skandia province of the Rasalhague Dominion from its location near the border of the Draconis Combine's Buckminster Prefecture. After the HPG blackout began Beta was the first front-line formation in the Dominion to begin receiving new equipment, including large quantities of battle armor produced on Mannedorf.[19]

In 3137 as Clan Wolf was abandoning their Occupation Zone Beta Galaxy was swiftly redeployed to capture a number of worlds that had been members of the former Free Rasalhague Republic. In a swift campaign the Fourteenth and Eighteenth Battle Clusters managed to seize Carse, Galuzzo, Jabuka and Quarell before the Eighteenth collided with the First Falcon Jaegers on La Grave. The light Clan Jade Falcon unit used hordes of light 'Mechs to outflank the Eighteenth, cutting their supply lines and initially refusing calls for hegira. The Eighteenth managed to avoid being wiped out when Star Colonel Lynda managed to win hegira through single combat, but after La Grave Beta Galaxy began training furiously for revenge against the Jade Falcons even while threats to the Dominion on all sides forced the Dominion Council to keep the Galaxy leashed.[19]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 14th Battle Cluster (Clan Ghost Bear)
Star Colonel Dane Jorgensson 3050[3]
Commanding Officers of the 14th Battle Cluster (Rasalhague Dominion)
Star Colonel Dane Jorgensson 3067[20]
Star Colonel Jurgen Hall 3085[21]
Star Colonel Emilio Hall 3145[22]

Tactics[edit]

As with other Beta Galaxy units the 14th Battle prefers to make cautious advances against the enemy, using flanking attacks with mechanized Elemental support.[3]

Unit insignia[edit]

  • The insignia of the 14th Battle Cluster shows a black bear roaring with blood-soaked claws over a blue star-shaped field.[23]

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

Partial

3052[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster

  • Trinary Command - Star Captain Kristie Tseng
    • Alpha Command Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Bravo Command Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Charlie Command Star (5 OmniMechs)
  • 96th Battle Trinary - Star Captain Welland Bazso
    • Alpha Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Bravo Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Charlie Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Tango Fighter Star (10 OmniFighters)
  • 23rd Battle Trinary - Star Captain Liam Snuka
    • Alpha Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Bravo Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
    • Charlie Battle Star (5 OmniMechs)
  • 76th Supernova - Star Captain Kenbarg DelVillar
    • Alpha Nova (5 OmniMechs, 25 Elementals)
    • Bravo Nova (5 OmniMechs, 25 Elementals)
    • Charlie Nova (5 OmniMechs, 25 Elementals)
  • Delta Fighter Trinary - Star Captain Sheryl Bourjon
    • Alpha Fighter Star (10 OmniFighters)
    • Bravo Fighter Star (10 OmniFighters)
    • Charlie Fighter Star (10 OmniFighters)

3058[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster

3061[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster (Elite/Questionable)[25]

CO: Star Colonel Dane Jorgensson [26]
  • 5 Trinaries
Note: At this time the unit was stationed on Eguilles.[25]

3067[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster (Elite/Questionable)[20]

- At this point in time the Fourteenth was stationed on Eguilles and was operating at eighty percent of full strength, with ninety percent of the Cluster using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[20]

3079[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster (Elite/Questionable)[27]

Note: At this point the Fourteenth was stationed on Stanzach and were at below one-third of full strength, but more than eighty percent of the Cluster was using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[27]

3085[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster (Elite/Questionable)[21]

- At this point the Fourteenth was stationed on Engadin and had rebuilt to almost two-thirds of full strength, with three-quarters of the Cluster using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[21]

3145[edit]

Fourteenth Battle Cluster (Veteran/Reliable)[22]

- At this point the Fourteenth was stationed on Quarell and were at full strength, slightly less than half the Cluster was using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[27]

Notes[edit]

Rules[edit]

3062[edit]

  • Against mercenary opponents, the Maulers gain the Overrun Combat and Forcing the Initiative abilities, and cannot retreat regardless of honor levels used. However, they also suffer a –1 Initiative penalty.[28].

References[edit]

  1. Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 89
  2. Era Report: 3062, p. 60, "Fourteenth Battle Cluster (The Maulers)"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 89, "14th Battle Cluster Profile"
  4. Field Manual: Updates, p. 60-61, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Field Report: Clans, p. 9, "Beta Galaxy"
  6. Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 55, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 53, "The Jihad In Review"
  8. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 14, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  9. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 18, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  10. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 54, "The Jihad In Review"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Field Report: Clans, p. 9, "Rho Galaxy"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Field Report: Clans, p. 9, "Theta Galaxy"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 22, "Timeline of the Jihad"
  14. 14.0 14.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 56, "The Jihad In Review"
  15. 15.0 15.1 Jihad Turning Points: Dieron, p. 5, Beta Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)
  16. Field Report: Clans, p. 9, "Alpha Galaxy"
  17. 17.0 17.1 Field Report: Clans, p. 9, "Omega Galaxy"
  18. Field Manual: 3085, p. 120, "Beta Galaxy"
  19. 19.0 19.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 162, "Beta Galaxy"
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 77, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)"
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Field Manual: 3085, p. 127, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)"
  22. 22.0 22.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 172, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)"
  23. Field Manual: Warden Clans, p.89
  24. First Strike, p. 43 "Defender"
  25. 25.0 25.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 163
  26. Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 89
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Field Report: Clans, p. 11, "Beta Galaxy"
  28. Era Report: 3062, p. 144

Bibliography[edit]