18th Battle (Rasalhague Dominion)

Eighteenth Battle Cluster
Nickname Fire with Fire
Affiliation Rasalhague Dominion
Clan Ghost Bear (previous)
Parent Command Beta Galaxy


History[edit]

First Draconis Combine/Ghost Bear War[edit]

As a part of Rho Galaxy the Eighteenth Battle Cluster were 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. Rho Galaxy battled forces from Clan Nova Cat on both Caripare and Itabaiana,[1] fighting alongside forces from Tau Galaxy on the latter.[2][1]

Moving back into the Dominion as the Ghost Bears responded to the Clan Hell's Horses invasion prompted by Khan Vladimir Ward of Clan Wolf, elements of Rho were keen to see combat despite the Galaxy having taken a battering while fighting the Nova Cats. The warriors of the Eighteenth actively sought an opportunity for revenge against the Horses because of the Eighteenth's defeat on Niles in 3048[1] when Rho Galaxy fought the Hell's Horses' Alpha Galaxy for control of the Horses' main 'Mech production facility and took losses severe enough that the entire Galaxy was left out of Operation REVIVAL and consigned to remain in the Clan Homeworlds as the Ghost Bears' Homeworld defense force.[3]

The Eighteenth were rewarded with an opportunity to attack Engadin, only to discover when they arrived that the Hell's Horses forces had already fled. To compensate Rho for the perceived loss of honor the 283rd Battle Cluster was assigned to support the First Rasalhague Bears in the capture of Rasalhague from Clan Wolf, one part of the punishment meted out against Clan Wolf by the Ghost Bears in retaliation for Khan Ward's engineering of the Hell's Horses invasion.[1]

The Dark Age[edit]

As a part of rebuilding Beta Galaxy the Dominion assigned the Eighteenth Battle Cluster from Rho Galaxy into Beta; the Dominion also disbanded Delta Galaxy and assigned the 140th Striker Cluster to Beta. Both Clusters were assigned to worlds close to New Oslo, one of the Hell's Horses worlds and a menacing reminder that whilst Beta might have had problems maintaining an extended campaign at that point, it was more than capable of tearing through a defending force.[4]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[5][6]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 18th Battle (Clan Ghost Bear)
Commanding Officers of the 18th Battle (Rasalhague Dominion)
Star Colonel Dana Bekker 3061 - 3085[7][8][9]
Star Colonel Lynda 3145[10]

Tactics[edit]

The Cluster is specialized in defensive tactics because their long duty as garrison force. The mobility of the command surprise the enemy often and the medium 'Mechs are used for flanking maneuvers. Also not unknown to this unit are rear assaults, when possible. [7]

Composition History[edit]

3061[edit]

Eighteenth Battle Cluster (Veteran/Fanatical)[11]

CO: Star Colonel Dana Bekker [3]
Note: At this time the unit was stationed on Spittal.[11]

3067[edit]

Eighteenth Battle Cluster (Veteran/Fanatical)[8]

- At this point in time the Eighteenth was stationed on Engadin and was operating at seventy percent of full strength, with all bar ten percent of the Cluster using OmniMechs or equivalent technology.[8]

3079[edit]

Eighteenth Battle Cluster (Veteran/Fanatical)[12]

Note: At this point the Eighteenth was stationed on Sternwerde and were at one quarter of full strength, but sixty percent of the Cluster was using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[12]

3085[edit]

Eighteenth Battle Cluster (Veteran/Fanatical)[9]

- At this point the Eighteenth was stationed on Hermagor and had rebuilt to sixty percent of full strength, and more than two thirds were equipped with OmniMech or equivalent technology.[9]

3145[edit]

Eighteenth Battle Cluster (Regular/Reliable)[10]

- At this point the Eighteenth was stationed on Carse and were almost at full strength, but only a third of the Cluster was using OmniMech or equivalent technology.[12]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Field Manual: Updates, p. 61, "Rho Galaxy (Bear Essentials)"
  2. Field Manual: Updates, p. 61, "Tau Galaxy"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 91, "Rho Galaxy Profile"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Field Manual: 3085, p. 120, "Beta Galaxy"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 162, "Beta Galaxy"
  6. Field Manual: 3145, p. 156, "Epsilon Galaxy"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 92, "18th Battle Cluster Profile"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 77, "Rho Galaxy (Bear Essentials)"
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Field Manual: 3085, p. 127, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)"
  10. 10.0 10.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 172, "Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 163
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Field Report: Clans, p. 11, "Beta Galaxy"

Bibliography[edit]