3rd Pleione Protectorate Militia
Sarna News
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| 3rd Pleione Protectorate Militia | |
| Disbanded | 3078 |
| Affiliation | Word of Blake |
| Parent Command | Word of Blake Protectorate Militia |
The Third Pleione Protectorate Militia is one of the many militias raised by Word of Blake to defend the Word of Blake Protectorate. The unit was deployed in Pleione. As of 3075 it was one of the three units raised from this planet along the 1st Pleione Protectorate Militia and the 2nd Pleione Protectorate Militia.[1]
History[edit]
After the planet was conquered during the first two weeks of December 3069, the WoB built substantial defenses on Pleione and throughout the system, turning the world into one of the cornerstones of the "Maginot Line" defenses developed by Precentor Martial Cameron St. Jamais to defend Terra. Early warning systems were installed throughout the system to allow the various Pocket WarShip squadrons in the system to strike swiftly and precisely at any intruders, while Pleione's single continent was turned into a defensive bastion.[2]
Three Protectorate Militia units were built at that time.[1]
During the last week of July 3075 the CCAF launched a campaign against the Word of Blake Protectorate garrisons on Menkar, Pleione and Wei. The civilian population of the three worlds took tens of thousands of civilian casualties during the offensive, as the Capellan forces used nuclear weapons as a part of their attempt defeat the Blakists.[3][4] Having caught the Blakists by surprise bombarded and devastated fortifications, various industrial targets and a number of cities the CCAF failed to launch any landing operations, leaving Pleione still in the hands of the Blakists; the ruthlessness displayed by the CCAF in their attack led to a dramatic increase in recruitment for the Protectorate Militia forces on the planet, which had already numbered three divisions in strength before the attacks.[2]
The second attack by the CCAF was launched by the Capellans on the 2nd of May 3078 and saw Warrior House Ma-Tsu Kai virtually eradicated by Pocket WarShip attacks.[2][5][6] Less than half the Ma-Tsu Kai forces managed to make landfall on Pleione after the heavy damage taken during the planetary approach, and those survivors who did manage to reach the surface were ground down piecemeal by the defending Blakist forces as the beleaguered Capellan troops attempted to regroup.[2] Following the destruction of House Ma-Tsu Kai Precentor Martial St. Jamais withdrew the Blakist naval support from the Pleione system, redeploying the naval assets for the defense of Terra, but he ordered various small mercenary units including Grandin's Crusaders to support the Pleione Protectorate Militia. Grandin was able to use his position as the senior commander on Pleione to take on a leadership role in the defense of the planet, securing an equal partnership with the Militia.[7]
The third attempt to seize Pleione was launched on the 30th of May, and this time the Capellans used WarShip support[5][6] in the form of the Feng Huang-class cruiser CCS Ilsa Hyung[8] as well as extensive orbital bombardment as a part of their battle plan.[5][6] Pierre Grandin convinced the various defending forces to follow his plan of allowing the Capellan forces to enter New Jericho, the planetary capital city, before engaging them at close range, thereby discouraging the Ilsa Hyung from firing on them. The defenders followed this plan when the Fifth Confederation Reserve Cavalry and the Fifteenth Dracon landed, supported by fire from the Ilsa Hyung; the two CCAF commands entered the approaches to New Jericho before being hit by a ferocious, desperate assault by the mercenaries and the Militia. The battle consisted mainly of brutal, close-quarters fighting in the New Jericho suburbs, with the brutal slugfest pushing up casualties on both sides.[7]
Grandin's Crusaders timed their entry into the battle carefully, launching a sudden attack from the hills outside the city that shattered the Capellan advance and which gave the Crusaders an opportunity to break through and race for their DropShips, even as the Capellan forces in orbit began a heavy orbital bombardment. The Crusaders managed to reach their DropShips and escape, leaving House Liao in possession of the ruins of the city. The battle for New Jericho would later be detailed in the book "The Pierre Grandin Story", published by the Galatean Press Limited in 3089.[7]
Despite the orbital bombardment, the fall of Pleione's capital and the public execution of the pro-Blakist leadership on the planet at the hands of Capellan troops, the fighting continued until the 10th of June.[5][6] As a part of their May/June attack the CCAF deployed a substantial ground force, which according to the Capellan media consisted of Warrior House Hiritsu, the Harloc Raiders and Roman's Mounted Fusiliers.[9]
The last major battle before the Blakists ceded effective control of the planetary capital was fought at Gina Fields, and the Blakists threw the last of their tactical nuclear weapons at the CCAF troops there before dispersing. The Capellan forces declared the world secure on the 15th of June and retaliated for the Blakist use of nuclear weapons by executing Joseph Larsus and more than two and a half thousand collaborators. The execution field used for the mass executions was located near Lake Placid, and the blood runoff from the killing field into the lake stained the water so extensively that it led to the lake being renamed Lake Scarlet. Despite the executions and the proclamation of victory, the actual area on Pleione secured by the CCAF at that point amounted to the planetary capital and main spaceport, two key industrial centers and a number of small settlements - Blakists cells remained active on the rest of the continent for months, intermingling with groups opposed to Capellan rule. Although the active unrest died down over time, as late as 3087 there were still bursts of unrest around various Confederation-sponsored holidays.[2]
It cannot be confirmed when the Militia units were fully destroyed, but they were destroyed as a coordinated force at 3078.
Officers[edit]
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the 3rd Pleione Protectorate Militia | |||
Tactics[edit]
Unknown.
Composition History[edit]
Protectorate Militia Divisions were equipped with enough DropShip capacity for transportation, but not JumpShips.[10]
Rules[edit]
As long as a Protectorate Militia force is fighting on its homeworld and is acting as the scenario's Defender, the Protectorate Militia force receives the Force the Initiative and Off-Map Movement special abilities. If deployed as the Attacker in a scenario, the Protectorate Militia force loses its Force the Initiative ability, but retains its Off-Map Movement capability.
If deployed on a world other than its homeworld (such as an Epsilon Eridani force being deployed on Genoa), the Protectorate Militia force not only loses all of its special abilities, but also suffers a –2 Initiative modifier.
Although Blakist-based, Protectorate Militia forces may use standard Inner Sphere force arrangements (Lances, Companies, and Battalions) rather than Word of Blake force arrangements.[11]
Reference[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 103, "protectorate militia deployment
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Total Chaos, p. 74-75, "Pleione"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 17, "Timeline of the Jihad"
- ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 54, "The Jihad In Review"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 73, "News From Pleione"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 59, "The Jihad in Review"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Total Chaos, p. 191, "Pound of Flesh"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 89, "Chaos Eternal: Pound of Flesh"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 77-78, "Pleione Secured"
- ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 103
- ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 103, "Rules Annex"