Battle of Arcadia (3063)

Battle of Arcadia (3063)
Conflict details
Part of	Civil War Era
Start Date	April 3063
End Date	2 May 3063
Planet(s)	Arcadia
Result	Free Worlds League victory
Territorial Changes	Ceded back to Lyran Alliance, 11 April 3067
Attacking Forces
Affiliation	Kristen's Krushers
Commanding Officer(s)	Colonel Kristen Marik†
Command(s)	Kristen's Krushers
Defending Forces
Affiliation	Lyran Alliance
Commanding Officer(s)	Leutnant-General Delmar Voss
Command(s)	Second Donegal Guards LAS Yggdrasil
Other Forces
Affiliation	Free Worlds League
Commanding Officer(s)	Marshall Jeremy Brett
Command(s)	Sixth Marik Militia FWLS Sardis FWLS Bedevere (presumed) FWLS Tristram (presumed)

Prelude

In the wake of the opening moves in battle on Coventry that saw the First Coventry Jaegers and Kristen's Krushers destroy the Coventry CPM, Colonel Jason Walker of the Jaegers interpreted Archon Katherine Steiner-Davion's order to eliminate neutral and hostile forces as being applicable to the Krushers as well. The Krushers retreated off planet on 21 January and began making their way towards Free Worlds League space. The need to resupply consumables required a successful raid of Gallery on 11 March, however the ruler of that world was none other than Nondi Steiner when then branded the Krushers as a hostile force. Anticipating their line of travel would take the Krushers to Arcadia, the Alliance repositioned a fleet that included the Mjolnir-class battlecruiser Yggdrasil to the system, and rotated the Second Donegal Guards from Gienah to the planet's surface. The prior position of the Yggrasil is unknown, but given the tight timing and the lack of a Lithium-Fusion Battery it was almost certainly just a few jumps from Arcadia.

Overview

Initial Actions

When the Krusher's flotilla appeared in the Arcadia system, the presence of the Yggdrasil forced the Krusher's to scatter. The DropShips made a hard burn for the planet to outrun the guns of the battlecruiser, miraculously doing so without loses despite harassment the entire transit.

Upon landing the Second Donegal fell upon the already bloodied Krushers, shattering them further. The notable Hunter crew of the Second Guards' Tank 92, The Red Banner, saw considerable action. By the end of April the Krushers had been reduced from their initial strength of a regiment to two operational companies.

Relief

On 2 May, the Krushers detected BattleMech Drop Pods cutting through the atmosphere. Believing them to be Lyran reinforcements Colonel Kristen Marik prepared to surrender, but radio contact soon revealed them to be the Sixth Marik Militia, sent by Kristen's brother-in-law Marshall Jeremy Brett. Transporting them was the Thera-class carrier FWLS Sardis which almost certainly came with her escorts, the Eagle-class frigates FWLS Bedevere and FWLS Tristram. It is unknown if the Yggrasil was still in system when the League WarShips arrived, but there was no recorded engagement between them. The Sardis' aerospace regiments were able to overwhelm the planetary aerospace forces and quickly achieved aerospace superiority with minimal losses in what would be the first combat action of a Thera-class WarShip.

One of the first members of the Sixth to make planetfall was Trooper Gemma Jackson in her HMR-3S Hammer nicknamed Slammer. Once on the ground, the Sixth sent five two-’Mech reconnaissance elements to scout the Guards' lines. Lieutenant Beata Gulipous and her HER-3S Hermes were able to locate a break in the Guards' lines that allowed the Sixth to break through and rescue the Krushers. This break was able to be exploited by Force Commander Arthur Sukhanov, the Sixth's infantry commander. His expert employment of his Longinus battle armor in urban environs eared him much renown. Unfortunately, in the final clash Kristen Marik was seriously wounded.

The Guards quickly recognized their situation and withdrew from Arcadia.

Aftermath

Kristen Marik was medevaced to the League, but expired enroute. Her only son, Janos Rousset-Marik had been killed on Gallery, so command of the Krusher's and her Title passed to her only surviving child, Alys Rousset-Marik. Publicly Marshall Brett was reprimanded for his unauthorized adventurism, but privately he was praised and the League maintained control of Arcadia until 11 April 3067. Trooper Jackson became the reluctant human face of the campaign during the PR blitz to rehabilitate Marshall Brett's reputation. Force Commander Sukhanov became a key advisor to Marshall Brett.

Following this battle, the Guards relocated to Giausar. Once Arcadia was returned to the Alliance, the Sixth pulled up stakes and arrived at their new duty station of Megrez in July 3067.

Notes

The exact date of arrival in the Arcadia system is unknown, but given the probable path of Gallery->Chuckchi->Aristotle->Soilihull->Mariefred->Dar-es-Salaam the Krushers would appear around 24 April. Assuming 2.5G transits, the Overthrust for both Union and Overlord DropShips trying to flee a WarShip, the ordinary 13.87 days would be cut down to 8.77 days. This would put them on planet around 3 May which is just a touch past the first hardtime of "the end of April" but pretty close considering FASA likely didn't do all the calculations when creating the narrative. Ironically, the long transit time also means the Sardis led relief force and the Krushers were almost certainly in space at the same time. Had they been able to detect each other the entire planet side battle could have been avoided.

Bibliography

• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised
• Field Manual: Updates
• Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade
• Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade
• Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade
• Technical Readout: 3067