Firewind
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| Firewind | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Narukami |
History[edit]
The Firewind was a Narukami-class destroyer in service with the Draconis Combine Admiralty Third Fleet as the DCS Firewind in 2787. In May 2787 the Draconis Combine launched a massive invasion of the Federated Suns. The invasion was so swift and targeted communications and JumpShips so effectively that many border systems didn't have a chance to transmit warnings or alerts, leading to widespread confusion on the part of the AFFS. Three days after the initial attacks another large wave of attacks was launched by the DCMS, based around two salients; one, under the overall command of Coordinator Minoru Kurita, struck into the Clovis Combat Region, beginning with invasions of Cartago, Clovis and Olancha.[1]
The DCMS forces led by the Coordinator arrived in the Clovis system with a formidable WarShip flotilla drawn from the Third Fleet, consisting of the Firewind and three sister ships, an Aegis-class heavy cruiser and two Samarkand-class carriers, including the flagship of the Third Fleet, the DCS Hagiwawa. Clovis was the headquarters of the Clovis Combat Region, and the Commanding Officer of the Region, Field Marshal Grover Simons, was in residence when the invasion force arrived; in addition to his forces on the ground, Simons also had a naval picket consisting of the New Syrtis-class carrier FSS Midale and the Davion-class destroyers FSS Reynard Davion and FSS Samuel Davion in the Clovis system.[1]
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the AFFS WarShips managed to tie up the Hagiwawa's flotilla for six hours close to Clovis' lunar orbit, crippling the Firewind and inflicting heavy damage on the Hagiwawa, but the loss of the Midale and the Reynard Davion effectively ended AFFS resistance in orbit. Simons' forces on the ground put up a fierce resistance for two weeks, during which the DCMS ground forces fought without calling on the Hagiwawa or any of the other WarShips for naval support. By the end of the first week, the attackers had seized only a small foothold in Gorst City Valley. The DCMS refrained from using orbital bombardment to destroy the defenders, but Simons' calls for reinforcements went largely unanswered because of the chaos engulfing the local region; those AFFS units not already destroyed were all either in retreat or desperately fighting for survival. The only forces able to respond arrived aboard the Robinson-class carrier FSS New Ivaarsen, and the four DropShips of reinforcements the New Ivaarsen brought from Xhosa VII were nowhere near enough to turn the tide. The arrival of the New Ivaarsen five days into the second week of the invasion did offer the prospect of salvaging some of the troops on Clovis however, and Simons ordered a retreat from the planet.[1]
Simons died when his Leopard-class DropShip, the last to leave Clovis, was intercepted by Combine aerospace fighters ten kilometers above Clovis and attempted to fight its way clear, rather than surrendering; the combination of the fall of Clovis and the death of Simons led to a collapse in the AFFS defensive line in the region and swift, inexorable gains for the Combine.[1]