Operation TRIDENT

Operation TRIDENT
Start Date 3129
Location Tortuga Dominions
Planet Various
Result Significant Reduction in Pirate Activity
Factions
Calderon Protectorate,
Fiefdom of Randis,
Filtvelt Coalition
Tortuga Dominions
Commanders and leaders
Grand Knight William Dirac Unknown
Forces involved
Second Taurian Pride,
Thumpers Assault Regiment,
Brotherhood of Randis
Assorted pirate forces
Environment
Various
Conditions
Various

Overview[edit]

Origin of Conflict[edit]

Tensions between the Fiefdom of Randis and the Tortuga Dominions had always been high, with the Brotherhood fighting pirates from the Dominions in systems as far away as Ddraig in the Outlands Wastes.[1] These tensions reached a boiling point in 3128, when a pirate force from the Dominions roughly a battalion in size launched a raid on Randis IV, heavily damaging the Hope Industrial Works (HIW), the BattleMech construction plant located on the planet. The raid severely limited the production of 'Mechs, and led to the head of the Brotherhood of Randis, Grand Knight William Dirac, to call upon those nations allied with the Fiefdom to launch a retaliatory strike on the Dominions.[2]

Operation TRIDENT[edit]

A multinational force consisting of the First Battalion of the Brotherhood of Randis, a battalion from the Second Taurian Pride and a battalion from the Thumper Assault Regiment assembled in early 3129 in response to Dirac's efforts, and proceeded to launch a year-long campaign of assaults and raids on various pirate havens scattered across the Dominions.[2] The largest battle of the campaign was fought on the Copper Ridge Plateau on New Port Royal. The allied forces had struck at several other Dominion planets before landing on New Port Royal, and as a result the pirates on New Port Royal had time to organize themselves and prepare for the arrival of the allied units.[3]

The TRIDENT force landed on the Copper Ridge Plateau and was led by Dirac. The pirates had assembled a force with a strength of approximately eight battalions and launched their attack as the TRIDENT forces were landing, with the TRIDENT forces barely having time to deploy before making contact with the pirates. The pirates pressed the TRIDENT forces hard, with Grand Knight Dirac committing the last of his available reserves to the front line after three hours of constant combat - and the battle lasted another ten hours before the pirates were forced to retreat having been reduced to less than a third of their original strength.[3]

Aftermath[edit]

The Fiefdom or Randis benefited from Operation TRIDENT; for at least fifteen years afterwards, raids against the Fiefdom from pirate bands based in the Dominion were rare, and the relative peace and prosperity led to a "Golden Decade" of expansion on Randis - both in terms of industry and culture.[2] The Hope Industrial Works also benefited from the drop in raids; historically, the manufacturing facilities had been a high-value target that attracted frequent raids, but the sharp drop in attacks following Operation TRIDENT allowed HIW to expand in a significant fashion, adding three modern BattleMech designs to their production capacity, significantly advancing the technological level of the Brotherhood's military forces.[4]

References[edit]

  1. Lost Souls
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Manual: 3145, pp. 185–186: "Fiefdom of Randis"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Technical Readout: 3145 Mercenaries, p. 44: "HWK-4F HawkWolf"
  4. Field Manual: 3145, p. 189: "Fiefdom of Randis"

Bibliography[edit]