Ridgebrook

Ridgebrook
Ridgebrook 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates201.357 : -319.595[e]

The Ridgebrook system is the location of at least one inhabited world and as of 3151 was located in the Taurian Concordat.[1]

Political Affiliation[edit]

Ridgebrook[edit]

Ridgebrook
Government and Infrastructure
CapitalEstecada[6]

Planetary History[edit]

The Reunification War[edit]

When the Star League launched Operation BULL RUN, the campaign to conquer the Taurian Concordat, Ridgebrook was chosen to be one of the first two worlds attacked by Star League Defense Force ground forces. Attacked at the same time as the Taurian world of Keuterville[6] in mid-May 2578,[45] Ridgebrook was invaded by a mixed force consisting of the First Royal Division and Second Division, drawn from I Corps, together with elements of the 3rd Battle Fleet and the WarShip escorts assigned to I Corps.[6]

The attack began with the 3rd Battle Fleet taking the lead and engaging a squadron of Taurian WarShips orbiting Ridgebrook in what became a five-hour battle in which the Taurian WarShips attempted to destroy as many SLDF transports as possible while the 3rd Battle Fleet attempted to punch a hole through the Taurian WarShip picket to allow the 1st and 2nd Divisions to begin landing. By the time the Taurian picket was broken, four Taurian WarShips and three SLDF WarShips had been destroyed; of more importance to the ground campaign was the loss of ten SLDF DropShips along with more than a regiment of troops they had been transporting.[6]

Both SLDF Divisions were keen to avenge the people lost to the Taurian WarShips and set out to secure the planet quickly, with the 1st Royal Division landing on the 22nd of May and the 2nd Division landing on the 25th. Ridgebrook was a lightly populated world, with most of the settlements concentrated on the Westridge continent. The capital city, Estacada, was overlooked by the Goldenridge Mountains, and it was in and around these mountains that the bulk of the Taurian defenders had taken up station. The 1st Royal Division encountered only light resistance up until the 2nd Division began landing at a site chosen to put them within easy reach of Estacada. As soon as the 2nd's DropShips began grounding they came under heavy fire; the Taurians had established missile and gun batteries in the Goldenridge Mountains where they could watch over the capital, and these batteries included some of the heaviest artillery available anywhere in the Concordat.[6]

SLDF losses on the 25th of May amounted to five DropShips and two battalions of 'Mechs and armored vehicles, and the SLDF would take more losses as it laid siege to the Goldenridge Mountains. While the SLDF possessed the only 'Mech forces on the planet, the Taurians had a significant armored force backed up by their artillery and had established several fortresses within the mountains from which they could cover the capital and the primary Ridgebrook transportation hub, with the defenses forming three distinct layers of overlapping defensive lines. Breaking through the defensive positions took the combined 1st and 2nd Divisions four months, and the Taurian forces were determined to make the SLDF pay for every inch. Most of the defenders fought to the death, and when the SLDF troops cleared out the last Concordat bunkers on the 12th of September fewer than a hundred Taurian soldiers had been captured alive in the mountains.[6]

The I Corps forces would remain on Ridgebrook until Major General Charles Wexworth, the general officer commanding Operation BULL RUN, considered the planet to have been pacified; when that point was reached, Wexworth ordered I Corps forward to take Wrentham.[46] Before being moved to Wrentham I Corps received a number of battlefield casualty replacements; amongst these was Nicholas Cameron, the second child of First Lord Ian Cameron and Lady Shandra Noruff-Cameron, who joined the 43rd Royal Light Horse Regiment, part of the 1st Royal Division, under an assumed name and complete with a bodyguard consisting of special forces personnel.[47]

After General Amalthia Kincaid took command of BULL RUN in 2582 she established recruiting and training stations on Ridgebrook as well as Firgrove and Mendham to allow her to obtain replacement troops without being dependent on the various Houses.[48]

In the aftermath of the Reunification War the Federated Suns annexed three dozen Taurian Concordat worlds, including Ridgebrook.[49]

The Jihad[edit]

As the last gasp of Operation SOVEREIGN JUSTICE faded with the last of the Capellan March troops forced to defend against counterattacking Capellan Confederation troops, the CCAF began leapfrogging from world to world within the Federated Suns, steadily approaching the March capital of New Syrtis as a part of Operation THUNDERSTRIKE. Ridgebrook was one of the worlds hit by the CCAF during the last two weeks of May 3069 as they drew ever-closer to New Syrtis.[50]

On the 14th of June 3080 Field Marshal Nathaniel Hasek, the AFFS officer commanding Operation MATADOR - the Federated Suns campaign to recapture the worlds conquered by the Taurian Concordat - was killed in an ambush on Ridgebrook.[51] Ridgebrook had been one of the first worlds hit during Operation MATADOR, with troops landing in May 3080; the defending Concordat Jaegers found themselves facing both the Syrtis Avengers and the 59th Strike Regiment, led by Field Marshal Hasek. The Jaegers were heavily outnumbered and were already facing an active resistance movement on the planet, which was - or had been - a major world in the Capellan March; all of the advantages were on the side of the Federated Suns, and the campaign for Ridgebrook should have been short.[52]

Instead, the AFFS were unable to capitalize on their advantages, and with the death of Field Marshal Hasek a chain of command struggle between the Avengers and the 59th Striker slowed the pace of operations. Complicating matters further was the announcement by the Taurian forces that every major city on Ridgebrook had been booby-trapped - an announcement made on the same day that Field Marshal Hasek died. Not only were the cities booby-trapped, but the traps used nuclear devices; if any AFFS forces moved into one of the cities the TDF would detonate the nukes, killing the AFFS troops and countless civilians. This reduced the campaign to an uneasy stalemate with battles fought away from the cities and major population centers; the arrival of the 1st Taurian Lancers in June after successfully running the AFFS blockade of the system promised to draw the campaign out further still.[52]

Military Deployment[edit]

2580-2581[edit]

2582[edit]

  • Elements of the SLDF Second Reserve Corps[53]
  • Twenty-eighth Division (also on Wrentham and Robsart)

2591[edit]

3025[edit]

3028[edit]

3038[edit]

3050[edit]

3054[edit]

3067[edit]

3079[edit]

- At this point in time, the Concordat Jaegers were deployed across Ridgebrook and Flintoft. The Jaegers was at 70% of full strength.

3145[edit]

Geography[edit]

Ridgebrook has at least one continent, Westridge, on which the Goldenridge Mountains were located. Estacada, the planetary capital in 2578, was situated next to the Goldenridge range.[6]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Estecada: Capital city.[6]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 44 systems (43 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Merope 12.5 Maia 13.7 Electra 14.2 Pleiades Cluster 15.0
Flintoft 16.8 Hè-shì 18.1 Mandaree 21.6 Diefenbaker 22.1
Sanurcha 23.3 Taygeta 24.1 Carmichael 29.5 Lindsay 30.9
Wrentham 31.3 Pietermaritzburg 31.9 Aucara 34.0 Robsart 36.8
New Syrtis 37.4 Hobson 37.9 Ashley 38.6 Brockway 40.1
Kautokeino 41.1 Shaunavon 41.3 Desolate Plains 42.1 Werfer 43.4
Crawford 43.7 Midale 44.2 Chouli 45.0 Brusett 45.0
Jaipur 47.1 Mithron 49.7 Kaitangata 50.0 Firgrove 52.8
Bacum 53.6 Beenleigh 53.7 Abruzzi 54.2 Merlin 54.6
Cumberland 54.9 New Vallis 56.8 Daol 56.8 New Ganymede 57.9
Horsham 58.0 Mordialloc 59.1 Mendham 59.2 Cotocallao 60.0

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Shattered Fortress, p. 103: "Inner Sphere - 3151" (Map)
  2. Handbook: House Davion, p. 18: "Federated Suns at their Founding - [2317] Map"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 121: "Taurian Concordat after Age of War [2571], Fall of the Star League [2750] and End of the Third Succession War [3025]"
  4. Handbook: House Davion, p. 48: "Federated Suns After Age of War - [2571] Map"
  5. Historical: Reunification War, p. 64
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Historical: Reunification War, p. 70: "Ridgebrook"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  8. Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  9. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  10. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  11. Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 29: "Federated Suns Armed Forces Deployment Map - [2765]"
  12. Field Report 2765: Periphery, p. 37: "Taurian Defense Forces Deployment Map - [2765]"
  13. Handbook: House Davion, p. 54: "Federated Suns After First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  14. Handbook: House Liao, p. 31: "Capellan Confederation After First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  15. Handbook: House Davion, p. 60: "Federated Suns After Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  16. Handbook: House Liao, p. 39: "Capellan Confederation After Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  17. The Periphery, First Edition, p. 151: "Maps of the Periphery"
  18. House Davion (The Federated Suns), foldout: "Federated Suns Map - [3025]"
  19. Handbook: House Davion, p. 70: "Federated Suns After Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  20. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), foldout: "Capellan Confederation Map - [3025]"
  21. Handbook: House Liao, p. 40: "Capellan Confederation After Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  22. Handbook: House Davion, p. 72: "Federated Suns After Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  23. Handbook: House Liao, p. 49: "Capellan Confederation After Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  24. 24.0 24.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 127: "Taurian Concordat after modern colonization drive [3040] and after FedCom Civil War [3067]"
  25. Handbook: House Davion, p. 74: "Federated Suns After War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  26. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  27. Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  28. Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  29. Era Report: 3062, p. 11: Inner Sphere - [3057] Map
  30. Handbook: House Davion, p. 78: "Federated Suns After Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  31. Handbook: House Liao, p. 59: "Capellan Confederation After Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  32. The Periphery, 2nd Edition, p. 111: "Taurian Concordat and Tortuga Dominions"
  33. Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  34. Handbook: House Davion, p. 82: "Federated Suns After FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  35. Handbook: House Liao, p. 68: "Capellan Confederation After FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  36. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere Map - [3075] Map"
  37. Field Report: Periphery, p. 23: "Taurian Concordat Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  38. Field Report: AFFS, p. 21: "Federated Suns Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  39. Field Report: CCAF, p. 21: "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  40. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  41. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  42. Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  43. Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  44. Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  45. Historical: Reunification War, p. 68: "Peace Through the Arms of War"
  46. Historical: Reunification War, p. 71: "Slow Advance"
  47. Historical: Reunification War, p. 164: "Lieutenant General Nicholas Cameron, SLDF (Ret.)"
  48. Historical: Reunification War, p. 79: "The Carmichael Gambit"
  49. Historical: Reunification War, p. 162: "Pacifying the Bull"
  50. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 47: "The Jihad in Review"
  51. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 61: "The Jihad in Review"
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 27: "A World Held Hostage"
  53. 53.0 53.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 144: "Taurian Concordat Front (Jump-off - 2585)"
  54. Historical: Reunification War, p. 145: "Taurian Concordat Front (2586 - 2596)
  55. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 134: "Unit Deployment Table"
  56. 56.0 56.1 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 12: "Operation RAT"
  57. Historical: War of 3039, p. 136: "Deployment Table"
  58. 20 Year Update, p. 21: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  59. Objective Raids, p. 15: "Deployment Table - 3054"
  60. Field Manual: Updates, p. 138: "Federated Suns Deployment Table"
  61. Field Report: Periphery, p. 12: "Taurian Concordat Regimental Status"
  62. Field Manual: 3145, p. 201: "III Corps"

Bibliography[edit]