Examine individual changes

{{infoBoxStateUnit | image = [[File:Task Force Serpent emblem (2).jpg|150px]] | nickname = | parent formation = [[Second Star League Defense Force]] (SLDF) | formed = 3058 | disbanded = 3061 | year = 3061 | unitname = Task Force Serpent }} '''Task Force Serpent''' was a multinational task force created by the [[Second Star League Defense Force]] to execute a secret military operation conceived and led by [[Marshal of the Armies|Marshal]] [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]]: Travel to the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] homeworld of [[Huntress]], occupy it, and completely destroy the war-making capability of the Clan. The mission complemented [[Operation BULLDOG]], whose objective was to expel the Smoke Jaguars from every world they occupied in the [[Inner Sphere]]. After a long journey through the [[Deep Periphery]] to the [[Clan Homeworlds]], Task Force Serpent ultimately completed its mission with the assistance of elements from Operation BULLDOG, which had succeeded ahead of schedule. [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] was effectively wiped out, but at heavy cost to the task force. Marshal Hasek-Davion, the task force commander, was assassinated en route; his successor, [[General]] [[Ariana Winston]], was killed in action; and the task force suffered an eighty percent casualty rate. ==Task Force Commission== On 14 November [[3058]], during a military planning session at the [[First Whitting Conference]] for the first wave of Operation BULLDOG, [[Precentor Martial]] [[Anastasius Focht]] presented new intelligence that had been provided by the Smoke Jaguar defector, [[Trent]]. The information included the [[Exodus Road]] and the location of Huntress, the Smoke Jaguar homeworld. Morgan Hasek-Davion proposed and volunteered to lead a strike at Huntress designed to raze it, shocking the Clan and wiping out all traces of the warrior caste.<ref name=GR17>''Grave Covenant'', ch. 17</ref> The First Council approved the plan, with Hasek-Davion as the Task Force Commander. <ref name=GR18>''Grave Covenant'', ch. 18</ref> In January [[3059]], the units assigned to Task Force Serpent began to assemble on [[Defiance (planet)|Fort Defiance]], a barren planet deep in the [[Crucis March]] of the [[Federated Commonwealth]], which had mostly been used for military training maneuvers. <ref name=TH7>''The Hunters'', ch. 7</ref> Serpent's ground forces consisted of the [[Eridani Light Horse]], the [[1st Kathil Uhlans|First Kathil Uhlans]], the [[Northwind Highlanders]], the [[2nd Division (ComStar)|ComGuard Second Division]], the [[11th Lyran Guards|Eleventh Lyran Guards]], the [[2nd Sword of Light|Second Sword of Light]], the [[2nd St. Ives Lancers|Second St. Ives Lancers]], the [[4th Drakøns|Fourth Drakøns]], the [[1st Knights of the Inner Sphere|Knights of the Inner Sphere]], and [[Kingston's Legionnaires]], a regiment of questionable honor.<ref name=TwotCp9>''Twilight of the Clans'', p. 8-9, "Task Force Serpent"</ref> For the next several months the ground units conducted training exercises, fighting alongside one another, with ComStar's [[Invader Galaxy]] taking an [[w:Opposing force|OpFor]] role. [[DEST]] and [[MI6]] teams, assigned to the task force for special operations, trained for spacecraft boarding actions. <ref name=TH9>''The Hunters'', ch. 9</ref> Task Force Serpent launched on 1 May 3059, following a route through [[Weldon]], [[Vicente]], [[Tsamma]] and [[Palmyra]] on its way through the Federated Commonwealth.<ref name=TH14>''The Hunters'', ch. 14</ref> On 29 June the task force jumped from [[Pajarito]] into the [[Outworlds Alliance]].<ref name=TH16>''The Hunters'', ch. 16</ref> On 19 July, after recharging jump drives at [[Alpheratz]], Task Force Serpent entered the [[Deep Periphery]] and began its journey along the Exodus Road to Huntress.<ref name=TH17>''The Hunters'', ch. 17</ref> ==Battle of Sweetwater Lake== On 16 November, Task Force Serpent stopped at a habitable planet in the [[Meribah]] system to replenish the fleet's supply of fresh water. Two specially-modified ''[[Mule]]''-class DropShips were dispatched to the surface, escorted by the 21st Striker Regiment's 5th Striker Battalion. As the DropShips pumped water from a lake, which the crews dubbed "Sweetwater", the Eridani unit was attacked by a mixed force of Inner Sphere BattleMechs and Clan OmniMechs, who were swiftly defeated. <ref>''The Hunters'', ch. 18-19</ref> The enemy turned out to be a group of pirates using the planet for a base of operations. With the pirates' main force absent on a raid, Marshal Hasek-Davion ordered that the pirate base be wiped out in order to maintain the secrecy of the task force. The next day, a combined Eridani-MI6 strike team destroyed the pirate base and released the slaves found there. Four pirate leaders were court-martialed for piracy and murder and were summariliy executed. The rest of the pirates were convicted of lesser crimes and sentenced to be marooned on a uninhabited planet. <ref>''The Hunters'', ch. 20-21</ref> ==Battle of Trafalgar== {{Main|Battle of Trafalgar}} [[File:Task Force Serpent - JumpShip Fleet.jpg|thumb|right|Task Force Serpent's JumpShip fleet with ''Invisible Truth'' leading it.]] {{quote|Attention, Clan WarShips, I am Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion, commander of the Star League Task Force Serpent. Let this be my ''[[batchall]]''. I call upon you to prepare to defend your fleet and yourselves. We will be attacking you with all but one of our WarShips. I name as ''[[isorla]]'' any ship that is rendered unable to fight or maneuver, and claim its passengers and crew as [[bondsmen]]. What forces do you bid in your defense? I am Star Colonel [[Alonso Gilmour]], of Clan Ghost Bear. I do not recognize your claim to the Star League. I accept your ''batchall''. I will defend my fleet with every asset at my disposal.|[[Battle of Trafalgar]]}} On 15 December, Task Force Serpent stumbled unexpectedly across a small [[Clan Ghost Bear]] fleet, consisting of one ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate, two ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyers and an ''[[Invader]]''-class JumpShip. When Marshal Hasek-Davion hailed them and declared a [[Trial of Possession]] for the entire Clan fleet, his challenge was accepted by the Ghost Bear commander. Though the fighting was fierce, the Task Force was victorious in what became known as the [[Battle of Trafalgar]]. With the Clan flotilla defeated, the Task Force was faced with several pressing issues in the aftermath of the engagement. First was the repair of their own ships. While luckily most of their ships had not taken structural damage, they had lost one assault dropship, the ''Starlight'' had lost some of her weapons, and many ships had taken armor damage that would compromise their protection in the event of another engagement. In exchange however, they had captured or destroyed all the Clan starships. Although the damage done in the process rendered most of them crippled beyond any possible field repair, one of the destroyers, the ''[[Fire Fang]]'', was able to be both repaired and put into service as the eighth warship of the fleet. They also captured an undamaged Clan ''[[Broadsword]]''-class dropship, the ''[[Ice Dart]]'' (renamed the ''Stiletto''), a couple of damaged ''[[Union-C]]''-class DropShips, a dozen [[OmniFighters]] and a [[Star]] of [[OmniMechs]] which were divided up among the units. The biggest headache for Task Force Serpent however was that the Clan flotilla had been engaged in Clan Ghost Bear's relocation of its civilian population to the Inner Sphere and as such not only carried its normal crew but over a thousand civilians. Without the resources to take them along and more than one of the mission's senior officers either uneasy or downright hostile to the idea of accepting Clan bondsmen as allies, Morgan quickly stepped in to lay down the law: any Clansmen who willingly gave their bond oath would be accepted by the task force - even if he had to assign every one of them as a member of his personal staff. The others who did not would be taken with the fleet until such time as they could find a habitable world they could be left behind on. Although distrust was great towards many of these so-called 'Clan Serpent' bondsmen, tensions were eased somewhat when a Clan technician, Lennox, at great personal risk saved the life of an Inner Sphere technician during a zero-G salvage operations. He was rewarded by Morgan Hasek-Davion with his freedom and reassigned to his personal staff. The other bondsmen considered most trustworthy also helped to form a skeleton crew for the ''Fire Fang''.<ref name=TH28>''The Hunters'', ch. 28</ref> The repair and salvage operations took several days, with some unit commanders very uneasy about spending so long at a system clearly used by at least some Clans. Nonetheless the operations were completed successfully and after doing their best to remove any evidence of the battle, the task force jumped out on 25 December. Just as it left the system however one of the sensor technicians aboard the ''Invisible Truth'' detected an abnormal jump signature, possibly indicating an inbound starship, which was noted, but not investigated - as to do so would require returning to the system. On 30 December, the task force had identified a suitable world and marooned on it those Ghost Bears who had not taken the bond-oath, leaving them with some supplies and the promise that someone would come back for them.<ref name=TH28/> ==Assassination of Morgan Hasek-Davion== {{quote|He was the last of the old order of things. We'll never see his like again.|General Ariana Winston}} During the night of 2 January [[3060]], Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion died in his quarters aboard the ''Invisible Truth''. His death was initially attributed to heart failure, but subsequent forensic investigations determined that he was deliberately poisoned with a fast-acting toxin introduced into his scotch whiskey. <ref>''The Hunters'', ch. 30-31</ref><ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 1-2</ref> On 10 January, General Winston, Task Force Serpent's second-in-command, formally assumed command and announced that Hasek-Davion's death was under investigation. With the fleet less than 200 light-years from Huntress, she reviewed the orders and reports he had left for her in the event of his death. One of these revealed that in addition to units officially assigned to the Task Force, [[Coordinator]] [[Theodore Kurita (31st c.)|Theodore Kurita]] had "gifted" a team of four [[Nekakami]].<ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 3</ref> As the investigation progressed, suspicion fell on five ComStar crew members who had no records of their existence before they joined ComStar.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 7</ref> On 23 January the two suspects who had originally been assigned to ''Invisible Truth'' were summoned for interrogation. The first suspect, [[Rumiko Fox|Julia Davis]], seemed to be hiding something, but her interrogator, ''[[Sho-sa]]'' [[Michael Ryan]], concluded that she was probably not involved in the assassination. She was relieved of duty and confined to quarters.<ref name=SF8>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 8</ref> Two ComStar marines were escorting the second suspect, [[Lucas Penrose]], to his interrogation, when he killed them both with a hidden [[Hold-Out Gyrojet Pistol|hold-out pistol]], stole their weapons, and barricaded himself in a recreation room on Deck Four. Penrose claimed that he had planted a bomb in the ship's number three magazine, and threatened to destroy the ship unless General Winston met his demands. As General Winston conversed with Penrose, she perceived that the hand he was keeping out of sight, supposedly holding a detonator, was empty. With this knowledge she jumped Penrose, wrestling him for his gun. Penrose was hit in the back with a poisoned [[shuriken]], enabling Winston to seize his gun and shoot him in the chest.<ref name=SF8></ref> The poison and the gunshot wound were both fatal.<ref name=SF10>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 10</ref> Ordnance crews and DEST EOD experts could find no evidence of explosives in the number three magazine or anywhere else on the ship, confirming that Penrose had been bluffing.<ref name=SF9>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 9</ref> After returning to her office, General Winston received a voice-only call from one of the nekakami agents, who asserted that Penrose had acted alone. According to him, "Lucas Penrose" was a [[Loki]] agent who had been an assassin, first for the Lyran Commonwealth and later for the Lyran Alliance. The nekakami asked that "Julia Davis" be released from custody, and abruptly ended the call.<ref name=SF10></ref> ==Voice of Kerensky== {{Main|Voice of Kerensky}} At the conclusion of Hasek-Davion's funeral on 11 January, the ships of Task Force Serpent received a broadband transmission sent by General [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]. In his brief message, he explained why he had taken the original [[Star League Defense Force]] from the Inner Sphere and expressed his hope that their descendants would one day return to serve as the Star League's protectors. Because the message was sent by microwave, it was traveling at light-speed, and wouldn't reach the Inner Sphere for hundreds of years more. The Task Force would have missed the message completely if it hadn't been delayed by Hasek-Davion's death.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 4-5</ref> ==Battle of Huntress== {{Main|Battle of Huntress}} {{sectionstub}} ==Aftermath== From a force originally equal to ten regiments, Task Force Serpent had been reduced to less than two. Each unit was granted salvage rights to equipment sufficient to restore it to 110% of its original strength, with the rest pooled and sold to form a fund for survivors and families of the deceased. Colonel Paul Masters was placed in command of salvage and recovery operations on Huntress, while Victor Steiner-Davion led an expedition to [[Strana Mechty]].<ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 2</ref> General Redburn and a lance of the Kathil Uhlans accompanied him and fought alongside him in the [[Great Refusal]], defeating Lincoln Osis and the last of the Smoke Jaguars.<ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 10</ref><ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 14</ref> After its return to the Inner Sphere, Task Force Serpent was dissolved. All remaining WarShips and the Eridani Light Horse were integrated into the Second Star League Defense Force.<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 89</ref> The 1st Kathil Uhlans were disbanded and most surviving members were assigned to the newly formed [[1st Royal BattleMech Regiment]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 101</ref> While the Northwind Highlanders returned to their mercenary life, the Royal Black Watch joined the Star League Defense Force as well, returning to its place as bodyguards of the [[First Lord]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 98</ref> The 4th Drakøns were disbanded and the survivors spread among the rest of the [[KungsArmé]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 98</ref> ==Participating Units== ===Star League Defense Force=== Task Force Serpent was one of the largest military operations conducted by the Inner Sphere since the fall of the original [[Star League]]. In total, it consisted of 55,000 personnel; over a thousand [[BattleMech]]s, [[Aerospace Fighter]]s and [[Combat Vehicle]]s; ninety-eight [[DropShip]]s and twenty-seven [[JumpShip]]s and [[WarShip]]s.<ref name=TH14>''The Hunters'', ch. 14</ref><ref name=TwotCp8>''Twilight of the Clans'', p. 8, "Task Force Serpent Composition"</ref> ====Ground units==== * [[Eridani Light Horse]] ** [[21st Striker Regiment|Twenty-first Striker Regiment]] (reinforced regiment) ** [[71st Light Horse Regiment|Seventy-first Light Horse Regiment]] (reinforced regiment) ** [[151st Light Horse Regiment]] (reinforced regiment) * [[Northwind Highlanders]] ** [[MacLeod's Regiment]] (reinforced regiment) ** [[1st Gurkhas|First Gurkhas]] (battalion) ** [[Royal Black Watch]] (company) * [[1st Kathil Uhlans|First Kathil Uhlans]] (reinforced regiment) * [[2nd St. Ives Lancers|Second St. Ives Lancers]] (reinforced battalion) * [[Kingston's Legionnaires]] (regiment) * [[1st Knights of the Inner Sphere|Knights of the Inner Sphere]] (reinforced regiment) * [[11th Lyran Guards|Eleventh Lyran Guards]] (reinforced regiment) * [[2nd Division (ComStar)|ComGuard Second Division]] (regiment) * [[4th Drakøns|Fourth Drakøns]] (reinforced battalion) ====Special operations forces==== * [[DEST]] - Teams Four, Five and Six; ten operatives each; [[Kage]] [[Battle Armor]] * [[Department of Military Intelligence|MI6]] - two teams of ten operatives each; [[Infiltrator Mk. II]] battle armor * [[ROM]] - one agent * [[Nekakami]] - four operatives ====Fleet==== * ISS ''[[Invisible Truth]]'' - [[ComStar]], ''[[Cameron (WarShip)|Cameron]]''-class battlecruiser<ref name=TwotCp8/> * ISS ''[[Ranger]]'' - ComStar, ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/> * ISS ''[[Emerald]]'' - ComStar, ''[[Essex]]''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/> * ISS ''[[Starlight]]'' - ComStar, ''Essex''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/> * DCS ''[[Haruna]]'' - [[Draconis Combine]], ''[[Kyushu]]''-class frigate<ref name=TwotCp8/> * FCS ''[[Antrim]]'' - [[Federated Commonwealth]], ''[[Fox (WarShip)|Fox]]''-class corvette<ref name=TwotCp8/> * FCS ''[[Rostock]]'' - Federated Commonwealth, ''Fox''-class corvette<ref name=TwotCp8/> Among the fleet's [[JumpShip]] roster were several ''[[Monolith]]''-, ''[[Star Lord (JumpShip)|Star Lord]]''- and ''[[Invader]]''-class vessels; many came with their parent units, while ComStar was able to provide additional starships for the rest.<ref name=TH12>''The Hunters'', ch. 12</ref> After the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], the task force was able to add the CGBS ''[[Fire Fang]]'', a ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class WarShip, captured from [[Clan Ghost Bear]], along with several captured Clan DropShips.<ref name=TH28>''The Hunters'', ch. 28</ref> ===Clan Smoke Jaguar=== ====Huntress Garrison forces==== *[[Iron Guard Galaxy (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Iron Guard Galaxy]] **Galaxy Command Trinary **[[33rd Assault Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|33rd Assault Cluster]] **[[12th Solahma Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|12th Solahma Cluster]] **[[77th Solahma Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|77th Solahma Cluster]] *[[Watchmen Galaxy (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Watchmen Galaxy]] **Galaxy Command Trinary **[[48th Battle Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|48th Battle Cluster]] **[[63rd Solahma Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|63rd Solahma Cluster]] **[[44th Solahma Cluster (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|44th Solahma Cluster]] **Fighter [[Trinary]] *'''Huntress Security Fleet''' **''[[Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class **Two ''[[Vincent Mk. 42]]''-class ====Smoke Jaguar reinforcements==== *'''Inner Sphere Survivors''' **[[Provisional Galaxy (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Provisional Galaxy]] ***Alpha Cluster ***Beta Cluster ***Charlie Cluster ***Delta Cluster ***Echo Cluster **CSJ ''[[Korat]]'' - ''[[Liberator (WarShip class)|Liberator]]''-class **Two ''Vincent Mk. 42''-class *'''Khan's Reinforcements''' **Khan Osis Bodyguard - [[Nova (unit)|Nova]] ***''[[Dire Wolf]]'', ''[[Warhawk]]'', ''[[Ebon Jaguar]]'', ''[[Night Gyr]]'', ''[[Stormcrow]]'', 10 Elementals **[[The Jaguar's Den]] **[[Shroud Keshik (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Shroud Keshik]] **[[The Jaguar's Heart]] **CSJ ''[[Streaking Mist]]'' - ''[[Black Lion]]''-class ==References== <references /> ==Bibliography== * ''[[Exodus Road (novel)|Exodus Road]]'' (novel) * ''[[Falcon Rising]]'' (novel) * ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]'' * ''[[Freebirth (novel)|Freebirth]]'' (novel) * ''[[Grave Covenant]]'' (novel) * ''[[The Hunters]]'' (novel) * ''[[Prince of Havoc]]'' (novel) * ''[[Shadows of War]]'' (novel) * ''[[Sword and Fire]]'' (novel) * ''[[Twilight of the Clans]]'' [[Category:Clan Invasion Era Military Operations]]