Editing Dieron

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−	{{Update Needed|[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]|[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]]|[[Historical: War of 3039]]|[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]|[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]|[[Shell Games]]}}	+	{{Update Needed|[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]|[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]]|[[Historical: War of 3039]]|[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]|[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]|[[Shell Games|Shell Games (Novella)]]}}
−	{{otheruses|the planetary system|the WarShip|Dieron (Individual Samarkand-class WarShip)}}
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	Following the huge naval battle at [[Skondia]] in February and March [[2787]] that was one of the largest and costliest naval engagements between the [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Lyran Commonwealth]] of the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], the Lyran Commonwealth attempted to retaliate against the Combine with a pair of daring raids. One of these was a deep raid on [[Luthien]], the capital of the Draconis Combine; the second raid struck at Dieron.<ref name="FSWp48">''First Succession War'', pp. 48–49: "Steiner Strikes Back: Luthien and Dieron"</ref>		Following the huge naval battle at [[Skondia]] in February and March [[2787]] that was one of the largest and costliest naval engagements between the [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Lyran Commonwealth]] of the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], the Lyran Commonwealth attempted to retaliate against the Combine with a pair of daring raids. One of these was a deep raid on [[Luthien]], the capital of the Draconis Combine; the second raid struck at Dieron.<ref name="FSWp48">''First Succession War'', pp. 48–49: "Steiner Strikes Back: Luthien and Dieron"</ref>
−	Dieron was a key system for the Draconis Combine, as the former SLDF Stellar Trek shipyards were still partially functional, and were being used to support both the Combine naval forces operating in the [[Federated Suns]] and in the Lyran Commonwealth. Due to Dieron's importance the system was guarded by a six-WarShip squadron led by the ''[[Samarkand Block II (WarShip class)|Samarkand II]]''-class fighter carrier [[Radstadt (Individual Samarkand-class WarShip)|DCS ''Radstadt'']], the lead ship of the [[Draconis Combine Admiralty|Draconis Combine Admiralty's]] [[6th Fleet (Draconis Combine)|Sixth Fleet]] during the Star League era. The other ships of the squadron were older, but still active; the heaviest was the ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Selene (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|DCS ''Selene'']], accompanied by two pairs of destroyers - the ''[[Lola I]]''-class destroyers [[Akiko (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Akiko'']] and [[Maja (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Maja'']] and the ''[[Essex II (WarShip class)|Essex]]''-class destroyers [[Jarett (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Jarett'']] and [[Sawyer (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Sawyer'']]. The ''Radstadt'' was undergoing routine maintenance in dry-dock, but the other ships of the squadron were actively training and exercising within a region known as the Junkyard, a cloud of debris around Nebulos, Dieron's outermost moon. The Junkyard was a mix of asteroid fragments, radioactive debris and fragments of wrecked ships lost during the battles of the [[Amaris Civil War]]. The Combine was also working hard to restore two ''[[Bastion (Space Station class)|Bastion]]''-class defense stations to working order, and supporting the WarShip squadron were two squadrons of combat [[DropShip]]s.<ref name="FSWp48"/>	+	Dieron was a key system for the Draconis Combine, as the former SLDF Stellar Trek shipyards were still partially functional, and were being used to support both the Combine naval forces operating in the [[Federated Suns]] and in the Lyran Commonwealth. Due to Dieron's importance the system was guarded by a six-WarShip squadron led by the ''[[Samarkand Block II (WarShip class)|Samarkand II]]''-class fighter carrier [[Radstadt (Individual Samarkand-class WarShip)|DCS ''Radstadt'']], the lead ship of the [[Draconis Combine Admiralty|Draconis Combine Admiralty's]] [[6th Fleet (DCA)|Sixth Fleet]] during the Star League era. The other ships of the squadron were older, but still active; the heaviest was the ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Selene (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|DCS ''Selene'']], accompanied by two pairs of destroyers - the ''[[Lola I]]''-class destroyers [[Akiko (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Akiko'']] and [[Maja (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Maja'']] and the ''[[Essex II (WarShip class)|Essex]]''-class destroyers [[Jarett (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Jarett'']] and [[Sawyer (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Sawyer'']]. The ''Radstadt'' was undergoing routine maintenance in dry-dock, but the other ships of the squadron were actively training and exercising within a region known as the Junkyard, a cloud of debris around Nebulos, Dieron's outermost moon. The Junkyard was a mix of asteroid fragments, radioactive debris and fragments of wrecked ships lost during the battles of the [[Amaris Civil War]]. The Combine was also working hard to restore two ''[[Bastion (Space Station class)|Bastion]]''-class defense stations to working order, and supporting the WarShip squadron were two squadrons of combat [[DropShip]]s.<ref name="FSWp48"/>
	The LCAF struck at Dieron swiftly and with considerable strength; leading the assault was the ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]''-class battlecruiser [[Coventry (Individual Tharkad-class WarShip)|LCS ''Coventry'']], supported by two ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealth II]]''-class cruisers, the [[Gallery (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''Gallery'']] and [[York (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''York'']], the ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser [[Ironwood|LCS ''Ironwood'']] and a pair of ''[[Mako]]''-class corvettes, the [[Anthemius|LCS ''Anthemius'']] and [[Heraclius|LCS ''Heraclius'']]. Supporting the Lyran WarShip squadron was a squadron of DropShips, predominantly fighter carriers, and both the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' were heavily armed with nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles; in addition to the nuclear ordnance carried by the two ''Commonwealths'', many of the fighters transported by the DropShip squadron were also equipped with nuclear weapons. The Lyran WarShip squadron was escorting one of the LCAF's premiere raiding units, the [[Stealths]]—the former [[Rim Worlds Republic]] [[Twenty-third Republic Light Lancers]]—as well as the heavyweight [[Fourteenth Skye Rangers]].<ref name="FSWp48"/>		The LCAF struck at Dieron swiftly and with considerable strength; leading the assault was the ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]''-class battlecruiser [[Coventry (Individual Tharkad-class WarShip)|LCS ''Coventry'']], supported by two ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealth II]]''-class cruisers, the [[Gallery (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''Gallery'']] and [[York (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''York'']], the ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser [[Ironwood|LCS ''Ironwood'']] and a pair of ''[[Mako]]''-class corvettes, the [[Anthemius|LCS ''Anthemius'']] and [[Heraclius|LCS ''Heraclius'']]. Supporting the Lyran WarShip squadron was a squadron of DropShips, predominantly fighter carriers, and both the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' were heavily armed with nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles; in addition to the nuclear ordnance carried by the two ''Commonwealths'', many of the fighters transported by the DropShip squadron were also equipped with nuclear weapons. The Lyran WarShip squadron was escorting one of the LCAF's premiere raiding units, the [[Stealths]]—the former [[Rim Worlds Republic]] [[Twenty-third Republic Light Lancers]]—as well as the heavyweight [[Fourteenth Skye Rangers]].<ref name="FSWp48"/>
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	While Coordinator [[Theodore Kurita]] remained comatose following his stroke in January, his son and heir [[Hohiro Kurita II|Hohiro]] led a task force to Dieron to try and oust the Blakists on the 16th of April, but the campaign was marked by Hohiro's capture by Blakist forces on the 18th of June, leading to the [[DCMS]] reporting Hohiro as "missing, presumed dead."<ref name="J:FRp45">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 45: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> Hohiro and his lance had been run to ground in the Valley of Blossoms near Tatsuyama Mountain by an [[Opacus Venatori]] hunter force led by [[Precentor]] [[Artur Nihjo]] in a chase that had taken a week and which had been initiated after the regular Blakist militia forces had spent two months fruitlessly pursuing Hohiro. Hohiro and his lancemates had attempted to obfuscate Hohiro's location in the final battle by having Hohiro pilot a ''[[Panther]]'', while his ''[[Daishi]]'' was piloted by another pilot, but Nihjo saw through the subterfuge and successfully forced Hohiro to order his lance to surrender after his ''Panther'' was disabled by a ''[[Lightray]]'' piloted by [[Adept]] [[Bryn Rivenschild]].<ref name="JTP:Dp1">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 1: "The New Dieron"</ref>		While Coordinator [[Theodore Kurita]] remained comatose following his stroke in January, his son and heir [[Hohiro Kurita II|Hohiro]] led a task force to Dieron to try and oust the Blakists on the 16th of April, but the campaign was marked by Hohiro's capture by Blakist forces on the 18th of June, leading to the [[DCMS]] reporting Hohiro as "missing, presumed dead."<ref name="J:FRp45">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 45: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> Hohiro and his lance had been run to ground in the Valley of Blossoms near Tatsuyama Mountain by an [[Opacus Venatori]] hunter force led by [[Precentor]] [[Artur Nihjo]] in a chase that had taken a week and which had been initiated after the regular Blakist militia forces had spent two months fruitlessly pursuing Hohiro. Hohiro and his lancemates had attempted to obfuscate Hohiro's location in the final battle by having Hohiro pilot a ''[[Panther]]'', while his ''[[Daishi]]'' was piloted by another pilot, but Nihjo saw through the subterfuge and successfully forced Hohiro to order his lance to surrender after his ''Panther'' was disabled by a ''[[Lightray]]'' piloted by [[Adept]] [[Bryn Rivenschild]].<ref name="JTP:Dp1">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 1: "The New Dieron"</ref>
−	The Tenth Ghost regiment managed to sneak onto Dieron in March 3068 during the later stages of the Blakist invasion, arriving relatively undamaged near Deber City and fortifying their position, as well as retaking the Iznakki spaceport.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The Blakist-employed mercenary unit Burr's Black Cobras arrived on Dieron and fell on the Tenth Ghost's base of operations; fueled by their continuing hatred of the Combine, the Black Cobras' fought hard to push the Tenth Ghost out of the city and away from the main spaceport over the course of several days of intense combat, but lost a number of elements of Fang Battalion and [[Colonel]] [[Richard Burr]] during the fighting.<ref name="JTP:Dp6">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 6: "Combatants"</ref> Although the initial assault by the Tenth Ghost went well, the Tenth took heavy casualties during the twenty-six days of fighting they endured as the regiment clashed with the Black Cobras. The Tenth managed to use subway tunnels to outflank the Cobras and were poised to deal a devastating blow against them when the Dieron High Command ordered the Tenth to withdraw to Iznakki Spaceport to defend against what turned out to be a Blakist feint. Having lost ''[[Tai-sa]]'' [[Samual Noda]], the regimental Commanding Officer in the engagement, the Tenth was able to survive the battle and escape off-world soon afterwards thanks to a last-minute rally around [[Gretchen Noda]], Samuel's wife.<ref name="JTP:Dp9">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 9: "Combatants"</ref>	+	The Tenth Ghost regiment managed to sneak onto Dieron in March 3068 during the later stages of the Blakist invasion, arriving relatively undamaged near Deber City and fortifying their position, as well as retaking the Iznakki spaceport.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The Blakist-employed mercenary unit Burr's Black Cobras arrived on Dieron and fell on the Tenth Ghost's base of operations; fueled by their continuing hatred of the Combine, the Black Cobras' fought hard to push the Tenth Ghost out of the city and away from the main spaceport over the course of several days of intense combat, but lost a number of elements of Fang Battalion and [[Colonel]] [[Richard Burr]] during the fighting.<ref name="JTP:Dp6">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 6: "Combatants"</ref> Although the initial assault by the Tenth Ghost went well, the Tenth took heavy casualties during the twenty-six days of fighting they endured as the regiment clashed with the Black Cobras. The Tenth managed to use subway tunnels to outflank the Cobras and were poised to deal a devastating blow against them when the Dieron High Command ordered the Tenth to withdraw to Iznakki Spaceport to defend against what turned out to be a Blakist feint. Having lost ''[[Tai-sa]]'' [[Samuel Noda]], the regimental Commanding Officer in the engagement, the Tenth was able to survive the battle and escape off-world soon afterwards thanks to a last-minute rally around [[Gretchen Noda]], Samuel's wife.<ref name="JTP:Dp9">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 9: "Combatants"</ref>
	In contrast to reports of Hohiro's apparent demise, a group apparently including surviving members of the [[Royal Black Watch]] rescued Hohiro alive from a Blakist prison camp on Dieron on 4 January [[3069]].<ref name="J:FRp46">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 46: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> This group - the [[Ghosts of the Black Watch]] - had been born from an ill-planned attempt to free captured members of the former SLDF units from Blakist prison camps, and had nearly been destroyed running the Blakist WarShip blockade above Dieron when they landed. Led by [[Colonel]] [[Loren Jaffray]], the survivors of the Ghosts managed to rescue Hohiro after linking up with a small local resistance unit and a DEST unit, and their success led to [[Precentor Domini]] [[Apollyon]] assigning the Opacus Venatori to tracking down and destroying the Ghosts.<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> Of the thirty-five escapees freed by the Ghosts,<ref name="JTP:Dp12"/> only ten<ref name="TCp57">''Total Chaos'', p. 57: "Dieron (sidebar)"</ref> managed to reach the ''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]''-class [[DropShip]] ''[[Inside-Out]]'' and escape with Hohiro.<ref name="JTP:Dp12">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 12: "Dragon Rising"</ref><ref name="TCp57"/>		In contrast to reports of Hohiro's apparent demise, a group apparently including surviving members of the [[Royal Black Watch]] rescued Hohiro alive from a Blakist prison camp on Dieron on 4 January [[3069]].<ref name="J:FRp46">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 46: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> This group - the [[Ghosts of the Black Watch]] - had been born from an ill-planned attempt to free captured members of the former SLDF units from Blakist prison camps, and had nearly been destroyed running the Blakist WarShip blockade above Dieron when they landed. Led by [[Colonel]] [[Loren Jaffray]], the survivors of the Ghosts managed to rescue Hohiro after linking up with a small local resistance unit and a DEST unit, and their success led to [[Precentor Domini]] [[Apollyon]] assigning the Opacus Venatori to tracking down and destroying the Ghosts.<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> Of the thirty-five escapees freed by the Ghosts,<ref name="JTP:Dp12"/> only ten<ref name="TCp57">''Total Chaos'', p. 57: "Dieron (sidebar)"</ref> managed to reach the ''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]''-class [[DropShip]] ''[[Inside-Out]]'' and escape with Hohiro.<ref name="JTP:Dp12">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 12: "Dragon Rising"</ref><ref name="TCp57"/>
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	====Operation SCOUR====		====Operation SCOUR====
−	Dieron stayed in Blakist hands for years, but during [[Operation SCOUR]] a massive allied coalition task force drawn from the [[DCMS]] and [[Clan Ghost Bear]] led the assault to recapture Dieron. The campaign began on 8 October [[3077]] and lasted for several months before Dieron was free.<ref name="J:FRp58"/> The Blakist defenses on Dieron immediately ahead of the Coalition invasion represented the largest massing of Blakist forces in the history of Dieron. Protecting the combined [[Ghost Bear Dominion]] and DCMS forces was a significant naval task force. Opposing them was a substantial Blakist naval group - substantial enough that no less than ten Blakist WarShips were destroyed or captured during the campaign, more capital ship losses for the Word of Blake than any other battle of the Jihad save the battle for [[Terra]] in [[3078]]. From their core fleet, the Word of Blake lost three vessels, the ''[[Baron (WarShip class)|Baron]]''-class destroyer [[Light of Glory|WoBS ''Light of Glory'']], the ''Essex''-class destroyer [[Dawning Horizon|WoBS ''Dawning Horizon'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[End of Wisdom|WoBS ''End of Wisdom'']].<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Original Word of Blake Fleet"</ref> The Blakists also lost seven WarShips from their fleet of vessels suborned from the [[Free Worlds League]] navy: the ''[[Zechetinu]]''-class corvettes [[Karelia|FWLS ''Karelia'']] and [[Tirana|FWLS ''Tirana'']], the ''[[Zechetinu|Zechetinu II]]''-class corvette [[Araneida|FWLS ''Araneida'']], the ''[[Agamemnon]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Aineas|FWLS ''Aineas'']], the [[Eagle (WarShip class)|''Eagle'']]-class frigates [[Mordred (Individual Eagle-class WarShip)|FWLS ''Mordred'']] and [[Tristram|FWLS ''Tristram'']] and the ''[[Thera]]''-class carrier [[Sardis|FWLS ''Sardis'']]—although the latter was captured rather than destroyed, and would be pressed into service by [[Clan Snow Raven]]<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Captured Ships"</ref> as the renamed SRS ''Raven's Nest''.<ref name="JHS:Tp68">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 68: "Flight of the Raven"</ref>	+	Dieron stayed in Blakist hands for years, but during [[Operation SCOUR]] a massive allied coalition task force drawn from the [[DCMS]] and [[Clan Ghost Bear]] led the assault to recapture Dieron. The campaign began on 8 October [[3077]] and lasted for several months before Dieron was free.<ref name="J:FRp58"/> The Blakist defenses on Dieron immediately ahead of the Coalition invasion represented the largest massing of Blakist forces in the history of Dieron. Protecting the combined [[Ghost Bear Dominion]] and DCMS forces was a significant naval task force. Opposing them was a substantial Blakist naval group - substantial enough that no less than ten Blakist WarShips were destroyed or captured during the campaign, more capital ship losses for the Word of Blake than any other battle of the Jihad save the battle for [[Terra]] in [[3078]]. From their core fleet, the Word of Blake lost three vessels, the ''[[Baron]]''-class destroyer [[Light of Glory|WoBS ''Light of Glory'']], the ''Essex''-class destroyer [[Dawning Horizon|WoBS ''Dawning Horizon'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[End of Wisdom|WoBS ''End of Wisdom'']].<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Original Word of Blake Fleet"</ref> The Blakists also lost seven WarShips from their fleet of vessels suborned from the [[Free Worlds League]] navy: the ''[[Zechetinu]]''-class corvettes [[Karelia|FWLS ''Karelia'']] and [[Tirana|FWLS ''Tirana'']], the ''[[Zechetinu|Zechetinu II]]''-class corvette [[Araneida|FWLS ''Araneida'']], the ''[[Agamemnon]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Aineas|FWLS ''Aineas'']], the [[Eagle (WarShip class)|''Eagle'']]-class frigates [[Mordred|FWLS ''Mordred'']] and [[Tristram|FWLS ''Tristram'']] and the ''[[Thera]]''-class carrier [[Sardis|FWLS ''Sardis'']]—although the latter was captured rather than destroyed, and would be pressed into service by [[Clan Snow Raven]]<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Captured Ships"</ref> as the renamed SRS ''Raven's Nest''.<ref name="JHS:Tp68">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 68: "Flight of the Raven"</ref>
−	The underground news agency known as [[Drake (News Agency)|Drake]] released what it claimed to be the combat logs kept by [[Star Admiral]] [[James Lankenau]], the [[Clan Snow Raven]] Admiral commanding the ''[[Conqueror]]''-class carrier [[Ark Royal (Individual Conqueror-class WarShip)|CSR ''Ark Royal'']]. If the logs are accurate—and it is noteworthy that the logs contain no mention of the FWLS ''Araneida'' or the WoBS ''Dawning Horizon''—the major naval combat actions took place on the 20th of November, after the Blakist task force jumped in-system on the 19th. The logs record that the Clan forces in the system comprised the ''Ark Royal'' and two Clan Ghost Bear WarShips, the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class [[Ursa Major|CGB ''Ursa Major'']] and the massive ''[[Leviathan (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|Leviathan]]''-class [[Leviathan (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|CGB ''Leviathan'']]. The ''Ark Royal'' reportedly suffered light damage and the ''Ursa Major'' moderate damage, but the ''Leviathan'' was evidently scuttled, as the Blakists had concentrated the fire from their WarShips and their considerable [[Pocket WarShip]] fleet on the Ghost Bear battleship.<ref name="JHS:Tp68"/> The commitment of Coalition ground forces to the campaign to liberate Dieron matched the naval forces; officially led by the DCMS continent, which consisted of the [[2nd Dieron Regulars|Second]] and [[Eighth Dieron Regulars]] under the overall command of ''Tai-sa'' [[Cale Schultz-Tanaka]], the task force included no less than four Galaxies of Ghost Bear forces: [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Alpha]], [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Beta]], [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Omega]], and [[Rho Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Rho Galaxies]], commanded by [[Khan]] [[Aletha Kabrinski]].<ref name="TCp58"/>	+	The underground news agency known as [[Drake (News Agency)|Drake]] released what it claimed to be the combat logs kept by [[Star Admiral]] [[James Lankenau]], the [[Clan Snow Raven]] Admiral commanding the ''[[Conqueror]]''-class carrier [[Ark Royal (Conqueror)|CSR ''Ark Royal'']]. If the logs are accurate—and it is noteworthy that the logs contain no mention of the FWLS ''Araneida'' or the WoBS ''Dawning Horizon''—the major naval combat actions took place on the 20th of November, after the Blakist task force jumped in-system on the 19th. The logs record that the Clan forces in the system comprised the ''Ark Royal'' and two Clan Ghost Bear WarShips, the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class [[Ursa Major|CGB ''Ursa Major'']] and the massive ''[[Leviathan (Leviathan)|Leviathan]]''-class [[Leviathan (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|CGB ''Leviathan'']]. The ''Ark Royal'' reportedly suffered light damage and the ''Ursa Major'' moderate damage, but the ''Leviathan'' was evidently scuttled, as the Blakists had concentrated the fire from their WarShips and their considerable [[Pocket WarShip]] fleet on the Ghost Bear battleship.<ref name="JHS:Tp68"/> The commitment of Coalition ground forces to the campaign to liberate Dieron matched the naval forces; officially led by the DCMS continent, which consisted of the [[2nd Dieron Regulars|Second]] and [[Eighth Dieron Regulars]] under the overall command of ''Tai-sa'' [[Cale Schultz-Tanaka]], the task force included no less than four Galaxies of Ghost Bear forces: [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Alpha]], [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Beta]], [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Omega]], and [[Rho Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Rho Galaxies]], commanded by [[Khan]] [[Aletha Kabrinski]].<ref name="TCp58"/>
	The Nineteenth Militia Division was responsible for coordinating the Blakist defense of Dieron during the invasion and were responsible for a number of actions including the destruction of the bulk of the Luthien Armor Works factory located in Khentii Towers via a series of subterranean nuclear detonations.<ref name="JTP:Dp7">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 7: "Combatants"</ref> The [[Second Dieron Regulars]] had managed to secure two minor weapons factories within the Khentii Towers mountain range before the Nineteenth destroyed the main Luthien Armor Works facility; the Second had taken heavy losses breaching the facility—known as LAW-KT2<ref name="TCp58"/>—before the Nineteenth destroyed it, and the nuclear detonations within the plant killed the entire of the command structure of the Second.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/>		The Nineteenth Militia Division was responsible for coordinating the Blakist defense of Dieron during the invasion and were responsible for a number of actions including the destruction of the bulk of the Luthien Armor Works factory located in Khentii Towers via a series of subterranean nuclear detonations.<ref name="JTP:Dp7">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 7: "Combatants"</ref> The [[Second Dieron Regulars]] had managed to secure two minor weapons factories within the Khentii Towers mountain range before the Nineteenth destroyed the main Luthien Armor Works facility; the Second had taken heavy losses breaching the facility—known as LAW-KT2<ref name="TCp58"/>—before the Nineteenth destroyed it, and the nuclear detonations within the plant killed the entire of the command structure of the Second.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/>
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	In January [[3078]], the Draconis Combine and Ghost Bear commands deployed the newly liberated [[Northwind Highlanders]] to Dieron to accelerate the mop-up operations against Blakist holdouts.<ref name="J:FRp58">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> The last major Blakist formation to survive on Dieron was the Twenty-third Militia Division, who had been in overall command of the Blakist forces since mid-3076. The Twenty-third had played an important role in augmenting other forces, including those at Fortress Dieron, and was determined to make the coalition forces pay for every gain they made; a common tactic was for the Twenty-third to set controlled fires in cities, forcing the Ghost Bear and DCMS forces into killing zones. The Twenty-third nearly managed to destroy Fortress Dieron before being wiped out completely.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/>		In January [[3078]], the Draconis Combine and Ghost Bear commands deployed the newly liberated [[Northwind Highlanders]] to Dieron to accelerate the mop-up operations against Blakist holdouts.<ref name="J:FRp58">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> The last major Blakist formation to survive on Dieron was the Twenty-third Militia Division, who had been in overall command of the Blakist forces since mid-3076. The Twenty-third had played an important role in augmenting other forces, including those at Fortress Dieron, and was determined to make the coalition forces pay for every gain they made; a common tactic was for the Twenty-third to set controlled fires in cities, forcing the Ghost Bear and DCMS forces into killing zones. The Twenty-third nearly managed to destroy Fortress Dieron before being wiped out completely.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/>
−	The Blakist forces on Dieron represented one of the largest commitments by the Word of Blake during the Jihad; in terms of ground support the Blakists had deployed a task force consisting of [[Protectorate Militia]] Divisions from [[Acamar]], [[Asta]], [[Fletcher (CC)|Fletcher]], [[Liberty]] and [[Milton]], along with the Second, Third, Fourteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-third [[Word of Blake Militia|Militia Divisions]].<ref name="J:FRp127">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 127: "Word of Blake Militia Divisions"</ref>	+	The Blakist forces on Dieron represented one of the largest commitments by the Word of Blake during the Jihad; in terms of ground support the Blakists had deployed a task force consisting of [[Protectorate Militia]] Divisions from [[Acamar]], [[Asta]], [[Fletcher (ROTS)|Fletcher]], [[Liberty]] and [[Milton]], along with the Second, Third, Fourteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-third [[Word of Blake Militia|Militia Divisions]].<ref name="J:FRp127">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 127: "Word of Blake Militia Divisions"</ref>
	During their retreat from Dieron the Blakists attacked the military industry on Dieron, damaging the [[Luthien Armor Works]] and [[Terada]] factories so badly that by mid-[[3081]] the plants were considered a complete write-off that wouldn't be worth attempting to rebuild.<ref name="J:FRp107">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 107: "Draconis Combine"</ref> The Blakists' scorched-earth tactics focused on military manufacturing centers, which were hit by various forms of sabotage. A number of complexes were contaminated with heavy radiation or toxic waste, and critical components dating from the Star League era were destroyed.<ref name="TCp59"/> The battle to liberate Dieron had exacted a heavy toll on the civilian population; during the fighting, four major cities were either destroyed or burned, ten million Dieronese had been killed, an entire continent had been affected by nuclear and toxic waste and a number of mining and manufacturing operations had been destroyed.<ref name="JTP:Dp18">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 18: "Bloody Takedown"</ref><ref name="TCp60"/> While the Blakists had avoided inflicting a large amount of collateral damage to civilian facilities during their retreat, a significant amount of damage to noncritical infrastructure and facilities was caused as a result of the battles between Omega and Rho Galaxies and the Protectorate Militias from Acamar, Liberty and Milton. These battles were intense, savage, and frequently fought through civilian sectors.<ref name="TCp59"/>		During their retreat from Dieron the Blakists attacked the military industry on Dieron, damaging the [[Luthien Armor Works]] and [[Terada]] factories so badly that by mid-[[3081]] the plants were considered a complete write-off that wouldn't be worth attempting to rebuild.<ref name="J:FRp107">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 107: "Draconis Combine"</ref> The Blakists' scorched-earth tactics focused on military manufacturing centers, which were hit by various forms of sabotage. A number of complexes were contaminated with heavy radiation or toxic waste, and critical components dating from the Star League era were destroyed.<ref name="TCp59"/> The battle to liberate Dieron had exacted a heavy toll on the civilian population; during the fighting, four major cities were either destroyed or burned, ten million Dieronese had been killed, an entire continent had been affected by nuclear and toxic waste and a number of mining and manufacturing operations had been destroyed.<ref name="JTP:Dp18">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 18: "Bloody Takedown"</ref><ref name="TCp60"/> While the Blakists had avoided inflicting a large amount of collateral damage to civilian facilities during their retreat, a significant amount of damage to noncritical infrastructure and facilities was caused as a result of the battles between Omega and Rho Galaxies and the Protectorate Militias from Acamar, Liberty and Milton. These battles were intense, savage, and frequently fought through civilian sectors.<ref name="TCp59"/>

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{{Update Needed|[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]|[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]]|[[Historical: War of 3039]]|[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]|[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]|[[Shell Games|Shell Games (Novella)]]}} {{InfoBoxSystem | image = Dieron_3151.svg | caption = Dieron [[#Nearby_Systems|nearby systems]] | name = Dieron | coord = 12.201 : 14.909{{e}} | stars = | class = G3V<ref name=HK186>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 186 (PDF p. 188): "Dieron" planet profile</ref><ref name=HB:HKp93>''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 93: "Dieron"</ref><ref name=JTPD5>''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 5: "Dieron"</ref><ref name=DARW237>''Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)'', p. 237: "Dieron"</ref><ref name="O:DCp35">''Objectives: Draconis Combine'', p. 35: "Dieron"</ref> | recharge = 184 hours<ref name="O:DCp35"/> | recharge stations = Nadir, Zenith<ref name=HK186/><ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | planets = 6<ref name=DARW237/> }} The '''Dieron''' system was home to at least one habitable world, '''Dieron IV''', and as of [[3145]], it was both the Prefecture capital of the [[Dieron Prefecture]] and the administrative capital of the [[Dieron Military District]] within the [[Draconis Combine]].<ref name="ER:3145p39"/><ref name="FM:3145pVI"/> __TOC__ ==System Description== Dieron is located near the [[Altair]] and [[Fomalhaut]] systems<ref name="ER:3145p39"/><ref name="FM:3145pVI"/> and consists of a class G3V primary orbited by six worlds.<ref name=DARW237/> During the [[thirty-first century]] recharge stations were in place at both system [[jump point]]s.<ref name=HK186/><ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> ==System History== The Dieron system was settled during the [[First Exodus]] from [[Terra]] and was briefly the center of a small interstellar polity known as the [[Dieron Federation]] after the [[Demarcation Declaration]] was issued in the mid-[[twenty-third century]].<ref name="HM(TFWL)p11"/> ==Political Affiliation== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * [[2271]] - Inhabited world<ref name="HB:HMp16">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 16</ref> * [[2310]] - [[Alliance of Galedon]]<ref name="HKp23">''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 23</ref> * [[2311]] - Alliance of Galedon<ref name="HKp24">''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 24</ref> * [[2314]] - [[Dieron Federation]]<ref name="HM(TFWL)p11">''House Marik (The Free Worlds League)'', p. 11</ref> * [[2319]] - [[Terran Hegemony]]<ref name=HB:HKp18>''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 18</ref> * [[2341]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="HB:HSp13">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 13</ref> * [[2571]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="HB:HKp31">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 31</ref><ref name="HB:HSp25">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 25</ref> * [[2596]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="H:RWp159">''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 159</ref> * [[2750]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="ER:2750p37">''Era Report: 2750'', p. 37</ref> * [[2764]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="FM:SLDFpvii">''Field Manual: SLDF'', p. vii: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"</ref> * [[2765]] - Terran Hegemony<ref name="H:LoTV1p11>''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1'', p. 11</ref><ref name="FR2765:DCp25">''Field Report 2765: DCMS'', p. 25</ref><ref name="FR2765:LCAFp25">''Field Report 2765: LCAF'', p. 25</ref> * [[2767]] - [[Amaris Empire]]<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1'', pp. 82–83</ref> * [[2771]] - Amaris Empire<ref name="H:LoTV1p138">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1'', p. 138</ref> * [[2774]] - Amaris Empire<ref name="H:LoTV1p138"/> * [[2786]] - [[Draconis Combine]] (from December)<ref name="FSWp27">''First Succession War'', p. 27: "Draconis Combine Gains"</ref> * [[2790]] - Draconis Combine<ref name=FSWp76>''First Succession War'', p. 65: "The Best Defense is an Annoying Offense"</ref> * [[2797]] - Draconis Combine<ref name=FSWp95>''First Succession War'', p. 95: "Federated Suns Counteroffensives 2801–2818"</ref> * [[2822]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="H:LOTV2p122">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', pp. 122–123</ref><ref name="HB:HKp43">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 43</ref><ref name="HB:HSp36">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 36</ref><ref name="HB:HMp34">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 34</ref><ref name="FSW(SB)p113">''First Succession War'', p. 113</ref> * [[2864]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="HB:HKp53">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 53</ref><ref name="HB:HSp40">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 40</ref><ref name="HB:HMp38">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 38</ref> * [[3025]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="HK(TDC)pvii">''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. vii: "Draconis Combine Map - [3025]"</ref><ref name="HB:HKp64">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 64</ref><ref name="HB:HDp70">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 70</ref><ref name="HB:HSp47">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 47</ref><ref name="HB:HMp42">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 42</ref> * [[3030]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="HB:HKp66">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 66</ref><ref name="HB:HDp71">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 71</ref><ref name="HB:HSp56">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 56</ref><ref name="HB:HMp51">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 51</ref> * [[3040]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="H:Wo3039p133">''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 133</ref><ref name="HB:HKp68">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 68</ref><ref name="HB:HDp76">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 76</ref><ref name="HB:HSp59">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 59</ref> * [[3050]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="ER3052p11">''Era Report: 3052'', p. 11</ref> * [[3052]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="ER3052p23">''Era Report: 3052'', p. 23</ref><ref name="HB:HKp71">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 71</ref><ref name="HB:HSp61">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 61</ref> * [[3054]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="OR:24">''Objective Raids'', p. 24</ref> * [[3057]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="ER:3062p11">''Era Report: 3062'', p. 11</ref> * [[3058]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="HB:HMp54">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 54</ref> * [[3061]] - Draconis Combine<ref name=VftG>''View from the Ground''</ref> * [[3063]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="ER:3062p29">''Era Report: 3062'', p. 29</ref><ref name="ISp21">''Inner Sphere'', p. 21</ref> * [[3067]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="HB:HKp74">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 74</ref><ref name="HB:HSp70">''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 70</ref><ref name="HB:HMp56">''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 56</ref><ref name="HB:HDp82">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 82</ref><ref name="J:FRp42">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 42</ref> * [[3068]] - [[Word of Blake Protectorate]] (from February)<ref name="J:FRp45"/> * [[3075]] - Word of Blake Protectorate<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 65</ref> * [[3077]] - Word of Blake Protectorate<ref name="J:FRp58"/> * [[3079]] - Word of Blake Protectorate<ref name="FR:Cp29">''Field Report: Clans'', p. 29</ref><ref name="FR:DCMSp21">''Field Report: DCMS'', p. 21</ref> * [[3081]] - [[Republic of the Sphere]]<ref name="J:FRp63">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 63</ref> * [[3085]] - Republic of the Sphere<ref name="FM:3085pvii">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. vii: "Inner Sphere Map - [October 3085]"</ref> * [[3135]] - Independent world<ref name="ER:3145p11">''Era Report: 3145'', p. 11</ref> * [[3145]] - Draconis Combine<ref name="ER:3145p39">''Era Report: 3145'', p. 39</ref><ref name="FM:3145pVI">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"</ref> {{div col end}} ------------------------------------- ==Dieron IV== {{InfoBoxPlanet | image = Dieron.jpg | name = Dieron IV | othernames = | position = Fourth<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | distance = 8.53 days<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | moons = 2 (Bemer, Nebulos)<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | gravity = 1.02<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | pressure = Standard (Breathable)<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | temperature = 27°C<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | water = 54%<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | life = Amphibian,<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=DARW237/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> 35%<ref name=HK186/> | continents = 3 (Wenniska, Mataeo, Voltenna)<ref name=DARW237/> | colonized = | demonym = Dieronese<ref name=VftG/> | language = | religion = | population = 2,398,000,000 (2766),<ref name=SLp172>''The Star League'', p. 172: "Dieron" planet profile</ref> 5,284,000,000 (3025),<ref name=HK186/><br>2,952,000,000 (3067),<ref name=HB:HKp93/><br>3,231,000,000 (3078),<ref name=JTPD5/><br>1,231,000,000 (3079),<ref name="O:DCp35"/><br>1,630,000,000 (3130)<ref name=DARW237/> | ruler = [[Duke of Dieron]] | political = [[Planetary Governor of Dieron|Planetary Governor]] | commander = Legate [[Chiun Matawa]] (3130)<ref name=DARW237/> | capital = San Martín (pre-Jihad),<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/><br>Fortress Dieron (3079),<ref name="O:DCp35"/><br>Tahlwynn (3130)<ref name=DARW237/> | hpg = A<ref name=HK186/><ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/><ref name="O:DCp35"/> | hpgrep = [[Precentor]] [[Myndo Waterly]] (3025)<ref name=HK186/> }} Dieron IV, more commonly known simply as Dieron, is a highly notable and industrialized world. During the [[Star League era]], Dieron was orbited by a number of spaceyards and was the administrative capital of a [[Star League Defense Force]] military district as well as being home to an SLDF Army. Prior to the Star League era, Dieron was briefly the capital world of a small interstellar polity known as the Dieron Federation,<ref name="HM(TFWL)p11"/> and following the fall of the [[Star League]], Dieron served almost continuously for centuries as the capital of a military district within the Draconis Combine.<ref name=HB:HKp93/><ref name=JTPD5/> ===Planetary History=== ====Early History==== Dieron was one of the worlds abandoned by the [[Terran Alliance]] following the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] and the Demarcation Declaration of [[2242]],<ref name="HB:HMp16"/> and survived as an independent world that went on to exercise control over several neighboring worlds. When [[Director]] [[Shiro Kurita]] of the [[Alliance of Galedon]] conducted a year-long tour of worlds near the Alliance in 2309–2310, he included Dieron on his tour; he brought with him evidence purporting to show that one or more of the other small states nearby had designs on conquering Dieron, and offered to mediate between Dieron and its opponents. He also offered to protect Dieron by allowing Dieron to join the Alliance, thereby allying itself with a stronger power.<ref name="HKp23"/> Dieron accepted this proposal, not realizing that Director Kurita had invented the evidence and deliberately played a number of small states based around the worlds of [[Benjamin]], [[Junction]], [[Luthien]], [[Pesht]], and [[Worrell]] against each other, dramatically expanding the Alliance's size.<ref name="HKp23"/> Dieron was responsible for Director Kurita's subterfuge coming to light, when in June [[2311]] a dispute broke out between Dieron and the nearby world of [[Altair]]; each called on its great ally... Director Shiro Kurita. Each planetary ruler discovered that they had been promised the same things, and word soon spread to the other planets seduced by Director Kurita's diplomatic campaign.<ref name="HKp24"/> Dieron's membership in the Alliance of Galedon, willing or not, would not last long; the newly formed [[Terran Hegemony]] began expanding rapidly outwards, intent on returning all of the former colony worlds to Terran control, and Dieron was one of those worlds targeted. The [[Treaty of Terra]] signed between the Terran Hegemony and the [[Free Worlds League]] in [[2314]] ensured that League shipping and League sovereignty wouldn't be challenged by the Hegemony, with the Hegemony instead concentrating on "liberating" the nearby Dieron Federation instead.<ref name="HM(TFWL)p11"/> By [[2341]], Dieron had been incorporated into the Terran Hegemony,<ref name="HB:HSp13"/> becoming one of the worlds within the [[Lone Star Province]]<ref name="H:RWp159"/> ====Amaris Civil War==== During the Star League era, Dieron was a major administrative center and also a major electronics producer, and the Dieron system was the site of various orbital shipyards.<ref name=DARW237/> Dieron had numerous factories and facilities dedicated to producing billions of tons of electronics for the Terran Hegemony. The Star League dug numerous exploratory mines in the Atacama Desert, a mighty desert that circled much of the equator of Dieron.<ref name="JTP:Dp5">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 5: "Dieron"</ref> When [[Stefan Amaris]] launched [[Operation APOTHEOSIS]], his coup to assume control of the [[Terran Hegemony]], most of his plans worked well. This was not the case with Dieron, where the efforts of the [[Rim Worlds Army]] forces failed to go according to plan, and what should have been a swift takeover became a protracted conflict.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> The APOTHEOSIS plans called for several events to happen concurrently. After assuming control of the various [[Castle Brian|Castles Brian]] on Dieron using acts of terrorism as cover, the [[Rim Worlds Republic]] forces on Dieron were supposed to isolate and secure the planetary [[HPG]] at 1700 hours Terran Standard Time on 27 December [[2766]] while Republican [[WarShip]] forces secured both jump points, isolating Dieron and leaving it unable to communicate with the rest of the Hegemony. Republican forces were then to aggressively target SLDF bases and facilities on Dieron, reducing any resistance before the SLDF had any idea what had happened.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> The officer commanding the Republican forces on the ground was [[General]] [[Tolstin Eukai]], and it is unclear whether Eukai received incomplete orders or simply failed to understand them; while [[Captain]] [[Urgur Toch]] and Captain [[Yrorran Garcil]] used their WarShips to interdict the two major jump points according to the plan, Eukai hadn't ordered his troops to secure the HPG by the time the first distress calls from the jump points reached Dieron. Eukai and his forces scrambled to try and initiate their phase of the plan as soon as the distress calls arrived, seventy-five minutes later, but by then it was too late.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> Despite the bulk of the SLDF being present in the [[Periphery]] attempting to deal with the [[Periphery Uprising]] there were still a substantial number of SLDF personnel present on Dieron when APOTHEOSIS began. Dieron was the headquarters of both a complete Military Region within the Draconis Combine and the SLDF [[14th Army (Star League)|Fourteenth Army]], leading to a substantial number of military personnel in place regardless of Fourteenth Army deployments; there were also large numbers of retired and reserve personnel on Dieron, as well as regular personnel on leave. As soon as the first distress calls reached Dieron the planetary Governor, [[Paolo Varellas]], and the senior military officer, [[Major General]] [[Annika Tellman]], declared a state of emergency. While the Governor called for the population to peacefully oppose the Republicans in any way possible, General Tellman opened the four Castles Brian present on Dieron to anyone that wanted to flee the occupation. Governor Varellas also fired off a distress call via the planetary HPG to every Hegemony transmitter within a fifty light-year radius, although all of the transmitters that could have received the distress call were already in Republican hands.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> The swift action by Tellman and Varellas prevented the Republicans from seizing either the planetary capital or Fort Hallik, the Castle Brian that contained the Fourteenth Army HQ. There were relatively few SLDF combat forces present on Dieron, but those forces that were present marshaled under Tellman's orders and fought a holding action against the Republican forces, which Eukai led in a relatively straightforward campaign to try and gain control of the world. With tens of thousands of people sheltering within the Castles Brian, including much of the planetary leadership, Tellman sealed the four Castles before the Republicans could gain access and settled in for a siege.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> The Republican forces were able to sever the SLDF communications using a mixture of conventional and nuclear strikes against the various communications relays in place, which also prevented the SLDF from operating the local [[Space Defense System]]; in turn, the SLDF destroyed the auxiliary controls for the SDS network, preventing the Republicans from gaining control over it. Eukai easily assumed control of Dieron and the Republicans swiftly placed their own puppet rulers in place, but tens of thousands of former and serving SLDF personnel among the population took up arms against the Republicans, combining with the ever-present threat of the four intact Castles Brian to create perhaps the most threatening planetary resistance anywhere in the former Hegemony.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> Eukai had failed at almost every objective he was given; he had failed to secure the HPG transmitter, which had subsequently been destroyed by Republican forces to prevent the SLDF calling for assistance; he failed to gain control of the SDS, failed to reduce the four Castles Brian and failed to remove the SLDF presence from Dieron. Eukai's replacement arrived on Dieron on the 10th of January, passing orders to Eukai that ordered him to report personally to Emperor Stefan Amaris; Eukai made his appearance on the 28th of January where he was publicly executed for his incompetence.<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> Having survived the initial coup relatively intact, Dieron was ravaged by the SLDF when they recaptured the world during the campaign to liberate the Hegemony. The various Castles Brian were destroyed by orbital bombardment, but the memory of the fortifications would continue to remain a symbol in the minds of the population, reminding them of Dieron's former glory.<ref name=DARW237/> ====First Succession War==== The various cities of Dieron, nestled into the cramped valleys formed by the various mountain chains that crisscrossed Dieron became hotbeds of resistance against Combine rule once Dieron was occupied after the fall of the Star League. In an effort to deflect the attentions of rebellious elements within the population, the Combine government would often play on rumors of Star League caches hidden in the mountains, encouraging many of the population to venture into the mountains in the hopes of finding relics from their past despite the treacherous terrain, hostile elements and the risks associated with the chronic earthquakes that occurred.<ref name=DARW237/> Dieron had been a tempting target for the Combine following the fall of the Terran Hegemony, one that the Combine seized quickly; however, having captured the planet, the combine discovered that the Star League Defense Force had stripped the planet of almost everything of worth. Undaunted, the Combine used the shells of the various deep mountain factories and forges still in place to develop major industries on Dieron again, turning the world into an industrial powerhouse.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> Dieron had been a significant target for the Combine due to the [[Stellar Trek]] shipyards in the system, but the shipyards were subsequently destroyed during the [[First Succession War]].<ref name="FSWp125">''First Succession War'', p. 125: "Shipbuilding Casualties of the First Succession War"</ref> Following the huge naval battle at [[Skondia]] in February and March [[2787]] that was one of the largest and costliest naval engagements between the [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Lyran Commonwealth]] of the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], the Lyran Commonwealth attempted to retaliate against the Combine with a pair of daring raids. One of these was a deep raid on [[Luthien]], the capital of the Draconis Combine; the second raid struck at Dieron.<ref name="FSWp48">''First Succession War'', pp. 48–49: "Steiner Strikes Back: Luthien and Dieron"</ref> Dieron was a key system for the Draconis Combine, as the former SLDF Stellar Trek shipyards were still partially functional, and were being used to support both the Combine naval forces operating in the [[Federated Suns]] and in the Lyran Commonwealth. Due to Dieron's importance the system was guarded by a six-WarShip squadron led by the ''[[Samarkand Block II (WarShip class)|Samarkand II]]''-class fighter carrier [[Radstadt (Individual Samarkand-class WarShip)|DCS ''Radstadt'']], the lead ship of the [[Draconis Combine Admiralty|Draconis Combine Admiralty's]] [[6th Fleet (DCA)|Sixth Fleet]] during the Star League era. The other ships of the squadron were older, but still active; the heaviest was the ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Selene (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|DCS ''Selene'']], accompanied by two pairs of destroyers - the ''[[Lola I]]''-class destroyers [[Akiko (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Akiko'']] and [[Maja (Individual Lola I-class WarShip)|DCS ''Maja'']] and the ''[[Essex II (WarShip class)|Essex]]''-class destroyers [[Jarett (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Jarett'']] and [[Sawyer (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|DCS ''Sawyer'']]. The ''Radstadt'' was undergoing routine maintenance in dry-dock, but the other ships of the squadron were actively training and exercising within a region known as the Junkyard, a cloud of debris around Nebulos, Dieron's outermost moon. The Junkyard was a mix of asteroid fragments, radioactive debris and fragments of wrecked ships lost during the battles of the [[Amaris Civil War]]. The Combine was also working hard to restore two ''[[Bastion (Space Station class)|Bastion]]''-class defense stations to working order, and supporting the WarShip squadron were two squadrons of combat [[DropShip]]s.<ref name="FSWp48"/> The LCAF struck at Dieron swiftly and with considerable strength; leading the assault was the ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]''-class battlecruiser [[Coventry (Individual Tharkad-class WarShip)|LCS ''Coventry'']], supported by two ''[[Commonwealth (WarShip class)|Commonwealth II]]''-class cruisers, the [[Gallery (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''Gallery'']] and [[York (Individual Commonwealth-class WarShip)|LCS ''York'']], the ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser [[Ironwood|LCS ''Ironwood'']] and a pair of ''[[Mako]]''-class corvettes, the [[Anthemius|LCS ''Anthemius'']] and [[Heraclius|LCS ''Heraclius'']]. Supporting the Lyran WarShip squadron was a squadron of DropShips, predominantly fighter carriers, and both the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' were heavily armed with nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles; in addition to the nuclear ordnance carried by the two ''Commonwealths'', many of the fighters transported by the DropShip squadron were also equipped with nuclear weapons. The Lyran WarShip squadron was escorting one of the LCAF's premiere raiding units, the [[Stealths]]—the former [[Rim Worlds Republic]] [[Twenty-third Republic Light Lancers]]—as well as the heavyweight [[Fourteenth Skye Rangers]].<ref name="FSWp48"/> The Lyran squadron powered through the lighter Combine destroyers, destroying the ''Selene'' as they did so - the ''Selene'' succumbing to a broken spine as a result of volleys of tactical missiles from the Lyran WarShips. As the ''Radstadt'' attempted to break its moorings and join the fight, the ''Gallery'' and the ''York'' focused their efforts on attacking the ''Bastion'' stations and the shipyards with nuclear missiles, while the ''Coventry'', ''Ironwood'' and both ''Makos'' engaged the Combine WarShips. The ''Radstadt'' was able to disengage from the dry dock and launched a suicidal attack on the ''Coventry''; missing half her crew and a third of her weapons, the ''Radstadt'' was met head-on by the ''Coventry'', ''Anthemius'' and ''Heraclius''. As they fought, the ''Ironwood'' engaged both the ''Jarett'' and the ''Sawyer''; the ''Radstadt'' made a failed attempt to ram the ''Coventry'' before being destroyed, but bought enough time for the ''Akiko'' and ''Maja'' to rejoin the fight, both ''Lolas'' engaging the ''Coventry'' and her accompanying corvettes.<ref name="FSWp48"/> With the ''Radstadt'' destroyed, the ''Akiko'' and ''Maja'' found themselves under increasing pressure as the ''Gallery'' and ''York'' joined the battle, having accomplished their mission of destroying the orbital facilities; both ''Lolas'' were destroyed, but not before they had claimed the ''Anthemius'' and ''Heraclius'' as victims and inflicted heavy damage on the ''Coventry''. The ''Ironwood'' managed to cripple both the ''Jarett'' and the ''Sawyer'', but the battle had drifted close to Nebulos and the ''Coventry'' was leaking fuel and atmosphere badly. The ground forces accompanying the WarShip squadron were out of contact, as the innermost moon of Dieron, Bermer, had passed between the WarShip group and the DropShips transporting the ground elements, and both regiments began their ground assault in earnest.<ref name="FSWp48"/><ref name="FSWp49">''First Succession War'', p. 49: "What Happened Out There?"</ref> The commanding officer of the ''Coventry'' decided to order his crew to abandon ship, and called for the surviving Lyran WarShips to rendezvous to take on board survivors from the ''Coventry''. In one of a number of notable mysteries to emerge from the Succession Wars, the four Lyran WarShips were never seen again. The Lyran ground forces had anticipated being out of contact, and it was several hours before the DropShip fighter carrier group was deployed to try and make contact with the ''Coventry'' and the other WarShips; pressed for time, the DropShips conducted as good a survey as they could of Nebulos despite poor visibility and the heavy debris field, and identified a number of escape pods from the ''Coventry'' and hull fragments from either the ''Gallery'' or ''York'', but no indication of what had happened to any of the ships. With the ground forces recovered from their successful assault, the surviving Lyran ships withdrew from the Dieron system, and the ''Coventry'', ''Gallery'', ''Ironwood'', and ''York'' were all officially declared "missing in action, presumed destroyed."<ref name="FSWp48"/> ====Later Succession Wars==== The citizens of Dieron remained proud of their homeworld during the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]], and efforts by the Combine to introduce new officially sanctioned Kuritan names for locations and cities were often ignored by the locals, who continued to use the original colonial names for the various locations for centuries afterwards - much to the confusion of visiting dignitaries, and to the considerable amusement of the locals. The locals remained largely indifferent to who ruled the planet, so long as their rulers kept the population content, although there were occasional outbreaks of political dissent.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> Whilst Dieron served as the capital of the Dieron Military District the District's lavish headquarters and the governor's palace were established in Dragon's Roost on Tatsuyama Mountains, although the impressive name belied the fact that the Roost was a glamorized Star League bunker complex. Dieron was also the site of one of the five failed "modular cities" created by [[Coordinator of Worlds|Coordinator]] [[Hugai Kurita]], Deber City, which was located close to Iznakki Interplanetary Spaceport in valleys along the Khoomei River; this region remained home to many of the cultural and administrative centers on Dieron.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> ====Clan Invasion Era==== Following the defeat and annihilation of [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] the Draconis Combine was awarded ownership of a number of former Smoke Jaguar [[WarShip]]s. Two of those WarShips, the ''[[Essex]]''-class destroyer [[Dark Claw|CSJ ''Dark Claw'']] and the ''[[York (WarShip class)|York]]''-class destroyer [[Lioness|CSJ ''Lioness'']] were placed in mothballs above Dieron.<ref name="JHS:Tp30">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 30: "DCA Readiness Report"</ref> ====Blakist Invasion==== The [[Word of Blake]] captured Dieron after an assault on 4 February [[3068]], occupying the world and incorporating it into the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]].<ref name="J:FRp45"/> The initial Blakist assault saw Dragon's Roost destroyed by orbital bombardment.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> The Blakist assault that captured Dieron included the use of orbital bombardment and nuclear weapons, causing extensive damage.<ref name=DARW237/> After unsuccessful engagements with the [[Third Dieron Regulars]] at a number of remote mining sites,<ref name="JTP:Dp10">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 10: "Deadly Rain"</ref> the attack had initially focused on the [[Eridani Light Horse]], as the Blakists had identified the remains of the Second Star League's SLDF as a threat, but the initial invading force—which consisted of two mercenary commands, [[Burr's Black Cobras]] and [[Hannibal's Hermits]] and the [[8th Division (Word of Blake)|Eighth Militia Divisions]]—soon expanded their campaign to include destroying the Third Dieron Regulars completely.<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> The opening assault saw multiple tactical nuclear strikes delivered against Fortress Dieron by Blakist DropShips saw tremendous damage done to the base and nearby city, but the Eridani Light Horse fought until the surviving Horsemen had been captured; the same DropShips that bombarded the Eridani Light Horse were later responsible for obliterating the bulk of the Third Dieron Regulars.<ref name="JTP:Dp6">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 6: "Combatants"</ref> The city of Aldinga, a major industrial site, was destroyed when shelling from one Blakist WarShip intended for Fortress Dieron struck a nearby fault line that carved in the entire valley that the city had been nestled in, deep in the heart of Mataeo. Voltenna was left effectively depopulated, the continent reduced to a scarred, radiation-scorched echo of its former self, dotted with the ruins of various cities and towns. The only continent to escape damage during the Blakist attack was Wenniska, despite the presence of both a major spaceport and a former DCMS military headquarters located at Fort Shiro.<ref name=DARW237/> While Coordinator [[Theodore Kurita]] remained comatose following his stroke in January, his son and heir [[Hohiro Kurita II|Hohiro]] led a task force to Dieron to try and oust the Blakists on the 16th of April, but the campaign was marked by Hohiro's capture by Blakist forces on the 18th of June, leading to the [[DCMS]] reporting Hohiro as "missing, presumed dead."<ref name="J:FRp45">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 45: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> Hohiro and his lance had been run to ground in the Valley of Blossoms near Tatsuyama Mountain by an [[Opacus Venatori]] hunter force led by [[Precentor]] [[Artur Nihjo]] in a chase that had taken a week and which had been initiated after the regular Blakist militia forces had spent two months fruitlessly pursuing Hohiro. Hohiro and his lancemates had attempted to obfuscate Hohiro's location in the final battle by having Hohiro pilot a ''[[Panther]]'', while his ''[[Daishi]]'' was piloted by another pilot, but Nihjo saw through the subterfuge and successfully forced Hohiro to order his lance to surrender after his ''Panther'' was disabled by a ''[[Lightray]]'' piloted by [[Adept]] [[Bryn Rivenschild]].<ref name="JTP:Dp1">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 1: "The New Dieron"</ref> The Tenth Ghost regiment managed to sneak onto Dieron in March 3068 during the later stages of the Blakist invasion, arriving relatively undamaged near Deber City and fortifying their position, as well as retaking the Iznakki spaceport.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The Blakist-employed mercenary unit Burr's Black Cobras arrived on Dieron and fell on the Tenth Ghost's base of operations; fueled by their continuing hatred of the Combine, the Black Cobras' fought hard to push the Tenth Ghost out of the city and away from the main spaceport over the course of several days of intense combat, but lost a number of elements of Fang Battalion and [[Colonel]] [[Richard Burr]] during the fighting.<ref name="JTP:Dp6">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 6: "Combatants"</ref> Although the initial assault by the Tenth Ghost went well, the Tenth took heavy casualties during the twenty-six days of fighting they endured as the regiment clashed with the Black Cobras. The Tenth managed to use subway tunnels to outflank the Cobras and were poised to deal a devastating blow against them when the Dieron High Command ordered the Tenth to withdraw to Iznakki Spaceport to defend against what turned out to be a Blakist feint. Having lost ''[[Tai-sa]]'' [[Samuel Noda]], the regimental Commanding Officer in the engagement, the Tenth was able to survive the battle and escape off-world soon afterwards thanks to a last-minute rally around [[Gretchen Noda]], Samuel's wife.<ref name="JTP:Dp9">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 9: "Combatants"</ref> In contrast to reports of Hohiro's apparent demise, a group apparently including surviving members of the [[Royal Black Watch]] rescued Hohiro alive from a Blakist prison camp on Dieron on 4 January [[3069]].<ref name="J:FRp46">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 46: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> This group - the [[Ghosts of the Black Watch]] - had been born from an ill-planned attempt to free captured members of the former SLDF units from Blakist prison camps, and had nearly been destroyed running the Blakist WarShip blockade above Dieron when they landed. Led by [[Colonel]] [[Loren Jaffray]], the survivors of the Ghosts managed to rescue Hohiro after linking up with a small local resistance unit and a DEST unit, and their success led to [[Precentor Domini]] [[Apollyon]] assigning the Opacus Venatori to tracking down and destroying the Ghosts.<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> Of the thirty-five escapees freed by the Ghosts,<ref name="JTP:Dp12"/> only ten<ref name="TCp57">''Total Chaos'', p. 57: "Dieron (sidebar)"</ref> managed to reach the ''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]''-class [[DropShip]] ''[[Inside-Out]]'' and escape with Hohiro.<ref name="JTP:Dp12">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 12: "Dragon Rising"</ref><ref name="TCp57"/> The bulk of the Eighth Militia Division had been recalled to serve in the Capellan theater in mid-3069, reducing the garrison on Dieron to a single [[Level III]], but Hohiro's escape led to a number of small mercenary groups being hired on short-term garrison contracts to bolster the defending forces until the [[19th Division (Word of Blake)|Nineteenth Militia Division]] arrived to garrison the planet in [[3071]]. A few members of the Eridani Light Horse's Pathfinders and three [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] who helped Hohiro escape were the only known survivors of the Eridani Light Horse brigade following the battle for Dieron.<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> Despite two months of hideous losses at the hands of the invading Blakists, the Third Dieron Regulars attempted to continue to fight, but almost all of the regiment's fixed positions has been destroyed or overwhelmed by March [[3069]]. The attack made by the Tenth Ghost managed to buy the Third a little time, but the bulk of the survivors surrendered after the unit headquarters was overrun by Blakist forces in the Chiloe. Although some survivors scattered, a number were captured by the Blakists and interned in prison camps.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The last elements of the Third attempted to survive by raiding ancient SLDF depots in locations like the Atacama Desert, looking to rearm and repair with whatever they could find<ref name="JTP:Dp13"/> and hoping to establish a string of firebases, emboldened by Hohiro Kurita's successful escape.<ref name="TCp57"/> Although the survivors managed to successfully locate a couple of former depots using old survey logs, they found little to help them; when the last ranking officer in the Third<ref name="JTP:Dp13"/>—''[[Tai-sa]]'' Hyogo<ref name="TCp57"/>—surrendered to Blakist forces at Tibet City<ref name="TCp57"/><ref name="JTP:Dp13"/> in 3071,<ref name="TCp57"/> the Third effectively ceased to exist.<ref name="JTP:Dp13">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 13: "Serpents in Stone"</ref> A footnote to the Blakist invasion was the rescue of [[Ninyu Kerai-Indrahar]]. The company [[Interstellar Expeditions]] loaned the mercenary unit [[Grandin's Crusaders]] to the DCMS to aid in the rescue of the head of the [[Internal Security Force]], who had been badly injured. The Crusaders dropped into the Scales of the Dragonet Mountains in April 3068 to meet up with the convoy transporting Kerai-Indrahar to a secure DropPort via a secret route. The Crusaders arrived to discover that the apparently secret route wasn't as secret as it had been described to be, and elements of the Eighth Militia Division were in pursuit of the convoy. The Crusaders' 'Mech forces fought a series of small actions to delay the Eighth while the Crusaders' infantry elements prepared a position at a narrow choke point on the route; bolstered by a squad of [[Kage]] [[battle armor]], the infantry was able to throw out enough firepower to dissuade the Eighth's forces from trying the pass, buying Kerai-Indrahar's convoy time to escape.<ref name="TCp58A">''Total Chaos'', p. 58: "Aftermath"</ref> Grandin's Crusaders fell back in an orderly fashion as the convoy closed on the DropPort, skirmishing with the Blakist forces until Kerai-Indrahar boarded a waiting ''[[Condor (DropShip class)|Condor]]''-class DropShip. The Blakists attempted to intercept Kerai-Indrahar's ship off-world, leading to Grandin engaging the Blakist forces with his own DropShip, the ''[[Tonnant]]'', until the Blakist fighters had been driven off; the DCMS subsequently rewarded the Crusaders for "volunteering" to engage the Blakists a second time—albeit at the urging of their IE liaison—by supplying them with a range of military equipment.<ref name="TCp58A"/> Over the next few years, Dieron established itself as a Protectorate industrial powerhouse, churning out war matériel for the Blakist armies. The system became a staging area for raids deeper into the Combine, executed by small mercenary commands garrisoned near important production centers.<ref name="TCp56">''Total Chaos'', pp. 56–60: "Dieron"</ref> ====Blakist Consolidation==== The Blakists reactivated the upper regions of Fortress Dieron, which was a former Star League base that had been left largely closed since the [[Operation EXODUS|Exodus]]. Although the Eridani Light Horse had used part of the fortress during their time on Dieron—renaming a portion of the fortress to Fortress Winston, a name the locals largely ignored—the Blakists were able to activate and upgrade previously unknown defenses.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> Dieron became an industrial powerhouse within the Word of Blake Protectorate, producing a steady supply of war matériel consumed by the various Blakist armies. In addition to adding its industrial might to the Blakist efforts, Dieron also became a staging area for Blakist raiders launching raids and attacks deeper into the Combine - those raiders often being small mercenary commands based near important production centers on Dieron. When Precentor XIV [[Alex Winningham]] and the Eighth Militia Division were relieved by Precentor XI [[Rachel Eager]] and the Nineteenth Division Dieron became the Blakist operations hub for all military operations within a seventy-five light-year radius.<ref name="TCp57"/> The Nineteenth Militia Division would remain officially been based on the world from mid-3071, but the Nineteenth actually used Dieron primarily as a command and supply base whilst they raided fifteen worlds over the next three years.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> Following the discovery by ROM of intelligence predicting a DCMS-led attack on Dieron in mid-3074, the Blakists redeployed the [[14th Division (Word of Blake)|Fourteenth Militia Division]] to Dieron.<ref name="TCp58">''Total Chaos'', p. 58: "The Campaign: 3068... (sidebar)"</ref> The Fourteenth brought several DropShips full of war matériel with them,<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> and with the arrival of the Fourteenth command of the Blakist defenses on Dieron passed to Precentor XX [[Mary Stahl]].<ref name="TCp58">''Total Chaos'', p. 58: "The Campaign: 3068... (sidebar)"</ref> The Fourteenth proceeded to upgrade the defenses in and around San Martín and constructed an additional outer wall around Fortress Dieron, defenses that that would prove difficult to breach. The Fourteenth's defenses expanded on earlier fortifications constructed by Hannibal's Hermits; the Hermits had been reassigned to planning and building fortified defenses after the initial fighting for control of Dieron died down in early 3069, and had spent a year constructing defenses that would become infamous. A prime example was the construction of a number of mock suburbs outside San Martín, complexes that looked like conventional suburbs but which were actually nests containing infantry tunnels, bunkers for battle armor and entrenched tank pits.<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> In [[3075]], Dieron was struck by a string of bombings staged by local resistance forces. The various resistance cells had formed from a mix of determined Dieronese citizens, some infiltrated agents from the [[ISF]] and some escaped POWs. The resistance managed a number of successes, beginning with a first strike that collapsed two fabrication centers at Mangalgovi belonging to [[Wakazashi Enterprises]], followed by an attack that destroyed the newly established Protectorate Government Center located in Deber City. Precentor Stahl retaliated by permitting Protectorate authorities to imprison anyone deemed to be suspicious, increasing the number of checkpoints in place and establishing a strict curfew. Stahl's actions simultaneously prevented further strikes by the resistance and swelled the ranks of that same resistance.<ref name="TCp58"/> As late as [[3076]], only two Level IIIs from the Nineteenth were stationed on Dieron, changing locations to prevent spies from determining the Nineteenth's true strength; that had changed after [[3076]] when the entire Division occupied Dieron, recruiting heavily to increase its size by half using new recruits gathered up from smaller settlements on Dieron and equipping them with matériel looted during the raiding campaign.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> More rumors arising from the military actions launched by the Ghost Bear Dominion led to the [[23rd Division (Word of Blake)|Twenty-third Militia Division]] being deployed to Dieron in 3076,<ref name="TCp58"/> and the Blakists also began moving Protectorate Militia Divisions to Dieron in March 3077, beginning with the Liberty and Fletcher Protectorate Militias.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> ====Operation SCOUR==== Dieron stayed in Blakist hands for years, but during [[Operation SCOUR]] a massive allied coalition task force drawn from the [[DCMS]] and [[Clan Ghost Bear]] led the assault to recapture Dieron. The campaign began on 8 October [[3077]] and lasted for several months before Dieron was free.<ref name="J:FRp58"/> The Blakist defenses on Dieron immediately ahead of the Coalition invasion represented the largest massing of Blakist forces in the history of Dieron. Protecting the combined [[Ghost Bear Dominion]] and DCMS forces was a significant naval task force. Opposing them was a substantial Blakist naval group - substantial enough that no less than ten Blakist WarShips were destroyed or captured during the campaign, more capital ship losses for the Word of Blake than any other battle of the Jihad save the battle for [[Terra]] in [[3078]]. From their core fleet, the Word of Blake lost three vessels, the ''[[Baron]]''-class destroyer [[Light of Glory|WoBS ''Light of Glory'']], the ''Essex''-class destroyer [[Dawning Horizon|WoBS ''Dawning Horizon'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[End of Wisdom|WoBS ''End of Wisdom'']].<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Original Word of Blake Fleet"</ref> The Blakists also lost seven WarShips from their fleet of vessels suborned from the [[Free Worlds League]] navy: the ''[[Zechetinu]]''-class corvettes [[Karelia|FWLS ''Karelia'']] and [[Tirana|FWLS ''Tirana'']], the ''[[Zechetinu|Zechetinu II]]''-class corvette [[Araneida|FWLS ''Araneida'']], the ''[[Agamemnon]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Aineas|FWLS ''Aineas'']], the [[Eagle (WarShip class)|''Eagle'']]-class frigates [[Mordred|FWLS ''Mordred'']] and [[Tristram|FWLS ''Tristram'']] and the ''[[Thera]]''-class carrier [[Sardis|FWLS ''Sardis'']]—although the latter was captured rather than destroyed, and would be pressed into service by [[Clan Snow Raven]]<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Captured Ships"</ref> as the renamed SRS ''Raven's Nest''.<ref name="JHS:Tp68">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 68: "Flight of the Raven"</ref> The underground news agency known as [[Drake (News Agency)|Drake]] released what it claimed to be the combat logs kept by [[Star Admiral]] [[James Lankenau]], the [[Clan Snow Raven]] Admiral commanding the ''[[Conqueror]]''-class carrier [[Ark Royal (Conqueror)|CSR ''Ark Royal'']]. If the logs are accurate—and it is noteworthy that the logs contain no mention of the FWLS ''Araneida'' or the WoBS ''Dawning Horizon''—the major naval combat actions took place on the 20th of November, after the Blakist task force jumped in-system on the 19th. The logs record that the Clan forces in the system comprised the ''Ark Royal'' and two Clan Ghost Bear WarShips, the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class [[Ursa Major|CGB ''Ursa Major'']] and the massive ''[[Leviathan (Leviathan)|Leviathan]]''-class [[Leviathan (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|CGB ''Leviathan'']]. The ''Ark Royal'' reportedly suffered light damage and the ''Ursa Major'' moderate damage, but the ''Leviathan'' was evidently scuttled, as the Blakists had concentrated the fire from their WarShips and their considerable [[Pocket WarShip]] fleet on the Ghost Bear battleship.<ref name="JHS:Tp68"/> The commitment of Coalition ground forces to the campaign to liberate Dieron matched the naval forces; officially led by the DCMS continent, which consisted of the [[2nd Dieron Regulars|Second]] and [[Eighth Dieron Regulars]] under the overall command of ''Tai-sa'' [[Cale Schultz-Tanaka]], the task force included no less than four Galaxies of Ghost Bear forces: [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Alpha]], [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Beta]], [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Omega]], and [[Rho Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Rho Galaxies]], commanded by [[Khan]] [[Aletha Kabrinski]].<ref name="TCp58"/> The Nineteenth Militia Division was responsible for coordinating the Blakist defense of Dieron during the invasion and were responsible for a number of actions including the destruction of the bulk of the Luthien Armor Works factory located in Khentii Towers via a series of subterranean nuclear detonations.<ref name="JTP:Dp7">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 7: "Combatants"</ref> The [[Second Dieron Regulars]] had managed to secure two minor weapons factories within the Khentii Towers mountain range before the Nineteenth destroyed the main Luthien Armor Works facility; the Second had taken heavy losses breaching the facility—known as LAW-KT2<ref name="TCp58"/>—before the Nineteenth destroyed it, and the nuclear detonations within the plant killed the entire of the command structure of the Second.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> What the invading SCOUR forces hadn't realized was that Protectorate Militia Divisions from Acamar, Asta and Milton had been waiting in a dead system one jump from Dieron when the SCOUR forces arrived. While the Protectorate Militia divisions lacked their infantry divisions, also waiting with them were the Second and Third Militia Divisions, and the Blakist reinforcements arrived in the Dieron system in November, dropping to pin the SCOUR forces down while hitting a number of key staging areas. The resulting combats were brutal, and the inexperienced Protectorate Militia regiments were largely shattered.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> Despite the heavy toll taken on the Blakist Protectorate Militia units, the Blakists managed to exact a heavy toll on the Ghost Bear Omega Galaxy, which had been kept in reserve due to it already having been reduced to half strength during fighting on [[Dyev]]. Engaged in a brutal firefight with several Protectorate Militia units in December 3077 around the main Ghost Bear landing site, Omega was only able to disengage when forces from Alpha Galaxy were able to reinforce them, and the surviving two [[Cluster]]s of Omega Galaxy were folded into [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Beta Galaxy]] afterwards.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The [[Voice of the Dragon]] news service reported that there had been a brief friendly fire exchange between Ghost Bear second line forces and elements of the [[Dieron Regulars]] - for which it claimed the Ghost Bears had apologized to ''[[Gunji-no-Kanrei]]'' [[Kiyomori Minamoto]] - but dwelt more on two actions within the campaign that highlighted the superiority of the DCMS troops within the task force. The first was the [[Second Dieron Regulars]] assault that secured a breach into the Fortress Dieron complex; the second more significant action was that fought by the [[Eighth Dieron Regulars]] alongside the Ghost Bears' [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Omega Galaxy]] atop Mount Shanyu, where the two units fought against the Word of Blake's [[2nd Division (Word of Blake)|Second]] and Nineteenth Militia Divisions, a battle that saw the Eighth Dieron Regulars press on despite the death of ''[[Tai-sa]]'' [[Jerry Sims]].<ref name="JHS:Tp34+">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', pp. 34–35: "Official Update 4"</ref> The initial breaches of the outer wall at Fortress Dieron were established by the mercenary unit [[Gannon's Cannons]] and the Eighth Dieron; the Cannons split their forces, with two companies concentrating on the wall while two more companies targeted turrets and individual Blakists. When the Cannons breached the wall they pulled back, engaging the defending forces; the Eighth then breached the wall in three places using [[Sniper Artillery Piece|Sniper]] and [[Arrow IV]] artillery before seizing the wall itself.<ref name="TCp178">''Total Chaos'', p. 178: "Aftermath"</ref> While the Eighth were desperately holding the gate, a ''[[Mammoth]]''-class DropShip crashed into a nearby mountain lake, acidifying the lake and setting the main causeway to Fortress Dieron on fire, slowing Alpha Galaxy and exposing them to extended artillery fire. The Asta Protectorate Militia attempted to attack, only to be charged by the battered remnants of the Eighth, who held off the Militia long enough for Kabrinski and her troops to reorganize and crush the Militia before overrunning the nearby artillery positions.<ref name="JTP:Dp16">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 16: "Climbing Mount Shanyu"</ref><ref name="TCp178"/> Although Simms had acted against the advice of his commanding officers and the Eighth were shattered by the Fortress Dieron defenses, the manner in which they held the main complex door open for Alpha Galaxy earned the Eighth the respect of Khan Aletha Kabrinski and her warriors.<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> The battle for Fortress Dieron lasted until mid-January 3078, with ''Tai-sa'' Simms falling in the final battle; by the end of the campaign, the surviving Blakists had largely gathered in the Fortress, and the combined Clan and DCMS forces faced elements of the Second, Fourteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-third Militia Divisions as well as the survivors from the Protectorate Militias. The bulk of the Blakist defenders died, although the attack wavered following Simms' death until Major [[Gannon Derer]] rallied the Cannons and the remains of the Eighth to keep pressing the attack. A small number of Blakists managed to escape on DropShips; by the time the Fortress Dieron complex had finally been seized, the Eighth Dieron Regulars consisted of just a company of 'Mechs, a [[lance]] of tanks, and three dozen infantry.<ref name="TCp182">''Total Chaos'', p. 182: "Aftermath"</ref> Precentor Stahl knew of the Ghost bear reputation for showing no quarter to Blakist forces, and when Beta Galaxy grounded near Olivet Stahl ordered the Protectorate Militias nearby to conduct civilian evacuations.<ref name="TCp58"/> The Fletcher Protectorate Militia managed to hold out for five days in the Chiloe Pass while civilians were evacuated from Olivet, in part due to being bolstered by the Twenty-third Militia Division, before being overrun by the Beta Galaxy, who captured the almost empty city in just a day.<ref name="JTP:Dp14">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 14: "Claw Hammer"</ref> The Fletcher PM managed to escape off-world, only to be destroyed during their outbound flight by the remaining Ghost Bear WarShips.<ref name="JTP:Dp8">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 8: "Combatants"</ref> Despite being allies, elements of the Ghost Bears and DCMS forces had clashed with each other during the opening stages of liberation; the Ghost Bear [[Rho Galaxy (Clan Ghost Bear)|Rho Galaxy]] had been tasked with securing a number of secondary spaceports and outlying industrial facilities on Dieron during the initial landings on Dieron, and saw relatively little combat during the first month. Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron Regulars were encamped outside Fort Cross, where the Eighth had secured a number of Blakist prisoners of war, when a dispute between the two over the disposition and fate of those prisoners led to a pitched battle, interrupted by an attack<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/><ref name="TCp59"/> by the Twenty-third Militia Division.<ref name="TCp59"/> The battle between the forces from Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron stemmed directly from the conflicting orders given to the two units; [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Michael Hawkins]] was determined to exterminate the Blakist prisoners—almost three hundred in number—in accordance with standing orders from the Khans; in contrast, the Eighth were under orders from their own High Command to cultivate intelligence assets.<ref name="TCp59">''Total Chaos'', p. 59: "Dieron (sidebar)"</ref> Rho's command structure was broken during the attack, leaving the Ghost Bear warriors striking back viciously but blindly, and in the process they left a gap in the line that allowed the Second Militia Division to break through near Newbury and escape.<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> The Second had arrived along with the other Blakist reinforcements via a pirate point and a 3G burn to the planet, and fought against the Eighth Dieron Regulars at Fortress Dieron before being relieved by the Twenty-third Division; although the Second managed to make it through the Ghost Bear lines and an element of the Division managed to escape from Dieron along with a few survivors of the Third Militia Division, that surviving element mustered less than two Level IIIs in strength. The Third Militia Division had managed a number of successes at harassing the Coalition forces from their initial deployment amidst the ruins of Aldinga, only to find itself being chewed up by Rho Galaxy.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> Although the Eighth managed to evacuate one compound of Blakist POWs<ref name="JTP:Dp15"/> - at least forty prisoners<ref name="TCp59"/> - the Ghost Bears went on to destroy the compounds, Fort Cross and a nearby town in their efforts to exterminate every Blakist.<ref name="JTP:Dp15">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 15: "My Enemy's Enemy"</ref> The incident became a public relations nightmare, and provided fodder for anti-Clan rhetoric for years after the battle.<ref name="TCp59"/> In January [[3078]], the Draconis Combine and Ghost Bear commands deployed the newly liberated [[Northwind Highlanders]] to Dieron to accelerate the mop-up operations against Blakist holdouts.<ref name="J:FRp58">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"</ref> The last major Blakist formation to survive on Dieron was the Twenty-third Militia Division, who had been in overall command of the Blakist forces since mid-3076. The Twenty-third had played an important role in augmenting other forces, including those at Fortress Dieron, and was determined to make the coalition forces pay for every gain they made; a common tactic was for the Twenty-third to set controlled fires in cities, forcing the Ghost Bear and DCMS forces into killing zones. The Twenty-third nearly managed to destroy Fortress Dieron before being wiped out completely.<ref name="JTP:Dp9"/> The Blakist forces on Dieron represented one of the largest commitments by the Word of Blake during the Jihad; in terms of ground support the Blakists had deployed a task force consisting of [[Protectorate Militia]] Divisions from [[Acamar]], [[Asta]], [[Fletcher (ROTS)|Fletcher]], [[Liberty]] and [[Milton]], along with the Second, Third, Fourteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-third [[Word of Blake Militia|Militia Divisions]].<ref name="J:FRp127">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 127: "Word of Blake Militia Divisions"</ref> During their retreat from Dieron the Blakists attacked the military industry on Dieron, damaging the [[Luthien Armor Works]] and [[Terada]] factories so badly that by mid-[[3081]] the plants were considered a complete write-off that wouldn't be worth attempting to rebuild.<ref name="J:FRp107">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 107: "Draconis Combine"</ref> The Blakists' scorched-earth tactics focused on military manufacturing centers, which were hit by various forms of sabotage. A number of complexes were contaminated with heavy radiation or toxic waste, and critical components dating from the Star League era were destroyed.<ref name="TCp59"/> The battle to liberate Dieron had exacted a heavy toll on the civilian population; during the fighting, four major cities were either destroyed or burned, ten million Dieronese had been killed, an entire continent had been affected by nuclear and toxic waste and a number of mining and manufacturing operations had been destroyed.<ref name="JTP:Dp18">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 18: "Bloody Takedown"</ref><ref name="TCp60"/> While the Blakists had avoided inflicting a large amount of collateral damage to civilian facilities during their retreat, a significant amount of damage to noncritical infrastructure and facilities was caused as a result of the battles between Omega and Rho Galaxies and the Protectorate Militias from Acamar, Liberty and Milton. These battles were intense, savage, and frequently fought through civilian sectors.<ref name="TCp59"/> The capital city, San Martín, suffered extensive damage during the liberation; the city had sprawled across the cliffs on both sides of the Kazakh River in the Sükhbaatar Valley, but the fighting saw several landslides occur that dropped nearly a quarter of the southern portion of the city to the valley floor, forcing the liberators to establish a small temporary capital in Tahlwynn.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> Perhaps the most significant battle of the campaign to liberate Dieron was initially relatively minor; an intelligence team from the Dominion Watch observed a number of contacts and readings from the northern polar regions of Dieron, and some of the sensor data was identified as matching intelligence the Dominion had on the [[Manei Domini]]. Forces from Rho Galaxy were sent to investigate by [[Loremaster]] [[Laurie Tseng]].<ref name="TCp60">''Total Chaos'', p. 60: "Dieron (sidebar)"</ref><ref name="TCp179">''Total Chaos'', p. 179: "Aftermath"</ref> Rho found and attacked a facility, Fort Higgs, in mid-December 3077, which was defended by elements from the Blakist Third Militia Division. The battle didn't initially yield results, but in early January 3078 the Watch and ISF agents investigating the facility made a startling discovery that led to a flurry of covert operations culminating in the seizure of a refugee DropShip above Dieron.<ref name="JTP:Dp17">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 17: "Polar Possibilities"</ref> The DropShip was actually a smuggling vessel; the information uncovered at Fort Higgs was discovery of the presence of Precentor [[Vapula]], a high-ranking Manei Domini agent and the designer of the [[Celestial]] series of [[OmniMech]]s. After being captured - and after a period of intense negotiations - Vapula was turned over to [[David Lear]].<ref name="TCp60"/> The DCMS managed to reopen the [[Dieron District Gymnasium]] shortly after the liberation of Dieron and swiftly reintroduced the training of military recruits there.<ref name="O:DCp3"/> The first trained battle armor infantry had already graduated from an accelerated program by late 3079; [[Devlin Stone]] and his partners were keen to acquire Dieron for their nascent nation at this point, despite the military industries present on the planet having largely been destroyed and despite the certain knowledge that the Combine would dismantle and remove any remaining viable military production elements if it agreed to cede the world to what would become the [[Republic of the Sphere]]. Due to the damage inflicted on the planet, the restored planetary government had taken up residence in Fortress Dieron, but work was underway to rebuild the new planetary capital city, Tahlwynn.<ref name="O:DCp35"/> Although Fortress Dieron took massive damage during the liberation, the operation itself remained fully operational, and the Combine was still investigating the various secrets contained inside, with [[ISF]] and [[O5P]] controlling access to the facility.<ref name="JTP:Dp5"/> ====The Dark Age==== On 23 September [[3132]], the group known as [[Dragon's Fury]] launched a military strike at Tahlwynn on Dieron. This began a [[Battle of Dieron (3132)|month-long battle]] fought between the Fury and various other factions including [[Lyran Commonwealth]] loyalists, Dieron revolutionaries (such as [[Dieron Soberano]]),<ref name=TRO:Ip18>''Technical Readout: Irregulars'', p. 18: "''Guard'' SecurityMech"</ref> and military forces from both the [[Republic Armed Forces]] and [[Clan Sea Fox]]. When the battle ended, the Republic was still in control of Dieron.<ref name="ED:DAp10">''Era Digest: Dark Age'', p. 10: "Dark Age Timeline"</ref> ===Military Deployment=== {{columns-start|num=3}} ====2764==== * [[138th BattleMech Division]]<ref>''Field Manual: SLDF'', p. 251: "SLDF - Terran Hegemony Military Command Map"</ref> ====2821==== * [[Thirteenth Dieron Regulars]]<ref name="FSWp137">''First Succession War'', p. 137: "First Succession War Deployment Table - DCMS"</ref> * [[Sixteenth Dieron Regulars]]<ref name="FSWp137"/> ====3025==== * [[Fifth Sword of Light]]<ref name=HK133>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 133: "Unit Deployment Table"</ref> * [[Ninth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre]]<ref name=HK133/> ====3038==== * Fifth Sword of Light<ref name=H:Wo3039>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 139: "Deployment Table"</ref> * Ninth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre<ref name=H:Wo3039/> * [[Ryuken-ni]]<ref name=H:Wo3039/> * [[Ryuken-san]]<ref name=H:Wo3039/> ====3040==== * Fifth Sword of Light<ref name=H:Wo3039/> * Ninth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre<ref name=H:Wo3039/> ====3050==== * Fifth Sword of Light<ref name=20YU40>''20 Year Update'', p. 40: "Draconis Combine Deployment Table"</ref> * Ninth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre<ref name=20YU40/> * [[103rd Division (ComStar)|103rd Division]]<ref name=20YU70>''20 Year Update'', p. 70: "Com Guards Deployment Table"</ref> ====3054==== * [[Third Dieron Regulars]] (1st & 2nd [[Battalion]])<ref name=OR25>''Objective Raids'', p. 25: "Draconis Combine Deployment Table"</ref> {{column}} ====3055==== * [[91st Division (ComStar)|Ninety-first Division]]<ref name=CS84>''ComStar'', p. 84: "Com Guards Deployment Table"</ref> ====3062==== * [[Seventy-first Light Horse]]<ref name=FMCS127>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 127: "Star League Defense Force Deployment Table"</ref> * Ninety-first Division<ref name=FMCS125>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 125: "Com Guards Deployment Table"</ref> ====3067==== * [[Eridani Light Horse]] High Command<ref name=FMU100>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 100: "Star League Defense Force Deployment Table"</ref> * [[Twenty-first Striker Regiment]]<ref name=FMU100/> * [[Nineteenth Cavalry Regiment]]<ref name=FMU100/> * Third Dieron Regulars<ref name=FMU117>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 117: "Draconis Combine Deployment Table"</ref> * Ninety-first Division<ref name=FMU97>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 97: "Com Guards Deployment Table"</ref> ====Jihad Era==== A number of units were deployed to and from Dieron during the Jihad; a summary of these units and the years they were present on-world is as follows: * [[8th Division (Word of Blake)|Eighth Militia Division]] (Feb 3068 - Jun 3074)<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> * [[14th Division (Word of Blake)|Fourteenth Militia Division]] (Nov 3074 - 3078)<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> * [[19th Division (Word of Blake)|Nineteenth Militia Division]] (Jun 3071 - 3078)<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/> * [[23rd Division (Word of Blake)|Twenty-third Militia Division]] (Jul 3076 - 3078) * [[Burr's Black Cobras]] (Jun 3068 - Dec 3068),<ref name="JTP:Dp6"/> (3069 - 3072)<ref name=JSTBD110>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 110: "Word of Blake Mercenary Deployment"</ref> * [[Hannibal's Hermits]] (Feb 3068 - Mar 3070)<ref name="JTP:Dp7"/><ref name=JSTBD110/> * Fletcher Protectorate Militia (Mar 3077)<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> * Liberty Protectorate Militia (Mar 3077)<ref name="JTP:Dp8"/> {{column}} ====3079==== * [[Second Dieron Regulars]]<ref>''Field Report: DCMS'', p. 9: "Dieron Regulars Regimental Status"</ref><ref name="O:DCp35"/> :- At this point in time the Second was operating at 40% of full strength, with 100% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology. ====3085==== * [[I Principes Guards]]<ref>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 187: "RAF Deployment Table - 3085"</ref> :- At this point in time, the I Principes was at 85% of full strength, with 75% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology. ====3145==== * [[First Dieron Regulars]]<ref name=FM3145p64>''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 64: "Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery Deployment Table - 3145"</ref> * Second Dieron Regulars<ref name=FM3145p64/> * [[Seventeenth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre]] (2 battalions)<ref name=FM3145p64/> {{columns-end}} ===Geography=== [[File:Dieron Planetary Map.png|right|450px|thumb|Dieron World Map]] Dieron has three major continents; the continent of Wenniska, which is located in the northern polar regions of the planet, the continent of Mataeo, located in the northern hemisphere, and the continent of Voltenna, located in the southern hemisphere. Mataeo is larger than Voltenna, but all three continents are marked by mountain ranges that cross the surface of the world in various directions, forming deep valleys between the various peaks.<ref name=DARW237/> Dieron is a cramped world because of its many large mountain ranges. What space is available exists in countless small valleys, and earthquakes are a frequent problem.<ref name=HKDCp186>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 186: "Dieron"</ref> Voltenna is surrounded by Mataeo on three sides; to the north of Voltenna lies the Rouran Ocean and to the east the Mapuche Ocean. The narrower Caldera Passage separates the southern shore of Voltenna from Mataeo, while the western side of Voltenna is bounded by the Gulf Straits; the Caldera Passage and Gulf Straits both connect with the Cauqui Ocean, which becomes the Tibet Ocean further west. The Kamakura Ocean separates the bulk of Wennisaka from Mataeo. A number of inland seas lie within Mateo, including the Zanabazar, Izumo and Patagonia Seas as well as a number of smaller bodies of water. Notable mountain chains on Mataeo include the Khentii Mountain Towers, the Aomori Mountains, the Scales of the Dragonet, the Khüiten Mountains, the Chiloes, the Loretta Mountains and the Argus Mountains. The Atacama Desert covers much of the southern regions of Mataeo. The most notable major valleys on Mataeo are the Valley of Blossoms, nestled within the Tatsuyama Mountain region, the Sükhbaatar Valley, bounded by the Tatsuyama Mountain region, the Khüiten Mountains and the Scales of the Dragon, and the Yomuchi Valley, which lies between the Scales of the Dragonet and the Zanabazar Sea.<ref name="JTP:Dp3">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', pp. 3–4: Map of Dieron"</ref> ===Planetary Locations=== * Aldega: a minor city located on the northern shore of Mataeo close to Fort Cross<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Aldinga: a major city and industrial hub located in a valley in the heart of Mateo; destroyed accidentally as a result of orbital bombardment by the Word of Blake in 3068<ref name=DARW237/> * Castillo Arratias: a major city located at the junction of several major rivers in the Parsonage Region of western Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Chilán Viejo: a major city on the shores of the Mapuche Ocean on eastern Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * CON 42Y: a military base or industrial facility located on western Mataeo, northwest of Wakazashi Plating and south of MM23E and LAW-KT2<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Deber city: a major city in the Apallos Hills located on the Khoomei River close to the southern shore of Mataeo, north of Iznakki Interplanetary Spaceport<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Dieron District Gymnasium: a military academy<ref name="O:DCp3">''Objectives: Draconis Combine'', p. 3: "Strategic Integrity"</ref> * Dragon's Roost: a major military base or industrial facility located in the Tatsuyama Mountain region close to Tatsuyama City<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Fort Cross: a major military base located at the eastern end of the Aomori Mountains on northern Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> Destroyed by the Ghost Bear Rho Galaxy in 3077.<ref name="JTP:Dp15"/> * [[Fort Hallik Castle Brian]]: Headquarters of the Star League Defense Force Fourteenth Army during the Star League era<ref name="H:LoTV1p82+"/> * Fort Higgs: a major military base on Wennisaka, located on a peninsula east of Fort Shiro<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * [[Fort Kinnol]] * Fort Shiro: a DCMS military headquarters located on Wenniska;<ref name=DARW237/><ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> possibly constructed in secret by the Blakists during the Jihad<ref name="JTP:Dp17">''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', p. 17: "Polar Possibilities"</ref> * [[Fort Winston]] * [[Fortress Dieron]]: a major military base located at or close to Mount Shanyu on eastern Mataeo.<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> A former SLDF facility, Fortress Dieron occupied approximately two-thirds of the total volume of Mount Shanyu and could support more than four regiments of personnel and a hundred 'Mechs or vehicles when built. Fortress Dieron also incorporated a number of artillery, turret and orbital gun emplacements.<ref name="JTP:Dp16"/> * Hughesville: a minor city located east of Tahlwynn on the other side of the Argus Mountains on a major river<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Iznakki Interplanetary Spaceport: a DropPort located close to Deber City on the southern shore of Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * KO 8N: a military base or industrial facility on Voltenna, located to the east of KO 53R and southeast of San Clemente<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * KO 53R: a military base or industrial facility on Voltenna, located towards the western end of the main continental mountain chain<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Kyoto DropPort: a DropPort located south of Newbury in central Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * LAW 4R-Z: an industrial facility on western Mataeo, south of Mandalgovi<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * LAW-KT2: an industrial facility on western Mataeo, located between MM 59B and MM 23E<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/>; destroyed by the Nineteenth Militia Division in 3077<ref name="TCp58"/> * LAW Site B: an industrial facility located underwater or on an island close to the coast of Mataeo at the western edge of the Tibet Ocean<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Mandalgovi: a minor city on western Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * MM 23E: a military base or industrial facility located on western Mataeo, close to the western end of the Parsonage region<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * MM 59B: a military base or industrial facility on western Mataeo, located southeast of LAW 4R-Z<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Mount Shanyu: The site of a notable battle during the Jihad<ref name="JHS:Tp34+"/> * Newbury: a minor city located on a river running east from the Scales of the Dragonet to the Zanabazar Sea in central Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Olivet: a minor city located east of Tahlwynn on the other side of the Loretta Mountains on Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Quintero: a minor city located on the western shores of the Tibet Ocean on Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Rancagua: a minor city on the northeastern shore of Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Rock of Genghis: a military base or industrial facility located in the southern regions of the Scales of the Dragonet<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * San Clemente: a minor city located on Voltenna<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * San Martín: a major city located north of Aldinga and Fortress Dieron in central Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Tahlwynn: planetary capital during the Dark Age and primary planetary spaceport; located in the Loretta-Argus mountain basin on Mataeo<ref name=DARW237/> * Tatsuyama City: a major city located in the Tatsuyama Mountain region close to Dragon's Roost<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Ulaangom: a minor city located on a major river south of Hughesville<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Vicuña: a major city located on the northern peninsula of Voltenna<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> * Wakazashi Plating: an industrial complex located close to the Gobi Straits on Mataeo<ref name="JTP:Dp3"/> ===Companies and Industries=== * [[Buhallin Military Products]] (destroyed in [[2776]])<ref>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', p. 154: "Rotunda Profile"</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 172: "Turhan Profile"</ref> * [[Hachiman Taro Electronics]]<ref name=MMp142>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', p. 24: "Corporations of the Combine - [Hachiman-Taro Electronics]"</ref> * [[Luthien Armor Works]] (destroyed during the Jihad)<ref name="J:FRp107"/> * [[Osaka Heavy Metrics]]<ref name="HB:HKp165">''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 165: "Osaka Heavy Metrics"</ref><ref name="TRO3075p210">''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 210: "K-3N-KR4 Kiso"</ref> * [[Stellar Trek]] (destroyed in April [[2787]], rebuilt [[3055]], destroyed during the Jihad)<ref name="FSWp48"/><ref name="FSWp125"/><ref name=BS>''BattleSpace'', pp. 27-28: "Ship Construction - JumpShips and WarShips"</ref> * [[Whitworth Company]] (destroyed in [[2776]])<ref>''Technical Readout: 3039'', p. 126</ref> ===Image Gallery=== <gallery> Dieron Flag.png|Planetary Flag of Dieron Dieron Planetary Map.png|Planetary Map of Dieron </gallery> ==Notes== There are minor discrepancies relating to the Jihad-era invasion and liberation of Dieron between ''[[Jihad Turning Points: Dieron]]'' and ''[[Total Chaos]]''. ''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'' describes the last elements of the Third Dieron Regulars surrendering to the Blakists at Tibet City in late 3070, and has the fratricidal battle between Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron Regulars over the disposition of Blakist prisoners near Aldinga interrupted by the Blakist Third Division; ''Total Chaos'' has the surrender in Tibet City taking place in late 3071, and lists the Blakist Division that attacked Rho Galaxy and the Eighth Dieron Regulars listed as the Twenty-third Division. It was confirmed by the Line Developer that ''Total Chaos'' trumps ''Jihad Turning Points: Dieron'', and it is the details from ''Total Chaos'' that have been used to update this article. {{Quote|''Total Chaos'' trumps JTP:D.}} - [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=51654.msg1192095#msg1192095 GhostBear (Ben Rome), BattleTech Assistant Line Developer, 16 Mar 2016] * [[Unole Flu]] is common on Dieron. ==Map Gallery== <div class="system-map-gallery"></div> ==Nearby Systems== <!-- NOTE: This table is automatically generated by BattleTechWiki:Project_Planets/Mapping, and any edits to this section may be overwritten at any time by a bot --> {|class="wikitable nearby-systems" style="background: #gray; text-align:center; border: 1px solid black;" ! colspan="8" | Closest 80 systems (79 within 60 light-years)<br>Distance in light years, closest systems first: |- | class="lessthan30" | [[Altair]] | class="lessthan30" | 3.6 | class="lessthan30" | [[Fomalhaut]] | class="lessthan30" | 12.9 | class="lessthan30" | [[Asta]] | class="lessthan30" | 13.4 | class="lessthan30" | [[Saffel]] | class="lessthan30" | 13.7 |- | class="lessthan30" | [[Caph]] | class="lessthan30" | 15.5 | class="lessthan30" | [[Athenry]] | class="lessthan30" | 16.9 | class="lessthan30" | [[Styx]] | class="lessthan30" | 17.3 | class="lessthan30" | [[Killbourn]] | class="lessthan30" | 17.4 |- | class="lessthan30" | [[Terra|Sol]] | class="lessthan30" | 19.3 | class="lessthan30" | [[Rigil Kentarus]] | class="lessthan30" | 19.5 | class="lessthan30" | [[Yorii]] | class="lessthan30" | 21.2 | class="lessthan30" | [[Nirasaki]] | class="lessthan30" | 22.6 |- | class="lessthan30" | [[New Stevens]] | class="lessthan30" | 23.3 | class="lessthan30" | [[Imbros]] | class="lessthan30" | 23.9 | class="lessthan30" | [[Pike (system)|Pike]] | class="lessthan30" | 25.6 | class="lessthan30" | [[Keid]] | class="lessthan30" | 26.6 |- | class="lessthan30" | [[Dyev]] | class="lessthan30" | 26.7 | class="lessthan30" | [[Sirius]] | class="lessthan30" | 27.1 | class="lessthan30" | [[New Earth|Tau Ceti]] | class="lessthan30" | 27.3 | class="lessthan30" | [[New Home]] | class="lessthan30" | 28.1 |- | class="lessthan30" | [[Bryant]] | class="lessthan30" | 28.2 | class="lessthan30" | [[Northwind]] | class="lessthan30" | 28.2 | class="lessthan30" | [[Inglesmond|New Britain]] | class="lessthan30" | 28.9 | class="over30" | [[Rocky]] | class="over30" | 30.5 |- | class="over30" | [[Lockdale]] | class="over30" | 30.7 | class="over30" | [[Deneb Algedi]] | class="over30" | 31.0 | class="over30" | [[Procyon]] | class="over30" | 31.2 | class="over30" | [[Chaville]] | class="over30" | 32.4 |- | class="over30" | [[Quentin]] | class="over30" | 33.9 | class="over30" | [[Epsilon Indi]] | class="over30" | 34.9 | class="over30" | [[Thorin]] | class="over30" | 36.4 | class="over30" | [[Epsilon Eridani]] | class="over30" | 36.7 |- | class="over30" | [[Kervil]] | class="over30" | 38.0 | class="over30" | [[Lone Star]] | class="over30" | 39.3 | class="over30" | [[Muphrid]] | class="over30" | 39.6 | class="over30" | [[Carver]] | class="over30" | 39.8 |- | class="over30" | [[Nashira]] | class="over30" | 40.1 | class="over30" | [[Telos]] | class="over30" | 40.6 | class="over30" | [[Zollikofen]] | class="over30" | 41.4 | class="over30" | [[Xi Ursae_Majoris|Xi Ursae Majoris]] | class="over30" | 41.4 |- | class="over30" | [[Errai]] | class="over30" | 41.9 | class="over30" | [[Ko]] | class="over30" | 41.9 | class="over30" | [[Chara]] | class="over30" | 42.3 | class="over30" | [[Lyons]] | class="over30" | 42.5 |- | class="over30" | [[Lambrecht]] | class="over30" | 42.7 | class="over30" | [[Graham]] | class="over30" | 43.8 | class="over30" | [[Brownsville]] | class="over30" | 45.1 | class="over30" | [[Small World]] | class="over30" | 45.2 |- | class="over30" | [[Helen]] | class="over30" | 45.5 | class="over30" | [[Sheratan]] | class="over30" | 46.3 | class="over30" | [[Atria]] | class="over30" | 46.3 | class="over30" | [[Zavijava]] | class="over30" | 46.6 |- | class="over30" | [[Lipton]] | class="over30" | 46.8 | class="over30" | [[Sabik]] | class="over30" | 49.0 | class="over30" | [[Oliver]] | class="over30" | 49.2 | class="over30" | [[Moore]] | class="over30" | 49.6 |- | class="over30" | [[Terra Firma]] | class="over30" | 49.6 | class="over30" | [[Pokhara]] | class="over30" | 50.2 | class="over30" | [[Hechnar]] | class="over30" | 50.2 | class="over30" | [[Ingress]] | class="over30" | 50.3 |- | class="over30" | [[Al Na'ir]] | class="over30" | 50.6 | class="over30" | [[Menkent]] | class="over30" | 51.1 | class="over30" | [[Fletcher (CC)|Fletcher]] | class="over30" | 51.7 | class="over30" | [[Outreach]] | class="over30" | 51.9 |- | class="over30" | [[Denebola]] | class="over30" | 52.7 | class="over30" | [[Kuzuu]] | class="over30" | 52.8 | class="over30" | [[Pollux]] | class="over30" | 53.3 | class="over30" | [[Nusakan]] | class="over30" | 54.9 |- | class="over30" | [[Haddings]] | class="over30" | 56.2 | class="over30" | [[Capolla]] | class="over30" | 56.5 | class="over30" | [[Alkalurops]] | class="over30" | 56.9 | class="over30" | [[Devil's Rock]] | class="over30" | 57.0 |- | class="over30" | [[Towne]] | class="over30" | 57.5 | class="over30" | [[Summer]] | class="over30" | 57.8 | class="over30" | [[Miyazaki]] | class="over30" | 57.9 | class="over30" | [[Nai-Stohl]] | class="over30" | 58.5 |- | class="over30" | [[Ruchbah]] | class="over30" | 58.8 | class="over30" | [[Deneb Kaitos]] | class="over30" | 59.4 | class="over30" | [[Skondia]] | class="over30" | 59.9 | class="over60" | [[Acamar]] | class="over60" | 60.1 |- |} ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * ''[[20 Year Update]]'' * ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]'' * ''[[Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere]]'' * ''[[Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)]]'' * ''[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]'' * ''[[Era Report: 2750]]'' * ''[[Era Report: 3052]]'' * ''[[Era Report: 3062]]'' * ''[[Era Report: 3145]]'' * ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]'' * ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]'' * ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]'' * ''[[Field Manual: SLDF]]'' * ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]'' * ''[[Field Report: Clans]]'' * ''[[Field Report: DCMS]]'' * ''[[Field Report 2765: DCMS]]'' * ''[[Field Report 2765: LCAF]]'' * ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)|First Succession War]]'' * ''[[Handbook: House Davion]]'' * ''[[Handbook: House Kurita]]'' * ''[[Handbook: House Marik]]'' * ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]'' * ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]]'' * ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2]]'' * ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]'' * ''[[Historical: War of 3039]]'' * ''[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]'' * ''[[Inner Sphere (sourcebook)|Inner Sphere]]'' * ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]'' * ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]'' * ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]'' * ''[[Jihad Turning Points: Dieron]]'' * ''[[Objective Raids]]'' * ''[[Second Succession War (sourcebook)|Second Succession War]]'' * ''[[The Star League]]'' * ''[[Technical Readout: 3039]]'' * ''[[Technical Readout: 3075]]'' * ''[[Technical Readout: Irregulars]]'' * ''[[Total Chaos]]'' * ''[[View from the Ground]]'' (novella) {{div col end}} [[Category:Systems|Dieron]] [[Category:Alliance of Galedon Systems]] [[Category: Amaris Empire Systems]] [[Category:Dieron Federation Systems]] [[Category:Draconis Combine Systems]] [[Category: Independent Systems]] [[Category: Republic of the Sphere Systems]] [[Category: Terran Hegemony Systems]] [[Category: Word of Blake Systems]]

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