Battle of Helm (3138)
Sarna News
| Battle of Helm (3138) | |
|---|---|
| Conflict details | |
| Part of | Operation HAMMERFALL |
| Start Date | 19 April 3138 |
| End Date | 28 April 3138 |
| Planet(s) | Helm |
| Location(s) | Helmdown |
| Result | Lyran and Wolf victory; Silver Hawks' partial destruction |
| Attacking Forces | |
| Affiliation | Lyran Commonwealth Clan Wolf |
| Commanding Officer(s) | Alaric Ward Vedet Brewer Roderick Steiner |
| Command(s) | 1st Hesperus Guards 1st Steiner Strikers Alpha Galaxy |
| Defending Forces | |
| Affiliation | Marik-Stewart Commonwealth |
| Commanding Officer(s) | Anson Marik |
| Command(s) | Silver Hawk Irregulars |
| Other Forces | |
The Battle of Helm (3138), also known as the Helm Massacre, was a late Dark Age Era military operation undertaken by the allied Clan Wolf and Lyran Commonwealth forces against the defending Marik-Stewart defenders.[1]
Contents
Origins of the Conflict
Archon Trillian Steiner used Anson Marik's reformation of the Silver Hawk Irregulars as an excuse to invade the former Free Worlds League space. She enlisted the help of Clan Wolf in exchange for new worlds. The alliance was tenuous but it served both the Lyrans' and the Wolves' interests for the time being.[2]
Lyran Invasion
Reinforced by Clan Wolf forces, the Lyran invasion was almost unstoppable: the minor forces of the Marik-Stewart Commonality were overwhelmed and still worse, they had two fronts as Marik and nearby worlds were invaded by the Spirit Cats and Oriente Protectorate. Only the Silver Hawks were able to stymie the invaders on several occasions, but their small size, barely a regiment, limited their effectiveness.[3]
Attack on Helm
The First Hesperus Guards and a Clan Wolf Cluster, commanded by then-Star Colonel Alaric Wolf, would first see action together on Helm in April. The bulk of the Irregulars had been sent offworld, leaving behind only two skeleton companies to delay the invaders' advance as long as possible. Wolves and Lyran forces were not cooperating due to a number of issues and lack of trust between their commanding officers Duke Vedet Brewer and Alaric Wolf. In addition, Brewer had his own ambitions and only followed the Archon because it benefited him. Archon Trillian Steiner, which assisted the invasion from the front lines, used her diplomatic skills to get both units to work together.
Clan Wolf attacked Helm's capital city of Helmsdown where the Silver Hawk Irregulars had entrenched, but encountered heavy resistance from their forces hidden amongst the civilian farmers. By May 22nd, Steiner had called in the First Steiner Strikers, led by her cousin Colonel Roderick Steiner.[4][5]
The Helm Massacre
Two days later, on April 28th [6], the battle for the capital city resumed as the Wolves initiated an attack, clashing with the Silver Hawks. Subsequently, the Hesperus Guards advanced, supported by artillery fire, and later, the 1st Strikers joined the assault. The Irregulars were compelled to retreat toward the city center, with the Lyran forces in pursuit. However, the Hesperus Guards were hindered by concentrated artillery fire, forcing them to abandon the chase.[7]
The Hawks continued their strategic retreat through the city, employing hit-and-run tactics to harass both Lyran and Wolf forces. Alaric Wolf then ordered air strikes to bombard the city center, facilitating the Wolves' advance. Fearing the overwhelming three-sided assault after the Strikers joined the battle, the Hawks, now disoriented and leaderless, decided to surrender to Brewer's forces, perceiving him as the most honorable. Lieutenant Fred Parsons initiated contact with the Duke, proposing their surrender, and Vedet accepted the terms.[8]
However, the surrender attempt went awry when a significant portion of the Hawks, led by Lieutenant Zeke Carleton, began firing indiscriminately. Despite Duke Vedet communicating the surrender to Roderick and Alaric, the Wolf leader ignored the order and led a final charge against the Hawks. In a heavy-handed response, the Wolves, encountering only scattered resistance, killed both surrendering and fighting Hawks, including Parsons, showing no mercy. This brutal event became known as the Helm Massacre.[9] Despite its occurrence, Anson Marik remained unaffected, and Trillian Steiner promptly covered up the incident. Vedet, furious with the Wolf leader for stealing his victory, vowed never to collaborate with them again. [10]
Aftermath
Helm played a pivotal role in Operation HAMMERFALL. In June 3138, Anson Marik's final stand on Stewart resulted in his defeat by a joint Lyran and Wolf assault. With his sole heir disinherited two years prior, the collapse of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth became inevitable. Survivors of Anson's newly formed Silver Hawk Irregulars, created to honor the original Silver Hawks Coalition, could only watch the absorption of most Coalition by the Wolf Empire.[11][12]
Their opportunity to arose on August 7, 3151, when Colonel Lucas Cameron-Witherspoon led a preemptive strike on Helm with his First Battalion of Gryphons. Despite Helm not being historically a Silver Hawks world, the Gryphons, many of whom were survivors of the Helm Massacre, held a deep-seated vendetta against Clan Wolf. Their mission was to inflict maximum casualties on the Wolf warriors stationed there. After initial skirmishes, the Wolves withdrew to Nagayan Mountains, where the Gryphons spent a week hunting them down. By August 13, only Wolves from the Clan's civilian castes remained on Helm. After claiming victory, Cameron-Witherspoon honored the Silver Hawk Irregulars with a monument outside Helmdown.[12]
Gallery
- The Last Charge image.jpg
Alaric Ward's Timber Wolf leading the last charge
References
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 108
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 24
- ↑ Era Report: 3145, pp. 23–24
- ↑ The Last Charge ch. 10
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 24
- ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 20: Timeline of Events - 3138
- ↑ The Last Charge chs. 11–12
- ↑ The Last Charge chs. 13–14
- ↑ The Last Charge chs. 15–16
- ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 23: Hammerfall & Homecoming
- ↑ Field Manual: 3145, pp. 17–18: The Hammer Falls
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Empire Alone, pp. 40–41: A New Coalition