Editing Battle of Mars (3067)

{{Update Needed|[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]|[[Tales of the Jihad: the Last Day of Zeta]]|[[Technical Readout: 3075]]|[[Mercenaries Supplemental Update]]|[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]}}

{{InfoBoxConflict
| conflict = Battle of Mars
| partof = The [[Jihad]]
| image = 
| caption = 
| date = 7 December [[3067]]<ref name=TLFMp11>''The Last Full Measure'', p. 11</ref>
| place = Mars, Mars pirate Jump point
| planet = [[Terra|Mars]]
| faction1 = [[Allied Mercenary Command]]
| faction2 = [[Word of Blake]]
| commander1 = 
| commander2 = 
| forces1= From [[Wolf's Dragoons]]:<br/>[[Beta Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Beta Regiment]]<br/> [[Zeta Battalion]]<br/>Aerospace elements of the [[Home Guard]]<br/>
Others:<br/>[[Second Dismal Disinherited]]<br/>[[Lindon's Company|Lindon's Battalion]]<br/>Plus two WarShips and several DropShips and JumpShips
| forces2= Unknown, but included Aerospace fighters, DropShips, six WarShips, and [[Dragau]] Assault Interceptor Caspar II Drones
| forces3 = 
| result = Word of Blake Victory
| environment = Space and Martian grounds
| conditions = Space and no atmosphere fight
}}

The '''Battle of Mars''', also known as '''Task Force Vengeance''', was an assault by [[Wolf's Dragoons]] and the [[Allied Mercenary Command]] on [[Word of Blake]]-held [[Terra|Mars]] in the [[Terra]] system in [[3067]]. It was a direct retaliation to the Word of Blake's mercenary attack on [[Outreach]] that had resulted in the death of [[Jaime Wolf]].<ref>''Dawn of the Jihad'', pp. 30–31</ref><ref>''Blake Ascending'', pp. 30–31</ref> The battle ended with the complete destruction of the entire task force.

==Prelude==
In [[3066]], Jaime Wolf, legendary commander of Wolf's Dragoons, saw an expansionist Word of Blake slowly absorbing [[Chaos March]] worlds that were too weak and exhausted to resist. Distrusting the Blakists' motives, he formed the Allied Mercenary Command, a collection of top mercenary units that would subsidize efforts by other Chaos March worlds to resist the Blakist expansion. The AMC hired other mercenary units to fight in these "proxy battles" while [[Wolfnet]], the Dragoons' formidable intelligence service, conducted a shadow war with the Word of Blake's [[ROM]]. All of these efforts had mixed results, but they continued to irk the Blakist leadership.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', p. 16</ref>

On October 15, 3067, a mixed group of mercenaries totaling roughly four regiments led by Colonel [[Wayne Waco]] launched a surprise attack on Harlech City on Outreach, the [[First Battle of Harlech (3067)|First Harlech]]. This was coordinated with a series of terrorist strikes. It took the Dragoons and their Allied Mercenary Command allies completely unawares, doing massive damage to the capital city and completely destroying the Hiring Hall. Over the course of four days of vicious fighting, [[Epsilon Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Epsilon Regiment]] and most of the [[Home Guard (Wolf's Dragoons)|Home Guard]] ground forces were effectively destroyed as effective fighting units, while [[Zeta Battalion]], the [[Wolf Spider Battalion]] and [[Beta Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Beta Regiment]] all took heavy damage. The worst came in the final hours of the battle on October 18 when the heart and soul of the Dragoons, Jaime Wolf, was killed during a final battle with Wayne Waco, who had claimed a feud with Wolf's Dragoons dating back six decades. Of the rogue mercenary forces who had wrought these losses, all were completely destroyed.

While General [[Maeve Wolf]] and [[Alpha Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Alpha Regiment]] began the journey back to Outreach from the [[Draconis Combine]]-[[Clan Ghost Bear]] border, [[Wolfnet]] intelligence soon concluded the obvious: The attack had been sponsored by the Word of Blake.<ref name=SOF>''Shadows of Faith''</ref> Along with the AMC, it was decided to strike back on the Word of Blake's doorstep. Not at Terra itself, but at the Mars colony.

==Task Force Vengeance==
The Task Force launched from [[Liberty]] on December 7, 3067.<ref name=TLFMp11/>

The Task Force consisted of the following units:<ref name=DOTJ34>''Dawn of the Jihad'', p. 34</ref><ref name=BA34>''Blake Ascending'', p. 34</ref>

* From Wolf's Dragoons:
: [[Beta Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Beta Regiment]]
: [[Zeta Battalion]]
: Aerospace elements of the [[Home Guard (Wolf's Dragoons)|Home Guard]]
* [[2nd Dismal Disinherited]]
* [[Lindon's Company|Lindon's Battalion]]

Naval Assets of the Task Force included the following:
* [[WDS Athena|WDS ''Athena'']] – a ''[[Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class Heavy Cruiser<ref name=DOTJ34/>
* [[WDS Beowulf|WDS ''Beowulf'']] – a ''[[Congress]]''-class Frigate<ref name=DOTJ34/>
* An undetermined number of [[DropShips]] and [[JumpShips]] transporting Aerospace assets and ground forces. This included at least one ''[[Fortress]]''-class DropShip as well as a few ''[[Intruder]]'', ''[[Hannibal]]'' and ''[[Vengeance (DropShip class)|Vengeance]]''-class DropShips.<ref name=TLFM18>''The Last Full Measure'', p. 18</ref>
* The combined [[aerospace fighter]] contingent was estimated to be over a hundred.<ref name=TLFM18/>

An exact breakdown of Word of Blake forces involved in the event is currently unavailable (see below).

==Battle==
The Task force appeared at a [[Jump Point#Pirate Jump Points|pirate jump point]] within Mars orbit.<ref>''The Last Full Measure'', p. 12</ref> The early phases of the operation seemed to go well for the task force, as they appeared to catch the defenders unawares. They quickly deployed a screen of aerospace fighters to protect their ships as they closed in on Mars. Then things went wrong.

Approximately three to four dozen unidentified vessels—apparently small assault DropShips—quickly launched from Mars and began to engage the Task Force. A dozen more quickly joined them in orbit, including six different Blakist WarShips, one of them an ancient ''[[Naga (WarShip class)|Naga]]'' class.

To their credit, the Dragoons responded, their ships and fighters closing ranks and snuffing out most of the smaller defenders. It bought enough time, however, for several dozen more of the new craft to engage, with devastating results. Soon, the ''Athena'' was lost, with most of the other task force ships taking heavy damage. Realizing they could not defeat the defending ships, the ''Beowulf'' attempted to disengage, possibly to regroup, or failing that, to escape.<ref>''The Last Full Measure'', pp. 17–24</ref><ref name=DOTJ34/>

The ''Beowulf'' would never make it out. Not far from the entry jump point was the ''[[Bonaventure (WarShip class)|Bonaventure]]''-class training WarShip WoBS ''Sheridan'', which was conducting instructions as part of the Military Academy of Aphros. Realizing that Mars was under attack, the ship's captain, [[Precentor]] Teodore Kopulos, and a native of Mars, ordered his crew—primarily cadets—to abandon ship while he piloted the ''Sheridan'' on a collision course with the invading Task Force. Seeing the ''Beowulf'' attempting to disengage, he rammed his ship into the larger vessel, sacrificing himself in the process.<ref>''The Last Full Measure'', pp. 23–24</ref>

Even if the ''Beowulf'' managed to survive the impact, it would have been far too crippled to flee the defending ships. It made a brief last communication to the Dragoons before the message was cut off, most likely by the ''Sheridan''&#39;s impact. It was received by a Dragoon operative on [[Keid]], and [[Wolfnet]] later concluded from reconstructing the communications that the defending force that destroyed the task force consisted of fighters, DropShips, and at least six WarShips. It also noted a heavy [[ECM]] presence in orbit that no doubt hampered the task force.<ref name=DOTJ34/> Exact information on the nature of these forces remains inconclusive, however.

The DropShips carrying the Dismal Disinherited and Zeta Battalion made it to the surface. The ones carrying Beta, Lindon's Battalion and other units were destroyed even before they were able to reach Mars upper atmosphere.<ref>''Dawn of the Jihad Sourcebook'', p. 34</ref><ref name=DOTJ34/> Unsupported and outgunned, these were quickly crushed by the defending forces, including the Word of Blake's [[7th Division (Word of Blake)|7th Division]].{{cn}}

A few prisoners were taken, most prominently Major [[Tara Lucas (31st c.)|Tara Lucas]], second-in-command of Zeta Battalion. She was the highest-ranking Dragoon officer taken prisoner by the Word of Blake.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', p. 18</ref>

==Aftermath==
The Word of Blake would soon retaliate with a major assault on Outreach, the [[Second Battle of Outreach (3067)|Second Harlech]], this time with the goal of destroying the Dragoons. Despite the betrayal by the [[Broadsword Legion]], the Dragoons were able to rally and, at one point, pushed the Blakist invaders to the point of collapse. However, the Word of Blake had WarShips waiting in orbit, and when it was determined victory would not come through a ground battle alone, they launched nuclear strikes against the Dragoons, completely devastating the unit. General [[Maeve Wolf]] gathered what survivors she could and evacuated with the assistance of [[Clan Wolf-in-Exile]] and the [[Kell Hounds]], finding sanctuary on [[Arc-Royal]]. Small units of Dragoons would continue to resist the occupying forces for years afterward.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake'', pp. 16–19</ref><ref>''Dawn of the Jihad'', pp. 35–38</ref><ref>''Blake Ascending'', pp. 35–38</ref>

For the Allied Mercenary Command, the Battle of Mars represented the continuation of a chain of events that led to its effective collapse as an organization, with some units continuing to fight on within the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]] on a local level. Others abandoned the AMC altogether, finding employment elsewhere.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake''</ref>

After two years of torture and interrogation, Major Lucas was brought to Outreach as part of a propaganda campaign to demoralize surviving Dragoon units still resisting the Blakist occupation. She was rescued thanks to Major [[Elson Novacat]] and his [[Elemental]] unit, and was later restored to her senses, taking a leadership role in the resistance. Though she was later killed in action against the occupiers, she died a Dragoon.<ref>''Starterbook: Wolf and Blake''. pp. 18–19</ref>

Much later, it would be revealed that the craft that attacked the Task Force were [[Dragau]] Assault Interceptor Caspar II Drones.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra''</ref>

==Speculation==
* Though by no means conclusive, based on the narrative descriptions of the craft attacking the Task Force and other information, it seems possible that the Word of Blake restored or rebuilt some version of the old Reagan [[SDS]] automated naval defense from the [[Star League]] era. That system, where legions of small, automated Warships would overwhelm an invading force in the Terran system was largely destroyed by [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] and the [[SLDF]] fleet in [[2777]] during the liberation of Terra from [[Stefan Amaris]] at the end of the [[Amaris Civil War]].<ref>''The Star League'', p. 91</ref> [[ComStar]] had never felt it necessary to rebuild the system. It seems likely, however, that the Word of Blake had the means, opportunity and motivation for doing so. This would also explain the failure of [[Case White (event)|Case White]] in [[3069]], ComStar’s attempt to end the [[Jihad]] by retaking Terra. In that (still mysterious) operation, a vast fleet of Warships was completely destroyed, with most of their ground forces destroyed never reaching their destination of Terra.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3070''</ref><ref>''Blake Ascending''</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Blake Ascending]]''
* ''[[Dawn of the Jihad]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3070]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[The Last Full Measure]] (BattleCorps Story)''
* ''[[Shadows of Faith]] (BattleCorps Story)''
* ''[[Starterbook: Wolf and Blake]]''


[[Category:Jihad Era Military Operations|Mars]]