Battle of Vega (3039)

Battle of Vega (3039)
Part of War of 3039
Start Date 19 April–16 August 3039 Planet Vega Result Initial Federated Commonwealth victory, reversal following counterattack
Factions
Attacker Federated Commonwealth	Defender Draconis Combine
Commanders and leaders
General Nondi Steiner (April-June) Hauptmann-General Kathleen Heany (July-August)	Sho-sho Christine Nordica
Forces involved
Third Davion Guards Third Lyran Guards Snord's Irregulars First Gravewalkers 17th Reconnaissance Regiment	Fourteenth Legion of Vega Fifth Amphigean Light Assault Group Second Legion of Vega Second Dieron Regulars

Prelude

Vega was one of the few defeats for the nascent Federated Commonwealth in the Fourth Succession War, so pride in addition to military and political significance contributed to making its conquest a priority in the War of 3039. The Lyran Intelligence Corps located two defending units, the Fourteenth Legion of Vega and elements of the Fifth Amphigean Light Assault Group. Lyran high command assigned the Third Lyran Guards and the Third Davion Guard the task of defeating the Fourteenth Legion of Vega, a rematch for the former’s defeat by the Legion in the last year. Snord's Irregulars, First Grave Walkers, and Seventeenth Recon (Camacho’s Caballeros) were assigned the Amphigeans. The two groups were designated Task Force Snow and Task Force Blizzard respectively.

Attack

Landings began on 19 April 3039 with Task Force Blizzard in the western portion of the North Nanturo Continent and Task Force Snow in the eastern portion. Blizzard quickly swooped into the Nasew spaceport, overrunning the small armor and infantry detachments assigned to the spaceport. This spaceport would be vital for supplying FedCom forces. The Fifth Amphigean knew they were facing a heavier force at least twice their size and sought to delay the invasion as long as possible. They split the two battalions they had on planet, First Battalion, commanded by Tai-sho Kent Gerber, kept the Grave Walkers, commanded by Colonel Dennis Merwin, and Cabelleros, commanded by Colonel Carlos Camacho, pinned at the spaceport with probing attacks searching for a weakness that might hamper the FedCom logistics train.

Third Battalion, commanded by Chu-sa Fengo Olesko dispersed throughout the Great Desert of Tears, raiding targets of opportunity and becoming a major thorn in the FedCom’s side. Snord’s Irrgulars, commanded by Rhonda Snord, had been previously held in reserve at the spaceport, and were now ordered to hunt them down. Equipped with at-the-time a mysterious amount of Star League technology – namely Beagle Active Probes, Double Heat Sinks, and Arrow IV artillery - the Irregulars tracked Olesko through a sandstorm and on 22 April engaged them near Felicity Oasis. Routed, the Third Battalion fled west across the sea to New Egypt, with the Irregulars in hot pursuit.

As Third Battalion retreated, the Grave Walkers and Cabelleros continued to repulse First Battalion’s probes, eventually forcing First Battalion to retreat off world.

By 30 April the Irregulars had caught up to Oleska in the Bandli Wastes north-east of New Egypt within sight of the Bandlisi Pyramid. The battle joined at range, with Rhonda Snord dropping Abusan Frazer’s Catapult with a Gauss rifle slug through the cockpit in the opening volley. Seeking to negate the Irregulars’ range advantage Oleska challenged Snord to a duel that win or lose would bring the Irregulars to the brawling range the Amphigeans preferred. Oleska’s strategy was ultimately unsuccessful, with her battalion shattered in a mere forty minutes, and an unconscious Oleska strapped to a MEDEVAC VTOL. Oleska later said she considered it an honor to fight against the Irregulars, but she disliked the tactic of broadcasting her music over the communication channels. A week later on 6 May, the last of the surviving Amphigeans retreated off world and declared Vega lost.

On the other side of the continent, the Fourteenth Legion of Vega, commanded by Sho-sho Christine Nordica, was entrenched around the capital city of Neucason. Having faced the Third Lyran Guards in the Fourth Succession War, they had no intention of retreating and had prepared for a long siege. Nordica knew she faced different odds for this rematch however. Last time the Second Legion of Vega had helped in the defense, where as this time it was the Lyrans who had the Third Davion Guards bolstering their roster. And, Nordica didn’t have the personality insights into the Lyran commander that she did before thanks to her romantic tryst with the Third Lyran’s commander, Patrick Finnan. But she knew that the longer she could hold the capital city, the longer she delayed attacks further into the Combine.

On 13 May, Nordica sent a force to destroy a Thumper artillery battery that had been located, but ran headlong into a Company of the Third Lyrans.

On the sixth week of the siege, approximately 31 May, the mercenary forces of the Irregulars and Grave Walkers arrived at Neucason from the victory over the Amphigeans and were able to screen the two Guards regiments from Legion raids out of the Great Desert of Tears, the only successful operation Nordica had been able to mount thus far in the conflict. Over four Regiments of FedCom Mechs were now solely concentrated against the Legion.

Beginning on 2 June Nordica realized her position was completely untenable and she began a fighting withdrawal from the outskirts of the city to the city center. The Legion continued to lose ground and by 17 June all they held was a small section of the city, now heavily fortified and mined. Despite giving the FedComs a bloody nose, Nordica knew her command was on the verge of annihilation so on 19 June she gave the order to retreat off world, General Nondi Steiner chose to allow the DropShips to leave unmolested. On 21 June FedCom forces had occupied Neucason and on 26 June declared the world secured.

Aftermath

The Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces established a forward command area on Vega, and sent the Third Lyran Guards to their next target.While participating in planning sessions, many of the LCAF field commanders were killed by a DEST-planted bomb. This threw the defenders into chaos, and the arrival of the 2nd Legion of Vega, 14th Legion of Vega, and 2nd Dieron Regulars made things worse. The LCAF forces were scattered across the planet, and when the Grave Walkers and Snord's Irregulars were sent off-world, the DCMS forces turned their full attention to the Third Davion Guards. Faced with almost certain defeat, the Third Guards evacuated the world.

Bibliography

• Combat Manual: Mercenaries
• Heir to the Dragon (novel)
• Historical: War of 3039
• Rhonda's Irregulars
• Technical Readout: 3039
• Technical Readout: Succession Wars
• Turning Points War of 3039: Vega