Chosokabe Motochika

Chosokabe Motochika
Character Profile
Died 2830[1]
Affiliation Draconis Combine
Rank Tai-sho[1]

Chosokabe Motochika was the commanding officer of the Draconis Combine's invasion of the Federated Suns worlds Franklin and Luzerne in 2830.[1]

History[edit]

Tai-sho Motochika was commander of the Draconis Combine's efforts to conquer Franklin and Luzerne during the Second Succession War, although Federated Suns resistance proved extremely heavy on both planets. In late May 2830, Motochika sent a request to Coordinator Jinjiro Kurita for permission to withdraw his forces in order to regroup rather than suffer complete defeat. After six weeks of waiting for a response, Motochika made the decision to retreat regardless, certain that word would have arrived granting his request anyways. Unfortunately for Motochika, as he prepared for his force's return to Combine space, he learned that his message to retreat had never actually been sent, meaning that the only thing he had to look forwards to upon returning home would be an invitation to commit seppuku for the disgrace he had caused.[1]

When Motochika turned his surviving soldiers around and headed for the world of Dahar IV, the Federated Suns were ill-prepared to respond. Landing on the planet at the head of the Ninth Benjamin Regulars, Motochika compounded the Federated Suns' surprise when he called for a parley instead of preparing for an attack. When Motochika expressed a desire to surrender his soldiers and defect to the Federated Suns, his foes believed that the benefits of turning a high-level Combine officer - especially one in such a dire situation with a history of honorable conduct like Motochika - outweighed the risks that duplicity presented. As Motochika was taken away for interrogation and the Twenty-third Avalon Hussars moved in to disarm the waiting Ninth Benjamin Regulars, the supposedly-empty Combine DropShips in orbit disgorged Motochika's remaining three regiments of Combine soldiers directly on top of the Hussars, crushing them. When the enraged Hussars' commander accused Motochika of treachery, the Combine officer replied that lulling one's enemy into a false sense of security was a legitimate method of war-fighting and, that by destroying the Twenty-third Hussars, his actions expunged the shame of his earlier retreat and earned his soldiers the right to return home.[1]

Motochika's prediction proved correct as, upon hearing word of the events on Dahar IV, the Coordinator finally authorized a return trip to Combine space for Motochika's men. However, Motochika did not live to return to the Draconis Combine himself. As his soldiers burned Dahar IV to the ground, Motochika consumed a poison capsule rather than continue to be imprisoned by the Federated Suns.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Second Succession War, p. 34-35: "Operation AKAI KAZE"

Bibliography[edit]