Invasion corridor - Clan Wolf

Commands and Worlds

Golden Keshik => The Rock (3049), Dell (3050), Bessarabia (3051), Tamar (3051)

Clan Wolf Naval Reserve (SUPPORT) (The Wolf Chariots) => Biota (3051), Volders (3051)

• Alpha Galaxy 4 Clusters

13th Wolf Guards Cluster => Altenmarkt (3052), Bessarabia (3051), Gunzburg (3051), Satalice (3052), Suk II (3052), Tamar (3051)

328th Assault Cluster => Ferris (3049), New Caledonia (3049), Verthandi (3049), Ridderkerk (3050), Svarstaad (3050), Bessarabia (3051), Lothan (3051), Suk II (3052), Tamar (3051)

4th Wolf Guards Cluster => Icar (3049), Kirchbach (3050), Rasalhague (3050), Dell(3050), Bessarabia (3051), Satalice (3052), Suk II (3052), Tamar (3051)

279th Battle Cluster => Chateau (3049), New Bergen (3049), Rasalhague (3050), Vulcan (3050, Bessarabia (3051), Suk II (3052), Tamar (3051)

• Beta Galaxy 3 Clusters

Silver Keshik => Blackstone(3049), Planting (3050), Kandis (3050), Kobe (3051), Sevren (3051), Thun (3051)

341st Assault Cluster => Paulus Prime (3049), St. John (3049), Harvest (3050), Planting (3050), Engadin(3050), Diosd (3052), Kobe (3051), Sevren (3051), Thun (3051)

352nd Assault Cluster => Cyrenaica (3049), Rasalhague (3050), Kandis (3050), Domain (3052), Hyperion (3052), Kobe (3051), Sevren (3051), Thun (3051)

3rd Battle Cluster => Lovinac (3049), Planting (3050), Kobe (3051), Rastaban (3052), Sevren (3051), Thun (3051)

• Gamma Galaxy 3 Clusters

Bronze Keshik => Butte Hold (3049), Placidia (3049), Basiliano (3050), Maestu (3051), Skandia (3052)

7th Battle Cluster => Crellacor (3049), Balsta (3049), Skallevoll (3049), Vantaa (3050), Basiliano (3050), Maestu (3051), Skandia (3052), Weingarten (3051)

16th Battle Cluster => The Edge (3049), Rodigo (3050), Feltre (3050), Mozirje (30509, Ferleiten (3050), Maestu (3051), Skandia (3052)

11th Battle Cluster => Rodigo (3050), Liezen (3050), 11th Wolf Guards (3050), Maestu (3051), Nox (3052), Skandia (3052)

• Delta Galaxy

Red Keshik => Drask's Den (3049), Gustrell (3049), Radstadt (3050), Carse (3051), Shaula (3051)

11th Wolf Guards Cluster => Oberon VI (3049), Svelvik (3049), Leoben (3049), Kufstein (3050), Radstadt (3050), Stanzach (3050), Carse (3051), Shaula (3051)

37th Striker Cluster => Sigurd (3049), Alleghe (3049), Radstadt (3050), Unzmarkt (3050), Carse (3051), Memmingen (3051), Shaula (3051)

4th Striker Cluster => Outpost (3049), Dawn (3050), Moritz (3050), Skokie (3050), Galuzzo (3052), Shaula (3051), Thannhausen (3051)

• Epsilon Galaxy

Green Keshik => New Oslo (3050), Hainfeld (3051), Laurent (3051

Nega Garrison Cluster => Hainfeld (3051), Laurent (3051

Choyer Garrison Cluster => Cusset (3051), Karston (3051)

Gurbeng Garrison Cluster => Cusset (3051), Wheel (3051)

Dorbeng Garrison Cluster => Bruben (3050), Hermagor (3050), New Oslo (3050), Hainfeld (3051), Laurent (3051

Forces Structure

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Preparations

When the Grand Council began debating how to execute Operation Revival, it was eventually decided that four Clans would directly take part in the invasion with a fifth held in reserve. While there was much debate and Trials held to determine who among the Clans would participate it was agreed that Clan Wolf, guardians of the Kerensky Bloodname and thus the living soul of the Clans, was guaranteed one of those positions. With the resolution of the combat trials the other three spots in the invasion went to strong Crusader Clans - Clan Jade Falcon, Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Ghost Bear - with the moderate Warden Clan Steel Viper earning the reserve spot.

A basic plan of attack was hammered out in the Grand Council, assigning each of the four invading Clans a "corridor" to operate in. While the other three Clans underwent the bidding process to determine who would operate in which corridor, the ilKhan made a surprising proclamation by assigning Clan Wolf to the corridor mostly covering the Free Rasalhague Republic and only barely crossing the border of the Federated Commonwealth. This shamed Clan Wolf by denying them the chance to invade the more-powerful Commonwealth or Draconis Combine on their own and straddled them with what was considered a weak opponent, unlikely to offer much potential for winning glory. To add insult to injury the ilKhan further announced that he would operate his headquarters aboard the Clan Wolf flagship Dire Wolf, implying that the Wolves with their suspect loyalties needed supervision (earlier ilKhan Showers had transmitted the recall order to Wolf's Dragoons, a Clan Wolf reconnaissance unit which had gone rogue, to suggest the same betrayal on Clan Wolf's part; only Natasha Kerensky as the last remaining Trueborn in Wolf's Dragoons answered the order).

Once the matter of the invasion corridors was settled the command staffs of the four invading Clans agreed to divide the invasion into 15 waves, each two months in duration, with two weeks for rest and refit between each waves. The final goal of the invasion would be Terra, the most revered of all Inner Sphere worlds. Based on the words of the Great Founder Nicholas Kerensky the first Clan to claim would become ilClan and rule over a reborn Star League.

The initial plan for the Wolf invasion corridor was considered unremarkable, a result of the Clan's indecisive feelings on the invasion. Despite their status as a Warden Clan and the feelings of Khan Ulric Kerensky that the invasion was wrong, there was a strong contingent of Crusaders led by saKhan Garth Radick who not only felt otherwise but wished to prove on the battlefield their right to participate in the invasion. An accord was eventually be reached between the two sides: the best way to get back at the ilKhan and the other Clans for putting them in this position was to beat them at their own game and for Clan Wolf to reach Terra first.

A few minor issues were cleared up before the invasion force left Clan space in June 3049. Worlds on the borders of the invasion corridors could be contested by either Clan through the normal bidding process and the Inner Sphere forces would be granted the opportunity to fight with honor by issuing batchall prior to each engagement.

Invasion Route

Periphery Action (August—September 3049)

En route to the Inner Sphere the Clan invasion forces first came upon the desolate worlds of the Periphery. Thanks to petitioning of the various Khans the ilKhan agreed to declare the Periphery open to bidding by all of the Clans, allowing each the chance to conquer worlds regardless of the assigned corridors. Thus the Ghost Bear Clan was able to bid to invade the Elysian Fields, a trio of worlds which lay within the Wolf Clan corridor. The Wolves did not oppose their bid and the local governments of those worlds gave up without a fight, although in the end the promise of undiscovered Star League technology proved all for naught and the Ghost Bears did not bother to even leave behind garrison forces.

Elsewhere Clan Wolf warrior encountered "errants", solitary mercenaries operating in the Periphery with dilapidated BattleMechs and Aerospace Fighters. They proved no match for Clan warriors and only reinforced the belief that the Clan invasion was destined for success. As Clan forces came closer to the Inner Sphere they encountered slightly more opposition, although nothing larger than a regiment and in little better fighting condition, as well as ComStar. By quickly seizing the HPG facilities and preventing all ships from leaving conquered systems the Wolves and other Clans were successful in preventing word of their approach from reaching the Inner Sphere.

The most significant opposition faced by Clan Wolf came from the Oberon Confederation, a pirate kingdom ruled by Hendrik Grimm III. By analyzing their battles with the Oberon forces Clan Wolf gleaned vital information on how the Inner Sphere fought, in particular after their action against the Kell Hounds' Third Battalion on The Rock; it was during this battle that Phelan Kell was taken as isorla by Clan Wolf, although the significance of this would not be known until much later. Clan Wolf was sufficiently impressed by the skill of the Kell Hounds to realize their misconceptions about how easy the coming invasion was and willingly shared their data from these battles with the other Clans so that they could study the Inner Sphere fighting style themselves. Unfortunately for the most part the other Clans were unimpressed and noted only the Sphereoids' lack of honor in their fights with Clan Wolf.

With the last Periphery world taken the Clans halted to consolidate their position, set up supply depots on specific worlds and debrief their warriors. ComStar, which had received messages from their ROM agents in the Periphery about the invasion, decided it was best to treat with these new arrivals and began dispatching diplomatic feelers to the Clans. In January 3050 Anastasius Focht was appointed ambassador to the Clans and worked out an arrangement whereby ComStar would left alone in exchange for suppressing news related to the Clan invasion, assist in administrating occupied worlds and on occasion pass on military intelligence to the Clans.

First Wave (March—April 3050)

The invasion of the Inner Sphere proper commenced in March 3050, with Clan Wolf invading six worlds of the Republic and two of the Commonwealth. In the face of their superior technology and fighting skills most of the resistance on these planets was ill-prepared and ineffective; those who weren't killed or taken as isorla were forced to retreat off-world. Once resistance was swiftly crushed second-line units were left as garrison forces while the front-line troops moved on.

The easiest battles came on the worlds of the Republic, where the primary defenders were mercenaries. Both the public and the government of the Republic hated the fact that they had to rely on mercenaries for their defense and so provided them will little support or cooperation. Most of the defenders simply collapsed at the first sight of Clan Wolf. The forces of the Commonwealth benefited from superior training, morale and experience fighting in the previous Fourth Succession War and War of 3039, although these factors only allowed them to survive slightly longer against the Wolves.

The first wave went exactly as predicted, and thus required no official reaction from the Wolf leadership. Among individual warriors there was a sense of awe, being the first Clan warriors in centuries to set foot again in the Inner Sphere. Many sat in quite contemplation of the beauty surrounding them where scant hours before they had viciously hunted down the last remaining defenders of a world.

Second Wave (May 3050)

Wolf operation in Wave 2

The second wave of the invasion began just a week after the end of the first, all against worlds of the Rasalhague Republic. The Wolves' victories during this wave were helped in no small part by the ineffectual response of the Republic. At first the governments of the Inner Sphere were too stunned to react, receiving little information about what was going on thanks to ComStar and unwilling to believe what news did reach them. While the other realms were able to overcome their initial shock the Republic was hampered by a sever disagreement between Elected Prince Haakon Magnusson and Överbefälhavare Christian Månsdottir, Commander-in-Chief of the KungsArmé.

Where the Prince wanted all forces to stand their ground and fight, Månsdottir believed they needed to fall back to Rasalhague and defend the capital. Their impasse caused them to turn to the legislature, which wasted weeks debating the issue before Magnusson agreed to his opponent's strategy but vetoed the idea of calling on the other realms for assistance, believing it would show a sign of weakness. Thus while the defenders of those worlds attacked during the second wave did the best they could, they received no support from the government due to this paralysis and fell all the swifter because of it.

Third Wave (June—July 3050)

When Khan Ulric Kerensky released his play for the third wave in late May, it caught the notice of the other Clans and represented a distinct shift in Clan Wolf strategy. They would take the lead by attacking eleven worlds instead of just six with the capital world of Rasalhauge the clear objective. The other Khans reacted with some skepticism to this plan, believing the accelerated timetable would fail and leave Clan Wolf disorganized and demoralized with shame. While an entertaining thought, they also feared this result would give the Inner Sphere an opportunity to seize back the initiative and so advised without success that the Wolf Khans pull back from their plan, and although he had the right to change or cancel it the ilKhan allowed their plan to stand.

Khan Kerensky had accounted for their logistical concerns in his plan and resolved in a most daring if creative manner. Clan Wolf JumpShips carrying tons of supplies would travel deep into enemy territory, moving through uninhabited systems to avoid detection, then deposit their cargo in orbit of or placed on barren worlds. With forward supply depots set up inside enemy territory the supply lines were drastically shortened and Wolf units would be able to conduct operations at a much faster pace.

The plan had enormous risks associated with it since there was a chance of these depots being discovered and the Inner Sphere acquiring advanced Clan technology. It also spoke to the strong inter-caste bond found within Clan Wolf and the ability of Khan Kerensky to persuade his merchants to undertake such a dangerous assignment. Kerensky's concern for logistical matters also contrasted with the other Khans, who paid little heed to such things and often believed they needed no more than one or two ammunition reloads to take a planet. Their folly already caused them to wait longer for their merchant ships to bring supplies up from the rear and would come back to haunt them in the future.

The third wave began on 5 June with the mass launch of the Wolf supply ships and proceeded according to plan, getting closer to Rasalhague with each passing day. This greatly perturbed the Ghost Bear Khans, who had already lost face by being forced to call in the Steel Vipers to garrison their worlds and could watched as one of their traditional enemy race ahead with mounting success. Even more so it had been agreed previously that, since Rasalhague was on the border between their corridors, the two Clans would bid for the right to invade the planet during the fifth wave. Faced with only one possible choice and at the supposed goading from ilKhan Showers, the Ghost Bears agreed to challenge the Wolves' right to invade Rasalhague.

After much delay, a delay approved by the ilKhan which forced the Wolves to keep a Galaxy in reserve in case they won, the bidding took place on 7 July aboard the Dire Wolf. In what was regarded as a textbook example of the bidding process the two Clans fiercely bid against each other for the right to invade Rasalhague. When the bid fell below the cut-down of five Clusters plus support the assembled observers were surprised as the process continued: Clan Wolf wanted to win at any cost, and Clan Ghost Bear was now willing to push the bid as low as possible before conceding. In the end Clan Wolf won but at seemingly great cost: they would attempt to conquer the Republic's capital with no more than three Clusters, an impossible proposition to those assembled. Luckily the Wolves had Phelan Kell to advise them on their invasion, and the successful Battle of Rasalhague would demonstrate the skill and cunning of Clan Wolf.

Fourth Wave (July—October 3050)

Fifth Wave (November 3051—April 3052)