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	Alexander wasn't idle during those six months, however; he traveled from world to world, accompanied by Colonel Gordon and the other survivors of Nahoni, promoting his claim. In the early stages they had to dodge troops loyal to Laura,<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> with Alexander evading multiple attempts to eliminate him,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/> but by mid-[[2528]] Laura's forces were pulling out of the Crucis March because of how strong Alexander's support had become.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>		Alexander wasn't idle during those six months, however; he traveled from world to world, accompanied by Colonel Gordon and the other survivors of Nahoni, promoting his claim. In the early stages they had to dodge troops loyal to Laura,<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> with Alexander evading multiple attempts to eliminate him,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/> but by mid-[[2528]] Laura's forces were pulling out of the Crucis March because of how strong Alexander's support had become.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>
−	Whereas the Crucis March joined Alexander wholesale, the Draconis March was still loyal to Laura, and that was where she retreated too; the Terran March was split, with some remembering Laura's close ties to Nikolai Rostov, while others were swayed by Dmitri's authority as his father's son.<ref name="HB:HDp34A"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Had the Rostov's ruled the Terran March for longer, loyalty to the name might have been greater.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>	+	Whereas the Crucis March joined Alexander wholesale, the Draconis March was still loyal to Laura, and that was where she retreated too; the Terran March was split, with some remembering Laura's close ties to Nikolai Rostov, whereas others were swayed by Dmitri's authority as his father's son.<ref name="HB:HDp34A"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Had the Rostov's ruled the Terran March for longer, loyalty to the name might have been greater.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>
	Alexander had been able to rely on John Gordon during his campaign against the Draconis March. Alexander had promoted Gordon to the rank of General and tasked him with keeping the border secure against the Varnayist forces. He was assigned to the Capellan Front. Gordon approached this in a similar fashion to the early campaign on Nahoni. In a series of campaigns that would become legendary among [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]], Gordon used guerrilla tactics extensively, counterbalancing the very small number of 'Mechs he had available to him at any given time. Gordon used a combination of superior tactics and local terrain to wage campaigns involving raids, attacks and harassment actions across numerous worlds, resisting the urge to settle into a prolonged campaign on any one planet.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 46: "Alexander's Campaign"</ref> As a strategy, Gordon's operation was brilliant; Cassandra's forces continually failed to pin his troops down, and their attempts led to the Varnayist forces being so dispersed in their pursuit of his forces that they lost the initiative.<ref name="HB:HDp35">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 35: "Bringing the War to the Pretenders"</ref>		Alexander had been able to rely on John Gordon during his campaign against the Draconis March. Alexander had promoted Gordon to the rank of General and tasked him with keeping the border secure against the Varnayist forces. He was assigned to the Capellan Front. Gordon approached this in a similar fashion to the early campaign on Nahoni. In a series of campaigns that would become legendary among [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]], Gordon used guerrilla tactics extensively, counterbalancing the very small number of 'Mechs he had available to him at any given time. Gordon used a combination of superior tactics and local terrain to wage campaigns involving raids, attacks and harassment actions across numerous worlds, resisting the urge to settle into a prolonged campaign on any one planet.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 46: "Alexander's Campaign"</ref> As a strategy, Gordon's operation was brilliant; Cassandra's forces continually failed to pin his troops down, and their attempts led to the Varnayist forces being so dispersed in their pursuit of his forces that they lost the initiative.<ref name="HB:HDp35">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 35: "Bringing the War to the Pretenders"</ref>

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{{InfoBoxCharacter | image = | caption = | name = John Gordon | birthdate = | died = November [[2533]]<ref name=HBHDp37>''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 37: "Tilmeline: Revolution and Civil War"</ref> | othernames = | affiliation = [[Federated Suns]] | rank = [[General]]<ref name=HBHDp37/> | title = | position = | profession = [[Combat Vehicle|Armor]] commander | parents = | siblings = | spouse = | children = [[Mary Gordon]] }} '''John Gordon''' was a [[colonel]] of the [[First New Avalon Dragoons]], He was an important figure in the [[Davion Civil War]], being [[Alexander Davion]]'s first and most important advisor and field commander. Promoted to [[general]], he led many battles from his [[Tiger (Combat Vehicle)|Tiger]] main battle tank before being captured in a battle on [[Jaipur]] and executed by the Varnay faction, which led to a bitter escalation of the war.<ref name=HRW/> ==History== One of the units deployed to [[Nahoni]] by [[Laura Davion]] was the First New Avalon Dragoons, a light armor unit commanded by Colonel John Gordon. The First Dragoons were unpopular with Laura, due to Colonel Gordon making no secret of the fact that his allegiance and those in his unit lay with New Avalon and the Prince of the Crucis March, not with her. Laura had therefore decided to use the First Dragoons as bait, and had deployed them to Nahoni, a largely unimportant world, and then kept them on short rations and receiving minimal supplies while she waited for Varnay to respond to their presence by attacking and wiping them out; Laura planned to then hit Varnay's forces with a counterattack.<ref name="HB:HDp34">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 34: "General Alexander"</ref><ref name="HD(TFS)p45">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 45: "Victor of Nahoni"</ref> What Laura hadn't counted on was the presence of Alexander on Nahoni. While he was ignorant of Laura's plans, he had heard details of both the low morale within the regiment and where their loyalties lay. In a daring plan intended to test the power that the Davion family name supposedly held, Alexander set out for the Dragoons headquarters on the 24th of January 2527 with just ten companions for support. When he unfurled the starburst banner of the Federated Suns on a hill overlooking the camp and proclaimed himself to be the rightful Prince of the Crucis March, his gamble paid off<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>—Colonel Gordon and his troops promptly declared their loyalty to him.<ref name="HB:HDp34"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> The First Dragoons were ill supplied, but they were still a regular FPF regiment and were eager to serve under Alexander. Gordon and his forces had just that opportunity to prove themselves when Varnay finally responded to the bait,<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> landing two divisions of Capellan March militia forces and two BattleMech regiments<ref name="HB:HDp34"/> with the intent of capturing the world for himself. Varnay's forces outnumbered the First Dragoons dramatically, but found themselves struggling with Nahoni's terrain; much of the planet was dominated by vast bogs, and those bogs hampered the movement of both 'Mechs and infantry.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> The First Dragoons were nowhere near as badly constrained by the bogs. The Dragoons had both jump infantry and hovercraft in their forces, scout and support elements that could move largely unhindered. The First Dragoons were also regular forces, not militia—and they had their lawful Prince on hand, a figure who provided a boost to morale that far outstripped his limited military experience.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Alexander and his forces fought an inspired guerrilla campaign against the Capellan March troops; withdrawing steadily deeper into the marshes and bogs, elements of the First Dragoons repeatedly struck out at isolated enemy columns attempting to pursue them. The hit-and-run attacks continued for two months before Colonel Gordon struck the decisive blow when he led two hovertank [[company|companies]] around the main strength of the advancing enemy forces and launched a surprise attack on the enemy base camp and landing zone. Gordon's forces destroyed both, leaving the enemy commander short on supplies; that commander, General Boefers, found himself with little choice other than to surrender.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Boefers' surrender brought Alexander more than just a victory—when the troops under Beofers' command learned who Alexander was, the better part of a regiment of troops promptly switched sides,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> including four units of [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]]. Alexander then dispatched Boefers to New Syrtis with a message for the Varnays; he was willing to exchange the men and equipment captured by his forces at Nahoni<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/>—and what he demanded in return was the release of Cynthia and Vincent.<ref name="HB:HDp34"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> This was a demand that David Varnay would never have accepted, but David was busy on campaign; the terms of Alexander's demand were delivered to Cassandra, who promptly came under pressure from her Council, many of whom had relatives among the captives on Nahoni. Where David would have replied with an ultimatum insisting on Alexander's surrender backed up by threats against his relatives, Cassandra decided that she could ill afford to lose more resources, and agreed to the exchange. Boefers was dispatched back to Nahoni with Cynthia and Vincent in tow and orders to salvage as much of his command as he could and retreat from Nahoni.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Boefers arrived back on Nahoni just two days ahead of Laura Davion's forces,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> which had learned of the Varnayist occupation of the planet and automatically launched their preplanned counterattack. Laura's forces remained oblivious to the presence of Alexander on the planet and the First Dragoons' victory over the Varnayists; Alexander swiftly concluded the agreed exchange with Boefers before leading his troops back into the marshes ahead of Laura's troops making planetfall, leaving Boefers to try and assemble some form of defense for his remaining forces.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> As Laura's forces went into battle with Boefers' forces, Alexander led an attack on a column of Laura's forces, winning another victory - and causing more Crucis March units to learn of his presence and defect from Laura's cause to his. Alexander soon had the beginnings of a reasonably large force, albeit one that was critically short of 'Mechs, but for undetermined reasons two weeks into the campaign he accepted a full-scale battle against Laura's forces on ground that gave her 'Mech forces and advantage. In what became known as the Battle of Davion Hill Alexander's voices squared off against Laura's forces in a pitched battle that was interrupted when General Boefers launched his troops on an attack targeting the rear of Alexander's forces.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Whatever chance Alexander had of winning the battle evaporated with Boefers' attack, but with the Varnayists as keen to attack Laura's troops as they were Alexander's allowed Alexander to pull some of his forces out of the vise, salvaging his senior officers, his 'Mechs and 250 assorted infantry and armor troops from his disintegrated battle line. Fortunately for Alexander, those [[DropShip]]s in Laura's force manned by crews from the Crucis March were every bit as eager to join Alexander's cause as their forces on the ground, and he and his followers were able to flee the Nahoni system while Laura's troops and the Varnayists continued to fight on the ground.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> While Alexander had been unable to win the battle on the ground, the victories he had won on Nahoni far outweighed the losses he had taken - news of his appearance traveled throughout the Federated Suns,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> along with accounts of Boefers' defeat and his treacherous actions. When Dmitri Rostov learned that Alexander was alive, he and those who had managed to escape with him quickly transferred their loyalty from Laura to Alexander,<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/><ref name="HB:HDp34A">''Handbook: House Davion'', pp. 34–35: "Rostov's Legacy"</ref> and six months after the battles at Nahoni Dmitri raised Alexander's banner on the world of [[Farwell]]. With Nikolai Rostov having been beloved by the FPF, the news that Dmitri had joined Alexander's cause swept through the Crucis March life wildfire, bringing many of the regular forces to his banner.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Alexander wasn't idle during those six months, however; he traveled from world to world, accompanied by Colonel Gordon and the other survivors of Nahoni, promoting his claim. In the early stages they had to dodge troops loyal to Laura,<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> with Alexander evading multiple attempts to eliminate him,<ref name="HB:HDp34"/> but by mid-[[2528]] Laura's forces were pulling out of the Crucis March because of how strong Alexander's support had become.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Whereas the Crucis March joined Alexander wholesale, the Draconis March was still loyal to Laura, and that was where she retreated too; the Terran March was split, with some remembering Laura's close ties to Nikolai Rostov, whereas others were swayed by Dmitri's authority as his father's son.<ref name="HB:HDp34A"/><ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Had the Rostov's ruled the Terran March for longer, loyalty to the name might have been greater.<ref name="HD(TFS)p45"/> Alexander had been able to rely on John Gordon during his campaign against the Draconis March. Alexander had promoted Gordon to the rank of General and tasked him with keeping the border secure against the Varnayist forces. He was assigned to the Capellan Front. Gordon approached this in a similar fashion to the early campaign on Nahoni. In a series of campaigns that would become legendary among [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]], Gordon used guerrilla tactics extensively, counterbalancing the very small number of 'Mechs he had available to him at any given time. Gordon used a combination of superior tactics and local terrain to wage campaigns involving raids, attacks and harassment actions across numerous worlds, resisting the urge to settle into a prolonged campaign on any one planet.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 46: "Alexander's Campaign"</ref> As a strategy, Gordon's operation was brilliant; Cassandra's forces continually failed to pin his troops down, and their attempts led to the Varnayist forces being so dispersed in their pursuit of his forces that they lost the initiative.<ref name="HB:HDp35">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 35: "Bringing the War to the Pretenders"</ref> However, while Gordon successfully hamstrung Cassandra's forces while Alexander and Dmitri were campaigning through the Draconis March, his skills would probably have resulted in a faster resolution to the conflict in the Draconis March if he had led Alexander's forces there.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46"/> The length of the campaign to secure the Draconis March had made the actions on the Capellan March front costly; while Gordon had achieved a remarkable number of successes, the delay had given Cassandra the time to rally support, as well as acquiring the service of mercenaries from the [[Capellan Confederation]]. Although both Cassandra and the Capellans denied them, rumors held that Cassandra had offered the Confederation large chunks of the Capellan March to the Capellans in exchange for the support, but it gave her the power she needed.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A">''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', pp. 46–47: "Rostov's Plan"</ref> Three Capellan Chancellors held power during the course of the Davion Civil War—[[Kalvin Liao]], [[Mica Liao]], and [[Salicia Liao]]—and none would tolerate any official involvement in the Davion Civil War, despite those generals and nobles who felt that the Confederation should use the Civil War to invade. All three interfered in the Civil War, however, intent on destabilizing the Federated Suns. Acting in concert with those amongst the Capellan military and nobility who saw backing one of the factions in the Civil War as an opportunity to reclaim large reasons of the Federated Suns, they agreed with Cassandra to provide military forces in exchange for agreements that would see worlds ceded to the Confederation if Cassandra was victorious.<ref name="HB:HDp35C">''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 35: "Capellan Strings"</ref> In [[2533]], Cassandra's forces managed to corner Gordon and some of his forces by keeping the planet [[Jaipur]] under constant siege. With the Draconis March campaign over, Alexander attempted to move quickly to relieve Gordon's forces, but Dmitri pleaded that he had to remain in the Terran March, arguing that he had to continue to put down pockets of resistance still loyal to Laura and to keep the borders with the Draconis Combine and Terran Hegemony secure.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A"/> This left Alexander acting alone, and forced to rely solely on his own forces - many of which were second-rate compared to the regular FPF units commanded by Dmitri. As result, Alexander's attempt to rescue Gordon were unsuccessful, and Gordon had little choice but to surrender.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A"/><ref name="HB:HDp35"/> Cassandra promptly had Gordon put on trial for "war crimes"; Gordon was then condemned to death and executed. Cassandra then went a step further by having the majority of Gordon's troops executed as well;<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A"/><ref name="HB:HDp35"/> this marked an escalation in the savagery with which the Civil War was being fought, with Alexander's forces becoming predictably more brutal in response to Cassandra's actions. Prisoner executions and attacks on civilian targets became more commonplace<ref name="HB:HDp35"/> capped by the actions one of the [[battalion]]s<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A"/> loyal to Alexander unleashing mass destruction on [[Smolensk]], a Varnayist world. The unit on Smolensk destroyed industries and cities alike;<ref name="HB:HDp35"/> while the [[Ares Conventions]] may have been in place for conflicts between nations, the two remaining sides of the Civil War began ignoring them.<ref name="HD(TFS)p46A"/> ==Combat Vehicle== John Gordon commanded from a [[Tiger (Combat Vehicle)|Tiger]].<ref name=HRW>''Historical: Reunification War'', pp. 211–212</ref> During the campaign on Nahoni, he piloted a captured ''[[BattleAxe]]''.<ref name=BT:PCP>''BattleTech: Proliferation Cycle Pack, John Gordon Pilot Card''</ref> ==Quotes== {{Quote|''I wish only that my fealty and sword might aid your restoration, First Prince.''<ref name=BT:PCP/>}} ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== * ''[[BattleTech: Proliferation Cycle Pack]]'' * ''[[Handbook: House Davion]]'' * ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]'' * ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]'' [[Category:Federated Suns Characters|Gordon, John]]

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