Reunification War

The Reunification War (2577-2597) was the first interstellar war backed by the entire Star League. The war was fought in tandem by the forces of the Star League Defense Force and the armies of the Draconis Combine, the Federated Suns, the Free Worlds League, and the Lyran Commonwealth. Each of the four major Periphery realms was conquered by the end of the conflict.

Causes

The Reunification War really resulted from a combination of two underlying factors. The origins of Periphery states meant that the denizens of the Periphery tended to fiercely desire their independence. Comforts like better education, higher standards of living, improved technologies and increase in wealth (among the higher classes of society) were meaningless to a people who left the Inner Sphere (and these amenities) in favor of freedom.

Conversely, the Inner Sphere had a vested interest in controlling the Periphery. The common Spheroid desired protection, not necessarily from the Periphery states themselves, but from the unknown which the Periphery represented. The high standards of living and wealth meant that the people of the Inner Sphere feared loss, and desired the security provided by the knowledge nothing sinister was occurring outside their gaze. For the most part, the Periphery had far more to fear from the undivided attentions of the Inner Sphere. Spheroids simply did not see it that way.

The Inner Sphere also desired the Reunification War for a far more sinister rationale. After the close of the Age of War, the militaries of the Inner Sphere were idle for the first time in over a century. Inner Sphere militaries feared the outcome of not using their forces - fearing a lack of experience or discipline, and the possibility of rebellion.

The combination of these factors led to several incidents before the official start of the war.

2571

• Star League member states begin circulating propaganda against the Periphery. Propaganda either calls for a crusade (to bring back the wayward kin) or defames Periphery denizens

2572

• Star League Directive 21, the garrison of worlds within the Outworlds Alliance by the Inner Sphere armies
• the Santiago Massacre, Kuritan forces kill 27 civilians

2573

• Malagrotta Incident, a clash between the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat over a mining colony
• the Efrimal Long prison uprising, and the Universal Act of Loyalty
• Jonathan Grenvaux proposes Star League/Periphery summit on Terra - only Gregory Amaris attends
• Taurian Concordat rejects Terran Hegemony Finance Minister Randex Fitzhugh's "favored-nation" trade proposal

2574

• 3rd Amaris Dragoons deployed to Lackhove to enforce Universal Act of Loyalty
• Heavy tariffs and port fees levied against Periphery traders

2575

• Director-General Ian Cameron issues the Pollux Proclamation

The Participants

Each of the Periphery nations were attacked during the course of the War, but not all campaigns were the same.

• Due largely to their technological sophistication, large military and zealous patriotism, the campaign against the Taurian Concordat was drawn out and punishing.
• Despite the lack of a formal army, the Outworlds Alliance campaign was especially brutal - many atrocities were committed against the Alliance
• Marion Marik of the Free Worlds League fought a war by the Ares Convention against the Magistracy of Canopus - though hard fought, neither side was particularly brutalized
• the Rim Worlds Republic lacked an effective standing army, yet fought gallantly to defend its realm, mostly with conventional arms

Attitudes within the Inner Sphere were also divided.

• The Federated Suns favored invasion of the Taurian Concordat - House Davion desired to be finally rid of the Taurian distraction
• The Draconis Combine, embarrassed by the atrocities committed by their forces, wanted revenge
• The Free Worlds League feared war - trade disruptions caused by the war could exacerbate internal social and economic problems
• The Capellan Confederation had maintained a detente for some time with the Taurian Concordat. Further, Chancellor Ursula Liao was still consolidating her throne at home. Therefore, the Confederation did not actively support the Reunification War
• The Lyran Commonwealth relished the opportunity for war - to distract the public from internal problems.

Campaign Against the Taurian Concordat

At the outset of the Reunification War, the SLDF was divided between the four major Periphery realms. With assistance provided by the AFFS, SLDF Corps I, III, IV and VI were tasked with the pacification of the Hyades Cluster. The day after receiving the Pollux Proclamation, Protector Mitchell Calderon ordered TDF on high alert, and all Taurian defense industry to increase production. With hostile forces massing on the Taurian border, the Concordat Defense Board devised the defensive strategy Case Amber, in 2576.

Case Amber

In 2577, the TDF implemented Case Amber. On the eve of battle, the AFFS fleet and invasion force was massing in the As Samik and Naka Pabni systems. Taurian ships garrisoning nearby systems started to depart, and radio communications traffic suggested these departures were intended to bolster a reserve fleet. Convinced that no such fleet existed, Admiral Sarah Vincent splits the fleet, and engages a small Taurian fleet in the Tentativa system. In her absence, a massive Taurian fleet jumped into the Panpour system, destroying the AFFS rear armada. When word reached Admiral Vincent of the sneak attack, Vincent orders the fleet to withdraw. On route to the Jump point, a second, large Taurian fleet emerged from hiding in system and ravaged the Federated Suns assault group. By the conclusion of Case Amber, the AFFS had lost more than 24 warships/jumpships, while the TDF had lost only 3. Though the ground forces of the AFFS remained unscathed, they were effectively grounded due to lack of transportation.

Wexworth's Invasion

Early in 2578, the SLDF, commanded by General Charles Mainstein Wexworth, commenced invasion of the Taurian Concordat. Wexworth conducted a cautious advance through Taurian territory, for several reasons:

• the Star League desired Taurian industry, unscathed
• minimize casualties
• the TDF demonstrated prowess through immobilization of the AFFS
• Wexworth desired victory to advance social standing in the Terran court

Wave one involved the simultaneous invasions of Taurian systems. All told, the navy engagements cost the SLDF 3 ships and the TDF 4 ships.

• I Corps advanced into Ridgebrook, but was stalled; the 2nd and 15th Taurian Fortress Battalions held Ridgebrook for 4 months. The Corps then moved to the Wrentham system, where the 7th and 12th Regulars took heavy casualties.
• III Corps advanced into the agricultural world of Keuterville, and loses on the open plains.

The second wave began in 2580. Naval engagements result in the destruction of 15 SL ships and 13 Taurian ships.

• IV Corps attacks the Pleiades Cluster, with simultaneous operations on Electra, Maia, Merope and Lothair. The 28th Diomede Regulars took heavy casualties on Maia; the 40th Gordon Regulars and the 18th Light Horse were fought to a standstill on Lothair.
• VI Corps takes Anaheim, but makes little headway in the wake of an insurgent uprising.

Wave three occurred in 2581. Wave three witnessed the two largest naval engagements of the Reunification War. In total, the Star League navy lost around 50 vessels ships (~33%), but the remaining Taurian navy (~100 ships) was effectively destroyed.

• I Corps lands in the Northern, industrial centers of the planet Flintoft, only to be bombed by conventional aircraft.
• III Corps assaults Robsart. Before landing on the surface, the SL navy suffers heavy casualties. In retaliation, Admiral Janissa Franklin orders an orbital bombardment, killing 30,000 civilians. The Robsart Bombardment becomes a rallying cry for the TDF for the remainder of the War.
• IV Corps advances on Brussett, where the 16th and 19th Tamara Regulars were decimated by poison dust.
• AFFS advances on agricultural world of Weippe, and industrial world of Pierce. On Weippe, food stores were torched before they could be captured by the AFFS. On Pierce, the 107th Light Cavalry took heavy casualties after insurgents set demolitions in the capital.
• Diefenbaker was taken in the only infantry-infantry engagement in the entire war. The Corigan "hills", overlooking the capital, was too rugged for 'Mech combat. The 88th Light Horse took the hills, takinging more than 5,000 casualties.

Taurian Tactics

Faced with overwhelming odds against, the Taurian Concordat fought foreign invasion through a combination of regular and irregular tactics. Irregular tactics on planet surfaces included (but were not limited to) scorched earth defenses; surprise attacks (even concealed on open ground); insurgency bombings; mass poisonings; assassinations; passive resistance demonstrations; and herding placing BattleMechs and combat vehicles through strategic placement of unarmed civilians, in preparation for saturation artillery shelling.

In space combat, guerrilla tactics were even more extreme. Within Flannagan's Nebula, the large debris field was laced with laser batteries; each laser battery required clearance by infantry in zero gravity - BattleMechs, Aerospace Fighters, and naval assets were useless within the debris fields of Flannagan's Nebula. Soldiers clad in environmental suits from abandoned ships would float in the void to nearby hostile ships, and, in tandem with kamikaze attacks, would penetrate the hull and commandeer the ship. The Taurian navy also used "fire ships", ships packed with explosives, to deliver devastating kamikaze attacks.

Campaign Against the Outworlds Alliance

At the commencement of hostilities between the Inner Sphere and the Outworlds Alliance, both the DCMS and two Corps of the [[SLDF] were poised to invade, II and V Corps.

Campaign Against the Rim Worlds Republic

Because the Amaris line maintained close ties with the Terran Hegemony, and given the Rim Worlds Republic lacked a large BattleMech force, most analysts believed the SLDF was not required to pacify the Republic. Therefore, the task of conquering the Republic was given to the LCAF and the DCMS. No SLDF Corps were initially deployed.

Campaign Against the Magistracy of Canopus

Though the Magistracy maintained a standing army garrisoning many worlds, the origins of the Magistracy led Inner Sphere militaries to believe operations within the Magistracy would be short. Therefore, the SLDF assigned only VII Corps to invade. In tandem with the FWLM, this allocation of troops was originally deemed sufficient.

Sources

• The Periphery (sourcebook)