3rd January 3063
Hacala Depression
Fourt Loudan III
Lyran Alliance
Hauptman Kelnikov of the 5th Alliance Guards Armoured Brigade stretched wearily, as he consulted the map. He'd managed to assemble a company of armour from the 33rd Tamar Heavy for the planned assault mission - a special act of providence, given the effects of the constant raiding of the enemy. He'd also managed to re-unite with his trusted
tankodesantniki, so his Manteuffels would be going in with mutual support. The nature of the depression - a long-dried out seabed - would have suited hovercraft brilliantly, but they were being deployed to distract the 4th Guards, enabling his collection of tracks to cross what was usually considered uncrossable terrain.
For vehicles, anyway, and that was the rub. If he was going to support the Knights of St. Cameron in the attack on the Guard's base at Carentan, he needed more support. Support from 'Mechs. Kelnikov was loathe to admit it, but there were some features of the 'metal men' which were suited to this situation - even if he wouldn't admit it. And the BattleMech's capacity to cross just about any terrain was going to be needed here. His armour, with infantry support - even a squad of the Devil Dogs had made it to the rendevous - could make the assault. But they couldn't muster the speed to scout, to cover the flanks, or to take out Davion recon units.
He had been promised support. "A company of 'Mechs", he'd been told. But (although he'd not admit it), he'd assumed that this would be another "thundering herd" of heavy and assault units. Verdammt, his Glorys could outpace a "typical scout lance". He knew the LAAF had good light, fast units. But Command tended to think always of the herd.
His musing was broken when a Senior Corporal on comms shouted "Contact! IFF has them as friendly."
Kelnikov turned to his XO. "The 'Mechs? Let us assume so." He pushed himself out of the folding chair. "Let's go and greet them."
In the glare of the sun, the first thing he noticed was the speed with which the 'Mechs were moving.
Good. The Alliance Guard's colours adapted well to the terrain here, the 'Mechs' black edging contrasting with the stark shadows thrown by the noonday light. He stood, blinking in the wind blown grit, hands on hips, while the three lances drew up in the hastily designated parking area next to the HQ tents.
Mediums and lights, and not an elephant amongst them. He noticed with approval the heaviest designs were an
Uziel and a
Dervish, nodded at the sight of a
Hatchetman, and grimaced slightly at an
Enforcer. Common sense dictated that after two months of bitter fighting, any pilot still in an Alliance Guard 'Mech would be a loyalist. But old predjudices died hard.
Interestingly, it was the pilot of the
Dervish who dismounted first, and came forward. She was tall, athletically built, and the sides of her head were shaved in the Naglering style. Her eyes briefly surveyed the track park, before giving him a once-over at least as detailed as he'd given her. She stopped a couple of meters away, and saluted. "Senior Leutnant Shirley Strachan reporting. Under my command, 2nd company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Alliance Guards, also known as "Shirl's Strikers. Placing myself under your command, sir!"
"Have you been told about the mission, Senior Leutnant?"
"Not a lot, sir. Basically, to keep the Davion scum off your back, so you can ream them so many new ****** they'll think they're Kuritans. Sir."
Hauptmann Kelnikov felt an unaccustomed smile forming. "Senior Leutnant, I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."
Task Force Kelnikov
A battalion-sized combined arms force tasked with assaulting the Fourth Davion Guard's base in the small city of Carentan, on the planet Fort Loudan III, during the FedCom Civil War.
The battalion was commanded by Hauptmann Jocar Kelnikov of the 33rd Tamar Heavy armor regiment.
Only the Hauptmann's platoon of Manteuffel tanks were drawn from the 33rd, but the Hauptmann's record of successes in combined-arms operations made him the best, if slightly unlikely, choice for overall command. His command vehicle's C3 Master melds the A, B and Prime versions together into a maneuverable and hard-hitting force capable of handling badly units larger than themselves.
A platoon of Glory fire support vehicles - the rarer Light Gauss variants - from the 10th Alliance Guards Heavy Armor reach out and touch from a distance, supporting the Hauptmann's armored spearhead
Meanwhile, Galleons from the 10th Guards Light Armor regiment - the GAL-102, with Beagle probes - screen and scout ahead of the main force.
Units from the 20th Alliance Guards Mechanised Infantry regiment have a long track record of working well with Hauptmann Kelnikov. Two companies of foot infantry are backed up by a platoon of Fenrir BA from the infamous "Devil Dogs" battalion, while the platoon of Cavalier BA have rode the Hauptmann's omnitanks into battle so often they've aquired the nickname
tankodesantniki - "tank riders", from the days of the Soviet Civil War back on old Terra.
"Shirl's Strikers"
"Shirl's Strikers" are well known in the 5th Guards - as often for their off-base antics, as for their on-field performance. Like their leader, they play hard, and for keeps, both in battle and out. Senior Leutntant Strachan commands the Strikers' Command Lance from her DV-7D
Dervish, supported by a HCT-6S
Hatchetman, PXH-3S
Phoenix Hawk, and ENF-5D
Enforcer
The "Ground Pounders" Strike Lance - so called, as it has the only units in the company lacking jump capability - consists of an UZL-2S
Uziel, WLF-1B
Wolfhound, VT-5S
Vulcan, and LCT-3S
Locust.
The Striker's Recon Lance is led by a VLK-Qd
Valkyrie, supported by a JVN-11A Fire Javelin, a captured Black Hawk S OmniMech, and an ASN-30
Assassin
So, the Lyran slot for the FCCW is now filled in, in the Grand Plan. The LAAF isnt' just "thundering herds" (as much as I enjoy a good herd-fest!), and has always had access to a wide range of good quality fast-movers. I decided to tip the "hi-lo" balance in favour of the armour for this unit.
DA vehicles are, undeniably, often larger than their IWM counterparts, but look great next to the 'Mech minis. Going all-DA means the scale disparities are far less apparent. I love the DA Galleons, have way too many Glorys, and am quite fond of the Manteuffel. The troop-carrying D isn't available in the FCCW era, but it's always fun scratching up the different configs, while also not needing to paint more troop transports.
The paint scheme is based on a UAE armour camo I saw on the web. The Alliance Guards are tan & brown with black edging, so here I went the brown striping on a sand base, followed by drybrushing more sand over the brown. I should have gone heavier with this - the stripes are more faded in the UAE original - but it came out well enough. Detailing, followed by a hit of teak varnish, and voila!
And for the record, the 5th's attack on Carentan was a success, and the perfidious 4th Davion Guards were driven off-planet as a result. And there was much rejoicing on Fort Loudan that day! O0
Comments, cheese, thrown bricks all gratefully received.
Cheers,
W.
