Battle of Luthien

[master arminas]

I don't know if this has ever been asked before or not, but there are a number of things about the Battle of Luthien that makes me scratch my head.  I am refering to the attempt by the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats to seize the capital of the Draconis Combine in 3052, not the battles that occured in the Jihad, by the way.

According to Sarna, there are EIGHT Luthien Defense Regiments that participated in the defense of the capital.  Now, I have no problem with that number:  but I wondered why they are all listed as BattleMech Regiments.  After all, these units have never appeared on a roster of the Combine's Assets (either before or after), should they not have been armor or militia regiments?  In a similar fashion, Takashi managed to raise the Dragon's Claws virtually overnight (he had less than two months to prepare, and somehow raised an entire Regiment, from retirees who had taken their 'Mechs home with them?  In the Draconis Combine, they were allowed to take state property home with them?).  And although they were retired and had never worked together, they were then rated as Veteran?

What gives?  I don't mind a curb-stomp, but it seems that units were just created out of whole-cloth, and then given veteran status just for the purpose of crushing the Clans.

Another question:  Hanse Davion didn't dispatch the Dragoons and the Kell Hounds until November 27th.  Yet, they arrived on January 5th . . . thirty-nine days later.  From Outreach, for the Dragoons.  There simply was not time for them to arrive, not within command circuits which could not have been established in advance; at least not ones heading for Luthien.

So . . . why was this done?  From the facts within the universe, there should have been FIVE Regiments of BattleMechs (1st and 2nd Genyosha, 2nd Legion of Vega, 1st Sword of Light, and Otoma) defending Luthien, supported by a few dozen militia regiments, a couple of aerospace fighter wings, and some DEST commandoes . . . not twenty Regiments of BattleMechs (including those LDRs shown above)!  Even so, there . . . what?  Eighteen Clusters involved on the Clan side?

Luthien should have fallen . . . so why did you guys save it?

Master Arminas

[Kit deSummersville]

Militia units, no matter their size or composition, are not listed on deployment tables. The Objectives series of e-pubs goes into more depth about that.

[master arminas]

So, when the Combine had to scrape up Yakuza for the Ghost Regiments, you mean there are multi-regiment BattleMech militia formations on hand?  I don't have a problem with eight regiments of militia, or even eighteen regiments of militia on Luthien.  But militia that is stated to consist of BattleMechs?  That I find rather . . . peculiar.

Master Arminas

[Kit deSummersville]

No, I don't know the sizes of the militia in question, just that they are not listed on the deployment tables. You'll have to wait for another author for answers to the rest of your questions.

[HABeas2]

Hello,

Luthien was spared for the needs of the story. I realize that comes off as a bit snide, but the authors writing the novels simply do not always have access to rulebooks and listings to establish the setting's reality (especially back when those books were written, and FASA was getting books put together by hand, sometimes via snail-mailed copy).

And, if Sarna used the Luthien scenario pack as a resource there, the fact is, that book proved to be so riddled with errors, it--like First Edition Periphery and Objective Raids--is now seen by our staff as a "secondary source": Canon only in areas where it does not clash with other canon.

Hopefully, that helps.

Thank you,

- Herbert Beas
  BattleTech
  Catalyst Game Labs