After their last engagement on Colfax, the Marauders were ordered to quickly relocate to McAffe to support the ongoing Skye/Bolan offensive, Operation Uberschatten. By the time they arrived in system, however, the Free Worlds League had gotten their $h!t together and counter attacked with 3 regiments, among them the elite Knights of the Inner Sphere so you know they were serious. The 11th Lyran Regulars were being pushed hard and ordered the Marauders to establish an LZ behind the lines in the hopes of drawing off enough FWL forces to relieve some of the pressure. When the enemy initially didn't bite, the Marauders were ordered to send a unit into a nearby city and "tear things up" enough to get the FWL's attention. This they reluctantly did.
Marauders defending the outskirts
Unwilling to engage in urban combat on a friendly planet, the Knights left the job to their subordinate mercs, Barrett's Fusiliers. The KotIS commander gave the Fusiliers explicit instructions to keep collateral damage to a minimum and absolutely forbade the use of artillery or bombing runs inside the city. Meanwhile, the KotIS reinforced company made a push against the Marauder LZ.
Knights attack the LZ perimeter.
Marauder line begins taking casualties as their Tarantula goes down to accurate fire.
Marauder command lance was too slow to get into the fight much. The Knights chose to avoid them wherever possible.
Knights air strikes proved very effective, even though they lost a fighter.
Marauder air fights through the FWL air superiority envelope to make one desperate strike.
The Marauder's Alpha Company fought well but the Knights were just too much to handle. Their combination of elite skill, SPAs and heavy firepower began to take a toll and the Marauders started falling back toward the LZ.
Things were going better in the city. The Fusiliers came in with a lot of heavy, long-range firepower which was mostly negated by the close terrain. The Marauders concentrated fire on their infantry transports and the Fusilier battle armor was not really able to engage on favorable terms.
Fusiliers trying to make a push.
Hovers are having a bad day.
Commander Shan of Gamma Company seizes the high ground.
Fusilier Mechs advance.
Frustrated, the Fusilier commander called in the big guns...
Fusilier Long Toms begin shelling the city. Orders be damned!
Oops! Fusilier Maxim learns why they call it "danger close"
Fusilier air piles on
The "ShanHawk" would survive
The artillery proved effective but was too little, too late. The Fusilier force was shattered and forced to withdraw, but the Marauders had their own problems. The Knights were pushing their LZ and the order was given to fall back. The Knights commander allowed the mercs to retreat, leaving all of their downed Mechs and pilots behind. The Marauders were battered but they would survive, which is more than can be said for the 11th Lyran. They would eventually be destroyed, with their survivors joining some dispossessed Marauders in the FWL prison camps.
