Clan Wolf dropped after all the other Clans did. None of the other Clans solicited any advice from him so he was free to do what he wanted.
Ulric was ilKhan. He was responsible for the entire trial, and was not simply an advisor. See below:
All their senior leaders were dead or MIA. Had they remained, the Jaguars likely would have been annihilated especially after Focht started shifting forces away from other. Yes they might have taken more ComGuards before they were annihilated but the end result would likely have been the Jaguars being forced from the Invasion due to a lack of front-line forces and Ulric could have replaced them with another Clan. So, technically, it would have been in the Warden's best interests had he not intervened.
Ulric had to
order the Jaguars to leave the battle. He was not 'solicited' by their forces once their Khans appeared to be out of commission, nor did they act upon 'advice'. They wished to remain and continue to fight. Now, either Ulric had no authority (as you suggested in the above quote) and overstepped his boundaries here or he had authority and used none of it except for this rare occurrence and the entire Trial portion for Clan Wolf.
As for 'saving' the Jaguars, recall that even after Turkayyid, Smoke Jaguar was still considered by both the Clans and Inner Sphere to be one of the strongest Clans all the way up until 3060. Their actual weakness was not exposed until Operation Bulldog- Vlad attacks the Jaguars in '58 to help discourage attempts at Absorption by attacking one of the 'strongest' Clans.
In '52, the very idea that they would be so weakened is even more ridiculous to other Clans,
especially when you factor in that the Jaguars had made the lowest bid on Turkayyid.
And? Had he been a Crusader, he would probably have done the same thing.
I'm not so sure of that. In addtion, acting against the best interest of the Invasion is still acting against the best interest of the Invasion.
Who was it that invited ComStar into the midst of the Clans? Hint: It wasn't Ulric.
Ulric didn't bring Phelan into Clan Wolf either. He still recognized Focht as he did with Phelan- that they could be used as powerful tools to be used to halt the Invasion.
No manipulation was necessary, they would have done that regardless of who was Khan, especially the Smoke Jaguars who had a lot to prove after Wolcott and Luthien. Their own competitiveness drove them to it.
An ilKhan's political power had been reduced- not their ability in military matters, and
especially as a commander of a trial. I suggest you take a look at the ilKhan and Bidding sections of
Warriors of Kerensky and/or
Mechwarrior's Guide to the Clans. Ulric could have enforced minimum bids or limited the significant cuts to the bids, among other things.
He did nothing.
Funny thing is none of the other Clans fully heeded to his advice. And, btw, elevating him was their backup plan if their charges didn't stick and they elevated him to remove a Warden Khan from the Grand Council thinking he would chose Conal Ward as his successor.
What advice did Ulric actually give?
We do know that Ulric had the means to ensure a victory on Turkayyid, as the third
Blood of Kerensky book reveals at the end of the trial.
Whenever this comes up on the board, the argument is always the same: 'Ulric didn't do anything' 'It's the fault of the other Clans' 'Ulric
tried but the other Clans didn't listen'.
The ilKhan is
supposed to unify the Clans together. That's how the Clans function- you have a Star Colonel that ensures his Star Captains' competition amongst eachother doesn't go too far and compromise the Clan's chance at victory. Superiors actually lead and manage their people. Ulric did
just enough that he could hide behind an excuse of 'trying'.
Focht and Ulric, in a private conversation, make it quite clear that had Ulric actually put some effort into a Clan victory the Clans would have won Terra in '52.
He didn't
personally agree with the invasion, so he used his position as leader of the invasion to stop it. If that makes him a traitor or not is debatable. The fact that he used Focht and ensured the other Clans hung themselves isn't.
And? So did his predecessor and plenty of other previous ilKhans.
Trent from Clan Smoke Jaguar also aided the Inner Sphere against the Clans. Does that mean his act wasn't traitorous?
It's debatable as to what the outcome would have been had Chistu not murdered Ulric. Even without Phelan's Wolves, who eliminated two Falcon Galaxies after their defection to the Inner Sphere, there was a chance for Clan Wolf to win the Refusal War. Note: even if Clan Wolf had won, both Clans' toumans would have been heavily depleted.
Victory wasn't an option for Ulric. Per
Page 14 of
Falcon and the Wolf sourcebook, Ulric's attack on Wotan hoped to finish crippling the Falcons by killing both Falcon Khans. Had Ulric 'won', we'd have had the same situation, except the (Crusader) Clan Wolf under Vlad would not exist, and the Exiles would be up to ~6 Galaxies.
One, debatable whether Ulric sent all the best and most Warden forces with Phelan. The elite 11th Battle Cluster remained with the Crusader Wolves and there were sufficient elite warriors to prevent a Trial of Absorption by another Clan. As part of their security procedures, no Clan WarShip had the entire Exodus Route stored on their computers. This is mentioned several times.
One: "Ulric revealed his own scheme to use the Trial as a means of crippling the Crusaders' power, while ensuring the
long-term survival of the Wardens whom he considered the best and truest members of the Wolf Clan."
Falcon and the WolfTrue, Ulric didn't send every Warden. He did, however, send the 'bulk', as well as an entire
third of Clan Wolf's equipment with Phelan.
It was not a single ship that Ulric sent either. Again, his recording specifically states that he has intentionally taken the necessary steps to ensure that Phelan and his Wolves will be unable to ever return to the Homeworlds.
Not quite all planned out. He planned out what he could in the little time he had available. After all while he was able to provide them with production specs for Omnis and some lower caste civilians, he was unable to provide them with the equipment to produce them. Phelan's Wolves had to take it from the Ghost Bears.
That was due to constraints. Clan Wolf's relocation to Arc Royal was supposed to be a secret until it was too late to be prevented. Also recall that the Crusader survivors were supposed to head to Arc Royal after Wotan.
It's been noted in previous threads that Ulric could have easily avoided the charges and the Refusal War but still have undermined the invasion simply by allowing the Invading Clans to strike at one another and allowing HW Clans to trial for a limited number of IS worlds.
It would have blooded the Crusader Clans, undermined their preparations for a renewed Invasion, helped secure his own position by making the HW Clans happy as well as causing further conflict between HW and Invading Clans and possibly even led to the ouster of a Crusader Clan from the invasion force (probably only to replaced by another Crusader Clan but still-it would have further undermined the Crusaders).
That would have left the Crusader Wolves alive however, and not prevented Clan Wolf becoming a Crusader Clan.
From
Falcon and the Wolf:
At best, the Jade Falcons could only win a pyrrhic victory in the Refusal War; the swath of destruction cut through their ranks by Clan Wolf would cost them all hope of spearheading a renewed invasion of the Inner Sphere. The other Crusader Clans, beset by rebellions on occupied worlds and lacking the Falcons' military acumen, could do the Inner Sphere less harm. By virtually destroying the Jade Falcons and the Wolf Clan Crusaders, Ulric hoped to tear out the heart of the Crusader faction and protect the Inner Sphere, as he believed the Clans had been created to do. For all we know, the same Clans that viewed him as a traitor could have viewed him as a savior only one or two decades later by preventing them from becoming tainted by the Inner Sphere.
I doubt it. While it can be argued that he saved the Clans, the Clans tend to view things as pretty black and white. Ulric lost the Trial of Refusal- therefor he was guilty.
I do think it's rather ironic though that while he was initially falsely convicted of intentionally getting young Clan warriors killed,
Ulric did that just that during the Refusal War.
In a sense, at the end, he was guilty of the very thing he was convicted of. Perhaps the Trial of Refusal having the final say does works afterall ;)
BTW:
BTW Phelan's Wolves were abjured AFTER the Battle of Morges not before.
Chistu Abjured Phelan and his Wolves just hours after Ulric was killed on Wotan on December 10th, 3057.
While the Falcons arrived in the Morges system on December 5th, 3057, Morges didn't actually begin until the Falcons dropped on December 13th, 3057. In fact, the Falcons inform Phelan that both the 'Black Widow' and the 'Grey Wolf' (Ulric) are dead before the battle began.