3068 - November - Operation Rat III Second Wave
With Operation Rat II battering it's way down through the Liao Commonality the Chancellor and his military advisors were desperate for good news from any front. Yet the front lines between the CCAF and Operation Rat III were not the place to look for good news. As November began the AFFS had the 2 key worlds of Menke and Victoria under heavy siege and had occupied 9 other worlds. This situation was even worse than the dark days of 28-30 when at least the CCAF was only threatened on a single front. Now ever single Commonality (with the exclusion of the "new" Andurien Commonality) was under threat and facing invasions.
Menke
Well that ended amusingly. Most other Merc units would have been able to simply switch sides, get recognized by the Federated Suns as the new owners of the world and away you go. See,
this is what happens when you keep working for a ****** up state that desires to keep throwing you at its much more powerful rival! with orders to keep doing war crimes! Although I'm actually surprised that the AFFS accepted the offer. The last of the Big Mac were in a position to be taken down in short order, being heavily damaged, zero supplies and outnumbered 7-8 to one with their family members at least nominally hostage to the good graces of the AFFS (Not that the AFFS would do anything there but its the thought that counts!). The AFFS doesn't get terribly much by letting them go ... on the other hand, the sheer humiliation of making them beg for their lives and leave their homeworld with their tails between their legs ... and the Liaos wanting them dead?
Yeah, that's something that's going to have Victor and the High Command smirking as they silently sip their champagne....
Although I'd worry that Victor is (yet again) falling into his own 'tactical at the expense of the strategic habits. Why would you want to reinforce an occupied Andurien under Baxters fist?
Victoria
They swore they would "do the 3rd Rangers proud" and "show the Davion Dogs how Capellan's can die". The AFFS formations began preparing for a last push in the first week of December...
Yeah. At that point, agree that they will do so ... and call in the ortillary. There is a point where this kind of fanatical resistance needs to have a
very clear point made that if you ignore constant requests to surrender what is absoloutly clearly an untenable position ... be it on your head and ****** risking your own troops for the sake of honor. Poor brainwashed idiots.
Grand Base
Even as his unit and the 4th began to prepare to move off world the new garrison was dispatched: the 2nd and 3rd Jaguar Guards Clusters of Alpha Galaxy of Clan Sun Jaguar is heading for the world to hunt down the Death Commando's on planet. These are warriors raised and trained in the jungles of Huntress.
That ... sounds a lot like hunting down bandits, I'd be very careful about how you put thus to the Trashborns! And I'm not sure Clanners are the right people to send against Death Commandos leading fanatics. That kind of asymmetric warfare has historically been the kryptonite of Clan units. At least send a few MI6 teams in to 'advise' them, perhaps localizing the enemy units to call in headhunter Elemental strikes or something?
Muridox
Hey look a Smart Government that 'nopes!' any suicidal last stands!
Pojos
Hey look, a dumbass Government that engages in a suicidal last stand ... and lasts about as long as you might think!
Quimberton
???
That man should be
relieved his his command and court martialed for incompetence in the face of the enemy, not given a Knighthood! A full RCT with the best equipment taking massive losses against nothing more than light infantry with IEDs determined to suicide charge his LZ?!?
Well at the last if you have to give him a medal to hide his incompetence and impact morale, make sure to 'promote' him to some REMF post.
Columbine
NomNomNom!
Vard
NomNomNom!
Seriously, good to see that the Home Guard are smart. Once things calm down and they are ferrited out, they could make excellent recruits for the new local Milita if they are loyal to their people and not to the crazy.
Larsha
Hey look, a sane leader who keeps his people alive knowing when to fold em. He'll go far in the future.
Randar
NomNomNom! Hillariously as the Star League folds, the former Ulhans who went to the SLDF and 1st Royal Battlemech regiment might be up for grabs, how about a second Ulhans :D
Make them a 'White Knight' counterpoint to the Genyosha? Except, you know, better? :D
No Return
Be very very careful giving Clanners blueballs. :)) They came all this way for a glorious fight for the first time in forever ... and they get this? Well, hopefully they know this is just a warmup, a chance to loosen the muscles, get the blood pumping and all that before the big game...
Minnacora
I'm going to put down the continued Home Guard resistance mostly to massive disinformation and info-control programs by the state, so that the vast vast majority of the worlds and their defenders
don't know that this is one tiny slice of a massive invasion. And they are all being told this is just one raid by the hated Davions and the might of the CCAF is on its way they just need to hold on...or something like that.
Also on that note, ComStar are presumably sending more people in to take all those HPGs over? That could be very interesting - I doubt many of the WOB people are going to go quietly and unless I'm wrong, ComStar still hasn't setup its own HPG factories, the WOB are in control of the only ones on Terra itself, so if they are disabling the HPGs before pulling out...
As for Capella, the fact that the CCAF are even worried about this and not about SIAN itself shows a marked lack of understanding of what Victors goals are in this war. Poor bastards.