Operation BROKEN CROWN

Operation BROKEN CROWN

Years: 3062 (March to November)

Objective:

Clan takeover of Arc-Royal
Capture or kill Marshal Jackson Davion

Invading Factions:

Clan Star Adder
Clan Jade Falcon
Clan Steel Viper

Defending Faction:

Federated Commonwealth
Kell Hounds
Various mercenary commands

Attacking Force composition

Clan Star Adder

Commanding Officer: Khan Cassius N’Buta

Command Keshik – 105% Elite
Alpha Naval Reserve Star – 100% Veteran

Alpha Galaxy

Commanding Officer: Galaxy Commander Dante Truscott

5th Assault Cluster 120% Elite
11th Armored Cavalry Squadron 105% Elite
85th Adder Cavalier 100% Veteran (Crippled)
87th Dragoon Cluster 100% Regular (Set as Garrison, New Exford)
191st Adder Guards 100% Veteran (Crippled)

Gamma Naval Reserve Star – 100% Veteran

Gamma Galaxy

Commanding officer: Galaxy Commander Leo Cathis

3rd Assault Cluster 100% Veteran
9th Armored Cavalry Squadron 100% Veteran (Crippled)
69th Dragoon Cluster 100% Veteran
79th Dragoon Cluster 100% Elite
133rd Hussar Cluster 100% Regular (Crippled)

Clan Jade Falcon

Vau (Peregrine) Galaxy

Commanding Officer: Galaxy Commander Angeline Mattlov

4th Falcon Velites (Damaged)
89th Falcon Strikers (Crippled)
94th Striker (Set as Garrison, Morges)
Peregrine Eyrie (Set as Garrison, Bountiful Harvest)
Peregrine Solahma (Damaged)

Clan Steel Viper

Delta Galaxy

Commanding Officer: Galaxy Commander Nicole Hoskin

Steel Coil Patrol Star 100% Elite (Damaged)
93^rd Assault Cluster 95% Veteran (Crippled)
104th Assault Cluster 100% Elite (Damaged)
61st Striker Cluster 100% Veteran (Set as Garrison, A Place)

Defending Forces

Federated Commonwealth

4th Skye Rangers RCT

Mech Regiment 55% Elite
Aerospace Wing 60% Elite
Armor Brigade (3 Regiments) 55% Elite
Infantry Brigade (4 regiments) 35% Elite

20th Arcturan Guards

Mech Regiment 50% Regular
Aerospace brigade (2 wings) 45% Regular
Armor Brigade (2 Regiments) 55% Veteran
Infantry Brigade (5 Regiments) 25% Regular

23rd Arcturan Guards

Mech Regiment 20% Elite
Aerospace Brigade (2 Wings) 35% Veteran
Armor Brigade (3 Regiments) 10% Veteran
Infantry Brigade (4 Regiments) 5% Veteran

1st Davion Guard

Mech Regiment (4 Battalions) 80% Elite
Aerospace Brigade (3 Wings) 100% Elite
Armor Brigade (4 Regiments) 70% Elite
Infantry Brigade (6 Regiments) 120% Elite

Mercenary Commands

The Dioscuri (Mercenary C+)

The Dioscuri, Mercenary, Lyran Commonwealth

2 Mech Battalions 60% Veteran
1 Air Wing (Company) 50% Veteran
1 Infantry regiment 60% Regulars

1^st Kell Hounds – 100% Elite

2^nd Kell Hounds (Mercenary) – 125% Elite

Crescent Hawk Independent Command (Mercenary) – 100% Elite

Operational Notes

The Star Adders are cautious after their own wargames based on Wolf Dragoons data and Tukayyid results. While the Adders are the head of the operation, they allow the Falcons and Vipers to have the first strikes as a “courtesy of veterancy against their mutual opponent”. The plan is actually for the Star Adders to spend the Falcons and Vipers forces to set off FedCom traps, watch for patterns, and cut off fighting retreats.

Morges

The invasion of Morges was done by Clan Jade Falcon. Initial bids go under the necessary troops for the fight and Galaxy Commander Angeline Mattlov has to reprimand her commanders for not following new doctrinal points. Star Colonel Kristen Redmond and her 94^th Striker Cluster mopped up the remaining defenders after initial wave of the invasion and was left in command of the planetary garrison. The 4^th Skye Rangers and 20^th Arcturan Guards are given safe passage off world as hegira.

A Place

The assault on A Place was performed by Clan Steel Viper. Following recent doctrinal changes, the Steel Vipers limit their bidding process and drop with the 104^th Assault Cluster and 61^st Striker Cluster, with the 93^rd Assault Cluster remaining in reserve. The 23^rd Arcturan Guards are still crippled from their experience in the original Clan invasion and the current unrest in the Lyran part of the Federated Commonwealth. While they show great valor, they are quickly overwhelmed and destroyed.

Bountiful Harvest

Elements of all three Clans took part in the fighting on Bountiful Harvest, which was selected to be an advanced field base for further operations. The Adder’s 87^th Dragoon Cluster took the lead in the fight followed by the cadets of Peregine Eyrie for the Jade Falcons. The Viper’s 93^rd Assault Cluster provided support and defensive operation. The Dioscuri were seriously outmatched and generally fought in fighting retreats. They evacuated the planet and jumped out of the system using a pirate jump point, evading the Star Adder WarShips.

New Exford

Gamma Galaxy of Clan Star Adder landed on New Exford and prepared for a siege of the world immediately. The remains of the 4^th Skye Rangers and 20^th Arcturan Guards met with them and were ground into dust through repeated operations. The biggest threat on the planet was actually a group of Lyran rebels which had tagged themselves as the 3^rd Alliance Guards, a hodgepodge of various Lyran units, mercenaries and pirates. The 133^rd Hussar took serious damage fighting these malcontents, forcing them to remain on New Exford to rearm and reequip.

Arc-Royal

The assault on Arc-Royal was the focus of Clan Star Adder, bringing both their Galaxies into action on the planet. The Kell Hounds and the Arc-Royal Militia replied by deploying as much forces as they could muster in the defense of the planet. Minor mercenary commands in the region gathered on Arc-Royal to help with the defense, including what was left of The Dioscuri and the Crescent Hawks.

By the end of the fight, both Kell Hounds regiments had to retreat, going to regroup on Coventry. The Dioscuri had been destroyed after holding off the Adders while the Crescent Hawks left the planet for Hamilton. The Star Adders are not spared in the fight, with the 85^th Adder Cavalier, 191^st Adder Guards and 9^th Armored Cavalry Squadron being crippled and requiring full repair and rearm after the fight. The 69^th and 79^th Dragoon Cluster is also severely damaged but begin repairs using local facilities and factories.

Hamilton

Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Steel Viper are dispatched to capture Jackson Davion on Hamilton, but are met on planet by four Regimental Combat Teams from the Davion Guards (1^st Davion Guards, 2^nd Davion Guards, Davion Heavy Guards and Davion Light Guards) along with the Lexington Combat Group (4^th Ceti Hussars RCT). Field Marshall Davion doesn’t play games or tricks and engages the Clan forces on multiple fronts, defending population centers. The fighting is brutal and while all the Federated RCT take damage, they fight back the two Clans, crippling the 89^th Falcon Strikers and 104^th Assault Cluster in return.

Follow up operations

Clan Star Adder called up Delta Galaxy to continue operations in what would later be known as the Snake Pit. Their losses were higher than they had expected, something both the Steell Viper and Jade Falcon commanders had told them to expect. Controlling the space lanes between the worlds was easy for the sheer amount of ships the Adders had brought with them, but they needed secure jump positions to Arc-Royal and other newly occupied worlds. Delta Galaxy had been kept in reserve on Alyina and Baker 3 and was eager to see some real action.

Babaeski

Babaeski had been the site of a power struggle between the Federated Commonwealth and Nondi Steiner’s Lyran Alliance before Operation BROKEN CROWN started. Both the Third Crucis Lancer and the Tenth Deneb Light Cavalry were stationed on the planet, but each RCT declared themselves for an opposite camp. While Jackson Davion supported the Third Crucis Lancer, the Tenth Deneb had massive funding from regional lords. During the fighting of Operation BROKEN CROWN, the already damaged Third Crucis was recalled to Pasig to regroup. The Third Deneb Light Cavalry celebrated their win… until a message came from the Star Adders.

Delta Galaxy was dispatched to secure planets after the main objective of the operation. The 206^th Hussar and 18^th Armored Cavalry Squadron were sent to Babaeski along with the Constantineau as it was viewed as the biggest threat at the time. While the morale of the Tenth Deneb was good, they were low on supplies and expecting resupply from off-world patrons of the Lyran Alliance. They engaged the Star Adders on the ground in guerilla action but did not know that their supplies had been intercepted by the Constantineau. After three weeks of fighting, their supplies exhausted, the Tenth Deneb surrendered and were granted hegira to leave the planet. Jumping out of the system, they were intercepted by Federated Commonwealth troops and their leadership captured, putting an end to the rebellious unit.

Atocongo

Atocongo was a minor world with limited tactical value at the time of Operation BROKEN CROWN. The planetary government did panic seeing neighboring worlds being attacked by the Clans. They mobilized its planetary garrison as well as a company of unattached mercenaries when Bountiful Harvest fell, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Clan Star Adder’s 175^th Cluster, attached to Delta Galaxy, was tasked with capturing Atocongo. Knowing resistance would be limited, they appointed junior officers and new recruits to the strike force to give them some combat experience. Surprisingly, the planetary militia defended themselves quite well and ket the 175^th busy for two weeks, requiring some of the more senior officers to take charge after successful operations by the militia.

Esteros

Esteros was viewed as minor world through most of the Succession Wars, some people not knowing what they were sitting on. A Star League Defense Force garrison had been stationed on the planet right before the Exodus, and they had left several caches hidden in a desert far from the inhabited areas. While some archeologists had located a few of them, Clan Star Adder wanted to make sure of what remained. The 17^th Cavalier Cluster was dispatched to secure the planet. Without any standing AFFC or Alliance units defending the planet, planetary militias were quickly overwhelmed and the planetary government surrendered after 4 days of fighting.

The 17^th then began scouring the planet for the lost SLDF caches, finding that a good number of them had already been plundered. However, a larger storage facility, located at the southern pole, had not been touched as the area was too dangerous for the average archeologist. Inside, Clan Star Adder recovered a battalion worth of Star League era relics, which were sent back to the Homeworlds for conversion into modern combat machines.

Yeguas

Clan Star Adder’s 6^th Adder Assault and 18^th Armored Cavalry Squadron landed on Yeguas in late August 3062. A decently wealthy world, the leadership on Yeguas had been embroiled in a political struggle as the Count of Yeguas, Adelbert Thorne, supported Nondi Steiner’s Alliance while the local landowners backed the Federated Commonwealth. No battle lines had been drawn between the groups, with the “debate” mostly living in the halls of parliament. Even with Clan warriors invading nearby worlds, neither groups wanted to mobilize the planetary militia or hire additional mercenaries, as this could be seen as an unwanted escalation.

When news came that a Clan ship had sent DropShips towards the planet, the Count ordered the mobilization of the planetary militia, which was answered by the landowners hiring mercenaries and private security contractors to assist them. The two parties did not coordinate their actions and each answered the Star Adder’s batchall individually. The 6^th Adder Assault decided to take care of the planetary militia while the 18^th Armored Cavalry took the assignment towards the mercenaries.

With a significant planetary population, the Adders had to contend with various levels of public unrest as well as enemy units. While the fighting ended after a few weeks, guerilla action, protests and insurrections were commonplace still. Clan Cloud Cobra dispatched a Provisional Cluster to reinforce the Star Adders in exchange for 20% control of the planet, while Clan Steel Viper redirected some of their Gamma Galaxy support elements to act as planetary police forces, again in exchange for 20% control of the planet.

Retaliation

The counter operation by the Allied Clan Front Commands targeted Blair Atholl, Benfled, Monmarault, La Grave and Orkney. Clan Star Adder was in no position to assist the Jade Falcons and Steel Vipers in defending these planets as they were busy establishing garrisons and control zones on the worlds they had just taken. Both Clans were also too proud to ask for assistance from any other units in the vicinity, as it would have implied that the Wolves of Ghost Bears would be needed to save them. This made operations a bit easier than expected for the Federated Commonwealth forces.

Orkney

A wold mostly known for having changed hands between the Falcons and the Vipers, Orkney had been under Viper control for the recent years. The problem came as both Clusters deployed on the planet, the 144^th Phalanx and the 165^th Phalanx, were too busy fighting a series of Trials between each other. Jackson Davion assigned the 3^rd Crucis Lancers to attack the world, with the support of the Sixteenth Donegal Guards provided by Adam Steiner.

The 3^rd Crucis engaged the Steel Viper forces head on, while the Sixteenth Donegal looked for the clusters’ supply depots, which were already running low due to their previous infighting. Even on a world with low population like Orkney, uprisings from the general populace also crippled the Viper’s ability to hold the planet. The 144^th and 165^th left the planet and retreated, before they were disbanded for incompetence, their troops reassigned to other units.

La Grave

The Fifth Davion Guards had been kicked off La Grave by the Jade Falcons during Operation REVIVAL and were eager to pay them back when the orders came down from command to take the fight to the Clans. Already aware of many of the oddness and specificity of La Grave, the Fifth activated various local “sleeper cells” to cause issues as their DropShips burned to the world.

The defending forces of the Eighteenth Falcon Regulars still were ready battle, trying to intercept the incoming ships with masses of aerospace fighters, which the Fifth Davion Guards faced head-on, leading to one of the largest space battle of the conflict. Neverthless, the Guards grounded near a newly liberated town, where they could setup a field headquarter and prepare for a long campaign. Neither party wanted to give up during this fight, but the Eighteenth Falcon was forced off-world due to rising popular unrest and massing losses.

Benfled

To stretch his military and political muscles, Marshal Bishop Sortek took command of the operation to reclaim the world of Benfled for the Federated Commonwealth, bringing the First Ceti Hussars with him. The defending Fourth Fang of Rho Galaxy believed at first in just a quick raid by Federated forces and left the Ceti Hussars position themselves. Increase in public unrest from the potential liberation of the world tied down a lot of the Fourth Fang infantry assets, while the Ceti Hussars started hounding the two OmniMech heavy trinaries. After two weeks of brutal fighting, the Fourth Fang were forced to abandon the world, with Bishop Sortek granting them hegira.

Montmarault

Two Clusters of combined arms forces, strong in conventional infantry and Battle Armors, defended Montmarault during the reprisal strikes from the Federated Commonwealth. Both the 141^st and 164^th Phalanx were well equipped with advanced OmniMechs and OmniFighters, but they had been put down on the planet to safeguard it and keep order from the unruly population.

Adam Steiner commanded his Fourtheenth Donegal Guards RCT directly in the effort to retake Montmarault. The locals cheered seeing such a distinguished hero lead the liberation of their world, and massive uprisings immediately started in all population centers. The Stee Viper defenders tried their best to put the riots down, but the crackdown only incited more people to join in. Hauptmann- General Steiner quickly contacted the Viper commanders and promised them free passage off world in exchange of recognizing the Federated Commonwealth rule of the planet. Both Star Colonel agreed immediately.

Blair Atholl

The situation on Blair Atholl was chaotic for the Steel Vipers at the time of Operation BROKEN CROWN. The First Legion Cluster, of Chi Galaxy, had been relieved on planetary defense by Alpha Galaxy’s Second Viper Guards. The First Legion had built an okay rapport with the local population and not played hard politics, but the Second was a front-line galaxy which had little time for niceties and wanted to go back on the offensive. During the transfer of powers, Star Colonel Suzan Thibaudeau insulted a few of the local heads of the farming unions, leading to them having less rations than were originally expected.

To face an elite unit of Clan Steel Viper, Jackson Davion decided to deploy his Fourth Davion Guards while Bishop Sortek provided the Second Ceti Hussars. The fight for the planet was tough, with the elite Second Viper Guards showing their skill, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Federated Commonwealth forces, combined with the lack of support from the local population. The Second Viper Guards retreated off-world in good order.

Target Planets

1st Phase

Morges

Defenders:

4th Skye Rangers RCT (Crippled, retreated)
20th Arcturan Guards (Crippled, retreated)

A Place

Defenders:

23rd Arcturan Guards (Destroyed)

2nd Phase

Bountiful Harvest

Defenders:

The Dioscuri (Crippled, retreated)

3rd Phase

New Exford

Defenders:

Remains of the 4^th Skye Rangers (Destroyed)
Remains of the 20^th Arcturan Guards (Destroyed)
Lyran Alliance rebels under designation of 3^rd Alliance Guards (Destroyed)

4th Phase

Hamilton

Defenders:

1^st Davion Guard RCT (Damaged)
2^nd Davin Guards RCT (Damaged)
Davion Heavy Guards RCT (Damaged)
Davion Light Guards RCT (Damaged)
Fourth Ceti Hussars (Lexington Combat Group) (Damaged)

Arc-Royal

Defenders:

1^st Kell Hounds (Crippled,retreated)
2^nd Kell Hounds (Crippled, retreated)
Survivors of The Dioscuri (Destroyed)
Crescent Hawks Company (Independent command) (Crippled, retreated)

Aftermath

The Star Adders had to call upon Delta Galaxy to continue on their streak in the region, taking over Atocongo, Esteros, Yeguas and Babeski by the end of July. The Davion Brigade of Guards having been damaged, they could not react in time to defend these worlds, especially with the Adder WarShips now floating in space in the area.

The retaliatory strikes from the Federated Commonwealth came in October and November, with the Ceti Hussars and Davion Guards retaking Blair Atholl, Benfled, Montmarault, La Grave and Orkney from Clan Steel Viper and Clan Jade Falcon who had been garrisoning these worlds.

The loss of Arc-Royal was see as a major blow to the Federated Commonwealth. The factories of Arc-Royal had been providing critical supplies to the Clan front, which now needed to be replaced with multiple smaller manufacturers. The Kell Hounds requested the AFFC attempt to retake Arc-Royal, but the constant presence of multiple Star Adder WarShips in the region prevented immediate action. Discontent amongst the Hounds led to them breaking apart, with the 2^nd Kell Hounds joining Nondi Steiner’s Lyran Alliance.

The presence of multiple WarShips in the Adder’s Nest (as nicknamed by Jackson Davion) was the key element towards increasing trade with the Marian Hegemony to acquire large stockpiles of Germanium to produce compact K-F drives for the Federated Commonwealth Navy. The small Fox-class frigates were no match for the Adder’s cruisers and battlecruisers, and the production of the new Mjolnir and Avalon-class cruisers became a priority.