My Btech/Near-Modern Earth crossover concept, re-imagined. Kinda like nBSG... just without the angst!
(Well, okay, some angst...)
This first post is background for the world. Note that this is hardly a serious, well-thought future progression, and is mostly meant to pass brief SoD muster. I suspect it will fail even that among some. It is also meant as an excuse for roughly-modern people interacting with the BTech universe circa the Clan Invasion era, pre-Jihad.
In the 2010s, everything goes to shit. We get a Second Great Depression, political upheavals, etc etc etc. In the 2020s, conflicts in Eastern Europe and East Asia cause a sequence of events that sees the United Nations fracture as an entity. In protest over what happens, several nations join the EU and India in forming a new UN in Switzerland which has more powerful and is guided by an ideology of actual federation of the world's nations to combat economic problems and prevent more conflicts. This movement gets identified with a militant Italian politician named Armand Giuseppe, who gains the Chairmanship of the new UN's Security Council and becomes the de facto ruler.
Meanwhile, due to the economic problems and attempts to deal with them, the US military loses the gap it keeps with most potential peer competitors, while the US undergoes attempts at re-industrialization and then social reform and service support in an attempt to recover from the Second Depression. "Rearmament" only becomes acceptable due to the aggressiveness of the Giuseppian movement and fears of the more militant, authoritarian powers coming into play in Eurasia.
Then China and Russia go to war, nukes fly everywhere, ABM systems deflect most and prevent Nuclear Holocaust.... and with millions still dead the world lurches toward a potential WWIII. It's now 2038.... and every space satellite remaining in orbit goes crazy as it picks up a single, ovoid spacecraft approaching Earth. A comm signal goes out...
"I am Star Colonel Benjamin Stiles of the Smoke Jaguars. Upon whom shall my forces blood their claws?"
MechWarrior: Scorched Earth - Setting Commentary and Fluff
Moderator: LadyTevar
MechWarrior: Scorched Earth - Setting Commentary and Fluff
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Re: MechWarrior: Scorched Earth - Setting Commentary and Flu
19 May 2038/19 June 3058: Investigating a suspicious radiation reading above the ecliptic plane of Huntress, Star Colonel Benjamim Stiles led the DropShip Blood Fury into a "wormhole" of sorts, a break in the fabric of space-time that led them to a point above the ecliptic plane of another solar system far from Clan space. Identifying swiftly the system as that of Terra, Stiles' sensors confirmed that it could not possibly be the Terra of legend. Realizing what he'd found regardless, Stiles returned to Huntress and won permission from his commander, Galaxy Commander Russou Howell, to bring a Trinary and Supernova to take an enclave on the world. The island of Bermuda was selected for the attack, taken swiftly, and seized. Attempted counter-attacks by the United States Air Force and RAF fail and are eradicated by the Jaguar fighters and DropShip.
2 June 2038/3 July 3058: At a high level meeting in Geneva, the capital of the United Earth Nation, Union Security Committee Chairman Armand Giuseppe and Union Commission President Janava Tyagri co-chair a meeting of the Union's highest military and political officials. Giuseppe, the true leader of the Union due to his control of the military forces and the special police used in Earth Union nations considered in danger of "Nationalist revolt", sees the Clans as an opportunity to bring the United States and Russia into the Union formally by playing up the Union as a logical center of resistance to the Invaders. President Tyagri agrees, but Reinhardt von Krager, head of the special police - the Verteidiger der Ordnung - expresses a different viewpoint. He believes the Earth Union better served by opening talks with the Clans, arguing successfully that the Clans' military technology might make even a unified planetary resistance useless, but that as allies, even subordinate ones, the Earth Union might use Clan forces and equipment to take over the nations that had refused to join the Union. As a result of this argument, Giuseppe recommends, and Tyagri agrees, that talks be opened with the Clan commander on Bermuda to learn about Clan intentions, and decide from that whether the Union sould serve as the center of resistance against the Clans or as their allies.
24 June 2038/25 July 3058: A Wolf Dragoon DropShip investigates a radiation reading above the ecliptic plane of Outreach. It leads them to the alternate Earth, below the ecliptic plane. They detect a Clan Diamond Shark DropShip above the ecliptic. The Shark DropShip likewise detects them.
Said Diamond Shark merchant ship had also detected the rift's thermal signature and investigated, discovering both the alternate Earth and the Wolf Dragoon ship, clearly identifiable as Inner Sphere. An attempt by a Star of Jaguar Aerospace Fighters to seize the merchant ship fails due to the merchant's own escorts, who drive off the Jaguar attackers and enable the Shark vessel to return to its JumpShip. Ian Hawker sends a message to the other Khans revealing the discovery of the Jaguars. The discovery invigorates the Home Clans yearning for a spot in the Crusade.
2 July 2038/2 August 3058: The Wolf Dragoons leave Coventry to return to Outreach and shore up its defenses. As the revelation of the rifts expands, the Successor States begin reacting by shifting troops toward Outreach should a Clan invasion force come through. Colonel Jaime Wolf, acting under support from both Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao and First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion, attempts to open talks with the governments of Earth, but is ignored by the Union - which wishes to avoid angering the Clans with negotiations ongoing - and most of the blocs; only the United States and the British Commonwealth agree to meet.
4 July 2038/4 August 3058: Galaxy Commander Russou Howell meets Chairman Giuseppe, Director von Krager, and President Tyagri. Though he cannot speak for his Clan's leadership, still inbound from the Inner Sphere, Howell confirms that the Smoke Jaguars would be willing to align with their government, and to press for such alliance in the Grand Council, if Giuseppe's forces help them secure the rest of the planet and provide further assistance to power their invasion of the Inner Sphere.
Without consulting Tyagri, Giuseppe hastens preparations for a secret operation he and von Krager had begun preparing, to turn their defensive forces in Mexico - having aligned with the Union - into an offensive force to attack the United States before its rearmament programs could be completed (and in support, it is believed, of a substantial 5th Column of Giuseppians).
1 August 2038/2 September 3058: Although the Grand Council has not met, the Smoke Jaguar Council gives a preliminary approval of supporting Giuseppe by a narrow vote. Opponents consider calling a Trial of Refusal, but Khan Lincoln Osis persuades them not to divide the Clan with the upcoming Grand Council meeting likely to result in an Absorption of a Clan (either the Wolves or Falcons) and/or a general resumption of the Crusade. The Smoke Jaguars shift extra Provisional Garrison Clusters to Mexico at von Krager's request.
12 August 2038/13 September 3058: With Clan reinforcements detected landing in Mexico, the United States issues a protest to the Mexican Government and to Geneva. President Andrews uses the issue to convince Congress to enact emergency spending to set up 'Mech training facilities with the aid of Wolf Dragoons and Federated Suns officers. The Davion Training Battalion System is chosen as a template for the creation of new US Army 'Mech units, with nation-wide testing begun to find suitable candidates.
September 2038/October 3058: Political developments begin to heighten in the Clans and Inner Sphere. The Whitting Conference on Tharkad is begun, seeking to restore the Star League and pursue a counter-attack on the Clans, while on Strana Mechty the Home Crusaders begin their own push for a renewed invasion with their Clans' participation. Though attempts by Ian Hawker of the Sharks and Asa Taney of the Ice Hellions to cause an Absorption of either the Falcons or the Wolves fails, the Home Clans are both excited and perturbed by the existence of the rifts. A Grand Council vote is held in which a majority of Clans, even including nominally Warden ones, agree to send forces to "New Terra", with Vlad Ward and Bjorn Jorggenson amongst the dissenters. An official alliance with the United Earth Nation of Giuseppe is postponed until an ilKhan can be elected, during which time the Jaguars send for Reinhardt von Krager, deemed the most warrior-like of the Nation's leaders, to be brought to negotiate it.
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada set up their own 'Mech training programs similar to that being employed by the Americans. The Wolf Dragoons provide the necessary simulators and help construct machinery toolings, bankrolled by the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League, to begin low-scale 'Mech production using US, Australian, and Canadian military industries.
In response to this, the Jaguars agree to send surplus elder MechWarriors to run training programs for Earth Army forces, though the Clan Council stops short of agreeing to build 'Mech factories on Earth.
October 2038/November 3058: After being elected ilKhan of the Clans, Lincoln Osis invites Reinhardt von Krager to negotiate an official alliance between the Earth Nation and the Clans. Von Krager proves a capable diplomat amongst the Clans, defending himself victoriously in fencing duels on occasion and confirming himself sufficiently warrior-like to be bargained with, and the proposed alliance passes a Grand Council vote on the strength of von Krager's arguments for the usefulness of the Earth Nation and on the Home Crusaders' eagerness to fight a renewed invasion. Again Vlad Ward and the Ghost Bears are the principle opponents of the alliance, although Marthe Pryde changes her vote to support it.
Von Krager reveals to the allied Clans that the Earth Nation is preparing an invasion of the United States. As the allies of the deposed British government-in-exile and supporters of the Commonwealth, as well as their strengthening linkage with the Chinese, he argues that the occupation of America's main population and industrial centers would give the Clans an expanded industrial base from which to power their invasion of the Inner Sphere, and agrees that in exchange for official political control going to the Earth Nation along with garrison duties, the Clans will be given first pick of all resources, manpower, and use of industrial base. The Earth Nation would also aid Clan forces in occupation duties in the Inner Sphere, if needed, and provide advice and support in dealing with defiant populations (like those bedeviling the Falcons in their occupation zone). Additionally, the Grand Council approves setting up Clantech military factories in Europe and India, to use Earth Nation workforces overseen by Clan technician and merchant caste supervisors and administrators.
On Tharkad, the month is used up in the debates, discussions, and planning sessions that give birth to a political and military offensive against the Clans. The Star League is reborn, with Capellan Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao elected First Lord for a 3058-3061 term, and Operation: Bulldog is approved and set into motion, with forces from all the Successor States shifting to the Draconis Combine to attack Clan Smoke Jaguar.
Simultaneously, AFFC Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion is given command of Task Force Serpent, the second half of the war to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar; an attack on Huntress itself. ComStar has independently gained data on the Exodus Road, to lead them straight to the Jaguar capital, but the presence of the rifts cause reconsideration. While the Exodus Road permits a true sneak attack, the inability to send communications through the rifts permits their use, if done carefully, to allow a similar sneak attack, without requiring the troops to spend over half a year moving through space. Anastasius Focht, ComStar Precentor-Martial and the man invested as Commanding General of the new Star League Defense Force, opts toward the more cautious, flexible plan to use the rifts. Morgan Hasek-Davion's forces are sent to Dieron to train with each other in preparation for the attack and to be used as an emergency reserve against either the Jaguar OZ or against Clan attacks through the rifts.
With both of these strategies in place, the Star League Council opts to formally assume control of Jaime Wolf's programs to prepare the nations of Earth to fight the Clans. Capellan, League, and FedSuns forces will form the backbone of aid given, though advisors from all League nations and ComStar are sent to maintain the visage of a united front. However, due to need for troops elsewhere, and to avoid these units getting torn up, the League decides to keep its commitments more toward advisors and material than combat troops, and to place the onus of defense on the Earthers themselves (though the total fall of Earth is something they will send troops to try and prevent). There is a national element to the aid sent; Combine advisors in general aid Japan while those from the Azami of the Arkab Legions go to the Arabian nations still resisting Giuseppian control, FedSun advisors aid the Commonwealth, Israel, and America, and the Capellans open talks with the technocrat-military regime in charge of the People's Republic of China to help them build their own forces.
November 2038/December 3058: With EN intelligence sources confirming the Star League aid being brought in, Giuseppe asks the Clans to move up the timetable to bring in troops.
Despite his request, the Clans insist on the bidding trials being held. The Smoke Jaguars, Jade Falcons, and Hell's Horses win the right of first assault on North America, with the Nova Cats and Coyotes as their backup Clans. The Falcons also bid for and win secondary rights in the East Asian Theater, with the Burrock and Diamond Shark Clans triumphing and the Blood Spirits being picked as reserve (they only bid on the Asia theater, it is believed, due to their long-standing hatred of the Burrocks). Clans Star Adder, Fire Mandrill, and Ice Hellion win the right to first pick of further operations after the resolution of the initial attack into the United States. The Wolves do not bid, but Vlad Ward offers to deploy two Clusters as an emergency reserve against an Inner Sphere invasion.
Although some of the Clans - the Wolves and Ghost Bears most prominently - do not bid into the first wave, all the Clans are required by the Grand Council's alliance terms to send material, trainers, and technicians to aid the Earth Nation in establishing OmniMech factories in Europe and India and to raise their own core of MechWarriors, intended to be garrison troops to free up Clan PGCs and Second line troops for frontline battle.
Meanwhile, as US intelligence sources confirm the Giuseppian alliance with the invaders, the United States and Canadian armies integrate their command structures and establish full liaisons with Australia, New Zealand, and other nations allowing such to prepare for an invasion to be backed by Earth Nation troops. Jaime Wolf - meeting with President Andrews and the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth - pledges the Dragoons to fighting any Clan attack into North America, and forward positions Beta Regiment at Fort Hood in Texas and Gamma Regiment to Australia and New Zealand as part of this commitment. He also proposes, and the Allies accept, taking the most promising of the MechWarrior candidates of their nations to Outreach and giving them full Dragoon-level training, preventing their MechWarrior cadres from being devastated by any sudden Clan attack.
December 2038/January 3059: The United States puts into service its first BattleMech Training Battalion, at the standard size of 36 BattleMechs, using MechWarriors trained by Dragoon and FedSun advisors on simulators while awaiting delivery of BattleMechs. It uses a triangular formation like standard Inner Sphere units, though four 'Mechs are considered a 'Mech platoon and not a lance. The unit begins training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Both sides continue slow buildups due to logistics limitatons.
January 2039/February 3059: The Star Adders drop a bombshell in the Clan Grand Council, revealing the Burrocks have been aiding the "Bandit Caste" for decades. The Council permits the Adders to begin a Trial of Absorption against the Burrocks, against Blood Spirit protest. Spirit intervention in the Trial results in a brutal internecine Clan War that leaves the Spirits badly damaged and the Adders damaged but able to make good on their losses by the widescale transfer of willing Burrock troops to Adder command. Angered by being denied revenge for centuries of Burrock depradations, the Spirits transfer that vendetta to the Star Adders, and in response to the "betrayal" of the Grand Council in awarding Absorption to the Adders, the Spirits withdraw from their holdings on the Pentagon world of Arcadia and consolidate their capital of York, maintaining only their ties to the Snow Ravens and Fire Mandrills, as well as trade ties to the Diamond Sharks. They also withdraw the handful of Techs they had sent to aid in Earth Nation training programs.
The Adders take over Burrock obligations, including their bid for operations in the Far East. However, due to their losses and need to maintain their defense agreement with the Cloud Cobras, the Star Adder Clan voluntarily relinquishes their leading place in the East Asia theater, permitting the Jade Falcons to operate there as well in exchange for granting the Adders a planetary base. Khan Cassius N'Buta decides to focus efforts on a future invasion and intends to open bidding later in the year, after the Clan had time to recover, to attack Australia.
There is tumult in the Hell's Horses Clan as Star Colonel James Cobb refuses to launch any combat operations against the American 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is considered an ancestor unit of his own 11th Mechanized Cavalry Cluster (both units being known as the Black Horses and sharing the same insignia).
Another contingent of MechWarriors departs North America and Australia for Outreach and Dragoon training. This time the contingent includes two newly-tested and high-scoring figures: Prince James Windsor of Britain, Regent of HM Government-in-Exiile and Regent-President of the British Commonwealth, and one of his two twin sons, Prince Edward. His other son Prince Henry has insufficient results to receive Dragoon training and joins a Canadian-British exile Training Battalion raised at Wiinnipeg. James' sister Margaret fails testing but is selected to be trained to fly advanced Inner Sphere aerospace fighters.
Although TF Serpent training is to take precedence, elements of the Eridani Light Horse are invited to train with and teach the special program Earth MechWarriors on Outreach, in conjunction with Dragoon-US Army staff studies on the roles of BattleMechs in warfare and a desire to look into the "Striker" role and the tactics of armored cavalry units versus armored divisions.
February 2039/March 3059: The first provisional Earth Nation Garrison BattleMech Battalions come into service, using Clan secondline BattleMechs. In lieu of the completion of Clan OmniMech factories, native-built factories come into service to build lower-teched 'Mechs for training and garrison use.
With Clan forces increasing in number in Mexico and Giuseppian-allied Caribbean nations, the United States officially restarts the draft full-scale. Years of disuse leaves the Selective Service Administration outdated and unable to effectively operate to the scale desired, though the inefficiency is not as severe thanks to the success of the national testing program for 'Mech suitability. This organization proves effective in ensuring the drafting of a steady stream of talented, capable 'Mech pilots.
In San Luis Potosi, Galaxy Commander Brendan Corbett of Clan Smoke Jaguar arrives to take command of the Jaguar forces leading the invasion of the US. Final arrivals of divisions from India to fill out the manpower of the Earth Nation's army are completed, while Mexican nationalist groups suborned by the Giuseppians attempt large-scale protests and strikes by Mexican workers in the United States.
On 25 February 2039/28 March 3059, Lincoln Osis wins approval from Marthe Pryde and Malavai Fletcher to commence combat operations against the United States in a week's time. Giuseppe's government is informed and Giuseppian army detachments, including VdO battalions for hunting down political and police leadership in the US that might form the core of a "nationalist resistance" in occupied areas, begin their own preparations.
On 28 February 2039/31 March 3059, the United States military formally shifts to DefCon 1 in light of intelligence assets confirming an imminent invasion. Several American cities practice air raid drills.
March 2039/April 3059: On the 5th of the month, both calendars, Jaguar BattleMechs stomp over the Rio Grande and seize the city of Brownsville, Texas, against light and sporadic resistance. The Invasion has begun. The Clans focus in the east; Clan Smoke Jaguar's offensive corridor is along the Gulf Coast to the Mississippi River while the Horses are given an invasion axis between the Rockies and the eastern edge of the Jaguar corridor. The Jade Falcons, who were last in the bidding, seize El Paso and advance up the Rio Grande. Giuseppian army units follow them into Texas and Arizona while Mexican-centered forces launch an independence offensive into Arizona and southern California.
The Mexican Giuseppians are rudely abused of their preconceptions. Though they make early maneuver gains from a lack of mobile US forces in the area, they are unable to take San Diego proper, and their dispersed armored cavalry columns do not find masses of waiting Mexican patriots to aid them in taking Los Angeles as was expected; instead they face resistance that borders on ferocious. Californian National Guard forces with mechanized equipment, aided by the US 3rd BattleMech Training Battalion (equipped with imported AgroMechs outfitted with 21st Century machine guns and flamethrowers), encircle and annihilate the Mexican columns. Unprepared for such resistance, the demoralized Army flees back across the border and are driven back over the Colorado. Authorities in the two Mexican states making up the Baja, responding to popular discontent with the Giuseppian-backed government and the Mexican Army's abandonment of defenses for the peninsula, openly declare rebellion from Mexico City and welcome US troops to drive out VdO contingents.
The Falcons are more successful; they take Albuquerque and the Cluster on their western flank, bypassing Phoenix, nearly reaches Las Vegas before being forced back by the collapse of the Mexican offensive. Phoenix becomes the frontline in the Southwest, held by American troops; the Falcons do succeed in nearly annihilating the 3rd Training Battalion when it arrives to bolster the front due to the battalion's inferior gear.
The Jaguars and Horses, meanwhile, tear open huge flanks in the draftee-swelled, disorganized US Army and National Guard formations. Surviving Armored forces make for the defensive lines of the rivers to the north; Dallas falls just a week into the offensive. The Dragoons Beta Regiment, outnumbered, nevertheless mauls a Hell's Horses Cluster outside Austin, but is forced back by the general collapse. Beta Regiment ends up pivotal to the defense of New Orleans.
With German armored brigades as spearheads, the Earth Nation supplements the Clan advance, directly capturing San Antonio and Oklahoma City as they follow in the wake of the unstoppable Clan juggernaught.
The Wolf Dragoons move Alpha and Delta Regiments to North America. News of the scope of the Clan attack, larger than was expected, prompts ComStar to rush in the 83rd and 166th Divisions to prevent a total collapse, though the Inner Sphere's large commitment to the impending offensive against the Jaguars restrains any further use of forces. In light of the Falcon appearance, Khan Phelan authorizes the deployment of the 16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster to bolster the southwestern Front as well as a general assignment of Beta Galaxy to Outreach to provide a ready reserve to prevent American collapse.
April 2039/May 3059: Dragoon counterattacks force the Jaguars to abandon the siege of New Orleans, but Delta Regiment takes severe damage as it tries to hold Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth. The Horses finish seizing western Kansas and head to a desirable target: the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs and the American 2nd BattleMech Training Battalion, now backed by the Black Widow Company of the Wolf Dragoons and a company of the hastily-arriving Davion Light Guards. This was the first combat of the Horses against Inner Sphere units and the Horses gave it their best, eliminating half of the Light Guards' 'Mechs and forcing the Spiders back into Denver itself. Further south the Horses expected to take Colorado Springs after dislodging a Level II of ComStar troops, but were thwarted by native forces. The US 2nd 'Mech Training Battalion pulled off the unexpected; attacking from long-range with retrofitted inferno rockets (considered suicidal by Inner Sphere pilots) and their energy weapons, and backed by US anti-tank infantry in prepared defensive positions and utilizing Dragoon-provided gear, the green American MechWarriors destroyed or disabled several Horse tanks and 'Mechs and caused the Horses to abandon the attack on Colorado Springs to preserve their forces. This is the first victory of native MechWarrior forces against the Clans.
Over halfway through the month, word comes to both sides of the beginning of Operation: Bulldog. Though it buoys the morale of the Allied and League forces, the news does not shake the Jaguars enough to save Kansas City and the American Army facilities at Fort Leavenworth. A brutal defensive effort mauls the attacking Jaguar Cluster, but in the end the US loses half of its best-armed 'Mech training unit and the Dragoons are forced to withdraw Delta Regiment entirely to avoid its destruction. The arrival of the 7th Free Worlds Legionnaires prevents the collapse of the defense of St. Louis and keeps the Jaguars west of the Mississippi. They continue advancing north.
May 2039/June 3059: The commitment of the ComGuard 86th Division saves Denver from a renewed Horses attack. The 166th Division, initially considered for Phoenix, is instead relegated to the city of Minneapolis to confront the Jaguars rushing onward. All of Comstar's 5th Army is ordered in to prevent a Clan breakthrough along the wide, open front off the northern Great Plains; the United States Army likewise commits all available reserves to protect the last major road linking the western and eastern half of the countries through the Twin Cities, and receives Canadian reinforcement. Elements of the 467th Division smash a Jaguar garrison Trinary that attempts to extend forward and take the eastern entrance to Minneapolis along I-94. The rebuilt 1st 'Mech Training Battalion of the US Army joins them at a position near Hastings to await the arrival of Jaguar troops.
Operation: Bulldog continues to enjoy unexpected success. But news is slow in reaching troops on Earth, and ilKhan Osis does not inform the Grand Council of what's going on, preventing the Home Clans from realizing the scope of the Jaguar troubles. Frustrated equally by the failure of his garrison troops at the approach to Minneapolis and at St. Louis, Osis sends in what remaining reserves he has in the Homeworlds to break through.
President Andrews asks the Dragoons to release the first battalion worth of American MechWarriors for combat service, hoping to use them to help save Minneapolis.
June 2039/July 3059: Khans Vlad Ward and Marthe Pryde confront ilKhan Osis in the Grand Council for his failure to inform the Clans as a whole about the Inner Sphere's offensive. Osis attempts to offer Home Clans a chance to fight alongside his forces, but the Home Clans are more interested in taking Earth as a springboard into the heart of the Inner Sphere and Osis' attempts to gain assistance fail. He is also forced, by reports of the arriving reinforcements, to approve Marthe Pryde's bid of the 3rd Falcon Dragoons to the attack on Minneapolis; the Sigma Solahma Cluster is left behind in the approaches to Phoenix, deemed sufficient to oppose the US Army force holding the city.
At the urging of Brendan Corbett and Director von Krager, Giuseppian 'Mech forces enter combat alongside their army in an attempt to wrest control of Memphis away from the Americans, but American National Guard units using jury-rigged anti-'Mech weapons prove capable of preventing the fall of the city. Nevertheless the Earth Nation's attack on Memphis and attempt to cross the Mississippi into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi will bog down American troops in the Southwest and prevents further reinforcement to the vital northern front.
The 16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster arrives at Phoenix. Star Colonel Craig Fetladral begins planning offensive attacks on the Falcon solahma opposing him.
The Dragoons deem the first cadre of 100 American and Canadian MechWarriors ready for combat service. They are given a mix of Inner Sphere and Clan BattleMechs by the Dragoons depending on their score; the top ten scoring MechWarriors are given Clan frontline OmniMechs. They will return to Earth at the first of the following month, organized as the 1st and 2nd BattleMech Battalions and attached to US Armored Brigades holding the line at Denver and Minneapolis.
July 2039/August 3059: Now.
(Australian and New Zealanders trained by the Dragoons will be entering service this month; the 1st Australian and 1st ANZAC 'Mech Training Battalions are in service and conducting enhanced training maneuvers.)
2 June 2038/3 July 3058: At a high level meeting in Geneva, the capital of the United Earth Nation, Union Security Committee Chairman Armand Giuseppe and Union Commission President Janava Tyagri co-chair a meeting of the Union's highest military and political officials. Giuseppe, the true leader of the Union due to his control of the military forces and the special police used in Earth Union nations considered in danger of "Nationalist revolt", sees the Clans as an opportunity to bring the United States and Russia into the Union formally by playing up the Union as a logical center of resistance to the Invaders. President Tyagri agrees, but Reinhardt von Krager, head of the special police - the Verteidiger der Ordnung - expresses a different viewpoint. He believes the Earth Union better served by opening talks with the Clans, arguing successfully that the Clans' military technology might make even a unified planetary resistance useless, but that as allies, even subordinate ones, the Earth Union might use Clan forces and equipment to take over the nations that had refused to join the Union. As a result of this argument, Giuseppe recommends, and Tyagri agrees, that talks be opened with the Clan commander on Bermuda to learn about Clan intentions, and decide from that whether the Union sould serve as the center of resistance against the Clans or as their allies.
24 June 2038/25 July 3058: A Wolf Dragoon DropShip investigates a radiation reading above the ecliptic plane of Outreach. It leads them to the alternate Earth, below the ecliptic plane. They detect a Clan Diamond Shark DropShip above the ecliptic. The Shark DropShip likewise detects them.
Said Diamond Shark merchant ship had also detected the rift's thermal signature and investigated, discovering both the alternate Earth and the Wolf Dragoon ship, clearly identifiable as Inner Sphere. An attempt by a Star of Jaguar Aerospace Fighters to seize the merchant ship fails due to the merchant's own escorts, who drive off the Jaguar attackers and enable the Shark vessel to return to its JumpShip. Ian Hawker sends a message to the other Khans revealing the discovery of the Jaguars. The discovery invigorates the Home Clans yearning for a spot in the Crusade.
2 July 2038/2 August 3058: The Wolf Dragoons leave Coventry to return to Outreach and shore up its defenses. As the revelation of the rifts expands, the Successor States begin reacting by shifting troops toward Outreach should a Clan invasion force come through. Colonel Jaime Wolf, acting under support from both Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao and First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion, attempts to open talks with the governments of Earth, but is ignored by the Union - which wishes to avoid angering the Clans with negotiations ongoing - and most of the blocs; only the United States and the British Commonwealth agree to meet.
4 July 2038/4 August 3058: Galaxy Commander Russou Howell meets Chairman Giuseppe, Director von Krager, and President Tyagri. Though he cannot speak for his Clan's leadership, still inbound from the Inner Sphere, Howell confirms that the Smoke Jaguars would be willing to align with their government, and to press for such alliance in the Grand Council, if Giuseppe's forces help them secure the rest of the planet and provide further assistance to power their invasion of the Inner Sphere.
Without consulting Tyagri, Giuseppe hastens preparations for a secret operation he and von Krager had begun preparing, to turn their defensive forces in Mexico - having aligned with the Union - into an offensive force to attack the United States before its rearmament programs could be completed (and in support, it is believed, of a substantial 5th Column of Giuseppians).
1 August 2038/2 September 3058: Although the Grand Council has not met, the Smoke Jaguar Council gives a preliminary approval of supporting Giuseppe by a narrow vote. Opponents consider calling a Trial of Refusal, but Khan Lincoln Osis persuades them not to divide the Clan with the upcoming Grand Council meeting likely to result in an Absorption of a Clan (either the Wolves or Falcons) and/or a general resumption of the Crusade. The Smoke Jaguars shift extra Provisional Garrison Clusters to Mexico at von Krager's request.
12 August 2038/13 September 3058: With Clan reinforcements detected landing in Mexico, the United States issues a protest to the Mexican Government and to Geneva. President Andrews uses the issue to convince Congress to enact emergency spending to set up 'Mech training facilities with the aid of Wolf Dragoons and Federated Suns officers. The Davion Training Battalion System is chosen as a template for the creation of new US Army 'Mech units, with nation-wide testing begun to find suitable candidates.
September 2038/October 3058: Political developments begin to heighten in the Clans and Inner Sphere. The Whitting Conference on Tharkad is begun, seeking to restore the Star League and pursue a counter-attack on the Clans, while on Strana Mechty the Home Crusaders begin their own push for a renewed invasion with their Clans' participation. Though attempts by Ian Hawker of the Sharks and Asa Taney of the Ice Hellions to cause an Absorption of either the Falcons or the Wolves fails, the Home Clans are both excited and perturbed by the existence of the rifts. A Grand Council vote is held in which a majority of Clans, even including nominally Warden ones, agree to send forces to "New Terra", with Vlad Ward and Bjorn Jorggenson amongst the dissenters. An official alliance with the United Earth Nation of Giuseppe is postponed until an ilKhan can be elected, during which time the Jaguars send for Reinhardt von Krager, deemed the most warrior-like of the Nation's leaders, to be brought to negotiate it.
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada set up their own 'Mech training programs similar to that being employed by the Americans. The Wolf Dragoons provide the necessary simulators and help construct machinery toolings, bankrolled by the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League, to begin low-scale 'Mech production using US, Australian, and Canadian military industries.
In response to this, the Jaguars agree to send surplus elder MechWarriors to run training programs for Earth Army forces, though the Clan Council stops short of agreeing to build 'Mech factories on Earth.
October 2038/November 3058: After being elected ilKhan of the Clans, Lincoln Osis invites Reinhardt von Krager to negotiate an official alliance between the Earth Nation and the Clans. Von Krager proves a capable diplomat amongst the Clans, defending himself victoriously in fencing duels on occasion and confirming himself sufficiently warrior-like to be bargained with, and the proposed alliance passes a Grand Council vote on the strength of von Krager's arguments for the usefulness of the Earth Nation and on the Home Crusaders' eagerness to fight a renewed invasion. Again Vlad Ward and the Ghost Bears are the principle opponents of the alliance, although Marthe Pryde changes her vote to support it.
Von Krager reveals to the allied Clans that the Earth Nation is preparing an invasion of the United States. As the allies of the deposed British government-in-exile and supporters of the Commonwealth, as well as their strengthening linkage with the Chinese, he argues that the occupation of America's main population and industrial centers would give the Clans an expanded industrial base from which to power their invasion of the Inner Sphere, and agrees that in exchange for official political control going to the Earth Nation along with garrison duties, the Clans will be given first pick of all resources, manpower, and use of industrial base. The Earth Nation would also aid Clan forces in occupation duties in the Inner Sphere, if needed, and provide advice and support in dealing with defiant populations (like those bedeviling the Falcons in their occupation zone). Additionally, the Grand Council approves setting up Clantech military factories in Europe and India, to use Earth Nation workforces overseen by Clan technician and merchant caste supervisors and administrators.
On Tharkad, the month is used up in the debates, discussions, and planning sessions that give birth to a political and military offensive against the Clans. The Star League is reborn, with Capellan Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao elected First Lord for a 3058-3061 term, and Operation: Bulldog is approved and set into motion, with forces from all the Successor States shifting to the Draconis Combine to attack Clan Smoke Jaguar.
Simultaneously, AFFC Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion is given command of Task Force Serpent, the second half of the war to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar; an attack on Huntress itself. ComStar has independently gained data on the Exodus Road, to lead them straight to the Jaguar capital, but the presence of the rifts cause reconsideration. While the Exodus Road permits a true sneak attack, the inability to send communications through the rifts permits their use, if done carefully, to allow a similar sneak attack, without requiring the troops to spend over half a year moving through space. Anastasius Focht, ComStar Precentor-Martial and the man invested as Commanding General of the new Star League Defense Force, opts toward the more cautious, flexible plan to use the rifts. Morgan Hasek-Davion's forces are sent to Dieron to train with each other in preparation for the attack and to be used as an emergency reserve against either the Jaguar OZ or against Clan attacks through the rifts.
With both of these strategies in place, the Star League Council opts to formally assume control of Jaime Wolf's programs to prepare the nations of Earth to fight the Clans. Capellan, League, and FedSuns forces will form the backbone of aid given, though advisors from all League nations and ComStar are sent to maintain the visage of a united front. However, due to need for troops elsewhere, and to avoid these units getting torn up, the League decides to keep its commitments more toward advisors and material than combat troops, and to place the onus of defense on the Earthers themselves (though the total fall of Earth is something they will send troops to try and prevent). There is a national element to the aid sent; Combine advisors in general aid Japan while those from the Azami of the Arkab Legions go to the Arabian nations still resisting Giuseppian control, FedSun advisors aid the Commonwealth, Israel, and America, and the Capellans open talks with the technocrat-military regime in charge of the People's Republic of China to help them build their own forces.
November 2038/December 3058: With EN intelligence sources confirming the Star League aid being brought in, Giuseppe asks the Clans to move up the timetable to bring in troops.
Despite his request, the Clans insist on the bidding trials being held. The Smoke Jaguars, Jade Falcons, and Hell's Horses win the right of first assault on North America, with the Nova Cats and Coyotes as their backup Clans. The Falcons also bid for and win secondary rights in the East Asian Theater, with the Burrock and Diamond Shark Clans triumphing and the Blood Spirits being picked as reserve (they only bid on the Asia theater, it is believed, due to their long-standing hatred of the Burrocks). Clans Star Adder, Fire Mandrill, and Ice Hellion win the right to first pick of further operations after the resolution of the initial attack into the United States. The Wolves do not bid, but Vlad Ward offers to deploy two Clusters as an emergency reserve against an Inner Sphere invasion.
Although some of the Clans - the Wolves and Ghost Bears most prominently - do not bid into the first wave, all the Clans are required by the Grand Council's alliance terms to send material, trainers, and technicians to aid the Earth Nation in establishing OmniMech factories in Europe and India and to raise their own core of MechWarriors, intended to be garrison troops to free up Clan PGCs and Second line troops for frontline battle.
Meanwhile, as US intelligence sources confirm the Giuseppian alliance with the invaders, the United States and Canadian armies integrate their command structures and establish full liaisons with Australia, New Zealand, and other nations allowing such to prepare for an invasion to be backed by Earth Nation troops. Jaime Wolf - meeting with President Andrews and the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth - pledges the Dragoons to fighting any Clan attack into North America, and forward positions Beta Regiment at Fort Hood in Texas and Gamma Regiment to Australia and New Zealand as part of this commitment. He also proposes, and the Allies accept, taking the most promising of the MechWarrior candidates of their nations to Outreach and giving them full Dragoon-level training, preventing their MechWarrior cadres from being devastated by any sudden Clan attack.
December 2038/January 3059: The United States puts into service its first BattleMech Training Battalion, at the standard size of 36 BattleMechs, using MechWarriors trained by Dragoon and FedSun advisors on simulators while awaiting delivery of BattleMechs. It uses a triangular formation like standard Inner Sphere units, though four 'Mechs are considered a 'Mech platoon and not a lance. The unit begins training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Both sides continue slow buildups due to logistics limitatons.
January 2039/February 3059: The Star Adders drop a bombshell in the Clan Grand Council, revealing the Burrocks have been aiding the "Bandit Caste" for decades. The Council permits the Adders to begin a Trial of Absorption against the Burrocks, against Blood Spirit protest. Spirit intervention in the Trial results in a brutal internecine Clan War that leaves the Spirits badly damaged and the Adders damaged but able to make good on their losses by the widescale transfer of willing Burrock troops to Adder command. Angered by being denied revenge for centuries of Burrock depradations, the Spirits transfer that vendetta to the Star Adders, and in response to the "betrayal" of the Grand Council in awarding Absorption to the Adders, the Spirits withdraw from their holdings on the Pentagon world of Arcadia and consolidate their capital of York, maintaining only their ties to the Snow Ravens and Fire Mandrills, as well as trade ties to the Diamond Sharks. They also withdraw the handful of Techs they had sent to aid in Earth Nation training programs.
The Adders take over Burrock obligations, including their bid for operations in the Far East. However, due to their losses and need to maintain their defense agreement with the Cloud Cobras, the Star Adder Clan voluntarily relinquishes their leading place in the East Asia theater, permitting the Jade Falcons to operate there as well in exchange for granting the Adders a planetary base. Khan Cassius N'Buta decides to focus efforts on a future invasion and intends to open bidding later in the year, after the Clan had time to recover, to attack Australia.
There is tumult in the Hell's Horses Clan as Star Colonel James Cobb refuses to launch any combat operations against the American 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is considered an ancestor unit of his own 11th Mechanized Cavalry Cluster (both units being known as the Black Horses and sharing the same insignia).
Another contingent of MechWarriors departs North America and Australia for Outreach and Dragoon training. This time the contingent includes two newly-tested and high-scoring figures: Prince James Windsor of Britain, Regent of HM Government-in-Exiile and Regent-President of the British Commonwealth, and one of his two twin sons, Prince Edward. His other son Prince Henry has insufficient results to receive Dragoon training and joins a Canadian-British exile Training Battalion raised at Wiinnipeg. James' sister Margaret fails testing but is selected to be trained to fly advanced Inner Sphere aerospace fighters.
Although TF Serpent training is to take precedence, elements of the Eridani Light Horse are invited to train with and teach the special program Earth MechWarriors on Outreach, in conjunction with Dragoon-US Army staff studies on the roles of BattleMechs in warfare and a desire to look into the "Striker" role and the tactics of armored cavalry units versus armored divisions.
February 2039/March 3059: The first provisional Earth Nation Garrison BattleMech Battalions come into service, using Clan secondline BattleMechs. In lieu of the completion of Clan OmniMech factories, native-built factories come into service to build lower-teched 'Mechs for training and garrison use.
With Clan forces increasing in number in Mexico and Giuseppian-allied Caribbean nations, the United States officially restarts the draft full-scale. Years of disuse leaves the Selective Service Administration outdated and unable to effectively operate to the scale desired, though the inefficiency is not as severe thanks to the success of the national testing program for 'Mech suitability. This organization proves effective in ensuring the drafting of a steady stream of talented, capable 'Mech pilots.
In San Luis Potosi, Galaxy Commander Brendan Corbett of Clan Smoke Jaguar arrives to take command of the Jaguar forces leading the invasion of the US. Final arrivals of divisions from India to fill out the manpower of the Earth Nation's army are completed, while Mexican nationalist groups suborned by the Giuseppians attempt large-scale protests and strikes by Mexican workers in the United States.
On 25 February 2039/28 March 3059, Lincoln Osis wins approval from Marthe Pryde and Malavai Fletcher to commence combat operations against the United States in a week's time. Giuseppe's government is informed and Giuseppian army detachments, including VdO battalions for hunting down political and police leadership in the US that might form the core of a "nationalist resistance" in occupied areas, begin their own preparations.
On 28 February 2039/31 March 3059, the United States military formally shifts to DefCon 1 in light of intelligence assets confirming an imminent invasion. Several American cities practice air raid drills.
March 2039/April 3059: On the 5th of the month, both calendars, Jaguar BattleMechs stomp over the Rio Grande and seize the city of Brownsville, Texas, against light and sporadic resistance. The Invasion has begun. The Clans focus in the east; Clan Smoke Jaguar's offensive corridor is along the Gulf Coast to the Mississippi River while the Horses are given an invasion axis between the Rockies and the eastern edge of the Jaguar corridor. The Jade Falcons, who were last in the bidding, seize El Paso and advance up the Rio Grande. Giuseppian army units follow them into Texas and Arizona while Mexican-centered forces launch an independence offensive into Arizona and southern California.
The Mexican Giuseppians are rudely abused of their preconceptions. Though they make early maneuver gains from a lack of mobile US forces in the area, they are unable to take San Diego proper, and their dispersed armored cavalry columns do not find masses of waiting Mexican patriots to aid them in taking Los Angeles as was expected; instead they face resistance that borders on ferocious. Californian National Guard forces with mechanized equipment, aided by the US 3rd BattleMech Training Battalion (equipped with imported AgroMechs outfitted with 21st Century machine guns and flamethrowers), encircle and annihilate the Mexican columns. Unprepared for such resistance, the demoralized Army flees back across the border and are driven back over the Colorado. Authorities in the two Mexican states making up the Baja, responding to popular discontent with the Giuseppian-backed government and the Mexican Army's abandonment of defenses for the peninsula, openly declare rebellion from Mexico City and welcome US troops to drive out VdO contingents.
The Falcons are more successful; they take Albuquerque and the Cluster on their western flank, bypassing Phoenix, nearly reaches Las Vegas before being forced back by the collapse of the Mexican offensive. Phoenix becomes the frontline in the Southwest, held by American troops; the Falcons do succeed in nearly annihilating the 3rd Training Battalion when it arrives to bolster the front due to the battalion's inferior gear.
The Jaguars and Horses, meanwhile, tear open huge flanks in the draftee-swelled, disorganized US Army and National Guard formations. Surviving Armored forces make for the defensive lines of the rivers to the north; Dallas falls just a week into the offensive. The Dragoons Beta Regiment, outnumbered, nevertheless mauls a Hell's Horses Cluster outside Austin, but is forced back by the general collapse. Beta Regiment ends up pivotal to the defense of New Orleans.
With German armored brigades as spearheads, the Earth Nation supplements the Clan advance, directly capturing San Antonio and Oklahoma City as they follow in the wake of the unstoppable Clan juggernaught.
The Wolf Dragoons move Alpha and Delta Regiments to North America. News of the scope of the Clan attack, larger than was expected, prompts ComStar to rush in the 83rd and 166th Divisions to prevent a total collapse, though the Inner Sphere's large commitment to the impending offensive against the Jaguars restrains any further use of forces. In light of the Falcon appearance, Khan Phelan authorizes the deployment of the 16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster to bolster the southwestern Front as well as a general assignment of Beta Galaxy to Outreach to provide a ready reserve to prevent American collapse.
April 2039/May 3059: Dragoon counterattacks force the Jaguars to abandon the siege of New Orleans, but Delta Regiment takes severe damage as it tries to hold Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth. The Horses finish seizing western Kansas and head to a desirable target: the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs and the American 2nd BattleMech Training Battalion, now backed by the Black Widow Company of the Wolf Dragoons and a company of the hastily-arriving Davion Light Guards. This was the first combat of the Horses against Inner Sphere units and the Horses gave it their best, eliminating half of the Light Guards' 'Mechs and forcing the Spiders back into Denver itself. Further south the Horses expected to take Colorado Springs after dislodging a Level II of ComStar troops, but were thwarted by native forces. The US 2nd 'Mech Training Battalion pulled off the unexpected; attacking from long-range with retrofitted inferno rockets (considered suicidal by Inner Sphere pilots) and their energy weapons, and backed by US anti-tank infantry in prepared defensive positions and utilizing Dragoon-provided gear, the green American MechWarriors destroyed or disabled several Horse tanks and 'Mechs and caused the Horses to abandon the attack on Colorado Springs to preserve their forces. This is the first victory of native MechWarrior forces against the Clans.
Over halfway through the month, word comes to both sides of the beginning of Operation: Bulldog. Though it buoys the morale of the Allied and League forces, the news does not shake the Jaguars enough to save Kansas City and the American Army facilities at Fort Leavenworth. A brutal defensive effort mauls the attacking Jaguar Cluster, but in the end the US loses half of its best-armed 'Mech training unit and the Dragoons are forced to withdraw Delta Regiment entirely to avoid its destruction. The arrival of the 7th Free Worlds Legionnaires prevents the collapse of the defense of St. Louis and keeps the Jaguars west of the Mississippi. They continue advancing north.
May 2039/June 3059: The commitment of the ComGuard 86th Division saves Denver from a renewed Horses attack. The 166th Division, initially considered for Phoenix, is instead relegated to the city of Minneapolis to confront the Jaguars rushing onward. All of Comstar's 5th Army is ordered in to prevent a Clan breakthrough along the wide, open front off the northern Great Plains; the United States Army likewise commits all available reserves to protect the last major road linking the western and eastern half of the countries through the Twin Cities, and receives Canadian reinforcement. Elements of the 467th Division smash a Jaguar garrison Trinary that attempts to extend forward and take the eastern entrance to Minneapolis along I-94. The rebuilt 1st 'Mech Training Battalion of the US Army joins them at a position near Hastings to await the arrival of Jaguar troops.
Operation: Bulldog continues to enjoy unexpected success. But news is slow in reaching troops on Earth, and ilKhan Osis does not inform the Grand Council of what's going on, preventing the Home Clans from realizing the scope of the Jaguar troubles. Frustrated equally by the failure of his garrison troops at the approach to Minneapolis and at St. Louis, Osis sends in what remaining reserves he has in the Homeworlds to break through.
President Andrews asks the Dragoons to release the first battalion worth of American MechWarriors for combat service, hoping to use them to help save Minneapolis.
June 2039/July 3059: Khans Vlad Ward and Marthe Pryde confront ilKhan Osis in the Grand Council for his failure to inform the Clans as a whole about the Inner Sphere's offensive. Osis attempts to offer Home Clans a chance to fight alongside his forces, but the Home Clans are more interested in taking Earth as a springboard into the heart of the Inner Sphere and Osis' attempts to gain assistance fail. He is also forced, by reports of the arriving reinforcements, to approve Marthe Pryde's bid of the 3rd Falcon Dragoons to the attack on Minneapolis; the Sigma Solahma Cluster is left behind in the approaches to Phoenix, deemed sufficient to oppose the US Army force holding the city.
At the urging of Brendan Corbett and Director von Krager, Giuseppian 'Mech forces enter combat alongside their army in an attempt to wrest control of Memphis away from the Americans, but American National Guard units using jury-rigged anti-'Mech weapons prove capable of preventing the fall of the city. Nevertheless the Earth Nation's attack on Memphis and attempt to cross the Mississippi into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi will bog down American troops in the Southwest and prevents further reinforcement to the vital northern front.
The 16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster arrives at Phoenix. Star Colonel Craig Fetladral begins planning offensive attacks on the Falcon solahma opposing him.
The Dragoons deem the first cadre of 100 American and Canadian MechWarriors ready for combat service. They are given a mix of Inner Sphere and Clan BattleMechs by the Dragoons depending on their score; the top ten scoring MechWarriors are given Clan frontline OmniMechs. They will return to Earth at the first of the following month, organized as the 1st and 2nd BattleMech Battalions and attached to US Armored Brigades holding the line at Denver and Minneapolis.
July 2039/August 3059: Now.
(Australian and New Zealanders trained by the Dragoons will be entering service this month; the 1st Australian and 1st ANZAC 'Mech Training Battalions are in service and conducting enhanced training maneuvers.)
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Re: MechWarrior: Scorched Earth - Setting Commentary and Flu
Inner Sphere Units
Capellan Confederation
2nd Confederation Reserve Cavalry
Location: Zhengzhou, Peoples' Republic of China
ComStar
5th Army
-76th Division
-86th Division
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
-166th Division
Location: Minneapolis, Northern Combat Region
-379th Division
-467th Division
Location: Minneapolis, Northern Combat Region
Federated Commonwealth
Davion Light Guards
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
5th FedCom RCT
Location: Chicago, Upper Midwest Combat Region
Free Worlds League
7th Free Worlds Legionnaires
Location: St. Louis, Upper Midwest Combat Region
12th Atrean Dragoons
Location: Nashville, Southeastern Combat Region
Clan Wolf-in-Exile
16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster
Location: Phoenix, Southwest Combat Region
Mercenaries
Wolf Dragoons Alpha Regiment
Location: New Orleans, Southeastern Combat Region
Wolf Dragoons Beta Regiment
Location: Atlanta, Southeastern Region
(Withdrawn from the frontline for refit and replenishment, currently used as Regional Reserve)
Wolf Dragoons Gamma Regiment
Location: Australia, New Zealand
Wolf Dragoons Delta Regiment
Location: Outreach
(Withdrawn due to heavy losses in the Battle for Kansas City)
Wolf Dragoons Epsilon Regiment
Location: Outreach
Wolf Dragoons Black Widow Company
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
Capellan Confederation
2nd Confederation Reserve Cavalry
Location: Zhengzhou, Peoples' Republic of China
ComStar
5th Army
-76th Division
-86th Division
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
-166th Division
Location: Minneapolis, Northern Combat Region
-379th Division
-467th Division
Location: Minneapolis, Northern Combat Region
Federated Commonwealth
Davion Light Guards
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
5th FedCom RCT
Location: Chicago, Upper Midwest Combat Region
Free Worlds League
7th Free Worlds Legionnaires
Location: St. Louis, Upper Midwest Combat Region
12th Atrean Dragoons
Location: Nashville, Southeastern Combat Region
Clan Wolf-in-Exile
16th Wolf Guards Battle Cluster
Location: Phoenix, Southwest Combat Region
Mercenaries
Wolf Dragoons Alpha Regiment
Location: New Orleans, Southeastern Combat Region
Wolf Dragoons Beta Regiment
Location: Atlanta, Southeastern Region
(Withdrawn from the frontline for refit and replenishment, currently used as Regional Reserve)
Wolf Dragoons Gamma Regiment
Location: Australia, New Zealand
Wolf Dragoons Delta Regiment
Location: Outreach
(Withdrawn due to heavy losses in the Battle for Kansas City)
Wolf Dragoons Epsilon Regiment
Location: Outreach
Wolf Dragoons Black Widow Company
Location: Denver, Rockies Combat Region
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Re: MechWarrior: Scorched Earth - Setting Commentary and Flu
Just in case people want to write stories around these events (I have a couple shorts in mind myself), I have now written a timeline depicting the entire course of the Battle for Minneapolis-St. Paul, going beyond the events of EatG to the campaign's ultimate conclusion.
Here we go:
7 July 2019: Jaguar Nu Galaxy forces attack in the southeast. The ComGuards blunt the offensive and hold a line at the Cannon River; attempts by Jaguar detachments to raid beyond are thwarted by a stiff resistance by the newly-formed 1st 'Mech Battalion, US Army. Alpha Company of 1st BMB inflicts a severe defeat on the Jaguar forces by repulsing them at Welch with a 6-to-1 ratio of losses.
10 July: The Jade Falcon Omicron Galaxy advances north from Owatonna. IV Corps of the US 3rd Army suffers damage as it is forced back by the superior technology and firepower of the Clan forces; the small cities/towns of Faribault and Northfield are lost, and Apple Valley and Lakeview come under threat by the Clan advance. The Clan forces stop momentarily after a Cluster is damaged beyond expectation in an engagement with the 1st BMB, which uses a faked retreat maneuver to flank Clan forces. Following up on this success, Capt. Alexander Penton and a detachment centered around his Alpha Company slips behind Falcon lines and wrecks Falcon logistics in Northfield and Faribault, knocking the supply underpinnings of the Falcon advance out from under them. Penton barely survives an encounter with Omicron Galaxy's commander, Alexander Crichell, who is killed by a massive American military barrage that Penton calls down on him. Due to Alpha Company's heroic efforts, the Falcon offensive falls apart.
A Trinary of Falcon solahma MechWarriors commit the Faribault Massacre before being annihilated by Captain Penton and Alpha Company.
11 July: Elements of the 5th FedCom RCT spearhead counterattacks on the disorganized Falcon forces. With their supplies depleted by the Penton raid and the Jaguars spent in attempts to pierce the Cannon River line, the Falcons withdraw to Owatonna and their main base there. Northfield and Faribault are reclaimed by advancing FedCom, ComStar, and American troops.
12 July: The fate of Faribault becomes national news. Captain Penton is lauded by the Governor of Minnesota for saving the town from further devastation and the Faribault Massacre is the most recent in a string of Clan atrocities that are enraging the American populace and intensifying American resolve to resist the invasion.
13 July: In light of the failure of the initial advance on Minnesota, Director Reinhardt von Krager of the Earth National Union offers Earth Union troops to aid a renewed Clan offensive over the protests of Field Marshal Georg Berssach.
16 July: Survivors from the shattered 2nd 'Mech Battalion of the US Army are merged with the 1st to restore its strength. The 2nd's survivors are a battle-scarred and unhappy lot who prove a challenge to unit cohesion.
18 July: ilKhan Lincoln Osis establishes a timetable for a renewed Clan push on Minneapolis, to employ von Krager's offered troops, and informs Khan Marthe Pryde that he will no longer permit further bidding in combat operations in North America.
20 July: An attempt by the 5th FedCom RCT to take Owatonna fails when the unit's attack disintegrates under unexpected artillery attack by ENU forces. ComGuard and American troops cover their retreat, causing further loss to the 1st 'Mech Battalion, already strained by the efforts to integrate the 2nd's survivors. The failure of the attack allows for the Earth Union's 8th Army to take up supporting positions, including a division of the elite German-centric Panzergrenadier Korps of the Earth Army and Earth Union 'Mech troops.
6 August: The next cadre of Outreach graduates arrives, causing re-organization of 1st Battalion and the re-activation of the 2nd. 3rd Battalion is formed.. Due to issues with his unit's performance in the covering of the 5th FedCom's retreat, Penton is overlooked for command of either unit. The 1st US BattleMech Regiment is now officially a coherent fighting force. Additionally, a Commonwealth 'Mech Regiment is formed of two battalions, made up mostly of anti-Giuseppian British and Indian expatriates in the 1st Battalion and Canadians in the 2nd.
7 August: With their units reinforced, Jaguars and Falcons agree to a coordinated attack without further bidding, pitting two full strength Galaxies and detachments of the Earth 8th Army to the conquest of Minneapolis. Despite Falcon wishes to hold off for another week, the attack is to be launched on the 10th.
10 August: The Clan-Earth Union offensive opens with a thunderous artillery barrage and airstrike that shatters the ComGuard 166th Division and the US 13th Infantry Division along I-35. The 5th FedCom RCT disintegrates under a sustained attack by Falcon and Earth units. When reinforcements attempt to check the Falcon advance, the Jaguars and more Earth units break through in the east and race up the east bank of the Mississippi.
11 August: A determined defense of Cannon Falls fails. The Jaguars cross the Cannon River despite a determined defense by VII Corps. In the west, Falcon and Earth troops take Lakeville, but an attempted flanking at Prior Lake is checked in hard fighting by the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Exiles.
13 August: Earth troops cross the Mississippi in a surprise night attack at La Crosse. Despite determined defense by Wisconsin National Guard units and elements of the depleted US IV Corps, the city falls, and ENU combat engineers prepare river crossing gear to exploit the bridgehead and drive on Fort McCoy and the road and raillines beyond it.
14 August: The town of Sparta falls; Fort McCoy comes under direct, intense attack. A major assault by Panzergrenadier Korps units working with Clan Elementals breaks the Allied line at Apple Valley and opens the way into Burnsville. Jaguar forces enter the town of Hastings and heavily damage Camp Jurgens before a determined counter-attack by the Commonwealth 'Mech Regiment drives them off.
15 August: The 3rd Battalion of the 1st US 'Mech Regiment is annihilated in intense fighting, alongside several armored and infantry units, as the full weight of Falcon and Earth units smashes through a hastily-assembled defensive line in Burnsville. The intense street fighting takes its toll on the suburb. Through the night the Falcons attempt several crossings of the Minnesota, to be repulsed each time.
17 August: Fort McCoy is saved by the commitment of VI Corps, supported by a battalion of Inner Sphere mercenary MechWarriors.
18 August: The 2. Panzergrenadier Division spearheads a successful crossing of the Minnesota River east of Colman Lake. US Forces are unable to counterattack swiftly enough to eliminate the bridgehead, but it is contained with fighting lasting into the night.
20 August: A determined Clan push annihilates units of II Corps infantry and armor, ripping a hole in the American lines containing the bridgehead. Over the course of the day the Clan units advance into Bloomington. The 1st US BattleMech Battalion's remaining two companies and several ComGuard Level II units seal the breach off in hard fighting at the International Airport and environs.
21 August: One final attempt by Giuseppian and Falcon forces to break throught the bridgehead into downtown Minneapolis causes heavy damage in Richfield and nearby suburbs, but fails after ad hoc formations from damaged II Corps units smash into the flank of the bridgehead. The attack becomes a rout and as the night progresses the Falcons and Giuseppians are pushed back across the Minnesota River.
24 August: After a week of heavy fighting, IV and VI Corps, working with Inner Sphere mercenary units hired from Outreach, retake La Crosse. The flanking attack toward the Madison-Minneapolis Railway has failed. The Clan and Earth Union forces stop attacking and begin gathering their strength for one final push.
25 August: The ComGuard 5th Army completes a strategic redeployment to the western flank of the Clan advance, mostly unnoticed due to superior air power and careful emissions traffic.
27 August: Another cadre of Outreach graduates arrives. They are deployed to Camp Hodgkins and attached to frontline units as needed to shore up defenses. The 1st 'Mech Regiment is rotated out and reinforced by a battalion from the Commonwealth Regiment before being redeployed to the west at Arlington. The official purpose given is to give the battle-worn unit a much-needed breather.
30 August: The Falcons, Jaguars, and Giuseppian 8th Army begin one final attempt to break through into the city. They attempt to evade the heavier defenses along the Minnesota by attacking toward St. Paul below where the Minnesota flows into the Mississippi. II Corps, reinforced by I Canadian Corps, gives ground slowly.
31 August: The Clans push into Mendota Heights and on toward West St. Paul. Diversionary attacks are launched across the Minnesota further west to tie down ComGuard and FedCom forces before they can launch a counter-attack. Galaxy Commander Ida von Jankmon ignores a warning from her Earth liaison that VdO intelligence assets suspect a buildup of forces on her flanks.
Wolf-in-Exile and American troops in the Southwest launch their own offensive outside Phoenix. The local Falcon Cluster is annihilated under a massive artillery barrage aided by Wolf-in-Exile forces and the road to Tucson, and beyond, is opened.
2 September: Much of West St. Paul is in flames and a Falcon Trinary successfully crosses the Mississippi into downtown St. Paul. The Army Corps of Engineers aids VI Corps in defeating the attack with the controlled demolition of skyscrapers to bring them down on the Clan 'Mechs.
3 September: II Corps finishes withdrawing across the Mississippi under Clan pressure. South St. Paul is the sight of a brutal battle between VI Corps' 28th Division and the Jaguar 10th Home Guards Cluster.
Galaxy Commander Lewis Icaza authorizes a full withdrawal from the Jade Falcon Occupation Corridor in light of the unstoppable advance of American and Wolf forces in Arizona and New Mexico.
4 September: Allied forces launch Operation: Northern Fury. The ComGuard 5th Army and the US 6th Army, including the 1st 'Mech Regiment, march west from Minnesota and South Dakota, while in the east House Marik's Army Group Bellerophon, the US 8th Army, and Canada's II Corps cross the Mississippi in Iowa. The Clan PGCs and Earth Union troops operating as flank guards crumble under the intense attack at several points.
In the southwest, Albuquerque is liberated by the US 5th Armored Division.
6 September: In the Southwest, American and Wolf-in-Exile forces take El Paso.
7 September: Alpha Company of the 1st 'Mech Battalion reaches the small city of Albert Lea and the critical I-90/I-35 junction. An attempt by a battalion of Panzergrenadier Korps armor and infantry to retake the city is fought off.
8 September: With the scope of the disaster clear in the upper Midwest, the Clan commanders order a late retreat. They fail to coordinate the retreat with the Earth 8th Army, which is left behind as the Clans moved their troops south.
The advance in the Southwest ends just east of El Paso with the mauling of the 5th Armored Division by enemy action.
9 September: The Battle of Albert Lea begins with the arrival of the 23rd Falcon Velites, who are attempting to regain the road to ensure the escape of Falcon forces engaged to the north. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 1st BattleMech Regiment of the US Army fight a delaying action in the town until the arrival of the Atrean Hussars leads to the Falcons falling back. This symbolizes the completion of the encirclement of the Earth Union's 8th Army, which has been pushed back to Owatonna and Rochester.
10 September: Omaha is liberated.
11 September: With their position north of the Missouri River rapidly deteriorating, the Clans agree to a general retreat to more defensible terrain in a stormy strategy meeting with Earth Union military leaders. To buy time the Horses launch a spoiling attack on forces in Denver and Colorado Springs, causing major loss to the US 4th Army, before withdrawing to the south and serving as flank guards to the retreat from the Rio Grande.
After just a week of advancing, a second link is made between the pincers by elements of Canada's II Corps and the ComGuard 5th Army at Webster City in Iowa. The 23rd Falcon Velites and 4th Falcon Garrison Cluster are caught by the encirclement.
12 September: Three Jade Falcon DropShips are destroyed by Marik, ComStar, and US-piloted Aerospace Fighters in an attempt to evacuate Clan forces caught in the encirclement. The 23rd Velites suffer further loss due to their troops being on a destroyed ship, but the survivors are successfully evacuated. The day also sees the largest single air battle of the war so far, with nearly 600 aircraft of all types taking part in a battle spanning the airspace from southern Minnesota to southern Iowa.
14 September: The Earth Union 8th Army attempts to break out of the encirclement and escape south. In the battles of Spring Valley and Preston, their breakout attempt is thwarted by XIV Corps and the 1st Orloff Grenadiers with heavy losses.
15 September: Des Moines is liberated.
20 September: Much of Iowa has been liberated and damage to Falcon and Jaguar forces proves deeper than anticipated. Galaxy Commanders Icaza, Ravenwater, and Weaver agree to contract their zones further south, though the Horses prove able to hold southern Kansas and Oklahoma. The new Clan line will use the Arkansas River and the Ozarks as a defensive perimeter while small-scale Star and Binary-sized actions are used to attrit the victorious allies and ensure the loss of their momentum before they get to the defensive perimeter.
21 September: Director Reinhardt von Krager of the VdO signs General Directive no. 30, ordering the movement of all VdO prisoners and facilities to within the Clan perimeter. Any prisoner who cannot be brought successfully to the new perimeter is to be executed.
22 September: After over a week of intense bombardment, General Ramòn Vizcaino of the Earth Union 8th Army agrees to terms of surrender drawn up by Precentor Durbin and General Tanner. 72,000 Earth Union soldiers are placed into impromptu prison camps in the Minnesota countryside in preparation for internment in permanent facilities. Rochester is declared liberated.
25 September: The Earth Union 4th Army abandons their positions in St. Louis. US forces move through the city and begin liberating Missouri.
1 October: Kansas City is liberated.
3 October: Several hundred dead civilians and POWs are found in a mass grave in the rural areas west of Kansas City, most showing signs of being shot. The finding is widely circulated and inspires anti-Giuseppian demonstrations in several US cities and an increase in war bonds sales. Internationally the Earth Union government blames the grave on the Clans and insists the occupants were victims of the fighting in the first battle for Kansas City disposed of inappropriately due to the Clans' lack of understanding of modern sensibilities.
8 October: The Horses' Phi Galaxy resists the liberation of Wichita and prevents US 6th Army from gaining the bridgeheads over the Arkansas River. This military action represents the end of the Clan retreat after the failure at Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The lines as of 10 October 2039 Earth Time:
Note that my map skills suck. The Arkansas River is generally the line, though Clan and Earth forces successfully hold part of the Ozarks north of the river as well.
Anyway, I intend to write shorts set during the rest of the battle, while Sunhawk is going to do the Southwest campaign. I left whatever DbC is doing out of the timeline to give him full creative freedom on what he wants Coburn and his unit to be doing. If anyone wants to do any stories set during these events and you want further clarification of things (or have ideas that can elaborate upon what's been described), go ahead and PM me.
Here we go:
7 July 2019: Jaguar Nu Galaxy forces attack in the southeast. The ComGuards blunt the offensive and hold a line at the Cannon River; attempts by Jaguar detachments to raid beyond are thwarted by a stiff resistance by the newly-formed 1st 'Mech Battalion, US Army. Alpha Company of 1st BMB inflicts a severe defeat on the Jaguar forces by repulsing them at Welch with a 6-to-1 ratio of losses.
10 July: The Jade Falcon Omicron Galaxy advances north from Owatonna. IV Corps of the US 3rd Army suffers damage as it is forced back by the superior technology and firepower of the Clan forces; the small cities/towns of Faribault and Northfield are lost, and Apple Valley and Lakeview come under threat by the Clan advance. The Clan forces stop momentarily after a Cluster is damaged beyond expectation in an engagement with the 1st BMB, which uses a faked retreat maneuver to flank Clan forces. Following up on this success, Capt. Alexander Penton and a detachment centered around his Alpha Company slips behind Falcon lines and wrecks Falcon logistics in Northfield and Faribault, knocking the supply underpinnings of the Falcon advance out from under them. Penton barely survives an encounter with Omicron Galaxy's commander, Alexander Crichell, who is killed by a massive American military barrage that Penton calls down on him. Due to Alpha Company's heroic efforts, the Falcon offensive falls apart.
A Trinary of Falcon solahma MechWarriors commit the Faribault Massacre before being annihilated by Captain Penton and Alpha Company.
11 July: Elements of the 5th FedCom RCT spearhead counterattacks on the disorganized Falcon forces. With their supplies depleted by the Penton raid and the Jaguars spent in attempts to pierce the Cannon River line, the Falcons withdraw to Owatonna and their main base there. Northfield and Faribault are reclaimed by advancing FedCom, ComStar, and American troops.
12 July: The fate of Faribault becomes national news. Captain Penton is lauded by the Governor of Minnesota for saving the town from further devastation and the Faribault Massacre is the most recent in a string of Clan atrocities that are enraging the American populace and intensifying American resolve to resist the invasion.
13 July: In light of the failure of the initial advance on Minnesota, Director Reinhardt von Krager of the Earth National Union offers Earth Union troops to aid a renewed Clan offensive over the protests of Field Marshal Georg Berssach.
16 July: Survivors from the shattered 2nd 'Mech Battalion of the US Army are merged with the 1st to restore its strength. The 2nd's survivors are a battle-scarred and unhappy lot who prove a challenge to unit cohesion.
18 July: ilKhan Lincoln Osis establishes a timetable for a renewed Clan push on Minneapolis, to employ von Krager's offered troops, and informs Khan Marthe Pryde that he will no longer permit further bidding in combat operations in North America.
20 July: An attempt by the 5th FedCom RCT to take Owatonna fails when the unit's attack disintegrates under unexpected artillery attack by ENU forces. ComGuard and American troops cover their retreat, causing further loss to the 1st 'Mech Battalion, already strained by the efforts to integrate the 2nd's survivors. The failure of the attack allows for the Earth Union's 8th Army to take up supporting positions, including a division of the elite German-centric Panzergrenadier Korps of the Earth Army and Earth Union 'Mech troops.
6 August: The next cadre of Outreach graduates arrives, causing re-organization of 1st Battalion and the re-activation of the 2nd. 3rd Battalion is formed.. Due to issues with his unit's performance in the covering of the 5th FedCom's retreat, Penton is overlooked for command of either unit. The 1st US BattleMech Regiment is now officially a coherent fighting force. Additionally, a Commonwealth 'Mech Regiment is formed of two battalions, made up mostly of anti-Giuseppian British and Indian expatriates in the 1st Battalion and Canadians in the 2nd.
7 August: With their units reinforced, Jaguars and Falcons agree to a coordinated attack without further bidding, pitting two full strength Galaxies and detachments of the Earth 8th Army to the conquest of Minneapolis. Despite Falcon wishes to hold off for another week, the attack is to be launched on the 10th.
10 August: The Clan-Earth Union offensive opens with a thunderous artillery barrage and airstrike that shatters the ComGuard 166th Division and the US 13th Infantry Division along I-35. The 5th FedCom RCT disintegrates under a sustained attack by Falcon and Earth units. When reinforcements attempt to check the Falcon advance, the Jaguars and more Earth units break through in the east and race up the east bank of the Mississippi.
11 August: A determined defense of Cannon Falls fails. The Jaguars cross the Cannon River despite a determined defense by VII Corps. In the west, Falcon and Earth troops take Lakeville, but an attempted flanking at Prior Lake is checked in hard fighting by the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Exiles.
13 August: Earth troops cross the Mississippi in a surprise night attack at La Crosse. Despite determined defense by Wisconsin National Guard units and elements of the depleted US IV Corps, the city falls, and ENU combat engineers prepare river crossing gear to exploit the bridgehead and drive on Fort McCoy and the road and raillines beyond it.
14 August: The town of Sparta falls; Fort McCoy comes under direct, intense attack. A major assault by Panzergrenadier Korps units working with Clan Elementals breaks the Allied line at Apple Valley and opens the way into Burnsville. Jaguar forces enter the town of Hastings and heavily damage Camp Jurgens before a determined counter-attack by the Commonwealth 'Mech Regiment drives them off.
15 August: The 3rd Battalion of the 1st US 'Mech Regiment is annihilated in intense fighting, alongside several armored and infantry units, as the full weight of Falcon and Earth units smashes through a hastily-assembled defensive line in Burnsville. The intense street fighting takes its toll on the suburb. Through the night the Falcons attempt several crossings of the Minnesota, to be repulsed each time.
17 August: Fort McCoy is saved by the commitment of VI Corps, supported by a battalion of Inner Sphere mercenary MechWarriors.
18 August: The 2. Panzergrenadier Division spearheads a successful crossing of the Minnesota River east of Colman Lake. US Forces are unable to counterattack swiftly enough to eliminate the bridgehead, but it is contained with fighting lasting into the night.
20 August: A determined Clan push annihilates units of II Corps infantry and armor, ripping a hole in the American lines containing the bridgehead. Over the course of the day the Clan units advance into Bloomington. The 1st US BattleMech Battalion's remaining two companies and several ComGuard Level II units seal the breach off in hard fighting at the International Airport and environs.
21 August: One final attempt by Giuseppian and Falcon forces to break throught the bridgehead into downtown Minneapolis causes heavy damage in Richfield and nearby suburbs, but fails after ad hoc formations from damaged II Corps units smash into the flank of the bridgehead. The attack becomes a rout and as the night progresses the Falcons and Giuseppians are pushed back across the Minnesota River.
24 August: After a week of heavy fighting, IV and VI Corps, working with Inner Sphere mercenary units hired from Outreach, retake La Crosse. The flanking attack toward the Madison-Minneapolis Railway has failed. The Clan and Earth Union forces stop attacking and begin gathering their strength for one final push.
25 August: The ComGuard 5th Army completes a strategic redeployment to the western flank of the Clan advance, mostly unnoticed due to superior air power and careful emissions traffic.
27 August: Another cadre of Outreach graduates arrives. They are deployed to Camp Hodgkins and attached to frontline units as needed to shore up defenses. The 1st 'Mech Regiment is rotated out and reinforced by a battalion from the Commonwealth Regiment before being redeployed to the west at Arlington. The official purpose given is to give the battle-worn unit a much-needed breather.
30 August: The Falcons, Jaguars, and Giuseppian 8th Army begin one final attempt to break through into the city. They attempt to evade the heavier defenses along the Minnesota by attacking toward St. Paul below where the Minnesota flows into the Mississippi. II Corps, reinforced by I Canadian Corps, gives ground slowly.
31 August: The Clans push into Mendota Heights and on toward West St. Paul. Diversionary attacks are launched across the Minnesota further west to tie down ComGuard and FedCom forces before they can launch a counter-attack. Galaxy Commander Ida von Jankmon ignores a warning from her Earth liaison that VdO intelligence assets suspect a buildup of forces on her flanks.
Wolf-in-Exile and American troops in the Southwest launch their own offensive outside Phoenix. The local Falcon Cluster is annihilated under a massive artillery barrage aided by Wolf-in-Exile forces and the road to Tucson, and beyond, is opened.
2 September: Much of West St. Paul is in flames and a Falcon Trinary successfully crosses the Mississippi into downtown St. Paul. The Army Corps of Engineers aids VI Corps in defeating the attack with the controlled demolition of skyscrapers to bring them down on the Clan 'Mechs.
3 September: II Corps finishes withdrawing across the Mississippi under Clan pressure. South St. Paul is the sight of a brutal battle between VI Corps' 28th Division and the Jaguar 10th Home Guards Cluster.
Galaxy Commander Lewis Icaza authorizes a full withdrawal from the Jade Falcon Occupation Corridor in light of the unstoppable advance of American and Wolf forces in Arizona and New Mexico.
4 September: Allied forces launch Operation: Northern Fury. The ComGuard 5th Army and the US 6th Army, including the 1st 'Mech Regiment, march west from Minnesota and South Dakota, while in the east House Marik's Army Group Bellerophon, the US 8th Army, and Canada's II Corps cross the Mississippi in Iowa. The Clan PGCs and Earth Union troops operating as flank guards crumble under the intense attack at several points.
In the southwest, Albuquerque is liberated by the US 5th Armored Division.
6 September: In the Southwest, American and Wolf-in-Exile forces take El Paso.
7 September: Alpha Company of the 1st 'Mech Battalion reaches the small city of Albert Lea and the critical I-90/I-35 junction. An attempt by a battalion of Panzergrenadier Korps armor and infantry to retake the city is fought off.
8 September: With the scope of the disaster clear in the upper Midwest, the Clan commanders order a late retreat. They fail to coordinate the retreat with the Earth 8th Army, which is left behind as the Clans moved their troops south.
The advance in the Southwest ends just east of El Paso with the mauling of the 5th Armored Division by enemy action.
9 September: The Battle of Albert Lea begins with the arrival of the 23rd Falcon Velites, who are attempting to regain the road to ensure the escape of Falcon forces engaged to the north. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 1st BattleMech Regiment of the US Army fight a delaying action in the town until the arrival of the Atrean Hussars leads to the Falcons falling back. This symbolizes the completion of the encirclement of the Earth Union's 8th Army, which has been pushed back to Owatonna and Rochester.
10 September: Omaha is liberated.
11 September: With their position north of the Missouri River rapidly deteriorating, the Clans agree to a general retreat to more defensible terrain in a stormy strategy meeting with Earth Union military leaders. To buy time the Horses launch a spoiling attack on forces in Denver and Colorado Springs, causing major loss to the US 4th Army, before withdrawing to the south and serving as flank guards to the retreat from the Rio Grande.
After just a week of advancing, a second link is made between the pincers by elements of Canada's II Corps and the ComGuard 5th Army at Webster City in Iowa. The 23rd Falcon Velites and 4th Falcon Garrison Cluster are caught by the encirclement.
12 September: Three Jade Falcon DropShips are destroyed by Marik, ComStar, and US-piloted Aerospace Fighters in an attempt to evacuate Clan forces caught in the encirclement. The 23rd Velites suffer further loss due to their troops being on a destroyed ship, but the survivors are successfully evacuated. The day also sees the largest single air battle of the war so far, with nearly 600 aircraft of all types taking part in a battle spanning the airspace from southern Minnesota to southern Iowa.
14 September: The Earth Union 8th Army attempts to break out of the encirclement and escape south. In the battles of Spring Valley and Preston, their breakout attempt is thwarted by XIV Corps and the 1st Orloff Grenadiers with heavy losses.
15 September: Des Moines is liberated.
20 September: Much of Iowa has been liberated and damage to Falcon and Jaguar forces proves deeper than anticipated. Galaxy Commanders Icaza, Ravenwater, and Weaver agree to contract their zones further south, though the Horses prove able to hold southern Kansas and Oklahoma. The new Clan line will use the Arkansas River and the Ozarks as a defensive perimeter while small-scale Star and Binary-sized actions are used to attrit the victorious allies and ensure the loss of their momentum before they get to the defensive perimeter.
21 September: Director Reinhardt von Krager of the VdO signs General Directive no. 30, ordering the movement of all VdO prisoners and facilities to within the Clan perimeter. Any prisoner who cannot be brought successfully to the new perimeter is to be executed.
22 September: After over a week of intense bombardment, General Ramòn Vizcaino of the Earth Union 8th Army agrees to terms of surrender drawn up by Precentor Durbin and General Tanner. 72,000 Earth Union soldiers are placed into impromptu prison camps in the Minnesota countryside in preparation for internment in permanent facilities. Rochester is declared liberated.
25 September: The Earth Union 4th Army abandons their positions in St. Louis. US forces move through the city and begin liberating Missouri.
1 October: Kansas City is liberated.
3 October: Several hundred dead civilians and POWs are found in a mass grave in the rural areas west of Kansas City, most showing signs of being shot. The finding is widely circulated and inspires anti-Giuseppian demonstrations in several US cities and an increase in war bonds sales. Internationally the Earth Union government blames the grave on the Clans and insists the occupants were victims of the fighting in the first battle for Kansas City disposed of inappropriately due to the Clans' lack of understanding of modern sensibilities.
8 October: The Horses' Phi Galaxy resists the liberation of Wichita and prevents US 6th Army from gaining the bridgeheads over the Arkansas River. This military action represents the end of the Clan retreat after the failure at Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The lines as of 10 October 2039 Earth Time:
Note that my map skills suck. The Arkansas River is generally the line, though Clan and Earth forces successfully hold part of the Ozarks north of the river as well.
Anyway, I intend to write shorts set during the rest of the battle, while Sunhawk is going to do the Southwest campaign. I left whatever DbC is doing out of the timeline to give him full creative freedom on what he wants Coburn and his unit to be doing. If anyone wants to do any stories set during these events and you want further clarification of things (or have ideas that can elaborate upon what's been described), go ahead and PM me.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED