Battle of Harrow's Sun (3020)
| Battle of Harrow's Sun (3020) | |
|---|---|
| Conflict details | |
| Part of | Third Succession War |
| Start Date | 3020[1] |
| Planet(s) | Harrow's Sun |
| Attacking Forces | |
| Affiliation | Draconis Combine |
| Defending Forces | |
| Affiliation | Federated Suns |
| Other Forces | |
Fourth Battle of Harrow's Sun
Overview
In 3020, the DCMS launched their assault, starting the Fourth Battle of Harrow's Sun. They sent four "crack" regiments against the Fed Suns defenders, with the 7th Crucis Lancers, including McKinnon's Raiders, joining the 9th Ceti Hussars in defense. The Draconis Combine had been given false intelligence that the defenders were understrength, inviting an attack. and though the world was secretly reinforced, the Federated commanders had underestimated the Combine's interest in retaking the world.[2][3][4][5][6]
Under constant attack, the Raiders covered the retreat of the Federated Suns forces. After holding off six times their number the company was cut off from the main Federated force and surrounded by two Kuritan companies. Captain Ross McKinnon ordered his son to punch through the Kuritan lines, but Ross and his bodyguard companion were caught and killed crossing a shallow stream. Ian McKinnon took command for the next four weeks, and ran a guerilla campaign against the Combine. Command posts, supply depots, and isolated single units were brazenly attacked, attempting to keep the Combine forces off-balance.[2]
An attack on a communications relay station in use by a Legion of Vega (see notes) Lance was conducted at night and overwhelmed the handful of BattleMechs there.[7]
The remnants of McKinnon's Raiders overran a frontline airbase where Kurita had stationed ten Slayer fighters, five of which were then on the ground. The Raiders knocked out the base communications and destroyed four of the five Slayers with the Kuritan survivors fleeing to the desert pursued by two Wasps. The Raiders found a Davion aerospace pilot who was being held prisoner and who claimed that he could fly the Slayer. McKinnon devised a plan based on this. His 'Mech forces hid a bit and waited for the rest of the Slayers to return base. Less than an hour after the attack they detected the fighters. He sent his recon lance to start a mock attack on the base and used the Davion pilot to bait the rest of the Kuritans. The plan worked flawlessly and the combined Davion firepower destroyed the five aerospace fighters. The unknown pilot died after exhausting his fuel in attacking unsuspecting rear-echelon elements of the Kurita invasion force as he smashed his Slayer into the hangar doors of an orbiting Kurita DropShip, damaging it severely.[3][4]
Units involved
Federated Suns
Draconis Combine
- Four crack regiments[2][6]
- Legion of Vega regiment,[8] though reported as 12th Vegan Rangers[7]
Notes
- According to The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders, a very early BattleTech scenario pack, the Twelfth Vegan Rangers were part of a Draconis Combine forces that attacked the Federated Suns in May 3020.[7] It does not fit with the unit's profile to hire out to the enemy of their home realm, and it was officially confirmed[8] that their mentioning in the opposing force of the scenario in question "was probably another of those wacky early BattleTech continuity mishaps" and that the Twelfth Vegan Rangers were probably mixed up with the Draconis Combine's Legion of Vega in this instance.
Reference
- ↑ Technical Readout: 3025, p. 104: "AWS-8Q Awesome battle history"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders, p. 7, "Brief History"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Technical Readout: 3025, p. 144 "SL-15 SLAYER"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, p. 168: "Slayer"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 BattleForce, p. 68
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Technical Readout: 3025, p. 58: Notable 'Mechs And MechWarriors
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Fox's Teeth, pp. 26-27: "Cry Vengeance!"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 [1]