View source for Battle of Ankaa (3132)

{{InfoBoxBattle
| conflict = {{PAGENAME}}
| partof = [[Dark Age era]]
| image = 
| startdate = 19 December [[3132]]<ref name=EDDAp10>''Era Digest: Dark Age'', p. 10: "Dark Age Timeline"</ref>
| enddate = Several days later<ref name=EDDAp10/>
| planet = [[Ankaa]]
| place = In and around Anqabad
| result = [[Steel Wolves]] victory<ref name=EDDAp6>''Era Digest: Dark Age'', p. 6: "Important Military Actions of 3132"</ref>
| territory =
| faction1 = [[Swordsworn]]
| commander1 = Leftenant Colonel [[Diane Jameson]]<ref name=BtBs1>''Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!'', scenario 1: "Sword and Claw"</ref>
| command1 = Swordsworn elements
| faction2 = [[Steel Wolves]]
| commander2 = Star Captain [[Sadia Wolf]]<ref name=BtBs1/>
| command2 = Steel Wolves elements<br/>[[Ankaa Standing Guard]]<ref name=DAINNp87>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 87: "Interesting Times, Dangerous Places #345: "Avalanche""</ref>
| faction3 = 
| commander3 = 
| command3 = 
}}
==Overview==
At the end of [[3132]], two of the splinter factions fighting over the [[Republic of the Sphere]], the [[Steel Wolves]] and the [[Swordsworn]], took an interest in the [[DiNapoli Industries]] [[DropShip]] manufacturing facilities on [[Ankaa]].<ref name=BtBs1/> The Steel Wolves arrived first, followed shortly by the Swordsworn on 19 December 3132. Over several days of fighting, the Wolves held off the Swordsworn, securing the planet and its DiNapoli factories for themselves.<ref name=EDDAp10/><ref name=EDDAp6/>

==Prelude==
Ankaa-based DiNapoli Industries, recently taken over by [[Bannson Universal Unlimited]], was the leading manufacturer of DropShips in [[Prefecture IV]]. This made the planet a tempting target. Both [[Kal Radick]] of the Steel Wolves and [[Aaron Sandoval (32nd c.)|Aaron Sandoval]] of the Swordsworn saw its value, and each assigned a commander to take the DiNapoli facilities: [[Sadia Wolf]] for the Wolves, and a hastily promoted [[Diane Jameson]] for the Swordsworn.<ref name=BtBs1/>

The Steel Wolves arrived first, on 16 December 3132.<ref name=DAINNp87/> They secured the capital Anqabad and the various DiNapoli facilities mostly bloodlessly, helped by the population's disdain for new DiNapoli owner [[Jacob Bannson]]. The [[Ankaa Standing Guard|local militia]] was quickly brought under Steel Wolves control.<ref name=DAINNp87/><ref name=DAINNp77>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 77: "Ankaa Targeted"</ref> 

Three days later, on 19 December 3132, the Swordsworn struck.<ref name=DAINNp87/>

==Battle==
The Swordsworn opened with an [[Avalanche Drop|avalanche drop]], a direct orbital drop into Wolf-controlled Anqabad, bypassing the defensive perimeter the Wolves and militia had prepared.<ref name=DAINNp87/> They hit hard, inflicting heavy casualties on the Wolves and holding half of the city before, facing entrenched defenders and a powerful counterattack, Jameson gave the order to withdraw.<ref>Battle for Ankaa: Sword and Claw results, retrieved from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20030720054649/http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_article.asp?cid=36695&frame=news#headlines MechWarrior: Dark Age website]</ref><ref name=DAINNp90>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 90: "Interesting Times, Dangerous Places #347: "Impasse""</ref> After hours of fighting, according to an anonymous column the Ankaa government banned from publication, hundreds were left dead in Anqabad and thousands injured, the product of two forces caring little for collateral damage. Each side's recovery teams allegedly paid little attention to injured civilians afterwards. The same column claimed that both the planet's [[Anton Judae|legate]] and its present [[Knights of the Republic of the Sphere|Knights]] conspicuously failed to respond to the attack. However, the [[Allan Slowinske|governor]] called for the fighting to stop.<ref name=DAINNp77/>

The Swordsworn withdrawal was less an organized retreat than a chaotic scramble. They fled north, the Wolves and militia in constant pursuit. By 22 December, the front lines were entering the Great Maze, a twisty network of icy canyons and hills around the North Pole, with the Wolves still following the Swordsworn in as of 24 December.<ref name=DAINNp94>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 94: "Interesting Times, Dangerous Places #348: "The Midnight Sun""</ref><ref name=BtBs2>''Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!'', scenario 2: "Downstrike"</ref> Sensor interference, twisty routes, and tight spaces made the Great Maze a challenging place to fight, especially for the attacking Wolves. After several hours of having her forces slowly hunted down part by part, Sadia commanded the Wolves to retreat.<ref name=DAINNp96>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 96: "Interesting Times, Dangerous Places: #350 "Fight or Flight""</ref><ref>Battle for Ankaa: Downstrike results, retrieved from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20030720054649/http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_article.asp?cid=36695&frame=news#headlines MechWarrior: Dark Age website]</ref> According to journalist [[Cameron Shaw]], then present in the Swordsworn command camp, Jameson initially believed the Wolves had given up, until Shaw informed her of Sadia's Crusader beliefs and [[Enhanced Imaging Neural Implant|Enhanced Imaging implant]].<ref name=DAINNp96/>

The Swordsworn took the opportunity of the Wolves' withdrawal to prepare an ambush, setting up a fake command post at the base of the third-largest mountain in the region, Al Kazim. Jameson's own ''[[Ryoken II]]'' served as highly visible bait. Though her second, [[Bekal]], was hooked, Sadia recognized the trap - and sprung it anyway, seeing the chance to destroy the Swordsworn. Both sides suffered massive losses, but in the end, the Steel Wolves held the Al Kazim battlefield.<ref name=BtBs3>''Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!'', scenario 3: "Baiting the Wolf"</ref><ref>Battle for Ankaa: Baiting the Wolf results, retrieved from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20030720054649/http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_article.asp?cid=36695&frame=news#headlines MechWarrior: Dark Age website]</ref>

With both the Steel Wolves and Swordsworn dwindling, both commanders refocused on their main objective: the DiNapoli complex in Anqabad. The Steel Wolves reached the city first, setting up around the main domed complex. Swordsworn assaults failed again and again, until at last the Wolves launched their final counterattack, forcing the shattered Swordsworn off planet.<ref name=BtBs4>''Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!'', scenario 4: "Coupé"</ref><ref>Battle for Ankaa: Coupe results, retrieved from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20030720054649/http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_article.asp?cid=36695&frame=news#headlines MechWarrior: Dark Age website]</ref>

==Aftermath==
The DiNapoli manufacturing centre proved a valuable asset for the Steel Wolves. Beyond the DropShips the faction hoped for, the Wolves found a wealth of [[IndustrialMech]]s to use. They soon fielded the ''[[Opossum]]'' and ''[[Demeter (IndustrialMech)|Demeter]]'' in large numbers.<ref>''Technical Readout: Irregulars'', pp. 24 and 30</ref>

In the months to come, Steel Wolves leader Radick and Swordsworn head Sandoval remained public political allies. In a June [[3133]] [[INN]] profile on him, Radick claimed that Sandoval had disavowed the Ankaa Swordsworn force as a rogue unit.<ref name=DAINNp184>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', pp. 184-185: "Prefect Kal Radick: Battling the Firestorm"</ref> By August that year, Sandoval visited Ankaa to provide medical supplies and cleanup/reconstruction support.<ref name=DAINNp215>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', pp. 215-216: "Duke Aaron Sandoval: Where He Leads, Others Follow"</ref>

==Notes==
* ''[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]'' identifies the battle's starting date as 19 December 3132.<ref name=EDDAp10/> Several dates used in this article are determined from that date.

==References== 
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Baring the Blade: The Battle for Ankaa!]]''
* ''[[Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN]]''
* ''[[Era Digest: Dark Age]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: Irregulars]]''

[[Category:Late Dark Age Era Military Operations|Ankaa]]