View source for Battle of Tharkad (3066)

{{InfoBoxBattle
| conflict = Battle of Tharkad (3066)
| partof = [[FedCom Civil War]]
| image = Battle of Tharkad (3066).png
| startdate = 18 August [[3066]]<ref name=FCCWp175>''FedCom Civil War'', pp. 175-177: "Tharkad"</ref>
| enddate = 5 April [[3067]]<ref name=FCCWp175/>
| planet = [[Tharkad]]
| place = Lake Malaren, Methow Valley, Stahlwurzel Forest, [[Nagelring]], North Ten Wash River, Asgard, Tharkad City, Triad
| result = [[Loyalist (FCCW)|Loyalist]] defeat
| territory = [[Allies (FCCW)|Allied]] occupation
| faction1 = [[Allies (FCCW)|Allied Forces]]<ref name=FCCWp181>''FedCom Civil War'', pp. 181-184: "Civil War Deployment Tables"</ref>
| commander1 = [[Peter Steiner-Davion]]
| command1 = [[4th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|Fourth Wolf Guards Assault Cluster]]<br>[[1st Wolf Strike Grenadiers (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|First Wolf Strike Grenadiers]]<br>[[Twentieth Arcturan Guards]]<br>[[1894th Light Horse Regiment|1894th Light Horse]]<br>[[21st Rim Worlds]]†<br>[[First Kell Hounds]]<br>[[Fourth Skye Rangers]]<br>[[39th Avalon Hussars]]<br>''[[Kerensky's Blues]]'' (''[[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]''-class)<br>CWS ''[[Werewolf (Individual McKenna-class WarShip)|Werewolf]]'' (''[[McKenna (WarShip class)|McKenna]]''-class)<br>CWS ''[[Implacable (Individual Black Lion-class WarShip)|Implacable]]'' (''[[Black Lion]]''-class)<br>CWS ''[[Ulric Kerensky (Individual Cameron-class WarShip)|Ulric Kerensky]]'' (''[[Cameron (WarShip class)|Cameron]]''-class)
| faction2 = [[Loyalist (FCCW)|Loyalist Forces]]<ref name=FCCWp181/>
| commander2 = [[Nondi Steiner]]†
| command2 = [[First Royal Guards]]†<br>[[Second Royal Guards]]†<br>[[Twenty-fourth Lyran Guards]]<br>[[First Alarion Jaegers]]†<br>[[Eleventh Arcturan Guards]]<br>[[66th Division (ComStar)|Sixty-sixth Division]]†<br>LAS ''[[Yggdrasil (Individual Mjolnir-class WarShip)|Yggdrasil]]'' (''[[Mjolnir (WarShip class)|Mjolnir]]''-class)<br>LAS ''[[Robert Kelswa (Individual Fox-class WarShip)|Robert Kelswa]]'' (''[[Fox (WarShip class)|Fox]]''-class)
| faction3 = 
| commander3 = 
| command3 = 
}}

==Prelude==
As one of the two thrones held by [[Katherine Steiner-Davion]], [[Tharkad]] would have to be wrested from her grasp if the [[FedCom Civil War]] were to end.  With the Archon-Princess on [[New Avalon]], her aunt and General of the Armies [[Nondi Steiner]] ruled as Regent.
As [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] moved his task forces from [[Thorin]] into the [[Federated Suns]], Grand Duke [[Morgan Kell]] began setting the wheel in motion for the Lyran half of the plan.  First sending [[HPG]] messages to [[Dan Allard]] and [[Khan]] [[Phelan Kell]], which began mobilization of the [[Kell Hounds]] and [[Clan Wolf-in-Exile|Clan Wolf-in-Exile's]] [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|Alpha Galaxy]] respectively. He then left Thorin aboard a transport to [[Zaniah]] via [[Milton]]. While these actions were unknown to the [[Intelligence Secretariat]] (indeed they had completely lost track of Morgan by this time) [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Gavin Dow]] briefed Katherine on them 19 April. The significance was lost on them however, as they were unaware [[Peter Steiner-Davion]] had been at the [[St. Marinus House]] monastery since May [[3056]].  This same day, Katherine sent a message to [[Khan]] [[Vlad Ward]], leader of [[Clan Wolf]].  He had inquired of his clandestine ally if the [[Arc-Royal Defense Cordon]] and the Clan Wolf-in-Exile defenders were party to her civil war.  If they were not, he desired to cross the [[Clan Jade Falcon]] Occupation Zone and strike at [[Arc-Royal]].  If they were, he would not do so lest he interfere in her existing conflict in contravention of Clan honor.  Katherine declined, reasoning accepting such aid would be an admission of weakness.<ref name=EGc12>''Endgame'', ch. 12</ref><ref name=EGc13>''Endgame'', ch. 13</ref><ref name=FCCWp161>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 161: "Lyran Alliance"</ref><ref>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 36</ref>

On 13 May Morgan arrived on Zaniah. Upon landing, Morgan sought out Peter at the [[Manrett Gessetti|Gessetti Shrine]] of St. Marinus House. At first refusing to leave, it wasn't until Morgan revealed he was not here to recruit Peter to Victor's cause but to support Peter's claim to the Archonship that Peter relented.  The two traveled to [[Arc-Royal]] where they met up with the core of their task force. In order to replace material losses in Allied forces, Peter convinced [[Colonel]] [[Dan Allard]] to release several ''[[Verfolger]]'' [[BattleMech]]s to the greater alliance. The mysterious [[Green Knight]] was also seen in the flotilla. In May they became moving on Tharkad.<ref name=FMUp68a>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 68: "The Jade Falcon Incursion"</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3067'', p. 80: "VR5-R Verfolger"</ref><ref>''Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 10'', p. 9: "Archer"</ref><ref>''Recognition Guide, Vol. 1: Classics'', p. 79: "Archer"</ref><ref>''Surkai''</ref>

==Overview==
On 18 August [[3066]], the invasion of Tharkad technically began. Unlike the standard massing of [[JumpShip]]s and [[DropShip]]s, a single DropShip carrying Peter and a few squads of the [[Twentieth Arcturan Guards]] (ostensibly to serve as household staff) requested and obtained clearance to land at Resaurius Keep, one of the [[House Steiner|Steiner]] family's older lodges. Unsure of his intentions, Katherine and Nondi elected to learn them personally. At Peter's invitation, Nondi traveled to Resaurius with two [[Striker (Combat Vehicle)|Strikers]] as an escort.  Stating a desire to spare Tharkad the fires of civil war, Peter asked Nondi to endorse his claim to the throne.  She refused, as Morgan had counseled Peter she would. At that time [[Richard de Gambier]] appeared and confirmed that while they were talking the Striker crews had been relieved of their vehicles and placed safely in the sedan which stood ready to return Nondi back to Tharkad City. Infuriated, but now unarmed, Nondi departed and began to ready her defense of Tharkad.<ref name=EGc17>''Endgame'', ch. 17</ref><ref name=FCCWp175/>

{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
[[Spectre (Character)|Spectre]] and his unit were hired by Peter to supplement his forces.  Managing to land on the world unnoticed, his unit coordinated with Peter to limit Nondi's strategic mobility by destroying a grounded ''[[Overlord]]'' DropShip. Given system travel time of 7.01 days<ref>''Objectives: Lyran Alliance'', p. 25: "Tharkad"</ref> and Peter's comment that the Kell Hounds would make "planetfall in the next seven days" this occurred concurrent with or slightly after the main armada's arrival, below.<ref name=MW4O>''MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'', Tharkad - Overlord</ref>
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

===Fleet Actions===
A more standard planetary assault began on  24 August when the Kell Hounds, Wolf Clan in Exile, [[Blue Star Irregulars]] and [[Twentieth Arcturan Guards]] arrived in-system at the zenith jump point with a WarShip escort.  Their escorts, the ''[[McKenna (WarShip class)|McKenna]]''-class ''[[Werewolf (Individual McKenna-class WarShip)|Werewolf]]'' under command of [[Star Admiral]] [[Wolfgang Shaw]],  ''[[Cameron (WarShip class)|Cameron]]''-class ''[[Ulric Kerensky (Individual Cameron-class WarShip)|Ulric Kerensky]]'', ''[[Black Lion]]''-class ''[[Implacable (Individual Black Lion-class WarShip)|Implacable]]'', and the ''[[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]''-class ''[[Kerensky's Blues]]'' swiftly engaged the defending fleet in deep space as they attempted to interdict the armada. The ''[[Mjolnir (WarShip class)|Mjolnir]]''-class ''[[Yggdrasil (Individual Mjolnir-class WarShip)|Yggdrasil]]'' and ''[[Fox (WarShip class)|Fox]]''-class ''[[Robert Kelswa (Individual Fox-class WarShip)|Robert Kelswa]]'' approached with a swarm of DroShip and [[aerospace fighter]] escorts.  The ''Werewolf'' and ''Kerensky's Blues'' pushed ahead of the fleet to pair off with the ''Yggdrasil'' and ''Robert Kelswa'' respectively while the ''Ulric Kerensky'' and the ''Implacable'' screened the transport DropShips.<ref name=EGc18>''Endgame'', ch. 18</ref><ref name=FMUp69a>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 69: "Admiralty (Star Wolves)"</ref> 

The ''Yggdrasil'' made a raking broadside on the ''Werewolf'', but rather than circle her slower foe, she arrowed in on the transports only to be blocked by the ''Ulric Kerensky'' and the ''Implacable'' who issued challenges but did not engage as she was the chosen target of the ''Werewolf'', in accordance with ''[[zellbrigen]]''. Ironically it was the ''Werewolf'' who would abandon ''zellbrigen''.The inexperienced crews of the ''Kerensky's Blues'' and the ''Robert Kelswa'' had simply matched course and speed with each other and poured broadside after broadside into each other. The ''Blues'' took the worst of the exchange and attempted to turn away rather than roll, an indication of damage or two-dimensional thinking.  A final shot from the ''Kelswa'' dug into the ''Blues's'' core, extinguishing her drive and leaving her in a flat spin. To avoid losing the ''Blues'', Khan Kell ordered the ''Werewolf'' swung wide and approached aft-backward in order to facilitate returning to the ''Yggdrasil'' afterwards. A single broadside from the ''Werewolf'' gutted the ''Kelswa'' which spiraled deeper into the system, at full burn but out of control. The ''Werewolf'' detached an ''[[Elephant]]'' DropShip with a damage control team to render aid to the ''Blues''.<ref name=EGc18/><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 46: "Support"</ref><ref name=FMUp68>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 68: "Tharkad"</ref><ref name=FMUp69a/>

Back at the fleet the ''Yggdrasil'' tried to push past the escorting WarShips, which either returned her fire or opened up on her when the ''Werewolf'' initiated a melee upon firing on the ''Kelswa''. After delivering a broadside to the ''Implacable'', the ''Yggdrasil'' dove on the transports, which scattered but not before a ''[[Triumph]]'' belonging to the Twentieth Arcturan was lost. As the ''Werewolf'' reentered the battle, the ''Ulric Kerensky'' doubled the ''Yggdrasil'' which end-overed to target the ''Werewolf'' with her nose bays. The answering broadside from the ''Werewolf'' vaporized the ''Yggdrasil's'' bridge.  Rolling, the ''Werewolf'' put another broadside into the ''Yggdrasil'', mortally wounding it.  The loss of both WarShips put the Loaylist DropShip and aerospace fighters in retreat.  Khan Kell extended ''[[hegira]]'' to the retreating forces so long as they made for the zenith recharge station or participated in rescue operations for their WarShips. He left the four [[OmniFighter]] [[Binary|Binaries]] of the [[1st Wolf Strike Grenadiers (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|First Wolf Strike Grenadiers]] "Snapping Jaws" with the ''Implacable'' to enforce the blockade.<ref name=EGc18/><ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=FMUp68/><ref name=FMUp69a/>

===Planetfall & Eastward Push===
Allied forces made planetfall on 26 August about 2,000 km to the west of Tharkad City.  Their landing was mostly unopposed, no ground assaults met them though there were a few instances of aerospace fighters harassing the landing zones.  Peter had assembled a pan-Lyran taskforce representing the disparate elements of the Lyran nation by inluding the First Kell Hounds, both Blue Star Irregulars regiments, the Twentieth Arcturan Guards and the Wolf Clan's Fourth Wolf Guards.  With the time afforded them, the Allied forced set about fortifying their positions and deflecting the few probing attacks.<ref name=FCCWp175/> At some point, the Kell Hounds managed to capture a [[TharHes]] facility which served to both resupply the Allies with armor and ammunition, but also as the aerodrome.<ref name=EGc21/> Likewise, the Nagelring fell to Peter's forces early in the campaign, it is unknown how those two isolated positions so close to Tharkad City remained under his control while the Allied main body was so far away.<ref name=EGc25/>

Despite having an edge on paper, the distance they grounded meant they were ill-suited to project that power immediately to the well-fortified Tharkad City.  Both Royal Guards regiments and ComStar's [[66th Division (ComStar)|Sixty-Sixth Division]] under [[Precentor]] [[Dag Kesselring]] stood in opposition to the Allied forces. Before the first major battle could begin, Loyalist forces received reinforcements from the aborted invasion of [[Skye]] in the form of the [[First Alarion Jaegers]] and [[Eleventh Arcturan Guards]].<ref name=FCCWp164>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 164: "Skye"</ref>

Nondi put the 11th Arcturan to work immediately with 4 October a probing attack against the Kell Hounds at Lake Malaren which was pushed back,  The Allies continued to advance, with a more pointed clash 13 October between the Wolf Guards and Second Royal Guards in the Methow Valley. Initially caught in the open between a regiment of Royal Guards [[Combat Vehicle|armor]] at the edge of the Stahlwurzel Forest and a battalion of assault ’Mechs in the foothills, the Wolves were being picked apart by those forces and Loyalist aerospace which was overwhelming the Wolves own fighters.  Khan Kell rejected [[Star Colonel]] [[Ranna Kerensky|Ranna Kerensky's]] advice to call down the fighters of the Snapping Jaw (currently in orbit with the WarShips) because of political concerns, instead dismissing his aircover back to TharHes and plunging his ground forces into the dense cover of the Stahlwurzel Forest.  Khan Kell's ''[[Timberwolf]]'' and the rest of the Wolves crashed into the line of armor, cutting down a [[Schrek]] and [[Fenrir]] battle armor as they forced their way into the cover of the woods. For the next week the Wolves savaged the Royal Guards in brutal close combat fighting as the Royal Guards attempted to dislodge them from the Forest. Conceeding the ground to the Wolves, the Royal Guard pulled back to Tharkad City to repair and rearm on 21 October.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc21>''Endgame'', ch. 21</ref><ref>''BattleTech Salvage Box: Visigoth'', Carew Nygren Pilot Card</ref><ref name=FMUp172>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 172: "Royal Guard"</ref>

===Alliance Betrayed===
On 20 November, Katherine received the response to her message from Khan Ward of the Crusader Wolves.  Despite her 19 April assurances that she could defeat Clan Wolf-in-Exile without Vlad's help, she had sent another message later asking for assistance.  Namely, for Clan Wolf to strike at Arc-Royal which was currently only defended by the [[2nd Kell Hounds|Second Kell Hounds]] in the hopes the Hounds and Wolves would be forced to retreat from Tharkad. Instead of agreeing to this course of action, he berated her for being a poor leader and strategist. Whatever aide might have been rendered before, none would be forthcoming now.  If they wished to save Tharkad, Katherine and Nondi would have to do so with Lyran or FedCom troops.<ref name=EGc23>''Endgame'', ch. 23</ref>

===The Teeth of Hounds and Lions===
As the Wolves stalked their prey in the forest, the Kell Hounds fought a mobile and protracted campaign against the Alarion Jaegers.  Despite the inspired leadership of Colonel Julie, they proved to be no match for the seasoned mercenaries. For several months she managed to launch a series of quick assaults then breaking away before she incurred any major losses. But her luck ran out on 12 January when the Kell Hounds were able to deploy their reserves via DropShips along her line of retreat at an unknown (though implied to be TharHes) spaceport. Alarion [[Leutnant]] [[Jonah Keffer]] gained some renown in this fray, his ''[[Dart (BattleMech)|Dart]]'' barely eking out a win against a Kell Hounds ''[[Cougar]]''.  Colonel Hoffman perished in this pitched climax when her ''[[Dragon Fire]]'' reactor went critical, breaking Jaeger unit cohesion. The Jaegers lost 92 percent of their armor, almost seventy percent of their infantry, and 89 percent of their BattleMechs.  Hoffman's aide, Lieutenant-Colonel [[Helen Johannes]] rallied two lances of  ’Mechs and escaped the field.  Despite now posing little threat the Jaegers continued to harass Allied forces until the end of the campaign.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref>''Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade'', p. 10: "DRT-3S Dart"</ref><ref name=EGc25>''Endgame'', ch. 25</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: Clan Invasion'', p. 92: "DRT-3S Dart"</ref><ref name=FMUp167>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 167: "First Alarion Jaegers"</ref>

{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
Spectre and his unit support [[Second Kell Hounds]] DropShips as they resupplied Hounds in southern Bremen.  Despite losing a DropShip, Spectre was able to keep the rest safe and earned a commendation from [[Scott Bradley Jr]]. In canon, the Second remained on Arc-Royal.<ref name=MW4R>''MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'', Tharkad - Resupply</ref>
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

Just as the Kell Hounds were mauling their foes, the Eleventh Arcturan Guard "Golden Lions" were doing the same to theirs, the Twenty-first Rim Worlds Regiment of the Blue Star Irregulars.  In the mountains north of Tharkad City the Arcturans swarmed down from caves in an ambush on the command battalion of the Regulars, killing their commander [[Rega Jikelium]]. A battalion of the Arcturan heavy armor held the pass while the bulk of the BattleMech forces decimated the Guards whose formation had been cut in half. The remains of the Guards rallied under [[Major]] [[Hank Hatfield-McCoy]] who managed to escape with a battalion. On 28 January the Guards nestled into a narrow valley intended as a secure bolt hole when a lance of Arcturan ’Mechs (ZEU-6S ''[[Zeus]]'', STK-3H ''[[Stalker]]'', HBK-4G ''[[Hunchback]]'', and NGS-4S-L ''[[Nightsky]]'') were detected by [[Roccamound Johansen|Roccamound "Rock" Johansen]] of the Third Assault Avatars, an anti-’Mech infantry unit for the Guards.  The Arcturans planned to target the Guards with indirect [[LRM]] fire, but their cohesion was broken up by anti-’Mech infantry attacks and an ad-hoc lance of Guards ’Mechs. Johansen lost and arm and leg in the battle, and was captured by the Arcturans. Like the Jaegers, the Guards were combat ineffective for the remainder of the campaign.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc25/><ref name=RiaHP>''Rock in a Hard Place''</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Mercenaries (Revised)'', p. 48: "21st Rim Worlds: Ashes to Ashes"</ref>

===Reinforcements===
By 19 January, both combatants received the last of the reinforcements for the campaign. Nondi received the [[Twenty-Fourth Lyran Guards]] who stepped into the role of maneuver element once the damaged Eleventh Arcturan Guard arrived in Tharkad City to rest and refit from their engagements with the Twenty-first Rim Worlds Regulars. Not all DropShips made it through the Allied blockade however, dozens of ''[[Razorback]]s'' were captured by Kell Hounds and used to replace combat losses.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc25/><ref>''Technical Readout: 3067'', p. 52: "RZK-9S Razorback"</ref>

The Allies received the [[Fourth Skye Rangers]], completing the Pan-Lyran alliance Peter had sought to assemble.  Though hesitant to include them, he was sure [[Robert Kelswa-Steiner]] had played an active role in the [[Federation_of_Skye#FedCom_Civil_War_and_another_Rebellion|Skye Rebellion]] despite the deniability of being imprisoned by Katherine until a prison break freed him.  But both political and military considerations required the use of the Skye Rangers. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Major General [[Bella Bragg]] and her [[Thirty-ninth Avalon Hussars]] were militarily needed but politically toxic to the Pan-Lyran optics. The Hussars remained in space, though their orbital superiority missions did allow other Allied commands to devote more aerospace fighters to air superiority and ground attack missions.<ref name=FCCWp164/><ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc25/><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 126: "39th Avalon Hussars"</ref><ref name=FMUp173>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 173: "4th Skye Rangers RCT"</ref>

Expecting Nondi to focus her attacks on the Allied forces at the Nagelring, barely 100 kilometers away from the capital, Peter gathered his forces there.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc25/>

===North Ten Wash===
The two sides skirmished across the North Ten Wash for over a month. Located about halfway between the Nagelring and Tharkad City, spring snowmelt would transform the Wash to a mess of sharp, rapid streams. In the depths of Tharkad's winter it was a ten-kilometer long ribbon of frozen ponds, crevices, flood-piled boulders, and landmines all hidden beneath a blanket of fresh snow.  The raiding and sniping during those weeks didn't result in significant advantage to either side, and each commanders realized a head-on clash was inevitable.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc25/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref>

That decisive clash came 23 March when Nondi made a major push on the Wash, aiming for the Nagelring beyond. Nondi Steiner personally led from her ''[[Hauptmann (OmniMech)|Hauptmann]]'' from the center composed of the [[First Royal Guards]]. The Eleventh Arcturan secured the west flank while the Twenty-Fourth Lyran Guard held the east flank.  The 66th Division, an Upsilon formation containing essentially a battalion worth of BattleMechs<ref>''BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid'', pp. 34-25: "ComStar Organization"</ref>, acted as strategic reserves. Four regiments of armor and mechanized infantry served to stiffen the line, even giving the Loyalists an edge in numbers. The Long Line of Steel that typified old-school Lyran warfare made initial gains until Allied experience stalled her advance, aided by the air supremacy made possible with the Avalon Hussars guarding the orbiting flotilla. Peter's forces mirrored Nondi's in many ways, with the Kell Hounds in the center, Fourth Skye Rangers on the western flank, and Twentieth Arcturan to the east. The Wolves were held back as strategic reserve.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

Noni's line began to unravel when the Fourth Skye Rangers were able to pull the Eleventh Arcturan further west from the main body and across the Wash.  The ComStar division moved up to prevent a break in the lines, committing all of Nondi's reserves and settling the ''schwerpunkt'' on the Kell Hounds. Peter, in a captured ''[[Fafnir]]'' (his personal ''[[JagerMech]]'' held in reserve<ref>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', p. 74: "JM6-DD JagerMech"</ref>) put down a ComStar ''[[Viking]]'' and [[Burke (Combat Vehicle)|Burke]] as he analyzed the strategic picture. Confident that [[Precentor]] [[Dag Kesselring]] was a stubborn bull of a commander who would hold his ground until routed, Peter ordered the Kell Hounds to shift fire and press the Lyran Guards, which would force the Royal Guards to shift east. As the Wolves rushed in to plug the overextended line the Twentieth would press the Com Guards.  Once the Com Guards were shattered, the Twentieth would envelop and destroy the Royal Guards.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref><ref name=FMUp69b>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 69: "Alpha Galaxy (The Dire Wolves)"</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

With all reserves engaged on the field now, the Twentieth pushed hard against the Com Guards. The gamble appeared to fail as the Com Guards bent and reformed their line instead of standing fast, though gaps quickly appeared and were exploited by Twentith armor. When a concerted ground attack led by Wolf ''[[Jagatai]]'' and Twentieth ''[[Stingray]]s'' hammered around the Com Guards, the Division broke and routed as planned.  A company of [[Vedette]] tanks isolated and brought down Precentor Kesselring's ''[[Spartan]]'', only losing three of their number in the onslaught. Acolyte V [[Harmis Ichimoto]] and his ''[[Hermes]]'' were some of the few to be captured instead of killed. With the eastern flank broken the Twentieth pressed against the Royal Guards from the east, the Wolves from the north, just as the Kell Hounds wheeled away from the Lyran Guards to hammer the Royal Guards from the west.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', p. 190: "HER-3S Hermes"</ref><ref name=FMUp87>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 87: "10th Army V-Nu (The Red Legion)"</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

Desperate to escape destruction, Nondi commanded the now disengaged Lyran Guards to slam into the Kell Hound flanks "and damn the losses", a command that surprised her commanders given her granddaughter [[Sabine Steiner|Sabine Steiner's]] posting to that unit. Unwilling to throw away his regiment, The Twenty-fourth's commander [[Peter Riskind]] instead offered his unconditional surrender, which Peter accepted.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref><ref name=FMUp170>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 170: "24th Lyran Guard RCT"</ref>

Nondi managed to escape back to Tharkad City with a battered mixed battalion of Royal Guards ’Mechs and tanks, and that only because a Lyran Guards lightening company sacrificed themselves to slow down the Kell Hounds encirclement just prior to Riskind's surrender.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc27>''Endgame'', ch. 27</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

===Endgame===
With the Loyalist forces smashed in the Battle of the Wash, the Allies took a breather to repair and refit before pushing into the last bastions of Katherine's power on Tharkad; Asgard, Tharkad City, and the Triad. Nondi has ordered the First Royal Guards to hold the Triad at all costs, while the Second Royal and the Eleventh Arcturans held Tharkad City. The push for the Asgard command center, high atop Mount Wotan to the west of began on 27 March.  The Wolf Guard anticipated this battle to be the hardest of the three but were met with little resistance. Only static defenses and artillery, with a few missleboat ‘Mechs and vehicles stood between Asgard and the Wolves, and the command center fell quickly.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc29>''Endgame'', ch. 29</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

The drive to the Triad was not nearly as smooth, the First Royal Guards sold themselves dearly defending the seat of government. Even the ceremonial [[Manticore]]s guarding the Triad were pulled into action. With Peter at the lead the Twentieth Arcturan suffered heavy losses, amounting to an additional thirty percent of strength in this battle alone.  This number might have been worse if not for the timely intervention of the [[1894th Light Horse]]. As Peter's assault began to sag, the Light Horse broke through Royal lines with a heavy battalion, finally collapsing the Loyalist pocket. Light Horse commander [[Raldin Lwai]] was killed in this engagement, raising [[Wu Sen Tang]] to command the regiment. Once more Nodi slipped through the collapsing lines, managing to lead two companies for a final stand in Tharkad City, intend on leading the final defense in the tightly packed city streets.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc29/><ref>''Technical Report: 3058 Update'', p. 98: "Manticore Heavy Tank"</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 47: "1894th Light Horse: Keepers of the Flame"</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

Nondi's reception at Tharkad City was as cold as the winter.  The new commander of the Eleventh Arcturan, [[Linda McDonald (31st c.)|Linda McDonald]], broadcast on an open channel her frustrations with Nondi's "inconsistent leadership" and questioned "why the hell she was still fighting against her own people when Victor Davion wasn’t even on planet." Capitalizing on this, the Allied commanders accepted the surrender of the Eleventh, though many individuals refused and fought on. Sometime during the fighting for Tharkad City, the commander of the Arcturan Guards Brigade Clifton Schroeder was killed in mysterious circumstances. Rumored causes varied from suicide to silencing by pro-Katherine operatives in order to prevent disclosure of one of her dark secrets.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc29/><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 168: "Arcturan Guard"</ref>

Reduced to the savaged remnants of the Royal Guards, Nondi continued the fight until 2 April when Peter located her in the swirling snow a mere two blocks away.  Full of venom, Nondi denounced Peter for bringing war to Tharkad and being as duplicitous as his father, [[Hanse Davion]]. The duel ended with a ''Fafnir'' Gauss round to the ''Hauptmann's'' head.  Sporadic fighting continued after Nondi's death until the last resistance ended on 5 April. During the fighting in Tharkad City, [[Roman Steiner|Roman Steiner's]] five year-old great-grandchildren, [[Claire Steiner|Claire]] and [[Klaus Steiner|Klaus]] were nearly killed and Roman blamed Peter for this reckless act. With Tharkad in Allied hands, the Fed Com Civil War within the borders of the Lyran Alliance came to an end.<ref name=FCCWp175/><ref name=EGc29/><ref>''FedCom Civil War'', pp. 177-178: "Those Who Would Be Archon"</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
Spectre's command was requested to fill the openings in Peter's command company during the battle for Tharkad City. After tangling with the "Fifteenth Guard" (unknown if Arcutran, Donegal, or Lyran, neither were on Tharkad), Spectre located Nondi. After she Peter's last offer to surrender, Spectre destroyed her ’Mech and killed her. Despite being the one to take down Nondi, Spectre allowed Peter to take the credit for the history books.<ref name=MW4CM>''MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'', Tharkad - Checkmate</ref>
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

==Aftermath==
Despite being captured, Clan Wolf-in-Exile returned the LAS ''Robert Kelswa'' and ''Yggdrasil'' to the Lyran Alliance. The ''Kelswa'' was apparently able to be repaired in system while the ''Yggdrasil'' departed to [[Alarion]] in September 3067 with a combined Allaince and Clan crew. It misjumped and never arrived. Years later it was found adrift and repaired in time for the [[3072]] [[Battle of Tharkad (3072)|liberation]] of Tharkad.<ref name=FMUp69a/>

Pro-Katherine Hauptmann-General [[Tellam Stellwar]] collapsed and died shortly after the Battle of Tharkad, sparing him the indignity of a trial for his actions during the war.<ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 171: "Lyran Regulars"</ref>

Peter Steiner-Davion was reunited with [[Deb Carson]], a ''[[Locust]]'' pilot present during his [[3056]] debacle on [[Lyons]]. Thankful for her steadfast support, Peter rewarded her with an appointment to the ceremonial command lance in the reformed First Royal Guards.<ref>''Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 16'', p. 6: "Locust"</ref><ref>''Recognition Guide, Vol. 1: Classics'', p. 10: "Locust"</ref><ref name=FMUp172/>

Several famous ’Mechs fought in the Battle of Tharkad, including the ''[[Zeus]]'' that would propel [[Kevin Nostra]] to fame, and [[Tara Bishop|Tara Bishop's]] ''[[Pack Hunter]]'' which saw its first action on the world.<ref>''MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards'', p. 118: "Kevin Nostra"</ref><ref>''MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards'', p. 50: "Tara Bishop"</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Assumption of Risk]]''
* ''[[BattleTech Salvage Box: Visigoth]]''
* ''[[Endgame]]''
* ''[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)|FedCom Civil War]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries]]''
* ''[[MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards]]''
* ''[[Recognition Guide, Vol. 1: Classics]]''
* ''[[Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 10]]''
* ''[[Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 16]]''
* ''[[Rock in a Hard Place]]''
* ''[[Surkai (short story)|Surkai]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3067]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: Clan Invasion]]''

[[Category:Civil War Era Military Operations|Tharkad (3066)]]