View source for Jade Falcon Incursion (3068)

The '''Jade Falcon Incursion''' of [[3068]]–[[3071]] was a three-year assault upon the [[Lyran Alliance]] by [[Clan Jade Falcon]] beginning on 7 October 3068 and continuing until April 3071. Taking advantage of several crises besetting the Alliance, the Falcons seized a number of Lyran worlds before the advent of [[Clan Ice Hellion]]'s [[Operation ICE STORM|invasion]] forced them to end operations against [[House Steiner]]. 

==Background==
In the fifteen years between the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]] and the fall of the [[Second Star League]] Clan Jade Falcon struck at the Lyran Alliance twice, in [[3058]] and [[3064]]–[[3065]]. The first [[Jade Falcon Incursion (3058)|incursion]] ended in the famous Battle of [[Coventry]] and saw no territorial changes; the [[Jade Falcon Incursion (3064)|second]], launched while the Alliance was torn apart by [[FedCom Civil War|civil war]], ended in a limited Falcon victory.

The dissolution of the Second Star League in 3067 immediately threw the Lyran Alliance into a new existential crisis. With [[Archon]] [[Peter Steiner-Davion]] trapped on [[Tharkad]] by the [[Word of Blake|Word of Blake's]] [[Tharkad#Jihad|blockade]] and incommunicado with the rest of his realm, Blakists attacks elsewhere in the Alliance, and a [[Operation BROKEN FIST|border war]] raging with the [[Free Worlds League]], the Lyran border with the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone appeared an inviting target for another Falcon assault.

==Campaign History==
The Jade Falcons' first strike was made against [[Graus]] on 7 October 3068. Eschewing any ''[[batchall]]''—an unusual move for the tradition-minded Falcons—the invasion force tore into the [[23rd Arcturan Guards]].<ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 105: "Cry Havoc"</ref> Three weeks later, according to a [[Lyran Alliance Armed Forces|LAAF]] press release by [[Adam Steiner]], [[Clan Wolf-in-Exile]] forces were contesting Falcon control of Graus and the local forces in the [[Arc-Royal Theater]] were sufficient to contain the Clan invaders. Believing that the Falcons' primary concern was [[Clan Wolf]], the LAAF focused its efforts upon the concurrent wars with the Blakists and Free Worlds League.<ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 189: "LAAF rallies after stunning Clan assault on Graus"</ref>

At some point after October 3068 the Falcons secured their hold on Graus, and between 8–21 January [[3069]] seized [[Black Earth]], [[Blackjack (system)|Blackjack]], [[Blue Hole]], and [[Roadside]]; with these victories the salients the LAAF had carved into the Falcon OZ during the last incursion were reclaimed.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 46</ref> At Black Earth the [[Blue Star Irregulars]] were forced to retreat and suffered the destruction of their [[WarShip]] ''[[Kerensky's Blues]]''.<ref>''Blake Ascending'', pp. 209–211: "Falling Stars"</ref>

The LAAF mounted a counterattack upon [[Baker 3]] soon after, hoping to force the Falcons to shift to a defensive stance, but the [[Thorin Freedom Theater Militia]] and mercenary [[Knights of St. Cameron]] were instead mauled by two frontline Clusters and forced to retreat.<ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 205: "Avengers Fall Back"</ref>

The Jade Falcons' slow but steady territorial gains continued throughout the rest of 3069 and into [[3070]]. Between 10–14 June [[Mkuranga]] and [[Pasig]] fell; in July [[Deia]] was attacked and conquered by 15 August.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 47</ref> By 2 February 3070, [[Bountiful Harvest]] and [[Kandersteg]] were also under attack, as the Falcons began driving upon [[Arc-Royal]] itself. However, their advance was stalled at [[Zanderij]]; invading the world in mid-June 3070, the Falcons were finally driven off by 12 August by a combined Lyran-Wolf (in Exile) force.<ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 250: "Falcons assault Kandersteg, Bountiful Harvest"</ref> <ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 48</ref> The Falcons next struck at [[Great X]] on 13 January [[3071]] but swiftly became bogged down trying to reduce the fortified world. On 8 February [[Morges]] was attacked, and by mid-April the Falcons were still fighting Lyran forces on half a dozen worlds.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 49</ref> <ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', p. 37: "Falcon envoys on Arc-Royal?"</ref>

==End of the Falcon Incursion==
At this point the Jade Falcon invasion took an unexpected turn. Having received reports that Clan Ice Hellion was poised to strike from the [[Periphery]] against their occupation zone, the Falcons were forced to curtail their attacks upon the Lyran Alliance. Further attacks on Great X and Zanderji were repulsed,<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', p. 48: "Falcons return to Great X, Zanderji"</ref> and by early [[3072]] the Falcons seemed more preoccupied with repelling the Ice Hellion invaders than with carving out more territory from the Alliance.

In the end, the Falcons managed to claim ten worlds from the Lyran Alliance.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', pp. 42–43, 62–63: "Inner Sphere Maps, October 3067 and March 3081"</ref>

==Reference==
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==Bibliography==
*''[[Blake Ascending]]''
*''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
*''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3072]]''

[[Category:Jihad Era Military Operations]]