FSRB Chpt 95

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 95==
 Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
----
October 3068Operation Rat III First Wave
-----
===Operation Rat III - Launches===
Evan as Operation Rat II kicked off and began reconquering the former Sarna March the AFFS launched a second major offensive. Having learned the lesson from the original Operation Rat of the Fourth Succession War the AFFS wasn't going to give the CCAF any respite. They were going to push them on every frontier and tear ragged chunks from every single one of the Confederation's Commonalities.
These units were pooled together as part of Task Force Capella and Task Force Zurich.
-----
===Wave 1===
-----
====Menke====
The first world hit in Operation Rat III was the most important. Menke as a key industrial world and the base for McCarron's Armored Cavalry was a priority target that couldn't be left alone. As such the AFFS committed 4 regiments of the Illician Lancers mercenary formation led by the elite 6th Syrtis Fusiliers RCT and bolstered by a full armoured conventional brigade and 2 more infantry brigades. Facing this attack were the 2nd & 5th McCarron's Armored Cavalry, both of which were under strength, between them fielding just a little over a regiment of battlemechs. The local Home Guard while partially rebuilt from the last AFFS invasion of the planet had suffered as funds had been diverted to rebuild the various McCarron's Armored Cavalry commands.
Despite realizing the odds that they were facing the two McCarron's Armored Cavalry, the formations moved into the jungles of their planet and began to prepare for a long guerrilla war with what Home Guard formations had been rebuilt. Having learned the lessons of the previous battles they made no effort to secure or attempt to hold the various industrial targets, knowing that if they were forced to stand and fight they would be swiftly overrun. Unfortunately for the Cavalry the AFFS had deliberately brought along the Illician Lancers who had some experience of this sort of fighting. Using the same tactics as before but with larger forces the Illician Lancers kept the 21st Rangers as a rapid response unit in orbit while the other 3 regiments pushed deep into the jungles, setting up fire bases, aggressively patroling and hunting for any trace of the retreating Capellan forces. Any combat would instantly see Illician Lancer patrols zooming in on the firefight and holding the Armored Cavalry in place as the 21st dropped up to a battalion directly into the fighting. Again and again isolated companies of MAC troops were cut off and destroyed, while the Lancers continued to push them deeper and deeper into the wilderness.
Behind the Lancers, the 6th Syrtis Fusiliers and the conventional troops seized and took control of the various cities and industrial plants on the planet. Unlike last time there was no wholesale demolitions or looting of industrial equipment. The AFFS had come to stay, and newly promoted Marshal Richard Silver began setting up the basics for civilian government with help from specialist teams as the month went on.
By the end of October, there was still active resistance from the defenders of Menke, but their plight was becoming desperate as they continued to be hounded and harried through the jungles by overwhelming numbers of AFFS troops and mercenaries. Between the 2 commands the Big Mac had lost nearly a battalion of troops already.
-----
====Victoria====
The Commonality capital was defended by the Prefectorate Guard and the 3rd Victoria Rangers. Along with them the CCS Ilsa Hyung was stationed in the system. The first of the defenders to fall was the powerful cruiser, when on the 1st of October it was ambushed by the FSS Robert Davion, FSS Andrew Davion, and FSS Joseph Davion of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, supported by the entire 6th Corvette Flotilla. Facing 11 warships the CCS Ilsa Hyung was over matched, out gunned and caught flat footed having just rushed back from a patrol along the border to take up station at Victoria. The cruiser was forced into a 20 minute battle the outcome of which was never in doubt. When the battle was finished the FSS Joseph Davion had taken moderate damage and light damage had been inflicted upon the FSS Ozawa and FSS Lothair, but the CCS Ilsa Hyung had been utterly destroyed.
With the warship taken care off the main invasion fleet jumped in. The 1st Crucis Lancers RCT, 2nd FedSuns Dragoons RCT, 3rd Dragonlords RCT, 11th Avalon Hussars RCT, and the 1st Cunningham's Commandos along with a full independent battle armor regiment specially equipped for tunnel headed for Victoria. Each of the AFFS RCTs had also had additional battle armor support attached to them and the Dragonlords had been tasked with providing the main support within the tunnels themselves. The AFFS had learned the lesson of the last battle of Victoria.
Landing in overwhelming force the 4 RCTs and attached mercenary battlemech regiment began to slowly advance both above and below ground on the main defensive positions of the Capellans. The 2nd FedSuns Dragoons with the Cunningham Commandos advanced on the Victoria Academy of Arms and Technology which was defended by 2 battalions of the 3rd Victoria Rangers, while the 11th Avalon Hussars began fighting their way through the remaining battalion of the Rangers towards the Earthwerk's plant. The 1st Crucis Lancers and 3rd Dragonlords found themselves facing off against the elite rebuilt Prefectorate Guard.
The fighting on Victoria was characterized by slow grinding battles both above and below ground with frequent short ranged firefights and costly assaults on prepared positions. The High Command had known that this would be a war of attrition and prepared accordingly, with huge amounts of military supplies arriving to keep the Davion forces supplied in this high intensity conflict. The only relatively swift victory was when the 11th Avalon Hussars's 4th Battalion of heavy and assault machines managed to smash their way through the similarly weighted 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Rangers. With their lines broken the 11th's lighter elements rushed through and managed to isolate and contain the remaining battlemechs of the Rangers which were then systematically crushed by the 4th Battalion. By the end of October they had secured the Earthwerks Incorporated's plant and were able to dispatch the majority of their strength to help the push on the academy...
-----
====Rollis====
The 2nd Victoria Rangers knew they would be the target of a heavy attack at their position on Rollis and had little faith in their "allies" the 1st MacLeod's Regiment of the Taurian-Defence-Force-in-Exile to aid them. So it was with a growing sense of dread that the green Rangers saw the icons of a large invasion force on their long range sensors.
The AFFS had sent the 8th FedSuns Dragoons and 3rd Ceti Hussar RCTs to retake Rollis once and for all for the Federated Suns. When they had also discovered that MacLeod's Regiment was also stationed on this world they had specifically attached the elite Hansen's Roughriders to the invasion force with a specific order: to hunt down the periphery exiles and destroy them once and for all.
This mission failed when the Taurian force, the bulk of which had been on the receiving end of a Roughrider attack on no less than 2 occasions, broke before the AFFS forces even made planet fall. Fleeing in their dropships the exiles disappeared deeper into the Confederation, leaving the 2nd Rangers alone to face the invasion.
Outnumbered 2:1 by the regular battlemech forces of the 2 RCTs the Rangers were soon in full retreat through the heavy forested terrain of Rollis, with the 3rd Ceti Hussars acting as beaters for the heavier weighted 8th Dragoons who followed behind them to crush any attempt to turn around and fight. Unfortunately for the 2nd Victoria Rangers the Hansen's Roughriders, deprived of their intended target, swept in on their flanks and in conjunction with the Ceti Hussar's combined arms formations pinned them in place for a full scale assault by the FedSuns Dragoons.
In a 3 day battle the 2nd Victoria Rangers did themselves proud, throwing back attack after attack and nearly managing to break free from the trap on 2 seperate occasions. However outnumbered 3:1 and facing vastly more experienced opponents the green unit was finally routed and forced to surrender when the Roughriders managed to block their last breakout attempt and held them in place long enough for the 8th's assault mechs to close in and crush their sacrificial rear guard. By the 27th of October, Rollis had been returned to Federated Suns control after centuries and the remaining roughly reinforced battalion of the Victoria Rangers were made POW's.
-----
====Corodiz====
The massively under strength 1st Victoria Rangers realized immediately upon the arrival of the 1894th Light Horse that they couldn't hold the planet in the face of the elite mercenary regiment backed up by a mixed brigade of conventional AFFS forces. Therefore they conducted a running battle for almost 2 weeks before finally withdrawing to Muridox to preserve their remaining strength (roughly a battalion) in the hope of possibly being reinforced and being able to counter attack. The 1894th had suffered roughly a company of losses, but drew upon their cadre of the Avatar's of Painful Death who were still on Firgrove to make up these losses by the end of the month. 
----
====Zanzibar====
Lochardt's Ironsides also found themselves as the recipient of an attack by a Blue Star Irregular formation, this time the 21st Rim Worlds, alongside the twin RCTs of the 3rd & 4th Syrtis Fusiliers. The 7 companies of the Ironside regiments found themselves facing over 3:1 odds and were soon in full retreat. With enemy formations pressing them from all sides they finally broke out by charging the green 3rd Fusiliers and breaking through their lines before the other units could move to support them. However this break out attempt cost them along with the running battles over half their strength and on the 30th of October a bare bones battalion of damaged battlemechs and exhausted pilots fled the world. Behind them the mauled 3rd prepared to hold their ground and garrison the world while the 4th Fusiliers and 21st Rim Worlds prepared to move onto wave two targets.
----
====Xieng Khouang====
Facing off against the Home Guard formations that were the only garrison of the planet was the 1st Syrtis Fusiliers RCT. At full strength this new formation had been dispatched with the intent of blooding it against a minor opponent. The command staff of the 1st, knowing the units untested nature undertook a slow and careful campaign to ensure they were not subject to any surprises. Even with this however the world's Home Guard could soon see the writing on the wall and began to surrender in droves particularly after the new Comstar adepts at the HPG station began broadcasting the news from St. Ives. By the end of the month the world was secured.
----
====Holloway====
The 5th Confederation Cavalry, although a veteran unit had not rebuild from it's shattering in the last Davion incursions, and with barely a reinforced battalion in strength found themselves facing off against the reinforced battlemech regiment sized formation and supporting forces of the 1st FSAC. Putting up only token resistance the 5th conceded the world to the AFFS and withdrew to Grand Base. 
-----
====Necrome====
The 7th Sian Dragoons were largely relying upon the CCS Zhejiang to help protect this vital shipyard world from any attack. However these plans were shattered when the 3rd Corvette Flotillas's 2nd Division arrived in support of the 1st Kathil Uhlans and the 3rd Federated Suns Armoured Cavalry. Although individually the Impavido class destroyer was larger and more powerful for the Fox corvettes of the Federated Sun's Navy, it was outnumbered 4:1 and worse the Foxes were all carrying at least one Vengeance class Fighter Carrier dropship packed with elite aerospace fighters trained in anti-warship strikes. It's own assault dropships and 18 fighters were no match for the huge wave of fighters launched against it and the destroyer was swiftly crippled, it's engines hammered by repeated strikes. At which time the Fox's moved in and tore it apart with concentrated broadsides. 
With their destroyer protector smashed the 7th Sian Dragoons abandoned any hope of a conventional defense and dispersed into the wilderness in an attempt to hold out until relieved. However this suited the attacking Uhlans and FSAC troops to a tee as they broke into battalion sized hunter groups and began to run down the dispersed companies of the Dragoons. While a handful of small formations would continue to hold out deep in Necromo's wildernesses for several months, the 7th had ceased to exist as a fighting formation and the planet was considered secured by the end of October.
----
====Ares====
The 4th McCarron's Armoured Cavalry had hoped to be overlooked by any attack in vain when the 7th Crucis Lancers RCT and the 6th Robinson Rangers RCT jumped into the system. Despite the 7th Lancers being the largest threat, the Cavalry actually struggled to get a handle on the 6th Robinson Rangers RCTs tactics at first. Given that no Robinson Ranger unit had been seen on the Capellan Confederation border for decades it was perhaps unsuprising that the intelligence reports on the new Ranger RCTs were lacking in detail. As soon as Marshal Jasper Zibler the senior commander of the invasion force became aware of this he began using the Rangers as a foil to keep the attention of the 4th McCarron's Armored Cavalry while his own 7th Crucis Lancers supported them and backed them up in any engagements. 
Finally on the 28th of October, the 4th abandoned the world. While they still numbered roughly 2 battalions of battlemechs and were a viable combat command they were slowly being driven back, trading space for time and both were running out. Repeated attempts to call for aid had been ignored and the news coming from the other fronts was dreadful. Worse they had heard of the attack on Menke. If they were going to die, they reasoned they would rather die on their own ground.
----
====Capricorn III====
Fresh from training on Robinson the 15th Avalon Hussars RCT arrived on Capricorn III and began the systematic destruction of the local Home Guard. Using signature Avalon Hussar's cavalry tactics they outmaneuvered and destroyed any attempts by the Home Guard formations to meet them in battle or hold ground against them. A handful of Home Guard formations attempted to disperse to continue resistance but gunship companies VTOLs soon began hunting them down. 
----
====New Sagan====
Similarly to the 15th Hussars on Capricorn, the 26th Avalon Hussars RCT touched down and began to seize the planet of New Sagan from it's defending Home Guard formations. However the commanding officer of the New Sagan Home Guard was quicker on the uptake than his compatriot on Capricorn and made no effort to fight the 26th in open combat. Instead he ordered his largely infantry formations to melt back into the citizenry and continue the fight from hiding. Faced with these difficult conditions the 15th's CO requested additional infantry formations to be dispatched to the world to aid in putting down the resistance on the 31st October. 
----
===Summary===
Operation Rat III was slightly smaller in the number of worlds hit than Rat II, hitting only 11 worlds. Yet it had contained 25 battlemech regiments or RCT's crossing the border which was actually a single regiment larger than the forces committed to Operation Rat II (although Rat III's battlemech formations were almost 35% mercenary compared to just a single mercenary regiment committed to Rat II). Yet over 10 of these regiments had hit only 2 worlds which continued to hold out as Wave one drew to a close. On the other 9 worlds hit the AFFS had either destroyed the defenders, routed them from the world or broken them into non-effective combat formations dispersed and of little current threat unless Sian could launch a counter attack. Rat III had also seen the destruction of 2 Capellan Warships over Victoria and Necromo respectively.
-----
 Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
095, Chapter