Battle of Mato Grosso

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The Battle of Mato Grosso was an engagement that occurred between the and in the province on the colony of in . The plan devised by the commanders was to gather up huge swaths of land, and force the forces on the planet into a long guerrilla war to take them back. The first few days of the offensive went according to plan, with the combined rebel force seizing towns in the province, and then disappearing back into the population, only to return when forces came to take the towns back, inflicting heavy casualties against any force in guerrilla attacks.
With the unable to take back the province without unacceptable casualties, on March 6th, the supersoldiers of arrived and were given orders to wipe out the rebel forces. Within seventy two hours, the unit had effectively swept the province clean of activity, inflicting such losses on the rebel forces that, outside of sporadic attacks, actual combat with them did not resume until the mid-2540's.
==Background==
The Battle of Mato Grosso was rooted in the decades of constant stalemate between the and forces on the colony of . While there had been previous attempts to force the off planet, the most notable and deadly of which was the terror bombing in with a nuclear explosive by the . However, this bombing only served to engender positive feelings towards the amongst colonists. As a result, forces on , to save face amongst the colonists, began to only attack military targets. But due to the weakness of the forces, they could only perform hit and run attacks and harassment raids on patrols, or sabotage, which served as an annoyance against the , but did nothing to further aid the rebels in gaining independence.
As a result, in , local commander and former officer Colonel Vincent Xavier devised a plan to force the into an impossible situation, where they would either be forced to leave land to the , completely destroy the captured areas and turn public opinion against them, or send troops in, turning it into an inevitably bloody battle to take back the areas. The operation was audacious, and required a huge amount of manpower that even the could not muster, and, as a result, Xavier began to enlist the help of other rebel groups, going so far as to have the leaders of other groups that refused to help him either blackmailed, intimidated, or otherwise cowed into helping him.
After two years of working, in mid-, Xavier felt he had enough forces to carry out the operation, and began moving forces into the province on . being chosen due to the fact that it was going to be the easiest province to initially seize control of, with a tiny garrison placed in it, the rest of the troops being and , many of whom Xavier knew would support the rebels due to previous incidents involving colonial troops. To prevent any knowledge of rebel movements, forces moved in small groups under the cover of night, and couriers, usually from the Organization of Mamorian Nationalists, were commissioned to deliver handwritten coded messages rather than using radios or satellite communication relays.
==Forces==
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 forces consisted of many groups, with estimates of the amount of fighters initially numbering 3,000 to 7,000, a number that was augmented by the defection of colonial troops and regular armed civilians to the rebels once the battle began.
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 forces, including troops, numbered at about 2,750 initially garrisoned in the , with about 750 personnel. However, once the battle began, with the defection of many of the colonial troops, the force was cut down to an estimated 1,000 personnel.
After February 27th, the forces were augmented by the 7th Regiment, the , and the ship garrisoned . On March 6th, the supersoldiers of entered the battle.
==Battle of Mato Grosso==
===Initial Offensive (February 26th-27th)===
The Battle of Mato Grosso began in the early morning of February 26th, when forces assaulted the main power station for the garrison's base in the province, followed up by a surprise attack by other rebel forces, quickly overrunning the encampments, most of whom surrendered to and joined the forces. However, with the encampment, a seven hour battle ensued before the forces abandoned the base, retreating from the province.
Meanwhile, the majority of the force seized towns, quickly broadcasting propaganda videos proclaiming they had taken the settlements, before leaving a small garrison behind, and melting into the surrounding countryside or the civilian population. Once the news of the lightning offensive reached the commanders on , orders were given for ship borne and the ODST's of the to establish a foothold.
Starting the attack with an orbital bombardment, the destroyed some of the rebel forces around the landing zone. However, spotting the incoming forces, the remaining forces continued to hide until they had touched down, and then opened fire, slaughtering the landing parties before melting back into the countryside, leaving about 100 personnel dead. With the initial landing having been a dismal failure, it became apparent to the that they were going to have to slog their way through the province town by town, playing directly into Xavier's plan.
===On The Defense (February 27th-March 6th)===
To take back the province, the called upon the 7th Regiment, attaching the remains of the to them. While the forces were initially harassed by armed civilian aircraft as well as fighter-bombers captured by the , the and quickly gained air superiority. However, as the continued to move through the province, attacks began to dog them constantly, cutting off supply lines, wiping out recon teams, and ambushing patrols, slowing progress to a crawl. By March 3rd, the commanders saw that their units would be unable to take back without unacceptable amounts of casualties. To save lives, the officers ordered the advance be halted, and put out a request for more forces in order to bring down the rebels.
=== Arrives (March 6th-9th)===
In the late hours of March 3rd, the forces were given orders to continue to hold their positions, and that support would be coming. After three days, on March 6th, under a cloak of secrecy, arrived from , and were dropped deep inside , and began destroying rebel resistance, assassinating commanders, ambushing defensive positions. Within three days, fear of this unknown threat by the became so great and morale so low that most of the fighters surrendered to the , and the rest retreated into the countryside. 
==Post Battle==
Category:Right And Left