CS3056-58

=Chapter 58= 
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<“Allah the Merciful, Peace upon him, and you, citizens of the Azami Caliphate. For 560 years we served the Kurita family with loyalty and fidelity with our warriors. But we will not serve pretenders who have murdered their way to the throne, or madwomen addled with dreams of power. Thus, with joy and determination, we of the Azami Caliphate hereby declare our independence from the Draconis Combine and we call all sons and daughters of the Azami home. We furthermore welcome the regiments of the Ryuken to our service, though they may be infidels, they believe that the Combine as it exists now, is a poor relation to the state we loyally served. We hope to uphold the best of what the Combine was, as well as restore respect for Sunnah in public life. We furthermore welcome all citizens of the Combine who are people of the book to our worlds, and seek to live in peace with our neighbors…”'Excerpt from the Independence Broadcast of Caliph Hadi Vaziri, 1st Caliph of the Restored Azami Caliphate, 3rd December, 3057
“People of the Kessel and Vega Prefectures. Last night, I signed a document that declared our independence from the Draconis Combine. I did this with a heavy heart and a sense that I have altered our destiny forever. But the civil war has shown us that the leaders who we placed our trust and faith in, were not worthy of it. They were not worthy of us. And so, we shall deny them their prize. Furthermore, I have petitioned the Federated Commonwealth for membership. I know our peoples have been at war many times, but I felt, as did my staff, that this was the best decision for our people to finally know the peace we have been denied so long. I furthermore call home all members of the Legions of Vega, and ask them to serve as our defenders until help from the Commonwealth can arrive…”' -Excerpt of the Independence Broadcast of the “Grand Duke of Vega” Amaya Dai. 10th December, 3057
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====Best Regards from distant Cousin====
Offices of the Duke of Robinson
Ducal Palace
Bueller City
Robinson, Federated Commonwealth
19th December, 3057
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“Has the intelligence significantly changed in the last two months?” Duke James Sandoval read the room as he queried his staff. His son, Tancred, kept his own counsel, but looked at his father with grey, dull eyes that looked as if they were about to roll back like a shark about to devour an unfortunate seal.
James surveyed his Ducal situation room. The bunker dated back to the Third Succession War, and though it was beautifully decorated with woods from all the woods of the Draconis March, one item caught his eye. It was a burned piece of wood nailed to the wall. There was a small brass plate below it, it read simply, “Remains of the First Ministry of the New Avalon Catholic Church of Kentares IV. Serva Dei Innocentes” It had been a gift to his great-grandfather from the bishopric of Robinson. Even though the Sandovals were Jewish, they had a responsibility to all the citizens of the March. And that piece had come from the ruins of the orphanage. Focus, James, Focus. 
James nodded with satisfaction. “Are the units at their assembly points, and are we ready to cross the line of departure, ladies and gentlemen?”
Marshal Aileen Lugo nodded, “Sire, we’re as ready as we can be. The entire operation is really on a shoestring to be honest, and we’re going without any real approval from the NCA, but the fact remains, we do have something of a blank check- “
Duke Sandoval waved off the concern expressed in Marshal Lugo’s voice “Aileen, we’re keeping operations limited to Dieron, and I think we can expect the Combine will be as confused as hell, Miyako’s armies are in a state of collapse, and it’s something of a footrace to beat Sakamoto’s troops into Dieron. A footrace I intend to win. We have the entire Robinson Ranger brigade in place by mid- February and we don’t expect the DCMS to be able to reintegrate most of rebel held Galedon till then at the earliest. The good news is that we’ve managed to hire a few additional merc battalions. We now have eight mercenary battalions at our disposal.”
“How much in the way of artillery?” James queried
“Three brigades, all training units from the Bryceland PDZ.” And they haven’t got a lot in the way of ammunition. Frankly sir, I’d plan on going without them, sir. They’re not remotely combat ready.”
James nodded, and said, “At this rate, all we have going for us is surprise and the fact the Combine’s worse off than us?”
Lugo nodded, “Yes, sire, but we only have enough supplies for sixty days of combat operations. And to be honest, I am not sure the 2nd Kearny Highlanders are going to be very happy to leave Northwind with only their local defense force. This is the Combine we’re talking about here.”
There were murmurs of agreement with the last comment. It was an article of faith in the Draconis March that the DCMS ate babies and committed war crimes on any day ending in “y”. Worse, this was a wounded Combine, and Sandoval knew there had already been WMD used by both sides in the civil war. With worlds cleaving off from the Combine at an accelerating rate, there was no telling what the Combine would do to “Davion invaders” it could not stop with conventional means.
James, there is nothing you can do if that happens, you, Victor, Omi, and Katherine knew this operation was a risk. But something must be done or half the Draconis March is going to be up in arms. And who the hell was going to blame them, not after Helen…but sixty days of supplies? God in heaven, we’re going to be lucky if this even remotely works. At least the Dracs in Dieron seem to be in a hurry to leave the Combine. But the question is, do they want to join the Federated Commonwealth?
James exhaled and faced the multifunction holo display that was constantly updating with troop numbers and intelligence on the target worlds. Sandoval was bathed in warring colors of light. He took a pregnant pause to utter a short prayer and turned deliberately to face all those present. He met eyes with his son Tancred. I am sorry Tancred; it seems I will visit on others what was done to you. Please forgive me.
He took a breath and turned to Marshal Lugo. “Marshal Lugo, we go on the 31st of December with or without the 2nd Robinson. They can catch up. NAQAM is a go on the 6th of January. Tell the 1st New Ivaarsen to begin their move to Royal and to raid targets along the border at Leftenant General Johnson’s discretion, but not before the 6th. And remind her that her job is to keep the DCMS pinned along the frontier while the rest of us grab as much of Dieron as we can.”
James drew in another breath. There was no stopping it now. The die was cast..
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“In most normal circumstances, NAQAM shouldn’t have worked. There was too little of everything and too much of the Combine up for grabs. But let it not be said James Sandoval didn’t have two things going for him…a sense of history, and an innate sense of timing. It also helped that the DCMS’s units along the border were as much as 10-15% understrength and some of them hadn’t seen anything in the way of supplies for months...”
-From “Gambling for a Nation - How the Dieron March Came to Be”Alexander Kajori, Kentares Press, 3071
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==Operation NAQAM==
1st Wave – January 3058Diversionary Raids
Marduk
Attacking Forces: 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs
Defending Forces: 22nd Benjamin Regulars, Victory Industries Defense Battalion, Marduk Militia
The 22nd met the Chasseurs outside the planetary capital, with Tai-Sa Dirks trying to pin down the Chasseurs, using the militia as bait. The Chasseurs refused to take the bait, and instead, hit the Victory Industries plant, crushing the defense battalion. The Chasseurs stripped the plant to the walls. This was after the plant had just come back online in 3043 after the last Davion raid. After belting around the 22nd for two more weeks, they left the frustrated Combine defenders behind to explain to Coordinator Sakamoto how one of the Combine’s remaining ‘Mech factories was now just four walls and a roof.
===Main Offensive===
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Al’Nair
Attacking Forces: 2nd Chisholm Raiders, Brigade from Addicks DMM, Union of Liberty Mercenary Battalion (Light/Green/Reliable)
Defenders: 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 15th Direon Regulars, 44th Dieron Regulars, Al’Nair Militia, Yorii Mech Works Defense Battalion. (A battalion of Atlases, Catapults, and Hatamoto-Chis)
The Davion invasion had better luck than it deserved, as the 44th Dieron was in the middle of a safety standdown after a training accident that had killed an entire lance of ‘Mechwarriors. The 15th was caught in their bases, and barely a mixed battalion managed to fight their way clear, as they were reinforced by the 44th. The 2nd consistently outmaneuvered the Direron Regulars, defeating them in detail before forcing the 4 battalions that remained to flee off-world to Styx. The Yorii Mech Battalion was defeated three days later in a nasty fight near the ‘Mech plant that saw the Union of Liberty take 70% casualties, and the Addicks DMM Brigade take 40% casualties. Yorii Mech Works was taken 65% intact, but the Scarborough Manufacturing plant was destroyed by DCMS combat engineers before the Dieron Regulars retreated.
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Quentin
Attacking Forces: 1st NAIS Cadre, 2nd Kearny HighlandersDefending Forces: 17th Benjamin Regulars
Both Davion units arrived in system late in the month but made up for lost time by quickly bottling up the 17th Benjamin Regulars in the Steel Valley. The 17th was a shadow of its former self, having been stripped for replacements for the Clan front and was now a “sink” regiment of undesirables and barely competent mechwarriors. After some desultory attempts to break out of the siege, the regiment surrendered en masse on February 6th, 3058.
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Fomalhaut
Attacking Forces: Draconis March Provisional Brigade (2 battalions of Mercenaries, The Undead Squad, and the Ghost Crew, both are medium weight, Regular/Reliable battalions, and 2 battalions from the Clovis DMM)Defenders: Fomalhaut Militia
The attacking forces had little trouble disposing of the local militia, who was more worried about food riots and general unrest in the wake of the Combine Civil War. Many militia members were happy to enter Davion POW cages to keep them from the populace they had been so recently firing on to keep from the remaining food stores.
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Saffel
Attacking Forces: Grey Snake Rangers (Veteran Medium weight Reliable Merc Battalion)Defending Forces: Saffel Militia
The Rangers had little trouble assuming control of Saffel, as the CEO of the reconstituted Saffel Medical Institute and the planetary rulers saw little point in resisting the invasion. The decision was motivated mostly by the general economic collapse of the Combine in the wake of the Civil War, and that there was widespread starvation and disease on Saffel.
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“The first wave of NAQAM’s modest goals were successful beyond belief, considering the shoestring the operation was being conducted on. I will give Sandoval a lot of credit. He knew his history, and like the ancient song said, “He knew when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em, and when to run.” Something to be said for a commander like that…”Unpublished Memoirs of Leftenant General Johnathan Sanchez, former CO of the 1st NAIS Cadet Cadre from 3044-65
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“The level of resistance even loyal units is putting up against the Davion offensive is troubling, my lord. We will redouble our efforts to ensure the loyalty of the surviving DCMS and chase down the remaining O5P fugitives, lest they get any ideas of doing to you what was done to the late traitor Kurita. We have uncovered a nest of such traitors on Valentina and have dealt with them severely. I regret to say we have had less success in dealing with the secessionist traitors, as more such movements have appeared on Bad News and Land’s End. We have dispatched intervention battalions to deal with this scum, but it may take time, as the Dragon’s claws are overstretched now…”Excerpt from a report to Coordinator Sakamoto from the ISF, dated January 23rd, 3058
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Category:Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War Chapters
Category:Works by Jason Weiser