FSRB Chpt 144

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 144==
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March 3070DCMS Counterattack
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===Draconis Combine Counterattack Report===
The DCMS Counterattack in March was less a counterattack and more the remnants of Kanrei Kurita's planned invasion of the Federated Suns. Far from the sweeping offensive that had been planned instead odds and ends of various units launched attacks into FedSun space. In many cases units that had been scheduled to attack as part of a task forces instead found themselves attacking alone. Often to their cost.
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===Dieron District DCMS Counterattacks===
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====Cylene====
The 46th Dieron Regulars is ordered to make a "spoiling raid" upon the world of Cylene with the purposes of destroying what war materials they can and causing as much damage to the defending mercenary Fighting Urukhai regiment on the planet as possible. Unlike most of the raids this one is at least fully ordered - although it is effectively the remnant of a much larger attack that had been planned involving the 2nd Genyosha and 47th Dieron Regulars. The 2nd Genyosha is now heavily engaged on Dieron and the Kanrei is aware that should the 47th leave Fomalhaut then that planet would undoubtedly fall to the Davions. As such the invasion has been changed to a spoiling raid. 
The Demestri's Sluggers regiment of the Fighting Urukhai is unable to stop the 46th from landing, however from the moment the Regulars' feet touch soil on the 24th, the Sluggers hound them from pillar to post, giving them no opportunity to break loose and cause the damage they have been instructed to inflict upon the AFFS's infrastructure on the planet. Whenever they attempt to raid a facility or depot elements of the Sluggers invariably move to block them, often aided in this by the large militia formations on this border world. Indeed the Dieron Regulars are horrified to find that nearly a battalion of Battlemechs are present in the militia's ranks, often piloted by veterans. The few depots he is able to hit contain nothing more than rations and similar low value equipment, most of it either past it's use by date or of marginal value. 
Just as the commanding officer of the 46th Dieron is preparing to give the mission up as a bad job he receives horrifying news from his Jumpships. The 22nd Avalon Hussars RCT has not only arrived in system but has in fact jumped into close proximity to the 46th's own Jumpship flotilla. The captains of the ships have just enough time to send word that they are being boarded/threatened with destruction if they attempt to flee before they go off the air. Leaving him trapped and with the knowledge that a veteran AFFS RCT is on the way to reinforce the Fighting Urukhai... 
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====New Mendham====
The planned attack on New Mendham was less to seize the world back for the Combine and more to wipe out or at least heavily damage and humiliate the prestigious 8th Crucis Lancers RCT. Hohiro Kurita had assigned no less than 4 regiments to this attack with the hope of a swift and relatively cheap victory. Unfortunately 2 of the regiments (the 16th Galedon Regulars and 8th Amphigean Light Assault Group) assigned to the attack had themselves been attacked while loading in preparation. While the 16th had managed to flee with roughly 70% of it's strength still intact it did not appear at the rendezvous point. Neither did the 1st Proserpina Hussars which had been assigned as not only the premier regiment of the task force but who's commanding officer was to take command of the task force. It turned out later that the unit had been diverted hurriedly to Iruzun to protect that prefecture capital from any invasion. Ironically, it would be joined there by the surviving elements of the 16th Galedon Regulars. 
This meant that when the invasion "task force" arrived in the New Mendham system on the 17th, it consisted only of the 25th Benjamin Regulars and a handful of conventional assets. Under normal circumstances the green 25th should have immediately withdrawn, but with the whole border on fire behind them and more and more desperate demands for victories coming via the black box the commander decides to attempt to at least blood the nose of the defending 8th Crucis and ideally do some damage before he withdraws. 
This plan gets off to a terrible start when Marshal Jeremiah Marshall of the 8th unleashes not only his own 3 aerospace fighter wings but an independent wing assigned to New Mendham to bolster it's defenses just as the 25th Regulars' dropships enter the atmosphere. With the 25th Benjamins' Aerospace fighters at full strength they still find themselves outnumbered nearly 2:1 odds. Their efforts to prevent the attack on the descending dropships fails when the heavy and assault weighted aerospace fighters of the 8th's wings bulldoze through the mostly light weighted fighters of the 25th Benjamins. A full squadron of Stukas supported by 2 additional squadrons consisting of Ahabs and Hammerheads smash into the Regulars dropships and attack them, concentrating on the mech transports. While they are only able to destroy outright a single Union they do manage to heavily damage the engines of another 2 Unions and 1 Overlord class dropships which lead them to make forced landings scattered across the countryside. 
While the 25th is attempting to reorganize and gather themselves, the 8th Crucis Lancers RCT appears and launched a general assault on the 25th's scattered elements. A damaged Union with only half it's occupants having managed to work their way free is attacked by a full combat command of the Lancers and captured. The Battlemech's which had managed to get out of the Dropship are hunted down and destroyed while the 6 Battlemechs inside are seized. The damaged Overlord is also captured although two thirds of it's cargo manages to extract themselves and rejoin the main force while the remaining damaged Union is destroyed in place by it's own crew after the company of Kurita battlemechs unload. 
By the 31st, the Kurita forces have managed to reassemble themselves. With the losses in the drop and the losses in the running battles that took place as they tried to reassemble their forces the 25th Benjamin is down to around 6 companies of Battlemechs along with 4 battalions of mixed armor and 3 regiments of infantry. Against them the 8th Crucis Lancers is almost entirely intact and can call upon the additional services of a company of militia Battlemech's as well as 2 battalions of militia armor and 2 regiments of rifle infantry. Despite the weight of numbers and metal against him the commander of the 25th feels that he cannot withdraw - firstly because he no longer has the dropships to evacuate his remaining battlemechs but also because his fighters have by now been almost wiped out and he doubts he can reach orbit without losing more Dropships to the patrolling Davion fighters... He is slightly reinforced when a handful of pro-Kurita citizens of the planet who believe that his unit is the first wave of their liberation join him as irregular scouts. 
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====Benet III====
The 5th Avalon Borderers LCT knew they were in trouble when a large scale jump signal was detected on the 20th. Since the 41st Avalon Hussars RCT had left to take part in the invasion of Proserpina the defense of the industrial world of Benet III had been solely in their hands. The arrival in system of the Ryuken-yona and 12th Ghost regiments however made them very much wished that the Hussars was still deployed alongside them. 
The Borderers' attached fighter wing as well as two independent aerospace fighter wings and a security/test wing from the Johnson Industries plant attempt to at least whittle the enemy numbers down as they reach orbit. Unfortunately, while the Davion fighter wings have a slight edge in numbers and equipment only 1 of the independent wings and a handful of test pilots for Johnson approaches the veteran skill level of the 2 DCMS fighter wings attached to the invasion force. They do however manage to force the invading force to land in the Aurora Badlands. The 5th Borderers have deployed to the south of the Badlands and began a game of "cat and mouse" to delay the DCMS forces from breaking out of this terrain and past Lake Torment towards the Johnston Industries plant at Martine along with the local militia. For over a week the green troops of the 5th and the militia bleed in the toxic air of the Badlands, where their battle armor formations prove their value again and again. However, they can do little as the 12th Ghost deploys to the north and east of the Badlands and seizes the various small cities scattered along the coast. Nor can they prevent a combined arms regiment of the Ryuken-yona from capturing the city of Rohan and threatening to outflank them. 
Even as the 5th Borderers are finally pushed back to the shores of Lake Torment and then past it, however word comes that reinforcements have arrived. The 3rd Robinson Rangers RCT has deployed from Galtor and arrives on the March 28th and on the 29th they are joined by the 2nd & 3rd Avalon Hussars RCTs. At this stage however the 5th Avalon Borderers make their first real mistake. Having seen his troops fighting and dying in the toxic environment of the Badlands. For a week and having suffered nearly 50% casualties, the commanding officer of the unit knowing that reinforcements are near orders them to retreat past Lake Torment and head for Martine to bolster the security of the Dagger OmniFighter manufacturing plant there. This however allows the Ryuken-yona's main force to leapfrog past him and seize the planetary capital of Donner along with most of the government. As the 3 reinforcing units of the AFFS rush to help, the Davion presence on the planet has been reduced to a handful of scattered and isolated cities and towns on the north west and south east coasts, the island chains and the city of Martine... 
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====Niles====
The defending Screaming Eagles had little notice when the 19th Galedon Regulars appeared at a pirate point just 2 days out from the planet of Niles. However, they reacted like the veteran unit they were. By the time the Regulars had reached orbit the Eagles were fully formed up and prepared to contest their invasion of the planet. Alongside them are the mostly infantry formations of the local militia. The 19th Galedon was supposed to have been joined by the 1st Amphigean Light Assault Group, but the destruction of that unit on Weisau has left the invasion task force at half strength. 
The 19th Galedon's commanding officer Tai-sa Bobby Bock attempts to use his heavy weighted regiment to hit the defending Screaming Eagles hard enough to make the mercenaries give up the fight as too costly to continue. However, he's thwarted in this by the fact that his regiment is primarily a defensive unit and suffers some difficulties in going on the offensive in this manner and also by the almost fanatical level of loyalty that the Screaming Eagles are prepared to show to their long term employer - and in particular to First Prince Victor. To complicate matters he discovers that the Screaming Eagles have built up to a full 4 battalions and a command company in strength and as such outnumber his command. Not only that but due to their loyalty and long term contracts they have been allowed to buy a great deal of top of the line equipment at discount prices from the AFFS which compares extremely favorably to his own units spotty upgrades. 
After a single week of a war of maneuvers, small scale battles ,and skirmishing Tai-sa Bock is under no illusions as to the prospect of success for his unit if he pushes the issue. As such he moves to evacuate a small number of pro-Kurita leaders who have came out of hiding to join his forces and withdraw from the system back to Valentina. While the Screaming Eagles launch harassing raids on his withdrawing forces they make no real effort to launch a full scale assault. Neither side has taken more than light damage, although the Eagles have came out the victors in the few battles between the 2 regiments. 
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