FSRB Chpt 149

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 149==
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April 3070DCMS Counterattack
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===Draconis Combine Counterattack Report - April===
The DCMS counterattack hasn't exactly went according to plan and the situation for the units involved continues to deteriorate throughout April...
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===Dieron District DCMS Counterattacks===
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====Cylene====
With the loss of his transportation home, the commanding officer of the 46th Dieron Regulars realizes that his command is probably doomed. As such he orders his troops to prepare to make a mass assault upon the "foul mercenary scum" of Demestri's Sluggers of the Fighting Urukhai regiment before the 22nd Avalon Hussars can arrive. On the 6th of April, the Regulars storm towards the Sluggers' frontlines in an attempt to cause as much damage as possible before the Avalon Hussars tip the balance against them. 
The first recipients of this assault aren't in fact the Sluggers, but a company of Battlemechs with the Cylene Planetary Guard. Equipped mostly with AFFS cast-offs equipment and a single new Watchman class medium Battlemech the militia are not so much destroyed, as they were torn to pieces. However, their sacrifice and swiftly silenced screams for help give the Sluggers enough of a warning that when the 46th Dieron Regulars reach their lines the Fighting Urukhai regiment is ready. With clear fields of fire and safe lines of retreat Demestri's Sluggers begin slowly withdrawing as they bleed their attackers for every step. The Regulars haven't the experience for this sort of fight, but their sheer impetus manages to catch even the prepared mercenary force of guard and carries them into the Sluggers lines to break up the planned fighting withdrawal.
For 3 days, the Sluggers fight to throw back the Regulars and disengage, Llosing nearly 3 companies worth of Battlemechs as they do so. They soon discover that unless a Mechwarrior is recovered after his Battlemech goes down by friendly forces, that the warrior is doomed as the suicidal 46th is not taking prisoners. The 46th is also taking every change to fire on civilian targets - farms, villages, or infrastructure. The fighting already bloody only gets worse after this. 
On the fourth day, however the 22nd Avalon's attached fighter regiment is close enough to sweep down and begin giving the Fighting Urukhai forces some air cover and allowing them to properly disengage for the first time since the banzai charge tactics of the Regulars began. A merely day later, the 22nd Avalon Hussars full RCT begins arriving and is soon joining them in mopping up the surviving troops of the 46th Regulars. A near fight breaks out when the Demestri's Sluggers regiment refuse to take prisoners. It would take a personal message from First Prince Victor Davion himself to bring the unit back into line. 
By the end of the month, the Sluggers regiment has been reduced to 2 under strength battalions of bitter and enraged warriors who have sworn to get their revenge upon the Combine and the Kuritas in particular. Medical units are rushed to the world along with replacement equipment. In the while, the Hussars takes over garrisoning Cylene. The few surviving 46th Dieron Regulars are moved to a POW camp for prisoners who are facing war crimes charges. 
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====New Mendham====
The planned reconquest of New Mendham for the Combine has not been going well. Not only have most of the invasion forces simply not turned up but the 25th Benjamin Regulars have already taken heavy losses before battle has really even begun. While they have finally managed to recombine their forces they are now isolated in an area of wilderness and have the 8th Crucis Lancers barrelling down on them - although the 25th are not entirely sure where the 8th Lancers are exactly due to many of their supporters having joined them at their landing site and no longer reporting on the location of the 8th. With the total loss of their air wing the Benjamin Regulars are operating almost blind until the local "freedom fighters" resume their scouting rolls. 
The local resistance leaders who have joined the 25th Benjamin Regulars are demanding an immediate march upon the capital to return them to power while many of the still shell shocked officers are arguing that the command should load what they can and flee the planet. As this argument goes on and the regular troops of the 25th craft what field entrenchments they can the 8th Crucis Lancers announces it's arrival with a full artillery barrage and massed air strike on the base of the 25th. Even as the shells and bombs are falling on the outer lines of the 25th the Islamabad Lancers launch a full scale attack into the disorganized landing zone. 
The heavy and assault weighted Battlemechs of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions of the Lancers advance forward firing as they go, while the artillery Battlemechs of the 4th battalion provide mobile covering fire even as the guns of the 8th Crucis Lancers Artillery Battalion and 1943rd FedSuns Artillery Battalion reload and advance to provide more close in firepower. Meanwhile the air attack concentrates their efforts on the grounded dropships which are throwing up as much flak as they possible can. Armored and infantry elements advance alongside their Battlemech forces and are soon taking large numbers of prisoners. 
With the 8th Crucis Lancers attack, underlining the disastrous nature of this doomed counterattack the executive officer of the 25th Benjamin Regulars, with the command officer injured when a bomb landed on the mobile command vehicle he was in, orders an immediate withdrawal from the planet. All dropships which are able to take off are ordered to load what troops are in the immediate vicinity and make their best possible speed for the waiting JumpShips. 
This panicked flight actually catches the 8th by surprise and no less than 5 dropships actually manage to get away - a single barely loaded Overlord, 2 half loaded Unions and 2 almost empty Condors. The remaining dropships are crippled on the ground and cannot escape. As are most of the DCMS forces. Barely 2 companies of Battlemechs and a single battalion of infantry are hurriedly loaded into the fleeing dropships before they escape. The rest of the 25th Benjamin (including the wounded commanding officer) are left to be captured. One last fatality occurs at the end of the month when the DCMS dropships finally arrive at the jumpships. Knowing he will be executed as a coward for fleeing the XO ritually atones by committing Seppuku, leaving the single remaining captain of the unit in command of the survivors as they flee back to Matar... 
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====Benet III====
As the 3rd Robinson Rangers RCT lands on Benet on the 6th of April, they immediately takes up defensive positions while it waits for the arrival of the 2nd and 3rd Avalon Hussars on the 8th - they had taken a little more time to burn in knowing that the 3rd would arrive before them to secure the situation. Once all three AFFS units have joined the 5th Avalon Borderer's on the planet they begin organising for the planned counter attack to reclaim the world for House Davion.
With reports coming in of defeats across the front Tai-sa Toshimichi Shodaru is conflicted. The Combine desperately needs a "win" to counter the constant stream of defeats that the AFFS if inflicting upon the DCMS however it cannot afford another heavy defeat and loss of vital troops. Or even a Pyrrhic victory. While he was confident that he could defeat the forces arrayed against him due to his regiments higher skill level he couldn't be sure that more AFFS formations weren't inbound or worse warships. And even if he was able to defeat them he would be left with 2 shattered regiments to hold a planet who's very air was toxic and which was falling further and further behind the enemy lines. 
As he was attempting to solve this dilemma he received orders via his black box. Warlord Li Dok To orders him to fall back to the prefecture capital of Matsuida and aid in the defence of this vital world. He quickly orders his troops to loot whatever war materials they can from the captured territory and head for their dropships - although the 12th Ghost takes this order to the extreme. All the AFFS forces can do is harass and harry the retreating forces, while their aerospace assets attempt to shoot down the fleeing dropships. They manage to destroy a small number of transports, but the vast bulk of the DCMS forces escape. 
Only once they are aware does it become apparent how much looting and destruction the 12th Ghost in particular has conducted in the regions it occupied. Hospital equipment, mining equipment and ores, even stockpiles of the rebreathers and life support equipment from the survival bunkers that the civilians require to survive have all been taken. The AFFS units respond with fury while sending word of an impending humanitarian crisis to both Robinson and New Avalon as well as nearby worlds. 
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====Niles====
Having repulsed the invasion of their garrison post, the Screaming Eagles request permission to counterattack and continue to take the fight to the 19th Galedon Regulars. After a weeks delay they are not only granted permission, but also informed that the 1st Conroe Borderers will be placed at their disposal for the attack and that a shipment of Battlemechs has been dispatched from Woodbine and Tancredi to bolster their ranks and replace any damaged equipment. 
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