Capítulo 50: Chapter 14
The plan of battle wasn't too fancy. The First and Second, Baronial Guards Regiments and the First Baronial Guards Flotilla would head for Gotterdamerung under my Command, while General Jorgensen took the Third Baronial Guards Regiment and Second Baronial Guards Flotilla directly to Koskenkorva. Koskenkorva was primarily defended by a few Militia Battalions, only one of which had any Battlemechs, having a single company's worth of twelve Light Battlemechs, a mix of Locusts, Wasps, and Stingers. It was by far going to be the easier of the two prongs of attack. I'd insisted on leading the more difficult prong myself. Gotterdamerung was going to have Morgraine's Valkyries defending it, a full regiment of hardened Periphery Pirates-turned-legitimate-troops, plus at least one Battalion of the Lackhove Auxiliaries. Both Morgraine's Valkyries and the Lackhove Auxiliaries had Mech Forces, with Morgraine's Valkyries having a full Battalion of them.
The terrain was also more favorable for General Jorgensen's side of the campaign as well. Koskenkorva was both more temperate and flatter than Gotterdamerung, being a planet of Steppe Grasslands, essentially making it ideal for mobile warfare. Meanwhile, Gotterdamerung was an icy, snowy, world of taiga, tundra, and alpine mountains. Only the equatorial band was generally habitable without digging underground cities, raising geodesic domes, or having access to storm inhibitors. It just so happened that the most inhabited part of that equatorial band sat in a large river valley cutting through a mountain range.
In short, while the terrain and opposition of Koskenkorva were more suited to someone like me, who was still fairly new to command, I'd chosen to be the one in command of the attack whose opposition was more hardened and numerous, and whose terrain favored the defender more. It wasn't what anyone had expected from me, and General Jorgensen begged me to reconsider.
"How can I call myself a leader if I am not willing to shoulder burdens myself? I refuse to be coddled." I insisted.
"There's coddling and then there's appropriate challenges. Will you not reconsider, my lord?" Pressed General Jorgensen.
"I will not. Colonels Frankowski and Lindqvist will be with me as well. They will tell me when I'm making a mistake and help me to correct it. Besides, I need a few big victories early in my career for future plans to work out." I refused.
"Very well, my Lord. I trust you will listen to the Colonels, then?" Questioned General Jorgensen.
"I am not some pampered Successor Noble who needs everyone to kiss his arse, General. I know my limitations and value input from subordinates when those limitations come up." I answered.
"Very well, my Lord. In the spirit of knowing your limitations, might I offer you some free advice?" Hedged General Jorgensen.
"I'm all ears, General." I agreed.
"If Maria Morgraine attempts to duel you, refuse. She is a wily veteran who is well used to fighting in the cockpit of her Grasshopper. While your formal training makes you better than most Green Recruits, you lack the experience to match her. She'll be able to defeat you, most likely, and that will put all we're working toward in jeopardy." Advised General Jorgensen.
"I'll take your advice to heart, then General." I nodded.
"Well then, my Lord. I suppose I should wish you good luck." Intoned General Jorgensen, holding his hand out to shake.
"You as well, General. Good Hunting." I replied, taking his hand.
With that, we both headed for our respective fleets to oversee the final boarding of our regiments. I boarded the Triumph-class Dropship Taczanka along with the remainder of Beta Battalion, Second Baronial Guards Regiment. An hour later, the last of our men and equipment were on board and the Dropship Taczanka took off to rendezvous with one of the Star Lord-class Jumpships in orbit above New Ålborg. We rocketed into orbit and rendezvoused with the Star Lord-class Jumpship Fort Jacobus rather smoothly. My fleet's pilots were some of the best that I could possibly get, it seemed. As we docked, I could see another dropship, the Excalibur-class Atgier, doing likewise on the next JumpShip over, the Star Lord-class Fort Christina.
It was a great display of procedures for anyone who was used to the less professional style practiced by the likes of Maria Morgraine or Redjack Ryan. Even the Fleet Captains of the Oberon Confederation would be impressed with how smoothly this was all going, though if I was being completely honest, they had only just gotten to be a cut above the usual pirates and bandits that infested the Coreward Periphery themselves. Hendrik Grimm the Third might have been a Pirate King-Turned-Tyrant, but he'd done wonders for transforming his forces into a more respectable and disciplined body of troops.
I'd have to deal with him eventually, though that would be for later. Right now, I would have to deal with Maria Morgraine, and then possibly Redjack Ryan trying to save his secret lover. That last bit had been the reason I'd left the Fourth and Fifth Baronial Guards Regiments behind. I wasn't going to leave defense up to just the militia, after all. Ryan's Rebels would tear through my militia if they didn't have at least some better-equipped and more regularly drilled forces to stiffen their spines should the worst happen and Redjack Ryan come blasting through while my best units were elsewhere.
That was the thought I'd had while boarding the Fort Jacobus. I had to change gears from worries of being sneak attacked in the back by Redjack Ryan to matters of the upcoming campaign, as I had to go right from the dropship to meeting the Colonels. Colonels Frankowski and Lindqvist met me in the Captain's Stateroom, along with Commodore Clarke, the commander of my Aerospace Flotilla. Colonel Frankowski was a black-haired man of average height with a short beard and short haircut, and who smelled like cigarette smoke. His opposite in every way was Colonel Lindqvist, who was a giant of a man, with a wild mop of red hair and a giant bushy beard. These two men were sandwiching the tiny, brunette form of Commodore Clarke between them, whose expressive face was currently attempting to pass for a neutral mask.
I entered the stateroom, poured myself a drink from the small bar, then sat down. "All right, let's go over the plan here." I began.
"Right, well. The Distance from the Jump Point to Gotterdamerung itself is remarkably short for a periphery nation, only about two-point-eight days. That will just about give them time to send all their prepared craft at us, but not anything they've had stored away. I'd expect two Leopards, Two Leopard CVs, and Three Unions for Dropships, plus at least two groups of Aerospace Fighters from the orbital station and the fleet. We can handle that easily, but if that's what we're up against, it means that Maria Morgraine will have kept at least a wing of Aerospace Fighters back to contest the air over the invasion zones. The Orbital Station is also an issue, there should be a number of weapons emplacements there to deal with, plus it contains the repair facilities for Maria Morgraine'd Transport fleet. We'll need to take it." Informed Commodore Clarke.
"We aren't going to be able to deploy infantry to take the Station, not when enemy troops are going to be dug in down below. Can the Marines handle the station?" Queried Colonel Frankowski.
"They should be able to, but I'm worried about getting the boarding craft to the station. Most of the Small Craft we have aren't exactly optimized for a modern battlefield and I'm loathe to send fighters as escorts when we'll need them to fight enemy fighters down on the Planet." Answered Commodore Clarke.
"Take one of the Pentagons as Boarding Craft Escort. Those are practically Pocket WarShips with how well they're armed." I suggested.
"That might be overkill, we want to capture the station, not destroy it." Remarked General Lindqvist.
"The Two Achilles then?" I offered.
"Doable, though their fighter complement will have to go with them." Nodded Commodore Clarke.
"Right, what's the plan for the ground campaign?" I asked, switching gears.
"The current plan is for a two-pronged approach. First Regiment will land at the spaceport in Valhalla City, capture it, and proceed into urban combat, but only after Second Regiment draws out some of Morgraine's Valkyries by landing on the Southern Taiga south of the Asgard River Valley. The problem is, what if Maria Morgraine doesn't take the bait?" Frowned Colonel Frankowski.
"What if she had bait that was too juicy to ignore?" I questioned.
"You mean you? No offense my Lord, but we'd sort of thought you might be content staying at headquarters and helping overall command." Hedged Colonel Lindqvist.
"I refuse to ask my troops to fight when I myself will not. That's no way to win loyalty." I refused.
"He does have a point, having our Lord be known to be present would be too tempting a target for Maria Morgraine." Mused Commodore Clarke.
"Plus, you'd be nearby with a full brigade of Mech Forces ready to intervene if something went wrong." Agreed Colonel Frankowski.
"I cannot believe you're both considering allowing our Lord to put himself at risk, like that." Rebuked Colonel Lindqvist.
"You haven't seen the monster he's piloting yet, have you? Trust me, he's not that much at risk." Chuckled Colonel Frankowski.
"Yes, it's actually quite a beautiful piece of machinery, or so the technicians tell me." Supplied Commodore Clarke.
"All right, I'll bite, then. What Mech have you brought to pilot, my Lord?" Queried Colonel Lindqvist.
"My Mech is a Custom Royal Highlander. She drops the lasers and the Missile Launchers for an Ultra Autocannon with CASE-stored Specialized Ammunition. She also has an advanced targeting and tracking system for long-range attacks. I call her the Heavy Metal Variant." I nodded.
"With that kind of Loadout, most mechs will get shot to pieces before reaching our Lord. Morgraine's Valkyries typically don't carry many Long Range Weapons, while the Ultra Autocannons can hit any range band." Smirked Colonel Frankowski.
"Plus, with the SLDF-Vintage Artemis Four Fire Control System on the LRM Launcher, I have a decent shot of putting a missile or two into Maria Morgraine's Grasshopper with an alpha strike." I added.
"That would shorten the war considerably." Concurred Commodore Clarke.
"Fine. I still don't like it, but if everyone agrees, then I suppose there's nothing for it. But I'll be sending some of my Rampage Pilots with you just in case. If they tell you to pull back, you do it. I will not be responsible for your capture. Understood?" Demanded Colonel Lindqvist.
"Perfectly. So, after we seize the Spaceport and draw Morgraine's Valkyries out of Valhalla City, what next?" I pressed.
"Ideally, while Morgraine's Valkyries are fighting us on the Southern Taiga, First Regiment will spread out from the spaceport to capture Valhalla City. It's where most of the population of Gotterdamerung lives. There are only around ten thousand or so who don't live there. Once Valhalla City Falls and Morgraine's Valkyries are defeated, the rest of Gotterdamerung should surrender. Then it's onto Lackhove." Explained Colonel Lindqvist.
"Lackhove should be easier since it's an agricultural world and the terrain isn't as bad. They have a single mech company of Wasp Battlemechs, and the rest are all infantry and combat vehicles. Mostly infantry. Their Aerospace Forces are likewise pretty anemic. Two groups of Sabres and Corsairs, and a pair of Dropships, a Union-class, and a Vengeance-class. Shouldn't be an issue." Offered Colonel Frankowski.
"They mostly rely on Maria Morgraine's muscle to project any sort of power, which is why they give her troops and funds when she demands it. Their Auxiliary Battalions are lightweight but fast-moving and blooded. Perfect for raiding and skirmishing, not so much for stand-up battles. The Same Philosophy shows up in their Aerospace Forces, with their fighters being fast, maneuverable, and hard-hitting, but have durability problems. They're meant for quick, lightning-fast strikes at enemy formations and ships, then retreating back to their Veangance-class Carrier." Chimed in Commodore Clarke.
"That means that if we bait them into a stand-up fight, we should be able to utterly thrash them." Intoned Colonel Lindqvist.
"Right, well. I suppose we should wait to see how the fight goes on Gotterdamerung before finalizing any plans for Lackhove." I agreed.
"Of course. Shall we reconvene before arrival at Gotterdamerung?" Asked Colonel Frankowski.
"I think that might be best." I confirmed.
"Of course, my Lord. Until then." Acqueisced Commodore Clarke.
And just like that, my first meeting with these officers had concluded. I made my way over to the room I was assigned and began going through various items of paperwork that required my signature as the overall commander of this operation. Supply requests, medical clearances, and things of that nature. A few bits of paperwork involved disciplinary actions, though. Apparently, a vehicle crew from Nowy Gdansk had arrived for duty still drunk from yesterday and they had appealed to me as Baron to get them out of punishment duty. Honestly, I couldn't afford to have men on punishment duty when we were about to invade, so I settled on a night in the brig to sober up and a fine rather than have them stuck peeling potatoes when we needed them fighting.
So far, military life was proving to be far more meetings and paperwork than daring assaults and strategic planning. I felt almost as if I'd been sold a bill of goods by my instructors at the Blackjack School of Combat. The next several days were spent like that, doing paperwork and meeting various majors and captains, sorting out supply issues and disputes. It was all very tedious and by the time we had made it to the Zenith Jump Point of New Ålborg, I was thoroughly unamused by the monotony of it all. The only thing that seemed to liven things up was the meeting that took place the day before we made the final jump to Gotterdamerung, where we once again went over the plan.
If this was how military life was, I was more likely to die of boredom than anything else. I probably should have saved that opinion for a time when whatever diety governed ironic statements and bad luck hadn't been listening, because in less than twelve hours, we would make the final approach to Gotterdamerung.
When we did, boredom would be the last thing on my mind. . .
XXXX
AN: Here we have a pretty simple plan for taking control of Gotterdamerung. Whether it goes as well as they're hoping or not remains to be seen. After all, no plan survives contact with the enemy, but simple plans have a decent chance of working even with that. It's why Keep it Simple Stupid is such a widespread planning philosophy. We also get to meet the command staff for this prong of the invasion. I'll have pictures of them up in a bit. As to the boredom part, it has been said that War is long stretches of boredom punctuated with brief bursts of activity. The last few paragraphs of the chapter were written to reflect that.
Other than that, this was mostly a setup chapter, setting up the plan for the assault and what might happen when they get to their target. The next chapter is the beginning of the action.
Stay tuned. . .
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