Border War (28th c.)
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 | This article needs to be updated with material from Field Report 2765: AFFS, Field Report 2765: CCAF, Handbook: House Davion, Handbook: House Liao, House Davion (The Federated Suns), House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), Historical: Liberation of Terra I, Intelligence Operations Handbook. Once these titles clear the Moratorium period, or if they already have, please consider revisiting this article and updating it with the new material. |
| Border War (28th c.) | |
|---|---|
| Conflict details | |
| Part of | Star League Era |
| Start Date | May 2760[1] |
| End Date | Early 2762[2] |
| Location(s) | Border of Capellan Confederation – Federated Suns |
| Result | SLDF withdraws from garrison holdings on contested worlds |
| Territorial Changes | Federated Suns claim Redfield[3] |
| Attacking Forces | |
| Affiliation | Federated Suns |
| Defending Forces | |
| Affiliation | Capellan Confederation |
| Other Forces | |
| Affiliation | Star League |
The Border War was a short but intense conflict, which had begun with raiding between the Federated Suns and the Capellan Confederation on their mutual border in 2760.[2]
Overview
The conflict began when a nuclear explosion killed two hundred people on the Federated Suns world Demeter, destroying the planet's Lycomb-Davion IntroTech facilities[See Notes] and leaving a large part of the continent of Ulreich uninhabitable.[4] An extremist group by the name of the Chesterton Liberation Battalion then proceeded to claim responsibility for the attack, but the blame was laid upon the Maskirovka of the Capellan Confederation for abetting the terrorists.[1] The Capellan Chancellor, Barbara Liao, denied any complicity and suggested the warhead had been acquired through one of the many bandit groups preying on border planets before she referred the matter to the High Council of the Star League. However no agreement on the issue was reached and so John Davion began preparations for an offensive.[2]
Feeling justified by the nuclear attack and the lack of consensus in the High Council, John Davion proceeded to open the conflict on three fronts. Targeting the Capellan Confederation worlds of Tsamma, Wei, and Redfield. This offensive placed the garrisoning Star League Defense Forces units in a precarious position, unsure of which side to help, if any at all. To resolve this the SLDF units attempted to contact General Kerensky for orders, but were instead ordered by the High Council to evacuate the contested worlds. Several officers in the garrison units were demoted by the High Council for challenging their authority to issue such orders, including the commander of the XXXVII Corps.[2][5] Other units, like the SLDF's Sixth Army, lacked the transport assets or numbers to accomplish anything—even if they had been mobilized—which would wear heavily on their morale in the war's wake.[6] This lack of intervention from the SLDF meant that the war would continue unimpeded, though with little territorial gain until the Avalon Hussars managed to break the garrison on Redfield and take it for the Federated Suns[7] by making of use of Vampire DropShips to deploy several elite companies of infantry into Capellan command posts[8] thus returning Redfield to Federated Suns control once more.
General Kerensky made haste for Terra as soon as word reached him about the High Council issuing orders without consulting him, making an attempt to convince the leaders of the Lyran Commonwealth, Free Worlds League, and Draconis Combine that any fighting between member states could easily spread out of control. The lords hesitated at the observation by the General, but ultimately were content to let the war continue as neither side seemed to be gaining ground.[2]
The war sputtered out in early 2762 due to the actions of the First Lord, as he attempted to pass Executive Order 156. This united all of the House Lords, even the belligerent parties, against himself.[2]
Afterward
The SLDF's XXXVII Corps was kept constantly on the move along the Capellan-Suns border in order to prevent either nation from launching bandit raids against the other.[9] Still sore over the firing of their commander during the Border War, the XXXVII Corps was determined to assert the Star League's authority in the region and had begun pushing to relocate its headquarters closer to the border itself.[5] The LX Corps also maintained two BattleMech Divisions along its portion of the border region in order to prevent the flare up of any additional hostilities.[10] For a brief period of time, the XXIV Corps' Eighty-third BattleMech Division also patrolled the border region, although it was eventually returned to its home base on Styk.[11]
Notes
^ FedCom Civil War states that Lycomb-Davion IntroTech's BattleMech and aerospace plants on Demeter were destroyed by the atomic blasts in May 2760, rendering the entire area uninhabitable for up to three centuries.[4] This is in conflict with several other sources and is assumed to be in error as written, which state the bombing had destroyed an unidentified BattleMech facility or industrial complex and not specifically one by LDI.[12][13] The most recent publication, First Succession War, says LDI's aerospace factories were still operational until at least 2795,[14] which could be an attempt to reconcile these different accounts.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation) p. 43: "Incident on Demeter"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Star League, p. 75: "Coming of Age"
- ↑ Handbook: House Davion p. 45: "Capellan Intrigue"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 FedCom Civil War, p. 190: "Atlas - Demeter"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 68: "XXXVIII Corps Profile"
- ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 87: "Sixth Army"
- ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns) p. 56: "Lord John"
- ↑ Technical Readout: 3075, p. 232: "Vampire"
- ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 67: "Fourth Army"
- ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 84: "LX Corps Profile"
- ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 81: "XXIV Corps - 83rd BattleMech Division"
- ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 24: "Persuasive Force"
- ↑ House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 43: "Incident on Demeter"
- ↑ First Succession War, p. 81: "Quinn's War: The Confederation–Suns Front"