IT WAS AN UNOFFICIAL INVASION, TO BEGIN WITH. MERCENARY UNITS ATTACHED To HOUSE MARIK ON ONE AND TWO-YEAR CONTRACTS MADE UP THE FORCES. THESE WERE EXPENDABLE TROOPS, NEW UNITS, UNITS DOWN ON THEIR LUCK, UNITS WHO WEREN'T THERE OFFICIALLY, LIKE THE 'TRAINING COMPANY' FROM KRISTEN'S KRUSHERS, OR THE RAGGLETAIL ENDS OF MIRSHAMS BATTALION NOW CALLING THEMSELVES THE MIDNIGHT MANIACS. OVERALL LEADERSHIP WAS VESTED IN ONE PIOTYR PLEKHANOV -- LIETENANT GENERAL PLEKHANOV, A SELF-PROMOTED MAN WHO HAD AN IMPRESSIVE PEDIGREE -- UNTIL YOU CHECKED THE LENGTH OF HIS SERVICE IN VARIOUS PRETIGIOUS UNITS, AND THE CONDTIONS OF HIS DISCHARGES. HE HAD CHARISMA, AND WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE THE TIGHT-FISTED CAPTAIN GENERAL OF THE FREE WORLDS LEAGUE PUT LARGE AMOUNTS OF C- BILLS INTO WHAT AMOUNTED TO A FISHING EXPEDITION. How WELL WERE THESE SARNA MARCH WORLDS DEFENDED? THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT WAS TO NIBBLE THE BAIT OF THIS MINERAL-RICH WORLD. IT TOOK THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE CONQUERORS FELT THE HOOK.. The Gan Singh Planetary Militia and its cache-cairns of supplies were an important part of Lt General Redburn's strategy for the defense of Gan Singh. Those tourist attractions of wind-sculptured ice contained several dozens of 'ringers', artificial supply dumps which included weapons for the militia itself, ammo for any of several prepared combined arms scenarios worked out at the yearly Militia Liason meetings, and short-burst radio transmitters at preset frequencies. Every second or third cairn masked entrances to the underworld where this planet keeps its cities, entrances large enough for several 'Mechs abreast. The scenarios themselves existed only on paper and in the minds of two militia members per unit. The planet had allowed itself to be invaded, turning over computerized military information without a fight. While the invaders waded through meticulous quartermasters', disciplinary, and recruitment reports and the populace imitated a docile resignation to their fate, Redburn timed his entrance for the holiday of Thomas Marik's Accession Day. His JumpShips came in at a pirate Jump Point; his DropShips made planetfall undetected. Each team went to a specfic cairn and sent out one zipsquealed message in the hard-to-break substitution code. Example for Corella's largest city of Cheng: "Apples aren't oranges." Each militia unit armed itself at the assigned surface cache and began a preset operation. The idiot lights in the Uhlan's caches blinked off as each cache was opened to the chill outside air; thus they would have known if the Marik troops had entered any of the caches while the Lions of Davion were en route to their planet. Not one of the caches had been found, and as each unit armed and went to position, Uhlan intel kept track. First strikes were simultaneous in each city. Stimmelweather, where the Mariks had dug into the administrative centers, was a long-fought battle. The Hall's militia were defeated by a wellorganized garrison of the Krushers. The other cities fell like clockwork. Then it was up to Redburn to pry Marik and mercenary alike out of the cavern city of The Hall. "THE FIRST KATHIL UHLANS' DEFENSE OF GAN SINGH IN MARCH-APRIL OF 3042 IS ALMOST A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF LIGHTNING-FAST TACTICS OF RESPONSE. THE UHLANS HAD PREPARED SEVERAL OVERALL BATTLEPLANS. THEY HAD ALSO PREPARED SIMULATOR TAPES FOR THE UNIQUE CONDITIONS ON GAN SINGH, AND REHEARSED THE WARRIORS IN TACTICAL RESPONSES IN SPECIALIZED TERRAIN FEATURES SUCH AS NITROGEN-PIT AREAS, POISONOUS GAS SURFACE VENTINGS, NARROW AND IRREGULAR CAVE FIGHTING, ETC. AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THIS DEFENSE WAS THE WHOLEHEARTED COOPERATION WITH THE PLANETARY MILITIA. THE UHLANS ARE A SORT OF CINDERELLA SUCCESS STORY FOR MILITIA. (BE GOOD ENOUGH IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME AND YOU TOO MAY SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH AND BECOME A FIRST-STRING HOUSE UNIT!). AS A MATTER OF POLICY, UHLAN LIASON WITH PLANETARY MILITIA IN THEIR MARCH IS CONTINUAL AND CORDIAL. UHLAN LEADERSHIP MEETS WITH MILITIA HEADS ON A BIANNUAL BASIS, AND POLICY RECOMMENDED AT THESE MEETINGS IS CONSIDERED MOST CAREFULLY, WITH UHLAN SECONDING MANY PLANETARY AND SYSTEMIC MILITIA RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FEDERATED COMMONWEALTH HIGH COMMAND. THE UHLANS MAINTAIN BOTH COVERT AND OPEN LIASON OFFICERS ON EACH PLANET UNDER THEIR PROTECTION. THIS IS A MAJOR INVESTMENT OF TIME AND MONEY, BUT IT HAS PAID OFF HANDSOMELY SEVERAL TIMES, MOST NOTABLY ON GAN SINGH..." The Uhlans as I Knew Them, --Andrew Halliday Golightly, TacTix Press, Poulsbo, 3045 He accomplished this by the use of by-ways, the abandoned and/or less-trafficked tunnels between The Halland its nieghbors Xanthissa, Cheng, and Ab Jhabar. The Uhlans are justly famous for their piloting. Stealthily creeping from cavern to cavern, these huge metal killing machines followed their mining'Mech cousins as tunnels were enlarged and a three-pronged army gathered. Many were the bitter small scale fights as a Madk lance met death underground before it could break radio silence. The one place where the Mariks were roused, at Xanthissa Approach Beta, a brave Phoenix Hawk pilot, Sgt Hyrup, deliberately ignited a liquid nitrogen gas pit with his jump jets, killing himself and three enemy Battlemechs, but camouflaging his unit's advance. In all, the retaking of GanSingh lasted three weeks. It would have been two, but for the necessity to allow the Krushers a corridor to their DropShips. The M110 could not ascertain whether their unit commander was present on planet, so the unit had to be encouraged to escape. It would have caused diplomatic notice to be taken if The Marik's sister had been captured as part of the invasion forces on a planet of the Federated Commonwealth! BattleTechnology's research indicates that Kristen Marik not only was not on the planet, she hadn't been informed of the unit's participation in the invasion! Remember how unsettled House Marik was at the time. The Captain General had asked his sister to go on a 'recruiting mission' in the troubled Abbey District, to pacify civic leaders and show some of the royal presence. When Colonel Kristen returned, some of her officers lost their commissions over the Gan Singh affair. But it never made the papers in the Free Worlds League. Back to Gan SIngh itself: reparations from the units involved (MechWarriors make terrible miners!) covered half the damage done to the planet's tunnels and the looting of her cities. A populace energized with civic pride turned to and organized a model relief effort for the displaced and the dispossessed. Gan Singh has come back stronger than ever. And none of their neighbors will ever underestimate the First Kathil Uhlans again! Abstracts from situation report, M110 Sama March to Uhlan lntel, January 3042 Gan Singh was colonized late in the Terran Exodus as a prison planet. Convicts were loaded over and left with a bare minimum of supplies... Nobody really wanted to be there as it is a barren, rocky, and cold planet. .. One of the features visible from space is a huge ice storm,"The Old Man", which perennially swirls around the planet... As a result of these factors, most homes are underground, bunker-like structures descended from the original convicts' burrows. One of the first leaders to emerge in the community of Gan Singh was Hans Stimmelwether, a man of indeterminate origins whose charisma was an overpowering factor over his fellow criminals. Stimmelwether formed a small nation on one of the four continents of the world, two of the others being inhabited by similar nations. His was the first to live in a large community complete with underground tunnels and large dwelling , shown below. Stimmelwether also pioneered the research in developing hydroponics and other underground food sources. In doing so he made a stunning discovery: there were underground caverns full of liquid nitrogen. The first discovery led to the accidental death of fifteen miners... Construction workers are now much more careful, and the liquid nitrogen is nowthe planet's principal export, used on many worlds as a coolant. (See map) Because of the liquid nitrogen, and because of its position in Liao space, Gan Singh has long been a military target for various forces... Extreme caution while traveling on the surface is advised, for 17 MechWarriors have been lost in storms on Gan Singh, and 5 have fallen into pits of liquid nitrogen close to the surface. Combat on Gan Singh is a tricky affair. Since there is always at least a ten kilometer an hour wind, long ranged projectile weapons are not guaranteed to work, and often ice, snow, and rain are falling, limiting the use of energy weapons... Finally, there have been scattered rumors of recent seismic and volcanic activity. If so, these could be major factors in planetside combat... In any case, the defense of Gan Singh by the Lions of Davion would most likely be accomplished by strategic use of familiarity of terrain coupled with knowledge of nitrogen pits and seismically-induced sinkholes. Weather forecasts could also be of use. The light quick Mech theory would be advisable, as jumpjets and light weight could save any Mech's butt on that planet... On the same token, Heavy Mechs have far less chance of slipping so at the very least speed should be kept to a minimum... Note that there are very few rock formations on Gan Singh, but several huge and rather beautiful formations made of perennial ice. GAN SINGH By Robert Tibbetts STELLAR DATA Catalog# AGM 14-208-364 A Star: Din Quan Type: F5T Mass: .97 Sol Luminosity: 1.05 Sol Radius: .92 Sol Estimated Time Remaining on Main Sequence: .83 bega year SYSTEM DATA Planetary System: 6 major bodies, 1 asteroid belt PLANETARY DATA Planet III: Chi-sin Common Name: Gan Singh Mean Orbital Radius: 1. 12 AU Orbital Eccentricity: 0.0114 Periastron Orbital Distance: 1.1134 ALI Apastron Orbital Distance: 1.1479 AU Period: 1.574 TS years (574.51 TS days) Mass: 0.75 Terra Equatorial Diameter: 12483.0 km Mean Planetary Density: 4.95 g/cm3 (.09 Terra) Mean Surface Gravity: 0.96 Escape Velocity: 8.37 kps Rotational Period: 34.2 TS hours Axial Inclination: 1deg. 22'14.5" Atmosphere: Inhospitable Composition: N2-43%; H20-12%; M2-34%; sulfer and sulfer compounds-11 % Hydrographics: 15% of the surface covered by frozen H20/ H2NO3, not potable Temperature Range (weather recording station on Corella): -40C (winter, night) through +7C (summer, day), temperatures at Stimmelwether colony average +27C. GENERAL PLANETARY INFORMATION PLANETOGRAPHY: Radius: 6246 km; Circumference: 39196.62; Total Surface Area: 313,572,960 sq km; Land Surface Area: 266,537,016 sq km; Inhabited Surface Area: 0 sq km. Surface Topography: Ocean/Sea/Lake 15%; Valley/Rift/ Basin 13%; Rising Ground 17%; Lowlands 17%; Steppe/ Plain 22%; Low Hills 5%; High Hills 2%; Low Mountains 5%; High Mountains 4%. FINANCE: Currency: Standard FC-Bills; Per Capita Income: Cb 95; Gross Domestic Product: Cb 1.005 billion; Imports: Natural (Hydroponic and cold-adapted) Agricultures, Petrochemicals, Armaments, Heavy Manufactured Goods, Light Manufactured Goods; Principal Sources: Exports: Mineral Ores, Liquid Nitrogen. TRANSPORTATION: Chief Ports: Port Hanston; Off-Planet Facilities: Orbital: none; Deep Space: none; Enclave: none: Merchant Fleet: JumpShips: 0; Freighters: 1; Shuttles: 2; System Jump Point: Distance: 15.4 AU; Travel Time (typical): 229.6 TS hours (9.57 TS days). HEALTH: Life Expectancy at Birth: 61 TS years; Birth Rate (3045): 6%; Mortality Rate: 4%; Population Growth Rate: increasing at 2% per year. EDUCATION Literacy: 45%; Technicians/100 population: 6; Universities: 4. ARMED FORCES: Defense Spending: 24% of GDP; Military Manpower Potential: (40%); AeroSpace Forces: Orbital Facilities: 0, Deep Space Facilities 0, JumpShips: 0, DropShips: 2, AeroSpace Fighters: 4, Escorts: 0, Monitors: 0, Cruisers: 0; Battalions: Infantry: 2, Armor: 1, Air: 0, Mech:O; Hiring Data: UH/M PEOPLE: Population: 1,657,824; Population Density: .12 person per sq km; Urbanization: 75%; Ethnic Groups: Central European (62%), North American (15%), Black (all) (20%), others (3%); League Anglic (62%), English (38%); Religions: Church of Blake (57%), Protestant Christian Sects (7%), Neo Buddhist (14%), Universal Catholic Church: (10%), Neo Calvinist (.1%); Capitol and Largest City: Port Hanston; Other Major Cities: Chiston, Freelund. GOVERNMENT: Allegiance: Associate World of the Federated Common- wealth; Government: Hereditary Arist ocracy; Head of Government: Joseph Stimmetwether; Local Administra- tive Districts: 0. ECONOMY: Natural Resources: Ores, Nitrogen; Processed/Manufactured Goods: None; Arable Land: 0%; Labor Force: (73.2%), Service (5%). Back to BattleTechnology 15 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com