At approximately 1510 hours local, I was convinced that we could no longer hold the position assigned us. Davion forces had forced their way onto Hill 091 and had managed to slip numerous BattleMechs around both flanks as well. The Daggers of Death mercenary regiment was in immediate danger of being cut off and annihilated. We had lost two 'Mechs already, an Orion and a Panther, both seriously damaged and out of the fight. The rest began an orderly withdrawal down the reverse slope of the hill, while continuing to maintain heavy and accurate fire against overwhelming numbers. Several minutes later, I realized that the Company Commander of B Company had not acknowledged orders, nor had she mustered with her unit. A quick check showed that Captain Alaya Addison was locked in hand-to-hand combat, her Thunderbolt against an enemy Marauder. It was evident that her 'Mech had already been badly damaged and that she was in desperate trouble. It was at that point that Lieutenant Morgan Falkdisobeyed orders and wentoverto the attack. --Excerpt from official Board of Inquiry, Transcript of testimony given by Colonel Joab Keen, Daggers of Death mercenary regiment, Benjamin District Military Court, October, 3027 Situation: 1515 Hours, August 27, 3027 Scheat V GAME SET-UP Dagger's Edge is a simulation of 'Mech-to- 'Mech combat which occurred on the terrain shown on the map above. Players and referees with access to transparent hex grid sheets can recreate the contour lines and terrain shown above for an accurate recreation of the battle of Hill 091. Players may, if they prefer, use blank hexsheets for this simulation, or two standard BattleTech mapsheets and ignore the terrain features printed on them. Terrain played little part in the Battle of Hill 091. Defender The defending force consists of two BattleMechs of Company B, Daggers of Death mercenary regiment, in the service of House Kurita. Captain Alaya Addison: Veteran Thunderbolt Skills: Piloting: 3 Gunnery: 3 Captain Addison's 'Mech already has the following damage: Rt. Front torso: -5 armor points Ct. Torso: -3 armor points Lt. Arm: -2 armor points Rt. Arm heavy laser: inoperative Lieutenant Morgan Falk: Veteran Griffin Skills: Piloting: 3 Gunnery: 2 The Griffin has lost 5 armor points from its Center Torso. Captain Addison begins the scenario on any hex of the player's choice near the center of the map. Lieutenant Falk may enter the East edge of the map on the first turn on which the player rolls a 5 or a 6 on 1 D6. Attacker Major Wendell Jones: Veteran Marauder Skills: Piloting: 3 Gunnery: 3 Jones' Marauder builds up 2 extra heat points every time its right arm laser or PPC are fired. Major Jones sets up on any hex within three hexes of Captain Addison's Thunderbolt. Major Jones has the initiative for the first combat round. PLAY The Davion Marauder is attempting to destroy the Kurita Thunderbolt which remains on the crest of Hill 091, then proceed down the east slope of the ridge in pursuit of retreating Kuritaforces. CaptainAddison may attempt to escape, orshemay try to destroy the Marauder in order to buy time for her own forces. Lieutenant Falk's Griffin will arrive at some point after combat begins. His arrival, if in time, could tip the battle in the Kurita force's favor. SPECIAL RULES This scenario should be played using all advanced BattleTech rules. In addition, special provision is made for the damage caused by the explosion of Falk's Griffin, as described in A Dagger's Death [see page 26]. Falk's Griffin carries two tons of LRM missiles stored in its right torso ammo compartment. These will explode with 120 points of damage (10 x 12) in the event of an ammo explosion or ammo critical hit. If Falk suffers an ammunition explosion while he is engaged in a physical attackwith the Marauder, his 'Mech will suffer damage to its internal structure, as described in the regular BattleTech rules. In addition, the Marauderwill suffer damage points equal to half of the damage points left after all of the Griffin's internal hit boxes have been filled in. For example, if there are 30 internal hit locations remaining on the Griffin in the turn when its ammo explodes, the Marauder will suffer 45 points of damage (120 - 30)/2. This damage is divided into groups of 5 and applied randomly. It is assumed that this damage is transferred while the two 'Mechs are grappling with one another and in extremely close proximity. In situations where an exploding 'Mech is only adjacent to to another 'Mech, the remaining damage points are divided by 6, and that number of damage points is applied (in groups of five) to each 'Mech in an adjacent hex. VICTORY CONDITIONS The Davion player wins according to the following schedule: SPECTACULAR VICTORY: Thunderbolt and Griffin destroyed, Marauderexits east edge of map on Turn 10 or before. DECISIVE VICTORY: Thunderbolt and Griffin destroyed or forced off the map on Turn 11 to 20. MARGINAL VICTORY: Thunderbolt or Griffin destroyed. Marauder still on map on Turn 20. DEFEAT: Marauder destroyed, or so badly damaged it cannot move. The Kurita force wins according to the following schedule: SPECTACULAR VICTORY: Marauder destroyed. Thunderbolt and Griffin still operational. EXPENSIVE VICTORY: Marauder destroyed. Thunderboltor Griffin destroyed. One survivor still operational. TACTICAL VICTORY*: Thunderbolt and Griffin withdraw off east edge of map. MARGINAL TACTICAL VICTORY*: Thunderbolt or Griffin withdraws off east edge of map. Remaining 'Mech destroyed. DEFEAT: Both 'Mechs destroyed. Marauder still operational. * A tactical victory suggests that at least one of the Kurita 'Mechs was able to disengage from the Marauderand join the retreating Kurita forces farther to the east. Historically, a Kurita defeat was transformed into victory by the stubborn stand on Hill 091 by two Kurita 'Mechs, and by the destruction of the Davion force leader's Marauder. In game terms, a tactical victory on Hill 091 means that the Kurita forces still retreat and lose the battle. Note that it is possible for both sides to claim victory in this engagement (e.g., Davion Marginal Victory and Kurita Marginal Tactical Victory). LOCATION: Halfway between the spaceport and the munitions factory, Kallair, South Polar Scheat V Victory or defeat-the course of a major battle--can be decided by an insignificant turn of fate. The Battle of Hill 091 on Scheat V during a Davion raid against the munitions plants and industrial facilities in the planet's south polar region hinged on such a turning. Lieutenant Morgan Falk, Fire Lance Leader of Co. 13, Daggers of Death, noticed that his company commander was in trouble. Disregarding orders to retreat, he selflessly charged an enemy Marauder which outweighed his own 'Mech by 20 tons. In the desperate 'Mech-to- 'Mech struggle which followed, Falk's Griffin was mortally damaged, but he managed to inflict severe damage on the Marauder, and prevent it from destroying his Captain's Thunderbolt and killing Captain Alaya Addison. His last act was to closely engage the Marauderat the moment when he realized that his own 'Mech was about to be destroyed by an ammunition explosion. The blast destroyed both his Griffin and the Davion Marauder. The delay purchased by Falk's action allowed the Kurita line to reform and advance. It is probable that the advance was spurred on by Falk's example. The Davion forces, for their part, assumed that the counterattack was part of a general Kurita advance, and retreated. The mercenary Daggers of Death had already been roughly handled and were at approximately 75% of their full strength. Worse, their morale was low, and it is quite possible that a second defeat such as that inflicted on them on Galtor III would have ruined them as an effective fighting unit. One man's action on Hill 091 turned defeat to victory and prevented a Davion thrust against the munitions stockpiles only five kilometers behind the battle lines. It is likely, too, that that one man's sacrifice saved the combat integrity of his regiment. Back to BattleTechnology 2 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com