May 13, 3050 One of the few early Inner Sphere victories over Clan 'Mechs occurred in the border planet of Toland, in Steiner space. The initial Clan attack decimated a full regiment of the Twelfth Star Guards. While the majority of the Star Guards retreated toward Toland City, a few stragglers, cut off from their comrades, sought shelter in the Remagen Canyon area. A battalion of 'Mechs from Mallory's Headhunters had been stationed at a mining area near the canyons. The Headhunters decided to pull out rather than be destroyed by the overwhelming Clan forces. Since the Star Guard command post had been thrown into disarray by the Clans, the Headhunters offered to coordinate the transportation of any Guard units that could make the rendezvous. A short lance of Headhunter 'Mechs was dispatched to the Remagen Canyon to round up survivors. Unknown to the Headhunters, a lone Daishi had also entered the canyons, in pursuit of an escaped Guards Crusader. While searching a box canyon, the Clan 'Mech was trapped by the trio of Headhunter 'Mechs. Believing the Inner Sphere 'Mechs to be ordinary Jenners, the Clan pilot attacked. However, the Headhunter 'Mechs were improved designs, known as Rattlesnakes. The Daishi has the advantage in size and long-range firepower; the Rattlesnakes, in speed and short-range firepower. The battle is evenly matched. Set Up: Use the two original BattleTech maps, laid end-to-end. These maps represent the floor of the box canyon. Designate one of the short sides as North. The North end is open. The other three sides are blocked by impassable cliffs; the half-hexes along these sides cannot be entered. Defender: The Defender is Jade Falcon MechWarrior Corlin. His skills are Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 3. He is piloting a Daishi (primary version) in perfect condition. The Daishi may be placed in any complete hex adjoining the South wall of the canyon. Attacker: Attackers are three Rattlesnakes from Mallory's Headhunters, B Company, Second Battalion. Lt Gordon Wozniak, Piloting: 4, Gunnery: 3 MechWarrior Antonio Madarasz, Piloting: 5, Gunnery: 4 MechWarrior Michelle Young, Piloting: 5, Gunnery: 4 The Rattlesnakes enter the map from the North end of the canyon. Victory Conditions: The Daishi must exit via the North end of the canyon on turn 15 or earlier: the Rattlesnakes must prevent him from exiting. On turn 16, a heavy lance from the Twelfth Star Guards arrives and the fate of the Daishi pilot is sealed. (If you wish to play this tragedy out to the bitter end, use a Thunderbolt, a Warhammer, a Marauder, and a Crusader for the Star Guard forces). Back to BattleTechnology 21 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1994 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