Davids Meet Goliaths
on St. Andre's Rocky Plains

Reports From the Front

by William H. Keith, jr.

Dateline: St. Andre

In what has proven to be the heaviest and most desperate fighting reported so far in the war, Davion forces descended on the chill world of St. Andre, engaging in a desperate struggle to the death in the icy, snow-swept plains of one of the planet's northern continents. The Federated Suns forces, commanded by Marshal Jonathan Riffenberg, knew they had their work cut out for them. The assault force, consisting of the Davion Light Guards Regimental Combat Team reinforced by Alpha and Beta Regiments of the 12th Vegan Rangers, was assigned the task of taking the Liao world from its defenders: Justina's Cuirassiers, Cochraine's Goliaths, and the 1st Battalion of the Blackwind Lancers.

As this issue of BattleTechnology went to press, the main assault deployed on the plains of the Swarthian Highlands south of Jerome had not yet closed conclusively with the enemy. Initial drops to secure LZs for the 12th Vegan Rangers were completely successful and virtually uncontested, though it is known that Justina's Cuirassiers occupy Jerome in force. Both sides expect the demonstration outside Jerome to build into a major battle within the next week or two, a struggle to decide the fate of this world which promises to be a bloody one.

Blood and BattleMech coolant fluid have already been spilled in vast quantities on the Ivaar Tundra, where a very special target beckoned to the Davion invaders. There, on a barren plain several hundred kilometers from the nearest village of any size, Liao scientists had recently uncovered the ruins of a forgotten outpost of the old Star League and begun excavations. Davion Intelligence was unable to determine what, if any technological treasures the Confederation might have recovered from the site, but rumors of the site's importance to the Confederation had played a major part in the planning for the St. Andre strike. Two battalions of the Davion Light Guards, backed up by a special assault unit known as "Delta Company' " were scheduled to set down in the area around the excavation site.

Davion Intelligence had discovered that the area was defended by Cochraine's Goliaths, an unusual Liao battalion in that it was composed almost entirely of rare but deadly, four-legged GOL-1H Goliaths. Unfortunately, Intelligence efforts had not revealed the presence of a Liao AeroSpace Battalion deployed in camouflaged bunkers hidden beneath the frozen soil of the Ivaar wastes. Capellan fighters rose in swarms as the Davion assault force maneuvered for its final approach, and the battle at the fringes of St. Andre's atmosphere was a deadly one.

The Light Guards' 2nd Battalion lost two DropShips, and the survivors were badly scattered. Most managed to touch down safely, but they missed their planned Drop Zones by a good 30 kilometers and were absent during the critical opening hours of the battle.

The V Battalion touched down at the assigned DZs close by the excavation and found Cochraine's Goliaths waiting for them. Commanded by the lovely and battle-hardened Fiona Cochraine, the Goliaths maneuvered themselves squarely between the scattered Davion 1st and 2nd Battalions and launched a devastating, irresistible attack across the rock- strewn Ivaar Wastes. Colonel Kimball Stone ordered the V Battalion to begin a slow, fighting withdrawal across the plain. As the Light Guards Delta Company made its final drop approach, Stone ordered a wave-off.

The special Delta section's commander, Captain Andrew Redburn, ignored the wave off, pretending that static on the TacCom net had blocked his reception of the order. Redburn's 'Mechs, most of them light and medium 'Mechs trained as a special, outsized close assault company, grounded in Cochraine's rear.

Redburn's force destroyed five Goliaths during their initial deployment. The fast-moving, jump-capable 'Mechs used their superior mobility to rush individual Goliaths in twos and threes and overwhelm individual Liao 'Mechs with their combined firepower and strength. The superior weight and firepower of the heavy assault 'Mechs began to tell, however, and it was not long before Delta Company was in serious trouble.

At the height of the conflict, Captain Redbum identified Fiona Cochraine's Goliath and executed the dangerous and uncertain maneuver known as Death From Above. The Goliath was destroyed and Cochraine herself was killed. Redburn's Firestarter was destroyed, and he was knocked unconscious for the remainder of the fight.

That incident proved to be the turning point of the battle, however. Convinced that Redburn was dead, the surviving 'Mechs of Delta Company rallied and counterattacked. The unexpected assault caught the now leaderless and disorganized Capellan forces by surprise and started a general retreat. By the time the battered Light Guards' 1st Battalion had moved over to the offensive, Cochraine's Goliaths were scattering, completely routed, and many individual 'Mechs had been crippled or destroyed. The timely arrival of elements of the 2nd Battalion put the cork on the bottle. Cochraine's Goliaths, for all intents and purposes, were completely annihilated as a fighting unit.

Elsewhere, the battle for St. Andre continues, but local commanders believe the reduction of Cochraine's Goliaths may well prove to be the psychological turning point for the entire campaign. Much hard fighting remains to reduce this world, but the Davion forces are confident of certain victory.

News from the Front

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