AeroSpace Fighter Strike
on Algol

Reports From the Front

by William H. Keith, jr.

Dateline: Algol

In a daring gamble, Davion Marshal Herbert Hobaugh won a striking victory during the first hours of the Federated Suns' invasion of this strategic Liao world.

Timely Gamble: 3rd Guards AeroWing Techs rearm their unit's AeroSpace fighters with bombs. Marshal Hobaugh's quick action was responsible for a decisive victory.

The attack plan called for the deployment of the 3rd Davion Guards RCT supported by the 71st Light Horse Regiment. The V Guards' primary target was the city of Schan, while the Light Horse mercenaries targeted an important spaceport near the town of Groffer's Toll. The double-pronged strike was expected to crush two of the three battalions guarding the world, while isolating the third. The planet's defenders were known to be the I" Ariana. Fusiliers.

"Our AeroWing had an easy time of it during our approach," Marshal Hobaugh said. "Too easy. Our fighters scattered them on the first pass, and it didn't look like there were enough Liao fighters airborne to stop a garbage scow."

After initial combat drops to seize key positions, Hobaugh's DropShips grounded at their assigned LZs. Davion G2 had predicted heavy enemy fighter cover, and the lack of Capellan AeroSpace fighters had Hobaugh worried.

"All I could figure," he told reporters, "was that they had one hell of a lot of A-S craft in hiding, waiting for a chance to sneakbomb our DropShips. Once our 'Mechs were deployed, we'd be sitting ducks, provided they had as many fighters available as Intel said they had."

Hobaugh had a difficult tactical decision to make. Doctrine called for him to divide his air assets between Combat Air Patrol over his DropShips, win air superiority in the BattleMech combat zones, and fly hunter-killer missions deep into enemy territory, seeking enemy 'Mechs, fighters, supply depots, and targets of opportunity. Hobaugh was convinced, however, that if large numbers of Liao fighters were being readied for a concerted air strike, following doctrine would leave his air defenses seriously divided and scattered.

Davion Intelligence had given Hobaugh a shrewd idea of where the Liao fighters must be hidden. There were two sites, marked on the most recent planetary maps as underground industrial complexes close to the city of Kollasa, with large conventional airports nearby. Intel suggested that the Liao AeroWing had been divided between the two complexes, and that it would deploy, probably after dark, from the air fields.

Gambling that Davion Intelligence had not missed anything, Hobaugh ordered all of the 3rd Guard's AeroWing back to the DropShips, where they were fueled and armed with bombs and cratering munitions. The attack was timed for sunset, with the Davion aircraft arriving over the Capellan airfields from the west, out of the sun. If the enemy was there, they might well be caught getting ready for their own strike against the Davion LZ. If not, the runways might still be cratered heavily enough to deprive the Liao forces of them for several critical days.

An interesting side note was the leader of the bombing run. Dale Randolph Harrison, a 52-year-old retired air officer of the 3rd, had come out of retirement and volunteered to accompany his old squadron back into combat. Though initially denied anything but a symbolic role in the action, pressure from the young flight officers and a special order by Prince Davion on behalf of "Pops" Harrison seems to have cut through a rather imposing barrier of red tape.

Harrison would fly a Davion Corsair once more...

The attack was carried off with precision and elan. Screaming in at treetop level, dodging surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft defenses, the Davion Corsairs, Stukas, and Sparrowhawks arrived over the airfields just as the sun was setting. High overhead, the ghostly, silvery radiance of the brilliant, nearby star Beta Perseus--the original Algol--was just beginning to dominate the twilight sky.

The Liao AeroSpace fighters were there, right where they were expected. The air battle was sharp and furious, and casualties to SAMs and surface laser defenses were high, but the Davion forces loosed their bombs among the close-spaced Liao craft with deadly effect. The Capellan craft were in the process of being armed and fueled. Flame fireballed into the evening sky in continuous, thundering roars.

Liao fighters attempted to launch, and a few--a very few--were able to get clear of the devastation on the ground and dogfight briefly in the flame-shot sky. The ensuing dogfights were vicious and brief. Some Liao fighters managed to escape, but most were shot down and destroyed, or so badly damaged that few would ever fly again.

In one bold stroke, the 3rd Guard AeroWing had virtually eliminated the V Ariana Fusiliers AeroWing. Davion casualties were relatively light, though damage from ground- based defenses was heavy and many Davion ships crashed during their return to their DropShips.

Hobaugh gave all of the credit to his air warriors. "Their courage, their skill, and their devotion won them the victory," he said. "It is men such as these who will win the ultimate victory in this war."

News from the Front

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