Battle of Dinju Pass

MEMORANDUM FOR: COMSTAR High Command
FROM: Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht
SUBJECT: After Action Report: Battle of Dinju Pass

The after action report is prepared May 3rd, 3052

1. Contingency Details

Deployed Location:

Dinju Pass (30.200 N, 29.040 W)

Deployed Assets:

• COMSTAR Precentor Martial Focht
• Enchanted Badger Mercenary Unit Command Lance
• Enchanted Badger Mercenary Unit Fire Lance

Duration of Deployment:

Standard Terran Hours

2. Contingency Purpose

Defend approach to city of Dinju Heights

3. Potential Sources of Supply

• Dinju Heights Supply Dump Alpha
• Dinju Heights Supply Dump Gamma

4. Casualties

• AS7K Atlas
• CHP-3N Champion

5. Captured/Destroyed Assets 

• Mad Cat Prime (Captured) – Star Colonel Brandon Howell
• Vulture Prime (Destroyed)
• Masakari Prime (Destroyed)

6. Mission Outcome

Moderate Victory:

• Successful blunting of the Smoke Jaguar’s approach to Dinju heights.   Severe damage to COMSTAR battlemech assets
• Captured high-ranking enemy officer
• Several Smoke Jaguar assets were allowed to quit the battlefield

 7. Next Steps

Rearm/Refit:

• Much of the Enchanted Badger battlemech assets need repairs
• No significant COMSTAR ammunition expenditure
• Upgrade Goliath PPCs to ER PPCs depending on availability

Replacement:

• AS7K Atlas and CHP-3N units need serious refit/replacement
• Recommend heavier armor chassis to replace CHP-3N

 8. Commanding Officer’s Notes

 Star Colonel Brandon Howell proved to be a tenacious and capable opponent.  After his initial refusal to engage our ambush forces commanded by Precentor Mari Rennery at the opening of Dinju Pass, I was forced to issue a batchall consisting of myself and elements of the Enchanted Badger Mercenary command and fire lances.  In an effort to delay Howell’s advance, I commanded the Badgers to obey zellbrigen and engage in honor duels.  Fortunately, Howell accepted my bid.  Without his adherence to batchall and zellbrigen, I am afraid his advance forces would have smashed through our screening forces and left the following Smoke Jaguar elements a clear path to Dinju Heights.

 As zellbrigen was followed by both sides of the engagement, I have separated the remainder of this section into a description of each duel:

8a. Mechwarrior Orion vs Smoke Jaguar Thor Prime

Mechwarrior Orion, of the Enchanted Badgers fire lance, pilots a modified Goliath outfitted to carry three standard PPCs.  He valiantly fought the Thor Prime to a standstill in spite of the Thor pilot leveraging his jump jets and superior maneuverability to consistently place himself in the Goliath’s rear arc.

The fact that Mechwarrior Orion survived at all is a testament to the ruggedness of the Goliath chassis.  Nevertheless, despite the punishment that a Thor Prime is capable of delivering, Mechwarrior Orion kept his composure and landed hit after hit on his opponent.  Sadly, the Thor’s armor weathered the assault, especially due to the pilot’s aggressive maneuvering, always putting himself within the minimum range of the Goliath’s PPC batteries.

I recommend that the Goliath be upgraded with ER PPCs in its next repair/maintenance cycle, and that a memorandum be issued to the Enchanted Badger command staff regarding close-in support of the Goliath.

8b. Mechwarrior Jonathan vs Smoke Jaguar Fenris Prime

Mechwarrior Jonathan’s Enforcer was entirely outclassed by the Fenris Prime.  A further underscoring of the need for our astechs to outfit our mechs with Clan ER PPC technology.  In spite of Mechwarrior Jonathan’s Enforcer having jump capability, a lucky Clan PPC hit from the Fenris tore the Enforcer’s right arm off, depriving it of its primary weaponry.

In spite of the wild asymmetry in throw weight between the two chassis, Mechwarrior Jonathan made use of his jump capabilities to force the Fenris Prime into a stalemate.  Skirting the minimum range of his LRM5 unit prevented him from making use of both the LRM5 and the medium pulse laser, but due to the fact that zellbrigen was in effect, the crippled Enforcer was able to tie up 45 tons of Clan hardware for the entire battle. 

8c. Mechwarrior Rose, Callsign Tulip vs Smoke Jaguar Ryoken

Mechwarrior Tulip was our first casualty.  While her Champion has a significant amount of firepower, Clan ER lasers are far superior to any of their Inner Sphere counterparts.  Initially, the battle seemed a stand-up slugging match with little maneuvering.  The deciding factor came when the Ryoken landed two solid laser hits to the Champion’s cockpit.  Fortunately, Mechwarrior Tulip managed to eject in time.  She will live to fight another day.  While the Ryoken pilot’s skill ended the battle quickly, the outcome was inevitable.  The Champion simply does not have the armor to handle a drawn-out, high-intensity firefight.

I commend Mechwarrior Tulip’s composure and her quick reflexes in ejecting, especially for such a rookie pilot.  I have sent a commendation directly to her commanding officer in the Enchanted Badgers.

8d. Mechwarrior Jake, Callsign Hubris vs Smoke Jaguar Mad Dog and Ryoken

Mechwarrior Hubris demonstrated a tenacious single-mindedness in utterly destroying his opponents.  Piloting his BL-9-KNT Black Knight against his initial opponent in a Mad Dog, he gave no quarter and undertook what many would consider suicidal risk.  I am not given to hyperbole or gross exaggeration, but the term “loose cannon” is not unwarranted here.

After pouring over his BattleROM data, I discovered that an extremely lucky laser hit on the Mad Dog managed to penetrate a weak spot in its armor plate and cause engine and gyro damage.  Mechwarrior Hubris pressed his advantage, closed with his stricken opponent, and alpha striked, turning the Mad Dog’s center torso to slag.  In order to do so, Mechwarrior Hubris braved two complete salvos of the Mad Dog’s twin LRM20 racks.  I was convinced that he was a dead man and the ‘mech unsalvageable, but Hubris proved me wrong.

The alpha strike of course forced the BL-9-KNT to shut down.  In spite of the terrifying heat buildup, Mechwarrior Hubris opened the emergency hatch of his cockpit and urinated on the wreck of the Mad Dog. Immediately after the Black Knight restarted, the Ryoken pilot who nearly killed Mechwarrior Tulip issued a challenge to Hubris.  Unsurprisingly, he accepted.   Again, after initial rounds of probing fire, Mechwarrior Hubris closed with the Ryoken and alpha-striked again, forcing a shutdown.  The sheer force of the Black Knight’s assault slammed the Ryoken to the ground and ended the bout.

I have serious reservations about the long-term effectiveness of Mechwarrior Hubris.  I cannot deny the results of his tactics, but one day the luck of this “loose cannon” will run out.  It will be a shame to lose such a good pilot, but I sincerely hope his unorthodox tactics will not get a fellow lancemate killed.  I recommend that his commanding officer keep a close eye on him.

8e. Mechwarrior Greg, Callsign Blondie vs Smoke Jaguar Masakari Prime and Locust IIC

Mechwarrior Blondie’s battle with the enemy Masakari Prime can be used in the War College’s holovids as an example of a battle of attrition.  Outclassed in almost every way by the enemy Masakari, Mechwarrior Blondie charged his enemy.

As the two titans exchanged arc after arc of man made lightning, entire sections of armor plate sloughed off and set the local vegetation ablaze.  The Masakari had the upper hand, slowly retreating and using its superior firepower to gouge terrific holes in Blondie’s Thug.  The BattleROM data speaks for itself, however.  Under intense pressure, Blondie took careful aim and landed a PPC shot squarely on the cockpit viewport of the Masakari.  There was no ejection.

The enemy Locust IIC, after rendering Mechwarrior Gunnar’s mech lame, challenged and engaged Mechwarrior Blondie.  That particular duel was not decided before the eventual capture of Star Colonel Howell.

8f. Mechwarrior Adric, Callsign Gunnar vs Smoke Jaguar Locust IIC

Mechwarrior Adric piloted his SDR-7M Spider in this engagement, in spite of warnings from his superior officers. The Jaguar Locust IIC cut his leg to ribbons, destroying all but the lower leg actuator on their first exchange of fire.

The Locust IIC left Mechwarrior Gunnar for dead and challenged Mechwarrior Blondie’s Thug after it had so handily dispatched the Masakari.  This left Mechwarrior Gunnar free to slowly but surely position himself on the flank of Star Colonel Howell.  Eventually, when my duel with the Star Colonel ended, Gunnar was in position to secure and capture the Colonel.

8g. Precentor Martial Focht vs Smoke Jaguar Mad Cat Prime

As I said before, Star Colonel Howell proved to be an able opponent.  I tried to bait him into pushing up his heat levels and shutting down, but he would have none of my tricks.  He forced me into an honest, stand up fight, which I was more than happy to give him, especially since I had 25 tons on him.

The Mad Cat Prime variant is truly terrifying.  It has an overwhelming throw weight for its tonnage and has the heat sinks to effectively use its weaponry, especially when piloted by a veteran such as Star Colonel Howell.

We closed range without much maneuvering and traded volley for volley.  My bank of medium pulse lasers surprised him.  I don’t think he’s seen an AS7K sport such a modification before.  I closed to the maximum effective range for my pulse lasers and fired a full fusillade, which was enough to bring him to his knees.  In spite of his falling, he was able to right his machine and resume the fight.  Eventually I was able to amputate one of his arms with a well placed gauss slug, but that did not dissuade him from prosecuting the fight further.  In fact, it effectively increased his heat capacity and he was alpha-striking with each exchange.  I am truly thankful for the armor that my machine had.  It saved my life.

In our final exchange, I cored his machine and breached his engine shielding.  However, he triggered both LRM20 racks, shattering what was left of my armor.  A lucky ER Large Laser hit almost killed me.  A few inches to the left and I would have been dead.  I ejected just in time, before the oxygen tanks in my life support system exploded.

Mechwarrior Gunnar won the day, however.  He wasted no time in securing the Mad Cat’s wreckage, forcing a surrender from Star Colonel Howell.  It likely saved the lives of the rest of the unit.