Part 821: The Real Timeline by Demi-Precentor of the Archives, Agent Interrobang - Part 4

Wait! I am from... history!

An Abridged History of the Inner Sphere

Part 4 - Crazy Like A Fox

Hanse Davion, nicknamed 'The Fox' for his cunning military mind and ambition, began conducting a series of military exercises in 3026. He discovered, to his surprise, that with proper organization and the integration of infantry and conventional armored units and artillery support into Battlemech platoons and battalions, he had the ability to quickly move massive amounts of firepower downfield, a practice that would form the basis for RCTs, Regimental Combat Teams. Additionally, with the increased resources following his alliance to the Lyrans, he had at his disposal a powerful fleet of jumpdrive-equipped transport vessels and military dropships. Realizing that decisive action would do him more good than waiting for the trinary aliance aligned against him to act, the Fox began to scheme.

In 3028, Melissa Steiner and Hanse Davion married. At their reception, as he fed his new bride a slice of cake, Prince Davion made his famous declaration: "Wife, in honor of our marriage, in addition to this morsel I give you a great prize. My love, I give you the Capellan Confederation!" At these words, RCTs swarmed over the Capellan border from FedSun territory. Over the course of seven successive waves of troops and materiel, Davion had succeeded in seizing over half the Confederation's territory in a matter of months.

The Fourth Succession War was on.

Despite their territorial gains, the need for Jumpships to carry such massive amounts of materiel and troops required the subsidization of civilian craft. The FedSuns economy suffered as trade became limited to essentials only. The Draconis Combine took advantage of the troop redployments to raid worlds bordering the FedSun and Lyran halves of the Commonwealth, inflicting further economic harm. As 3029 dawned, it would be ComStar who moved to end the conflict, delivering an ultimatum to Hanse Davion: end the war, or ComStar would shut down all HPG relays in FedSun territory. The war continued for several weeks more as Davion assets cemented their hold on Capellan worlds, but Hanse himself was satisfied with his recent conquests and acquiesced. Arguably, it was the Free Worlds League who came off the best in the conflict, Captain-General Janos Marik taking the opportunity to occupy Capellan worlds on his side of the border under the guise of 'military aid.'

With the Capellans almost neutered as a military threat, the next decade was largely spent as the various powers girded themselves for the next inevitable conflict. Federated Commonwealth forces begain joint exercises between Steiner and Davion-controlled units, cementing the RCT concept into official and standing doctrine. In response to Davion's blitzkrieg across Capellan lines, the Draconis Combine's Gunji-no-Kanrei Theodore Kurita restructured the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. Command protocols and regulations were loosened up, and commanders were rewarded for personal initative more than honorable conduct. In a shocking move, Kurita signed an agreement with ComStar, ceding Combine worlds to independent governance, particularly in the Rasalhague district, in exchange for long-lost Star League military technology and Battlemechs to supplant the aging and undergunned Combine armored units.

On March 13, 3034, the Free Rasalhague Republic, with backing from ComStar, declared independence from the Draconis Combine, with Theodore Kurita agreeing to pull all DCMS forces from the area. However, many traditionalist DCMS commanders refused to leave, despising Theodore for his progressive ways and refusing to acknowledge the newly-formed Kungsarmé as a legitimate military force. In a bold move to keep relations between the new Republic and the DC friendly, Theodore declared all DCMS commanders remaining in the Free Rasalhague Republic ronin, and dispatched loyalist troops into Rasalhague to assist the Kungsarmé in uprooting them. Though appreciated, the FRR was desperate for aid against the ronin, and made many hasty and ill-advised contracts with mercenary organizations. Though the ronin were driven out, the treasury was drained due to poor negotiation, and the people of the Republic learned to despise mercenaries.

In 3039, Hanse Davion launched the second thrust of his bid for dominance. Steiner and Davion forces assaulted the Dieron district of the Draconis Combine, hoping that the DCMS had exhausted itself in Rasalhague. Though the first wave succeeded, the second wave would meet strong resistance, in the form of DCMS mechwarriors astride League-era Battlemechs. Theodore Kurita led his troops right into the jaws of the Commonwealth advance, gambling that Davion would not risk a protracted war against better-equipped troops; he hoped that Davion would believe he had more League-era equipment than he actually did. His roll of the dice worked, and Davion settled for a white peace. The War of 3039 changed little, and for the next ten years border skirmishes continued at a relatively stable and manageable pace. But all that changed on August 13th, 3049, when the Blood of Kerensky began to push across the Periphery, making first engagement against the Kell Hounds mercenary unit.

The Clan Invasion had begun.