Davis Heller
Sarna News
Davis Heller | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Died | May 3037[1] |
| Affiliation | Tooth of Ymir |
| Profile | |
| Rank | Colonel[2] |
Davis Heller was the commanding officer of the Tooth of Ymir mercenary regiment as of 3025.[2]
History[edit]
Colonel Heller, serving with the Tooth of Ymir under contract with the Draconis Combine, was stationed on Wheel in 3025.[2]
By the time the Fourth Succession War came to Wheel in 3028, Heller and the Tooth were the planet's primary defenders after a Tyr terrorist attack caused the Combine's garrison troops to be recalled back to Luthien. The Lyran Commonwealth, as part of its large-scale Operation Gotterdammerung, sent the mercenary First Narhal Raiders and Hansen's Roughriders to take Wheel from the Tooth and Heller responded by directly contacting the commanders of both units. Heller asked that each side only fight with BattleMechs in order to minimize collateral damage and to prevent the deaths of Wheel's unprepared militia forces, with his request being readily accepted by Colonel Gerhardt Hansen and Leutnant-General William Matthews. After Heller's troops lost a battalion of 'Mechs in the three-day battle on the Red Desert Flats, all three regiments agreed to a ceasefire. Heller and the Lyran officers exchanged salutes and the Tooth of Ymir left Wheel to Lyran occupation.[3]
Andurien Secession[edit]
Heller's unit, having taken up a contract with the Duchy of Andurien, assisted in the rouge province's invasion of the Capellan Confederation during the Andurien Secession. On 9 February, Heller and the Tooth made planetfall on Betelgeuse in order to assist the embattled Anduriens' efforts against Warrior House Kamata. While the Tooth initially made rapid gains, the Warrior House soldiers soon made it apparent that they would fight to the bitter end, requiring each pocket of resistance to be totally crushed before the Andurien forces could proceed. On 9 July, the surprise arrival of a scratch Warrior House Hiritsu force wreaked havoc in the Anduriens' rear lines and, even after being beaten back, these Capellan reinforcements continued to create chaos amidst the invader's supply and support facilities. By the end of the year, Betelgeuse remained unconquered, although Duchess Catherine Humphreys promised enough reinforcements would be sent to take the stubborn planet.[4]
In 3032, the Tooth of Ymir and the First Defenders of Andurien were indeed reinforced by the Third and Fourth Defenders of Andurien. Even the Prefectorate Guard's arrival to reinforce the outnumbered Warrior Houses didn't slow the Andurien advance and, by early March, the Prefectorate Guard were destroyed and Betelgeuse nearly pacified. On 9 May, all five regiments of McCarron's Armored Cavalry made a surprise drop on Betelgeuse as part of a theater-wide Capellan counter-attack and with just two weeks of fighting the Anduriens were fully ejected from the planet.[5]
Five years later, when the Free Worlds League began its campaign to pacify the rebellious Anduriens, the Tooth of Ymir were dispatched to aid the Defenders of Andurien and their defense of Xanthe III. Arriving on Xanthe in March 3037, the Tooth were quickly followed by League reinforcements in the form of the Iron Guard, Fifth Marik Militia, and Twelfth Atrean Dragoons. Now badly outnumbered, the Anduriens elected to begin a fighting withdrawal but were badly mauled by the League forces as they did so. Heller, leading the Andurien rearguard, was killed during the last stand at New Barstow and the battered Tooth left for Outreach in order to close out their contract with Andurien and reorganize under the leadership of Susan Shadwell.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Historical: Brush Wars, pp. 75–76: "Xanthe III - Phase 2"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 135: "'Mech Unit Deployment Table"
- ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 48: "Operation Gotterdammerung - Wheel"
- ↑ Historical: Brush Wars, pp. 59–60: "3031 - Betelgeuse"
- ↑ Historical: Brush Wars, p. 63: "3032 - Betelgeuse"