Editing Battle of Terra (3068)

{{Update Needed|[[Spotlight On: Manyfold Paths]]}}
{{Redirect|CASE WHITE||Case White}}
{{InfoBoxConflict
| conflict = Case White (event)
| partof = the [[Jihad era]]
| image = 
| caption = 
| date = [[3068]]
| place = Space Battle<br>Small actions on Terra itself
| planet = [[Terra]]
| faction1 = [[ComStar]]
| faction2 = [[Word of Blake]]
| commander1 = 
| commander2 = 
| forces1= Nearly all of the [[ComStar WarShip Fleet|Com Guard WarShip Fleet]]<br>Ten [[Level IV|Divisions]] of Com Guard ground troops
| forces2= Unknown
| forces3 = 
| result = Word of Blake victory
| environment = 
| conditions = 
}}

The '''Battle of Terra (3068)''' otherwise known as '''CASE WHITE''' was a failed assault by [[ComStar]]'s [[Com Guards]] on [[Terra]] in [[3068]], soon after the beginning of the [[Jihad]]. 

==The Plan==
The plan for Case White had been on the drawing boards since the [[Word of Blake]] took Terra in [[3058]], but was put off by [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Anastasius Focht]] in favor of focusing on the [[Clan]] Threat. This decision was continued by [[Victor Steiner Davion]] upon his ascension to Precentor Martial, as he had to focus on the myriad issues of building up the new [[Star League Defense Force]], [[Operation BULLDOG]], the [[Great Refusal]], and later the [[FedCom Civil War]]. After [[Wolf's Dragoons]]' failed assault on Mars, and the subsequent razing of [[Outreach]], however, Victor no longer felt the threat posed by the Blakists could be ignored.

The plan for Case White called for roughly ten [[Level IV|Divisions]] of Com Guard ground troops and nearly all of the [[ComStar WarShip Fleet|Com Guard WarShip Fleet]] to mount an all-out assault on the Sol System. This massive task force was thought to be enough to overwhelm any and all of the orbital and ground defenses the Blakists could have in-system. Publicly, Victor Steiner Davion, along with the entire [[First Circuit]], were optimistic about the plan, but privately, he had his doubts. The plan had been drawn up shortly after the [[Operation Odysseus|Fall of Terra]] in 3058, and was based on estimates of Terra's defenses at that time, not in [[3068]]. Thus, the Blakists had had 10 years to fortify the system, and with the addition of their newfound willingness to use weapons of mass destruction, this meant the assault would likely face much more resistance than initially expected.

==Assault==
Case White began on 9 March 3068, following several months of troop movements by the Com Guards in preparation. Due to apparent Blakist sabotage, the Com Guard flagship ''[[Invisible Truth]]'', with the Precentor Martial aboard, was delayed in reaching Terra and arrived in-system only to find the rest of the task force completely destroyed. Details of what actually happened during the assault are sketchy at best, as the ''Invisible Truth'' was apparently the only Com Guard vessel to escape the system. The ComStar fleet appears to have used a pirate jump point directly over Terra, but the surprise was lost - traitors inside the Com Guards alerted Terra, and the fleet was attacked as soon as appeared, losing the warships ''[[Avenging Sword (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|Avenging Sword]]'' and ''[[Hollings York (Individual Congress-class WarShip)|Hollings York]]'' in a matter of seconds.<ref>''Case White: Alpha'' p. 11</ref> Another key factor was the attack of Blakist agents inside ComStar fleet. A suicide bomber destroyed the engine of the ''[[Deathblow]]'', while ''[[Ranger (Individual Lola III-class WarShip, ComStar)|Ranger]]'' and ''[[Vision of Truth]]'' suffered internal explosions. Moments later ''Vision of Truth'' was attacked by the ComStar warship ''[[Swift Justice (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|Swift Justice]]'' for unknown reasons.

Seeing themselves doomed, the ComStar ships launched all their DropShips and many of them managed to land in America and Europe. Some received assistance from ComStar resistance agents.<ref>''Case White: Backroads at night'' p. 56</ref> The ''Invisible Truth'', due to a Blakist ambush while traveling to the staging area, was four days late to the Sol system.<ref name="J:FRp45">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 45: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> There they found the rest of the fleet destroyed. Refusing to surrender, Commodore Beresick's ship opened a way shooting, managing to escape. The  ''Invisible Truth'' was the only known ship of ComStar to escape the system.

Despite being outnumbered and scattered Com Guard forces managed to take the cities of Riga and Houston, defeating the Blakist forces... but they simply nuked both cities, and later Saint Louis, obliterating the invaders, blaming them for the bombing, and the last survivors were hunted and annihilated.<ref>''The Shaded Light'' pp. 280–293</ref> The Riga bombing killed tens of thousands of civilians.<ref>''Dawn of the Jihad'' p. 90</ref> 

Whatever remaining ground forces were likely destroyed, lacking any form of resupply or relief. Later reports indicated that elements of the [[394th Division (ComStar)|394th Division]] and other Com Guard units fought on as a guerrilla force for at least eight months after the failed invasion.<ref>''The Shaded Light''</ref>

The failure of Case White was a major victory for the Word of Blake early in the Jihad. It essentially destroyed the Com Guard [[WarShip]] fleet, leaving their own fleet practically unopposed in the [[Inner Sphere]]. The massive losses incurred by the Com Guards sidelined them for much of the early Jihad.

==Losses==
The Word of Blake lost ten capital naval vessels to the Com Guard fleet during Case White:<ref name="J:FRp128">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 128: "Original Word Of Blake Fleet"</ref>
:* ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser ''[[Avenging Sword (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|Avenging Sword]]''
:* ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser ''[[Herald of Wisdom]]''
:* ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser ''[[Swift Justice (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|Swift Justice]]''
:* ''[[Congress]]''-class heavy cruiser ''[[Hollings York (Individual Congress-class WarShip)|Hollings York]]''
:* ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer ''[[Guarded Knowledge]]''<ref>[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,34130.msg796062.html#msg796062 Added to the casualty list narratively by Øystein Tvedten, BattleTech Developer, 15 October 2013]</ref>
:* ''[[Naga (WarShip class)|Naga]]''-class destroyer ''[[Enlightened Direction]]''
:* ''[[Pinto (WarShip class)|Pinto]]''-class corvettes ''[[Gorgon (Individual Pinto-class WarShip)|Gorgon]]'' and ''[[Syrstart (Individual Pinto-class WarShip)|Syrstart]]''
:* ''[[Potemkin]]''-class troop carrier ''[[Vision of Truth]]''
:* ''[[Riga (WarShip class)|Riga]]''-class frigate ''[[White Devil]]''

==Speculation==
Though by no means conclusive, it is possible that the Word of Blake restored or rebuilt some version of the old [[Reagan Space Defense System|Reagan SDS]] automated naval defense from the [[Star League]] era. That system, where legions of small, automated WarShips would overwhelm an invading force in the Terran system, was largely destroyed by [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] and the [[SLDF]] fleet in [[2777]] during the liberation of Terra at the end of the [[Amaris Civil War]].<ref>''The Star League'', p. 91</ref> [[ComStar]] had never felt it necessary to rebuild the system. It seems likely, however, that the Word of Blake had the means, opportunity, and motivation for doing so. This would also explain the failure of [[Battle of Mars|Task Force Vengeance]] in [[3067]], a failed attack by [[Wolf's Dragoons]] and the [[Allied Mercenary Command]] on the Terran system. Narrative descriptions of that battle and other information supports the idea.<ref>''The Last Full Measure''</ref>

==Notes==
The ''Guarded Knowledge'' is not recorded as a casualty in any of the sources discussing Case White. However, this is most likely an omission, as the ''Guarded Knowledge'' is listed as a Blakist asset in ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]'' as of 3067, but is missing from the list of Blakist WarShips produced after the Jihad and published in ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]'' that was believed to be an exhaustive list. It was indicated by one of the BattleTech Developers that the absence of the ''Guarded Knowledge'' from the latter source was most likely an omission and that she was most likely destroyed during Case White.

{{Quote|Seems to be an omission. I'd say it died in Case White (chalk up one more for ComStar).<br>
With regards<br>
Øystein|[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,34130.msg796062.html#msg796062 Øystein Tvedten, BattleTech Developer, 15 October 2013]}}

==References==
<references />
* ''Dawn of the Jihad'', pp. 88, 92

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Case White (series)|Case White]]'' (series)
* ''[[Dawn of the Jihad]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[The Last Full Measure]]'' (short story)
* ''[[The Shaded Light]]'' (short story)

[[Category:Jihad Era Military Operations]]