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Origins and History
Easily one of the most dangerous of the invading Clans, Clan Wolf was the only
Clan to claim a decisive victory over ComStar at Tukayyid, both with its
unconventional tactics and the knowledge of Inner Sphere tactics possessed by
their two Khans: Natasha Kerensky and Phelan Ward.
Clan Wolf also leads the Warden faction of the Clans, which believes that their
mission is not to conquer the Inner Sphere, but to protect it from external
threats. It is this reason, among others, that often pits them against Clan Jade
Falcon, a staunch Crusader Clan. Taking the most worlds of any invading Clan and
maintaining a large presence in the Inner Sphere, Clan Wolf is sure to be a
rather dangerous opponent to all opposing it.
The history of Clan Wolf is as glorious as it is long. Chosen by Nicholas
Kerensky to be the bearers of his legacy, the Wolves have established themselves
as one of the preeminent Clans. The Wolves have the distinction of being the
only Clan to absorb or annihilate two other Clans: the Wolverines and the
Widowmakers. The Clans recent split into two factions (the Wolves, led by Khan
Vladimir Ward, and the Wolves-in-exile, led by Khan Phelan Kell) has seriously
weakened both groups. The Wolves under Khan Phelan, however, increased their
strength significantly by capturing an entire Smoke Jaguar Cluster during
Operation: Bulldog.
During the Second Exodus War, the Wolves distinguished themselves as a
hard-hitting and wily foe. When the Wolverines broke with the Clans, Clan Wolf
won the honor of destroying the Wolverines and absorbing what remained. The
battles which followed nearly crippled the Wolf forces - already dangerously low
to begin with. The Clan's success sparked more inter-Clan fighting between the
Wolves and the Widowmakers. The matter came to a grisly end when Clan Wolf
declared a Trial of Absorption against Clan Widowmaker.
The Widowmakers claimed that Wolf personnel were responsible for a series of
uprisings by Widowmaker lower castes. Wolf Khan Jerome Winson refuted the claim,
citing the Widowmakers inability to handle their own lower castes as proof of
their weakness. In the end, the Wolves declared and won the right to call a
Trial of Absorption against the Widowmakers. The Wolf forces, led by Khan Jerome
Winson, engaged in a savage fight against the Widowmakers. At the height of the
battle, Khan Winson and Widowmaker Khan Jorgennson paired off in single combat
to decide the fate of the two Clans. Khan Winson quickly gained the upper hand
in the battle when, unexpectedly, a Star of Widowmaker mechs lept into the fray
and attacked Khan Winson. The other Clan Khans, who were witnessing in their
'mechs nearby, rushed to the aid of Khan Winson. In the battle, ilKhan Nicholas
Kerensky was killed by a Widowmaker laser blast. Shocked and enraged at the
ilKhan's tragic death, the Wolves utterly destroyed the Widowmaker forces and
claimed all that was theirs.
Interestingly, the death of ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky led to a era of peace and
prosperity for the Clans. In the 2800's, Clan Coyote scientists perfected the
OmniMech, while Wolf scientists created the Elemental battle armor suit. The
Wolves, within a few years, improved on the original Elemental armor design by
adding harjel to the system after fighting a series of preemptive batchalls with
Clan Sea Fox. Within four Clan generations, hundreds of massive soldiers were
filling the ranks of Clan infantry units. The Wolf Clan also prospered as its
merchants and scientists expanded the limits of the Clans' knowledge and
resources. By the end of the so-called Golden Century, Clan Wolf was regarded as
one of the most powerful and influential of all the Clans.
Dragoon Compromise
In 3001, Khan Nadia Winson of Clan Ghost Bear brought forth a proposal to launch
an invasion of the Inner Sphere. The Crusaders held a majority of votes in the
Grand Council. Wolf Khan Kherlin Ward, the leader of the Warden movement,
proposed to send a reconnaissance force in ahead of the main Clan force. Without
sufficient information, he claimed, the invasion could turn into a disaster if
the Inner Sphere armies were ready.
Ward's plan to send an expeditionary force to learn the status of the Successor
States proved resourceful enough that enough Clans agreed to the proposal. Many
contended, however, that the force should be led and manned by trueborn warriors
claiming that freeborns would be unsuitable and untrustworthy of such a mission,
but that motion was swiftly defeated. In 3005, Wolf's Dragoons entered the
service of House Davion.
Over the next thirty years, the reports from the Dragoons were received further
and further apart until they finally stopped in the early 3030's. The Crusaders
used this to prove their point that the freeborn force was as untrustworthy as
predicted. The Crusaders, particularly Falcon ristar Elias Crichell, argued
eloquently that the time had come for invasion. It took another fifteen years
and the accidental arrival of the Comstar vessel Outbound Light to bring matters
to a head.
Invasion
In 3047, Smoke Jaguar Khan Leo Showers presented evidence, gained from the
interrogation of the Outbound Light's crew, to the Grand Council that showed
that their worst fears were coming true. Far from what they had believed, the
Successor States were on the road to recovery and rapidly gaining back their
technological edge. Technology which had long been denied the Inner Sphere was
being rediscovered and rebuilt at a tremendous rates. Scientific advances in all
areas, especially military, were given highest priorities and the Federated
Commonwealth appeared as though it would emerge victorious over its rivals.
Wolf Khan Ulric Kerensky, an ardent Warden, protested mightily against the
upcoming invasion. He was dismayed somewhat when even the Wolve's closest allies
went along with the plan. He declared a Trial of Refusal and skillfully
negotiated the odds down to four to one. The Wolf forces proved again their
formidable prowess, particularly the Third Battle Cluster, but victory was
snatched from their grasp by virtue of sheer numbers.
To further punish the Wolves, the Crusader Clans forced Clan Wolf to accept a
role in the invasion. The Clan was assigned one of the less attack corridors.
The Wolf's route would pit them against the weaker and relatively untried Free
Rasalhague Republic. The Crusader Khans believed that this avenue would provide
little in the way of battle and glory for the Wolves. This would, in their eyes,
further humiliate Khan Ulric Kerensky and weaken his position.
The early battles in the Periphery at first proved everything that ilKhan Leo
Showers had said about the Inner Sphere. The warriors the Clans faced in the
first few months were mostly dishonorable, under-trained and equipped pirates in
outdated equipment. Except for the Falcon's battle for Von Strang's World and
the Wolves encounter with the Kell Hounds on The Rock, none of the invading
Clans faced any real challenges. Their belief's in the degeneracy of the Inner
Sphere confirmed, many Crusader Khans believed they would be on Terra in a
year's time.
When the Wolves struck the Inner Sphere, it was like no other invasion before.
The Wolves conquered dozens of worlds in the Free Rasalhague/Federated
Commonwealth corridor. A number of elite House and mercenary units were left
bloodied or, in many cases, utterly destroyed. Unlike their brethren, the Wolves
were extremely willing to take bondsmen into their ranks. The Free Rasalhague
Army, which was quite adept at the hit-and-run tactics which plagued the other
Clans, were little more than a minor nuisance for the overwhelming Wolf forces.
No other Clan conquered worlds as fast as the Wolves, a fact which would
ultimately help bring about their downfall in future years.
In 3050, the Ghost Bears decided to invade the Free Rasalhague capital world,
Rasalhague. Although the world actually lie in the Wolf corridor, the Ghost Bear
Khans successfully argued to ilKhan Leo Showers that it was close enough for
their forces to attack. ilKhan Leo, ever looking for ways to slow or embarrass
the Wolf juggernaut, agreed to let them bid for the world. Khan Ulric, however,
proved a wily adversary in the bidding. His removal of Clan Warships from his
initial bid threw the Ghost Bear Khans off-balance. Seeing that they could not
hope to win the bidding, the Bear Khans drove down the bidding to dangerous
levels. The Wolves won the right to invade Rasalhague, but they would only have
three Clusters to do so.
The Wolves emerged victorious on Rasalhague, the first Clan to capture a capital
world. Subsequent political maneuvering the ilKhan Leo and other Crusader-minded
Khans did little to slow the Wolf assault.
The death of ilKhan Leo Showers sent the invading Clans home for a years
conferring and to elect a new ilKhan. Khans Crichell and Chistu conspired with
other Crusader Clans to elect a new ilKhan who would have to do their bidding.
Together, they nominated Clan Wolf Khan Ulric Kerensky to the post of ilKhan.
Their plan was to force the Wolf Khan to bend to their desires, thus slowing the
Wolves while their own Clans caught up. To the surprise of many, ilKhan Ulric
refused to play their game. Instead, he brought forth the Steel Vipers and Nova
Cats into the invasion force. The Nova Cats were teamed with their longtime
rival the Smoke Jaguars. Being teamed with the hated Steel Vipers galled the
Falcon Khans, but ilKhan Ulric's requirement that the Jaguars and Falcons cede
worlds for their new "partners" made things even worse. Although the Smoke
Jaguars and Nova Cats quickly reached an accommodation regarding the exchange of
worlds, the Jade Falcons made the Vipers fight Trials of Possession for every
world. Even so, in 3052, the invasion resumed as the trueborn of six Clans
returned to begin the conflict anew.
Tukayyid
The Clan Wolf DropShips landed 40 kilometers southeast of their objectives, the
cities of Skupo and Brzo, five days after the rest of the Clans landed. Once
down and secure, the Clan Wolf Galaxies lined up as if they expected to fight
from the first step instead of forming the loose traveling columns they favored.
Arrayed against Clan Wolf was the Tenth Army, composed of some of the best
divisions and regiments the ComGuards had to offer. Having pinpointed the exact
position of the Clan landing, Precentor V Margo Koivu deployed her forces along
the trees covering the foothills of the Porozistu Mountains.
Contact came as Clan Wolf passed the little hamlet of Forest's End. The ComStar
forces engaged the Third Battle Cluster of Beta Galaxy and the Seventh Battle
Cluster of Gamma Galaxy, holding the 283rd Division to fend off the Fourth Wolf
Guards of Alpha Galaxy. The 283rd, though inexperienced, fought better than
expected, and prevented Clan Wolf closing a loop that would have trapped the
divisions involved in the primary engagement.
While the 283rd held off the Fourth Wolf Guards, elements of the Clan's right
flank were harried by members of the elite Sixty-sixth Division. The Wolf Khans,
seeing no easy way around the attackers, hit them in the center of their
offensive line. The concerted pressure weakened the ComGuards' formation and
forced the 278th from their hilltop position.
Hard-pressed, the ComGuards started to fall back under cover of artillery
support. Aerospace elements on either side were of little help to those on the
ground, as they were fighting a running battle of their own. The retreat was
accomplished in good order, and the Tenth Army regrouped 20 kilometers from Brzo
and Skupo, establishing a new defensive line.
Precentor Koivu was concerned when her forces withdrew from Forest's End without
pursuit. She had expected to be relentlessly harried, especially since Clan Wolf
had blooded several divisions. Yet, as she positioned her forces outside Skupo
and Brzo, the enemy was not in sight.
The Precentor's concern was validated when the Clan attempted to skirt the Tenth
in an attempt to take the enemy's rear or bypass them entirely in a drive for
Skupo. The ComGuards deployed scouts and fighters to find the Wolves, but the
recon fighters were harassed by Clan Wolf fighters, and so Koivu's scouts found
nothing but trees and hills.
As the ComGuards started to fall back, Alpha Galaxy's Thirteenth Wolf Guards
slipped behind the 166th Division. The Precentor immediately ordered her reserve
divisions forward, sending the veteran 282nd Division to take on the Thirteenth
Wolf Guards and force them away from the 166th and Skupo.
The next two hours would be crucial. The ComGuards began to pull back from their
position, only to be attacked by the rest of Clan Wolf. They could not halt
their withdrawal without stretching their forces dangerously thin in order to
prevent Clan Wolf from slipping through their lines. The Precentor ordered her
reserve forces to stand firm in the face of the Wolf juggernaut to cover the
retreat.
The 282nd Division made contact with the Thirteenth Wolf Guards, and the ensuing
fight, though far more costly for the 282nd, forced the Wolf Spiders to abandon
their drive. By the time the Wolf Spiders pulled back, most of the Tenth Army
stood on the crest of a series of steep hills overlooking the two cities and the
road that connected them, less than five kilometers away.
Before the ComGuard forces could dig in, Clan Wolf launched another offensive.
Again they engaged the ComGuards up and down the line. When the defenders
weakened, they hit the center of the line with a vengeance, straining the
defensive perimeter to the breaking point. Having successfully broken through,
the warriors of Clan Wolf stood on the road between the two cities.
It was beginning to look as if Clan Wolf would encircle Brzo, trapping most of
the Tenth Army. The Wolf Spiders were in for a shock, however. As they closed on
what appeared to be an open hilltop, 'Mechs, tanks, and squads of infantry rose
out of a system of trenches to fire on the stunned Wolf warriors. The fighting
in the trenches was fierce and unforgiving. Only sheer stubbornness and an
unwillingness to retreat saved the Wolf Spiders.
After an hour of short-range firefights, the ComGuard division pulled back, with
the Wolf Spiders on their heels. They reached the road, ready to continue the
push northward and threatening to encircle Skupo. Elements of the Ninth Army
appeared from the northwest, supported by aerospace fighters and artillery. The
fresh troops barreled into the bulge that Clan Wolf had created between the two
cities. Elements of the Ninth were also diverted to reinforce the reeling 138th.
By midnight the battleline resembled the letter "M." Clan Wolf had suffered a
major disappointment in being prevented from closing a loop around either Skupo
or Brzo. The ComGuards had achieved a great, but costly, victory because the
Tenth Army had held long enough for the Ninth to arrive.
The Precentor and her staff made an important discovery during the fighting. Not
only was Clan Wolf being conservative with their ammunition (unlike the other
Clans), but they had configured their OmniMechs with a heavy bias toward energy
weapons. In addition, most of the Elementals fought without their usual SRM
pack, and supply trains were following closely behind the second line. This
frugality made one thing certain: the ComGuards could not count on Clan Wolf
running out of ammunition.
The fight for Skupo and Brzo continued with only short respites. It was centered
on the Wolf Spiders, who renewed their efforts against the 138th Division. Under
heavy fire from the Clan, the demoralized and inexperienced warriors broke and
ran. Despite the reassignment of reserves from the Ninth Army as reinforcements
for the 138th, the Wolf Spiders destroyed their prey completely. As Khan
Kerensky hunted, the Eleventh Wolf Guards of Delta Galaxy engaged the 278th
Division, and the 166th fought a hit-and-run battle with the remnants of the
Thirteenth Wolf Guards.
The ComGuard forces were finally overwhelmed. Skupo fell to Clan Wolf. The
ComGuards could not slow the progress of the Thirteenth Wolf Guards as they
continued to push north to connect with the rest of their force. The resulting
encirclement would trap whole ComGuard divisions in Skupo. Rather than risk the
loss of so many warriors, the ComGuards withdrew and conceded Skupo to Clan
Wolf.
Even retreat would prove difficult, because Clan Wolf launched a major push at
virtually the same time. This caused considerable confusion among the retreating
forces. ComGuard division commanders are to be praised for preventing the
confusion from becoming a panic. As it was, the Wolf Guards captured almost two
hundred warriors in their encirclement of Skupo.
The Fourth Wolf Guards and the Third Battle Cluster reappeared in the bulge.
Both had been conspicuous by their absence during the past two days, and their
arrival was dreaded, with good reason. Their main axis of attack was aimed
directly at Brzo. The force of so many Clan heavy and assault OmniMechs
attempting to breach the defenses around the city was daunting, and it was
understandable when the Tenth Army bent. It is to their credit that they did not
immediately break.
The divisions of the Ninth Army did not wait for an order to launch their own
offensive in support of the Tenth, hoping to slow the Wolf offensive. The two
Clan Wolf assault clusters shifted their axis. The Ninth's assault, instead of
helping to hold the Clan forces, allowed Clan Wolf to breach the defensive ring
where the two armies should have met. This split the ComGuard forces into two
groups, a dangerous situation.
In response to these new attacks, the Eleventh Army was dispatched to reinforce
the faltering defense of Brzo. Clan Wolf was expected to attack the Ninth Army,
but advance scouts reported the Clan devoting considerable effort to raiding
ComGuard supply depots and creating and concealing depots of their own.
Though it was obvious that Clan Wolf was willing to use its mobility to work
around advantageous ComStar positions, they remained in the Porozistu Mountains.
The Eleventh ComGuards had been assigned to that area to take part in a direct
engagement with ilKhan Ulric Kerensky's forces.
Clan Wolf gradually broke off individual battles to regroup for the final
engagement in the mountains. The fighting began amid a raging thunderstorm. Clan
Wolf moved forward slowly, feinting and thrusting to maintain their advantage.
The links to their supply bases held, and ComStar's few attempts to disrupt
these lines were quickly smashed. Even with this advantage, what little ground
was taken was won at a heavy price. Khan Garth Radick was slain commanding Beta
Galaxy.
Clan Wolf inflicted heavy enough damage on the ComStar forces that the
Thirteenth Army was committed to the mountains. Before the new ComStar force
could join the engagement, however, the battle for Tukayyid ended.
Refusal War
The years after Tukayyid were relatively quiet as the Clans fell back to their
old inter-Clan raiding habits. Things changed for the worse in 3058, when Wolf
Supremists put Ulric Kerensky on trial for genocide. Ulric managed to defeat the
motion in the Wolf Clan Council, but the Wolf Loremaster, Dalk Carns, played one
last attempt to ruin him. Carns accused Ulric of deliberately plotting the
destruction of three generations of Wolf forces. The treaty he agreed to with
Precentor Martial Focht would deprive future generations of Wolf warriors of
needed combat experiencing, thus leaving them unprepared when the invasion
resumed. Ulric forced the issue to the Grand Kuraltai, but, in spite of a
eloquent defense by saKhan Phelan Kell, he was forced out of office. The
Crusader element in the Kurultai attempted to repudiate the peace treaty, but
Ulric declared a Trial of Refusal. The Jade Falcons won the right to battle the
Wolves, but, in a surprise move, Ulric declared his intent on striking at every
Jade Falcon world in the Inner Sphere with all the might available to the Wolf
Clan. The ensuing battles resulted in the deaths of Ulric Kerensky and Wolf Khan
Natasha Kerensky. The battles destroyed nearly ten Wolf and Jade Falcon
Galaxies. In a telling blow, Khan Phelan Kell led the best of the Wolf Clan
Wardens to the world of Morges where his forces, along with the Kell Hounds,
defeated two Jade Falcon Galaxies. The Wolf forces then retreated to Arc-Royal,
Phelan Kell's homeworld, to rest and rebuild their forces.
In a blatant power play, Jade Falcon saKhan Chistu declared that the Wolves had
been absorbed by the victorious Jade Falcons. This plan fell apart when Wolf
warrior Vlad, a former aide to Ulric Kerensky, denied Chistu's version of Ulric
Kerensky's death. The two warriors battled and Chistu fell to Vlad. Vlad, in a
deal he made with Khan Crichell, then arranged for all the surviving Wolf
Supremist and Crusader warriors to form the core of a new Clan, the Jade Wolves.
Shortly afterward, Khan Elias Crichell was elected ilKhan. Crichell's tenure as
ilKhan was probably the shortest in Clan history. Khan Vlad Ward challenged
Crichell's fitness and slew the elderly ilKhan in a lopsided battle. Vlad then
disbanded the Jade Wolves and reestablished the Wolf Clan.
Rebuilding
The bloody Refusal War devastated Clan Wolf. The once mighty Clan is now split
into two ideological camps: the Wolves led by Vlad Ward and the Wolves-in-Exile
led by Phelan Kell. Phelan Kell's Wolves have sided with the remergent Star
League while Vlad's forces are staunch Crusaders waiting to begin the invasion
again.
Khan Vlad has been very politically active in the Grand Council meetings. He and
Jade Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde have an informal alliance to preserve their Clans.
Khan Phelan's defection to the Inner Sphere deprived the Wolves of all of its
Warden-minded warriors, effectively ten percent of the Clan's remaining
strength. The remaining Wolf Clusters, all diehard Crusaders, were severely
understrength and lacking available manpower. When Ice Hellion Khan, Asa Taney,
attempted to absorb the Wolves, Khan Vlad and Khan Marthe teamed to crush the
vote for Absorption. Vlad then manipulated the warrior caste of numerous Clans
by stating that only those warriors who were members of the invading Clans would
participate in the renewed invasion. Within days, the Wolf Clan headquarters was
besieged with preemptive batchalls. The warriors taken into the Wolf Clan have
replenished the depleted Galaxies and allowed Vlad to reform and equip seven
Galaxies.
Under the leadership of their new Khan, Vlad Ward, the Wolves face the
monumental task of reorganizing their shattered forces and restoring them to
their former strength. The sheer difficulty of accomplishing this should keep
the Wolves from immediately threatening the Inner Sphere, though they may pose a
danger to the exiled Wolf Wardens. Their existence is an affront to their
Crusader sensibilities, and the very weakness of the surviving Wolf supremacists
paradoxically provides them all the more reason to attack. By launching
successful assaults against the "traitor" Wolves in exile, the Crusader Wolves
may attempt to prove to their fellow Clans that they are stronger than they seem
and thereby stave off other Clans' attempts to absorb them.
Fortunately for the Inner Sphere, the Crusader Wolves must also use their
military resources to hold onto the Inner Sphere systems they currently possess.
The citizens of these worlds have not hesitated to take advantage of their
conquerors' reduced strength, and rebellions are rife. Anti-Clan resistance in
the Wolf Clan Occupation Zone should keep the better part of the Crusader
Wolves' fighting forces too busy to threaten the Inner Sphere for quite some
time.
Though rebuilding will probably take the Crusader Wolves the better part of the
next decade, we cannot afford to be complacent about their reduced numbers or
their difficulties. Ardent Crusaders to a man, the warriors of Clan Wolf likely
have no intention of allowing the Refusal War to cost them their chance at
taking Terra and becoming ilKhan. Undoubtedly they will do whatever they must to
regain the Wolf Clan's former prominence, shatter the Truce of Tukayyid and take
the lead in the renewed invasion.
Instead of striking at Clan Wolf in Exile, Vlad Ward's Crusader Wolves decided
to attack the Clan Smoke Jaguar planet of Kiamba. Attacking and defeating the
Smoke Jaguars because of their weakened state resulting from their failure to
recover from their losses on Tukayyid and the near constant raiding by Clan Nova
Cat and the Draconis Combine, Khan Ward captured Katrina Steiner-Davion and her
JumpShip, on the way to Kiamba to negotiate an alliance with the Jaguars. Seeing
her chance, the Lyran Alliance Archon instead formed a covert alliance of sorts
with Khan Ward and his Crusader Wolves, the terms of which are presently
unknown. The Archon was then released and allowed to return home to Tharkad.
What the future holds for Vlad Ward's Wolf Clan is unknown. Their need to rest
and recover from the Refusal War with Clan Jade Falcon is important, but may be
overridden by their need to prove themselves strong and fend off any Clans
interested in absorbing the Wolves or capturing their planets. It is these two
conflicting needs that make the Wolves a rather unpredictable force and one to
be watched closely by the forces of the Inner Sphere.
Death of a Clan
With the defeat of the Smoke Jaguars in the Inner Sphere and on Huntress, the
Clans found themselves with the unprecedented prospect of an Inner Sphere
invasion of Strana Mechty. The Star League Defense Force soon challenged the
Clans to a Trial of Refusal over the invasion. If the Inner Sphere won, the
invasion was over and the invading Clans would retain the worlds they had
conquered. If the Clans won, the invasion would resume. In a bid to wreak chaos
in the future, Vlad abstained from voting on the challenge. The Warden Clans
refused to participate in the Trial, leaving the eight Crusader Clans to face
the SLDF. As the Smoke Jaguars had only two Binaries of troops left, it was
decided that each Crusader Clan would only commit two Binaries to the battle.
Vlad led the Wolf Binary into action against Kai Allard-Liao and the 1st St.
Ives Lancers. The battle quickly became mired down as it became clear to Vlad
that the Lancers were not afraid to fight the Wolves. This point was proven when
Kai, using an ex-Smoke Jaguar Stormcrow, shot Vlad out of his Timber Wolf. The
battle by then had reached a stalemate - the Lancers were too slow to catch the
fleet Wolf 'Mechs, but the Wolves lacked the firepower to gain a decisive
victory. With this in mind, Vlad accepted Kai's offer of a draw.
After the challenge was over and the Star League claimed victory, Vlad made a
stunning announcement. Since the Wolves had abstained from the voting and they
had not lost their battle, the results of the Trial did not affect them. Prince
Victor offered to ready his troops at the Rasalhague/Wolf border. Vlad told him
that the Wolves would wait out the truce and strike when he was ready. |
