Hercynian Crisis

The Hercynian Crisis began around 4500, when Union colonists on Hercynia encountered an aggressive alien race. "Bugs"—later called "egregorians" due to their unique hive mind organization—attacked the colonists, slaughtering the civilians before help could arrive. A distress call went out, Union activated two Marine Expeditionary Forces, and cleared the planet in an eight-year campaign, ending in the deployment of a Total Biome Kill (TBK) weapon. Hercynia was declared a quarantine zone until 4960, when the planet was once again opened for colonization; Landmark Colonial is currently developing a settlement there.

The Conflict

Prelude

Union colonists, after setting up an outpost on Hercynia, were attacked by native aviarthopod fauna near the end of their second year on the planet. The team was wiped out, but sent a distress call to the closest Union listening post. The Union Naval Department sent two Marine Expeditionary Forces in response, cobbled together from local Union garrisons. Fifty years after the distress call went out from the colonists, Union troops made planetfall.

Deployment

Union's first skirmish with the egregorians began with an assault on a hive near the equator; Union marines cleared the hive with little difficulty. Union's first military outpost on Hercynia, FOB Gazelle, was established on top of the hive, and Union ferried a full quarter of its strength to this location.
However, some egregorians had begun to retake the subterranean tunnels, and in the course of expanding them caused a structural failure, leading to a cave-in and the subsequent loss of FOB Gazelle. Union responded with precision strikes against known hive mouths on the planet, and evacuated survivors of the FOB Gazelle incident. A second planetfall was made, this time in a more secure location, and the conflict proceeded for the next eight years.

Battlefield

The Hercynian conflict was largely conducted underground, at close quarters, in egregorian hives—though some marines were attacked in the thick jungle overworld as well. To deal with this problem, marine hardsuits were equipped with fuel-air explosive and incendiary weapons, in addition to large-caliber armor-piercing munitions to puncture the hardened chitin shell of the egregorians.

The Engagement

The Crisis was a protracted, costly expedition, which eventually resulted in the decision to use a TBK weapon to clear the planet of the egregorians rather than continue in brutal close-quarter clearances of egregorian hives, which spanned much of the planet, and largely ineffective planetary bombardment.

Outcome

Immediately following the Crisis, General Massive Systems procured field data on modified hardsuits used during the conflict, using it to develop the original Genghis chassis and many others.
Thousands of human troops were left behind before the TBK weapon was deployed; their fate is generally unknown, but reports from Landmark Colonial surveyors in 5014 indicate some did survive deployment and may have established small societies.
Immediately following the deployment of the TBK and the close of the Crisis, the planet of Hercynia was left utterly barren and lifeless. Quarantine of the planet was only lifted in 4960, when it was declared safe to begin biome reconstruction.

Aftermath

In its wake, the Hercynian Crisis was a persistent hot-button issue for those agitating for change in Union; while neither it nor any other issue played a singular role in the popular uprisings that took place from 4560-4591, it is generally regarded as a crucial event in showing the limitations of anthrochauvanist ideology.
As well, Admiral John Creighton Harrison (who would later become Harrison I), the founder of Harrison Armory and former Theater Commander for Hercynia, fled to the GMS Special Project World Ras Shamra to avoid retaliation for his part in the Crisis after the Second Committee was deposed. He was eventually brought to justice in 4630 for overseeing the TBK deployment on Hercynia as well as the unrelated First Interest War with the Karrakis Trade Barons and an attempted counter-revolutionary coup of the then-nascent Third Committee.

Historical Significance

Legacy

During the Crisis, Union Naval Department marines developed modifications to their powered armor exoskeletons to better fight in the subterranean environment of egregorian hives—importantly, these "hardsuits" as they were to become known as featured far more armor, and many had modifications to their power plants to make them more powerful and resilient. These developments paved the way for the first mechanized chassis—"mechs"—developed by GMS.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Planetary

Start Date

4500

Ending Date

4560

Conflict Result

Total Biome Kill of Hercynia