Battle of MacGregor

Battle of MacGregor Conflict First Havenite-Manticoran War Date 1915 PD Place MacGregor System Result Manticoran victory Combatants Manticoran Alliance LAC group of Eighth Fleet People's Navy MacGregor System Defence Commanders Comm. Tremaine Commodore Ryan (Commissioner Halket) Strength 354 LACs DN BB BC DD Casualties 5 LACs destroyed 3 LACs heavily damaged all but DD

The Battle of MacGregor was the complete destruction of the People's Navy MacGregor System Defence through a surprise assault by three wings of Manticoran Alliance LACs as part of Operation Buttercup.

Prelude

In order to elude detection, three LAC Wings, led by Commander Prescott Tremaine, were dropped off over a light-day away from MacGregor, and spent two days approaching the system at low speed, under stealth. (HH9)

Order of battle

Manticoran Alliance

LAC group of the CLAC Squadron 3:

• LAC Wing 16
• LAC Wing 17
• LAC Wing 19

People's Navy

MacGregor System Defence:

• wall of battle (cold impeller wedges):
  • a battle squadron
  • a battleship squadron
• screen:
  • a battlecruiser squadron (active impeller wedges)
  • a destroyer flotilla (active impeller wedges)
  • some uncertain units with cold impeller wedges

Course of battle

Having eluded three squadrons of picket destroyers, all Ferret-class LACs fired their entire load-out of ship-killers at the remaining ships sitting in orbit around MacGregor, sending a wave of over twenty-seven hundred missiles hurtling at the ships. Other than a squadron of battlecruisers, the majority of the ships were caught unawares with their impeller wedges down, so most missiles were targeted at the exposed and undefended tops and bottoms.

Three dreadnoughts, five battleships, and a dozen battlecruisers and cruisers were destroyed in the initial volley. The Ferrets then fell into formation behind the Shrike-Bs, which began launching their own salvos at the surviving ships, destroying more un-shielded ships. Captain Tremaine then ordered three squadrons of Shrike-Bs to attack the battlecruisers that had their wedges up, while the remaining LACs mopped up the remains of the dreadnoughts and battleships. Five LACs were destroyed during the assault on the battlecruisers.

Before her dreadnought was destroyed, Commodore Gianna Ryan ordered her destroyers to withdraw, in order to warn the People's Navy forces in other systems about the power of the Manticoran LACs. The rest of the PN forces were annihilated. (HH9)