A terrible secret threatens to begin the violence anew--in the bloodiest civil war man has ever known.
1. What is the Fedcom Civil War?
The Federated Commonwealth Civil War is a major BattleTech event which has been building up almost since the beginning of the BattleTech setting. Not only is it a war between the two realms that make up the Federated Commonwealth: the Lyran Alliance and the Federated Suns, but it is also a war between Katherine and Victor Steiner-Davion who happen to have followers in both realms. Lyran VS. Fedsun, Katherine's supporters VS. Victor's. And on the edges of the conflict are those in both realms with their own agendas, who could throw their support to either side, or take advantage of the situation to settle old scores with both those within the former FedCom and without. The bloodiest civil war man has ever known will unfold in numerous novels, sourcebooks, scenario books, and two computer games.
2. What led up to the Civil War?
A more fair question would be: "What hasn't been leading up to the Civil War?". Much of the events of the BattleTech universe have either been building up the Federated Commonwealth or tearing it down. Clues to the FedCom's formation can be found almost since the beginning of BattleTech and it's slow disintegration has been taking place since the novel "Natural Selection" published way back in 1992 (I think?). It's all been building up since then, and we're finally on our way to seeing the ultimate showdown between Victor and Katherine Steiner-Davion.
Basic plot so far: In the BattleTech universe there are five great nations. When Hanse Davion married Melissa Steiner two of these, the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth, were united into a single super-state: The Federated Commonwealth. After Hanse died of natural causes and Melissa was assassinated, their son Victor Steiner-Davion became ruler of both realms. Whoever was responsible for Melissa's death was also stirring up nationalistic feelings in what was once the Lyran Commonwealth. To try to keep things under control, Victor appointed his sister Katherine Steiner-Davion regent of the Lyran half of the realm because of her reputation as a peacemaker. To late did Victor realize that it was Katherine who was behind their mother's death and before long she declared that her half of the realm was independent and renamed it the Lyran Alliance. With a joint Marik and Liao invasion threatening FedCom space, and the possibility of a Clan invasion at any moment, Victor was in no position to do anything about it.
When Victor left the Inner Sphere heading for Clan Space, to put a final end to the Clan War, he left his youngest sibling Yvonne as regent. While he was away Katherine stirred up trouble in the FedSuns, blaming Victor's obsession of the Clan threat and Yvonne's inexperience for that realms problems. Soon the populace was demanding that someone more experienced become ruler, and Yvonne called in her sister the famous "peacemaker". Now Katherine was ruler of both realms, but quickly found it difficult to undo the split she had caused to the former FedCom. Neither of the two realms trusted each other and truly reuniting them would not be easy...
3. How did the Civil War start?
Though it had been building for quite some time, the FedCom Civil War officially started in the novel "Measure of a Hero" with the assassination of Arthur Steiner-Davion on December 6, 3062. Though his death was initially blamed on the Draconis Combine, only a short time later Victor Steiner-Davion claimed he had evidence that it was actually his sister Katherine who had arranged Arthur's death in an effort to reunite the FedCom by providing it a common enemy in the Draconis Combine. This didn't stop the Draconis March of the Federated Suns from launching several raids against the Combine, one of which successfully captured the planet of Proserpina. The announcement did however send Victor's supporters into action, and a full blown civil war within the FedCom was officially underway. At the same time the Draconis Combine annexed the Lyons Thumb, a portion of the Lyran Alliance which had been under joint occupation by both nations since the formation of the Chaos March.
4. Which factions are involved so far?
Federated Suns (where Victor's strongest support is)
Lyran Alliance (where Katherine's strongest support is)
Draconis Combine (attacked by FedSuns, also annexed the Lyons Thumb)
Comguard & SLDF (though not directly involved in the conflict, both give Victor more resources to play with)
5. Who are the major players?
-Victor Steiner-Davion (former Archon-Prince of the Federated Commonwealth
-Katherine Steiner-Davion (current Archon-Princess of the Federated Commonwealth)
-General Nondi Steiner (Head of Lyran Alliance Armed Forces, Katherine's military commander)
-Peter Steiner-Davion (next in line to the FedCom thrones after Victor and Katherine)
-Yvonne Steiner-Davion (youngest of the Steiner-Davion brood)
-Theodore Kurita (Coordinator of the Draconis Combine)
-Grand Duke Morgan Kell (ruler of the Arc-Royal Defense Cordron)
-Khan Phelan Kell (Khan of Clan Wolf-in-Exile)
-Jerrard Cranston (head of the SLDF Intelligence Command)
-Duke Robert Kelswa-Steiner (leader of the Free Skye movement)
-Duke James Sandoval (responsible for the FedSun raids into Kurita space)
6. Which books have covered the war so far?
Novels:
-Illusions of Victory (prelude to the civil war)
-Measure of a Hero (the war begins)
Sourcebooks:
-Field Manual: Federated Suns (Details Davion forces)
-Field Manual: Lyran Alliance (Details Steiner forces)
-Operation: Flashpoint (campaign set during the beginning of the war)
More info on these products can be found at Fasa's website.
7. Timeline of events so far:
20 Aug 3028- Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner are married. Beginning of the 4th Succession War, and and the birth of the Federated Commonwealth.
3030- Victor Steiner-Davion born.
3032- Katherine Steiner-Davion born.
3035- Peter Steiner-Davion born.
3037- Arthur Steiner-Davion born.
3039- Yvonne Steiner-Davion born.
17 June 3052- Death of Hanse Davion
19 June 3055- Melissa Steiner assassinated. Victor Steiner-Davion becomes Archon-Prince.
18 Sept 3057- Lyran part of the Fedcom secedes to form the Lyran Alliance. Katherine Steiner-Davion becomes it's Archon.
18 Sept 3059- Victor Steiner-Davion leaves for Clan Space.
Dec 3060- Katherine Steiner-Davion persuades her sister Yvonne to step down as the FedCom regent. She takes control of the Federated Commonwealth and reunites it with the Lyran Alliance.
15 March 3061- Victor Steiner-Davion returns from Clan Space.
1-5 Nov 3061- Victor Steiner-Davion named Precentor Martial of ComStar and Commanding General of the SLDF.
18 Aug 3062- Solaris Riots
25 Aug 3062- Combine troops seize the Lyons Thumb region in the Lyran Alliance.
6 Dec 3062- Arthur Steiner-Davion assassinated.
7 Dec 3062- Victor Steiner-Davion claims that Katherine is behind Arthur's assassination. Issues a call to arms to all forces loyal to him.
24 Dec 3062- FedCom Civil War officially begins.
8. Where are the Clans and the Star League Defense Force?
Though the Clan invasion has been stopped there are two clans in a position to take advantage of the current conflict. Both the Jade Falcons and Vlad's Wolves could decide to attack either the Lyran Alliance or the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon. Both Clans are still rebuilding from the Refusal War however, and are likely to stay quiet for the near future. The SLDF is commanded by Victor, but if he were to use it openly in support of his cause it would very likely raise too many questions in the Star League Council and might even be used as an excuse to dissolve the Star League and disband the SLDF.
9. Where do MechWarrior 4 & MechCommander 2 fit in?
MechWarrior 4: Vengeance takes place on Kentares IV which lies in the Federated Suns. The government has been deposed (and slaughtered) and a puppet ruler sympathetic to Katherine has been put up. You play the sun of the deposed Duke and return to avenge your fathers death and bring the planet back into Victor's camp. In MechCommander 2 you serve as a mercenary on Carter V, a planet in the Chaos March, which is jointly held by both FedSun and Lyran troops. Fighting has yet to break out between the two forces but feelings are uneasy on the planet. When the Capellan Confederation makes moves to take the planet all hell breaks loose and needless to say there will be plenty of opportunity for a mercenary group to make some serious money fighting for all three sides;)
10. Where do BattleTech & the MechWarrior RPG fit in?
BattleTech allows you to play out battles in the BattleTech universe, pick sides in the Fedcom Civil War and fight it out, or pick any other faction that takes your interest and play out any event in the history of the Inner Sphere or any current event (or make up your own). Though the MechWarrior and MechCommander games try to recreate the feel of BattleTech as much as they can, no game could contain everything in the real game, there simply isn't enough room! There's literally hundreds of 'Mechs and vehicles not included on any computer game, many new weapons, lot's of different factions, and a huge epic storyline that goes beyond anything any computer game could ever bring you. In fact BattleTech can be more than a game if you want it to. It can be a hobby all by itself, where you not only play the game, but also paint miniatures and create terrain for them to fight over. And unlike many other miniature war games it isn't very expensive to get started. In fact you don't even have to buy any miniatures if you don't want to (though once you start playing with them you won't want to go back).
To find out more about the BattleTech game check out the Rookie Section of the site.
MechWarrior RPG 3rd edition is the role-playing game set in the BattleTech universe. In this game you create a character (anything from a special ops agent, merchant, plain old infantry grunt, or even a MechWarrior.) and take on their role in the game. In fact the BattleTech universe is so diverse that you can run almost any kind of game that you could want. A game set during the FedCom Civil War would be especially exciting because the players may not know which side they want to help, or even if they want to help any side at all!
Written by: Terren Bruce "Tel Hazen".
Go back to main page.