User:Lancer1289

User Page Archive: Archive

About me
I am a huge fan of the Mass Effect Universe, however when I started editing here way back in 2008, I only made around 60 edits or so before the release of Mass Effect 2. After the release of ME2 is when I really started getting involved in this wiki and now I have well over the amount of edits I thought I would have. Even so, I do know quite a lot about the games, the books, and getting better at the comics, so I do know what I am talking about, usually. I will admit when I am wrong so you have no worries there.

As to my schooling I am in college and enjoying it. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and attend the College of DuPage, the best community college in the United States. That is the opinion of many major educational magazines and not mine. As to what I am studying, I am studying Video Game Design and Development and enjoying it. I am also studying for a degree in music, mainly an AFA degree.

Because I wrote a lot of the walkthoughs, or in the process of rewriting them, I take a personal measure to keep them free of spam. I don't remove anything good but if something completely false is added, I will be removing it. Also if there are new walkthoughs, you can probably bet I will be creating the pages or at least updating them after they are up. I can write a major walkthough in about a day, give or take a few hours. So as new DLC packs come out, I will be writing the walkthoughs for them. As to my knowledge of the walkthoughs, I have 20+ completed ME walkthoughs and at present 15+ ME2 walkthroghs.

Also I am one of the Mass Effect Wiki's admins, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a message on my talk page. No matter the question I will try to help out if I can, otherwise I will direct you in the right direction, or at least try to. Just a fair warning, if you have a question on the day a new DLC pack comes out, I may not answer right away, unless it's a vandel, as I will be writing the walkthoughs for it if it has missions or assignmets. Otherwise I'll do my best to get back to you ASAP.

Milestones
I put this here because I have a habit of keeping track of dates and things I accomplish. So if this seems like a self-indulgence trip, well it is. This is my user page after all.

Wow, today I hit a milestone, well to me anyway, edit number 5,000. I thought it would take me well over a year to get to this point. Oh well, 5,000 and counting, as I don't plan to stop anytime soon. Ok enough with my self-indulgence trip. Lancer1289 04:19, June 4, 2010 (UTC)

Another milestone today, and on the eve of the release of Overlord of all days. I guess I have to write those guides in the next few days. Anyway, I am doing the math and just a mere 11 days since I made my 5,000th edit. Now I can celebrate edit number 6,000. Man, the last days seemed to drag on, mainly due to summer classes and a massive paper, but I have no intention of slowing down. My goal by the end of 2010 is me celebrating edit number 10,000. Well that is enough of my second self-indulgence trip. Lancer1289 05:13, June 15, 2010 (UTC)

Well I'll have to make this quick, but edit number 7,000. Wow I am really moving along here. Yea. Lancer1289 05:44, June 26, 2010 (UTC)
 * Addendum: I hit yet another milestone today with edit number 7,000. The ironic thing I found is that it is yet another 11 days, almost to the minute but I was off by a half hour, 31 minutes if you want to be exact, since edit number 6,000. I can't believe how fast my edit counter has gone up in the last 11 days, but when I really started editing here I couldn't possibly imagine that I'd be at 7,000 edits in under 5 months. I really made my first edit, when I started contributing heavly, between my spring semester classes on January 28, 2010. Before then I had only made edits filling in armor stats and one edit to the Citadel: Signal Tracking page about how you acquire the mission. If you had asked me when I made those first edits on the Normandy SR-2 page about where Jack was, if I though I'd be here today with 7,000 edits, I'd say you were crazy. I never expected my counter and my contributions to go up that fast, but I guess it did. As I have said, I don't plan to stop anytime soon. Well that is enough of my third or fourth self-indulgence trip, but I like to keep track of these things. Lancer1289 06:27, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

Not really an edit count milestone but a significant one for me and I think a promotion to Admin/Sysop is worth mentioning. Anyway my role just increased and I will still do everything I can to help out and make this place better for everyone. Lancer1289 03:25, July 6, 2010 (UTC)

While it may not be 11 days since my last milestone of 7,000, edit number 8,000. Wow I am really moving along. The last two weeks have really flown by. So yea edit number 8,000. Lancer1289 22:17, July 8, 2010 (UTC)

Well it may have been 16 days, but this makes yet another thousand edits, making my total 9,000. So I am continually moving along here and making this a better place for everybody. Lancer1289 19:40, July 24, 2010 (UTC)

Well it may be a few months yet to the end of the year, but edit number 10,000. I've stopped counting days, nor to I care so anymore, but still I never thought I'd be at 10,000 by now. I thought I'd be here in 2011, not today. Still so much work to do. Lancer1289 20:18, August 9, 2010 (UTC)

Battle of the Week
Because I absolutly love military history, every week I will display a battle here with a few detais and a link to the Wikipedia article. I will not add links for every possible thing however, too much typing on my part. Enjoy.

Battle One
This was supposed to be posted last week but I spaced so enjoy

This Week: Battle of Kasserine Pass War: World War II

German Forces
 * Leader: General Erwin Rommel
 * Forces: 22,000 men
 * Losses:
 * 2250 KIA
 * 40 Armored Vehicles

Allied Forces
 * Leaders: Lieutenant Generals Kenneth Anderson (Great Britain) and Lloyd Fredendall (United States)
 * Forces: 30,000 Men
 * Losses:
 * 10,000 KIA
 * 183 Tanks
 * 706 Trucks

Overview: The Battle of Kasserine Pass was the United States’ first real taste of combat in the European Theatre during World War II, and would lead to some harsh lessons. Because American forces at the time were inexperienced and untested in combat, it lead to an American defeat, heavy casualties, and Allied Forces getting pushed back over 50 miles in a rout.

Background: In the months leading up to Kasserine Pass, both American and British Forces were assaulting across Africa’s Northern Coast as part of Operation Torch. British Forces had already tried to cut off Tunisia and Tunis in December of 1942, but the attempt was committed by a small force, only divisional strength, and because of the poor transportation conditions, the attack failed. However, in early January of 1943 General Bernard Montgomery and his British Eighth Army captured Rommel’s main supply base at Tripoli. Rommel on the other hand had planned for this and had increased and added on to the French Fortifications around the city, as a result, even a small number of troops would be able to hold off Allied forces.

However, because the Allies had already crossed the Atlas Mountains, a key part of the defenses, and set up a forward operations base at Faid. The Germans attacked the base but were thrown back by French forces using their 75mm guns to great effect. As the Germans retreated, the US First Armored Division attacked with their tanks and artillery. However, the inexperienced US forces fell for a trap that the Germans had previously used against the French and British, they lead the US armor right into an ambush. As US tanks approached German lines, 88mm guns and other calibers of anti-tank guns opened up and obliterated the American tanks before they could retreat.

The Germans quickly counterattacked and took the Allied Forward Base using classic blitzkrieg tactics, and forced the Allies to retreat back over the mountains. This also provided the Axis with control over most of Tunisia and a secure line to the port of Tunis.

However because his supplies were low, Rommel devised a plan to both bolster his supplies and further erode American morale. There were two key American Supply Bases that he had his eyes on and taking them would accomplish both objectives and it would also prevent the Allies from attacking along the costal roads and possibly cutting of Tunis.

The Battle: On February 19, 1943 Rommel launched the assault and within minutes German Panzer IVs and newly arrived Tiger heavy tanks shattered the American lines and destroyed all armored counterattacks, which mainly consisted of M3 Lee and M3 Stuart light tanks and their inexperienced crews. During the night the Italians broke through American defenses along Highway 13 and avoided an American artillery barrage, as the US forces called in barrages usually after Axis troops had already passed the area where the artillery would fall. US high command tried on several occasions tried to counterattack, however all were beaten back with heavy losses.

As expected, US morale dropped by February 21 as the Germans reached the outskirts of Thala, which had direct links to Tebessa, which was one of the US depots. However all was not lost as isolated US units, left behind by the attacking Axis forces, put up furious resistance in the face of Axis mop-up forces, causing backups. This slowed Axis forces, as they had to commit to more forces to mop-up operations. During the night of February 21, General Anderson ordered the US Ninth Infantry Division, and its supporting artillery unit of 48 guns, into the defenses around Thala. He also ordered nearby British and French units, along with Royal Artillery units into the defenses, strengthening them. However General Ernest Harmon, who was sent by Eisenhower to observe the battle and report back, countermanded the order ordering the Ninth’s artillery to remain where it was, however there was enough French and British artillery in the zone to mount a defense.

The following morning, Allied artillery broke up the Axis attack before it began with a massive amount of shells raining down on the German Tenth Panzer Division. The barrage destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, and destroyed communications, with one shell landing inside the Tenth’s radio tent and blowing it up. The shell was then followed by a few more destroying most of the Tenth’s radios. Rommel had ordered the Tenth to retreat, but because of the artillery barrage, they were unable to do so until nightfall.

This led to a massive retreat of Axis forces and reinforcing the lines around Tunisia. During the next two days, constant US air attacks harassed the German retreat. Rommel reinforced his units along his defense lines facing the British Eighth Army. US forces reoccupied Kasserine Pass on February 25.

Outcome: Axis Tactical Victory

German forces managed to get to both US depots, but their raiding didn’t last long as Allied defenses put up stiffer and stiffer resistance. For a period of time after the battle, Axis forces continued to use captured US vehicles and supplies when and where they could.

However, the attack gave US forces their first taste of combat and Eisenhower reacted accordingly. He restructured Allied command, and gave George Patton command over the US II Corps, the primary US forces involved in the battle. When some of the Allied and Axis units met again, Axis forces tried to roll them over again, but the second time US and Allied forces didn’t retreat or break as they had done at Kasserine.

Wikipedia Article: Battle of Kasserine Pass You can see the history here for 2010: Battles Archive If you wish to discuss the battle please do so here and scroll down to the appropriate section: Battles Talk Page Next Week We go to the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Battle Two
This Week: Battle of Leyte Gulf War: World War II

American Forces
 * Leader: Admiral Thomas Kinkaid
 * Forces:
 * 8 Fleet Carriers
 * 8 Light Carriers
 * 18 Escort Carriers
 * 12 Battleships
 * 24 Cruisers
 * 141 Destroyers
 * 1,500+ Planes
 * Unknown number of fleet auxiliary ships (PT Boats, Subs, Destroyer Escorts, etc.)
 * Losses:
 * 1,500+ KIA
 * USS Gambier Bay (Escort Carrier, Samar)
 * USS Johnston (Destroyer, Samar)
 * USS Samuel B. Roberts (Destroyer Escort, Samar)
 * USS Hoel (Destroyer, Samar)
 * USS St. Lo (Escort Carrier, Samar)
 * USS Princeton (Light Carrier, Cape Engano)

Japanese Forces
 * Leader: Admiral Takeo Kurita
 * Forces:
 * 1 Fleet Carrier
 * 3 Light Carriers
 * 9 Battleships
 * 14 Heavy Cruisers
 * 6 Light Cruisers
 * 35+ Destroyers
 * 300+ Planes
 * Losses:
 * 10,000+ KIA
 * All 4 Carriers
 * 3 Battleships
 * 8 Cruisers
 * 12 Destroyers

Overview: By 1944 the Japanese were getting beaten at every turn and had lost much of what they had gained. After much discussion and argument between ground commander General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz over what would get invaded next, Taiwan, or Formosa as it is known to the West, or the Philippines, it was eventually decided on that the Philippines would take priority. With the support of the Commander-in-Chief Franklin Roosevelt, and Nimitz changing his mind after seeing the invasion plans, and the estimated casualties from the operation, the Philippines was selected as the target. Another reason that Taiwan was overlooked was the lack of shipping available, and because the operation would require more troops than the Allies could muster in the Pacific at the time. Those forces would also likely be unavailable until Germany was defeated in Europe.

Background: Leading up to the invasion of Leyte, there were many things that had to be resolved, the principle one was where to land. Leyte island in the center of the Philippines was decided on because it was a nest in the heart of the enemy. Japanese forces were primarily stationed on Luzon in the North, Mindanao to the south, and Palawan to the west, however the forces on Samar and Leyte islands, two of the largest Eastern Islands, were small in comparison.

Another wrench in the plan was that US Naval forces would be that there would be no unified American Naval Command. Both Admiral William Halsey and Admiral Kinkaid were of the same rank and commanding different fleets. Halsey and the US Third Fleet was to watch the San Bernardino Straight, while Kinkaid and the US Seventh Fleet was to oversee the landing forces and their protection inside Leyte Gulf.

Once US forces had landed, the Japanese High Command saw one last opportunity to try and salvage their situation. They devised a plan where three forces, Northern, Center, and Southern force would work together to eliminate the landing forces and drive the US out of the Philippines. Northern Force would draw off Halsey’s Third Fleet, Center Force, consisting of the Super-Battleships Yamato and Musashi, would attack from the North through the San Bernardino Straight, and Southern Force would attack from the south via the Surigao Straight. A plan that if executed correctly would destroy the US landing beaches.

The Battle: The plan was however thrown into chaos on October 22 by the US submarines Darter and Dace. Both subs detected Center Force and launched torpedoes against it, sinking several cruisers and forcing another to retire. One of the ships sunk was Kurita’s flagship Atago, which sunk to quickly that Kurita was forced to jump from the bridge and swim for his life. He later transferred to the Musashi. One day before the battle on October 24, with both Center and Southern Forces were detected by the US Navy, Halsey’s Third Fleet rained bombs, torpedoes, and machine gun fire on both forces. During the attack against Center Force in the Sibuyan Sea, planes sunk the Musashi, forcing Kurita to swim for his life again as his second flagship was destroyed. Upon arriving at the Yamato, he ordered Center Force to turn around, away from Leyte in the face of further air attacks.

However later that day, scouts detected the decoy Northern Force, and Halsey sent a fateful message to Kinkaid. He was taking three task forces north after Northern Force’s carriers, which Halsey had been dying to go after, and the Japanese counted on that. However Kinkaid thought that Halsey was leaving one behind as he had four task forces. However, Halsey took his entire fleet, leaving nothing guarding the Straight. With the air attacks against his force ending, Kurita once again turned Center Force back towards Leyte. However events in the south took priority as Southern Force reached the Surigao Straight.

What Admiral Nishimura, the commander of Southern Force, didn’t know, was that his force, divided into two waves, was walking to a trap. Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf, US commander of the Seventh Fleet ships guarding the Straight, had designed a very elaborate defense of the narrow straight consisting of a first line of PT Boats, then a series of 28 destroyers on either side of the straight, then the Cruisers on either side, supported by several Australian cruisers as well, finally a line of Battleships guarding the opening of the Straight into Leyte Gulf.

As the first of Southern Force entered the straight, the PT Boats sprung into action and for the duration of the battle they would run in, firing torpedoes, strafing ships with their machine guns, then retreating, using their speed to dodge fire from the Japanese Warships. However the Japanese pressed on and ran into the Destroyers. They proceeded to use their 5-Inch guns, their torpedoes, and a smokescreen to further harass the Japanese, still they pressed on. The cruisers then got their turn, firing from their 6 and 8-Inch guns to do some damage to the Japanese. However the Japanese still broke through, however standing between them and Leyte now were six old battleships. However there were no ordinary battleships, just a few years ago five of these Battleships, the West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, California, and Pennsylvania, were on fire, damaged, and sinking in Pearl Harbor, “it’s payback time.”

The 12, 14, and 16-Inch guns of the Battleships proceeded to destroy what was left of Southern Force and cause havoc in the process. This would mark the last Battleship-vs.-Battleship fight in history, and the last time that anyone would “Cross the T” of the enemy. Almost all of the attacking Southern Force ships were destroyed, and all sustained damage. The remaining ships that weren’t pulverized by any of the ships in the Surigao Straight, bugged out before they were sunk. This was only one part of the massive battle.

The following day, Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, commander of the picket group “Taffy 3”, looked out to the north and saw warships approaching. Thinking that they were part of Halsey’s fleet, moving to assist the defenders at the Surigao Straight, he did nothing, until he was taking fire from the Yamato’s 18-Inch guns. He quickly scrambled his planes to hold off Center Force while his escort carriers, which were slow, escaped. “Taffy 1” and “Taffy 2” also quickly scrambled their planes to assist and sent their surface ships at full speed to assist while their carriers also closed the gap behind them.

However aboard the USS Johnston, its skipper, Lieutenant Commander Earnest Evans, saw that the carriers wouldn’t escape before being destroyed, so he ordered his ship to come about and attack the Japanese to buy more time. The Johnston was a Fletcher-class destroyer armed with torpedoes and 5 5-Inch radar directed guns, and Evans used them to his full advantage. When Kurita saw what the Johnston was doing, he was in shock as the tiny destroyer was outgunned and outclassed by the Japanese. Nevertheless, Evans was determined to by time, and led his ship into the teeth of Japanese defenses. The Johnston attacked with its guns and torpedoes but as it was pulling out for a second run, it took a hit form an 8-Inch gun. It’s speed was slowed and Evans gave the order to withdraw. However, upon emerging from his own smokescreen, he saw the other two destroyers and the four destroyer escorts turning to engage, so he ordered the Johnston to turn back into the fight.

Meanwhile the other surface ships were doing their best to keep the Japanese away from the carriers. The USS Hoel, one of the three destroyers, followed the Johnston into the fight and took on the Battleship Kongo. During the charge, the Hoel took a hit on her bridge, then another that knocked out three of her five guns, stopped her port engine, her torpedo control director, her radar, and her bridge steering control. Nevertheless, she continued on, firing her two remaining guns and still getting off some torpedoes that hit the Japanese Cruiser Haguro. However her charge cost her dearly, losing half her speed and most of her guns, but she still continued to maneuver and fire for another hour before finally capsizing taking 253 members of her crew with her after taking over 18 direct hits from every caliber of Japanese guns. She was the first ship lost that day.

The USS Samuel B. Roberts, one of the destroyer escorts commanded by Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland, armed with few torpedoes and only two 5-Inch guns, moved against a Japanese cruiser that outclassed it in every way. The captain of the cruiser, admired the Roberts for attacking a heavily armed ship that was vastly its superior but he still defended ship. The Roberts made that difficult by closing so close that the cruiser’s 8-Inch guns couldn’t depress enough to fire. After firing her three torpedoes, the Roberts proceeded to cause chaos for the next hour by strafing Japanese ships with her 5-Inch guns and her 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns. She took two hits, the second knocking her aft gun out of commission, but her forward gun set the bridge of cruiser that had wounded her ablaze. Then her luck ran out as she took three hits from the Kongo’s 14-Inch guns. This earned her a place in history by being “the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship”. Copeland was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions and had a frigate, the USS Copeland (FFG-25), named in his honor.

The Johnston was also hit several times but like the other ships, she still kept firing. After her forward gun was destroyed, and her engines stopped by damage, she still soldiered on. Eventually restoring power to one of her turrets, she fired off a few more shells before losing all power. Japanese Cruisers surrounded the Johnston and pummeled her for 10 minutes. Then the Cruisers broke off and returned to trying to get to the US carriers. 30 minutes after the Cruisers broke off, Evans ordered “abandon ship” and she sank 25 minutes later. Evans was seen abandoning ship but his body was never recovered, for his actions Evans was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions, and a destroyer escort, the USS Evans (DE-1023) was named in his honor.

Meanwhile the Japanese were dealing with another problem, the planes of the carriers and their pilots. The pilots were landing and taking off as necessary from the carrier decks, however their actions were nothing less than courageous. Torpedo bombers attacked along their designated routes, even if they were taking fire, they still held their course to keep the Japanese from firing elsewhere and their ships maneuvering to avoid their torpedoes. Dive-bombers also attacked from above, and when they had used their bombs, attacked with their machine guns. The fighters also did the same with their guns. The pilots continued to attack even when they were on bingo fuel and out of ammo. Their actions forced the Japanese gunners to divide their fire between the bombers, fighters, torpedo bombers, and surface ships.

While all of this was happening, Admiral Kinkaid sent many messages to both Halsey and Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl. As the battle continued, Kinkaid’s message became increasing desperate and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz watching the messages, and wondering why the escorts were under attack and where Halsey was, sent him a message that lives in history. When Halsey revived the message, he took it as an insult, but after reading the messages for “Taffy 3” and Kinkaid, which he didn’t get until much later, ordered a final attack against Northern Force, destroying it, and retreating. However he would arrive too late to stop Kurita from retreating, which is exactly what happened.

Faced with constant air attacks and courageous ship action, Kurita became convinced that he wasn’t facing escorts, but rather full fleet units, especially with the noted air attacks refusing to cease. Kurita’s order of a general attack didn’t help either initially because his ships instead of attacking as a force, but rather in small groups or individually. However, what finally did it was one radio message, Kurita heard about the defeat of Southern Force, and he ordered a retreat.

While the Americans celebrated, the first use of kamikazes took place as they dive bombed “Taffy 3” and destroyed the carrier St. Lo. This was just the first use of this deadly weapon, but unfortunately it wouldn’t be the last.

Outcome: Decisive American Victory

Leyte Gulf was the last time that Battleships engaged each other, and the battle destroyed the Japanese Navy as a fighting force. “Taffy 3” was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for their actions. There are several reports that as the Japanese departed, when passed American Ships, whether sunk or not, the sailors on board stood at attention to salute their opponents for their actions. The battle was one of the largest naval battles in history and also the last one where Battleships played a decisive role. However while the US forces were celebrating their victory, a worry about submarine attacks kept some survivors in the water from being rescued, in some cases, it took over 48 hours for them to be rescued.

Wikipedia Article: Battle of Leyte Gulf You can see the history here for 2010: Battles Archive If you wish to discuss the battle please do so here and scroll down to the appropriate section: Battles Talk Page Next Week we go to the Second Punic War.

Walkthrough ME2

 * Lair of the Shadow Broker

ME2 Assignments

 * Illium: Conrad Verner
 * N7 Assignments

ME Assignments

 * Wrex: Family Armor
 * Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon
 * Double Checking all UNC Assignments

Stubs
With the planet completion project above, I am also going to attempt to eliminate the stub articles around this wiki.
 * Category:Article stubs

Codex Image Cleanup and Add

 * Project 1: Cleaning up the Codex of all non-Codex images, and adding ones where appropiate, when I get back on my PC.
 * Project 2: Double Checking all Codex entries for differences from ME to ME2, we found some earlier so a double check couldn't hurt.

Current Sandbox Project
Because I am usually working on something to improve the wiki, below is what project I am working on. I will not post release dates or completion dates but I'll work on them as fast as I can.

My Sandboxes
Because a lot of the things I am doing at the moment would alter a lot of articles, I am using my sandboxes to write them first.
 * Sandbox Index Page

Favorite Pages
Not in order
 * Normandy SR-2
 * Citadel
 * Destiny Ascension
 * Citadel Fleet
 * SSV Normandy
 * Cerberus Daily News
 * Race Against Time: Final Battle
 * Collector Ship (mission)
 * Overlord