Battles of the ZOCU War (old)

Overview of Events

(with thanks to G, who contributed)

2177-2180

Recontact; repeated border disputes on New Mercia between Core and ZOCU-aligned factions highlight the political gulf that now exists between the Core and the Expanse.

UN missions to potential hotspots including New Mercia, Haraway, Kanon and Theia under various pretexts.

2181-2183

Tensions between the core worlds and ZOCU continue to increase as several pieces of legislation are tabled that would seek redress for nationalized industries and resources dating back to the Breakdown. Zodiac Worlds accelerate their accumulation of new armaments and make preperations for the possibility of war while simultaneously wage a diplomatic and public-relations campaign. Several European and Pacific "police actions" only further the rise of the Zodiac 'War Party'. Tensions between Guevara and Sao Galvao begin to rise.

Outbreak of fighting on New Mercia.

Various proxy confrontations and border incidents.

Short-lived technical sharing agreement between China and ZOCU.

2184

PACT enacts an embargo on a number of Expanse worlds, including Erebus, Kanon and Hampshire. Final police action on New Mercia ends with direct intervention by ZCM forces. European leadership thrown into confusion as any direct confrontation with the Zodiac worlds was deemed unlikely.

December

ZCM mobilizes reserve forces and begins to implement its war plans.

2185

February

Resolution 11079 is passed. American forces land on Kanon and seize the city of Nagato and its spaceport. Kanonian fleet retreats to outer system and conducts interdiction missions against supply craft while ZOCU reinforcements begin to fill the system.

March-April

PACT raids into Choson and Erebus space encounter heavier than expected resistance.

First Hampshiran raiders break past Rapture and begin to strike at military supply convoys.

May

Reacting to a perceived lack of action from Brussels to resolve the New Mercian situation, considerable elements of the British Home Fleet assemble and prepare for an operation aimed at knocking out ZOCU's main military shipyards at Londenium. "We'll put those Zodiac upstarts down once and for all!"

Battle of the Sargasso. SAFFE Light Carrier task force attempting to interdict a Zodiac freighter carrying technology to Guevara is ambushed by a Libertador battleship squadron.

August

The BHF departs for Londenium, its progress dogged by ZCM light elements and skirmishers. Despite the clear loss of anything resembling surprise, the fleet presses on. The EUS Hood develops a reactor fault and is forced to divert to Silesia for repairs.

Battle of Londenium. The British Home Fleet is functionally destroyed by the battleships and supporting combat frames of the Zodiac Main Fleet. With no substantial EU mobile fleet assets within a half-dozen jumps, the ZCM counter-attack begins immediately.

September

ZCM forces advance rapidly into the border systems, defeating local forces and colonial fleet units alike. Multiple orbital habitats and remote outposts fall with little effective resistance. Despite long running tensions and the threat of war several garrisons are caught nearly offguard by the sudden offensive.

Battle of Outremonde, pan-European Home Fleet cruiser force ambushed and destroyed. ZCM forces launch a major raid against the EU's main forward base in the Silesia System in an attempt to destroy the EUS Hood and other capital ships undergoing refurbishment.

Flight of the Hood back to Delta Pavonis.

Asper falls to the ZCM.

October

ZCM advance continues unchecked, with several raids striking deep into European space. With the BHF now largely combat ineffective the burden of checking the invaders falls upon scattered units of the French, German, Italian and Spanish Home Fleets and hopelessly outmatched local units.

With the Home Fleets proving unable to check the continued progress of the Zodiac Forces, the Deep Space Fleet is formally reactivated. Early efforts to coordinate the combined fleet prove unsuccessful.

Heavy ZCM reinforcements into Kanon start to seriously threaten the PACT fleet in-system.

Falco, Wean and Kachin fall to the ZCM.

ZOCU-backed seperatists on Van Lang begin guerilla campaign against ASEAN troops.

November

Intermittent ZCM strikes against Silesia, Outremonde and Horizon.

PACT strikes against Erebus and Choson

December

Battle above Kanon. ZCM uses leapmissiles for first time, nullifying this advantage that the Core militaries had enjoyed. Substantial losses to USASF 3rd fleet and Japanese Kido Butai.

DSF Counter-Attacks begins under new leadership. Reinforcements are sent to New Mercia.

2186

After its early gains, ZOCU finds itself hamstrung by a weak logistical apparatus and inability to force the '079' nations to the bargaining table, even using the captured systems as bargaining chips. The year is mostly characterized by skirmishes in space, with only one major engagement.

January

ZCM advance begins to exhaust itself, Zodiac Troops take up defensive positions and start consolidate their new newly gained buffer.

February

ZCM Main Fleet checked at the Battle of Aldebaran. Furthest extent of Zodiac advance on the European Front.

EU begins fortifying nodal systems. Core war industry finally reaches full utilization.

March

Battle of Lusitania, Libertador invasion of São Galvãoan Orbit. Heavy fighting in space and on Ignacio & Esperança gives the Libertadors the time to fortify the conquered planet of X, while the inability of UNASUR reinforcements to reach the system forces the SAFSG to fight the invaders on their own.

2187

Substantial numbers of new warships and technologies finally reach forward-deployed Core fleets from factories and shipyards in Sol. ZOCU-allied efforts to develop ever-superior weapons cannot keep up with the mammoth output of the core over any length of time.

March

PACT landing on Kachin. ZCM defenders and local partisans dig in to the mountainous.

June

PACT begins sending troops to Theia.

UNASUR reinforcements finally reach the Lusitania system. The added support of the Brazilian and Argentine navies and Naval Marines force the under-supplied Libertador holdouts to surrender.

July

EU landing on Wean. ZCM defenders scatter into battalion-sized elements and eventually surrender as supplies run low, despite daring blockade runs by ZCM privateers.

August

UNASUR+ASEAN counterattack against the Libertadors begins. The Brazilian 1st and Argentine 2nd fleets centered around the NAEL Amazonas and ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, with the support of almost all of the SAFFE's mobile assets, attempt to force a decisive battle above Planet X.

September

PACT deep raids strike at Ophen, Heaven's Shore, Hampshire and Transbaal.

November

Agent Black is accidentally released on New Mercia. Accusations of guilt fly from both ZOCU and the EU. Two arcologies suffer primary outbreaks and an estimated 1.3 million New Mercians are infected with the neuro-necrotic bioweapon.

2188

ZOCU industrial output begins to decline as fabricators begin to burn out due to overuse. To Core strategists it becomes clear that the war will be won soon. However the political and economic cost of performing conquest operations on over a dozen militarized worlds is deeply unpalatable and quietly the possibility of a diplomatic conclusion is mooted among high echelons.

February

ZCM moves warships into Choson to contest orbital space. Losses to both PACT and ZOCU continue to mount.

April

Battle of Rapture, the largest engagement in the Pacific arm. A new generation of ZOCU warships and mobile weapons inflicts heavier than expected losses upon the fleets sent into combat, but in the aftermath the limitations of ZOCU industry starts to become clear.

PACT landings on Choson. Chosonians enact fanatical resistance and the Choson Campaign becomes (arguably) the bloodiest ground theatre in the war in terms of casualties/day.

June

Failures to hit recruiting targets see an ever-greater number of autonomous soldierbots in EU and PACT ground formations.

Hadrian station finally located and captured by EU marines.

September

ZOCU attempts to use Russia as a neutral party to seek a diplomatic end to the war.

November

Admiral Zweiker leaks information to ZOCU that the next target for invasion will be Haraway in a bid to lay a trap for the ZOCU fleet. ZOCU frontier systems hasten fortification efforts.

December

Battle of Haraway. A heavy ZOCU fleet of primarily early generation warships is decisively defeated above Haraway. The most critical losses is that of most of the ZCM battle-line. With the ZOCU fleet in dissaray the EU lays out several conditions for peace.

The Revolt in the Londenium Admirality, as several hardliners are forced out before they could order ZOCU's nuclear arsenal deployed against 'strategic' targets.

ZOCU and allies sign the Treaty of Sirius, bringing the war to an end with a reversion to existing borders. Several PACT members, Korea most notably, are bitterly opposed to this. Only the continued threat of the ZOCU nuclear arsenal being used in last-ditch suicide missions keeps the PACT on board. Relations between the PACT and the EU fall.

Ground Campaigns

Choson

Working sheet by BM

Chosen - the Ground Conflict

2188

UNASUR naval forces force a decisive showdown above Choson, committing to a heavy assault of battleships on the main blockade fleet. A second group of smaller ships, waiting for the line to converge, struck a thinned flank, severely damaging several cruisers. The second fleet, rather than pressing the advantage, began to withdraw towards the planet, where DR carriers began to launch drop-pods. Panicked linesmen split their forces and are forced to withdraw, allowing more dropships to scatter below.

DR lands troops, consisting of 30 000 general infantry, 1000 special operations, and 500 super soldiers, breaching through the fleet line and making planet fall at several touch-points, supported by orbital fire from UNASUR vessels. All but two of four thousand drop-pods make planet fall, avoiding planetary fire and establishing proper beachhead in the Suong mountain range.

-Ground forces make staggering advances, taking several cities and military bases. Airfields are built for DR and Sao Galva squadrons, which commence brutal bombing runs. Forces press west, supersoldier squads leading general forces and specops raids. DR's air force consists of 300 high-performance recon and multipurpose aerospace craft and nearly as many gunships.

-The city of Suenchang is thrown into chaos as the water system shuts down due to DR espionage, crippling industry and weakening the military line. Minotaur squads ambush and cripple the enemy defenders, leaving them to be flanked by general infantry and eventually routed. City surrenders to the PACT forces, and becomes a key supply base for DR’s battle group. Bombing runs on the northern cities leave widespread devastation.

-DR forces slowly meet greater and greater resistance, after having securing dozens of provinces and military targets extending west and north of the mountain range. Secondary landing areas are checked shortly after, leaving two smaller occupied regions in the south.

- DR forces manage to take Pseng after weeks of brutal fighting, are forced to consolidate. Virtually all infrastructure is destroyed, and both provincial cities are nearly abandoned in the fighting. Rebel forces continue to harass occupiers. A squad of unaugmented spec-ops, Mongoose Unit, are hailed as the linchpin of the operation, successfully disrupting the city chain of command. Minotaur unit fail to the take the Western canyons, unable to maneuver around the fortress defenses. The attack is called off on Su-lang Canyon after DR suffers sigificant losses. The Battle of Kim begins a long war of attrition.

-insurgents in Suenchang and Pseng prove to be nearly impossible to fully root out. Death tolls mount as the bombing runs become a way of life for southern regions. Future cities suffer from insurgencies as they're occupied; conversely, several cities express civil infighting as rumours of DR sympathizers surface. Rumours that Choson forces employ scorched earth policies in hydroponics zones lead to planet-wide disquiet. UNASUR forces maintain blockade despite ZOCU reinforcement attempts, while heavy fighting makes DR's own logistic troublesome.

-Operation Apple Core: A secret operation, purported to be an attack by Minotaur supersoldiers on the heart of Suenchang's resistance, is leaked to the resistance. The attack is successfully misdirected; the Minotaurs suffer losses as the cell escapes the city. The insurgency remains. Kim proves brutal for both sides, losses mounting thousands on each side.

-DR's momentum picks up as it manages to intercept several supply lines, successfully breaking logistics for a large section of battlegrounds. Disruptions in communications lead to heavy Choson losses. Choson finally loses Kim, DR forces occupying the city - and immediately after, several insurgent cells are outed and arrested. Kim becomes the first captured city to be free of insurgent activity. A bombing run nearby destroys what is believed to be the Choson mobile command center, killing defacto leader General Song Yun. DR forces begin using the name 'Desert-blood' to denote Choson battlefield experience.

-sudden, violent fighting breaks out in Suenchang, as dozens of insurgents attempt to flee the city and are pursued by ground forces and air support. They were revealed to have been escaping under false information of another attack - and revealed the presence of dozens of DR spies in the Choson network. Suenchang's insurgency drops almost to nil, and DR secures and begins rebuilding the entire city. Dust-mining begins in earnest as global insurgency drops, and reinforcement drops become more frequent and substantial as landing zones stabilize and spread.

-Fighting remains strong in the canyons, until DR withdraws to consolidate and restore order in their captured city. Choson forces respond with several attacks on DR forces, only to be repelled due to their down dwindling morale. Failed attack allows DR remount offensive, making undeniable progress through Choson territory. Northern cities all fall, leaving the canyons and the holdout cities in the west.

-Treaty of Sirius is drafted, and the war ends. ZOCU forces push for Choson to be returned, and PACT forces announce withdrawl. DR military and diplomatic representatives protest, citing the need to stabilize the taken regions; PACT forces wish full withdrawal to facilitate truce. DR representative storms out of negotiations; DR Choson leader Marshall Remington David makes controversial "blood in the sand" speech. Minotaurs and Mongoose Unit openly support the move; pressure is placed on DR to withdraw, threatening dismissal from PACT.

Fleet Battles

While the majority of the five-year hot war was characterized by skirmishes and raids, a few major fleet battles occured which had significant effects on the course of the war.

The Battle of Londenium

August 2185
Result: ZOCU forces successfully defended their primary shipbuilding center

Forces

ZOCU Combined Militia
Commanding Officer: Lord Dorington, Londenium Militia

??

EU Deep Space Fleet
Commanding Officer: Admiral Mackenzie, Garun

??

Losses

ZOCU Combined Militia

Spartacus-class Heavy Cruiser Dreadnought

Mixed mobile suits and aerospace

EU Deep Space Fleet

4 Battleships

1 Carrier

Mixed aerospace

Description

The well-regarded Admiral MacKenzie was chosen to lead the offense into ZOCU space. One of the original colonial success stories, he had risen from his birthworld of Garun to high rank in the EU's Deep Space Fleet during the Feral Drone containment operations. The strategy he prepared was simple and very much in keeping with the neo-Mahanian school of the DSF; break open the several ZOCU-held border systems with local fleets and then drive a massed operational fleet right into Londenium where the EU ships would force battle by bombarding the Londenium star yards. The ZOCU fleet would be faced with two choices; offer battle against the superior EU fleet or lose their primary and most modern shipyard, along with the warships under construction there.

The Battle of the Sargasso

May 2186
Result: SAFFE EFE Baia Light Carrier Task Force inflicts heavy damage on Guevaran Battleship squadron before escaping. Trumped up heavily in resulting propaganda.

Forces

Serviços com Armas Força Federal do Espaço, 3rd Light Carrier Task Force
Commanding Officer: Contra-Almirante Vicente Lapland, Sao Galvao

1 Baia-class Light Carrier EFE Baia

4 Riachuelo-class Cruisers Vitorioso, Independência, Honra, and Liberdade

10 Puma model Combat Frames, Esquadrão Vermelho

10 Hellcat model fighters, Esquadrão vermelho

Libertadors????
Commanding Officer: ?????

4 Fidel Castro????-class battleships

Losses

Serviços com Armas Força Federal do Espaço, 3rd Light Carrier Task Force

Mixed combat frames and aerospace

Libertadors????

1 destroyed Fidel Castro???)-class Battleship

2 heavily damaged Fidel Castro???-class battleships

Description

coming soon

The Battle of Aldebaran

September 2187
Result: Indecisive battle; both sides claimed victory

Forces

ZOCU Combined Militia
Commanding Officer: Lord Dorington, Londenium Militia

??

EU Deep Space Fleet
Commanding Officer: Admiral Sarah Ashmore, Earth

??

Losses

ZOCU Combined Militia

Palada-class Battleship Boadacea

Multiple smaller ships

Mixed mobile suits and aerospace

EU Deep Space Fleet

3 Battleships

Multiple smaller ships

Mixed aerospace

Description

After the decisive defeat of the Deep Space Fleet's forward units in the battle of Londenium, two years passed without another major fleet action. While the war continued on the ground and with numerous small scale engagements, neither ZOCU or the European Union were willing to commit significant forces into theaters where they might encounter the enemy's main fleet. More radical voices on both sides grew increasingly loud in their demands that a major offensive operation be undertaken deep into enemy territory.

Pressure on Lord Dorington, nominal commander in chief of the Zodiac naval forces on the European Front, was intense. The more ambitious and zealous of the ZOCU's revolutionary leadership were convinced that the Deep Space Fleet's relative inaction after their defeat indicated a lack of will and was a certain sign that another defeat might shatter the EU's war effort. Having been trained in a EU military academy himself, Dorington rightly believed that this opinion was largely false and argued for extreme caution in risking the main force of the Zodiac navies. The average EU Admiral had held flag rank for longer than ZOCU's military forces had existed, and as veterans of the often slow moving drone wars Europe's commanders were not prone to rash action. Dorington was well aware that if the EU was allowed to bring its crushing numerical superiority into action against his battleships, the entire war could be lost in a day. An offensive into the European Arm would be inviting a monumental defeat.

By the summer of 2187 it was clear that Londenium's political leadership and the Zodiac population at large would no longer be content to let the main fleet remain removed from the front lines. Having received clear orders to carry out an offensive operation into the European Arm, Dorington and his staff reluctantly considered their options and eventually prepared the first plans for Operation Beanstalk, a strike by the main fleet against the vulnerable line of catapults that constituted the main line of communication between the EU's front line bases and the core colonies. While the defenses along the catapult route had proven sufficient to ward off attacks by independent and small groups of Zodiac raiders in the preceding years, only a handful of systems maintained garrisons capable of resisting a full scale assault. By utilizing a number of carefully charted new routes through several UNSO systems along with several dangerous unstable jump points, Dorington hoped to outflank the DSF and strike a blow against the EU's vulnerable jugular before overwhelming forces could be brought against him in response.

Departing from Londenium in as much secrecy as possible with the majority of his available battle divisions, Dorington set out toward his first target, the Aldebaran System, with confidence in that he'd taken every step necessary to ensure that he would be able to conduct his raid without ever actually having to engage a major force from the DSF. Although it was certain the EU would learn of his movement out of Londenium, ZOCU's intelligence establishment had taken cares to plant information suggesting that his destination was another secure anchorage deep in Zodiac space. The enemy would learn of his true intentions only after it was too late to block his escape.

Unknown to Dorington the expected secrecy of his advance through largely empty systems toward the catapult route was compromised, the EU Scout Cruiser Serraville had taken note of his advance a few jumps short of Aldebaran and was able to relay the information back to the Admiralty. While there was not enough time to assemble the full force of the Deep Space Fleet to meet Dorington, a number of front line battle divisions under the command of Admiral Sarah Ashmore were already lurking in wait when the ZOCU fleet arrived in Aldebaran.

Arriving in Aldebaran through an unstable jump point, the Zodiac fleet then made an in-system jump to the outbound catapult. Finding the catapult guarded only by a handful of outdated gunboats, a detachment was moving out to demolish it when the alarm went up that numerous hyper signatures were inbound. A reportedly stunned Dorington could only watch as a numerically superior enemy fleet jumped out on top of his fleet, giving no doubt to the fact that surprise had been lost and he was now confronted with a battle he had hoped to avoid. In spite of this, he quickly ordered his ships into action. The battle of Aldebaran had begun.

While the DSF force under Ashmore did outnumber the Zodiac Fleet, by and large its ships were still the same older models that had proven woefully inadequate at the Battle of Londenium. Although surprise had been lost, Dorington's fleet was fully battle ready and the Lord's surviving staff believe that he thought he might carry out a repeat of his earlier victory even though he had been taken off-guard by the presence of an enemy fleet in Aldebaran. Whatever his reasons, Dorington brought his fleet into a close range gunnery duel against the DSF for several punishing minutes, dealing a considerable amount of damage and destroying two of the enemy's obsolete Drake Class Battleships outright. It quickly became apparent, however, that a repeat of the EU fleet's collapse at Londenium was not happening.

Although Admiral Ashmore's forces were still largely equipped with old model warships, a considerable amount of effort had gone into the work of analyzing the DSF's earlier defeat in the previous pitched battle and a number of important reforms had already been put into place. The well trained crews aboard her ships along with her own careful planning had put Ashmore's soldiers in a position far different than the one faced by the overconfident and often questionably trained ones who had advanced into Londenium two years earlier.

With his fleet taking increasingly heavy damage and casualties mounting amongst his irreplaceable crews Dorington ordered his fleet about in preparation for a retreat from the battlefield and then the system. In the process of disengaging a third Drake was destroyed, but the already badly damaged Zodiac battleship Boadacea was lost with all hands to steady fire from the EU's 5th battleship division. Although wounded, the Zodiac forces had inflicted significant damage to the enemy and destroyed three battleships for the loss of one of their own. It was only in the last seconds before their withdrawal from the catapult that the worst loss of the battle was inflicted. A lucky shot struck the Zodiac flagship, wrecking the flag bridge and mortally wounding Lord Dorington.

After retreating from the catapult the Zodiac fleet was able to quit the Aldebaran System in fairly good order, if shaken by the loss of their commander and the casualties suffered at the hands of an enemy that the rank and file had been led to view as inferior in every respect. The DSF, having suffered heavy losses and secured its own objectives, did not purse. When news of the battle filtered out, both sides quickly claimed victory.

Although Londenium mourned the loss of Lord Dorington, it celebrated his final battle and the destruction of warships equivalent to an entire EU battle division deep within enemy territory at the loss of only a single of their own capital ships. That the DSF's reserves were still much deeper than their own and several ZOCU Battleships would spend months in the shipyards for repair was not information provided to the public. While Dorington had died in battle, his previously sidelined desire for caution was more carefully followed in the future. But in the short term all that mattered was that the proud forces of ZOCU had inflicted another heavy blow on the forces attempting to reconquer their worlds, this time on the doorstep of the EU's heartland.

ZOCU's claim of victory was not unexpectedly largely ignored in the EU. Nearly the full force of the rebel battleline had been engaged and driven back from its planned offensive before it had even completed any of its objectives. Although several Drakes and a number of escorts had been lost, as the European forces held the field the survivors were quickly recovered and would soon go back to the front line aboard the new ships that were beginning to be turned out by the EU's shipyards. New battle doctrines and training had been tested and the inadequacies left in the DSF from the breakdown era were increasingly becoming corrected. Aldebaran might not have been as decisive a result as the Admiralty had hoped for, but it seemed to them that it would only be a matter of time before a more conclusive engagement would be fought. It would come two more years later, in the Haraway System.

The Battle of Rapture

April 2188
Result: ZOCU and aligned forces halt PACT advance

Forces

ZOCU Combined Militia
Commanding Officer: Admiral Aramaki Haruhi, Kanon

??

SIYAN Combat Force
Commanding Officer: Battle Commander Claus Amenthus, Erebus

??

PACT Unified Command
Commanding Officer: Admiral Michael Konde, Earth

??

Losses

ZOCU Combined Militia

??

SIYAN Combat Force

??

PACT Unified Command

1 Carrier

Aftermath

With the capture of several catapult routes early in the war, ZOCU and its ally SIYAN cut off the flow of reinforcements to the attack on Kanon and gained control of a rapid logistics route for further strikes further down the Pac-Am arm. While these attacks never went beyond disruption raids, the seventy thousand PACT soldiers held in Kanon POW camps was a strong incentive for PACT to counterattack. Delayed until 2188, the campaign began to push ZOCU back out of the arm, until the battle in the unincorporated system of UNSO-1701, known locally as Rapture. Here, ZOCU lines had been heavily reinforced with new cruisers, Sarissa mobile suits, SIYAN warcraft and concealed fixed weapons. ZOCU also deployed a 'solar ray' system, which while doing no damage provided a distraction at a critical moment, allowing for a rapid strike on the US supercarrier Ronald Reagan, destroying it.

The Battle of Haraway

December 2189
Result: EU victory leading to political settlement

Forces

ZOCU Combined Militia
Commanding Officer: Admiral Saffron Kimmel, Haraway Militia

14 Pallada class battleships

5 Carthage class light carriers

8 Ionia class heavy cruisers

15 Spartacus class heavy cruisers

5 Pallas Aegis class defense monitors

53 Concord class cruisers

2 Boson class experimental cruisers

~130 destroyer-weight vessels

~1700 ship-based mobile suits and fighters

EU Deep Space Fleet
Commanding Officer: Admiral Anton Zweiker, Earth

Superbattleship EUS Hood

29 Drake Mk VII class battleships

3 Radetzky class battleships

5 Moltke class battlecruisers

5 Kunersdorf class fleet carriers

19 Danube class fast cruisers

61 Lepanto class light cruisers

62 Harcourt class escort carrier

~20 miscellaneous cruiser-weight vessels

~160 destroyer-weight vessels

~1500 ship-based mobile suits and fighters

Losses

ZOCU Combined Militia

10 Pallada class battleships

1 Carthage class light carrier

3 Ionia class heavy cruisers

11 Spartacus class heavy cruisers

5 Pallas Aegis class defense monitors

42 Concord class cruisers

~95 destroyer-weight vessels

~1300 ship-based mobile suits and fighters

EU Deep Space Fleet

11 Drake Mk VII class battleships

2 Moltke class battlecruisers

2 Kunersdorf class fleet carriers

2 Danube class fast cruisers

28 Lepanto class light cruisers

39 Harcourt class escort carrier

~6 miscellaneous cruiser-weight vessels

~60 destroyer-weight vessels

~900 ship-based mobile suits and fighters

Description

The Battle of Aldebaran was, as the Battle of Lodenium had been, followed by an extended period of relative inactivity by the both the main force of the Deep Space Fleet and the Combined Militia's battleline. Once again, neither side proved willing to expose their vital capital ships to any unnecessary risk. This was especially true of ZOCU, which had only narrowly escaped complete disaster at Aldebaran. Lord Dorington's cautionary words on the subject of the risk inherent in launching any major fleet operations had proven their wisdom.

But although ZOCU's leadership showed considerable restraint in the aftermath of Aldebaran, they had already suffered a terrible blow from the death of Dorington. Unquestionably the greatest admiral in the service of the rebel colonies, Lord Dorington had held the Combined Militia's fleet together by the power of his reputation and the force of his personality. Without his leadership the fleet quickly fell victim to factionalism and intrigue as various senior officers, many backed by prominent Zodiac colonies jealous of Londenium's dominance, vied for command of the battle fleet. A succession of short lived commanders resulted in decreased fleet readiness and a general lack of cohesion as the battleline waited for the day it would be needed to take the field again.

Although the situation in ZOCU seemingly left the EU with a strategic advantage, it was slow to exploit these circumstances. The Aldebaran Raid had shown just how vulnerable areas outside of the main combat theaters might be to large scale attack and considerable forces were withdrawn to reinforce various garrisons. Such political concerns delayed any potential major counter attack, but on the other hand they also allowed more time for both more new equipment and refined training to filter into the Deep Space Fleet and its supporting local forces. Most importantly, in the summer of 2188 the capable and reform minded Admiral Anton Zweiker ascended to the position of Commander in Chief of the Deep Space Fleet.

With the opening of 2189, the European Union was at last prepared to launch a major counter-offensive into the heart of Zodiac territory. The greater part of the DSF's frontline battle divisions were concentrated at the forward base above New Silesia, where they were met over the course of several weeks by various other contingents including most notably a full division of modern battleships recently completed by New Silesia's own shipyards. This vast armada was joined by an enormous detachment of transport and supply ships host to an army dwarfing any of the Union's currently engaged ground forces. The intent of this gathering was obvious to anyone, a force of such size could only be aiming for one of the main Zodiac colonies.

Such an attack would have to be repulsed. ZOCU's political leadership was well aware that any action that might be seen as their overall command on Lodenium abandoning a member world would be a disastrous blow to their movement's morale. Some of their military advisors urged caution in approaching what was certainly a challenge from Europe's admirals. Zweiker most certainly hoped for a massed response to his attack, they argued, and the EU's fleet was now well prepared to avenge the defeat they had suffered four years ago. These concerns were overruled, and when mounting information pointed to the target of the attack being Haraway's world every ship that could be mustered was dispatched to meet the invasion.

The ZOCU fleet that gathered above Haraway's World over the course of late 2189 was anything but a homogeneous force. In addition to the now diminished Combined Militia Battle Fleet that had been forged by Dorington came flotillas and detachments from nearly every world in the Zodiac Union. Many of these disparate forces had little history of working with each other, having proven capable enough on local fronts but lacking in experience with major fleet operations. There was scarcely time left to form a cohesive fighting force from what was available, but the situation was not entirely bad. ZOCU's weapons remained as deadly as ever and morale was high as crews eagerly awaited a repeat of the Battle of Londenium.

But while morale was high amongst the rank and file, the situation was somewhat darker amongst the fleet's officers. At the last possible moment the combined fleet had been placed under the command of Saffron Kimmel, commander of Haraway's space defenses. This appointment passed completely over the Battle Fleet's admirals, all of whom had served under Dorington and none of whom were pleased to find themselves following an officer who they viewed as both incapable and an upstart. The problem of leadership would plague the Zodiac fleet during the war's final months.

While some of the criticisms leveled at Admiral Kimmel are perhaps unjust, and it is beyond question that she led the defense of Haraway over the preceding years with distinction, it is also very clear that she was not a suitable choice to lead the fleet into action against the full force of the Deep Space Fleet. Neither Kimmel or her staff were experienced in the command of large fleet maneuvers and the management of capital battle divisions. Although the Battle Fleet's staff certainly was able, it existed almost in a state of rebellion against Kimmel, who was universally viewed as an unwelcome intruder forced in by Lodenium in an attempt to placate Harawayian nationalism. The Battle Fleet's division commanders were little better, and one Rear-Admiral was removed from command for open insubordination.

With such disarray the top of the fleet's chain of command it comes as no surprise that on the eve of the EU's arrival in the Haraway System only the most minimal progress had been made toward preparing to meet it. Haraway's own defenses were certainly fully ready for battle and the Battle Fleet as ready for action as it had been since the death of Dorington, but many other elements of the defense had been almost forgotten, receiving only the most minimal of orders sometimes as nothing more than an afterthought. Perhaps with more time Kimmel might have risen to the task, or been replaced by a more capable officer. But that time did not exist and on December 23rd the vanguard of the Deep Space Fleet arrived in the Haraway System.

At 0921, the Concord Class Cruiser Prince of Hebron and its escorting detachment of destroyers on picket duty engaged a mixed detachment of DSF destroyers jumping out into the system within its designated patrol area. After several minutes of exchanging fire the ZOCU ships withdrew in the face of considerably superior numbers. Several similar skirmishes followed as additional DSF advance units arrived at other key locations in the outer system and began to clear out the Zodiac pickets. By roughly 1100 the last of ZOCU's outer picket line was in complete retreat and the EUS 'Hood' had arrived at the head of the main body of the European fleet.

For Admiral Kimmel and her staff the first few hours of skirmishing went almost exactly as expected. Rather than risk her command by committing it to a series of engagements in the outer system where it could not be supported by the ground and satellite defenses of Haraway's World itself, Kimmel had chosen to cede control of any contested areas of the outer system with only token resistance and harassing raids carried out by combat frame troops and light craft. The EU's main force would, it was believed, proceed immediately onward to Haraway's World after securing the jump zones. By 1300 it was apparent that this assumption was incorrect and no immediate attack was forthcoming.

Long range reconnaissance revealed that instead of the expected onslaught, the EU's forces were already busy digging in in the outer system and that marine forces had seemingly landed and begun taking the first steps toward the construction of forward bases on a number of remote moons. Several additional skirmishes occurred as additional ZOCU light forces conducted probing attacks on these locations and were largely repulsed by the DSF's warships. It appeared that the the European invaders were preparing for a long siege rather than the expected overwhelming shock attack and ZOCU's commanders were left discussing how best to deal with the problem well into the night of the first day.

The opening of the battle's second day saw continued skirmishing by light forces with no major movements by either ZOCU in Haraway orbit and the DSF lurking in the outer system. The more impetuous commanders on the Zodiac side began to call for a counter attack, rather than simply sitting and waiting while the EU secured a foothold in the system. They would not have to wait much longer. Just after noon, Admiral Zweiker made his move and the full force of the DSF lunged forward into the inner system. As battle divisions jumped out in good order considerably closer in than ZOCU's leaders had expected, it was clear that the final decisive battle had begun.

It was quickly apparent that the DSF had arrived in an excellent position, a testament to the skills of its navigators. Zweiker capitalized on the situation, maneuvering his battleships close in to take full advantage of their devastating close range firepower while escort divisions and aerospace detachments worked to suppress ZOCU's combat frames and Haraway's own defenses. Within Haraway's gravity well there was no possibility of the Zodiac fleet jumping clear without fighting their way clear and although mega particle fire was inflicting serious damage upon the European fleet it was clear that the DSF was winning the contest of gunnery.

The situation aboard the ZOCU Flagship, the Harawayian Battleship Landing was a chaotic whirlwind as Admiral Kimmel and her staff struggled to regain control over the battle. It was a task that they proved unable to carry out, as the whole Zodiac command structure began to fray and more and more ships fell victim to enemy fire. The halfhearted sluggish maneuvers carried out at Kimmel's command were almost danced around by the DSF. Complete disaster loomed ahead for the ZOCU fleet. Almost grudgingly, the order to retreat from Haraway orbit was given.

The disengagement might not have even succeeded, ending the battle a day earlier, if not for the heroic efforts of Vice-Admiral Clarance Gladstone, a division commander in the Combined Militia Battle Fleet. Lacking any clear direction from the flagship, he succeeded in rallying a significant portion of the available ZOCU battleships around his own command and was able to clear a path of retreat out to the jump limit, at the cost of the his ship, the Londenium, as well as his life.

Following behind Gladstone's division, now in considerable disarray, the bulk of the ZOCU fleet successfully jumped clear to a rally point deeper in the Haraway System. Although they had escaped complete destruction, the battle turned into a complete rout in a matter of minutes and a considerable number of ships had been lost over the course of the action. Zodiac space forces had suffered the worst defeat in the history of their alliance at the hands of an enemy who many of them had held in complete contempt. Although additional skirmishing continued throughout the system, the second day of the battle's fighting had largely concluded with the ZOCU fleet desperately regrouping for fear of pursuit and the DSF settling into Haraway orbit in preparation to begin landings.

Aboard the Landing the situation was tense, the battle had quickly gotten out of the control of Admiral Kimmel and her staff and the outlook appeared grim. While the core elements of the fleet were still by and large somewhat battle ready, various supporting contingents had suffered severe losses. Worse still, the DSF had secured the orbital position Kimmel had spent the last four years fighting to deny them. Haraway had repulsed one ground invasion, but the one facing it was not one that it could easily hope to meet.

At last, a new and desperate plan began to take shape. The DSF had nearly anchored itself in position above Haraway's world, and with their seeming triumph they would not be bracing themselves for an immediate counter attack. They could be caught, pinned between Haraway's remaining planetside defenses and the attacking fleet, and destroyed or at least driven away. It was the last grasp of a commander desperate to succeed. It has been argued that Dorington, or any other commander in ZOCU's ranks would have conceded the system and saved the fleet. But abandoning the homeworld she had fought so long to protect was it seems outright unacceptable to Kimmel.

Early on the morning of the third day, the majority of the remaining ZOCU warships jumped back to Haraway's World and began their attack. The DSF proved more than ready to meet them again, once again quickly securing a superior position and easily outmaneuvering the disorganized Zodiac forces. ZOCU crews fought on courageously, damaging and destroying a number of EU capital ships and heavy cruisers. But their courage was very much in vain, the battle had for all intents and purposes been fought and lost on the second day.

As the fighting continued, the Combined Militia's Battleships began to fall one after another. The 'Landing' was destroyed roughly fifty minutes into the engagement, presumably with the loss of all hands. And in the end, a battered but victorious DSF still held the orbital space above Haraway's World. Their cost had been high, but the fleet was fully ready to continue the war. The same could not be said for ZOCU. The battleline so carefully preserved for four years had been almost utterly destroyed, and with it a whole host of supporting forces. Haraway's World was, for all purposes, as good as lost. Over the course of three days the tide of four years of hard fighting had been almost completely overturned.

ZOCU's leaders rushed to the peace table in the wake of the disaster. No more than a week passed after the close of the battle before they signed the Armistice, bringing the conflict to a close.

Other Important Locations

Hadrian Station

Little more than a rumor for most of the war, Hadrian Station was a critical component of ZOCU defensive preparations. Originally a temporary resupply station set up during the late 70s around the red dwarf HIP 263, growing tensions with the EU saw construction efforts vastly stepped up. Between 2182 and 2184 the 7th Deep Space Engineering Corps bored countless holes through a chondrite asteroid to erect docks, living quarters, warehouses and factories. All were carefully concealled and its armories were stocked with ample supplies and weapons. Regular supply flights to the system ensured that the warships assigned to Hadrian remained in fighting trim and for much of the war, Hadrian kept the EU from deploying heavy units into ZOCU's rear areas.

Hadrian's second function was unanticipated at the time of its construction, that of an R&D center. Heavy sacrifices were made to pull design teams out of Kanon both before and during the invasion, with many relocated to several secret deep-space sites. Hadrian was to become the most famous of these. Light years from any plausible civilians blundering past, ZOCU could erect a system-wide no-fly zone and keep any and everything there concealed. By 2187, nanotech fabricators were rolling out new prototypes and variants in seemingly unending numbers. While few achieved primary production status, the continued use of new and different units stymied EU efforts to formulate a comprehensive counter.

Unfortunately for ZOCU, in the summer of 2189 the EU finally managed to track down the specific location of Hadrian Station and sent a heavy battlefleet to seize or destroy it. ZOCU defense was spirited but could not keep EU forces from penetrating into the station. By the end the EU had seized Hadrian at heavy loss, ZOCU having managed to destroy the fabricators and research facilities. Continued ZOCU raids ensured that the EU was unable to fully capitalize on the station's capture and beyond being a secondary logistic storehouse it served no further part in the war.

Despite attempts to regain control in the postwar, the EU has refused to return Hadrian to ZOCU and maintains a small task force of ships there.