Operation Battleaxe

This is a true story of something I pulled off in Sins of a Solar Empire recently, and just HAD to share. No replies are necessary, strictly speaking, but feel free to comment!

Operation Battleaxe commenced on the 43rd day of Brightmoon, 1150 of the Trader Era, seven years after the Vasari Invasion. Trader forces were locked into a stalemate with Vasari Evacuation forces in the Cheleb system; the Vasari ahd seized and fortified several important resource-generating planets in the system, the key to all of which was the planet Rimspark. The 2nd United Trader Battle Fleet, led by Vice Admiral Dunov, after surviving the initial attempt to stem the tide of the invasion at Akdor, returned to the fore commanding six capital ships. Flying his lights from the battleship Megunev, supported by the carrier Titunev and escorted by the Akkan and Dunov class battlecruisers Krasev and Stukov, were deployed to seize the planet Rimspark.

The plan was hatched based on the plan that the task force defending the planet consisted of only one Kortul devastator and a handful of combat and artillery cruisers, supported by several orbital hangars and missile batteries. Upon exiting phase space, it was apparent that the sensor drones and recon flights had been badly deceived; no less than eight heavily improved capital ships, and more than twice the number of escorts were in orbit of the planet. The dreadnought Mycenae opened fire on the planet at long range, inflicting moderate damage on the surface infrastructure. Missile frigates opened fire on the enemy fleet almost at the same time, drawing a massive and swift response from the Vasari Imperial fleet. Within five minutes, the 2nd fleet's carefully orchestrated formation fell apart in a massive, swirling brawl. Dunov's fleet and the Vasari force exchanged fire for almost half an hour, both sides sustaining damage at an almost equal rate, but the enemy's superior numbers meant that eventually his fleet would be overwhelmed and destroyed.

Salvation arrived in the form of the First United Trader Advance Fleet, led by Fleet Admiral Hunter aboard the flagship Warspite, the first Kol battleship ever to engage the enemy. Having been kept in reserve at Elysium to defend the flank of Trader-occupied space from Vasari and Advent raiders, they emerged from phase space within optimum firing range on the rear flank of the Vasari formation, which was keeping Dunov trapped between the planetary defenses and the enemy fleet. Admiral Hunter immediately had his eight capital ships, thirteen heavy cruisers and twenty destroyers & frigates open fire on the Vasari flagship and its escorts, ripping it apart in seconds. Within five minutes, all remaining Vasari devastators and desolators had either been destroyed or heavily damaged. The Vasari fleet, eventually losing cohesion, turned to face this new threat, giving Dunov a chance to fall back, perform emergency repairs, and recharge shield arrays. Between the hammer of Dunov's battered but replenished force, and Hunter's anvil of fresh warships, the already damaged and weakened Vasari fleet was utterly routed, with only a handful of damaged ships surviving long enough to retreat through phase space to the planets Naeve, Komm and the Denev asteroid field.

Released from ship to ship combat duty, Admiral Dunov redeployed his surviving forces against the planet Rimspark. After twenty minutes of full-on orbital bombardment by the capital ships and siege frigates of his fleet, while the remainder of his forces engaged and destroyed the orbital works, the planet was deemed secure enough to allow marines to land. Despite sustaining major damage and serious casualties, 2nd fleet supported the marine operations, and proved strong enough to repel the Vasari counterattack several days later, while reinforcements from Elysium and Phardross were rushed forward. Operation Battleaxe was closed upon the successful liberation of the Rimspark populace, while Hunter's First Fleet pursued Vasari elements throughout the phase lane network on the other side of Rimspark.

[end of log]

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