2343 saw the beginning of the biggest war in the galaxy's north-east quadrant yet seen. What were the most important parts?
After a brief campaign against the Jakly in 2342, the Commonwealth of Man launched a fresh offensive into Slerpanor League space in 2343. Though at first an attempt to get Strike Force Cerberus, now commanded by Raimundo Ramirez, out of the Hojjam system, where it was trapped on the wrong side of Slerpanor borders, the campaign quickly turned into a full-fledged conflict as the Commonwealth laid claim to seven systems – nearly the entire northern sector of Slerpanor space. The full list of claimed systems is:
Zathmak
Andack
Iblyria
Jik
Jillis
Furud
Terebellum
The newly created Strike Force Beauclair made its way to Alioth, lurking just behind the Commonwealth's borders. Strike Force Kraken, trapped in the Anaxador system in the same way Cerberus was, made the first move. Striking with long-range missiles, it disabled the Zathmak outpost just as Cerberus made a beeline for Iblyria and crippling the Slerpanor Tsunami fleet stationed there. Both fleets, backed up by SF Beauclair, claimed Andack and began moving in on Jik.
Slerpanor fleets were swift to respond, however. In a quickly-organized counterattack, fleet Tidal Wave moved towards the Jik system to stop SF Beauclair from beginning orbital bombardment of Jarako. However, with the aid of the Commonwealth's newest subspace sensors, SF Cerberus was able to anticipate the path of Tidal Wave and move to intercept. A sector-spanning cat-and-mouse game then began, as Tidal Wave and followup Slerpanor fleets attempted to attack SF Beauclair, then the commandeered Andack space station, in any attempt to break the Commonwealth's grip on the system. After two decisive defeats at Andack and Jik, however, the Slerpanor broke away from their offensive to recuperate. Admiral Hema up Lor, however, would have no retreating from the enemy. She lead SF Cerberus on an ambitious offensive to chase down Tidal Wave and end the fleet before it could receive upgrades and repairs. up Lor swept through Furud and Terebellum before putting a swift end to Tidal Wave.
With the competition dealt with, SF Cerberus rebounded to secure the Jillis system as SF Beauclair commenced bombardment of Jik. A newly created army, composed of a mix of Human and Android regiments, was ordered to Jik and placed under the command of General Vladimir Larionov, notorious for his disregard for collateral damage and effective assaults. In anticipation of eventual invasion, Jik governor Dathagg Carronade began an intense slave army recruitment protocol, where over twenty armies composed of Jakly slaves were raised to serve as cannon fodder for the Commonwealth onslaught.
By 2344, the war had ground to a quasi-stalemate. Slerpanor admirals were reluctant to launch another counterattack at the moment, and Commonwealth fleets were content to continue bombardment. On the contrary, Admiral Hema up Lor was not. An estranged Khell'Zan officer, up Lor was graciously allowed into the ranks of the Commonwealth Navy on the condition that she unconditionally serve the Commonwealth, even against her former nation. up Lor advocated for an additional Commonwealth target: the Doria system. Unclaimed in the initial offensive, Doria was still occupied by a Slerpanor starbase. Doria, argued up Lor, was a far better cutoff point for Commonwealth space than Terebellum. Unlike Terebellum, Doria possessed a hyperlane leading to Pleeturi, a Commonwealth fringe system with a route leading directly to Unity. By claiming Doria, the Commonwealth would need to fortify one less system in case of Slerpanor attack.
Grand Marshal Palash Nayak approved the new plan, and in 2344.6.5, up Lor mobilized SF Cerberus and moved on Doria. The brief but intense battle yielded possession of the Terebellum-Doria bottleneck to the Commonwealth.
Though Admiral up Lor was victorious in space, General Larionov found little success on the Jik ground. Sword Offensive, launched 2344.5.19, was a complete failure. Larionov's twelve-regiment force found itself hard-pressed to defend itself from wave after wave of Jakly slave armies, suffering heavy losses from the wave attacks.
After 35 days of grueling defensive actions with little forward progress, Larionov pulled his forces off the planet and the Commonwealth Army began the construction of an additional 10 Unmanned Assault Legions on Gish.
The Slerpanor began their newest counteroffensive, code-named Operation: REGAIN, by launching an assault on the SF Cerberus position in the Doria system. Three main waves came towards the Commonwealth defenders, each one repelled by the Commonwealth forces. After the third wave, the Slerpanor paused the offensive, and up Lor took the chance to briefly retreat to Furud to obtain repairs and the latest shield technology upgrades.
By 2245, another Sword Offensive was ready to be launched. His forces bolstered by android regiments, Larionov began a new assault. This one was much greater effectiveness, with the Slerpanor main armies falling back and letting the slave armies take the brunt of the damage. Though dense, the Jakly hordes were ill-trained and easy to kill. Seven regiments were defeated by the time Larionov decided to once again pull away to conserve his numbers.
In the meantime, Doria was once again assaulted. Beaten and battered, SF Cerberus was regardless able to fend off yet another Slerpanor assault. By now, two peace offers had been extended by the Slerpanor League to the Commonwealth, though they went ignored – an example of the Human's brutal xeno-subjugation policy. The Commonwealth was loathe to end the war without Jik in their hands, especially with their economy finally rising to normal levels.
Their ambition, however, would soon be soured. The neighboring Khell'Zen Marauders, warring mercenaries, united under the flag of the Khell'Zan Horde, and began the construction of massive fleets. Though the Commonwealth had constructed large bastions of defense around bottleneck systems outside of Khell'Zen space, even the largest would not fare well against the Horde invasion fleets. The Commonwealth sued for a peace that the Slerpanor were more than happy to accept, and thus the war ended with Commonwealth fleets beating a hasty homecoming to Unity in defense of their empire.
Last updated 2346.3.10
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