Fleet Action Off Vega
 | |
|---|---|
| 2262 Fleet Action Off Vega | |
| Date | October 17 - 18, 2262 |
| Location | Vega Planetary System |
| Result | Inconclusive |
| Participants | |
| Axis Powers | Communist Interstellar |
 German Reich
|
 Soviet Union
|
| Commanders and leaders | |
| Unknown | Unknown |
| Casualties and losses | |
| Total dead: Disputed.
40 warships lost 80 warships damaged Tens of thousands killed
210 warships lost - minority German Tens of thousands killed |
Total dead: Disputed.
9 warships lost 31 warships damaged Tens of thousands killed
210 warships lost - majority Soviet Hundreds of thousands killed |
The 2262 Fleet Action Off Vega was, by some estimates, the largest naval battle in human history, with as many as 500 warships and hundreds of thousands of naval personnel involved. This naval engagement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the German Reich took place sometime between 17 October and 18 October 2262 in the Vega system.
Due to strict secrecy by both the Soviet and German governments, the exact specific events that transpired over the course of this fleet action have been the subject of intense speculation, debate, and investigation.
Background
Split between the Communist Interstellar-backed Republic of Vega (later, the Democratic Republic of Vega) and the Axis-backed Federal Union of Vega, the Vega Planetary System had been embroiled in what would be later known as the First Vega War since 2259. By the summer of 2262, the German-backed Federal Union of Vega’s war with the Democratic Republic of Vega was failing to secure any significant victories, despite substantial support from the Axis Powers, who were now pressuring the Federal Union to sign an armistice, while at the same time preparing an exit strategy.
Nergüi’s Gambit
The Soviet Union in 2262, under the tenure of Premiere Altan Nergüi, was mired in a period of political conservatism, neglect, and stagnation - with the Comintern having lost 28 member states since 2249. It has been suggested that, in order to distract from the cronyism and corruption resulting from his administration's policies - and to reassure his administration's political allies - the Nergüi administration may have seen the stagnating position of the German Reich in the Vega system as an opportunity to shore up domestic support by securing a quick propaganda victory. Based on the scale of the operation, it is estimated that planning and forward deployments for the Soviet Navy were conducted in the late summer of 2262.
Prelude: Conflicting Accounts
According to German sources, the Soviet Navy planned to conduct a translight jump into the Vega system in order to intercept a convoy of 200 Luftwaffe supply ships departing the Vega planetary system as part of the Axis withdrawal. The intention of the operation, according to these sources, was to intimidate the withdrawing convoy to reroute - a symbolic blow to Axis prestige, without a costly battle. This was to be done in near total secrecy, with no signal being given through the dedicated Soviet-German backchannels until the interception had occurred.
Due to the need for secrecy, Soviet intelligence assets could not continuously monitor German activities without risking detection. Such limitations would leave the Soviet task force with limited knowledge of the Luftwaffe’s disposition based on sporadic, passive surveillance and AI-assisted projections.
Meanwhile, Soviet sources claim that the intended course of the operation was for the Soviet task force to complete a single orbit of one of the Vega planetary system’s outer planets, conduct a resupply with ships from the navy of the Republic of Vega, and then depart the system - avoiding ongoing fighting by staying entirely within uncontested space.
Fleet Action: German Account
Contact
When the Soviet force completed its jump into the Vega system, it detected the German flotilla right where its projections had predicted they’d be and the commander of the Soviet task force delivered their demands for the vessels to reroute or face a boarding action. Instead of addressing an empty convoy and its escorts, as Soviet intelligence had believed, the Soviet task force found itself facing a fully armed flotilla of troop transports filled with over 30,000 Axis advisors. Additionally, guarding the convoy, were premier elements of the Kriegsmarine’s High Seas Fleet and the Hungarian Space Forces.
Long-Range Engagement
Both forces quickly activated their electronic warfare measures and countermeasures, but the sheer amount of electronic warfare activations saturated the battlespace to such a degree that both sides’ capabilities were heavily compromised, especially their communication systems. Soviet forces attempted to launch a saturation attack, but the amount of electronic countermeasures being used by both sides resulted in entire Soviet formations firing their salvos out of sequence and without proper target coordination, allowing for German defense systems to easily destroy many of the incoming Soviet munitions. The German long-range missiles, according to these sources, were more resilient against the electronic countermeasures being deployed, with many being able to cut through to the Soviet battle line and even jam some Soviet warships.
Short-Range Engagement
As the fleets got closer to each other, the German forces deployed laser weaponry to burn out Soviet sensors and feed targeting data back to the railgun assets in the German forces’ rear, allowing them to begin systematically destroying Soviet warships from a safe distance, devastating the Soviet fleet before it managed to achieve targeting parity. These sources also allege that this phase of the battle saw the inaugural use of the German Panzerbrandgranate 101, colloquially known as the “Firecracker Rod.”
Fleet Action: Soviet Account
Contact
While the Soviet Navy was conducting an exercise in the Vega system, a distress signal from a convoy of the Republic of Vega caused them to divert from their exercise to assist the craft. While moving to assist the convoy, a formation of unidentified contacts appeared on their radars. An attempt was made to identify, but the formation launched a barrage of anti-ship missiles at the Soviet task force, most of which were shot down by Soviet defense measures. After the initial barrage, Soviet radars detected another collection of unidentified contacts, though farther away than the initial ones. At this point, the Soviet task force believed it was under friendly fire, due to prior issues integrating Soviet and Vegan communication systems, and attempted to make contact. Once the unidentified ships got closer, Soviet detection systems were able to identify them as vessels of the German Kriegsmarine.
Engagement
Although accounts contradict on which side fired the first salvo, Soviet sources agree that this initial engagement proved decisive - in keeping with Soviet naval doctrine of heavy saturation attacks at extreme range. The Soviet task force launched a salvo of long-range weaponry in a saturation attack against the German force, which was unable to utilize their shorter-range weaponry at such a long engagement range, and whose radar systems were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Soviet munitions. Some Soviet reports claim that this level of saturation was reached in a mere 9 minutes.
After the initial engagement at range, skirmish engagements between aerospace and escort squadrons screening the two fleets would continue for several hours - with no attempt made by either battleline to re-engage the other in earnest. Damage to the Soviet fleet was claimed to be limited to elements of a battlecruiser squadron that had momentarily entered the effective range of Kriegsmarine railguns.
Aftermath
According to the Soviet account of events, by the end of the engagement, the Soviet task force had sustained losses of 9 vessels, with 31 damaged, and the German task force had sustained losses of up to 40 vessels and 80 damaged.
According to the German account of events, the initial engagement saw roughly 210 ships destroyed or damaged, with the majority of casualties being Soviet, including what some reports claim to be the battlecruiser Zinoviev, which reportedly suffered major damage after striking a mine.
In the weeks following the battle, internal investigations by both governments professed that the German forces were composed of paramilitary units operating independently from the Wehrmacht central command structure who had acted on their own initiative.
Impact
Before the end of 2263, Soviet Premier Nergüi would be removed from office - with the reformist wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union obtaining an unequaled level of control over their government.
By 2265, every major power in the Orion Arm had announced comprehensive reviews of their respective warship designs. Although no major power directly cited the 2262 Fleet Action Off Vega as a motive, it has been widely assumed to have been primarily responsible.
In 2266, the Republic of Vega would formally join the Comintern.
As of 2285, the Vega planetary system remains one of the most dangerous places in the Orion Arm - and is widely regarded as one of the most tense flashpoints in the ongoing Cold War.