Fleet Action Off Vega: Difference between revisions

From Universe Wiki | Dawn of Victory 2289
Jump to navigation Jump to search
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
mNo edit summary
 
(27 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:FleetActionOffVega.png|400px|thumb|Artists Depiction of the Fleet Action Off Vega]]
{{InfoboxConflict|name=2262 Fleet Action Off Vega|date=October 17 - 18, 2262|location=[[Vega Planetary System]]|result=Inconclusive|group1_header=[[Axis Powers]]|group2_header=[[Communist Interstellar]]|image=[[File:FleetActionOffVega.png|center|425px]]|imageBG=|group1=[[File:GermanyFlag.png|45px]] [[Greater German Reich|German Reich]]
The 2262 Fleet Action off Vega, was an engagement between the Soviet Navy, of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] and the German Kriegsmarine, of the [[German Reich]]. The engagement is almost certainly presumed to have occurred between the 7th and 8th of October, and it was the largest-ever fleet engagement to have happened as of 2285. Despite the basic admission from [[Orion Treaty Organization|OTO]] that a major fleet action took place in the Vega System in 2262, no governmental agency from any nation has ever offered any details or evidence from which even a simple narrative of events might be constructed. It is only through the work of private or independent analysts, that we have information on the engagement, leading to highly biased and inconsistent narratives between accounts.


== Prelude ==
[[File:HungaryFlag.png|45px]]  [[National Republic of Hungary|Hungary]]


=== Soviet Account ===
[[File:VegaUnionFlag.png|45px]] [[Federal Union of Vega|Federal Vega]]|group2=[[File:SovietUnionFlag.png|45px]] [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]]
By the summer of 2262, the tenure of [[Altan Nergüi]] as both General Secretary and Premiere atop Soviet leadership, had reached its lowest ebb. Prominent setbacks in the expansion of the  [[Kazandzhik Interstellar Combine]] had turned what was supposed to be a major component of the 58th, 5 Year Plan, into a metaphor for the  struggling national economy. And this was only the most visible symptom of far deeper, systemic, challenges. Since his ascendency atop the government of the USSR in 2249, Nergüi’s domestic initiatives had been defined by political conservatism, neglect, and stagnation. Rollbacks of previous reforms and a lack of innovation had led to the unchecked expansion of the interstellar Soviet bureaucracy, with systemic inefficiencies, cronyism, and corruption. To retain his position Nergüi had become dependent on a powerful faction of hardliners within his government and especially a few prominent allies in control of key military institutions and security services. While domestic failures might not have been enough to threaten this support, Soviet foreign policy and the nation’s position in the Orion Arm had been repeatedly hindered  by missteps and miscalculations. The [[Communist Interstellar|Comintern]] was bleeding members, reduced by 28 states over Nergüi’s tenure. With his credibility as a statesman severely undermined, the reformist wing of the Communist Party was emboldened. It was within this political environment that the first plans were made to spark a confrontation with the German Reich.


Soviet intent appears to have been to spark a surprise, powerful, but ultimately limited provocation, a quick bloodless propaganda victory that could shore up Nergüi’s domestic support and demonstrate to the Comintern that the Soviet Union remained a formidable and committed partner in every region of the [[Orion Arm]]. The selection of the [[Vega|Vega Planetary System]] as the desired site of this escalation also communicated Soviet intentions in a few significant ways.
[[File:VegaRepublicFlag.png|45px]] [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republican Vega]]|group1_leaders_header=Unknown|group2_leaders_header=Unknown|total_dead_group1=Disputed.
*Soviet Claim:
40 warships lost


Originally one of the most powerful and influential extrasolar nations to emerge from  the evacuation efforts, [[Vega]] had been an early symbol of pride and progress at a time when most  of mankind was still struggling to rebuild their transplanted societies. But a series of conflicts and foreign interventions (e.g; [[The Lyra Campaigns]]) had left the nation in ruins. In 2262 it was again an active warzone, split in half between the [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republic of Vega]], and the [[Union of Vega|Federal Union of Vega]] - the  latter a new member of the [[Axis Powers]]. But the conflict appeared to be nearing its end. Despite substantial material support and tens of thousands of “military advisors” from the Reich and other Axis nations, the fighting on [[Vega]] and its outlying star systems remained locked  in a stalemate with no decisive breakthrough likely by either side.
80 warships damaged


Vega had become an embarrassment for the Reich, and it was now pursuing its own exit strategies and pressuring the Federal Union to negotiate an armistice. If a Soviet Fleet could arrive undetected into this environment; a war zone in which the Reich might technically be seen as an active combatant, the propaganda value would be immense. The maneuver would  expose the weaknesses in the Axis position and amplify the perceived loss of prestige associated with their imminent withdrawal. It would also be a major escalation, even if the only intent of the Soviet fleet was to perform a simple transit through the system as a non-belligerent nation. But any blowback would be contained, affecting only the nations and star systems of the Local Cluster and unlikely to upset the far more volatile Soviet-German border territories in the Antares Gap. The Soviet government also certainly hoped that by confronting the Reich in Vega, they might leverage that system’s historical significance, an important touchstone to many of the non-legacy nations in the region. Based on the scale of the operation, planning and forward redeployments of the Soviet Navy were likely conducted throughout the late summer of 2262. And it is almost a certainty that the  Operation was carried out between October 17th and 18th.
Tens of thousands killed


=== German Account ===
*German Claim:
An alternative, conflicting account provides a very different, though no less plausible version of events. It contends that driven by desperation, [[Altan Nergüi|General Secretary Nergüi]] had desired to not only provoke the [[Axis powers]], but humiliate him. A deceive show of force, it was believed, would fully cement his weakening position, and might even be enough to convince the [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republic of Vega]] to assume full membership in the [[Communist Interstellar|Comintern]] once the war in the system was over. To achieve this, the arrival of the Soviet battlegroup within the system would not be conducted in friendly, uncontested territory well outside the warzone, but carefully timed to facilitate the successful intercept of German interstellar assets. A [[Luftwaffe]] supply convoy of some 200 ships, one of the many German flotillas departing the system in preparation for the Axis withdrawal, was deemed an appropriate target. Upon selection, it was clandestinely tracked by Republican intelligence assets throughout the system. The Soviet fleet meanwhile, meticulously prepositioned in deep space to avoid German detection, would be periodically briefed as to the convoy’s course and speed.
210 warships lost - minority German


The plan hinged on the Soviet battlegroup conducting a translight jump into the [[Vega|Vega System]] just as the [[Luftwaffe]] convoy was crossing its outer makers. Facing  a confrontation with a superior force, the German fleet would have no choice but to accede to Soviet demands and reroute. In practical military terms this maneuver would be a near useless gesture –a mild frustration to the Germans, no different from the aggressive conduct commonly employed by navies looking to intimidate their rivals. But symbolically, the act would be almost unprecedented. A fleet of the Reich, even an empty supply convoy, forced by a foreign nation to alter their course within their own claimed sphere of influence, would be an extraordinary display of Soviet military planning and a far deeper blow to Axis prestige.
Tens of thousands killed|total_dead_group2=Disputed.  
*Soviet Claim:
9 warships lost


To ensure total secrecy and give the operation every chance to succeed, the Soviet government would not signal its intentions through any of the dedicated backchannels. Even once the operation was underway, German officials would receive no acknowledgement from any Soviet source as to the mission’s scope, intent or existance. Only after the successful intercept of the convoy would the operation be acknowledged.
31 warships damaged


== Fleet Action ==
Tens of thousands killed


=== Soviet Account ===
*German Claim:
The Soviet force intended to complete an orbit of one of the system’s outer planets, conduct a resupply with ships from the Navy of the [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republic of Vega]], and then depart. This was all to have been done in an uncontested part of the [[Vega|Vega Planetary System]], well away from the ongoing fighting. But at some point during the exercise, the Soviet fleet was suddenly required to divert from its original course. According  to some sources, this change was to assist a Republican convoy that had experienced some sort of accident, having possibly struck a mine.
210 warships lost - majority Soviet


It was during these emergency operations, while still well within the Republic of Vega’s territory, that unidentified, unresponsive contacts appeared on the outer edge of the fleet’s sensor coverage. As attempts were made to establish contact, these craft instead fired a salvo of advanced, anti-ship munitions. Launched from extreme range with a generous window to intercept, a combination of interceptors and space defense missiles shot down the majority of the incoming fire, with close-in weapons systems neutralizing the remainder. Damage was minimal, but this action nevertheless forced the Soviet fleet to abandon its ongoing emergency efforts and reposition itself around the sticken convoy.
Hundreds of thousands killed|image-caption=Soviet and German ships engaging on the outer perimeter of Vega}}


In the aftermath of this attack, when confusion surrounding the developing situation was at its height, an additional line of far larger, still unidentified sensor contacts  appeared at extreme range on a bearing almost directly opposite to the initial missile strike. Operating on the assumption that these new contacts were the Republic of Vega’s resupply force, the Soviet fleet allowed them to close while attempting to establish contact and simultaneously identify the nature of their previous attackers.
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.


Up until this point, the Soviet force reportedly believed it had been the victim of a friendly fire incident. Their inability to positively identify and communicate with allied ships at  longer distances had in fact been a common occurrence due to difficulties integrating Soviet and Vegan equipment. In an incident that had been quietly suppressed just weeks earlier, a Soviet vessel had mistakenly  fired upon a Vegan drone-ship. By the time Soviet interstellar warning and control craft had positively identified the incoming contacts as warships of the German [[Kriegsmarine]], it was far too late for either side to disengage.  
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.


A furious exchange of weapons fire erupted, and though accounts contradict on which side fired the first salvo. Soviet naval doctrine, favoring heavy saturation attacks at extreme range, proved decisive. Though they had closed the distance significantly, the German warships still remained far too distant to employ their more advanced, shorter ranged arsenals, and were simply unable to match the Soviets missile for missile. Some reports claim that only 9 minutes after the first volley, the space in front of the German fleet had become so saturated by torpedo deployed chaff, mines, and loitering munitions, that their tracking systems were entirely overwhelmed. The success rate for the [[P-150 Rubyn]], the heaviest Soviet anti-ship missile in use at the time, supposedly climbed from a baseline 4% to 39%, an extraordinary record for an engagement taking place at that range.
== Background ==


Damage to the Soviet fleet by contrast was concentrated across the formation’s leading flank, where a Battlecruiser squadron had momentarily entered the effective range of [[Kriegsmarine]] railguns. Engagements between aerospace and escort  squadrons screening the two fleets continued for several hours afterwards, but neither of the main battlelines made any attempt to re-engage the other.  
Split between the [[Communist Interstellar|Comintern]]-backed [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republic of Vega]] (later, the Democratic Republic of Vega) and the [[Axis Powers|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.  


In the weeks following the battle, once the threat of further escalation had been contained, investigations conducted by intelligence services in both nations determined that the German force had been composed of paramilitary units operating independently of the Reich’s central command structure. Having not been included in the informal backchannels used by either government, they had acted on their own initiative, raising questions as to the extent of command and control that could be exercised inside the German military hierarchy.
=== 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.


While this version of events suggests a reasonable possibility for what might have occurred, it is not without its detractors. Particular skepticism is directed towards the claimed involvement of partially rogue paramilitary forces. The theory that an entire Soviet battlegroup, engaged in a carefully planned and communicated operation would suddenly divert to assist a Republican convoy is likewise seen as highly improbable.
== Prelude: Conflicting Accounts ==


=== German Account ===
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.
Unable to continuously monitor the [[Luftwaffe]] convoy without detection, Soviet intelligence assets in the system had been forced to rely on sporadic, passive surveillance and ai-assisted projections. And while their target was almost exactly where it was expected to be, right on the edge of the outer-marker, the Soviet fleet had been entirely misled as to  the nature of the ships opposite them. When the Soviet commander broadcast their demand that the German force reroute or face a boarding action, he believed he was addressing a mostly empty supply convoy and its scattered escorts.  


Instead they were confronting a fully loaded flotilla of troop transports, containing over 30,000 Axis advisors. In place of the few expected scattered escorts, were premiere elements of the [[Kriesgmarine High Seas Fleet|Kriesgmarine’s High Seas Fleet]] and [[Hungarian Space Forces]].  
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.


It was during the broadcast of the German’s counter-demand that a Soviet capital ship, supposedly identified as the Battlecruiser Zinoviev, struck a mine and suffered a major explosion. Believing his task force had just been fired upon, the Soviet commander ordered his ships to retaliate. Only minutes after entering the system, the largest interstellar fleet action in human history was now taking place, with as many as 500 warships across both sides.  
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.


Across the battlespace, so many instances of electronic warfare were activated that the capabilities of both fleets were compromised. Even inter-fleet communications was sometimes affected, paralyzing Soviet captains and  squadron commanders who relied  upon centralized command and control. Though the engagement had opened at extreme range, a situation that in theory favored Soviet doctrine, the pervasive ECM had disrupted their ability to execute the necessary saturation attacks. Entire formations fired their salvos out of sequence, unable to coordinate their timing or targets. Once launched, hundreds of Soviet missiles were reportedly neutralized well before they reached their targets, forced into rapidly and perpetually  cycling through their myriad of guidance options and unable to achieve a lock for more than a few milliseconds. Others were jammed by their own on board electronic, counter counter measures before spiraling out of control. German long range missiles by contrast, though not unaffected, proved more resilient at slicing through the interference and were even able to jam Soviet close-in weapons systems.
== Fleet Action: German Account ==


As both sides struggled to break through the interference and more and more countermeasures were deployed, the identification of enemy targets in  the battlespace became almost impossible. By the time each formation had begun to pass within 300 kilometers of the other, the more powerful German lasers had started to burn out the sensors of individual Soviet ships and feed back uncompromised targeting data.
=== 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]].


With this advantage, German railguns, prioritized within the Kriegsmarine, began to tear the Soviet fleet apart. German “[[Firecracker Rods|semi-armor piercing thermobaric incendiary rounds]]”, which would later gain infamy as “[[Firecracker Rods|firecracker rods]]” during the [[Battle of the Argentine Moons]] are sometimes said to have had their inaugural use during this phase of the engagement. Unable to be jammed and possessing a far greater accuracy and range than those of their opponents, the Axis forces inflicted sizable damage before Soviet targeting finally achieved parity.
=== 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.


Though far more detailed in its description of the course of the battle, this account too has its critics. The  supposed ability of the Soviet Navy in 2262 to conduct a translight jump into a German supply corridor without being detected is especially challenged. As is how such a far more massive action could be kept suppressed, even within the infamously restrictive Soviet and German systems. Nearly every account of the Fleet Action off Vega reports that in the weeks following the battle, a massive effort was made at the highest levels of both nations to prevent an all out war.
=== 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.”


== International Reactions ==
== Fleet Action: Soviet Account ==


=== OTO Statements ===
=== Contact ===
During a brief statement, a spokesman for [[Orion Treaty Organization|OTO]] speaking on security threats to the [[Orion Arm]], appeared to confirm a long held suspicion amongst analysts and conspiracy theorists, that a major confrontation took place between the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and [[German Reich]] in 2262.
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.


== Summary ==
=== Engagement ===
The theories differ on why each side has elected to keep the details of the incident a secret, or what calculations influenced that decision. But until the Soviet archives or those of the Reich  are opened to the public, any report detailing the Fleet Action off Vega must be taken with a degree of circumspection. In all likelihood, no single  account reflects the truth and parsing which  details are accurate and which have been distorted  to fit a more desirable narrative is impossible.  
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.


Even discussing the incident publically is difficult, with any discourse held on the  networks quickly infiltrated and manipulated by disinformation intelligences. Several governments and other entities are suspected to engage in this practice, a small part in the far greater, omnipresent shadow conflict waged in the information space to shape public opinion.
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.


But some things can be said with certainty, even if their connection to any Fleet Action near Vega is not. In 2263, Premier Nergüi was removed, and the [[reformist wing]] of the [[Communist Party]] of the Soviet Union obtained an unequaled level of control over their government.  
== 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.


By 2265, every major power had announced a comprehensive review of warship  design. The following year the [[Democratic Republic of Vega|Republic of Vega]] formally joined the [[Communist Interstellar|Comintern]]. And as of 2285, the [[Vega|Vega planetary system]] remains one of the most dangerous places in the Orion Arm, the only theater where events have transpired so that the Soviet Union and German Reich no longer face each other across the vast gulf of space, but bayonet to bayonet.
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.


== Statistics ==
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.


=== Forces Engaged ===
In 2266, the Republic of Vega would formally join the Comintern.


Composition:
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]].


* 30,000 Axis advisors (German Claim)
== References ==
 
# [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy0QphvuW60 "Fleet Action off Vega"]. ''Champlain Group''.
* Up to 500 Ships (German Claim)
 
=== Casualties ===
 
Soviet Claims:
* 9 Soviet Navy Ships Destroyed
* 31 Soviet Navy Ships Damaged
 
* 40 Kriegsmarine Ships Destroyed
* 80 Kriegsmarine Ships Damaged
 
 
German Claims:
* 210 Ships Destroyed
* Destruction of the majority of the Soviet Fleet

Latest revision as of 14:14, 31 December 2025

Soviet and German ships engaging on the outer perimeter of Vega
2262 Fleet Action Off Vega
Date October 17 - 18, 2262
Location Vega Planetary System
Result Inconclusive
Participants
Axis Powers Communist Interstellar
German Reich

Hungary

Federal Vega

Soviet Union

Republican Vega

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 Comintern-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.

References

  1. "Fleet Action off Vega". Champlain Group.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.champlain.group/index.php?title=Fleet_Action_Off_Vega&oldid=7780"