Battle of Amritsar

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{{about|the Alliance–Imperial War battle|the eponymously titled LOGH episode|The Battle of Amritsar Starzone (episode)}} {{infobox/battle | battle = Battle of Amritsar | campaign = [[Invasion of the Imperial Territory]] | war = [[Alliance–Imperial War]] | image-top = BattleofAmritsar.jpg | caption-top = '''Alliance forces caught between Imperial forces''' | date = 15 October {{d|796|uc}} | location = [[Amritsar Starzone]] | result = Major Imperial victory | belligerents1 = [[Free Planets Alliance]] | belligerents2 = [[Galactic Empire]] | units1 = [[5th Fleet]]<br>[[8th Fleet]]<br>[[13th Fleet]] | units2 = [[Lohengramm Fleet]]<br>[[Mittermeyer Fleet]]<br>[[Reuenthal Fleet]]<br>[[Kempff Fleet]]<br>[[Mecklinger Fleet]]<br>[[Black Lancers]]<br>[[Wahlen Fleet]]<br>[[Lutz Fleet]]<br>[[Kircheis Fleet]] | commanders1 = [[Yang Wen-li]]<br>[[Alexandre Bewcock]]<br>[[Appleton]] {{kia}} | commanders2 = [[Reinhard von Lohengramm]]<br>[[Siegfried Kircheis]]<br>[[Fritz Joseph Bittenfeld]]<br>[[Wolfgang Mittermeyer]]<br>[[Oskar von Reuenthal]]<br>[[Ernest Mecklinger]]<br>[[Karl Gustav Kempff]]<br>[[August Samuel Wahlen]]<br>[[Cornelius Lutz]] | strength1 = | strength2 = >100,000 warships | losses1 = Heavy | losses2 = }} The '''Battle of Amritsar Starzone''' (Japanese: '''アムリッツァ星域会戦''') was a major battle of the [[Alliance–Imperial War]] which took place in the [[Amritsar Starzone]] in {{d|796|uc}}. The battle occurred within the scope of a larger campaign which included the [[Battle of Jafnhár]], the [[Battle of Bilrost]], the [[Battle of Wansteidt]], the [[Battle of Lügen]], the [[Battle of Dverger]], and the [[Battle of Alviss]]. ({{logh|015}}) ==History== In {{d|796|uc}}, the Imperial fleet under [[Reinhard von Lohengramm]] counterattacked the spread out Alliance fleets in Imperial territory. The Alliance fleets had had their supply line cut off and their attempts to forage for supplies had triggered revolts among the local population. Weakened from lack of supplies, the Alliance fleets were swiftly defeated by the Imperial forces. Unwilling to retreat back to [[Iserlohn Fortress]] without a final attempt to hold on to their territorial gains, the remaining combat worthy elements of the Alliance fleets were ordered to regroup in the Amritsar star system by {{rank|fpa|fleet admiral}} [[Lasalle Lobos]] against the advice of his Chief of Staff, [[Dwight Greenhill]]. Amritsar was a red giant star and the system was uninhabited. The Alliance fleets took position in orbit around the star and were in a line formation with the [[5th Fleet]] on the left flank, the [[8th Fleet]] in the centre, and the [[13th Fleet]] on the right flank. Of the 3 fleets, the 13th Fleet had escaped virtually intact, having gained the advantage over the [[Kempff Fleet]] in the Battle of Jafnhár. The 5th Fleet and 8th Fleet in contrast had both suffered 30% losses in the [[Battle of Bilrost]] and the [[Battle of Wansteidt]] respectively at the hands of Imperial pursuers. Well aware that they would be outnumbered, the Alliance fleets had deployed a large minefield of 40 million mines in their rear to secure it against Imperial attack. The Imperial fleet was formed into a line to engage the Alliance forces and was at a higher altitude above Amritsar and the Alliance forces. As the Alliance fleets rose to engage, [[Yang Wen-li]] ordered fusion bombs to be dropped into Amritsar, triggering an upward surge of hot gas that lifted the 13th Fleet swiftly towards its target, the [[Mittermeyer Fleet]]. After taking losses and with his flagship ''[[Beowulf]]'' damaged, [[Wolfgang Mittermeyer|Mittermeyer]] conducted a tactical withdrawal, backing away from the 13th Fleet. Wary of exposing himself to counterattack, Yang declined to pursue. The [[Black Lancers]] then advanced from the Imperial left flank, aiming towards the 13th Fleet's right flank. The 13th Fleet successfully backed away, evading the Black Lancers, which then changed course to target the 8th Fleet. The firepower of the Black Lancers shattered the 8th Fleet, and critically damaged its flagship, ''[[Krishna]]'', which fell towards Amritsar. The 8th Fleet commander, {{rank|fpa|vice admiral}} [[Appleton]], went down with his ship. With the effective destruction of the 8th Fleet, the Alliance formation was in danger of disintegration, with the 13th Fleet pinned down by the Mecklinger Fleet and unable to immediately turn to assist the remnants of the 8th Fleet. At this moment, Imperial {{rank|imperial|vice admiral}} [[Fritz Josef Bittenfeld|Bittenfeld]] made a critical error. Flush with victory over the 8th Fleet, he ordered the Black Lancers to launch fighters, set their cannons for short range combat, and turn towards the 13th Fleet. He had hoped to pin the 13th Fleet against the Mecklinger Fleet, however Yang had been waiting for this opportunity. The 13th Fleet's attack caught the Black Lancers as they were in the middle of launching fighters and turning, and inflicted heavy losses. The final turning point of the battle came with the arrival of 30,000 additional Imperial ships led by {{rank|imperial|vice admiral}} [[Siegfried Kircheis|Kircheis]] in the Alliance's rear. Faced with the dense Alliance minefield, he deployed the large scale directional [[Seffle particle]] generators that projected a stream of Seffle particles through a section of the minefield. The Seffle particles were then triggered by cannon fire from the ''[[Barbarossa]]''. Additional mines were drawn to target the resulting explosions, and the result was a large clear path through the minefield. The sudden clearing of the minefield took the Alliance by surprise as directional Seffle particle generators were a new technology that the Empire had never fielded before in a battle against the Alliance, and which the Alliance had failed to acquire through an Imperial defector in {{d|792|uc}}. ({{logh|015}}, {{ret|2|4}}) Faced with the threat of envelopment and annihilation, the remaining Alliance forces began to retreat towards Iserlohn Fortress, with the Imperial fleets in pursuit. Yang Wen-li took it upon himself to act as rearguard and directed the 13th Fleet to focus fire on the thinnest section of the Imperial formation, the Black Lancers. The Kircheis Fleet was sent to reinforce the Black Lancers but before this could be done, the 13th Fleet successfully broke through the Black Lancers and escaped. ({{logh|016}}) ==Legacy== The Battle of Amritsar marked the climax of the Imperial counterattack that halted the Alliance invasion of the Empire. It was a key turning point in the war and, along with the overall campaign, was nothing short of an unmitigated catastrophe for the Alliance. The invasion campaign resulted in the Alliance losing 67% of its forces to enemy action—about 20 million sailors under arms, in total, among whom were many experienced fleet commanders and officers. The Alliance lost the 8th Fleet during Amritsar, further weakening it, and was saved from losing the 5th Fleet and 13th Fleet only through the efforts of [[Yang Wen-li]]. Any political and military capital generated by the capture of [[Iserlohn Fortress]] was completely squandered, and the Alliance forces would never recover from the severe losses they incurred. The scale of the Alliance military defeat resulted in the fall of the [[Royal Sanford| Sanford Administration]] and, ironically, paved the way for [[Job Trunicht]] to replace him as chairman of the [[High Council]]. It also would lead to deep resentment within the Alliance military towards the civilian government, and sowed the seeds for the coup d'etat and [[Alliance Civil War|civil war]] that would occur the following year. ({{logh|016|017}}) ===Trivia=== The father of [[Emil von Selle]], future aide to Reinhard von Lohengramm, was a doctor aboard an [[Imperial cruiser (788 UC era)|Imperial cruiser]] and was killed when the ship was destroyed during the Battle of Amritsar. ({{logh|049}}) ==Appendices== ===Name variations=== *'''Battle of Amritsar Starzone''' (Derived from DVD subtitles for [[Amritsar Starzone|Amritsar]]) *'''Battle of Amlitzer Starzone''' (English fan sources) [[Category:Battles|Amritsar battle of]]

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