Brünhild

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The supreme flagship Brünhild (800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE))
Affiliation:	Galactic Empire
Flag officer:	Fleet Admiral Lohengramm
Type:	Battleship
Purpose:	Flagship (Lohengramm Fleet) Supreme Flagship
Length:	1007 metres(FFC1R)
Width:	264 metres(FFC1R)
Height:	273 metres(FFC1R)
Crew:	1171(FFC1R)
Status:	Decommissioned
Decommissioned:	801 UC (3 NIC / 492 IC / 3601 CE)

The Brünhild (Japanese: ブリュンヒルト) was the Imperial flagship of Reinhard von Lohengramm. The Brünhild served as a symbol of Reinhard and later, the Goldenlöwe throne.

Service history

FPA–Imperial War

The Brünhild was the only ship of its kind, gifted to Reinhard von Lohengramm (von Müsel, at the time) at the behest of Kaiser Friedrich IV, following his distinguished service at the Third Battle of Tiamat in 795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE). (TBT: 'Part Two')

The Brünhild would serve as Reinhard's personal flagship throughout his life, playing a pivotal role in almost all of the greatest battles of the era.

The Brünhild first fired its cannons in battle at the Battle of Legnica, where it fought against the Free Planets Alliance 2nd Fleet in 795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE). The initial combat was indecisive, with the Brünhild coming within metres of the enemy flagship Patoroklos, but Reinhard was able to ignite the gas giant's helium atmosphere with a nuclear fusion missile fired by the Brünhild, devastating the 2nd Fleet. (My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars)

The Brünhild engaged at the Fourth Battle of Tiamat (795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE))

The Brünhild was the flagship of the left wing of the Imperial fleet (under ultimate command of Fleet Admiral Gregor von Mückenberger) at the Fourth Battle of Tiamat, fought against several Alliance fleets shortly after the Battle of Legnica. Though the left wing, comprising the Lohengramm Fleet, was sent forward unsupported in an attempt by Mückenberger to rid himself of the troublesome young Admiral Müsel, Reinhard managed to save his fleet and come to the rescue of the hard-pressed Imperial fleet later in the battle.

With encirclement of the Alliance fleet complete and total victory at hand, the Brünhild was 'taken hostage' by the Alliance battleship Ulysses, under the command of Commodore Yang Wen-li — allowing the Alliance fleet to escape complete annihilation. (My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars)

At the Battle of Astarte in 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), the Brünhild was at the head of the 20,000-strong fleet that defeated the Alliance 4th Fleet and 6th Fleet one after the other, and severely damaged the 2nd Fleet before Commodore Yang assumed command and managed to force a stalemate. (LOGH: 'In the Eternal Night', 'The Battle of Astarte'; Overture to a New War)

The Brünhild later served as the overall flagship of the combined Imperial fleets that launched the devastating counter-attack against the Alliance invasion force in October 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE). However, the Brünhild did not engage the enemy directly, with Fleet Admiral Lohengramm preferring to preside over the battle from afar so as not to usurp the glory of his subordinates. (LOGH: 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone')

Imperial Civil War

The Brünhild was again in overall command of Imperial forces against the rebellious Lippstadt League in 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE). For the majority of the campaign, it served as the overall command ship, but had the opportunity to fight on the front lines in the last battle of the war outside Geiersberg Fortress. (LOGH: 'The Fall of Goldenbaum')

Invasion of the FPA

The Brünhild served as the overall flagship for the main Imperial invasion force into Alliance territory in 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE), and formed one of the 'heads' of Reinhard's 'two-headed snake' battle formation at the Battle of Rantemario against the Alliance fleet under Fleet Admiral Bewcock. (LOGH: 'The Two-Headed Snake: The Battle of Rantemario')

The Brünhild lands on Fezzan (798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE))

At the Battle of Vermilion in 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE), the destruction of the Brünhild (and the death of Prince Lohengramm) was the sole objective of the Alliance fleet under Fleet Admiral Yang Wen-li's command. Understanding this, Reinhard arrayed his fleet in a deeply layered defensive formation in front of the Brünhild through which the Alliance could not penetrate, awaiting the planned arrival of his subordinates so that the Yang Fleet could be destroyed. (LOGH: 'Battle After Battle', 'The Battle of Vermilion (Part One)')

Eventually, a ruse by Fleet Admiral Yang caused Reinhard to combine his forces, which were then encircled and besieged. With the Brünhild left vulnerable, it came within seconds of being destroyed before the early arrival of the Müller Fleet saved the ship. Notwithstanding that, Yang was able to contain the Müller Fleet and bring the Brünhild directly in front of the cannons of his flagship, the Hyperion. However, the Alliance fleet was ordered to surrender by the Alliance High Council, and the Brünhild was saved. (LOGH: 'The Battle of Vermilion (Part One)', 'The Battle of Vermilion (Part Two)', 'Sudden Change')

In 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE), the Brünhild led the New Imperial fleets against the Alliance fleet under Fleet Admiral Bewcock. Once more, the Alliance objective was solely to destroy the Brünhild and kill Kaiser Reinhard. Bewcock did not succeed, and the Alliance fleet was largely destroyed. (LOGH: 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part One)', 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part Two)')

Following the recapture of Iserlohn Fortress by the forces of Yang Wen-li (as leader of the El Facil Revolutionary Force), the Brünhild led the Imperial fleets into the Iserlohn Corridor to defeat Yang once and for all. As before, the Brünhild was Yang's target, but Yang's forces were repulsed by timely commands from Kaiser Reinhard. (LOGH: 'The Battle of the Corridor: Kaleidoscope', 'The Battle of the Corridor: End of the Campaign')

Final battles

Later in 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE), an assassination attempt was carried out against Kaiser Reinhard while he was visting Uruvasi. The Brünhild itself came under fire from rogue Imperial troops, but was undamaged. Landing in a nearby lake, the Brünhild rescued the Kaiser and returned to Fezzan. (LOGH: 'The Urvashi Incident', 'In the Name of Pride')

At the Brünhild's final battle, the Imperial fleet under Kaiser Reinhard fought against the forces of the Iserlohn Republic under Julian Mintz in 801 UC (3 NIC / 492 IC / 3601 CE). With the Kaiser collapsing from a fever, Julian Mintz managed to fool the Imperial fleet with a feint and rush the Brünhild directly. Though it managed to destroy the most of the onrushing ships with cannon fire, Mintz and the Rosen Ritter succeeded in forcibly boarding the supreme flagship via an assault ship. The Brünhild's crew killed most of the attackers - but not before Julian Mintz came before a recovered Kaiser Reinhard, and negotiated for peace. Known as 'the ship that will never sink', this was the only time the Brünhild was ever damaged in battle. (LOGH: 'The Crimson Star Road', 'The Beautiful Maiden Wants Blood')

Decommissioning

The Brünhild was presumably decommissioned following the death of Kaiser Reinhard. (LOGH: 'Dream: To See It to the End')

Design

The Brünhild was an experimental prototype for a next-generation warship, laden with equipment that ignored mass production costs. It featured an armour system based on new theories, which could deflect cannon fire. (TBT: 'Part Two'; LOGH: 'The Beautiful Maiden Wants Blood')

It was slightly smaller than conventional flagships (such as the Wilhelmina, Ostmark, and Berlin), but its fire-power was superior. Unlike most other warships, the Brünhild's numerous cannons were not centralised in readily discernible locations. In addition to her powerful cannon armament, she mounted at least four missile launchers, each containing six launch tubes each. (TBT: 'Part Two'; My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars)

Appendices

Appearances

Name variations

• Brünhild (LD/DVD subtitles)
• ブリュンヒルト (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)

Background information

The name 'Brünhild' is a reference to Brynhildr, a valkyrie (a female figure who carried the chosen slain to Valhalla, the hall of Odin) from Norse mythology.

FFC drawing

Apocrypha

Fleet File Collection

The Brünhild is included as a model (with both Goldenbaum and Goldenlöwe markings) in Fleet File Collection Vol.1 and Fleet File Collection Vol.1R.