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'''I will work on big projects here.'''
'''I will work on big projects here.'''
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{{infobox/character
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{{infobox/battle
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| image-top        = Merkatz (BD).jpg
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| battle          = Ninth Battle of Iserlohn
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| caption-top      = Admiral '''Merkatz''' ({{d|796|uc}})
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| campaign        =
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| gender          = Male
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| war              = [[Alliance–Imperial War]]
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| affiliation      = [[Iserlohn Republic]]<br>[[El Facil Revolutionary Government]] (former)<br>[[Free Planets Alliance]]/[[Galactic Empire Legitimate Government|Imperial Legitimate Government]] (former)<br>[[Galactic Empire]] (former)
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| image-top        =  
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| rank            = [[Military ranks of the Galactic Empire#High_Admiral|High Admiral]]
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| caption-top      =  
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| flagship        = ''[[Hyperion]]''<br />''[[Nördlingen]]'' (former)
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| date            = 20 November {{d|798|uc}} – 9 January {{d|799|uc}}
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| occupation      = Legitimate government war minister (former)
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| location        = [[Iserlohn Fortress]]
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| status          = Deceased (killed in action)
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| result          = Imperial victory, Alliance abandons Iserlohn
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| born            = 2nd half of {{d|737|uc}} or {{d|738|uc}}
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| belligerents1    = [[Galactic Empire]]
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| died            = {{d|801|uc}}
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| belligerents2    = [[Free Planets Alliance]]
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| actor            = [[Naya Gorō]] (deceased)
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| units1          = [[Reuenthal Fleet]]<br />[[Lutz Fleet]]<br />[[Lennenkampf Fleet]]
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| units2          = [[Iserlohn Garrison Fleet]]
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| commanders1      = [[Oskar von Reuenthal]]<br />[[Cornelius Lutz]]<br />[[Helmut Lennenkampf]]
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| commanders2      = [[Yang Wen-li]]<br />[[Dusty Attenborough]]<br />[[Willibald Joachim von Merkatz]]
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| strength1        = 36,000 ships
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| strength2        =  
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| losses1          =
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| losses2          =  
}}
}}
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'''Willibald Joachim von Merkatz''' (Japanese: '''ウィリバルト・ヨアヒム・フォン・メルカッツ''') was a distinguished [[Galactic Empire|Imperial]] {{rank|imperial|high admiral|lc}} who defected to the [[Free Planets Alliance|Alliance]] after being defeated in a [[Imperial Civil War|civil war]] and went on to serve both [[Yang Wen-li]] as well as the [[Galactic Empire Legitimate Government|Imperial exiled government]]. A veteran of countless battles, he was noted for his penchant of using massed small craft such as Imperial [[Gunship|gunships]] or later Alliance [[Spartanians]] in direct strikes against enemy warships. Merkatz remained a loyalist of the [[Goldenbaum Dynasty]] and wanted to restore it to power in the Empire despite serving under Yang, which was also why he supported the incompetent [[Nobility|high nobles]] of the [[Lippstadt League]] during the civil war. {{rank|imperial|Fleet Admiral}} [[Oskar von Reuenthal]] regarded him as one of the greatest tacticians of their era, the others being himself, Yang, [[Reinhard von Lohengramm|Reinhard]], and [[Wolfgang Mittermeyer]].
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The '''Ninth Battle of Iserlohn''' (Japanese: '''第9次イゼルローン攻防戦''') was the first phase of Duke [[Reinhard von Lohengramm]]'s [[Operation Ragnarök]], a diversionary attack by the [[Galactic Empire]] against [[Iserlohn Fortress]] to distract the [[Free Planets Alliance]] from the Imperial invasion through the [[Fezzan Corridor]]. The operation was launched in response to the kidnapping of Emperor [[Erwin Josef II]] in the summer of {{d|798|uc}} and his reappearance in the Alliance at the head of a [[Galactic Empire Legitimate Government|"legitimate" government-in-exile]]. The plan of Ragnarök hinged on the bulk of the Imperial Fleet passing through and entering the Alliance using the demilitarised Fezzan Corridor, but an initial assault on Iserlohn Fortress was launched to ensure that Alliance politicians continued to believe that the Imperial invasion would be through the [[Iserlohn Corridor]]. After holding off several waves of Imperial attacks, fortress commander Admiral [[Yang Wen-li]] decided to abandon Iserlohn to join the fight against Reinhard's main force.
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==Late Goldenbaum era==
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==Background==
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[[File:Merkatz 3.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Merkatz along with his adjutant at Astrate ({{d|796|uc}})]]
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After several previous failed attempts, in the spring of {{d|796|uc}} the Alliance [[13th Fleet]] under [[Yang Wen-li]] captured the Empire's Iserlohn Fortress. But over the next two years since then the [[Free Planets Star Fleet|Alliance Fleet]] was severely weakened in a failed [[invasion of the Imperial Territory]] and later the [[Alliance Civil War]]. Thus by {{d|798|uc}} the defence of the homeland relied entirely on the Alliance's control over Iserlohn Fortress. The Alliance National Defence Council and the head of state, [[Job Trunicht]], believed that any Imperial invasion could only come through the [[Iserlohn Corridor]], as the only other route, the [[Fezzan Corridor]], had always traditionally been demilitarised. ({{logh|007|016|038|039|041|042}})
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Not much is known about Merkatz's early career besides the fact that he was a flag officer since at least {{d|791|uc}}, and that he had become a famous soldier "before you [Reinhard von Lohengramm] were born," according to [[Paul von Oberstein]]. He was also regarded as popular and respected among lower ranking Imperial ratings and junior officers, with his reputation as a military commander being even known in the Alliance. One of his known actions was as a full {{rank|imperial|admiral|lc}} during the [[Sixth Battle of Iserlohn]] in {{d|794|uc}}, where he was  the only elderly commander who fought in the fleet battle outside of [[Iserlohn Fortress]]. ({{mut|04}}, {{hbshbl|12}}, {{logh|022|024}})
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Admiral Merkatz was one of five fleet commanders assigned to [[Reinhard von Lohengramm]] to replace his loyal subordinates prior to the start of the operation that would become the [[Battle of Astarte]]. While the others were vice admirals (except [[Fahrenheit]], who was a rear admiral) Merkatz was a full admiral. He and the other officers were considered to be "problematic" by the Imperial naval command and that was the main reason for their assignment to Reinhard in the place of his regular staff, as this operation was not expected to succeed. It was noted by [[Oskar von Reuenthal]] at the time that Merkatz was recognized as a skilled commander but lacked adaptability and that prevented him from being promoted to {{rank|imperial|Fleet Admiral}}. However, during the battle Merkatz fought well against both the [[Free Planets Alliance|Alliance]] [[4th Fleet]] and [[6th Fleet]]. After Reinhard's operational plan turned out to be a success, much to everyone's surprise, Merkatz came to acknowledge the younger admiral's genius and his skepticism of Reinhard changed into respect. It was an attitude that stood in stark contrast to the continued contempt that the rest of the Imperial upper strata possessed toward the blond admiral. ({{onw}}, {{logh|001|002}})
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The summer of {{d|798|uc}} saw the kidnapping of the young emperor [[Erwin Josef II]] in a scheme organised by Fezzani leader [[Adrian Rubinsky]] and the creation of a [[Galactic Empire Legitimate Government|government-in-exile]] of former [[Nobility|high nobles]] in the Alliance, with the aim of overthrowing Duke [[Reinhard von Lohengramm]]'s regime in the Empire. The Fezzanis convinced or persuaded Trunicht and his administration to accept the exiles. As Rubinsky intended, this gave Lohengramm popular support for and a pretext to declare war on the Alliance. The Imperial dictator's invasion plan, [[Operation Ragnarök]], called for a diversionary attack on Iserlohn while the majority of the Imperial Fleet annexed Fezzan and proceeded to invade the Alliance through the Fezzan Corridor. This way they could avoid dealing with Yang Wen-li and Iserlohn Fortress directly. With the assistance of defected Fezzani ambassador [[Nikolas Boltik]], Lohengramm decided to enact the plan. ({{logh|030|035|038|041}})
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==The Lippstadt Rebellion==
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On 5 November {{d|798|uc}}, in accordance with the Ragnarök Operation, Imperial High Admiral [[Oskar von Reuenthal]], along with {{rank|imperial|admiral|lc}}s [[Helmut Lennenkampf]] and [[Cornelius Lutz]], led a fleet of 36,000 warships against [[Iserlohn Fortress]]. Their departure from the capital was leaked via Fezzan to the Alliance government. Despite the warnings of the Space Fleet Commander, Admiral [[Alexandre Bucock]], most of the Alliance's political and military leaders, including Admiral [[Rockwell]] and Defence Secretary [[Walter Islands]], believed the Empire would only invade through Iserlohn. ({{logh|042}})
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[[File:Merkatz with Braunschweig.png|thumb|200px|Merkatz receiving praise from Braunschweig following his victory at Schann-tau ({{d|797|uc}})]]
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During the attempted Alliance invasion of the Empire in the late summer and fall of {{d|796|uc}}, Merkatz was not involved as Count Lohengramm and his subordinates were given the task of defending Imperial territory. However, when Emperor [[Friedrich IV]] suddenly died shortly after the rout of the Alliance forces in October, a power struggle broke out within the Empire. The highborn aristocrats representing the Goldenbaum Dynasty's traditions and power were pitted against the ambitious reformist upstarts under Reinhard von Lohengramm, along with his ally of convenience, Minister of State [[Klaus von Lichtenlade]]. The Lohengramm–Lichtenlade axis placed the very young and impressionable [[Erwin Josef II]] on the throne, with the nobles seeing this as an assault against their influence. Although Merkatz initially wanted to remain neutral because he saw no reason to harm the troops with infighting, Duke [[Otto von Braunschweig]] threatened the old admiral into going along with the high nobles. ({{logh|013|016|018}})
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Duke Braunschweig did naturally appoint {{rank|imperial|High Admiral}} Merkatz the commander-in-chief of the [[Lippstadt League|Lippstadt Allied Forces]] upon the outbreak of the civil war, as the confederated aristocrats' combined military came to be known. Using [[Geiersburg Fortress]] as their base of operations, Merkatz proposed that they allow Reinhard's forces to come to them so the Lippstadt fleet could attack them when they stretched out their supply lines and were far from [[Odin]]. However, a proposal by Admiral [[Staden]] to attack Odin while Reinhard was away was also accepted much to Merkatz's chagrin, though Staden's force ended up being routed. Merkatz later scored the Lippstadt League's only victory over the enemy in the war, the [[Battle of Schann-tau]], but it was strategically insignificant. He was also outraged to find upon his return that Marquis [[Wilhelm von Littenheim]] ventured out to fight against Admiral [[Siegfried Kircheis]] without consulting Merkatz, since Braunschweig allowed it to happen because he did not want his rival Littenheim around, ignoring Merkatz's authority as supreme commander. Littenheim ended up being defeated and killed while losing [[Littenheim Fleet|a third]] of their fleet in the process. ({{logh|020|022}})
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==Order of battle==
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===Imperial===
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The Empire mobilised 36,000 ships for the operation.
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*[[Reuenthal Fleet]], under High Admiral [[Oskar von Reuenthal]], flagship ''[[Tristan]]''
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*[[Lutz Fleet]], under Admiral [[Cornelius Lutz]], flagship ''[[Skirnir]]''
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*[[Lennenkampf Fleet]], under Admiral [[Helmut Lennenkampf]], flagship ''[[Garga Falmul]]''
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The [[Eisenach Fleet]] of Admiral [[Ernst von Eisenach]] provided them with logistical support.
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===Alliance===
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Iserlohn Fortress was defended by the [[Yang Fleet|Iserlohn Garrison Fleet]], under Admiral [[Yang Wen-li]]. Two squadrons under the command of Rear Admirals [[Edwin Fischer]] and [[Dusty Attenborough]] took part in operations outside the Fortress itself, while the marine infantry forces were led by Fortress defence commander, Brigadier General [[Walter von Schönkopf]].
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As a result, the [[Lohengramm Fleet]] ended up surrounding the nobles at Geiersburg. The final straw for Merkatz was when some young nobles ignored his orders and decided to go out to fight the enemy instead of waiting them out. Also, by then the high aristocrats' view of the aging admiral had greatly changed, from one of respect and admiration for a brilliant tactician to one of hatred and contempt for what they perceived to be cowardice and indecisiveness, as Merkatz had predicted before joining up with them. The nobles fell for Lohengramm's trick to lure them out of the fortress and their fleet was nearly destroyed, only saved by the high admiral sortieing out and saving them from total annihilation. ({{logh|022}})
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==The battle==
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[[File:Reuenthal Schonkopf(DVD-CA).jpg|thumb|The duel aboard ''Tristan'' between Reuenthal and Schönkopf ({{d|798|uc}})]]
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The Imperial fleet under High Admiral Reuenthal reached the Iserlohn Corridor on November 20, positioning their formation outside of the [[Thor Hammer]]'s effective range and preparing for a battle of attrition. In response Admiral Yang ordered Rear Admiral [[Dusty Attenborough]] to a lead a squadron to lure them in, but the Imperial fleet advanced too quickly and entangled itself in the Alliance formation, making it impossible to use the Thor Hammer without hitting friendly ships. Around that time the ''[[Hyperion]]'', Yang's flagship, left the fortress and approached the formation, and was soon identified by the crew aboard Reuenthal's flagship. Reuenthal falsely believed that Yang was aboard and ordered the fleet to close in on ''Hyperion'', but in the process made it possible for an Alliance boarding ship to attach itself to his flagship's hull. Alliance soldiers fought against the crew of ''[[Tristan]]'' and there was a duel between the Alliance infantry commander, Rear Admiral Schönkopf, and Reuenthal, which ended inconclusively. After the failure to kill Reuenthal the Alliance soldiers abandoned the ship, at which point the Imperials temporarily withdrew. ({{logh|043}})
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In his outrage at the murder of his nephew Baron [[Scheidt]], Braunschweig ordered a nuclear attack on the planet [[Westerland]] despite it being considered a taboo to use nuclear weapons during that age, ignoring the advice of others against it. This attack recorded and broadcast across the Empire, serving to demoralize the Lippstadt troops and to shatter any lingering sympathies for the nobles among the populace. The situation began to fall apart as mass desertions and suicides began occurring in Geiersburg. Braunschweig and the other nobles ordered a full final assault with what remained of their fleet, which Merkatz joined in, and after they were defeated the old admiral contemplated suicide as he both felt too proud to surrender to Reinhard and due to his oath of loyalty to the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Merkatz was persuaded by his subordinate, [[Bernhard von Schneider]], to seek refuge with [[Yang Wen-li]] instead by defecting to the [[Free Planets Alliance]] in order to fight another day. ({{logh|023}})
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There was a short break in the fighting. The Empire began the next attack by launching hit and run raids on the surface of the fortress, damaging turrets and the outer wall of fluid metal. On Yang's orders, the Thor Hammer and regular gun batteries fired back and caused a significant amount of damage to the attacking Imperial ships, but not before they also broke through parts of Iserlohn's outer wall. Gun turrets firing from inside the liquid metal surface on Yang's orders put some of the metal liquid armour back in place. At that point, Reuenthal called off the attack and temporarily withdrew again. The Imperial government leaked information through Fezzan that ostensibly Reuenthal failed in his plan and requested reinforcements from Fleet Supreme Commander Reinhard von Lohengramm, who dispatched a large armada under High Admiral [[Wolfgang Mittermeyer]]. Unbeknownst to the Alliance government and Fezzani leader [[Adrian Rubinsky]], in reality, after leaving the capital on December 9 these forces secretly proceeded to the Fezzan Corridor instead of Iserlohn. Admiral Yang predicted that this would happen but his warnings had been ignored by the Alliance government. ({{logh|043}})
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==In the name of the Kaiser==
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==Aftermath==
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[[File:Merkatz defection.png|200px|thumb|Merkatz arriving at Iserlohn Fortress to defect ({{d|797|uc}})]]
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The Empire's attack on Iserlohn succeeded in occupying the attention of both the Alliance and Fezzan, making the Imperial annexation of Fezzan in December {{d|798|uc}} a surprise.  
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Upon arriving in the Alliance, Merkatz and his adjutant Schneider were welcomed by Yang and his associates, although at first he and his adjutant were treated with suspicion by the rest of his staff. He and Schneider still continued to wear their Imperial uniforms and the old admiral considered himself to be a loyalist of the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Merkatz was given the status of a "guest admiral" while he was part of the [[Iserlohn Garrison Fleet]], roughly equivalent to an Alliance {{rank|fpa|vice admiral|lc}}. In this capacity he mainly served as a tactical advisor and occasionally took command of the fleet, with the first occasion being during the [[Eighth Battle of Iserlohn]]. At the time Admiral Yang had been called for an inquiry on [[Heinessen]] and the Imperial Fleet attacked then with the mobilized [[Geiersburg Fortress]] (much to Merkatz's surprise). The guest admiral used the Alliance fleet to entrap and give heavy losses to Admiral [[Neidhart Müller]]'s fleet. The attack from the Geiersburg force was eventually repulsed and Admiral Yang returned to assist them. ({{logh|027|032|033|034}})
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Not long after the attempted Imperial attack during the spring of {{d|798|uc}}, a scheme organized by the leaders of [[Dominion of Fezzan|Fezzan]] saw the young child emperor [[Erwin Josef II]] kidnapped from [[Neue Sanssouci]] on Fezzan by a couple of former Lippstadt officers and smuggled into the Alliance. Fezzani head of state [[Adrian Rubinsky]] used this as a means of preventing the Empire and Alliance from coming to terms, and Reinhard went along with his plan for his own purposes. Once the young kaiser arrived on [[Heinessen]], the creation of a "[[Galactic Empire Legitimate Government]]" was proclaimed, which consisted mainly of high aristocrats and Lippstadt veterans. Merkatz found this out while viewing the broadcast on Iserlohn along with the rest of the Yang Fleet, and was shocked when he was announced as the government's minister of military affairs. After some deliberation with Schneider and others, Admiral Merkatz decided to accept the Imperial government-in-exile's request and departed for Heinessen. When Merkatz called it the highest honor that someone facing Reinhard von Lohengramm could have, Schneider pointed out that there were no troops for him to command and the position was mostly an empty title. Although the old admiral said he was still loyal to Emperor Erwin Josef, Merkatz believed that the remaining nobles should not have gotten a child involved in war and politics. ({{logh|030|036|037|038|039}})
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[[Category:Battles|Iserlohn 9 battle of]]
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With the beginning of [[Operation Ragnarök]], the Empire's invasion of the Alliance using the [[Fezzan Corridor]], Merkatz left Heinessen and took part in the major actions that the [[Yang Fleet]] carried out after the main [[Free Planets Star Fleet]] was defeated at [[Battle of Rantemario|Rantemario]]. His involvement with the Imperial government-in-exile was largely unknown, although he attended cabinet meetings and ended up being one of its last members to not abandon its premier, Count [[Jochen von Remscheid]], as the Imperial invasion began. It's "military" consisted of less than ten people in total and decided to join Merkatz with the Yang Fleet. After taking part in various engagements with Imperial admirals, Merkatz and the rest took part in the [[Battle of Vermilion]] against Reinhard von Lohengramm's main fleet in a decisive battle. They ended up being tactically victorious but were prevented from obtaining victory by an order from the Alliance government on Heinessen telling them to stand down and asking for a ceasefire with the Imperial Fleet. A part of the Imperial force had taken control of Heinessen during the battle and thus ended the war, as Yang decided to follow the government's order. Admiral Yang assumed that most of the Alliance Navy would be dismantled as part of any peace treaty, so he sent a small group to lead a resistance movement that could provide a potential force to resist the Empire in the future. Since Merkatz was wanted by the Empire he asked the old admiral to lead this group, to which he agreed. ({{logh|045|049|050|051|052|053}})
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=="Sherwood"==
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As Yang predicted, the Alliance signed the unequal [[Treaty of Ba'alat]] in May {{d|799|uc}} which essentially turned it into a client state of the [[New Galactic Empire]] of the newly ascended Kaiser Reinhard, and began dismantling many of its warships. The remaining Imperial legitimate government had been dissolved and its members taken into custody, though the young emperor disappeared. Merkatz and a small force of sixty ships, meanwhile, had arrived at the abandoned [[Dayan Khan]] supply base in an asteroid, where they began planning their next move. This force also included a small number of Alliance military personnel that were officially listed as killed in action. Yang the others referred to Merkatz's group as "Sherwood," intending for it to preserve a part of the Alliance Fleet in order to lead a resistance in the future. They understood that they needed to expand their fleet, however, and Yang passed along information to Merkatz that the Alliance would be dismantling several thousand warships. Merkatz's group managed to capture many of the decommissioned [[battleship]]s and [[carrier]]s, while many crewmen defected to join their resistance group. However, the incident added credibility to rumors that had been circulating in the months following the end of the [[Alliance–Imperial War]], that the old Imperial admiral was still alive and now that he was the one responsible for having carried out the hijacking of ships. The Imperials placed Yang and his former subordinates under surveillance. ({{logh|053|055|058|060}})
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A series of events on Heinessen in the summer of 799 led to the arrest of Yang by the Alliance government and the death of Imperial Consul [[Helmut Lennenkampf]], which forced Yang and his subordinates to escape from the planet. They then headed to Merkatz's base of operations. The former Imperial high admiral, meanwhile, still wanted to restore the Goldenbaum Dynasty and tried to ascertain the location of the abdicated Emperor Erwin Josef II. There were no reports on his whereabouts since his disappearance from Heinessen at the end of the war against the Empire, but Merkatz stated that one of his final goals in life was to locate him. After Yang Wen-li and his subordinates arrived at Dayan Khan, Merkatz helped them plot their next move as Kaiser Reinhard used the death of the consul to justify a [[Second Alliance–Imperial War|complete annexation]] of the Alliance. ({{logh|060|061|062|064|067}})
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Finally, in December {{d|799|uc}}, Yang made up his mind to go to [[El Facil]], which had [[El Facil Revolutionary Government|proclaimed its independence]] from both the Alliance and the Empire. As the Alliance government prepared to fight the Empire, Yang's former colleagues sent ships, personnel and supplies to join him at El Facil. High Admiral Merkatz became the chief of staff of the new "El Facil Revolutionary Reserve Force," which consisted of the former Yang Fleet and various Alliance ships that had come to join them. Yang made up his mind to retake [[Iserlohn Fortress]] but since the El Facil government wanted him to remain on the planet, he sent Merkatz as the commander of the assault force in his place. ({{logh|065|068|069}})
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==El Facil and Iserlohn==
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==Legacy==
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[[File:Merkatz 1.jpg|200px|thumb|Admiral Merkatz ({{d|796|uc}})]]
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Merkatz was the classic career soldier and possibly one of the final supporters of the [[Goldenbaum Dynasty]] even though he knew there was no realistic chance of its revival. He knew that the old nobility as represented by the Lippstadt League had been corrupt and incompetent, and that life for the people of the Empire had improved with Lohengramm's reforms. Nonetheless, he could not bring himself to serve under Duke Lohengramm partly out of pride and partly out of feeling this would violate his oath of loyalty to the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Although he subsequently fought against the Galactic Empire and then the New Galactic Empire, he remained essentially apolitical and focused purely on military matters.
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==Appendices==
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===Appearances===
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<div class="appear">
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*{{logh}}
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**{{e|001}} (first appearance)
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**{{e|002}}
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**{{e|004}}
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**{{e|018}}
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**{{e|020}}
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**{{e|022}}
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**{{e|023}}
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**{{e|024}}
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**{{e|027}}
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**{{e|032}}
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**{{e|033}}
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**{{e|034}}
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**{{e|035}}
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**{{e|038}}
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**{{e|039}}
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**{{e|045}}
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**{{e|049}}
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**{{e|050}}
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**{{e|051}}
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**{{e|052}}
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**{{e|053}}
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**{{e|055}}
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**{{e|060}}
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**{{e|108}} (death)
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*{{onw}}
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</div>
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===Memorable quotes===
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"I have served the Goldenbaum Dynasty as a soldier for over forty years. If it is to be destroyed, then my final duty is to share in its fate. Even then, I am only a worthless old man."
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"My loyalty to His Majesty the Kaiser is no less than the Count's."
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"What's hard for me to understand is that the people who should be protecting the young Kaiser are conversely pushing His Majesty into a vortex of political struggles and war."
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"My greatest wish is to see the restoration of the Goldenbaums."
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===Background information===
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[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willibald_(name) Willibald] is a rare and old German given name of Saxon origin which roughly means ''force equipped with bold decision''. [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkatz_(Adelsgeschlecht) Merkatz] is the name of two 18th century Prussian noble families. It is also a shorter form for the meerkatze, the long-tailed monkey, or guenon.
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===Apocrypha===
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====Stage====
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[[File:Merkatz_on_stage.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Played by [[James Onoda]]]]
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Merkatz is played by [[James Onoda]] in the 2011 [[Legend of Galactic Heroes on stage|stage adaptation]] of LOGH.
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{{navbox/soldiers/Alliance|collapsed}}
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{{navbox/soldiers/Empire|collapsed}}
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Latest revision as of 00:00, 5 December 2020

I will work on big projects here.

Ninth Battle of Iserlohn
(Alliance–Imperial War)
Date: 20 November 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) – 9 January 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE)
Location: Iserlohn Fortress
Result: Imperial victory, Alliance abandons Iserlohn
Belligerents
Galactic EmpireFree Planets Alliance
Units
Reuenthal Fleet
Lutz Fleet
Lennenkampf Fleet		Iserlohn Garrison Fleet
Commanders / leaders
Oskar von Reuenthal
Cornelius Lutz
Helmut Lennenkampf		Yang Wen-li
Dusty Attenborough
Willibald Joachim von Merkatz
Strength
36,000 ships

The Ninth Battle of Iserlohn (Japanese: 第9次イゼルローン攻防戦) was the first phase of Duke Reinhard von Lohengramm's Operation Ragnarök, a diversionary attack by the Galactic Empire against Iserlohn Fortress to distract the Free Planets Alliance from the Imperial invasion through the Fezzan Corridor. The operation was launched in response to the kidnapping of Emperor Erwin Josef II in the summer of 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) and his reappearance in the Alliance at the head of a "legitimate" government-in-exile. The plan of Ragnarök hinged on the bulk of the Imperial Fleet passing through and entering the Alliance using the demilitarised Fezzan Corridor, but an initial assault on Iserlohn Fortress was launched to ensure that Alliance politicians continued to believe that the Imperial invasion would be through the Iserlohn Corridor. After holding off several waves of Imperial attacks, fortress commander Admiral Yang Wen-li decided to abandon Iserlohn to join the fight against Reinhard's main force.

Contents

[hide]

Background

After several previous failed attempts, in the spring of 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) the Alliance 13th Fleet under Yang Wen-li captured the Empire's Iserlohn Fortress. But over the next two years since then the Alliance Fleet was severely weakened in a failed invasion of the Imperial Territory and later the Alliance Civil War. Thus by 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) the defence of the homeland relied entirely on the Alliance's control over Iserlohn Fortress. The Alliance National Defence Council and the head of state, Job Trunicht, believed that any Imperial invasion could only come through the Iserlohn Corridor, as the only other route, the Fezzan Corridor, had always traditionally been demilitarised. (LOGH: 'Iserlohn Captured!', 'New Trends', 'The Arrow Is Released', 'A Departure', 'Operation: Ragnarök', 'Invitation to a Requiem')

The summer of 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) saw the kidnapping of the young emperor Erwin Josef II in a scheme organised by Fezzani leader Adrian Rubinsky and the creation of a government-in-exile of former high nobles in the Alliance, with the aim of overthrowing Duke Reinhard von Lohengramm's regime in the Empire. The Fezzanis convinced or persuaded Trunicht and his administration to accept the exiles. As Rubinsky intended, this gave Lohengramm popular support for and a pretext to declare war on the Alliance. The Imperial dictator's invasion plan, Operation Ragnarök, called for a diversionary attack on Iserlohn while the majority of the Imperial Fleet annexed Fezzan and proceeded to invade the Alliance through the Fezzan Corridor. This way they could avoid dealing with Yang Wen-li and Iserlohn Fortress directly. With the assistance of defected Fezzani ambassador Nikolas Boltik, Lohengramm decided to enact the plan. (LOGH: 'Lost Things', 'Determination and Ambition', 'The Arrow Is Released', 'Operation: Ragnarök')

On 5 November 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE), in accordance with the Ragnarök Operation, Imperial High Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal, along with admirals Helmut Lennenkampf and Cornelius Lutz, led a fleet of 36,000 warships against Iserlohn Fortress. Their departure from the capital was leaked via Fezzan to the Alliance government. Despite the warnings of the Space Fleet Commander, Admiral Alexandre Bucock, most of the Alliance's political and military leaders, including Admiral Rockwell and Defence Secretary Walter Islands, believed the Empire would only invade through Iserlohn. (LOGH: 'Invitation to a Requiem')

Order of battle

Imperial

The Empire mobilised 36,000 ships for the operation.

The Eisenach Fleet of Admiral Ernst von Eisenach provided them with logistical support.

Alliance

Iserlohn Fortress was defended by the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet, under Admiral Yang Wen-li. Two squadrons under the command of Rear Admirals Edwin Fischer and Dusty Attenborough took part in operations outside the Fortress itself, while the marine infantry forces were led by Fortress defence commander, Brigadier General Walter von Schönkopf.

The battle

The duel aboard Tristan between Reuenthal and Schönkopf (798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE))

The Imperial fleet under High Admiral Reuenthal reached the Iserlohn Corridor on November 20, positioning their formation outside of the Thor Hammer's effective range and preparing for a battle of attrition. In response Admiral Yang ordered Rear Admiral Dusty Attenborough to a lead a squadron to lure them in, but the Imperial fleet advanced too quickly and entangled itself in the Alliance formation, making it impossible to use the Thor Hammer without hitting friendly ships. Around that time the Hyperion, Yang's flagship, left the fortress and approached the formation, and was soon identified by the crew aboard Reuenthal's flagship. Reuenthal falsely believed that Yang was aboard and ordered the fleet to close in on Hyperion, but in the process made it possible for an Alliance boarding ship to attach itself to his flagship's hull. Alliance soldiers fought against the crew of Tristan and there was a duel between the Alliance infantry commander, Rear Admiral Schönkopf, and Reuenthal, which ended inconclusively. After the failure to kill Reuenthal the Alliance soldiers abandoned the ship, at which point the Imperials temporarily withdrew. (LOGH: 'The Sounding of Gjallarhorn')

There was a short break in the fighting. The Empire began the next attack by launching hit and run raids on the surface of the fortress, damaging turrets and the outer wall of fluid metal. On Yang's orders, the Thor Hammer and regular gun batteries fired back and caused a significant amount of damage to the attacking Imperial ships, but not before they also broke through parts of Iserlohn's outer wall. Gun turrets firing from inside the liquid metal surface on Yang's orders put some of the metal liquid armour back in place. At that point, Reuenthal called off the attack and temporarily withdrew again. The Imperial government leaked information through Fezzan that ostensibly Reuenthal failed in his plan and requested reinforcements from Fleet Supreme Commander Reinhard von Lohengramm, who dispatched a large armada under High Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer. Unbeknownst to the Alliance government and Fezzani leader Adrian Rubinsky, in reality, after leaving the capital on December 9 these forces secretly proceeded to the Fezzan Corridor instead of Iserlohn. Admiral Yang predicted that this would happen but his warnings had been ignored by the Alliance government. (LOGH: 'The Sounding of Gjallarhorn')

Aftermath

The Empire's attack on Iserlohn succeeded in occupying the attention of both the Alliance and Fezzan, making the Imperial annexation of Fezzan in December 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE) a surprise.

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