Second Battle of Rantemario
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| Second Battle of Rantemario | |||||
| (Reuenthal Rebellion) | |||||
 The Reuenthal Fleet in combat | |||||
| Date: | 24 November 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE) to 8 December 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE) | ||||
| Location: | Rantemario Starzone | ||||
| Result: | Loyalist victory | ||||
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The Second Battle of Rantemario (Japanese: 第2次ランテマリオ会戦) was the first and final battle of the Reuenthal Rebellion. It ended with the overwhelming victory of the New Galactic Empire.
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Prelude
In October 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE), Kaiser Reinhard and his retainers were attacked by mutinous Imperial troops while visiting the planet of Uruvasi in order to pay tribute at a memorial, resulting in the death of High Admiral Cornelius Lutz. Reinhard and everyone in his party successfully escaped aboard the Brünhild, which subsequently disappeared for a small period of time due to cut communications, reemerging upon its rendezvous with the Wahlen Fleet, which had been assigned to search for it. This sudden turn of events, especially the death of Admiral Lutz, as well as the rumors circulated by Heydrich Lang, took a toll on Fleet Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal. Considering the fact that whether he rebelled or not, he would be considered a traitor, Reuenthal's pride and adversarial relationship with fellow Admiral Oberstein influenced him to take up arms against Reinhard, though stating his grievances to be against Oberstein and Lang, not Reinhard.
Reuenthal began gathering as many allies as possible for his rebellion. Among them were Admirals Bergengrün, Knappstein, and Grillparzer. This successful effort was due to Reuenthal's decision to refrain from mentioning the fact he was really rebelling against Reinhard. In total, Reuenthal's fleet numbered at nearly 36,000 ships, and 5,200,000 soldiers. On the opposing side, Fleet Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer, who was in command of all of the Empire's spacefleet, at least, those who had remained loyal, boasted legendary veterans such as Admirals Bittenfeld, Wahlen, and Mecklinger. Mittermeyer's fleet numbered 42,770 ships, and 4,608,900 soldiers. Mittermeyer would be in command of the fleet for the first battle, assigned by Reinhard to lead the Imperial forces into battle against Reuenthal.
In the days preceding the battle, Reuenthal attempted to gain support from the republicans at the Iserlohn Fortress by sending one of their former admirals, Murai, as an emissary to negotiate. Through Murai, Reuenthal promised to return all former Alliance territory to the republicans under the condition they block access to the Iserlohn Corridor from any Imperial fleets in order to prevent them from reinforcing Mittermeyer's fleets. However, this offer was ultimately declined by the Iserlohn commander, Julian Mintz, recognizing the potential consequences it could have. After this, Mittermeyer made direct contact with Reuenthal to attempt to find possible resolutions to the conflict. But, unable to make any progress, both commanders broke contact and consigned to battle against each other.
Battle
Mittermeyer Order of Battle
- The Mittermeyer Fleet, commanded by the Imperial Space Fleet Chief Commander, Fleet Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer, flagship Beowulf
- The Black Lancers, commanded by High Admiral Fritz Joseph Bittenfeld, flagship Königs Tiger
- The Wahlen Fleet, commanded by High Admiral August Samuel Wahlen, flagship Salamander
- The Bayerlein Fleet, commanded by Admiral Karl Edward Bayerlein, flagship Nürnberg
- The Bülow Fleet, commanded by Admiral Volker Axel von Bülow
Reuenthal Order of Battle
- The Reuenthal Fleet, commanded by Governor-General of Neue Land, Fleet Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal, flagship Tristan
- The Grillpalzer Fleet, commanded by Admiral Alfred Grillparzer, flagship Eistla
- The Knapfstein Fleet, commanded by Admiral Bruno von Knapfstein, flagship Ulfrun
Opening maneuvers
Reuenthal had originally planned for a defensive stance against Mittermeyer, using his dispersed forces across Neue Land as defensive lines to slow down his opponent and deal as much damage as possible before trapping them at Heinessen, regrouping the dispersed fleets and attacking Mittermeyer from two sides. However, this plan relied on the conditions that no reinforcements would pass through the Iserlohn Corridor, and that those who were in command of the Reuenthal fleets would prove competent. Former Admiral Murai was sent to Iserlohn to meet the first condition, while Admiral Bergengrün was assigned to make preparations to meet the second condition.
However, Bergengrün's preparation would provide minimal success, as Mittermeyer had moved at incomparable speeds, arriving at the battlefield before Reuenthal could complete his deployment. Despite this, Reuenthal was successful in reorganizing and redeploying his fleets, masterfully completing the deployment on November 24. The battlefield was located on the starzone Rantemario, the same system where Alliance Admiral Alexandre Bewcock had met his end. This was no coincidence, as Rantemario was recognized for its strategic importance. Mittermeyer was originally outnumbered almost two-to-one: 5,200,000 soldiers under Reuenthal compared to his own 2,590,000, though there were other fleets on the way.
The battle began as both sides opened fire. Mittermeyer attacked, despite his disadvantage, to forego the possibility of a war of attrition. Although the fundamental stance was that Reuenthal would go on the offensive and Mittermeyer would defend, Mittermeyer utilized his mobile forces to prevent any advances from Reuenthal's fleet. It appeared that the battle would be drawn out, quickly reaching an apparent stalemate.
Black Lancers arrive
At 8:30 on November 25, the Black Lancers under Bittenfeld arrived on the battlefield, charging at the Reuenthal fleets almost immediately. Though Reuenthal acknowledged their overbearing presence, he recognized the fact that since they had combined with the Fahrenheit Fleet mere months before, which meant that their coordination would not be fluid. Taking advantage of this, Reuenthal ordered his left flank to respond and attack the Black Lancers. Due to the fact that the opposing fleets were Imperial, this led to great confusion in both sides, which would come to characterize the battle. Despite the arrival of the Black Lancers, Mittermeyer remained at a distinct disadvantage, and remained unable to make any major offensive moves against Reuenthal for the time being.
Wahlen arrives, Bayerlein endangered
At 19:00 on the same day, Admiral Wahlen arrived with his fleet, placing the battle at equilibrium in terms of numbers, and potentially assuring Mittermeyer of an advantage. However, not long after, a portion of the Reuenthal fleet began acting strangely. Upon finding out it was under the direct command of Reuenthal, Mittermeyer recognized Reuenthal's plan, and gave orders for Bayerlein to pull back immediately. However, the order came too late, and Bayerlein was consequently trapped at a crossfire point, Reuenthal's forces bombarding him at point-blank range. Since Bayerlein alternated between countering and retreating, Reuenthal used this to his advantage to deal damage each cycle, as well as cutting off Bayerlein's retreat routes.
This resulted in Bayerlein losing a number of battleships and admirals within a short period of time. WIth each passing minute, the noose was quickly tightening on Bayerlein, and soon enough, one of the enemy fleets had appeared on the right flank of Bayerlein, and were about to open fire and wipe out Bayerlein's fleet. However, before this could happen, Mittermeyer's fleet arrived just in time, attacking the attacking force from the side, forcing Reuenthal to abandon the attack and therefore saving Bayerlein, his ship, and his fleet from destruction, and once again, the battle reached deadlock, but it was not to be for long.
Holtzbauer's offensive
Seeing enemy admirals Grillparzer and Knapfstein as the weak links of Reuenthal's fleet, Mittermeyer ordered Vice-Admiral Holtzbauer to launch an attack on Knapfstein's positions, hoping to exploit his weakness and gain a needed advantage. Holtzbauer obeyed the order, attacking with intense speed and firepower on Knapfstein's fleet.
(WIP)
