Alexandre Bewcock
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 Admiral Bewcock (798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Free Planets Alliance |
| Rank: | Fleet Admiral |
| Flagship(s): | Rio Grande |
| Status: | Deceased (killed in action) |
| Born: | 726 UC (417 IC / 3526 CE) |
| Died: | 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE) |
| Spouse(s): | Mrs Bewcock |
| Played by: | Tomita Kōsei (OVA, HBSHBL, TBT) Madono Mitsuaki (SL, young adult) |
Alexandre Bewcock (Japanese: アレクサンドル・ビュコック) was an officer in the Free Planets Star Fleet, and a friend/mentor to Yang Wen-li. Alexandre Bewcock served as a commander in the Alliance Star Fleet for more than four decades, and was considered to be one of the most experienced fleet commanders in the galaxy at the time of the Alliance–Imperial War. He was born in 726 UC (417 IC / 3526 CE) and died in 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE) at the age of 74.
Contents |
Military service
Early military career
Unlike most fleet commanders, Bewcock enlisted in the Alliance forces as a simple soldier, and slowly climbed his way up through merit alone. On one hand, that made him the object of a certain disdain from some of the Academy-educated officers. On the other, his rich experience made him respected as a commander on both sides of the conflict.
Early in his military service, Bewcock served under the command of Bruce Ashbey, and participated in the Second Battle of Tiamat in 745 UC (436 IC / 3545 CE) at the age of 19. He served in the 5th Fleet, then under Wallace Warwick, as a gunner, with the rank of petty officer second class, on board the battleship Shah Abbas. In a twist of fate, he would one day rise to become that very fleet's commanding officer. During the battle, he kept his cool even when his turret's ammunition ran out, and he later admonished a fellow crew member who was fretting over the battle as a whole, reminding him to stick to his duties and to stop worrying over such things he had no control over. (SL: 'The Man Loved by the Goddess of Time: Chronicle of the Second Battle of Tiamat, Part I', 'The Death of a Hero: Chronicle of the Second Battle of Tiamat, Part II')
Some time after the battle, Bewcock was presumably given a battlefield commission as an officer. Although more competent than most, Bewcock's lack of Academy training and refusal to flatter political egos considerably slowed his progression up the ranks for many years.
By 788 UC (479 IC / 3588 CE), Alexandre Bewcock had written his memoirs, been promoted to the rank of commodore, and served as the Alliance commander in charge of the Marovia Starzone. (SL: 'Between the Mourning Dress and Military Uniform')
Over the next six years, Bewcock's star rose rather sharply, with him becoming a rear admiral, and then vice admiral. By 794 UC (485 IC / 3594 CE), Bewcock commanded one of the Alliance's twelve combat fleets, and already had a very good reputation in that regard.
Battle of Van-Fleet
...
Third Battle of Tiamat
In 795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE), the Alliance's 5th Fleet, 10th Fleet, and 11th Fleet were ordered to intercept and engage an Imperial force that had advanced into the Tiamat starzone. As the senior admiral, Bewcock had command, however Vice Admiral Willem Holland of the 11th Fleet was nearly insubordinate and insisted on employing his own aggressive tactics. Initially Holland met with success, but Bewcock and Ulanhu of the 10th Fleet both worried that Holland was becoming overextended and at risk of an Imperial counterattack. Holland refused all suggestions to withdraw and ultimately even Bewcock's direct order to withdraw. As feared, a concentrated Imperial counterattack was launched when the 11th Fleet's attack reached the limit of its momentum. Concentrated fire by Reinhard von Müsel's command, destroyed Holland's flagship and sent the 11th Fleet into disarray. Coordinating with Ulanhu, Bewcock covered the retreat of the 11th Fleet successfully and blocked further Imperial pursuit. Faced with the threat of yet more Alliance reinforcements and having already achieved the propaganda victory they were after, the Imperial forces withdrew from the Tiamat starzone. (TBT: 'Part One', 'Part Two')
Invasion of Imperial territory
...
With the Alliance supply line severed, the Alliance forces were short of supplies. Attempts to forage triggered revolts in the local population, further sapping the strength of the Alliance forces. Yang Wen-li had already anticipated this and had already prepared the 13th Fleet to withdraw at short notice, and had warned Alexandre Bewcock, commander of the 5th Fleet, to do the same.
The 5th Fleet was in the Bilrost starzone when engaged by the Reuenthal Fleet, and Bewcock immediately began withdrawing towards Iserlohn Fortress. Even so, the 5th Fleet sustained nearly 30% losses from Reuenthal's pursuit before finally being able to disengage. (LOGH: 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone')
The Imperial invasion
When Reinhard von Lohengramm led an invasion of Alliance space through the Fezzan Corridor, the Free Planets Alliance hastily assembled a fleet to counter the Imperial threat, with Alexandre Bewcock in command as Fleet Admiral. Bewcock's fleet engaged Reinhard's forces in the Rantemario Starzone, in what would become known as the Battle of Rantemario. Faced with a numerically superior enemy, Bucock fought the Imperial fleets as best he could, utilising the Rantemario star's gravity well to his own advantage. Despite dealing heavy damage to the Imperial fleets — particularly admiral Bittenfeld's Black Lancers, the Alliance fleet suffered enormous casualties and was routed. When his defeat became clear, Bewcock asked to be left alone so that he might repent for the deaths of the men under his command by taking his own life. Chung Wu-Cheng had removed the clip from Bewcock's weapon earlier, preventing the suicide, and implored him not to take his own life. He convinced Bewcock by pointing out that if the Alliance were defeated, the Empire would likely try high-ranking military officers for war crimes, and if Bewcock were dead when that happened, his subordinates would be tried and executed in his place. (LOGH: 'The Two-Headed Snake: The Battle of Rantemario')
Yang Wen-li's Iserlohn Garrison Fleet arrived at Rantemario and assisted Bewcock's fleet in a withdrawal from the starzone. While Yang remained at the front lines to continue to harass the invading Imperial forces, Bewcock returned to the capital Heinnesen. When the combined fleets of Imperial admirals Wolfgang Mittermeyer and Oskar von Reuenthal descended over the capital, Bucock was present and the meeting with Job Trunicht and Walter Islands to debate Mittermeyer's call for the government to surrender. Bewcock argued that they should refuse to surrender, and willingly die in an imperial attack, just to buy time for Yang's fleet to defeat Reinhard von Lohengramm in battle. Even though they might die, he said, the war could still be won: with Reinhard dead, the Imperial fleets would return to Odin and likely fight over who might succeed the childless conqueror. Trunicht dismissed Bewcock's advice, whereupon Bucock declared that he would make sure the Alliance never surrendered, even if that meant he had to kill Job Trunicht.
When Alexandre Bewcock approached Trunicht, the meeting was interrupted by armed soldiers belonging to the Terraist Church, who were loyal to Job Trunicht. At Trunicht's command, Bewcock was arrested and removed from the meeting. Shortly thereafter, on 5 May 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE), the Free Planets Alliance surrendered unconditionally to the Galactic Empire. (LOGH: 'Sudden Change')
Retirement
Following the surrender of the Free Planets Alliance to the Galactic Empire, Yang Wen-li met with Reinhard von Lohengramm and urged the conquering admiral not to pursue "vengeance" against senior military and political figures for their role in the war. Reinhard accepted Yang's proposal, and thus Alexander Bewcock (and many others) were permitted to live. Bewcock retired from military service and intended to live out his remaining days in peace, at home with his wife.
Though ostensibly a free citizen after the war, Bewcock's former position in the Alliance military made him an "important person" to the occupying Imperial forces. As such, he was under constant supervision by military intelligence, to pre-emptively combat any anti-Imperial action he might take.
In the chaos surrounding the Imperial occupation of the Alliance and the subsequent second Imperial invasion of Alliance territory, Bewcock was forced out of retirement to lead a suicidal defence against Reinhard's fleets: the single greatest military force ever assembled in human history.
Bewcock ended up dying in the battle, after inflicting 25,000 losses on the Imperial fleet, speaking to Reinhard and having a toast to democracy. Afterwards, Reinhard ordered every soldier in the fleet to stand up and salute Bewcock and performed a libation for the fallen admiral when he arrived on Heinessen. (LOGH: 'Ragnarök Again', 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part One)', 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part Two)', 'The Edict of the Winter Rose Garden')
Appendices
Appearances
- LOGH:
- 'Invasion of the Imperial Territory'
- 'Liberation of the Frontier Zone'
- 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone'
- 'Before the Storm'
- 'The Yang Fleet Goes Out'
- 'Victory for Whose Sake?'
- 'The Inquiry Committee'
- 'War Without Weapons'
- 'Fortress vs Fortress'
- 'The Arrow Is Released'
- 'Invitation to a Requiem'
- 'The Cold Spell Arrives'
- 'The Two-Headed Snake: The Battle of Rantemario'
- 'The Darkness Before Dawn'
- 'Sudden Change'
- 'Ragnarök Again'
- 'To El Facil'
- 'The Plan to Retake Iserlohn'
- 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part One)'
- 'The Battle of Marr-Adetta Starzone (Part Two)' (death)
- 'The Edict of the Winter Rose Garden' (memory)
- HBSHBL:
- SL:
- TBT:
Name variations
- Bucock (Novels)
- Alexandre Bewcock (DVD subtitles)
- Arexandor Bucock (LD subtitles)
- アレクサンドル・ビュコック (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)
- Alexandor Bucock (English and Japanese fan sources)
Memorable quotes
- "Great news, lieutenant. The empire is invading Iserlohn Corridor in droves." (LOGH: 'War Without Weapons')
- "The Alliance should die as a democracy rather than become a dictatorship to survive." (LOGH: 'The Cold Spell Arrives')
- "...The life of the Alliance is at an end! Its politicians toy with power. Its opportunistic soldiers are absorbed in military adventurism just like at Amritsar. And its citizens have turned over leadership to politicians instead of participating in it! The people have democratic principles on their lips but cannot spare the effort to safeguard it! The collapse of an autocracy is the sin of its rulers and leaders. But the collapse of a democracy is the sin of every citizen!" (LOGH: 'Sudden Change')
