Battle of Altena
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
| Battle of Altena | |||||
| (Imperial Civil War) | |||||
 The Mittermeyer Fleet facing off the Staden Fleet | |||||
| Date: | 797 UC | ||||
| Location: | Altena Starzone | ||||
| Result: | Imperial victory | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
The Battle of Altena Starzone {Japanese: アルテナ星域会戦) was a minor battle of the Imperial Civil War, fought in 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE) in the Altena Starzone. It ended with the defeat of the Lippstadt League forces.
History
When Reinhard von Lohengramm moved the bulk of the Imperial Fleet to assault the Lippstadt League's Geiersburg Fortress, Lippstadt admiral Staden suggests that a small contingent of ships might be able break through the light defences left on Odin, and "liberate" the Imperial City from Reinhard's grasp. Being the proposer of the plan, Staden was pressured to lead the attack. While in the Altena Starzone, Staden faced an Imperial fleet under the command of admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer.
After three days of tensely waiting on one side of a minefield (deployed by Mittermeyer) for Mittermeyer's fleet to make the first move, Staden's forces intercepted a communication indicating that Mittermeyer was stalling, waiting for Reinhard von Lohengramm's forces to reinforce their position before attacking Staden's fleet. Staden grew increasingly indecisive, and the men under his command became increasingly anxious to take action. Despite correctly deducing that the intercepted communication was a fabrication, intended to goad Staden into attacking, he relented to the anxieties of his men and ordered his fleet to attack.
Admiral Staden ordered his forces split in two in order to attack the Mittermeyer's fleet from both sides, with his second in command Count Hildesheim leading taking command of one force. Staden hoped to engage with his force first, with Hildesheim then catching Mittermeyer's fleet from behind, and finally forcing Mittermeyer's fleet into the minefield. Mittermeyer was waiting for such a mistake, and moved more swiftly than his opponents had anticipated. Hildesheim's force was caught by surprise by a flank attack by Mittermeyer's entire fleet and swiftly defeated with Count Hildesheim being killed in the first salvo. Mittermeyer then circled round the minefield and attacked Staden from behind. Staden called for retreat after his fleet fell into confusion and his own flagship was damaged. This concluded the Battle of Altena. The remaining 30% of the Staden's fleet withdrew to Rentenberg Fortress, where Staden himself was hospitalized — not for combat wounds, but for stress-related illness. (LOGH: 'Bloodshed in Space')
