Invasion of the Imperial Territory
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This article is about the Alliance–Imperial War operation. For the eponymously titled LOGH episode, see Invasion of the Imperial Territory (episode).
| Invasion of the Imperial Territory | |||||
| (Alliance–Imperial War) | |||||
 Ships of the Alliance 7th Fleet in Imperial space | |||||
| Date: | August — fall 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) | ||||
| Location: | Border regions near Iserlohn Corridor | ||||
| Result: | Decisive Imperial victory
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The Invasion of the Imperial Territory was an operation launched by the Free Planets Alliance during the summer of 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) with the objective of conquering the Galactic Empire and ending the Alliance–Imperial War, following the capture of the vitally important Iserlohn Fortress in May of that year. The ambitious plan was put forth by junior officers in the Free Planets Star Fleet, and as a result of backdoor dealings in the High Council, the proposal was accepted by the Alliance government. The offensive relied on using Iserlohn as a staging ground for an invasion of Imperial territory to overthrow the Goldenbaum Dynasty and 'liberate' the people of the Empire. In reality, however, the invasion was accepted by the High Council because it sought to use a major victory as a way to win an upcoming election while the creator of the plan, Commodore Andrew Falk, wanted to use it for personal advancement. (LOGH: 'Invasion of the Imperial Territory')
Fleet Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm was appointed by Emperor Friedrich IV to defend the Empire, and he successfully used a scorched earth strategy to bring about the defeat of the Alliance invasion force. As a result of poor planning and Imperial raids on supply convoys, the Alliance did not have enough food for both its troops and the starving civilians that they promised to liberate. This forced the Alliance occupiers to resort to pillaging the civilians and caused riots to break out in the occupied zone. Because of this they were unable to put up a strong resistance when the Imperial Fleet attacked at the height of the Alliance's fatigue. The majority of the Alliance fleets taking part in the operation were annihilated individually and at the Battle of Amritsar, leading to a disastrous loss of twenty million Alliance troops. This crippled the Free Planets Star Fleet and left it largely incapable of carrying out major operations, as shown when the Empire launched its own invasion of the Alliance two years later. (LOGH: 'When the Rain of Grief Comes...', 'Liberation of the Frontier Zone', 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone', 'New Trends')
More immediately, the invasion debacle caused the fall of the Royal Sanford administration in the Alliance, who was replaced by Job Trunicht as Supreme Council Chairman, and the loss of support for the already unpopular government, particularly among the military. This led to the military coup attempt by the dissatisfied elements of the Star Fleet in 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE). The subsequent civil war would destroy much of the remaining Alliance military that survived or did not take part in the invasion, and the Alliance would never recover from the military losses it suffered in the Imperial territories, leaving it almost defenseless when the Empire launched Operation Ragnarök in 799 UC (1 NIC / 490 IC / 3599 CE). (LOGH: 'The Yang Fleet Goes Out', 'The Battle of Doria Starzone, And...')
