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 only battle of the Reuenthal Rebellion. It ended in an overwhelming victory for the New Galactic Empire, and resulted in the death of Fleet Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal.
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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. Both sides sought a decisive battle: Reuenthal to gain a morale-boosting victory, and Mittermeyer to prevent as much deaths as possible from a war of attrition.
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
First Phase
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 at 9:50 on November 24th 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 25th, 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, who had advanced close to the enemy lines, 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.
As a result of this encirclement, 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 & attack on the Black Lancers
Identifying enemy admirals Grillparzer and Knapfstein as the weak links of Reuenthal's fleet, Mittermeyer ordered Vice-Admiral Holtzbauer, a veteran under Admiral Lutz who had transferred to Mittermeyer's staff, to launch an attack on Knapfstein's positions, hoping to exploit his weakness in his opponent's lines and gain a needed advantage. Holtzbauer obeyed the order, attacking with intense speed and firepower on Knapfstein's fleet. The attack was highly successful, first overwhelming Knapfstein and initially forcing him to a disorderly withdrawal, resulting in dozens of his ships being destroyed within minutes.
Knapfstein unsuccessfully attempted to order counter-maneuvers against Holtzbauer by having his fleet split up into smaller units to first take on the enemy units before coordinating to split up and destroy the enemy, but he was informed that this was not possible. During this, he anxiously waiting for Grillparzer to defect, but that opportunity would never arrive as the Ulfrun's left engine was hit from an enemy beam. Another shot came right afterwards, hitting a critical part of the Ulfrun. At 6:09 on November 29, the flagship exploded, killing Knapfstein and all others on the flagship. After being informed, Reuenthal expressed his regret over the admiral's demise.
Holtzbauer pressed his attack, taking advantage of his breakthrough to close in on Grillparzer's fleet. Grillparzer, who was waiting for an opportune moment to switch sides, was unable to make up his mind, with Mittermeyer's offensive greatly restricting his opportunities, as should he put a stop to his fight, he and his fleet would be instantly obliterated. Thanks to Holtzbauer's attack, however, an imbalance was also created in Mittermeyer's formation. With varying areas of firepower, there was a layer of artillery created between Mittermeyer's fleet and the Black Lancers. Seeing this, Reuenthal ordered his forces to concentrate fire on the Black Lancers once again.
The attack nearly succeeded, Bittenfeld's forces coming close to collapse due to its weak defense. The Black Lancers began to retreat under the pressure, threatening disaster due to the disorderly manner the fleet was withdrawing. In response, Bittenfeld angrily ordered his flagship not to retreat, but unbeknownst to him, one of his subordinates, Eugen, activated a microphone that broadcasted his rant to the rest of the Black Lancers, in which he ordered the Königs Tiger to open fire on any ships that were retreating. This stopped the retreat, and the Black Lancers returned to their positions, regaining order and cohesion.
This development had the same effect on the integrated Fahrenheit Fleet, where they were pushed by their commander, Vice Admiral Hofmeister, to order his fleet forward in order to stop Bittenfeld from stealing all their thunder, as they remained bitter over his rashness that resulted in Fahrenheit's death in battle several months before. In conjunction with the Black Lancers, the Fahrenheit Fleet pushed forward.
Thanks to this sudden regain of organization, Mittermeyer's right flank not only stabilized, but successfully counterattacked, defeating Reuenthal's attack. Seeing that the present situation was untenable, Reuenthal ordered a retreat, withdrawing in good order to reorganize his formation. Seeing this, Bittenfeld also ordered his fleet to reorganize.
Second Phase
Battle restarts; Wahlen attacked
The next day, November 30th, saw the battle start once again. As both sides opened fire, it seemed to become apparent that the battle would devolve into a war of attrition, as neither side could gain an advantage over the other, with both commanders anticipating each other's deployments and countering appropriately. However, Reuenthal knew that this situation was deeply unfavorable for him, as the fleet he had at the present moment was all he had, while Reinhard's fleet was waiting in reserve should Mittermeyer fail. He needed a victory in order to boost morale, but on the other side, Mittermeyer acted more cautiously, patiently waiting for a window of opportunity to arise in order to finish the battle once and for all. The day saw little in terms of major significance.
December 1st saw the Black Lancers withdraw and reorganize, due to the fact it had been in constant crossfire for the past few days. This provided Reuenthal with a size advantage on the frontline, albeit momentarily. Not wishing to let this opportunity slip, Reuenthal ordered Bergengrün to combine all ships at the frontline and concentrate their firepower to prevent Mittermeyer from making any advances, while he commanded his personal fleet to attack Mittermeyer's left flank, which was under Admiral Wahlen's command. Wahlen ordered his fleet to move in quickly to prevent this maneuver from succeeding. As the two forces met, energy streams began flowing throughout the battlefield. At some point, these streams ignited, posing a danger to both fleets.
A few seconds later, Salamander received a direct hit to the second hangar, before another, closer shot struck the flagship, dealing a more significant amount of damage and causing an explosion on the bridge that ripped off Wahlen's prosthetic left arm. The Salamander was temporarily immobilized, but soon regained power and resumed battle as Wahlen, who had survived the blast, quickly recovered. Thirty hours passed before Reuenthal was forced to abandon his offensive due to other parts of the line being broken.
Reuenthal's final gambit
While Reuenthal was attacking Wahlen, Mittermeyer had made several small breakthroughs in the enemy line, trying to penetrate it by connecting the points of breakthrough into a line, threatening to shift the battle dramatically in his favor. Grillparzer, who was in the thick of this offensive, once more considered defecting at that moment, but ultimately decided to try to contain Mittermeyer's offensive as best as he possibly could. When the situation continued to deteriorate for him, he decided to cast his lot, but just before he could open communications with Mittermeyer, Reuenthal's fleet arrived to reinforce Grillparzer.
Concentrating his firepower, Reuenthal succeeded in plugging one of the gaps left by Grillparzer, before following it up with a counterattack against one of the other points in order to rush towards Mittermeyer's left flank. Once this was done, he continued on, leading a flanking attack on a section of Mittermeyer's fleet which was formed up into a long vertical line. After a brief period of time, the developments on the left flank were enough to force Mittermeyer to make a withdrawal of 600,000 kilometers to prevent a disaster. At this point, the momentum had shifted in Reuenthal's favor, but his fortunes were about to change dramatically.
A masterful withdrawal
On December 3rd, Reuenthal was informed that an Imperial fleet under the command of High Admiral Mecklinger was headed for Heinessen. Recognizing the fact that Mintz had keen strategic insight, or that he was surrounded by equally keen staff, Reuenthal knew that there was no longer any meaning in continuing the battle at this point, as Mecklinger's possible capture of Heinessen would mean that he would be isolated and forced to fight on two fronts, and due to the weakened state of his forces, he would be fighting a losing battle. Ordering all his forces to retreat, Reuenthal gave another display of excellent fleet command.
When Reuenthal ordered this retreat, Mittermeyer had taken full control of both his flanks, alternating between both sides in attacking, thus dealing large amounts of damage to his opponent. To retreat in this condition was considered an impossible task, but Reuenthal worked to prove this wrong. He ordered his fleet to concentrate firepower to delay Mittermeyer's advance, creating virtual perimeters while the rest of his fleet withdrew in good order, moving back ship by ship until it was Reuenthal's turn. Once a golden opportunity arose, Reuenthal himself conducted a quick withdrawal with his fleet, escaping Mittermeyer without incurring any further losses. This retreat was later complimented by Mittermeyer's staff for its orderliness and lack of disarray.
Aftermath
Despite the successful retreat, Reuenthal's fleet was left weakened, and Mittermeyer was giving chase, not intending to let the rebels escape. However, the rebellion wouldn't last much longer. On December 7th, as Mittermeyer caught up with Reuenthal's fleet, Grillparzer switched sides and attacked Reuenthal's ships while they were in the middle of redeployment. Although this incident was contained, and Grillparzer's fleet scattered, not only was the Reuenthal fleet in worse condition to fight Mittermeyer, Reuenthal himself had been severely wounded after his ship was damaged by a missile attack. Refusing medical attention beyond the freezing of his wound in order to continue commanding the fleet, Reuenthal managed another orderly withdrawal, denying Mittermeyer the opportunity to finish him off.
In light of this, Mittermeyer, rather than continue the chase right then and there, instead joined fleets with Mecklinger at Uruvasi, the same planet where the attempt on the Kaiser's life had taken place, where Mecklinger was assigned to restore peace on the planet, as well as restarting the investigation on the assassination attempt that had taken place over a month before. On Uruvasi, Grillparzer, who had surrendered himself to the loyalist fleets, was brought before Mecklinger, where he was condemned by the admiral for his betrayal. Grillparzer attempted to defend his actions, to no avail. Taken away by security, Grillparzer was most likely executed afterwards as a result of his double crime against the Empire and his comrades.
Reuenthal, meanwhile, had returned to Heinessen in order to set his affairs in order. Julius Elsheimer, who had beforehand been placed under house arrest, was given control over all of Neue Land in Reuenthal's place by the admiral himself. Afterwards, he executed Job Trunicht after the latter insulted the Kaiser during their conversation. Later that afternoon, he instructed his mistress, Kohlrausch, to hand over his son borne by her, Felix, to Mittermeyer. However, she instead left the baby to Reuenthal's aide. Reuenthal assigned him to hold the baby until Mittermeyer arrived, before also receiving two glasses of whiskey, expecting to live long enough to have a final talk with Mittermeyer, who was on his way. Whilst dictating a letter to Reinhard and Mittermeyer, Reuenthal finally succumbed to his injuries, Mittermeyer arriving later in the evening, too late to have that final chat.
Whilst Mittermeyer was giving Reuenthal a final show of respect, an officer barged into the admiral's room, reporting that Bergengrün was about to do something. Having isolated himself in a room, keeping the door locked, he lamented the fact that both of his brilliant superiors, Kircheis and now Reuenthal, had died. Despite pleas from Admiral Bülow to spare his own life in light of Mittermeyer's promise of clemency, Bergengrün ordered Bülow to tell the Kaiser that since he was losing so many brilliant admirals, would Mittermeyer be next, and that if he thought that rewarding distinguished service with punishment would help his dynasty prosper, he should continue with it. Placing his pistol to his head, Bergengrün committed suicide, a pool of blood emerging from below the door to confirm his death.
The date was December 16th, and with Bergengrün's suicide and Reuenthal's death, the Reuenthal Rebellion finally drew to a close, fulfilling Mittermeyer's promise to have the matter resolved before the year's end. Lang was later executed after he confessed to his crimes.
Legacy
Outside of Grillparzer's betrayal, the Second Battle of Rantemario was the only engagement of the entire rebellion. When Reuenthal's death was reported to Kaiser Reinhard, his Fleet Admiralship, which had been divested when he rebelled, was restored. Although this battle and its immediate aftermath marked the end of Reuenthal and his rebellion, it didn't mean the return of peace, as shortly after Reinhard's marriage the following year, the Iserlohn fleets under Julian Mintz resumed hostilities with the Empire. It wasn't until the Battle of Shiva in June of that year that the conflict between Iserlohn and the Empire would come to an end.
