Operation Tartarus
From ExodusWar
| Operation Tartarus | ||
|---|---|---|
| Operation Theater | Titan System | |
| Executor(s) | Onyx Empire | |
| Planner(s) | Robert Marshall | |
| Timeframe | 2315-2319 | |
Operation Tartarus was the code name given to the invasion and siege of the Titan System. The operation was the Onyx Empire's longest and largest continuous military operation, involving millions of soldiers, hundreds of ships, trillions of credits, and resulting in catastrophic loss of life and property.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Almost immediately after Earth was secure, Lucius Black set out to conquer the whole of the United Earth Alliance. He succeeded in his goal before the end of the first year of the war, with the sole exception of the Titan System.
Lucius Black and Anthony Hadrian prepared a multi-stage combined arms operation on grand scale to conquer the Titan System step by step. It was code-named "Operation Tartarus" and hand-delivered to several key strategists on September 14, 2315.
[edit] Key Players
It was decided that Admiral Robert Marshall would have supreme command of all tactical and strategic decisions in the Titan System operations theater, and would only require supply requisition approvals from Grand Admiral Hadrian without any other oversight. While Lucius Black liked being in control, he recognized the importance of not allowing a major operation to get bogged down in bureaucracy.
In order to reduce complications and levels of command, the Royal Imperial Air Force was excluded from Operation Tartarus, and Marcus Rathbone was assigned to training combat pilots within the Empire's secured territories. Air and space fighter combat were given over to Admiral Emil Torsc and the Imperial Naval Air Arm.
Lucius Black decided that General Cecil Au-Yueng was becoming over-worked as the only experienced flag officer in the Royal Imperial Army. General Au-Yueng's staff was still among the youngest and least experienced Imperial soldiers--almost all vat-grown troops from Ah Kin. Au-Yueng protested being taken out of command, but finally named John Lancaster, a promising young officer, his chief of staff and responsible for Army decisions in Operation Tartarus.
[edit] Strategic Considerations
The first major strategic consideration was a staging area. The invasion force required an enormous number of ships and men--an entire Naval Armada and several Army Divisions--and needed to be somewhere relatively nearby.
Bethija was chosen as an ideal staging ground. Its facilities and relative proximity to the Titan System made it ideal, and its sudden peaceful annexation into the Empire cemented its position as an important part of Operation Tartarus.
Next, the policy for dealing with civilians had to be considered. Emperor Black only wanted to capture Theia intact, and had no consideration for any of the other inhabitted worlds in the system. Admiral Marshall wanted to keep as much civilian infrastructure intact as possible. Admiral Torsc disagreed, suggesting that it would be too great a strain to secure non-military facilities and they would become strategic weak points. General Lancaster supported Admiral Torsc, but ultimately Admiral Marshall stuck with his decision to preserve as much of the civilian population as possible. Arguably, this was a bad decision: Admiral Torsc's fears proved true and General-Commander Sanburn's forces were able to exploit several key locations in their counterstrikes in 2321 and 2322.
Finally, Lucius Black wanted the morale and infrastructure of the Titan System undermined as much as possible. He decided to give full command of this part of the operation to Jarek Nighthawk and a branch of the Omegas. Over the course of several months, Omegas agents quietly slipped into the system on cargo ships crammed with refugees from Earth, Tejat and Holt. Their mission was to sow discord, fear and despair among the civilian populations of Theia and Rhea. This part of Operation Tartarus was largely concealed from the military. Admiral Marshall was aware of the presence of covert agents among the civilian population, but not of their identities or of their standing orders.
[edit] Tactical Considerations
The Titan System was an enormous star system, with twelve planets and hundreds of moons. Most of the planets were inhabitted or at least used for natural resources, and the system was so rich in materials that it was completely self sufficient decades before the Imperial invasion.
Marshall's two main tactical concerns were intelligence and proper selection of targets for destruction and capture. The Titanians had a tremendous amount of wealth and war materiel, much of it scattered across the system in remote or well-defended installations.
Admiral Torsc's Naval Air Arm was tasked with high risk recon flights, often independent of any starship support beyond a quick drop-off. The intelligence gathered was to be analyzed for ideal targets by Omegas agents attached to the fleet.
[edit] End Result
Operation Tartarus was an initial success, but General-Commander Sanburn's forces put up a stubborn and effective defense that ultimately stalled the offensive. For six years, the Imperial forces occupied at least a portion of the Titan System until the United Mesarthrim Clans and United Earth Alliance coalition evicted them from the system in 2322.
Despite its early successes, Operation Tartarus failed to capture Theia, failed to destroy the Alliance forces in the system, and failed to undermine the morale of the surviving Alliance citizens or the legitimacy of the United Earth Alliance provisional government.
