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(6.15) Coming of the Fire (Fall of the Ponji)
(6.15) Coming of the Fire (Fall of the Ponji)
On Arrival, Fifteen Hours Out
Outer Rim System of Tatooine
Generation Ship, Narshana
March 26th, 1937
Despite the amazing abilities of Citizen Murl and his allies to reform the Republic, darkness has once more showed its face to curb the peaceful future of the galaxy. The past few months, aboard the Generation ship Narshana, Citizen Murl has worked very hard to reform the remains of the Republic. Only last month did the majority of the galaxy accept his board gifted vision of the galaxy. In return for this remarkable leadership and at times with great personal cost to himself, the galaxy has named Citizen Murl, Supreme Chancellor. Chancellor Murl has shown through dedication, personal moral campus and hard work, that this Republic is once more possible. His largest most single significant act came to everyones' surprise. A treaty worked out with the Varl leadership and the Republic to end slavery within the Varl space within twelve months. Chancellor Murl made a historical trip to the Varl homewold to deliver a heartfelt speech which is said to have moved the masses. In that speech, Chancellor Murl spoke of personal freedoms, destinies, and loyalties to the Republic. During his visit to Varl space, he was able to tour a slave market. It was one of first that were closing. Chancellor Murl stood side by side with the Varl leadership as they gave the order to destroy the center.
Chancellor gave the Varl and the galaxy a sense of direction during his number of speeches across Varl space. “Freedom is the intrinsic right of all sentient lifeforms. Today, as friends of liberty, we have banded together to breathe life into this noble truth, fully committed to ending the evil institution of slavery now and forever.” was a quote from just one of the uplifting speeches of Chancellor Murl. However, upon returning to the current seat of government for the Republic, the Narshana, Chancellor Murl was met with his first major crisis. During the coming years, and possible even centuries, historians will debate the events of our days. Within that debate, one date will take the forefront, February 9th 1937. This deeply renowned date is celebrated within the Reich as All Heroes Day. A day in which the Reich launched its last major offensive against the Varl and drove them from the Core Worlds. It is the day celebrated by all citizens of the Reich as the day they earned their independence from the Varl. It is a day of great symbolism for both the Reich and the Varl. A day which empowers strong emotions and now it has become a rallying call for the Reich to war!
While there were warning signs floating around the galaxy of this coming war, some were simply not heeded. However, some visionaries like Chancellor Murl had seen these signs and has paid close attention. However even he was caught by the events of February 9th as they unfolded. A group of six ships slipped in to Reich Space via pirate lanes and approached the world. These ships were painted up with Ponji markings and matched ships designs of their navy. It would later be learned from the wreckage that what bodies were uncovered were dressed in Free Council uniforms. During the battle, some sources have claimed that the ships fought with what appeared to be Varl tactics. Reich investigators identified the ships as Ponji, and while they were similar to Ponji ships used in their navy. They did hold some designs that were solely used in the Free Worlds Council. The true identity behind the attacks would become over shadowed by the raid its self and the war that it caused.
These ships entered the Kess System where the Reich Emperor was delivering a speech celebrating the heroes of the Reich. Among those on world at the time was the Crown Princess, Field Marshal Kessler, and a large number of other high ranking officers and their families. It seemed like the prefect raid as the ships closed on their target. However their movements were being watched very carefully by the Reich Military. News footage shows a message being delivered to the Emperor and Field Marshal Kessler. It was clear that it was something that they were not previously unaware of. Within the footage we can see the Emperor turning to one of his most trusted Field Marshals and watch as the Kessler gives the order. And what happened with that nod from the Emperor would set off a war that mirrors the fall of the Old Republic its self. And this time, no one shall be left on the side lines!
As the raiding ships closed on their target, the Reich sprang in to action. Within moments, hundreds of fighters and small patrol ships were jetting on an intercept course. These raiders were determined to deliver death on to the world of Kess. Most ships were leaving behind a trail of fire as they continued to try to push to launch distance. The Reich had every intention of crippling the ships and identifying who was behind the attack. However the raiders had other plans, a Reich boarding party forced their way on to a disabled ship only to have it blown up around them. With just over half of the raiding ships either destroyed or disabled, they finally reached their launch points. Multiple large missiles of mass destruction were fired at the world. A Reich corvette rammed one missile at the cost of the entire ship. Others were shot down by Reich fighters. Like angry bees defending their hive, the Reich fighters fought in vain to stop the missiles. However, there were simply too many of them to stop. Two managed to slip past the lines of defense and find targets on the world. The loss of life was horrific. The scare left on Kess by the twin blast could easily be seen from space. The Reich is placing the death totals in the millions and the cries for war has all but drowned out anything else.
As the Reich licked it wounds from the raid and were still counting the dead, the Emperor took the cries of the people to the Reich Estates General. His speech was moving and filled with terror of what is to come. Here are some highlights of the Emperor's speech.
“For four months I have calmly watched developments across our boarders, although I never ceased to give warnings. In the last few days I have increased these warnings. I informed the Ponji Ambassador last week that if Ponji do not accept full responsibility for these unprovoked and shamefully attacks, COWARDLY ATTACKS then the Reich could not remain inactive. An attempt was made to justify their claims of innocents they cite falsifications of ship identifications. The continue to lie in our faces and claim that these acts, these horrors, these murders were not their acts of provocation.
“I asked them for a direct council from their government, so that we could avoid what the Ponji actions has forced upon both our governments. For two whole days I sat with my advisors and waited to see whether it was convenient for the Ponji Government to send a plenipotentiary or not. Last night they did not send us a plenipotentiary but instead informed us through their Ambassador that they were still considering whether and to what extent they were in a position to go into the Free Worlds' Council proposals for a third party conference.
“We have tried to meet with these third party conferences. I have sent my dearest and most trusted Ambassador, Lord Hitosh to the Republic days prior to these horrific attacks. The Council themselves have moved to isolate us from the rest of the galaxy. Why? So that Council can clear the way for their financial allies, the Ponji, to launch this horrific attack on us.
“Deputies, if the Reich Government and its leader patiently endured such treatment, The Reich would deserve only to disappear from the political stage. But I am wrongly judged and if my love of peace and my patience are mistaken for weakness or even cowardice. I therefore decided last night, and informed the Council's Government that in these circumstances I can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Ponji Government to conduct serious negotiations with us.
“These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there first of all came as an answer the sudden Ponji general mobilization. I have, therefore, resolved to speak to the Ponji in the same language that Ponji has used towards us.
“Since that fateful day the Ponji navy has fired upon our innocent civilians, now I am asking that we fire back in defense of those civilians. And, from now on, bombs will be met with bombs. Whoever fights with ships will be fought back with ships. Whoever fights with soldiers will be fought back with soldiers. There is a high road that the Ponji has failed to take. One that we must take. We must honor the rules of humane warfare. We must hold back our nightmare weapons in the face of darkness. We must not become the monsters we seek to protect our race from, to protect the galaxy from. But do not think that I will hold back on defending our great realm! I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured.
“And I would like to close with the declaration that I once made when I began the struggle for power in the Reich. I then said: “If our will is so strong that no hardship and suffering can subdue it, then our will and our Human might shall prevail.”
The Reich Estates General passed the declaration of war with the Ponji, with acclamation. On passage, as per intergalactic law, copies the Declaration of War were sent to the Ponji and all signatories of the Devaron Treaty of 1890. Within the message accompanying the declaration, was the Reich's intention to follow the rules outlined within the Treaty in regards to war and sees this conflict as a war between the Ponji and the Reich solely. The Reich has also added that they would be willing to halt all hostilities once the Ponji accepted responsibility for the raid on Kess. In accordance with the Devaron Treaty of 1890, the Reich allowed twenty four hours to pass prior to the break out of hostilities. During this time, last minute negotiations hosted by the Shanaduna failed as the Ponji continued to refuse to accept responsibility for the raid. And on February 22th, the Reich unleashed its might against the Ponji Assembly.
As the finally hour drew to a close, three massive task forces crossed Ponji boarders and war was unleashed upon this normally neutral realm. But most surprisingly is the amount of time in which the war lasted. From start to finish, the Ponji fell in just under thirty days. Their heart cut out within a week of the first battle and their military swept aside by the Reich forces unleashed upon them. This rapid fall of a powerful realm brought every other realm to the table and caused them to pay attention. It was clear that the Reich was a power within the Core. Its military had always been seen as strong. But never before had a Realm fallen in such a short time. Never before had such a rapid military force been used to cripple and wipe out its' foe. The death of the Ponji sounded the alarm for all of the other Realms. Reports of a possible Varl counter invasion during the open weeks of conflict never occurred. One source close to the Varl leadership claimed that they were going to move to support the Ponji but those plans were called off in the wake of the Reich advance. To better understand the change in military tactics and technology, once more, here is Brother Parrie Hrirry
Thank Brother Setith. A few months ago, we watched the Reich's military do a near prefect and nearly conflict free occupation of the Kel Vahr. We got a chance to see some new military hardware of the Reich. It was truly a sight to behold. What we saw on Kel Vahr and Fra a few months before gave many of my fellow Brothers and Sisters great sense of excitement of what is to come. These new designs demanded a new style of fighting. And we were not let down by the Reich's war with the Ponji. Like them, hate them, you have to respect them. The way this invasion was carried out was nothing short of a master piece. Just a month or so, we started to notice new ships being deployed to the front line units within the Reich. We will speak about these new classes shortly. When they first started to make their appearance, Admirals of other navies were hardly taking notice. But there were some watching. Some leaders started to push designs to match what they were seeing out of the Reich. This must have been a bitter pill for the Council to take. For nearly two centuries, they have been the masters of trend when it came to new military designs. Now, they were the ones playing catch up to Reich surprises. And the Reich was not out of surprises just yet. In fact, the Reich started to show off four separate carrier designs along with a number of support ships. What does this mean for the fleets of the galaxy? I will tell you what it means, hurt, lots of hurt. And the Reich has shown that it has the ability to bring that hurt.
Leadership of the entire invasion was given to Field Marshal Erich Von Kessler and Admiral Karl Dönitz, reportedly by the Emperor himself. While both leaders were well seasoned, this would be the first time they would lead an entire invasion on their own. From reports, we know that Field Marshal Kessler was placed over all in charge of the invasion with Admiral Dönitz running as second. If anyone saw this lack of experience in leading major operations as a weakness, they only need to look at the results. What these two commanders planned shook the commanders of the galaxy to the core. Kessler unleashed a Reich standard assault consisting of three prongs aimed at the Ponji lines. The fleets crossed the lines and used their superior speed to out pace and draw the defenders in to running skirmishes. Normally this would have spelled doom for any normal navy. The good thing for the Ponji, their core navy was built around smaller faster classed ships. The bulk of their navy were built around frigates, destroyers and light cruisers. Now, this gave the Ponji navy remarkable speed and maneuvering in combat. Considering that the Ponji normally has to deal with pirates and slave raiders, these was a massive advantage. However when faced off with the warships of the Reich, that was an other story.
The Ponji navy did have lighter, faster ships than other major navies, but they were also light on fire power and armor over all. We did see that the Reich's newer ships were built around a similar class make up. We saw none of the massive Peacekeepers or SpaceKing class battleships that normally make up the core of Reich battle fleets. What we did notice was that the Reich redesigned their ships to focus on speed without losing that much needed fire power or protection. During the opening hours of the battle we saw this change in fleet make up used with the more traditional ships we have seen along the Reich frontier for decades. It was clear that these ships were improved upon through upgrades but they retained much of their normal designs. I think that this was part of the plan to through the Ponji in a mind set that lead directly to their rapid fall. These first battles were fought very traditionally as the Ponji and Reich ships squared off. It was then that the Ponji fleet commanders had to know that they were out matched across the board. As the running skirmishes were drawing the Ponji further off station, a second wave of Reich ships jumped in to each of the target systems. The terror of being outflanked must have caused the Ponji to double think their situations. However it quickly left as those same ships simply jumped back out system.
This is where Kessler's plan shows its brilliances. With the arrival of the second wave, many thought that he would strength his lines and continue to drive deeper. No one had any idea want to expect till the second waved arrived deep behind enemy lines. They had made long jumps that boggled the military planners within the Ponji. Kessler's second wave start to hit supply points and command and control centers. These attacks were carried out by the Reich's new class of carriers called Strike Carriers and their support ships. These are the new class ships we were talking about before. These new Carriers are faster than any other ship in their weight class. The ships that accompany these new carriers, were designed to support carriers directly. Gone are the massive gun emplacements and a massive increase in medium and small weapons. It is clear that these ships were designed to defend against small craft and fighters. This is the wave of the future for space warfare and the Reich has already mastered it. The Ponji were about to get schooled in carrier tactics and lighting warfare.
With the Reinforcements that were meant to be deployed to the front turning around to return to support the rear supply stations, these second wave groups hit hard. They launched attack after attack on ship yards, communication nodes, supply stations and bases. It was clear that these attacks were planned to cripple the Ponji's ability to fight a prolonged war. Once they these key targets were in flames, the group moved on before the Ponji forces could return to engage them. This forced the Ponji to pull their forces further back to their infrastructure rather than engaging the Reich forces along the frontier. As communications became more disrupted, lines of supplies were cut and strangled, the Ponji found themselves trapped between defending the frontier and protecting its rear infrastructure. This left huge gaps in the defensive lines of the Ponji and made regrouping nearly impossible for their over tasked navy. When we thought that Kessler's plan had taken its course, he brought forth another surprise.
His third wave was already in motion moving towards their targets. While the Ponji navy was playing cat and mouse with the Carrier groups or being tied up at the front, Kessler's third waves moved largely unopposed through Ponji space till they were over their targets. Not even a full day in to the invasion, four battle groups arrived over their targets. One of them was the heart of the Ponji Government while the others were critical command and control centers that had to be captured. Kessler's own Panzergroupee III was given the honor of invading the homeworld of the Ponji. With Kess as their battle cry, the soldiers of Panzergroupee III landed on the Ponji homeworld and fought for possession of the capital. By the end of the first day, just about half of the Ponji supply stations had been either captured, badly damaged or destroyed completely. With broken lines of conflict raging throughout their space, the Ponji were simply unable to regroup and fortify any single defensive point. As the heart of the support lines started to fail, the front lines also started to collapse under the pressure of the first waves of the assault. There was little the Ponji government could do other than watch their rapidly depleting navy, vanish before their eyes.
Within thirty six hours of the war, the Ponji navy had been pretty much divided in to six pockets that were no where near strategic targets. This allowed the Reich navy to move on targets at their will. But Kessler's plan showed a new secret. One question that alluded answering was where was the massive Ponji naval reserves? The Ponji naval reserves had long thought been the corner stone of any solid defense that the Ponji could muster. These reserves numbered in hundreds of ships. We did a bit of research and found what we believe to be the best kept Reich secret. This secret is the Wolf class attack ships. These corvette size ships carry a powerful punch but what makes them killers is this ability to remain undetected even during attacks. We are still uncertain how they manage this undetectable feat. We do know from many eye witnesses that they are undetectable during their attacks. We do not know if these ships were hiding behind enemy lines prior to the start of war or rushed to their targets after the start of war. What we did find out is that as the Ponji naval reserve was preparing to head to the front they were attacked. These attacks, reportedly, occurred right within their own stations or anchorages. The number of Wolf class attack ships are still unknown. What is known is that they are being credited with destroying nearly two hundred Ponji ships before they ever made it to the combat zones. One attack saw twenty Ponji ships attacked even before their crews could fully power their ships up and offer any hope of defense to the Wolf's attacks. The Wolf class ships were clearly a key in the rapid demise of the Ponji navy.
Now lets talk about cunning. It is a week in to the invasion and you are running low on supplies. What do you do? Call for resupplies? Not if you are Field Marshal Kessler. Kessler ordered his supply conveys to move ahead of the fleets deep in to enemy controlled space. Their orders were to set up advanced supply bases prior to the fleets needing them. Kessler counted heavily on his plan working and the Ponji limiting naval activities because of the Carrier raids on their own supply bases. It was daring and some say foolish, but the true test came to this. When the Reich needed those supplies, the bases were ready and waiting for them. These supply points allowed for the Reich fleets to move faster across Ponji space and continue to the pressure on the failing Ponji navy. Remember the SpaceKing and Peacekeeper class battleships? This is how broad the Reich philosophy has changed. At one time, the SpaceKing and then later the Peacekeepers were the pride and joy of the Reich navy. Trillions of credits to build, latest in weapon technologies, They represented the heart and pride of the Reich Navy, and was a clear sign of the Reich's military might. Now massive battleships were degraded to convoy protection duties. Their powerful guns which sent fear through systems that they entered in anger were all but silent as they protected supply convoys from Ponji raiders. During the entire war between the Reich and the Ponji only two of these massive battleships saw any action. The rest saw no action at all while their younger cousins the carriers and their support ships resupplied and returned to the conflict zones.
Aside from these new support ships classes, and the new use for their massive battleships, there is one more ship class worthy of talking about before we look deeper in to these carriers. Our eyes in Ponji space has noticed a new class of ship that fits the weight class of the Frigate. Frigates are normally used as system patrol flagships or convey protection ships. We have noticed that there are a number of new Frigate designs but one seems to stand out. Its nature seems unknown at this time, but these ships have large antennas and a powerful energy signature. Most notable about these ships is that only one seems to be assigned to any one fleet or convoy. This leads us to believe that this is some kind of communications ships. If this is the case, than that gives the Reich a massive advantage when it comes to waging war. No longer would they have to worry about sending messages through the Lord's Church or by couriers. This could also have contributed to the rapid changes in the Reich military deployments during the war. We also saw a cross between a heavy cruiser and a battleship. These class ships have been named pocket battleships or battle-cruisers. The roles of these ships seem to be a bridge between the old style of combat and the Reich's new version of war. These ships have been deployed solely for carrier defense and have not been seen in fleets of their own. However, there is note of one battle-cruiser, an ace killer, moving independently striking at lone Ponji ships or striking their convoys.
Now let's take a closer look at these carrier classes. So far we were able to identify four separate carrier classes. Each seemingly having their own role in the battle or within the larger theater. The smallest is what we would like to call a Scout class carrier. These ships have been seen operating nearly independent or with a small task force of five to ten ships. Throughout the Ponji campaign, the Scouts moved deep in to Ponji space and set up safe zones for incoming supply conveys. They also have been noted setting up navigation beacons for the supply conveys that they were supporting. These ships appear to have been refits of older ship designs with new technologies. Though this is not been proven fact yet. It has been reported that these ships can field between twenty to forty fighters. They have limited weapons and armor but make up for it in speed. Their true power like all other carriers come from their fighters. We were able to record and identify twenty one of these ships within the Ponji campaign.
The next carrier is another small one. We have noticed this carrier within supply convoys and have named them escort carriers because of that. These carriers have been seen to be faster than the convoys that they escort as well as their much larger supporting warships. The escort carriers jump in to a system and secure the area to allow for the convoy to pass through without being exposed to dangers. While their larger older brothers had little to do on convoy duty, these fast ships saw many engagements during the Ponji campaign. They were the eyes and ears of the convoy and critical to Kessler's plans in keeping the convoys safe from enemy raids. The Escort Carriers proved themselves to be fast and capable ships. They carrier between thirty and sixty fighters and have been seen in groups of two to four. They have moderate weapons and armor. The reaction times of their fighters have been proven to be their best assets during a Ponji ambush. Some seventy three of these carriers were recorded during the Ponji campaign.
The next largest range carrier class is what we have doubted the Strike Carrier Class. These carriers made their first appearances on the battlefield just a few weeks ago during the Dorin invasion of the Y'Ish. During that campaign these mysterious ship crippled the Y'Ish defenses. At the time it was unclear where these ships came from. However there is no question to it now, those ships were Reich Strike carriers. The Strike carriers make up the backbone of the Reich carrier fleets. If you are looking at getting in to an engagement with these ships, better come ready for the job. These ships have long legs and can maintain these speeds for the duration of the fight. They are well equip with medium and close ranged weapons. They do have some larger weapon mounts but these seem to have been set up to build to their philosophy of small craft and fighter defense rather than ship to ship combat. But if you think for a moment that these ships are easy pray for more traditional warships. These carriers within the Ponji campaign have been noted to field between one hundred to one hundred fifty fighters. Though during the Y'Ish campaign, those five Strike carriers were noted to field during combat around two hundred each! This gives the Strike carriers another level of versatility which only adds to their value on the battlefield. They operate in groups of no less than three regardless of what roles they seem to be on. This gives the Strike carriers the ability to swarm enemy ships, bases and targets. This tactic proved to be externally successful against both the Y'Ish and later the Ponji. It spelled defeat to the defenders in both campaigns and carried the invaders on to victory. We have been able to log some twenty one Strike carriers within the Ponji theater and five within the Y'Ish theater.
Even before the last great war the Reich had with the Free Worlds Council, the Reich had the deep routed experience in building massive warships to face off with the Council's own monsters. This trait did not appear to be lost in the Reich's last class of carriers. These ships named Fleet Carrier could have only been built in the shipyards of Vandor where the Peacekeepers and SpaceKings were built and meant to replace them as fleet flagships. There is not much known about these massive ships other than they seem to have the same speed and maneuvering as their smaller carrier cousins and they can field somewhere in the range of a thousands fighters and small craft. These ships are over a kilometer long and seem to be equip with the same style of defense as other carriers. We have seen no evidence that suggests anything different in terms of weapons. We saw one acting as the flagship of Field Marshal Kessler and we know that Field Marshal Halder has one as his own flagship. If this trend is common, than there would be anywhere between ten to twenty of these massive warships out there. That would mean that the shipyards in Vandor started building them sometime during the last five to seven years ago. We reported about nine years ago, that the Peacekeeper program was ordered to be terminated about eight years ago. Given the amount of time to retool the shipyards and construction times, this would support our estimations of the number of Fleet Carriers within the Reich navy.
The ability of the Reich military to move fast, strike deep and keep moving has shifted the galactic view of strategy on to its head. The Y'Ish were a well supplied and well trained military with direct Varl assistance. The Ponji were also equally well supplied and trained but what made this such a surprising event is that until recently, the past few decades, the Ponji have been trained and equipped by the Reich themselves. For the Y'Ish to hold out for a month and a half against the Dorin invasion, it was a sure bet that the Ponji would be able to hold out for much longer than that. From first shot fired to the signing of the official surrender by General Pobue, the Ponji didn't even survive a full month against the massive Reich invasion. If the militaries of the galaxy don't sit up and pay attention to these recent event, than they have no one to blame but themselves. The Reich has effectively changed modern warfare on a scale and in ways never dreamed of.
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