Attack on New Elysium

Attack on New Elysium
Part of the Great Intergalactic War
Date March 1, 3252 Location New Elysium, Vanguard system, Terran Concordium Result Decisive Oderran victory Severe damage to New Elysium Disruption of Concordian offensive operations for several months
Combatants
Terran Concordium	Oderran Commonwealth
Commanders and leaders
Fleet Admiral Manfred Kives Admiral Luis Malenta	Field Admiral Jackson Rufus
Units involved
Naval units War Fleet Perseus Battlegroup Indiana Battlegroup California Battlegroup Queensland Battlegroup Zhejiang Battlegroup Exeter New Elysium Defence Fleet Manoeuvre Action Groups 1 - 5	Naval units Combined Grand Fleet 1st Attack Flotilla 4th Attack Flotilla 5th Attack Flotilla 6th Guard Flotilla 7th Guard Flotilla 2nd Auxiliary Fleet 1st Siege Flotilla 12th Guard Flotilla 55th Titan Squadron
Strength
1775 starships	1227 starships
Casualties and losses
115 battleships destroyed or damaged 335 cruisers destroyed or damaged Fleetbases Alpha 5-1, Echo 1-1 and Romeo 2-5 are destroyed Multiple fuel depots destroyed 10 shipyards destroyed	15 battleships destroyed 155 other ships destroyed 661 ships damaged
Estimates of civilian casualties are between 11,000 and 33,000

The Attack on New Elysium was a decisive naval battle between the Concordian Navy and Oderran Navy during the Great Intergalactic War that preempted the Oderran 3252 counteroffensive, whereby the Oderran navy conducted a surprise and debilitating naval strike against strategic naval base of New Elysium in the Vanguard system. The Oderran Commonwealth's intention was to weaken the defensive posture of the Concordium in the Perseus Arm, allowing for a rapid offensive push into core Concordian territory.

Background

Decision to attack New Elysium

New Elysium, formally Fleet Station New Elysium, was the most important and largest military installation in the Perseus Arm, forming the linchpin of the Concordium's defensive command in the region. The installation was host to several dozen shipyards, large reserves of fuel and munitions as well as the headquarters and home port of the Perseus fleet. Over 2000 warships were stationed at New Elysium's five fleetbases, making it the largest concentration of warships in the entire Perseus arm. The strategic importance of New Elysium was keenly recognised by the Oderran military, which had drawn up several hypothetical plans in the years leading up to the outbreak of war, as part of its overall strategy of invading the Perseus arm, aware that any war with the Terran Concordium in that region would require the neutralisation of the installation.

By January of 3252, the Oderran Commonwealth had seized major territories of the Concordium in the Outer and Perseus Arms and were encroaching on the vital Ligoth Nebulae region, which contained major industrial and resource worlds, while Concordian forces were too dispersed and limited in number and logistics to mount major defensive or counteroffensive operations. The only respite for the Concordium was the mining of Conduit 5-0, which was one the few successful Concordian defensive operations to be mounted during this time. The mining of the vital quantum conduit stalled the Oderran advance, allowing valuable time for the Concordian fleets to coordinate and reorganise.