The Attack on the annihilation missile fleet[1] was the second attempt by the Earth Federation to put a stop to Gatlantis's advance in the solar system. It started on the 11th of May 2203. The operation was centered around the experimental wave-motion ship Ginga and its CRS Boost. It was the first full battle fought by the joint Garmillas-Earth forces after the 8th Floating Continent Recapture Operation.[3]
Prelude[]

Ginga in construction inside the time fault
In preparation for the coming Gatlantean invasion of the solar system, the Earth Federation Defense Force drafted Project G, a project centered around the Yamato-class research ship Ginga. The plan aimed at turning Ginga into an escape vessel to find a new homeworld for the Earthling species in case the Earth itself came under threat of being annihilated. However, Project G would only be activated if the war took a turn for the worst,[5] in the meantime, Ginga was completed to serve as the flagship of its own fleet[6] and to see active combat against Gatlantis. Its systems were almost fully under the control of its autonomous sub computer, paving the way for the Cosmo Force's upcoming line of fully automated vessels. The cruiser was originally planned as an exploratory vessel equipped with the Cosmo Reverse System taken from the battleship Yamato and, even after being converted into a warship in the time fault factory, the Cosmo Reverse rejected the implemented weaponry, rendering them useless. Instead, Ginga was turned into a support ship, with its CRS being used to achieve Wave-motion resonance with the ships of its fleet, boosting their Wave-motion Shields and Guns.[3]
Operation Black Bird was created as a plan created after the defeat at Saturn,[7] which aimed to utilise wave-motion resonance offensively through a series of mass-produced Wave-motion Cores. The cores would be scattered by Ginga's automated fighter squadron, however the planes' AI was still not advanced enough to infiltrate the enemy lines, so a live pilot was needed to lead the autonomous fighters through the Gatlantean formation.[3]

The Garmillas-Earth joint forces holding the line
By the end of the Battle of Saturn, the bulk of the United Nations Cosmo Navy had been almost entirely wiped out by the joint efforts of the Gatlantean Seventh Mobile Fleet and the Ark of Destruction, the gigantic mobile fortress and capital of the Gatlantis Empire.[8] Ginga's fleet, previously stationed on Jupiter, was joined by its just completed flagship and warped to the battlefield on Saturn to cover the retreat of the remaining Earth forces. With it was a large Garmillan fleet of hundreds of Kelkapia-class Astro Cruisers and Zoellugut-class 1st Class Ships carrying Walls of Garmillas Subject. The walls created a vast anti warp field that stopped Gatlantis's advance.[3]

A diagram showing the force placement during the Attack on the annihilation missile fleet
By May 11,[1] Ginga headed a force of 45[1] Dreadnought-classes, both from its original fleet and from the remnants of the Yamanami Fleet. The cruiser welcomed on board a group of crewmembers from the Yamato, that had seemingly sunk inside of the Ark of Destruction due to the actions of its fighter squadron commander, Lieutenant J.G. Saburo Kato, who had unwillingly sabotaged the ship's engine.[3][8]
The Attack[]
Initial fighting and Operation Black Bird[]

Ginga activates its CRS
On May 11,[1] second wave of Gatlantean forces, made out of a missile fleet of Gostoke-class Missile Battleship carrying Annihilation Missiles, began advancing. To fullfill Ginga's role of defending Garmillas' Anti-warp walls, the ship's captain, Lt. Commander Saki Todo, proposed an elite squad ambush the incoming fleet. The fleet's systems would be boosted by Ginga's CRS and strike the enemy vanguard before it could combine with the main force. The bulk of the UNCF force, composed of 30 Dreadnoughts[1] led by Ginga, began its advance while the remaining Dreadnoughts stayed behind to protect the Garmillas fleet. Immediately after rolling out, the flagship initiated a CRS boost under suggestion from Black Analyzer, its command AI. As soon as the Earth fleet was in range, the Gostokes began shooting their Annihilation Missiles, but the boosted Wave-motion Shields resisted, but started to weaken at a rate of 8,000 TPa. Lt. J.G. Yasuo Nanbu suggested moving the fleet closer to begin bombarding the enemy, but Black Analyzer refused, stating their attack wouldn't be effective and cost too many casualties, instead he proposed to activate Operation Black Bird.[3]

Operation Black Bird succeedes
Todo accepted the proposal, and the autonomous fighter squadron was launched. Kato had volunteered to lead the fighters into the Gatlantean lines, knowing full well that the mission would proabably cost his life but seeing it as punishment for his perceived betrayal. Despite the opposition from the other former Yamato crewmembers on bridge, the operation was carried out. The Black Birds fighters broke through the first line of Gatlantean Calaklum-class Battleship, and successfully deployed hundreds of Wave-motion Cores near the enemy Missile Battleships. However, multiple cores and fighters were rapidly shot down by the Gostoke-classes, prompting the Command AI and Todo to immediately start the wave-motion resonance before Kato could get away. The resonance between the CRS and the cores successfully deactivated the Gostokes and Calaklums, sending them flying out of control and crashing into each other. The Gatlantean forces were effectively wiped out, but Kato miracolously survived.[3]
The fall of the defense line[]
Automated Andromedas take off from the Earth
After Operation Black Bird's success, the Ginga fleet continued to hold the line at Saturn. Lt. Commander Todo and the UNCF's plan was for the Garmillas-Earth joint force to stand their ground for the next ten days, buying enough time for the time fault factory to assemble the ships necessary to hold the line for another ten days. This war of attrition was to continue until Gatlantis ran out of ships to throw at the Earth.[3] With AI technology in constant evolution within the time fault, and the development of artificial soldiers becoming a reality thanks to the data obtained by studying the Gatlanteans, the Earth leadership considered their war potential to be effectively unlimited.[5] In the meantime, the defense line at Mars was strenghthened by another Garmillas fleet and a line of automated Andromeda-classes. Another anti-warp field was established near the red planet, creating yet another fail-safe in case Gatlantis broke through the forces at Saturn.[4]

The White Comet breaks through the lines of the Ginga fleet
For four days, the anti-warp field at Saturn endured Gatlantis's attack, but on May 14,[2] the Ark of Destruction unleashed a vast fleet of Eater Is which simultaneously rushed the subjects walls, destroying them and tearing the field apart. As the Ark's gravitational gradient rose and the fortress began to move, Lt. Com. Todo ordered her forces to secure the area up to the limit for withdrawing and immediately notified the forces stationed on Mars of the incoming arrival of the empire's mobile capital. As the comet warped away, gravitational waves from Gatlantis washed over the joint fleet, making it lose position.[4]
Aftermath[]
Fighting immediately resumed near Mars. The coming battle was the first to see a significant use of automised warships on the Earth side, however, this didn't stop Gatlantis from succeeding in wearing down the joint forces, eventually causing the collapse of even the Mars Defense Front.[5]
Notes[]
- The 2024 official calendar Trajectory of YAMATO states that Operation Black Bird was launched on May 10, however, fleet diagrams for the attack included in The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202, as well as the events shown on screen, state place the operation on May 11.[1][9]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202 theatrical program book p.27
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The "The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202" theatrical program book p. 27 establishes May 14 as the beginning of the Third Battle of Mars, meaning the Attack on the annihilation missile fleet ended on the same day.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 "Heir to the Yamato, Her Name is Ginga"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Gatlantis, the Cursed Children"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Escape from the Nightmare!"
- ↑ "The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202"
- ↑ Yamato fightercraft taken from Hachette Collection Japan magazine
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Yamato in Crisis - The Devil's Alternative Once More"
- ↑ Trajectory of YAMATO 2024 official calendar
Japanese language information[]
消滅ミサイル艦隊への進攻 Shōmetsu misairu kantai e no shinkō
Battles of the Gatlantis Campaign | ||||||||
Battle of the eleventh planet · Battle on Planet Stravase · Battle in Subspace · Encounter with the White Comet Empire · Terezart Landing Operation · Blockade of Terezart · Battle of Saturn · Attack on the annihilation missile fleet · Decisive Battle off Mars · Battle against Neu Deusura · Final Battle Over Earth
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