The battle of the eleventh planet, also referred to as the Gatlantis Invasion, was a surprise attack by the Gatlantis Empire on the 11th planet of the solar system that took place on christmas eve of 2202. It was the first step in the Gatlantis Empire's invasion of the Solar System. During the fighting, in order to rescue the surviving civilians on the planet, the space battleship Yamato launched the 11th planet rescue operation. More than 15,000 Calaklum-classes under the command of Admiral Mazer assembled a Legionnairre Cannon in order to make the 11th planet's artificial sun go supernova, creating a blast capable of completely destroy the Earth. Despite the Earth Federation never officially declaring war on Gatlantis, it can be considered the start of the Gatlantis Campaign.
Prelude[]
.png){kind=link}
The 11th planet and its sun
The 11th planet of the solar system was occupied by the Greater Garmillan Empire during the Great Garmillas War. The empire set up a base on the planet and built an artificial sun in its orbit, warming up the atmosphere and allowing Garmillas immigrants to live on it. After the end of the war, the planet became a joint colony of the Garmillas Empire and the Earth Federation, with the two powers continuing its terraforming together. The 11th planet became the base of the UNCF Outer Defense Division headed by Admiral Ryu Hijikata. The Space Cavalry's 7th Regiment was stationed on the planet under regimental commander Hajime Saito.[4][2]
In December 2202, the goddess Teresa of Terezart sent a telepathic message to the crew of the UNCN battleship Yamato, who decided to take off against the wishes of UNCF Headquarters to follow her, although their mutiny was later ratified by the Earth's government. The Gatlantis Empire managed to trace Teresa's message, and by confronting its direction with the last known location of one of their ships lost in combat against the Earth, they managed to discover the planet's location.[4][9][10][11] Yamato and Earth caught the eye of Emperor Zworder, who decided to send the Eighth Mobile Fleet to attack the solar system.[2] He also sent a copy of the empire's Prime Minister, who took the identity of Toko Katsuragi to hid among the Earthlings and serve as a spy. Both the fleet and Katsuragi arrived on the 11th planet on December 24.[4][12][1]
The Battle[]
Initial attack[]
The city is bombed
The vanguard of the Eighth Mobile Fleet, under the command of Cosmodart, arrived on the 11th planet and remained stationed in orbit. Katsuragi descended on the planet and, in accordance with her cover, she assumed the role of Professor Robert Redrowz's assistant. Few hours after, the 11th planet's city was bombed by a squadron of seven Deathvatators and all communications between the planet and the rest of the solar system were blocked.[4][2]
After the bombing, the Gatlanteans deployed a ground contingent composed of foot soldiers and Needleslaves to the ruins of the city, seeking out all survivors to exterminate them one by one. The 7th Regiment evacuated all survivors to a makeshift shelter while Admiral Hijikata of the Outer Defense Division and his staff remained at their headquarters and tried to negotiate a surrender with the invaders, in order to prevent more bloodshed among the civilians. Cosmodart refused their surrender, prompting them to fight and die in accordance with Gatlantean philosophy. After his appeal war rejected, Hijikata's HQ was bombed, leaving the Admiral's fate uncertain.[2]
Seabolt takes off behind Saito
Second Lieutenant Saito scornfully accepted his fate, but refused to get civilians mixed up in the fighting. As their only escape craft, the Seabolt, was too small to carry all survivors, Saito entrusted Sergeant Major Shiori Nagakura with a mission to break through the enemy blockade and seek for help. As Nagakura took off abord Seabolt, the Second Lieutenant personally stood by the craft's hangar, protecting it from the barrage of enemy missiles.[2] Saito was killed in the battle, but the Gatlanteans revived him as a living dead body to continue to use him as a spy. He himself was not aware of the situation. Four other civilians, including Professor Redrowz, were also turned into living dead bodies.[13][8]
The 11th planet rescue operation[]
Nagakura is rescued from Seabolt
Nagakura took off aboard Seabolt and warped out, successfully avoiding the Eighth Mobile Fleet, only reporting minor injuries. By the time she was rescued by Yamato, it was December 26[3] and the battle had been raging on for 40 hours. Lieutenant Susumu Kodai, Yamato's acting captain, informed Earth Defense Force Headquarters of the situation. General Commanding Director Heikuro Todo refused to allow them to carry out a rescue mission, stating the Yamato didn't have enough strength to face the enemy force. Additionally, the status of the 11th planet as a joint colony with Garmillas prevented the UNCF from carrying out any military operation before contacting the Garmillas military. A meeting was held between the ship's officers to decide the best course of action. Lieutenant Klaus Keyman, an envoy of the Great Garmillas Empire's embassy to the Earth, remarked that the planet was way off Yamato's planned route to Terezart and that after so many hours, no survivors would probably be left to be saved. Ultimately, however, Kodai chose to carry out the mission, dubbed the 11th planet Rescue Operation, in defiance of HQ's orders.[2]
The Kukulcan hovers above Yamato
Yamato arrived on the planet in the nick of time, immediately deploying its fighter squadron and rescuing Saito and the remaining refugees from a group of Needle Slaves. The battleship was stationed inside a chasm and over a bridge, from which Lieutenant J.G. Yasuo Nanbu directed all survivors to board. Keyman joined the fighter squadron and engaged three Kukulcan-class Destroyers approaching Yamato. One was sunk, and another was heavily damaged but managed to escape the fighters and set out on a collision course Yamato. The battleship took off immediately, escaping the destroyer's suicide run, but remained stuck flying within the chasm as the last remaining Kukulcan hovered above it. The Gatlantean ship repeatedly fired at Yamato, hitting it portside, but was ultimately sunk, and the battleship narrowly avoided destruction once more.[2]
Before Yamato could exit the canyon, the bulk of the eighth mobile fleet began warping out in orbit. Six Calaklum-class battleships assembled in line and combined their Lightning rotation gun to fire a large energy beam at Yamato's location. The ship managed to activate its wave-motion shield in time but was buried by the debris of the collapsed ravine. As the shield began breaking down, the battleship's crew activated the ARGO system to take control of the rocks and form a protective layer over them.[2][5]
The Legionairre Cannon: Yamato's choice[]
The Legionnaire Cannon being assembled over the 11th planet
Admiral Mazer arrived on the battlefield with the bulk of the Eighth Mobile Fleet and informed Cosmodart that Emperor Zworder had given them the go-ahead to assemble a Legionnaire Cannon. The Eighth Mobile Fleet began constructing the weapon, by forming a cylinder-shaped accelerator around the 11th planet's artificial sun. Their objective was to make it explode into a supernova and direct the resulting blast toward the Earth to destroy it entirely. Yamato received a distress signal from the 11th planet HQ. A rescue team headed by Saito was sent to retrieve the injured, but still alive, Hijikata and his assistants. In the meantime, the battleship's technical officer realized Gatlantis' plan for the artificial sun. A moral dilemma over whether or not to use the Wave-motion Gun erupted among Yamato's crew. On one hand, firing it could stop the Legionnaire Cannon, but on the other, Yamato's crew had sworn never to use the weapon again at the end of their previous journey, a promise that the Earth government had already broken.[5]
The Legionnaire Cannon falls apart
Before Captain Kodai could make a choice, Keyman hailed Yamato, indirectly suggesting he fire the weapon at the artificial sun instead of at the fleet. The resulting Wave-motion Resonance effect would create a surge of energy, destroying the artificial sun and immobilizing the whole enemy force. The plan was successful. Yamato prevented the Gatlanteans from firing the Legionnaire Cannon while also remaining true to its crew's ideals.[5]
Aftermath[]
Mazer and Cosmodart report
With the enemy fleet deactivated, Kodai contacted Admiral Mazer, allowing him to leave the system peacefully. The Admiral and Cosmodart later reported to Zworder and his council, expressing their bafflement and disgust that an enemy would let them escape unscathed. As Gatlanteans, the two commanders lived fully detached from human emotions, especially love.[5] Their lack of understanding of Yamato's deeds would lead them to give in to hatred and thirst for revenge and pursue the battleship with their damaged fleet despite Zworder's return order. Their force was marked as a "pollution fleet" and was destroyed by a unit deployed by the Great Emperor.[14]
Yamato approaches Stravase
Yamato would spend another day on the 11th planet before abandoning it and heading to planet Stravase, where a Garmillan patrol fleet would take the refugees from the destroyed world and lead them safely to the Earth. There, however, the ship remained caught in a battle between two Garmillas rebel factions and was also attacked by Zworder, who had grown interested in the actions of the battleship called by Teresa. The 7th Space Cavalry Regiment also boarded Yamato, and so did Katsuragi and the living dead bodies planted by the empire among the civilian survivors.[13][7] This effectively gave Gatlantis multiple spies on Yamato, who they used to track the ship's location and anticipate their tactics for the following months.[12][8][15]
While no official declaration of war was submitted by either side, this battle is considered the beginning of open war between the Earth Federation and the Gatlantis Empire.[6]
Behind the scenes[]
The battle is named on the official Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love website and in Yamato Weapons, taken from Hachette Collections Japan magazine. Both use two different wordings, which have the same translation.[16][17] The 11th planet rescue operation is named by Kodai on screen in Japanese, although the english dub changed the line and no longer mentions the name. It's also named in the episode title for "Battle to the Death – The 11th Planet Rescue Operation".[2] The name Gatlantis Invasion is used in The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 "Battle to the Death – The 11th Planet Rescue Operation"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Trajectory of YAMATO official 2024 calendar
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 "Shock – Legacy of the Cosmo Reverse"
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 "The Beam of Light Flashes! / Radiance of the Wave Motion Gun"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Era of Yamato official website timeline
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Trap at Planet Stravase!"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Warriors of Love"
- ↑ "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"
- ↑ "Departure to the Unknown!"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "The Shocking White Comet Empire - The Yamato Rams Through!"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Zworder, the Devil's Alternative"
- ↑ "Desler's Challenge!"
- ↑ "The Terezart Landing Operation – Crush the Enemy Missile Fleet!"
- ↑ Official Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for Mazer
- ↑ Yamato Weapons taken from Hachette Collections Japan magazine
Japanese language information[]
- 第十一番惑星戦 Daijūichi ban wakusei-sen (Battle of the eleventh planet)
- 第十一番惑星の戦闘 Dai jū ichi-ban wakusei no sentō (Battle of the eleventh planet)
- 第十一惑星救出作戦 Dai jū ichi wakusei kyūshutsu sakusen (eleventh planet rescue operation)
- ガトランティス侵攻 Gatorantisu shinkō (Gatlantis Invasion)