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This article is about the Gatlantis Astro Fleet from Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequels. For its counterpart in Space Battleship Yamato 2 and Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato, see White Comet Imperial Military.


You must not turn around and withdraw the fleet entrusted to you by the Great Emperor. You're a Gatlantean, die in battle.

—Commander-in-Chief Goenitz, to Commander-in-Chief Valsey[6]

The Gatlantis Astro Fleet,[7] also known as the Imperial Mobile Fleet,[8] the Nomadic Fleet,[5] or the Gatlantis Army,[9] was the military of the Gatlantis Empire. Headquartered on the Ark of Destruction and commanded by Commander-in-chief Goenitz, the Gatlantis Astro Fleet was one of the most formidable military powers in intergalactic space. Originally believed to be little more than a band of barbarians by the Garmillas Empire, between 2199 and 2203 its technological level grew rapidly and it waged a devastating campaign against Garmillas and the Earth Federation. It finally collapsed along with the Gatlantis Empire in June 2203.

Organization[]

Goenitz2203

Goenitz, the Gatlantis Astro Fleet's Commander-in-Chief

The Gatlantis Astro Fleet was the military branch of the Gatlantis Empire. Given the militarism of the nation, high-ranking officers of the Space Fleet were often some of the most influential people in the imperial hierarchy, with the organization's Commander-in-Chief Goenitz being regarded as the most powerful individual within Gatlantis under Emperor Zworder and Chief Minister Saberah. Both he and the commander of the Seventh Mobile Fleet Valsey served on Emperor Zworder's staff.[5][3]

The Space Fleet was organized into various divisions and fleets, ranging in size from a few dozen[10] to thousands of vessels.[11] Each fleet was headed by a Commander-in-Chief.[12][13] Valsey's fleet served as the Empire's primary force.[2] Like all positions in the Gatlantis Empire, the commander of a formation inherited his rank and name from his predecessor.[14] At least some Gatlantean fleets, such as the Gorland Fleet[14] and the Eighth Mobile Fleet, had a ground component comprised primarily of foot soldiers and Needleslaves.[11] The considerable advantage in raw strength Gatlanteans had over other humans[15][16] allowed even lightly armored warriors equipped mostly with melee weapons to stand up against better-equipped soldiers from other species.[11] Only one primarily ground-based division is known to have existed and was under the command of Zants Zurvival during the Gatlantean occupation of Terezart. Even then, the only ground vehicles used by the division were converted battleships.[17]

Dagam Threatens Yamato

Goran Dagam, a direct warrior

Due to their innate tendency toward destruction, Gatlanteans were not prone to create or repair. As such, their military relied heavily on science slaves taken from other species to develop their weaponry, and on the Ark of Destruction to build them.[10][6]

Soldiers serving in the Gatlantean military were called warriors. The empire also made use of direct warriors, i.e. warriors appointed as vassals under the direct command of the Great Emperor.[7] One direct warrior was Goran "Thunder" Dagam, who also served as Grand Chief Commissioner of Gutaba.[18]

History[]

Origins[]

Zworder gatlantis rebellion

Zworder at the end of the Gatlantis Rebellion

The Gatlantean military's origin dates back to the Gatlantis rebellion fought by the Gatlanteans led by Zworder against their Zemurian overlords. Following the catastrophic end of the conflict, which left the Gatlantean population decimated, the Great Emperor formalised his philosophy against emotions and on the eradication of all human species. With his ideals as the guiding principles of the newly founded Gatlantis Empire, the Gatlanteans awoke the Ark of Destruction, an ancient Archelian space fortress capable of giving Gatlantis an unlimited war potential. Goenitz, Zworder's oldest follower, was named Commander-in-Chief of the Gatlantis Astro Fleet, and the empire begun its millennia-long omnicidal mission.[19]

War with Garmillas[]

Dagam Gatlanteans cheer before battle

Dagam and his soldiers cheer before battle

By the late 22nd century, Gatlantis had entered a dispute with the Greater Garmillan Empire over the Small Magellanic Cloud, known to the Gatlanteans as Gutaba. The low-caste bandit[20] Goran Dagam caught the eye of Emperor Zworder, who elevated him to Governor-General of the disputed territory and named him his direct warrior. Dagam was assigned a fleet of warships and the task of finding and retrieving the so-called "World of Tranquillity", an Archelian ark. During their war with Garmillas, Gatlantis was highly underrated by their opponents, who considered the empire a group of mere barbarians. However, the status quo would change when a Garmillan test ship carrying prototype Instantaneous Material Transporters encountered a Gatlantean fleet. The ship's crew was imprisoned and forced to serve Gatlantis as science slaves. The captured technology and scientists led to the development of the Flame Strike Gun, which was equipped on Governor Dagam's flagship.[10][21] The weapon allowed the Gatlantean forces to go toe-to-toe with the most advanced vessels in the Garmillan military. However, Dagam was ultimately killed in a battle against the Garmillans and the Earthling battleship Yamato in August of 2199.[10][22]

Yamato and the Earth Federation[]

Eighth floating continent Gatlantis occupation

The 8th floating continent under Gatlantean control

Despite the loss of Dagam and the World of Tranquillity, the Gatlantean military continued its advance. Following his dethronement at the end of the Great Garmillas War, Supreme Leader Abelt Desler, the former dictator of Garmillas, came to serve under Emperor Zworder and was granted a fleet of warships and a personalized flagship.[23] In 2202, the Gatlantis Astro Fleet took control of planet Terezart, home to the goddess Teresa, and set up an artificial rocky crust around the planet to extract its unique energy.[3] This allowed the empire to develop new powerful weapons such as the Annihilation Missile.[24] The empire also began developing the Gaizengan Weapons Group, a series of bio-technological armaments grown inside the Ark of Destruction.[25] The introduction of the Gaizengan Weapons led to a complete restructuring of the Gatlantean organization and weapon system, which changed the role of the Nazca-class from a key point in the empire's naval formation to an escort vessel.[26]

Later in the same year, the Gatlantis Vanguard Fleet pushed deep into Garmillan territory in the Milky Way, seizing control of the 8th Floating Continent. On December 2,[2] a joint Garmillas-Earth fleet led a recapture operation for the occupied continent but suffered severe losses when the first Calaklum-class Battleship, a Gaizengan Weapon and the new mainstay battleship in the Gatlantis Astro Fleet, unveiled its lightning rotation gun. Despite losing most of the fleet, the battle was ultimately a success for the joint forces thanks to the intervension of Andromeda, the new flagship of the Earth Federation Cosmo Fleet, and the firing of its double-barrel wave-motion gun.[3] The reconquest of the 8th Floating Continent and six others occupied floating continents led to a temporary energy shortage, forcing the Astro Fleet to change its shipbuilding plans and leading to the development of the land variant of the Medalusa-class.[26]

Eighth Mobile Fleet

The Eighth Mobile Fleet over the Eleventh Planet

Following the end of the hostilities, Teresa sent a telepathic communication to the crew of the Yamato, to call the battleship to her planet.[3] This, paired with the previous encounters the Gatlantean forces had with the Earthling battleship, piqued Emperor Zworder's curiosity, and he ordered the Eighth Mobile Fleet to be sent to the solar system to attack it.[27] The fleet led a devastating attack on the system's eleventh planet and tried to use its artificial sun to power a Legionnaire Cannon and destroy the Earth. However, they were stopped by the Yamato's timely intervention.[11][28]

The fleet was ordered to retreat to the Comet City Empire, but Admiral Mazer, consumed by a profound hatred for Yamato, disobeyed his orders and continued pursuing the Earthling battleship. His forces were marked as a "pollution fleet" and were eliminated by Desler.[23] In the following months, Yamato encountered and fought with the forces of the Gatlantis Astro Fleet on various occasions, eventually liberating Terezart from the occupational forces left to protect it.[17][29] After trying to destroy the battleship himself, Supreme Leader Desler went AWOL and met up with a large group of his supporters. To assert his independence from Gatlantis, he tried to impose a blockade around Terezart but was soon defeated and forced back into servitude to Zworder.[6][30]

White Comet destroys Saturn

The Ark of Destruction at Saturn

In May of 2203,[2] the bulk of the Gatlantis Astro Fleet began a full-scale invasion of the Solar system led by Commander-in-Chief Valsey's Seventh Mobile Fleet. Zworder himself took command of his forces from the Ark of Destruction. Following a first devastating battle in orbit of Saturn, the Emperor was made aware of the existance of a time fault on Earth, which the Earthlings had been using to build a vast fleet of warships. With this new knowledge, Zworder's goal shifted from the destruction of the Earth and its inhabitants to the conquest of the planet and the enslavement of its natives.[6][31]

On June 2,[2] the Ark of Destruction reached the Earth after various battles against the Garmillas-Earth joint forces and declared complete dominance over the Earth Federation.[32] However, the Yamato and the bulk of the Great Garmillas Empire's naval forces put up a last stand in orbit of the Earth. During this last-ditch assault, the Yamato's crew tried to seize Golem, a device capable of instantly killing all Gatlanteans that Zworder had kept hidden inside his throne room. In a surprising turn of events, Zworder himself activated Golem, having found a loophole to not die to the machine's song, and managed to reawaken the Ark of Destruction to its full potential. With the death of all Gatlanteans, the Gatlantis Astro Fleet effectively ceased to exist. The Emperor's madness was ultimately stopped by the combined efforts of Yamato and Teresa.[33][1]

Vehicles[]

Battleships[]

Carriers[]

Cruisers[]

Destroyers[]

Fighters[]

Others[]

Units and assets[]

Uniforms[]

Behind the scenes[]

Kazuki Miyatake and Yutaka Izubuchi were responsible for the mecha design of Gatlantean ships during their cameo in "A World I Once Saw", however, since the ships only appeared in one scene, no 3DCG model was created and the mechas were hand-drawn by animators.[39]

Given the Gatlantis Empire's role as the antagonists in "Odyssey of the Celestial Ark", their ships were redisgned and given 3D models. Yasushi Ishizu was responsible for these redisgns.[40]

The unique classifications of Gatlantis' ships (such as Strike Carrier or "Heavy Annhilation Battleship" ) were created to be the direct expression of Gatlantis' warlike orientation.[40]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Farewell, Space Battleship Yamato"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
  4. "A World I Once Saw"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Yamato 2202 official website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for Goenitz
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Battle off the Coast of Saturn - Gather the Wave Motion Gun Fleet!"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Yamato 2202 official website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for the Lascaux-class
  8. Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol.2 p.19
  9. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection GARMILLAS p.199
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Battle to the Death – The 11th Planet Rescue Operation"
  12. Yamato 2202 official website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for Valsey
  13. Yamato 2202 official website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for Gorland
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Bewitching - The Space Fireflies Beckon a Crisis"
  15. "Prison Planet 17"
  16. "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Zurvival's Fierce Assault - Find Teresa"
  18. Yamato 2199 official website CHARACTER entry for Goran "Thunder" Dagam
  19. "Gatlantis, the Cursed Children"
  20. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Vol.3 p.188
  21. Yamato 2199 Secret file 01: Threat of the Flame Strike Gun, tragedy of the Garmillas science slaves
  22. Mikage Kiryu states that the events of Odyssey of the Celestial Ark (outside of the prologue and epilogue) are set one months after Yamato's take off from Iscandar, as that event is stated to take place on July 27, 2199, it can be deduced that the movie takes place in August of the same year. See Yamato 2199 timeline inconsistencies for more details
  23. 23.0 23.1 "Desler's Challenge!"
  24. Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works vol.2 p.007
  25. Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Warriors of Love Chapter 5 Theater Pamphlet
  26. 26.0 26.1 Gatlantis Mecha taken from Hachette Collections Japan magazine
  27. "Shock – Legacy of the Cosmo Reverse"
  28. "The Beam of Light Flashes! / Radiance of the Wave Motion Gun"
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 "The Terezart Landing Operation – Crush the Enemy Missile Fleet!"
  30. "O Teresa, Cry for Desler!"
  31. 31.0 31.1 "Yamato in Crisis - The Devil's Alternative Once More"
  32. "Warriors of Love"
  33. "Yamato, Attack the Comet Empire!"
  34. Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works vol.1 p.146
  35. Yamato, Attack the Comet Empire!
  36. Gatlantis Mecha taken from Hachette Collections Japan magazine
  37. "Heir to the Yamato, Her Name is Ginga"
  38. Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol. 2 p.20
  39. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Pia pp.24-25
  40. 40.0 40.1 Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Pia p.19

Japanese language information[]

  • ガトランティス航宙艦隊 Gatorantisu kōchū kantai (Gatlantis Astro Fleet)
  • 帝国 機動艦隊 Teikoku kidō kantai (Imperial Mobile Fleet)
  • 遊動艦隊 Yū dō kantai (Nomadic Fleet)
  • ガトランティス軍 Gatorantisu-gun (Gatlantis Army)
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