Battle of Gaston

The Battle of Gaston was a military action of the Second Havenite-Manticoran War between a task force of the Royal Manticoran Navy's Eighth Fleet and the Gaston System Defense Command of the Republic of Haven Navy, when the Gaston System was selected for a deep raid by the RMN as part of Operation Cutworm.
==Order of battle==
=== Republic of Haven Navy ===
Gaston System Defense Command, CO Rear Admiral Everette Beach:
* battlecruiser element
* LAC element, COLAC Captain Boniface Abercrombie
* system defense missile pods
===Royal Manticoran Navy===
Task force of Eighth Fleet, CO Vice Admiral Alice Truman:
* Carrier Division 3.1, CO Vice Admiral Alice Truman
** LAC group, COLAC Captain (JG) Prescott Tremaine
* Battlecruiser Squadron 81, CO Rear Admiral Gold Peak:
** Battlecruiser Division 81.1
** Battlecruiser Division 81.2
* heavy cruiser element:
** detached element of the Cruiser Squadron 7Battlecruisers' screen. Four the Edward Saganami-class units, including HMS Edward Saganami. Four Edward Saganami-C-class units took part in the Battle of Hera
** detached element of the Cruiser Squadron 12CLACs' screen.
* destroyer elementIncluding HMS Intruder.
== Course of battle ==
The Manticoran task force translated into the system at a distance of eighteen light-minutes from Gaston itself and started to proceed in-system, their single scout destroyer, HMS Intruder, joining it. Admiral Beach ordered the execution of Condition Red-Three in response to their arrival, instructing every Havenite merchantmen in the system to flee and every deep-space industrial platform to evacuate. Meanwhile, the Manticorans launched their LACs and updated their threat data using the more recent data from Intruder. In the process of doing so, Rear Admiral Henke noticed a cluster of missile pods in section Charlie-Two-Seven. The Manticorans decelerated to rest relative to Gaston at a distance of one light-minute and allowed their LACs to continue the advance.
While within the range of his pods, Admiral Beach knew the Manticorans were outside the range of his standard shipboard launchers and that the possible presence of Manticoran pod-laying battlecruisers meant his units would be unable to bring the enemy into range before their destruction. So, he ordered his units to maneuver around Gaston, placing the planet between themselves and the Manticorans as a shield, hoping to lure the Manticoran LACs in and destroy some of them before he was forced to expose himself to the Manticoran warships. In response, Henke executed Grand Divide, splitting her command into two separate groups and advancing around the planet. The Havenites detected her move and labelled each group Alpha and Beta respectively. Beach ordered his warships to continue to hold Gaston between themselves and Beta while preparing to engage Alpha with orbital missile pods, instructing his LACs to ready themselves for a follow-up attack on Alpha should the missile pods succeed. Henke observed the Havenite moves and surmised their intentions. With Vice Admiral Truman's approval, Henke slowed her acceleration by half and sent in the Manticoran LACs ahead of her forces to eliminate the Havenite missile pods.
In response to the Manticoran moves, Beach ordered his LACs to engage the Manticoran LACs to prevent the destruction of the orbital pods. Unbeknownst to the Havenites, however, six of the Manticoran LAC squadrons were Katana-class LACs of the Grayson Space Navy. The Manticoran COLAC, Captain Prescott Tremaine, ordered his Katanas to execute Bushwack Three. Each Katana launched twenty-five Viper anti-LAC missiles and Cimeterres were destroyed by the tens. With no other option now, Beach ordered his warships to engage. ()
==Aftermath==
The Havenites suffered the complete destruction of their system picket and the system-wide loss of every industrial platform. ()
==References==
Gaston, Battle of
Gaston, Battle of