Second Battle of Basilisk

The Second Battle of Basilisk was an armed engagement between the Royal Manticoran Navy and the People's Navy. It was fought in 1913 PD in the Basilisk System. It was two simultaneous battles in fact, engaged in the terminus space and on the orbit of Medusa.
== Prelude ==
The Havenite Twelfth Fleet attacked the system as part of Operation Icarus.
Admiral White Haven's Eighth Fleet fought its first action during the battle. To arrive at the battle site without destabilizing the Junction and thus prevent following reinforcements, Admiral White Haven ordered the fleet to transit through the Junction from Trevor's Star to Basilisk via Manticore one ship at a time, a feat that required an unprecedented amount of coordination with Astro-Control Service transit controllers. ()
== Order of battle ==
=== Manticoran Alliance ===
* Task Force Basilisk, CO Vice Admiral Silas Markham
** task group - orbital picket, CO Vice Admiral Silas Markham
*** a battle squadron (SD)8 units, including HMS King Wiliam
*** a battlecruiser elementunknown number of units
** task group - terminus picket, CO Rear Admiral Hanaby - not engaged
*** a battle squadron (DN) 6 units
*** a battlecruiser squadron8 units
* Eighth Fleet, CO Admiral White HavenThe battle was also the first incident of revenge for the 'execution' of Honor Harrington by the Grayson Navy when Adm. Yanakov signaled to all Grayson ships "Lady Harrington and no mercy".
** wall of battle, including heavy task force of the GSN, under the command of Admiral Judah YanakovIncluding: fleet flagship GNS Benjamin the Great and GSN task force flagship GNS Honor Harrington
** screen
* fixed defences of the wormhole junction terminustwo forts, Fortress Command
=== People's Navy ===
Task Force 12.4, command team: People's Commisisoner Eloise Pritchart and Admiral Javier Giscard, Commanding Officer
* Task Group 12.4.1, command team: People's Commisisoner Eloise Pritchart and Admiral Javier Giscard, Commanding Officer
** wall of battle (SD),
** screening element (CL and DDtwo destroyers survived and escaped),
* Task Group 12.4.2, command team: People's Commisisoner Leopold and Rear Admiral Gregor Darlington, Commanding Officer
** wall of battle
*** battle squadron (DN)
*** battleship element
** battlecruiser element
** destroyer element
== Course of battle ==
While the transit itself was a massive success (despite a few accidents), Eighth Fleet arrived too late to prevent the destruction of Vice Admiral Markham's picket force or the devastation of Basilisk's space infrastructure by Admiral Javier Giscard's fleet. Nevertheless, Eighth Fleet managed to destroy the Havenite force tasked with picketing the Basilisk Terminus, an action which saw the first operational use of pod-laying superdreadnoughts. ()
== Aftermath ==
Basilisk's orbital infrastructure was almost completely wiped out in the Havenite attack. ()
== References ==
Basilisk, Second Battle of
Basilisk, Second Battle of