Jovian Moons Campaign

The Jovian Moons Campaign was a four-month-long conflict between the members of the Frieden and Koslovic movements, with the Unified Earth Government struggling to restore order throughout. The Campaign, also called the Jovian Crisis, was fought on and around the largest moons of Jupiter, namely Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io, and briefly both camps of the Jovian Trojans. Frieden militias and space forces launched simultaneous attacks on each moon and against civilian shipping, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties and UN peacekeeping forces thrown into total disarray, ultimately prompting a massive retaliatory counterattack by Koslovic forces in all theaters. UN ground forces were wholly inadequate, even with significant reinforcements; the United Nations Space Authority acquitted itself well in hundreds of engagements. Surface engagements continued without apparent decline from March into late May, when military forces from Earth arrived to supplement peacekeeping troops; by late June open fighting had ceased entirely. 
The Jovian Moons Campaign resulted in an estimated 2.5 million deaths, 7 million injuries, and the displacement of at least 11 million Jovian colonists. The majority of casualties were suffered by Koslovic supporters and sympathizers; Frieden losses were believed to be fewer than 500,000 in total, and UN and UEG troops suffering just 37,628 casualties (including just 3,672 fatalities). 
While each moon colony suffered considerable devastation and hundreds of thousands of dead and injured colonials, the worst off by far was the colony of Europa. Previously a Koslovic population center, the movement suffered a quarter of a million dead at minimum and the displacement of another two million Koslovics. Fighting on each moon had been centered on residential areas, a result of Frieden aggression being focused on Koslovic and Koslovic-friendly settlements; industrial sector damage was minimal and spaceports escaped practically undamaged. 
Jovian commercial shipping experienced unprecedented interruptions and delays during the Campaign, with supply chains only really beginning to return to normal by September 2162. While a number of civilian freighters and shuttles had been damaged and destroyed by Frieden forces, these incidents were inconsequential to the operations of major commercial fleets. 
==Background==
The Koslovic movement had long flourished on the moons of Jupiter and had a considerable presence in most colonies. A neo-communist organization effectively locked out of political action, the movement had turned towards violence and its adherents had begun acquiring weapons and forming militias as early as 2147. Opposing the Koslovics were the Friedens, a fascistic coalition of anti-communist and anti-UEG militias and organizations, funded and armed clandestinely by powerful corporate backers, especially UGR businesses. 
Throughout the 2150s, the antagonism between the Frieden and Koslovic movements had steadily increased, with isolated acts of violence occurring more regularly in the latter half of the decade. In late 2159, a major strike action was carried out by Koslovics on both Europa and Ganymede, with massive demonstrations of support occurring on all four moons. Counter-protests organized by the Friedens were quick to follow, and larger-scale violence seemed inevitable, until UN peacekeeping forces arrived in early September and directly intervened. Approximately 8,000 UN Peacekeepers were transported by four UNSA heavy carriers; deployment of peacekeepers on this scale was unprecedented. Colonial advisors were included with peacekeepers, with a centralized headquarters established on Io. The UEG forced an end to the strike, imposed improvements for workers on the impacted industries, and stationed troops across each moon, seemingly pacifying the participants by November 1. Four months and one day later, it would become apparent that was not the case. 
==Campaign==
===Overview===
====Frieden onslaught====
On the morning of March 2, 2160, violence exploded across Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io, as Frieden militias openly attacked both UN outposts and Koslovic communities. In just a few hours, thousands were killed and tens of thousands injured or displaced. UN losses included two hundred and forty-five peacekeepers killed, four hundred and forty wounded, dozens of checkpoints and outposts destroyed or damaged, and the Colonial Advisor HQ on Io besieged. But the violence was not limited to surface actions, as more than a hundred disguised freighters, armed and armored, launched attacks against civilian shipping and yards throughout Jovian space. 
Throughout the day, Frieden militias stepped up attacks, well-armed and supported with armored vehicles, light aircraft, and artillery. The slaughter of Koslovics and bystanders continued into the evening; however, by that time Koslovic militias were counterattacking in full force, meeting the Friedens in open battle. For their part, most UN troops retreated from frontline action and gathered at surviving strongpoints, though some units distinguished themselves endeavoring to defend civilians, often at high cost. 
From its undamaged regional headquarters on Ganymede, UN peacekeeping forces scrambled to reorganize and regroup its scattered soldiers. Even as word of the attack was being communicated first to Ceres and then to Mars and Earth, UNSA commanders were redeploying regional space assets quickly: clusters of civilian ships were to be escorted to docks and spaceports, enabling the UNSA to concentrate its forces against further attacks on shipping. While these efforts were successful, identifying hidden enemy ships proved effectively impossible. Those enemy ships that were identified were either engaged and destroyed, or able to withdraw into Jovian Trojans. By days end, unescorted civilian shipping had all but ceased around Jupiter, and the violence on the moons was only increasing. 
====Initial UN response====
While the seriousness of the situation was obvious to regional commanders and UNSA ship captains, the United Nations was neither prepared for nor capable of a serious response to the crisis. After some thirty hours of indecision, the Department of Peace Operations was authorized to deploy all available assets to Jovian space, at all possible speed. Despite the authorization making troops immediately available, most off-world UN peacekeepers were stationed on Luna with limited deployments on Mars, and only a single heavy carrier was available to transport troops immediately. The UNSA took extraordinary measures to begin facilitating reinforcements: contracting dozens of commercial passenger ships to provide transport for peacekeeping troops and purchasing outright several available passenger liners for conversion to light carriers. Already on high alert, the UNSA reorganized its space fleet to provide escorts for convoys to Jovian Space. 
While the United Nations was undertaking its preliminary reinforcement efforts, Frieden forces sustained their local offensives against Koslovic communities, and launched additional attacks on a nearly hourly basis. Hundreds of massacres and pitched battles occurred on every moon. What remained of the Jovian peacekeeping garrisons were put to siege by Frieden militias with air and artillery support, rendering them impotent by the morning of March 5. With substantial UN reinforcements still more than a week away, the only real opponent to the Frieden offensive were the few armed Koslovic militias and whatever volunteers could be mustered in a short time. 
====Koslovic counteroffensive efforts====
Isolated defensive efforts had been mounted by Koslovics as early as the afternoon of March 2, but the first coordinated counterattack was launched against Frieden militiamen on the night of March 6. Koslovic militias launched an attack against Frieden forces in multiple occupied settlements across Ganymede and involved more than ten thousand Koslovic volunteers. This was followed by similar efforts on Callisto (March 7) and Europa (March 11). Smaller and more localized counterattacks were launched on Io on March 10. Koslovic forces lacked the heavy weapons, military vehicles, and combat aircraft of their Frieden opponents, but made use of both modified civilian vehicles and some limited captured Frieden equipment. Notably on Io, at least one abandoned peacekeeper outpost was looted by Koslovics for its heavy weapons and ammunition. 
Koslovic options for space and atmospheric combat in 2160 were extremely limited, with no purpose-built warships, raiders, or fighters affiliated with the movement. Nevertheless, some commercial captains and crews were sympathetic to the movement, and endeavored to support the movement with supplies in the face of aggressive Frieden space forces. On seven occasions, civilian ships with pro-Koslovic crews initiated ramming attacks against Frieden raiders, with mixed results: four destroyed and three disabled Koslovic freighters for one destroyed and two disabled Frieden ships. By March 12, the increasing presence of UNSA space forces ended the offensive activities of pro-Koslovic ships and considerably curtailed the attacks of Frieden raiders. 
By March 15, Koslovic efforts at mounting major counteroffensives had faded into mostly localized and minor attacks and ambushes of Frieden militias and assets. The anticipated arrival of UN peacekeepers on March 17 dampened Koslovic enthusiasm for mounting costly attacks in favor of resuming local defensive efforts. The Frieden, for their part, continued their offensive operations undeterred, with the days leading up to March 17 seeing some of the heaviest fighting of the Campaign at that time. 
====Failed UN intervention efforts====
On March 17, 2160, the first wave of UN reinforcements arrived in Jovian Space and were deployed to each moon, despite operational objections from the leadership of the Department of Peace Operations. As a result, fewer than 5,000 peacekeepers were available to reinforce surviving garrison installations and outposts. Even with these additional troops and their equipment, UN forces were unable to substantially break out of Frieden encirclements, even from the enormous Camp Wolfe on the Io colony. Subsequent waves of reinforcements arrived, but quickly proved inadequate to the high-intensity combat on the ground. Atmospheric air assets suffered what was deemed excessive losses to Frieden and occasional Koslovic anti-aircraft weaponry. Enemy anti-air assets were so significant that even the UN’s armored support shuttles and dropships suffered damage and losses. 
Despite valiant break out efforts by UN peacekeepers, the intervention was unofficially declared a dismal failure by March 28, just eleven days after reinforcements finally arrived. Even with more than 50,000 peacekeeping troops present across the Jovian Moons, the Department of Peace Operations was forced to report on its glaring inability to bring the crisis under control. 
Another forty thousand peacekeeping troops were authorized for deployment by the UN on March 31, with an expected arrival time of early April. This renewed effort was to be supported with heavier infantry weapons, tanks, artillery, and ground attack aircraft. Even so, UEG leadership and the primary members of the UN Security Council had come to the conclusion by then that peacekeeping forces of any size would be inadequate, and had begun exploring other avenues to resolve the crisis. 
One avenue of dubious value was an effort to achieve a negotiated end to the violence in Jovian Space by discourse with the Frieden movement. This effort was thwarted by a lack of public points of contact with the movement (and an unwillingness to ‘recognize’ Nadja Mielke as the Frieden leader) and by the complete disinterest of Frieden leadership in negotiating with the UEG at the time. The similarly lackluster proposal to consider supplying non-lethal or even lethal aid to the Koslovics was rejected on the basis that it would only intensify the conflict and not bring it to a speedy end. 
Lacking real alternatives and with the second major reinforcement effort having no practical success, the UEG proposed a full military intervention using the armies of Earth to force an end to the fighting. With analysts of the conflict estimating more than a million deaths to have already occurred, the proposal was accepted by the UN. 
====UEG intervention====
The UEG officially requested member states of the United Nations to deploy their national military forces to Jovian Space. More than a hundred nations sent soldiers, vehicles, and aircraft to the moons of Jupiter, carried by both civilian transports and UNSA carriers, including the newly operational Celestial Radiance light carriers. 
Noting the failures of previous peacekeeping operations, the Jovian Expeditionary Force limited its initial deployment to the moon of Io, starting with the relief of Camp Wolfe on April 25. The UN installation had been besieged by Frieden forces for fifty-five days and had suffered considerable damage during the siege. A brief but intense week of heavy bombing and shelling followed as the armies of the UEG savagely suppressed Frieden and Koslovic militias alike. By May 2, the UEG declared victory, with more than 250,000 UEG troops present on Io. 
Similar operations had already started on Callisto and Ganymede. Despite an anticipated Frieden space presence near Europa, the threat failed to materialize and UEG forces made landfall on the moon on May 5. Frieden and Koslovic ground forces were not intimidated into a cessation of hostilities, however; fighting on the three moons intensified as the UEG mercilessly crushed combatants. Only after a month of airstrikes and artillery bombardments, complete with the near-razing of multiple cities, did the Frieden offensives falter. 
By early June, the UNSA permitted the resumption of regular commercial movement in Jovian Space, after two weeks of no attacks or incidents. On June 11, the UEG declared victory on Ganymede. Eight days later, the last active Frieden militia surrendered on Europa on June 19. Only a few belligerents continued to evade destruction or capture on Callisto, and even those forces were defeated on June 30. 
===Callisto===
====Callisto raid====
===Europa===
====Action of 8 April 2160====
===Ganymede===
===Io===
====Siege of Camp Wolfe====
Nowhere on Io were Frieden militia forces more concentrated than in the immediate surroundings of the Colonial Advisor Headquarters, a complex designated Camp Wolfe. 
Action of 7 March 2160
===Trojans===
==Aftermath==
The Jovian Moons Campaign revealed the strength of both Frieden and Koslovic movements, and exposed the deficiencies and shortcomings of United Nations peacekeeping forces. 
For Nadja Mielke and her Frieden movement, the Jovian Moons Campaign was a complete success.