Operation Gauntlet

== Background ==
During the Deltabash War, Merculan and Liberon forces found themselves struggling to find a place to land ground forces in Svalbardland. A plan was devised to scout out enemy fortifications and destroy any targets of opportunity.
A fleet was raised in Port Crescent, and set out at 2309. The force consisted of the carriers Fearless and Sentinel, the Battlecruisers Orion and Cyclops, and the cruiser Princesa do Ceu. Just before setting out, she was painted in a temporary northern camoflauge and has since become synonymous with the ship. The next morning, they had reached the English channel, where a naval trawler was put down.
== Battle ==
When the fleet left English waters, the light carrier Fearless launched her fighter wing to begin scouting. The Merculan carrier Sentinel kept a combat air patrol over the fleet, the rest of the ships keeping the carriers safe. The initial wave was not successful.
The fleet turned north to pick up Liberon Marines and Merculan Rangers before returning to the area of operations. All but the destroyers D12 and Tricomalee embarked soldiers. Fearless, on account of her embarked soldiers, could only launch from her lower deck. Sentinel kept her CAP once again.
Towards the late afternoon, the fleet moved in towards the Specter Channel to disembark their soldiers. Fearless, the first in the column, found herself fired upon by 14 inch shore batteries. Princesa do Ceu and Orion began to fire back, but to no great effect. The light carrier soon sunk due to lack of armor.
The men in the water moved towards the shore, and the rest of the ships began to drop off soldiers in a frenzy. Sentinel began to back out of the Channel; if she were to be sunk, she would block the rest of the ships. After Princesa do Ceu disembarked her marines, she performed a blind jump. Cyclops and Orion retreated while taking heavy damage, and the destroyers laid smoke in an attempt to cover the withdrawl.
Overall, the operation was a strategic victory, since the troops that landed on the shore disabled the artillery and allowed for future operations to commence in the channel. However, it was a tactical defeat, since the loss of the Fearless and the damage to two of Mercular's capital ships meant the Terran grip on the seas was weaker.