First Battle of Minette

The First Battle of Minette was fought between the Royal Manticoran Navy and the People's Navy in the Minette System.
== Prelude ==
As part of Operation Stalking Horse, Task Force 30 was to hit the Manticoran picket guarding the Minette System, eliminating it with overwhelming force, in order to draw forces away from Yeltsin's Star. Task Force Minette-01 was already understrength, as Admiral Hamish Alexander needed as many ships as possible to continue the push to take Trevor's Star.
Minette was equipped with the latest FTL sensor net that the Star Kingdom of Manticore had developed, allowing TFM01 to see approaching ships thoughout the entire system while sitting in orbit around Everest. ()
== Order of battle ==
=== Royal Manticoran Navy ===
Task Force Minette-01:
* half a battle squadrondreadnoughts, including HMS Orion and HMS Majestic, CO Captain George Truscot, Admiral Stanton's flagship
* a heavy cruiser element
* a destroyer elementincluding HMS Seeress and Oracle
=== People's Navy ===
Task Force 30:
* Battle Squadron 7 (PN)
* Battle Squadron 12 (PN)both battle squadrons a 8 SD
* a battlecruiser squadron
* a screening element32 lighter units, possibly 4 squadrons
== Course of battle ==
Seeing the overwhelming forces arrayed against him, Admiral Stanton decided to withdraw rather than sacrifice his command. He ordered the evacuation of all technical personnel, and the scuttling of Tracking Central as well as all inner-system platforms, so that the FTL sensor net technology would not fall into Havenite hands. He then planned to pass the PN on the way out, firing as many missiles as he could at their superdreadnoughts in order to ease the ability of a counterattack to take the system. Before moving out he contacted the Premier of Everest to inform him of his intentions.
During the withdrawal, Stanton's forces managed to destroy one superdreadnought, heavily damage another, and destroyed a battlecruiser, in return for heavy damage to two dreadnoughts (HMS Majestic and Orion) as well as losing four heavy cruisers. ()
== Losses ==
=== Royal Manticoran Navy ===
* heavy damage to the dreadnoughts HMS Majestic and Orion
* destruction of four heavy cruisers
=== People's Navy ===
* one superdreadnought destroyed, another - heavily damaged
* one battlecruiser destroyed
== Aftermath ==
High Admiral Wesley Matthews of the Grayson Space Navy organized an allied joint task force and concentrated it in the Casca System to retake Candor and Minette. ()
:See also: Second Battle of Minette
== References ==
Minette, First Battle of
Minette, First Battle of